Gian Carlo Macchi wrote to me about Santa Lucia in Italy.  He also shared these photos from the Santa Lucia celebration in Arzago d’Adda, Lombardy (about 30 km from Bergamo and 30 km from Milan).  Santa Lucia (St. Lucy) was born in Syracuse, Sicily around 283 and died in 303 AD. The myth is that...

Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is home to about 1600 people who live in floating houses.  Most of them make their living through fishing. Here’s a photo of Fruit vendors in the floating village on Ha long Bay. Thanks to Purabi Khisa Tandra for sharing these photos! Mama Lisa

My parents recently shared this article from a newspaper showing 10 of my relatives who were in World War II.  My grandmother and grandfather held a welcome home party for them after the war.  My grandparents are the couple in the far right (front).  My grandfather didn’t go to the war because he worked...

Instead of burying your kid in the sand at the beach… how about in the grass in the backyard?!

Dedy Dowo sent me these lovely photos of children in Indonesia!              Many thanks to Dedy Dowo and all the children and their families for sharing these photos!

In the 1930’s, the US government did a series of interviews with former slaves. Project Gutenberg, just posted some of the interviews from Texas from 1936-1938. They’re called Slave Narratives.   Wes Brady I pulled out some excerpts that revolved around songs that some of the former slaves remembered singing.  Some were kids songs, some dancing songs,...

Today and tomorrow, November 1st and 2nd, are the Day of the Dead. It’s celebrated in Mexico. Family and friends get together to remember those who have died. People also make alters to the dead and visit the graves of their loved ones. We went to a Mexican restaurant this evening and saw an...

I learned this week that Indonesia has tens of thousands of islands.  According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Indonesia has 13,670 islands, over half of which are inhabited.  Wikipedia puts the number over 17,000.  The truth is that the number of islands continuously changes due to seismic activity in the area. Indonesia is the fourth most populous...

When the Cherry Blossoms bloom in Japan it’s traditional to go to the park to view the blossoms and have a picnic.  Cherry Blossom viewing is called called Hanami. Ayako Egawa generously shared her photos of this years cherry blossom viewing.  Ayako wrote, "We walked under the flow of cherry blossoms in the park.  It...

Or in this case… dry! It’s wet and slushy here in New York. But my daughter got off the school bus today and jumped right into the puddle at the bottom of our driveway!

The Phillies won the American baseball World Series on Wednesday. Yesterday they had a parade in Philadelphia to celebrate it. My friend Ray Lee sent me this photo below. He took it from his office building when the parade was passing by. I love the photo and wanted to post it here. ...