30 Rock Live

If you're in the States, don't forget that 30 Rock is live tonight (here's the "live episode page."We love Tina Fey's Liz Lemon. First up, those of us in the East. And yes, this was a bit of an excuse to show this cute Cig Harvey photograph via Joanna at A Cup of Jo. Joanna & lil Toby have colds & are under-the-weather. Send them some purrs & bonjours.

ciao-cheeky-meow/GG's editor

Chile - Los 33

Felicitaciones a los mineros chilenos!

Our Spanish is almost non-existent but GG & her editor congratulate the Chilean miners, their families, & all those who participated in the extraordinary rescue effort. Soon, very soon, let us discuss why this dangerous mine was allowed to operate. (A discussion worth having around the world.)

ciao-meow/GG Central

(seagulls by D Sharon Pruitt/Pink Sherbet Photography/Creative Commons set)

Audrey Hepburn's Ballerinas Auction

Audrey Hepburn's eldest son, Sean Ferrer wrote last month that he & his brother Luca Dotti have decided to auction off one of the last pairs of his mother's ballerinas to benefit the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund & UNICEF. Please visit the Foundation website & see how you can help. Wouldn't Audrey do that for your children? (You bet!)

ciao-pirouette-meow/GG Central

(Audrey Hepburn, 1955, Norman Parkinson Archive, via Liverpool Museums)

Made4Aid Returns - Now on Etsy

Hoorah. Many of GG Central's favorite gifts given last year for the holidays & birthdays were from the good folks at Made4Aid in Britain. Instead of auctions (which we enjoyed), you can just go directly to Made4Aid's Etsy shop & have a look. There will be more additions in the next few weeks. Also, if you would like to donate anything, please get in touch with Made4Aid at made4aid [!at] yahoo.co.uk. They are super-friendly & talented people.

GG's editor uses her French market bag (made in England) every single week. Our friend Maria Caterina wears her Neapolitan skinny scarf proudly (& will again if it ever cools off, oh please). Our friends in Darfur use this lovely hand-embroidered tablecloth for their tea table in the Women's Cooperative. Etc. More to come, we just wanted you to know. There's more but Giulia has begun howl-meowling for her supper. Good grief, what a racket!

ciao-cheerio-meow/GG Central

(Smile card image via Made4Aid)

TruthBeauty at The Phillips Collection

Giulia is on the warpath again. She wants her editor to take her to this exhibit. Plans seem to be underway to revive the idea of a GG salon at The Phillips Collection café. Sigh. GG's editor is very much under-the-weather & keeping mum, not promising a thing. Meanwhile, if you are in or will be in Washington, DC we highly recommend a trip to the Phillips. If you would like to donate a small amount (via text) to repair damage from the recent fire, please click here for information.

ciao-say-cheese-meow/GG Central

TruthBeauty: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art, 1845-1945/October 9, 2010–January 9, 2011 Like impressionism, which challenged the traditions of painting, pictorialism expanded the possibilities of photography beyond the literal description of a subject. Pictorialist photographers produced some of the most spectacular photographs in the history of the medium and influenced subsequent developments in modernist photography. Comprising over 120 photographs, this exhibition retraces pictorialism’s beginnings with the experiments of Hill and Adamson, and Julia Margaret Cameron; through its mastery by Alfred Stieglitz, Gertrude Kasebier, and Alvin Langdon Coburn; to its lasting legacy in early works by Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham. Organized by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, and Vancouver Art Gallery. (photograph via audrey hepburn complex)

Strawberry Fields Forever

Visit Imagine Peace & send your best wishes in honor of John's 70th birthday. Also, remember to play The Beatles (always!) & dance wildly like Giulia. (It helps.)   
ciao-peace-meow/GG & her editor

Riding Up Solsbury Hill - Week's End

GG just hopped up to look at the television. She heard a song advertising a film. We don't know about the film, but it was great to hear the song. Since we really can't say much about other matters at the moment, you might as well have a little fun. Here's a link to get you started on the archaeology & history of Little Solsbury Hill & the Cotswolds. Giulia wants to ride a bovine, but you can watch Peter Gabriel riding a bicycle while singing a song. In a circle. With a big audience. What would we do without English eccentrics? (And Scottish, Welsh, & Irish eccentrics, too.) Also, in case you didn't know: Peter is a humanitarian of the first order. (image, here)

ciao-crikey-meow/GG Central

Halloween Pop Quiz

It's that time of year. To get into the spirit, start with a quiz from Martha Stewart's Halloween Central. Do You Know America's Most Haunted Sites and Frights? GG's editor's score: 6 of 7 & the following: Are you sure you haven't been alive since 1775? You're practically an expert on the creepiest and most mysterious parts of America's past. Congratulations!

