Tag: italy

• Decorating Writing Notebooks and a Petite Painting (Hidden for Now)

  …I didn’t write today, but I got my notebooks ready with decor and labels. I write in these, a notebook for poetry and another for fiction, in pen by hand and may type up complete versions afterwards. (But now, look away, these are secret things.) Today, I didn’t do sitting meditation; I did walking meditation. […]

  09/24/2022 4:17 pm

  art, creative process, italy, massachusetts, memoir, morningtime, secrets, wellness

• A Song for the Day and Night: Perfect by Ed Sheeran feat. Andrea Bocelli

  

  the moon at dawn Beginning the day with song, attuned to love, listening, maybe a little singing… 💕💖🌴🎼✨💃💗🎼🌴💖💕 I love all the lyrics as well, especially how the song gradually winds into full Italian singing, as if on a little gondola gliding over the water with the mandolin sounds and all the music… * Yesterday’s […]

  05/19/2022 12:04 pm

  andrea bocelli, angels, australia, beauty, catholic, classical, classical music, dance, england, english, gratitude, italian, italy, love, lovingkindness, meditation, memoir stories, moon, morningtime, music, my photography, nature, poetic, poetry, poets, pop, pop music, sky, spirituality, wellness

• A Serenade by Ameen Rihani

  

  A Serenade by Ameen Rihani from Myrtles and Myrrh (1905) The moon hath said her sad good-bye,     My sleeping queen; And all the stars are wondering why    Thou art unseen. Behold! abashed, they take to flight, As through the casement breaks thy light.                 Arise, my dawn, arise!       […]

  05/01/2022 6:36 pm

  20th century, ameen rihani, arab renaissance, creative process, dreams, english literature, form poetry, garden, gratitude, italy, lebanon, meditation, meditative, moon, morningtime, my photography, nature, new york city, octet, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, reading, romantic era, sky, spirituality, traditional form, traditional forms, wellness

• Happy Poetry Month, Gothic Novel Read, Poetry Collection by Jason Preu

  

  two books by Jason Preu upon table, morningtime, captured within bright flashes of sun After I’d completed reading a new poetry book from author Jason Preu, one I’d picked to read first, The Avocado Among Other Fruits and wrote down my immediate impressions, I realized then it is April 1st and so begins Poetry Month! […]

  04/01/2022 12:49 pm

  18th century, 21st century, ann radcliffe, book reflection, book review, books, boston, english literature, fairies, france, fruit, gratitude, home, italy, kansas, literary theory, morningtime, music, my photography, nature, novels, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poetry month, poets, prose poetry, reading, sun, wallace stevens, William Carlos williams

• Mysteries and Spa Days

  

  Today is Spring Day Six! And Spa Days at Home continues…I’d combed my hair throughout the day on different occasions and with my fingers…and stood out on the balcony letting the daylight touch my skin. Looking out over the railing, I could see a gathering of water on the ground in the forest on the […]

  03/25/2022 10:46 pm

  18th century, art, books, boston, dance, english literature, france, handmade, italy, memoir, memoir stories, music, my photography, narrative, nature, novels, peeko, poetic, reading, sketch, wellness

• An Island Novel I’d Read And My 1 Minute Impromptu Play About Writing Poetry

  

  my cat Peeko was sure to get to it first This is the first novel I’d read (titled The House at the Edge of Night), which combined mainly southern Italian characters with some British ones, as in a British man gets swept up onto the coast of this remote Italian island, Castellamare, during wartime. I’d […]

  03/17/2022 8:42 am

  21st century, book reflection, book review, boston, catherine banner, creative process, england, fiction, italy, memoir, memoir stories, mythology, narrative, novels, peeko, plays, poetry, poets, villanelle, writing process, writing theory

• Peeko’s Photoshoot with Fiction Pick of Choice

  

  There’s nothing like the thrill of pulling a random book by unknown yet to you author off the library shelf one day…😊and this novel happens to take place “in the Mediterranean on an island off the coast of Italy” (country of my ancestry)…And it looks like Peeko approves it…He’s been really taking pride in his […]

  03/11/2022 6:31 pm

  books, english literature, italy, library, magic realism, memoir, memoir stories, my photography, novels, peeko, poetic, reading

