Father's day

♥♥♥♥♥♥


Until you have a

son of your own

you will never know the J O Y,

the L O V E beyond feeling

that resonates in the heart

of a FATHER

as he looks upon his SON .

You will never know

the sense of honor

that makes a man

want to be more than he is

and to pass something

good and hopeful

into the hands of

his S O N.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

For all of us

All the women in my office
got "minosa" flowers from our boss today.
Silver wattle is the symbol
of celebration of Women's day in Italy.
I'm not fond
of all the typical celebrations of this day.
But it was nice to hear M's greetings
this morning when I woke up.

I don't mind
living in a man's world
as long as
I can be a woman in it.
Marilyn Monroe

Goodnight

Soup for everybody today!

Today in the main squares of most of the villages in the valley

Carnival Committees are cooking for everybody

a vegetable soup with rice,

called "paniccia", .

They start really early in the morning and at midday
everybody can get a portion or more just for free.
All you have to do is
to turn up with your own pot and that's it.
In my village you also get

salami,meat,cheese,bread,fruit & cookies

just paying some small extra money.

So E. had "paniccia" at nursery school (I'm not sure he likes it)

I had it in the office with my collegues

and probably also M. had his portion.

All of us a different one.

Fat Thursday

Zorro, D'Artagnan & Spyderman
Today in Italy is "Giovedì Grasso" = Fat Thursday.
This is the day, together with next Tuesday,
when the climax of the Carnival
festivities are traditionally celebrated
and when the major theatrical events and parties take place.
E. had a full Carnival day:
Masquerade party at dagis,
parade in the streets in the afternoon
& in the end hot chocolate.

It's Carnival!

It's Carnival time in Italy.

Here in the valley Carnival celebrations begins
on the 6th of January
(the last day of Cristmas Holidays)
and goes on until Ash Wednesday,
the first day of Lent which is the 40 days before Easter.
Kids and adults like to wear in disguise
and take part in masquerades in the streets
or in the several parties you can find everywhere.
Down in town we also have the

parade of floats (click) and masks,
usually made of paper-pulp,
depicting caricatures of popular people,
such as politicians, sportsman and showmen.

Yesterday E. & I went to one of this big floats parade

Time for a glass of wine

Down in the valley, in the hills area of villages/wine zones in northeastern Piedmont, called Gattinara, flourishes the nebbiolo grape.Whereas the vastly more famous Barolo and Barbaresco wine zones are located in Piedmont’s southeastern corner, Gattinara anchors the so called “northern nebbiolo” territory, which extends roughly from Torino to Lago Maggiore.
Gattinara wines, as well as those of the other well-known northernappellations, such as Carema, Ghemme, and Fara, are typically based on nebbiolo but incorporate other weird northern Piedmont varieties such as uva rara, vespolina, and bonarda.
Gattinara undergoes an aging regimen similar to that of Barolo; it is aged a minimum of three years before release, with a minimum of one of those years in wood (Barolo spends two of its minimum three years in wood).
And, like Barolo, a good Gattinara is all about the heady, rosy perfume of nebbiolo. Generally speaking Gattinara wines are a little higher in acid and a little leaner than heir southeastern cousins, but I've had many a Gattinara wine that can rival Barolo in depth and complexity.

My Sweet Italian Breakfast

Here is my Italian Breakfast that makes all the Swedes get really horrified.

I don't know why, but breakfast in Italy is SWEET.

When at home caffelatte and coffee made with the moka or tea are the more common choises for drinks absolutely with something SWEET to eat : cake, cookies, pastries, brioches, croissants or toast and jam .... to provide the sugar rush. Really healthy and balanced......isn'it?

Italians often consume their breakfast out in the bars drinking their cappuccino or espresso and cornetto (croissants) while standing at the counter. VERY CONVENIENT!