The Italians I met while in Florence have one thing in common: they are content with their lives and feel lucky to be living them.  Most of them have spent time in America – usually more than a year – and they perceive the American way as being quite […]

  I haven’t been updating much lately because I’ve been busy.  But it’s been the good kind of busy which is Italian busy instead of the bad kind of busy which is American busy.  Someday I will try to write something explaining what a profound impact discovering this distinction has […]

  October 8, 2017:    It is 11:18 and I am still in my sweats, have no makeup on and no immediate plans to change that situation. It’s rainy and fall-like today so I am writing and listening to Vivaldi and drinking tea. I’ve had a few of these days […]

  Yesterday I went into a shop owned by a woman named Eleanor, and her family.  Her dad was a silversmith, her mom created cards and prints and Eleanor is a jeweler.  I was immediately struck by her warm and welcoming way.  Florence is a city teeming with stores and […]

  It took four decades for me to become it, but I am an official lover of morning.  At home, I get up early and follow the same routine every day: coffee, Bible, journal, planning.  I need and hour or two of sunrise and solitude in order to function well […]