“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”
Matsuo Basho
The Heart of The Heel, Part II: Recycling Life Thematics
Then, as life will often have it, love entered, and the most crucial pivot of all landed her due north of her dreamed-of destination, in the heart of the heel. And just like that - the house expands. The work of being at home is now a lifelong project that involves the ongoing practice of take-off, landing, longing, and embracing the air space in between that allows for, and demands, a durable infrastructure of love.
The Heart (and The Tart) of The Heel, Part I: Evoking The Magic of Puglia
While probing the Pugliese playground with her two young, sunlit daughters in tow, Hilaree evokes the magic, the color, and very often, the humor of her adoptive habitat on the Italian Adriatic through her photography and storytelling, and the through the turning of local fruits and fixings into art: @tartoftheheel.
Dog In a Box
Born in Ponsacco, Marty came to live with me in Lucca at the age of two months. Our home is a dreamy and wonderful town…a jewelry-box-of-a-city surrounded by a Renaissance wall which is actually a tree-lined boulevard filled with bicycles and joggers, walkers and lovers and, every morning, the two of us on our daily outing. Since Lucca is doggie-friendly (he has dinner at Burralli and cappuccino at Tessieri as well as a treat awaiting at the local butcher shop) I have tried my best to take him with me anywhere I go.
Nine
At 9-years-old you are loving yet fierce. You are fun and wild! Your thoughts are deep and complex. You imagine without borders, speak courageously, and ask questions that challenge everyone around you. You are accepting of others and of life. Is this possible at nine? Yes, you are amazing.
Novembering: Clasped hands, love anchors, and the beauty process
This is our life: shortening and widening the physical gaps between our family of four and the people we love at distant points on the map, adding love anchors here and there as we move, settle, depart.
Anniversary Day: Welcome to The Scenery
On the same day, for the past 16 years, I quietly celebrate my anniversary with Italy. This year, I am in Barga for the occasion. Here, from in a little house I am renting with my family, I celebrated by taking in the view.