We just had a birthday at GG Central but it was definitely not our 235th birthday. The nerve!

ciao-meow/GGCM

(Little pumpkin by D. Sharon Pruitt/Pink Sherbet Photography, Creative Commons flickr set)

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Did you know that the first words recorded by Thomas Alva Edison were "Mary had a little lamb?" You did? Well, we salute you because we did not. Click here to listen.

For a fun mini-dance break on a Tuesday, we give you Stevie Ray Vaughn playing his version of the nursery rhyme. GG runs to the iPod (with mini-speaker) or laptop every time she hears favorite songs. She really loves this one.

ciao-meow/GG's playlist creator

FEED Trick-or-Treat Bag

FEED Trick-or-Treat Bag to benefit UNICEF

It's never too soon to think about Hallowe'en. Giulia is dressing up as a FEED Bag this year. OK, kidding. But she'll be taking a turn in the neighborhood in one. Treat yourself to your very own Trick-or-Treat bag & help UNICEF. (photograph via FEED Projects Facebook page)

For 60 years, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has helped children in need worldwide. UNICEF works in over 150 countries to reduce child mortality through health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.

HSN honors Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’s 60th anniversary with the FEED Trick-or-Treat Bag, created by FEED Projects. A portion* of every HSN-exclusive bag purchased will help UNICEF provide one child in the developing world with an entire year's worth of vital micro-nutrient supplements.

So leave the pillowcases at home and help kids while collecting goodies with the FEED Trick-or-Treat Bag to benefit UNICEF.

ciao-meow/GG Hallowe'en Central

Daring to Design - Week's End

You don't have to be designer, nope. Visit Shabby Apple's website & learn all about it. GG's editor loves Shabby Apple & thinks that you ought to consider some creative activity this weekend. The contest opened on August 15 & closes October 15. It's really, really not too late. You can find out more on their blog An Apple a Day.

As loyal readers know, Giulia does not need a dress--she has the perfect outfit every single day. She's incredibly chic. It's also very chic to have good manners & care about others. That's why we are pleased by the following from Shabby Apple Dresses website:

We at Shabby Apple Dresses love to help women dress but are also commited to helping women live as well. Thus we are supporting the fight against global poverty by partnering with Unitus-a non-profit organization that accelerates access to life-changing financial services for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Shabby Apple donates 5% of its net sales to support work in India (where Shabby Apple Dresses has sourced many of its dresses and the textiles used to manufacture its dresses). In addition, each Shabby Apple Dresses customer has the opportunity to donate an extra five dollars to Unitus every time she buys a dress. Shabby Apple Dresses and Unitus are involved with 10 of India's most promising microfinance organizations that provide financial services to more than 1.6 million hard-working women and their families.

Every $100 donation from Shabby Apple Dresses provides at least 20 women with access to financial services - and the chance to live a life without poverty.

Each new Shabby Apple Dresses dress features a unique hang tag with a micro-credit success story.

Now, isn't that fabulous? Go forth & design!

ciao-chic-meow/GG Central

(Christina Hendricks of Mad Men via AMC; Shabby Apple dresses collage)

GG Chic - The Catwalk Cats

Ooh la la. It's raining, as people say, cats & dogs. We love this adorable French cat with beret by Claire Owen. It reminded us of genius Grace Coddington's wonderful The Catwalk Cats. Here's a link to a Steidl Books illustration slideshow from the 2007 book. (No, we don't own it but someday...Giulia needs to earn some pocket money. We'll let you know how that turns out. Ahem. She's asleep right now, of course. Rainy day deep sleep.) We're also reminded of a favorite artist who channels cats, Jamie Shelman. Have you visited her Small Expectations blog? No? Immediately go there, well, here.

ciao-damp-meow/GG's editor

(French cat by Clare Owen via Audrey Hepburn Complex)

Flora's Feast - Autumnal Edition

"The hollyhock his standard high/ Bears proudly to the autumn sky" & "There still in triumph, stiff with gold/ The rich chrysanthemums unfold." & "That, reddening on the Triton's spear/ Foretells the waning of the year."(From FLORA'S FEAST, A MASQUE OF FLOWERS, written and drawn by Walter Crane, 1899, via LIFE archives)

ciao-meow/GG's floral coordinator

Cat Macros

While researching photographs entirely unrelated to cats, we came across the origin story of lolcats. Or at least the the forerunner. According to Wikipedia (& what better source of knowledge exists in the universe, really?):

