Day in the Life April 2010
19 Apr 2010 4 Comments
in 1 Tags: day in the life, photography, project, Video
Originally uploaded by elora.daphne
Spring has come and with it my craving to do something creative. So here is my latest project. I have always liked to make slideshows for all my holidays and trips, but now I decided to make one with a purpose.
When I look back at what my life was like ten years ago, fresh out of high school, no real ideas for the future, and people asked me where do you think you’ll be in 10 years, where I am now, would never have been my answer.
So I thought to myself why not create a project based on that question? And this is part one…of five. On the same day every year, I will photograph myself with my trusty camera, and we’ll see what happens.
I have a feeling the next five years will bring many changes I can’t even imagine, just like I couldn’t imagine them ten years ago.
Fave e Salame
17 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in 1, Food and Recipes Tags: cooking, fava beans, fave e salame, food, Italian cuisine, Italy, Liguria, salami
One of the traditional spring feasts in Liguria is fave e salame…as you can imagine it is fresh fava beans and salami. Fava beans grow everywhere here in Liguria, and are an amazing surprise. The first time I was presented with the green velvety pod and told to open it, take out the beans and eat them raw I confess, I nearly gagged, but culinary curiosity got the better of me, and I never looked back. They are delicious and blend wonderfully with the local salami. Just grab a pod, dig out the beans, cut a few thick slices of salami and pop them in your mouth together…heaven!
“T” is for Translation
16 Apr 2010 1 Comment
in 1, Work Tags: Daily Life, dictionary, ode, poem, translation, work
My fingers are currently aching, so this will be a fairly brief post.
In the last week I have been submerged with three “urgent” translations, all of them were, of course, due “yesterday”…I am proud to state that I have managed to complete TWO of them, and am struggling with the third, which is the hardest one. Not for content, but for the language. Yes, my friend,s it is from my most hated type of translation: ENGLISH to ITALIAN. Hello dictionary!
Ode to my Zanichelli:
In 2004 you were on a shelf,
And I needed you for my translating self.
At the cost my eyes popped out of my head
But without you, I knew – I was dead.
You have saved my brain a million times
And for this, I dedicate you these rhymes.
OK, OK, so I know I am no poet…but the whole point of this is, if you want to translate, invest in a very good dictionary…no matter what the cost. It pays itself off, as I said, a million times over!
Ride ‘Em Cowboy!
12 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in 1, Daily Life, Italy Tags: adventure, cowboy, Daily Life, laundry, washing machine
You may wonder what the title has to do with the picture. Well, I will explain that with this lovely antecdote.
On Wednesday, as I sat at home, I had a moment of housewifeliness and decided to do a load of laundry (or maybe it was my lack of clean clothes, not quite sure). So, as I always do, I loaded up my washer, added detergent, set the timer and walked away.
All was well, until, as I was sitting at the kitchen table (located in front of said washing machine) having my lunch, the beast went into the spin cycle, and decided that that was the best time to go for a walk.
I confess that the machine was old, and had attempted walks before, but my hand was usually sufficient to stop it from going too far, or destroying the kitchen sink, or detaching itself from the wall, or other such ideas that may have come across its mechanical little mind.
But this time, the washer was angry and had a grudge, my hand did nothing – it pushed against my chair, squishing me into the table, in the meantime, it was trying to break free of its tether by knocking down the side of the sink. I turned myself as fast as I could and used all my bodyweight to push it back where it belonged, but to no avail, I was simply thrust aside! In a final act of desperation, I launched myself on the off button, and in its last throes of agony, its march slowed and finally ceased.
Having just barely averted disaster, I opened the door (we have front loading washers in Italy) and looked at my clothes…they were covered in black goo – remnants of our bloody battle, I quickly rinsed the clothes in the bathtub, and bade my washing machine good bye.
You have served me well, and we have fought many a battle, my enemy, umm, I mean friend…but on Thursday you shall be replaced…by a non-walking model!
Small Town Emptiness
06 Apr 2010 4 Comments
in 1 Tags: easter, eggs, Italy, Montalto Ligure, traditions
As some of you know, this weekend I went to Montalto to spend Easter with my future in-laws. And this year, I noticed something sad. This is something that is happening all over the country, and I believe, all over the world. The depopulation of small towns and consequent loss of traditions.
Traditionally, on Good Friday, the people of the town have a procession called the Via Crucis, at the end of which they have a bonfire and burn the blessed palms from the year before. When my fiancè asked his mother how the procession went, she said there were only 10 people, including the priest, and there was no point in doing the bonfire, since there was no-one there to see it.
On Sunday, I accompanied my fiancè to Easter mass and only saw about 15 people there, including us. One of the strange local traditions (a clear pagan influence) is the blessing of eggs for the children…unfortunately there were no children to take the eggs, so all us adults did.
It was sad to see that these traditions are dying out. Maybe in a few years no one will remember about the Via Crucis, or the fact that the Easter eggs were blessed for the children. And this is a real shame…
Happy Easter
02 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in 1
Tomorrow I am off to Montalto for Easter, so I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy Easter!
I would also take this moment to share two things I miss about Easter in Canada:
-Dyeing Easter eggs (the eggs are brown here, it just doesn’t work as well!)
-Cadbury Cream Eggs (mmmmmm!)
Have a great one!!
Where Has all that Sun Gone?
30 Mar 2010 3 Comments
in 1, Daily Life, Italy, Things to See Tags: Italy, photography, Portofino, rain, Riviera, santa margherita ligure, spring, villa durazzo
I am illegally writing this post from the office. Thankfully, it is a slow day today (for now). The elections are finally over, and now there is practically nothing to be done.
