.......FAMILY LIFE.....Here is the kitchen where all the family's sumptuous meals got their start, courtesy of Romana's great skills as homemaker, cook and "chief bottle washer". In fact she NEVER allowed me to lift a finger to wash even one dish - Her kids say she won't let them wash a thing either (since their mother has her own tried and true methods of doing things, is very efficient ----a real "Get 'er Done" kind of gal !! Romana is a typical "Mamma Italiana" of her generation, constantly doing for everyone. And if there is anyone MORE opinionated than me - it would have to be Romana!! So we have more than being the same age in common!

At first glance, this seems like a normal kitchen like you'd find in any American home, but there are 2 "indispensable" items missing....the microwave oven and the dishwasher!! Romana insists they are not necessary and just annoyances that she got rid of long ago. I told her I can get along well without a dishwasher, (we rarely use ours either) but NOT a microwave!! And I don't see how she does either, with 4 kids (2 of them still living at home and in college) who must come home at all hours and need their food warmed up. But most Italian families seem to be much more tightly knit than many American families, and THIS Italian family is no exception. They always seem to eat together, (and at the TABLE of course!) even if they do other things separately. That's the way it should be, and I wish ALL American families followed their great example, but alas, often not even we do.

........Italians like to talk and relax (like everyone) after dinner and dessert - but definitely tend to linger at the table far longer than most Americans do. That always worked out well for me, because as always, I am the last one to finish eating, since I eat S O - S L O W ! That's why I am lifting my plate here to show I still haven't finished my salad! Salads in Italy, by the way, come WITH the main meal (not before it) unlike in the U.S. and are usually served on a PLATE, not in a bowl. Many Italians don't put much more (if anything) than lettuce in their salads, so one day I bought some cherry tomatoes to put in my salad here, and they were delicious!