Cat macros have existed since at least the 1870s, when British portrait photographer Harry Pointer created a carte de visite series featuring felines posed in various situations, to which he added amusing text intended to further enhance their appeal.

ciao-cheerio-meow/GG Central

(1905 cat postcard by Harry Whittier Frees; Harry Pointer cat macro, 1870s)

Sunday Squirrel

GG & her editor love this adorable squirrel photo. Here are some squirrel facts via National Geographic. It's a cooler (thank goodness) September Sunday here in Washington, DC. See you next week. For Australian & other friends who are already into Monday, don't forget to check our links to DPDO, Enough Project, & UNICEF. Thanks!

(My Morning Bagel by Jessie Millan on flickr, via animalphoto)

Giulia - The Harmless, Necessary Cat - Week's End

Giulia & her editor wish everyone a lovely first autumn weekend. The Harvest moon is still very large & beautiful. We hope you've seen it (this is it until 2029). We've been hanging upside down & backwards on a bed to look through a large window. It's very exciting. Less exciting, by far, is the hunt for the masses of brown marmorated stink bugs (see here) marching into our apartment. We add that this is futile, this effort of theirs. We have an arsenal of tissues at hand & a great cat huntress on alert. (When she's not hanging upside down like a bat looking at the moon.)

Back to the sky, the following is via SPACE.com: Jupiter, Uranus and the nearly full Harvest Moon met in a rare cosmic lineup late yesterday (Sept. 22), just two days after Jupiter made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 50 years. Wednesday night's sky show also occurred on the equinox, marking the official start of the fall season in Earth's Northern Hemisphere, and spring in the south. If you missed the sky show, don't despair. Jupiter will continue to be a bright skywatching target for several weeks, according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com.

There are so many photographs of the moon to see elsewhere, but where else can you see GG? (Well, on her editor's blog, bricolage.) This is GG doing a little sky-watching. Until next week,

ciao-heavenly-meow/GG Central

From Kids to Kids

GG & her editor would be so very happy to hear from readers who decide to participate in this program. Hone your correspondence skills by writing to our friends! ciao-meow on the first day of autumn/GG Central

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The Darfur Schools Program has seen tremendous support from schools across the U.S. Students ranging from kindergarten through college have held successful fundraisers and community awareness events. No matter how big or small, their goal is the same: to bring much-needed relief to the people of Darfur.

This fall, DPDO is initiating From Kids to Kids, an informal pen-pal project. Students in the U.S. can create artwork, take photos, and write notes that will be delivered to a school in Darfur. These messages of hope and peace will brighten classrooms in Darfur and spirits of Darfuri students. DPDO encourages student supporters in the US to send correspondence to:

Darfur Peace & Development Organization

“From Kids to Kids”

P.O. Box 66475
Washington, DC 20035-6475

Correspondence packages will be delivered to a Darfur School of Peace. When possible, photos and drawings from that classroom will be sent back to DPDO.

Contact katherine@darfurpeace.org with any questions. Please notify DPDO before sending any boxes heavier than 48 ounces (3 lbs).

(Photographs: Girls sitting in classroom at Ain Siro School- Sept. 2009; Decorated box sent by California students/DPDO/all rights reserved)

Annabelle in Autumn

Autumn officially arrives tonight (at GG Central) at 11:09 Eastern Daylight Time. Herewith, a fun autumnal equinox article (with a pop quiz) from the CS Monitor. GG & her editor would feel much better if the weather would cooperate & knock it off. 90 degrees is not autumnal. Still, we know many people have entered the zone of cooler weather & might be looking for a good recipe. Try Nigella's Supper Onion Pie (for Tough Times)...we posted about it in 2008 before we understood how to regulate font sizes, etc. But follow the links to Nami-Nami food blog & Pille will guide you to a successful outcome (& some variations).

ciao-meow/GG Central

(Annabelle in Vermont--isn't she cute? By Paul Moody via flickr)

Strasbourg Swan

Have a lovely evening. We thought our readers might like to see a pretty photograph of Strasbourg, where GG's editor went to school. (by somebody2131 via deviantArt)