It rained last week, except for the weekend, when the sun came out and it got up to 21 degrees! We went to Santa Margherita Ligure – sister town to the more famous Portofino. A charming place, which I finally got to explore, after all these years! I confess I snubbed it, because I thought it was much to high end for me, but I was in error. Yes, there were a whole bunch of very expensive looking yachts in the marina, but the actual town itself was quite charming, and held a little surprise – Villa Durazzo and its surrounding gardens! There were quite a few flowers in bloom – especially the CAMELIAS. Ah, was I ever a happy photographer that day! Poor Andrea patiently waited for me as I tested out my new photographic system – a magnifying glass! I cannot currently afford to buy a very drool-worthy DSLR, so I have to adapt my point and shoot as best I can. One big problem it has is focussing on close up shots…no longer! The magnifying glass worked wonderfully and you will be able to see the results in a couple of days, once I start posting those pictures.
But now that wonderful warm, sunny day is but a distant memory. We have battened down the hatches, the wind is blowing driving rain across the windows and turning umbrellas inside out. Come now warm weather – stay for a little while!
No Beauty without Pain
24 Mar 2010 2 Comments
in 1, Daily Life, Italy, wedding Tags: aesthetician, aesthetics, beauty, Daily Life, wedding
As the wedding date approaches, I look at myself more and more in the mirror. I am nearly thirty and still battling with teenage skin..lucky me, nice acne prone skin, which of course, tends to be dry at the same time as oily. No, this isn’t going to be a post about a miraculous skin cure, but about what I decided to do about it.
I decided to go to an aesthetician today and have a deep skin cleaning treatment. I haven’t gone to beauty centres very often, and the last time I went, I went for one of the best Christmas gifts ever (thanks Mom!) – a full body massage. And it was with this wonderful, relaxing moment in mind that I boldly set off this morning.
The girl took one look at me and arched her eyebrows. Not a good sign. She began with what I pretty much expected, cleanser and some steaming etc. then, as she was doing something I hear her gasp. Oh God, what could it possibly be? “My goodness,” she says, “we have to absolutely get rid of this!” Before I could say, “What?” she was slathering hot wax on my upper lip and *rip* off comes my “moustache”. The pain was excruciating. And she made it worse by putting on some cream, which stung like crazy. Honestly, I never noticed I had a moustache, I mean I am not a man, really. Every woman has a bit of hair on her upper lip, we have hair all over our faces, but going to the lengths of calling it a moustache…never! Well, after that sigh of relief (for her, I was still asking myself, why had I decided to do this, again?), she went back to slathering more cream all over my face and neck, and just as soon as I started to relax, I hear another gasp. Groan. “Well these won’t do at all!” she blurts. In less than 3.5 seconds she had tweezers in her hand and was plucking my eyebrows with a speed I could only attribute to an android. Another satisfied sigh. My tension was rising. But the rest of the treatment went happily along without further incident.
Then she started telling me about this long and complicated beauty regimen I should follow to try and keep my skin healthy etc etc. Oh and she suggested I come in for a facial once a month.
Do I really have to?
I do, I do, I do….
Getting Closer
18 Mar 2010 2 Comments
Ah, things are getting just that much closer to getting done. Bridesmaid dresses ordered today, wedding invitations mailed out, favours halfway done, papers almost all consigned, and two people have their tickets!
Still have to do, the flowers,the hair, the tux, the cake, the menu, the programs, the nails and make up, finish the favours, organise hotels, spa day (yes I will do it), photos, video, the honeymoon, what else? I really can’t remember and what, the wedding is exactly 3 months away!
OK people I am staarting to freak out….
Italians and Their…Dentists
15 Mar 2010 4 Comments
in 1, Daily Life, Italy Tags: dentists, Italian culture, Italy, kids, oral hygiene, school
This morning I had my umpteenth battle with my fiance’ about calling his dentist to get his teeth cleaned. He “promised” he would call either today or tomorrow (odds are ten to one he won’t…any bets?). As I stood there shaking my head in amazement, I thought back to what happened the other day, when my student told me she had to take her 8-year-old son to the dentist…to get his cavities filled. Seriously, how can an eight-year-old need to have cavities filled, already?
Now, if you observe a lot of Italians you’ll see they don’t always have the greatest teeth, this is because many of them have an innate fear of dentists. I don’t know what the reason for this is, I mean I have been to the dentist here several times, and they all seem to be really nice guys, with the same MODERN tools we have in Canada. So why on earth are people still afraid of them?
I think there are two reasons:
1. People avoid going to dentists for routine upkeep because they are “expensive” or because they are afraid of them, until they let their teeth get so bad that they have no choice and of course, the only thing the dentist can do at that point is either a root canal, a filling, or dental substitution. This all derives from -
2. Education. I have never heard of dentists going around to school here and teaching kids about oral hygiene (or else the eight-year-old wouldn’t have cavities by now). I remember when I was in elementary school fun dentist-people would come to the class and teach us how to brush and floss properly and make it into a game, and, even better, give us cool (for a kid) prizes like toothbrushes and bubble gum flavoured toothpaste or dental floss. The best prizes were those pink pills you could chew that would show you the plaque left on your teeth so you would know where to brush. I remember looking forward to those days. Here kids have no clue. It’s up to their parents to teach them, but in turn, I don’t really know that their parents know all that much.
Another thing that they do in Canada at least, is put fluoride in the drinking water – which probably wouldn’t work so well here, since Italians are terrified by their own tap water. Apparently it is dangerous and tastes gross. I drink it all the time, find that it tastes fine, and am still alive to say so (but that is for another post).
Anyone able to prove me wrong on this one?
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