• Gifts…and Cravings

  

  …A Gift the Day After May’s Birthday I loved the very blushing sky this morning—thank you…😊💖 I wasn’t expecting such a gift…🥰😊 * Willa Cather Craving I was ready to choose a next book to read and suddenly I felt I needed to read Willa Cather, although I don’t know anything about the author personally, […]

  02/12/2022 6:48 pm

  20th century, art, books, edna st. vincent millay, fairies, gratitude, home, interior design, italy, may ziadeh, meditate, meditation, memoir, memoir stories, morningtime, my photography, narrative, novels, peeko, poetic, poetry, reading, sky, willa cather

• New Book and New Author, No Land To Light On

  

  I picked up this book No Land To Light On by Yara Zgheib among the new releases at the local bookshop and noticed I was walking as if I’d already planned to buy it; that didn’t bias me when I’d began reading at home either. At the shop, I glimpsed a passage of introduction before […]

  01/24/2022 12:02 pm

  21st century, art, books, boston, english literature, italy, lebanon, meditation, memoir, memoir stories, morning, morningtime, my photography, novels, philosophy, poetic, poets, prose poetry, reading, sky, turkey

• Last Night’s Dream of Thay

  

  Yesterday night, I found out my favorite meditation teacher, Thich “Thay” Nhat Hanh who was also an author and poet, had just passed away at age 95. I’d first found him 14 years ago and soon after I wished for a copy of his book Peace is Every Step, and read it fully. Last night […]

  01/22/2022 10:26 am

  20th century, 21st century, audio, boston, catholic, dreams, gratitude, italian, italy, meditate, meditation, memoir, memoir stories, music, my dreams, narrative, nonfiction books, poetic, poetry, poets, spirituality

• I Adore…

  

  Most recent poet found with random book taken off shelf, Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop fit in perfectly with the ‘Sagittarian Invasion’ artists on the blog recently told of…following Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (same sign: Austen turned 246 earth yrs on Dec. 16; Waldrop turned 89 on Dec. 11) what I thought… […]

  12/31/2021 9:47 pm

  19th century, 21st century, angels, art, artists, audio poetry, book reflection, book review, books, boston, catholic, creative process, egypt, england, fairies, full moon, garden, gratitude, herbs, home, interior design, italy, jane austen, Kahlil gibran, lebanon, Leonardo davinci, literary salon we keep, may ziadeh, medieval era, meditation, memoir, memoir stories, moon, morning, my photography, narrative, nature, peeko, philosophy, poetic, poetry books, poets, reading, rumi, self portraits, sky, spirituality, wellness, yoga

• Blushing Mornings, Angels, A 246th Yr Birthday Woman, and More

  

  Tuesday and Wednesday mornings…back to back blush. Did you guess right? Would I choose a new book or one to reread? I chose Northanger Abbey, a novel to reread from many years ago, and I don’t remember the story, but it is delightful, and I’ll read more of it today. Jane Austen completed it in […]

  12/16/2021 5:52 pm

  19th century, 20th century, 21st century, advent, ameen rihani, angels, australia, boston, catholic, chamber music, classical music, england, english literature, france, french, garden, george winston, gratitude, herbs, home, interior design, ireland, italy, jane austen, lebanon, literary salon we keep, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, morning, music, my photography, nature, novels, peeko, poetic, poets, reading, sky, spirituality

• After Poetry, A Portrait

  

  Left to right: Ann (my mom’s bestie), My mom, and me in Massachusetts Conversations of coconut oil, free library cabinets, yoga, French breaded desserts, Italian restaurants and friendly waiters, a great aunt’s tea cups coming out of storage for display, and types of meditation. * Earlier: Finding Things You Already Had, With A Runaway Sonnet: […]

  10/28/2021 3:40 pm

  french, fruit, home, interior design, italy, library, meditation, memoir, memoir stories, self portraits, tea, wellness, yoga

• The Excitement of Finding Things You Already Had: #1

  

  Well, I decided to find new table mats and to replace the ones I’d burned a little years ago with a frying pan maybe twice and hadn’t picked them out specifically, also saw I wanted more color and softness. These handwoven placemats and this vintage napkin holder I found on Etsy arrived yesterday morning and […]

