Posts under ‘Observations’

Am I the only one who thinks this new Fisher Price toy for 1 year-olds that interacts with the television is a little over the top?
Laugh & Learn Smart Bounce & Spin Pony Fisher-Price
An active learning toy that interacts with the television using a wireless device that connects with the TV and delivering [...]

Cleaning mussels this morning after a trip to the fishmonger got me thinking about food and the differences between how we regard food in the US and here. (After all, what else are you going to do while you clean mussels except think? It’s a boring job but someone has to do it.)
The thing I’ve [...]

Lately I’ve begun reading again…..well, when I can. It’s not always easy and if Luigi sees me with a book in hand then he wants it. He’s pretty tricky too, finding ways to get me to put it down where he can reach it and then trying to snatch it when I’m otherwise occupied.
Getting back [...]

Today I want to talk about health care because it is something that I feel very strongly about.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think the plan to “guarantee” that all Americans have health insurance (in other words, force everyone to buy insurance) is the right way to go. In my opinion, the right way to go [...]

Maybe it’s just me, but I wonder why people have to always offer stuff to kids, especially when it’s something that they can’t or shouldn’t have.
For example, people like to hold a glass of wine or beer up to their lips and then, when they make a move as if to drink it they say [...]

On Saturday we went to a wedding – a nice joyous occasion and it was a beautiful day too. But, there are some pretty big differences between Italian weddings and American ones. First of all, they last all day and almost all night. There’s also A LOT of food. We’re not talking surf and [...]

Let me say this in no uncertain terms. I hate bugs. They give me the willies.
Up until recently, the bugs that bothered me the most were spiders. Notice I said – up until recently.
It was the spring of 2006 and I had been here in Italy for two or three months. Since [...]

The other day one of the local business owners stopped me to show me some old documents he had since he knows how much they interest me.
Being the descendant of emigrants to America, he particularly wanted to show me an old book of poetry that included a poem about the Emigrants.
The [...]

Just like anything else, the health care system here in Italy has its good points and bad points. I, personally, have never had any problems with it. In fact, I received excellent care when my son was born.

Yes, the hospitals aren’t ultra-modern looking and prettily painted, but then again, I don’t have [...]

You would think that baby food would be pretty much the same wherever you go, or at least in countries with similar culinary traditions. So, I could understand baby food being different in China, but I was surprised to find so many differences between here and the US.
At the age of three months, the pediatrician [...]