Buy a Book, Help an Animal

It's a deal. We hang our head in shame for using an lolcat, but at least he/she looks like Giulia. This cat looks like it needs a good book to dig its claws into. The following is via our favorite bookstore's website. GG is low energy these days. Giulia would like to add that WARL cats are as nice & cute as can be...it's not all about the dogs. Don't forget about Thursday evening's fall fashion event to benefit the Washington Human Society (& Hope for Henry, here).

ciao-floopy-meow/GG's town crier

*************
Politics & Prose is delighted to support the local community with Partnership Fridays by joining with area businesses, government agencies and nonprofits, and the schools or literacy projects they support. On September 24, the Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL) is holding its Partnership Friday on September 24. As part of their event, the League will be hosting a "puppy playpen" in front of the store from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Take this opportunity to talk with WARL staff and learn about adopting a pet. For more information about WARL, call 202-726-2556 or visit their website.

National Book Festival 2010

It's that time of year again--the National Book Festival is Saturday, 25 September 2010. Giulia is pitching a hissy again because...she can. And because there is no way she's going this year & she has been told early & often. (She just voted for her favorite author, though, here.)

We are very disappointed in the mysterious disappearing poetry section of the festival. Read here for poet Bernadette Geyer's analysis. We agree heartily & wonder what poets are going to do about it? Huh? Put up your dukes & fight, people. (Not literally.) 2010 festival poster artist, Peter Ferguson

ciao-cheesed-off-meow/GG's literary editor

Autumn Approaches - Week's End

It's not here yet, but on the way - next week. We hope to begin posting more about Darfur Peace & Development Organization's latest activities & the basket collective very soon. Have a wonderful weekend. (photograph via bohemea tumblr)

ciao-meow/GG Central

Paris Breakfasts in Washington, DC

Now hear this: Ahem. GG has a sweet tip for you. If you will be in Washington, DC tomorrow, you have until 4pm (tomorrow, 17 Sept. 2010) to call & RSVP to attend the opening reception (described below). If you will be there, send us an email or tweet (juliethecat). We'd love to meet you. If you can't go, the exhibit runs through 1 Nov. 2010.

ciao-meow/GG's events coordinator (running late!)

PS: Giulia doesn't know about this or she would hop into her bag & demand to attend. We would have asked, but we have a feeling that when in America, zee French are not too cool about cats at a party. We could be wrong (often are).

New York City–based watercolor artist Carol Gillott travels to Paris three or four times a year to soak up inspiration and shoot thousands of photos to paint from.

Her Alliance Française exhibit, Paris Façades, features her charming paintings of Parisien boulangeries and patisseries.

For the artist, the heart and soul of Paris is revealed at street level by its shop façades where “There's just as much glamour and mystery in the quotidien boulangerie or fruitier as the grand Michelin restaurant"

It is this bright contrast that makes Paris the perfect subject for Carol Gillot and her delightful watercolors of everyday Parisian scenes, from les boulangeries to les lèche-vitrines.

Visit carolgillott.com & www.parisbreakfast.com

Opening reception is free, but reservations are required. Call 202-234-7911 x31 for reservations.

Reservations will be accepted until 4pm the day of the event. The exhibit runs through 1 November 2010.

(via Alliance Française website & Paris Sunset via places I wish I were tumblr)

GG Reads Persephone Books

Busted. She listens to books read aloud to her. We recently received the lovely Persephone Catalogue, the Persephone Biannually, & a lovely bookmark. What more do you want? Some books? Yes, us too. We only have one so far. But go here, & read about the publishers, the Bloomsbury bookstore, & how to sign up for snail mail of your very own. Also, the really sweet Persephone staff writes a blog that we follow. (We were pleased to see their post about neighborhood book shops--they included the one we frequent in Washington, DC.) GG wants to go to London & hang out there. (What does she care about rain? She doesn't go outside unless in her travel bag.)

