So I lied.  I'm back with another self-indulgent report on my not-so-extraordinary but very pleasant weekend.

As Spring has supremely sprung and yesterday was Saturday, GP and I went north to visit one of the smaller lesser-know lakes along the Swiss border, Lake Orta.  It's a gorgeous little lake surrounded by mostly farmland and a sprinkling of villages.  We went to the village of San Giuglio which sits on a little peninsula that sticks out into the lake.  There is a paved walk all around the peninsula that took us well over an hour to walk.  The village itself is tiny and half rundown.  But it's still beautiful on a sunny day with lakeside squares and a public boat area for water taxis to the other villages and an island in the middle of the lake that is home to a Monastery.

I love warm weather Sundays here.  Sundays are "Family Lunch"days. Either they eat out in restaurants or meet at someones house, but rain or shine it is a day filled with wonderful smells and the clinking of silverware and glasses.  Like Sundays in the States are days to mow the lawn, here it a day to cook and eat.  I'm sitting out on my terrace, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and Italy is stuffing itself.  It feels so homey.  I miss Maine tremendously but sometimes I sit here and think that at home I'd still have the heat on, there wouldn't be a green leaf to be seen and I'd have weeks left before I could spend a day outside.  Hmm.      xxoo me