  10/27/2021 8:23 am

  20th century, art, england, free writing, garden, handwritten, home, interior design, italy, may ziadeh, memoir stories, my photography, norway, poetic, poetry, spirituality, tea, wellness, writing exercise, writing prompt

• Unfolding The Way With Sky Blushes, A Falling Book, And A Suddenly Seen Keurig Machine

  

  The morning sky today easily put some blush upon my face too. 😊🙏 Windows I’d just cleaned yesterday on both sides, including the glass door, and yes, my plants are looking more alive again, was excited to wake up today and see what the view would be through such clear glass… And there was another […]

  09/22/2021 7:12 pm

  19th century, 20th century, art, boston, catholic, classics, creative process, egypt, fairies, garden, germany, italy, mary shelley, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, my mystical experiences, my photography, novels, philosophy, poetic, poets, reading, spirituality, tea, yoga

• Starting The Week with A Heart Back Intact and Plenty of Soulful Imaginings

  

  Hearing my audio poems; sometimes he’s a very fluffy bunny, and sometimes a slightly violent teddybear. Peeko’s Moon and a Pulitzer Prize Winning Author, Truly Wise Book of Poems Over the weekend, Peeko sat by the book The Moon Before Morning like ’Read me more of these poems; it’s my moon!’ He is a Scorpio. […]

  09/13/2021 1:08 pm

  20th century, 21st century, arabic, art, book reflection, book review, books, catholic, dreams, egypt, french, home, italy, lebanon, library, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, michigan, moon, my dreams, new york, new york city, novels, peeko, philosophy, poetry, poetry books, poets, reading, video, w.s. merwin

• The Lost Girl

  

  Good afternoon, I didn’t know if I would really go away. 😊But I did. And I am back now to tell you about a novel I’ve completed that I’d mentioned before I left, The Lost Girl by D.H. Lawrence, and I won’t spoil plot or suspense for readers. I’d just recently found the novel in […]

  09/05/2021 3:32 pm

  20th century, 21st century, book reflection, book review, boston, catholic, classics, d.h. lawrence, egypt, england, folk music, food, france, italy, lebanon, library, lisa hannigan, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, music, my photography, novels, philosophy, poets, reading, spirituality

• A Little Joy To Share and What’s Made Me Smile

  

  The blush of dawn has been put back into the blog as you’d maybe seen. And the moon had been in many posts and is in the dawn now too as you can see, also yesterday, other side of sky. * I found that my cat Peeko’s dry food wasn’t right that I’d been getting […]

  08/27/2021 11:01 am

  20th century, 21st century, arabic, books, catholic, d.h. lawrence, england, garden, italy, lebanon, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, moon, morning, my photography, novels, peeko, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, prose poetry, reading, sky, spirituality, writing process

• A Capricorn Moon upon Gibran

  

  Yesterday’s middle post, ‘Clouds and a Light Drizzle…’ linked at the end, has now been fixed to show featured image. I don’t think Gibran has had an actual moon on the blog, and unplanned by me the Lebanese Pitas were requested again, and I cooked the dinner again falling on the Capricorn moon of Gibran’s […]

  08/19/2021 6:45 pm

  art, boston, fairies, food, italy, Kahlil gibran, lebanon, memoir, memoir stories, moon, my photography, peeko, philosophy, psychology, spirituality

• ‘So, Are You Italian?’

  

  Kahlil Gibran, 1913 To Reader: An important note added to the end of this post, 5 pm. When I’d first seen a photo of the Lebanese poet and artist Kahlil Gibran some months ago, I immediately thought, ‘But why does he look Italian?’ And today I came across an article which told of how Kahlil […]

  07/24/2021 5:23 pm

  20th century, italy, Kahlil gibran, lebanon, may ziadeh, memoir, poets, spirituality

• Tea Ceremony at Wind in the Pines

  July 30, 2012 It was a drizzly Sunday afternoon when Dan and I arrived at the Shofuan “Wind in The Pines” tea hut.  We sat on the backless chairs with “beginners’ mind;” we had never been to a tea ceremony before, and as light rain fell, we enjoyed the empty hut before us, which had […]

  07/30/2012 11:50 am

  art, boston, garden, italy, japan, local events, museums, tea