Persephone is devoted to publishing neglected literature written by women; the books are lovingly designed with such an eye to detail that you might forget to read it. (Don't do that!) Here is a beautifully photographed & written post by our pal in San Francisco, Tina Tarnoff of Thought Patterns. (While you're there, please check out Tina's beautiful art & jewellry. Some of which we do own & wear proudly.)

ciao-cheerio-meow/GG's literary editor

(Persephone book images via Thought Patterns)

GG Garden Reminder - Flower Bulbs

Though the illustrations & exhortation below are from the archives, we're running it a month early. There are sales everywhere online & in stores on bulbs. GG is sorry that her editor did not buy more bulbs last year (before they ran out...see? Happened to us, too). Giulia likes to lounge in front of floral displays, so as to set off her expensive highlighted fur to best advantage. Oh, & on another note, The Harmless, Necessary Cat is starring on her editor's blog, bricolage, right now. ciao-meow

***************
This is a reminder to lay in some bulbs--soon. We don't have a garden either (anymore) but are fairly adept at 'persuading the paperwhite.' Actually paperwhites are easy & in stores now. However, if you buy some bulbs on the weekend, you can force those as well. (We prefer the word persuade.) Follow-up links & reminders to articles forthcoming but you have to buy the bulbs really, really soon. Or you'll be green with envy over all those displays of tulips & other bulbs from the holidays into next spring. We really don't want to hear complaining! (And while you're at it, what do you mean you don't have a pumpkin yet? OK. Well, neither do we...)

ciao-meow/GG's gardener & pumpkin carver

(vintage illustrations via Free Vintage Flowers & Seed Packets/GG collage)

La Vendange at French-Word-A-Day

Wanna go to "grape camp"? No? Yes, you do. Because we said so, that's why.

Harvesting grapes is really, really hard, let GG's editor tell you. But it can be fun, too. Kristin Espinasse's post about la vendange at her family's vineyard is most amusing & has lots of vocabulary. (ah ouais, a big red wine vineyard--the harvest began today. Their fourth. Congratulations!)

Our piddly posting continues as we remain under-the-weather. Now, go go go to France, if you please, & learn all about grenache grapes & so much more. (There are some cute beer-drinking guys in the fields.) Kristin has taken beautiful photographs that you can ogle over there. (Lovely red maple photograph by Jen Gotch)

ciao-meow/GG's sommelier

Sunday Style - Become Fashionably Enlightened

Here's your passport to style if you live in the Washington area Thursday, 23 September 2010. GG's editor would love to see you there. (YSL blue coat, Paul Schutzer for LIFE, via myvintagevogue)

ciao-charmed-meow/GG's personal stylist

The Girl Effect, Redux - Week's End

Humor us. We apologize in advance that this lacks cupcakes, cute babies, fabulous dinner party plans, what-to-buy, gratuitous exclamation points, pink objects, & baby animals. (The Girl Effect website) [Domino Cascade photograph]

ciao-meow/GG Central

Blue & Yellow & Orange

There is no blue without yellow and without orange.--Van Gogh

GG's editor used this gorgeous photograph, here, this summer. Oh for a working camera, sigh. Enjoy!

ciao-cheery-meow/GG Central

From the photographer Robin Scott: We came across this colourful grandly named little gem while getting lost in Kinsale (sometimes it's better not to have a GPS). Looks like the window box might have been fitted after a night out. In a street of similar buildings, the one next door is named The Giant's Cottage. The giant would need to bend to get in the door.-- Robin Scott (via here)

Fireflies

Fairy lights aren't just for the holidays. GG & her editor love Tim Walker's fashion photography. You can read a little more, here. These remind us of fireflies that light up a pine tree near our house.

Have a lovely, glowing evening tonight - wherever you are.

ciao-sparkly-meow/GG Central

Stop Violence Against a Woman - Urgent

No! No! No! Information that might help Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, scheduled for death by stoning in Iran. This could happen as early as Friday. (This post's links are not graphic.)

Please use care when visiting sites if you do a search; some are right-wing cesspools. If that's your thing, we feel sorry for you & hope you see the error of your unkind ways & soon. We will add more sites as we examine them. Meanwhile, these are the only stones acceptable in our home this evening.

Thank you.

(heart stones photograph D Sharon Pruitt; Some rights reserved by Pink Sherbet Photography)

GG's La Rentreé Delay

Dearest Friends,

Upon looking at last year's entry on la rentreé, we realized that this state of affairs is not new. GG's editor is quite busy with an investigation as to why she is under-the-weather & how to come out from under it. Giulia, as we all know, hides her secret opposable thumbs & is of no help. She maintains that she is a publisher-muse, not a suffering writer. What cat suffers willingly? Or does anything uncomfortable?

