To this point in our summer travels, we've spent time on the back porch of a country home of friends in northern Florida, drinking red wine and talking about planting herbs and tomatoes, and about canning pears from the trees across the garden from where we sat. Birds fluttered to feeders under a bent, leafy pecan tree just a few feet from our chairs. From there we traveled to the mountains of Tennessee where we hiked and learned with naturalist friends and ate bagels with tangy hummus and smooth Havarti from their vegetarian cuisine. In the evening, we sipped herbal teas, watched the sun set behind misty mountains, and learned about capturing insects in the forest. Now we're in a suburban home of mixed heritage, volatile Italians and stubborn Celts, plus a Welsh Corgi.
Family is all-important and the driving force of the social life.
Ninety-year old Italian grandma watches TV and plays with the dog, my sister and her husband are in and out of the house doing household jobs, and if the rest of the extended family isn't at the house, they're on the telephone. There's leftover mostaccioli and hot dogs on the counter from lunch. Each place has its own customs and scenery painted by the personalities of the people we visit. At each stop, we get ideas, feelings, experiences that enrich and enlarge our lives and our understanding of the society that surrounds us. Fantasies like Clovenstone are basically legends, tales of heroes and adventures.