So, my brother Bernie says, “Hey Fran, wanna go pick berries?” And me being the ridiculously enthusiastic human I am said, “Yeah! That sounds fun! Then we could make jam!” (I do truly think my brain is still that of a 7-year-old…or a golden retriever.) Bernie lives in Ohio where doing things like going to a farm to pick your own black raspberries or blueberries on the honor…
As the child of Italian immigrants, I learned to cook, sew, garden, swear colorfully in Italian, forage for food, and keep pushing ahead. One thing I did not learn was to swim. My father said he learned to swim in the Ohio River in the 1920s, so he saw no need to spend money on swim lessons. My mom couldn’t swim a stroke, so she didn’t think they…
I’ve been working on my book for the past several weeks and came across a chapter that will help you all realize how lucky you are that we live in 2024 and not 1960. It can be summed up in one word, appliances. Take a trip down memory lane with me and relive the hell that was laundry day in the Tunno household… All my young life I…
Cyril and George were two English soldiers, probably two of many who hid in the rugged Apennine Mountains in central Italy during World War II. Uncle Richard (Riziero) told this story, along with several other chilling stories about the war he lived through as a young teenager. My father’s youngest brother passed away last November at 94, and with him went all his stories of love, bravery, fear,…
In the 1960s, baseball, football, soccer, basketball, track and any other sports were only for boys. Girls could jump rope, roller skate, twirl batons, play backyard badminton, and become cheerleaders. I was 9-years-old when my brother Bernie taught me to throw a football. I remember my mother yelling to me and my brother that catching the football near my chest was going to ruin my bosom. I could…
I just watched a four part series on Netflix called, You Are What You Eat. (Definitely click on that link and check out the trailer.) If we are what we eat, I should be turning into a Costco rotisserie chicken soon. Typing won’t be easy. But it made me realize I could easily live with fewer and maybe no Costco chickens, ground turkey, pork chops, pork roasts and…
In November of 2021 I wrote about Thankfulness and 12 Hard-earned Truths About Pie Crust. However, as Paul McCartney said, “But if this ever changin’ world in which we live in, makes you give in and cry, say live and let pie.” OK, maybe it was live and let die, but my take is kinder and explains why I must eat my words when it comes to pie…
If you are Italian, you know that burning the sauce is a tragedy and very possibly a sin. I know this isn’t on quite the same level as Saving Private Ryan, but it’s very serious. The ingredients alone are worth at least 50 bucks! This has only happened to me a couple of times in life. It usually happens when I’m really busy and doing 12 things at…
Pileated!!!! Martin yelled out, “Pileated!” with an enthusiasm I only muster for a hot slice of pizza oozing cheese, sauce, and pepperoni the way my mom’s pizza did. But Martin is not your average guy. And we were not at a pizza joint. We were tromping around in the cold, gray drizzle of the North Hills of Pittsburgh counting birds for the Christmas Bird Count, something I didn’t…
It’s been tough getting into the Christmas spirit after recently losing Uncle Richard and my nephew Marc last December, but I’ve busied myself with walks, spending more money than I should, hosting friends, stressing out over whether I’ve gotten enough gifts for people, and non-stop baking. The worst thing about getting older and losing the elder in the family is realizing that elder post is now filled by…