Therefore, for the next week or so, we will run some popular posts from the archives that have been tweaked somewhat for timeliness, better photographs, & so forth. GG's editor's bricolage blog is up & running but at half-speed. We welcome your input on either blog. (You can make comments on GG on Facebook). There are excellent links on both pages. It's been a rather difficult summer here in Washington, DC & so we beg your indulgence.

ciao-meow/GG's editor

[This lovely photograph by thexmunichxromance reminds us of university days in Strasbourg, France. Via deviantArt]

GG Central - Summer Break

GG* is taking a much-needed break for the remainder of August. While we are away, please check out the links on this page, particularly Darfur Peace & Development Organization, Ante Up for Africa, Washington Animal Rescue League, Raise Hope for Congo, Enough Project, UNICEF, & the World Food Programme.

Please remember that Haiti remains in desperate need. Here is the link to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

As we write this, millions of Pakistanis--including children--are suffering terribly from the recent & continuing floods. Here is a list of American & international organizations collecting funds for aid.

For fun, comic relief, & also to help our dear animal friends visit Earl, Mooch, Chickpea & other great dudes at Mutts Comics website. (Yesh!) GG's editor would be delighted to hear from people via her bricolage blog.

ciao-meow/GG Central

*Giulia's editor is taking the break. Giulia is taking life with her usual equanimity (+ occasional bouts of wild celebration to prevent tedium).

Update - GG will return after Labor Day.

[photograph at the Lido di Ostia by Giampaolo Macorig via flickr details set]

GG's Circus in Three Rings

Circus-y links from GG's harried editor. Pignouf's lovely Vintage Poster site (in French but you'll understand, trust us). Also Vintage Circus tumblr, is here. An intriguing post at The Clever Pup (August 2009) about Carnivàle Lune Bleue. Highly recommended reading. A new film starring Jane Birkin & Sergio Castellito, Around a Small Moutain...opening soon near you. Finally, for children of all ages, read about ancient Roman leisure activities on the BBC - Primary History page.

ciao-meow/The Ringmistress

[circus images in Freiburg by Thomas Totz; Solveig Dommartin in Wings of Desire, via tumblr]

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

GG & her editor extend warmest best wishes, a lei, & a virtual slice o'cake to President Obama. We'd say "have a perfectly wonderful day" but we cannot work miracles, sir. GG hopes you have your favorite meal tonight (in Chicago), though.

ciao-aloha-meow/GG Central

From today's Writer's Almanac: Today is President Barack Obama's (books by this author) 49th birthday. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on this day in 1961, despite whatever you've heard of the contrary. He's the author of the New York Times best-selling books Dreams from My Father (1995) and The Audacity of Hope (2006).

[GG photo collage from many sources who are not very nice about baby or grown-up President Obama. (Shame on you!) So we'll attribute the family photos to "the Googley-tubes"]

Pasqualina & Pinta - Italian Goat Goodness

Do you know adorable Pasqualina & Pinta? Do you know what 'capra' & 'capretta' mean? No & no? Well, you should & you can find out on Goat Berries. This is Michelle Fabio's fairly new venture. Goat-y goodness, cute kids, & general merriment. It's a lot of fun to visit both Goat Berries & Michelle's deservedly widely-read & beloved Bleeding Espresso. (She's a fellow Pennsylvanian--even if we no longer live there, we're still Pennsylvanians. Yep.)

There's more to the menagerie than goats, though. Check in on pups Luna & Stella; Giordano, a handsome ginger tabby (GG swoons--an Italian gatto); & two double-yolk producing hens & a rooster. (In the time it's taken to type this entry, there are probably more resident animals.) Michelle & her husband P. are two busy people with their ever-expanding realm in Badolato, Calabria. GG's editor is trying to think up some sort of financial scheme to take herself & GG to southern Italy in autumn 2011. We would love to see this empire up close & personal.

Don't forget to check out Michelle's Bleeding Espresso recipe archives. Always an inspiration when you just can't think of what you want. It's a go-to for GG's editor.

ciao-meow/GG Central

[photographs by Michelle Fabio/Goat Berries/Bleeding Espresso/all rights reserved]

Black-Eyed Susan

How can it be August already? It's been so hot that GG & her editor (who has neither brown, nor black eyes, by the way) have spent much too much time inside. That's how. Anyway, to get August going, here's a pretty illustration of an old song* (& play) & a little history of Maryland's state flower. We're off to our friend Maria Caterina di Perugia's on Monday--she has heaps of these for the asking. (We will!)

ciao-meow/The Management

*there are many versions & it would seem that every country in Europe & North America claims the song. We'll not take sides, seeing as we don't know the answer. But can't we just share? No. Oh, dear.

[illustration by Walter Crane via LIFE archives; brown-eyed susan photograph by Shelby Raymond]