Our Place is a very very fine place

And to round out (or perhaps, rather, to explain) our entitlement to the familiar feeling we so enjoy at Osteria del Trivio, I have a Wikipedia article to thank.

In October 2013, in an interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, Graham Nash elaborated on the domestic origins of his song “Our House”:

Well, it’s an ordinary moment. What happened is that Joni [Mitchell] and I – I don’t know whether you know anything about Los Angeles, but on Ventura Boulevard in the Valley, there’s a very famous deli called Art’s Deli. And we’d been to breakfast there. We’re going to get into Joan’s car, and we pass an antique store. And we’re looking in the window, and she saw a very beautiful vase that she wanted to buy … I persuaded her to buy this vase. It wasn’t very expensive, and we took it home. It was a very grey, kind of sleety, drizzly L.A. morning. And we got to the house in Laurel Canyon, and I said – got through the front door and I said, you know what? I’ll light a fire. Why don’t you put some flowers in that vase that you just bought? Well, she was in the garden getting flowers. That meant she was not at her piano, but I was … And an hour later ‘Our House’ was born, out of an incredibly ordinary moment that many, many people have experienced.

In the same interview, Nash was asked about the harmonies in the song: “It’s me and David [Crosby] and Stephen [Stills] doing our best. That’s all we ever do. You know, we’re lucky enough to be able to do, you know, anything that we want to do, musically. And, you know, these two guys are incredible musicians. Crosby is one of the most unique musicians I know, and Stephen Stills has got this blues-based, South American kind of feeling to his music. And I’m this, you know, Henry VIII guy from England …

Lunch on an Umbrian Diet

Off in the Corner

Where’s the fine art and where’s the trash?
“Heart of a photo’s in the framing?” I ask.

Wall Art: A Testament

What’s in a name?

Shall I compare thee to a celestial sphere?
Thou art more lovely and more intemperate
When you shop. Rough winds could not stop
You from looking at what Nadir held so dear.
Soon, I fear, to be at the low end of defeat.

Teach Your Children Well

Don’t let the extra cup fool you. An Italian acolyte is readying up his first caffè.

A Gallant Stand

Today we find a door (or a gate) closed and a sign that, it turns out, is translated “surrenders assets, rent, etc…” which is used like this: Ora invece, troviamo una porta (od una saracinesca) chiusa ed un cartello con la scritta: cedesi attività, affittasi, ecc…. [From a new Italian app, one that puts a phrase in context.]

A Grown Man Relaxing on His Own

A Little Boy with His Toy Truck