Category Archives: Uncategorized

The other day my sister, Anne Marie, and I were reminiscing about growing up in Providence in our extended family household. Our home was a triple-decker right near Rhode Island Hospital on Borden Street. We lived on the first floor, our grandparents, great grandmother, unmarried aunts and uncles lived on the second floor, with theContinueContinue reading “A Rescue Mission Gone Awry”

My mother, Mary Bevelaqua Grossi, was a beautiful woman who wore her age well. The woman was unbelievable, her face was wrinkle free and her mind was sharp for her age. When she was 93 years old in 2007, she was admitted into Kent County Hospital for a wound that was not healing. Every timeContinueContinue reading “Aging Gracefully”

In October of 2007 Sal and I attended the 140th Birthday Party for the YWCA of Greater Rhode Island. The YW is the third oldest YW in the United States, having been founded in 1867. Did you know that the YWCA founded Traveler’s Aid, now known as Crossroads? Also, The International Institute, The Rape CrisisContinueContinue reading “My First Adventure into Eggplant Parmesan”

I was born on a Thursday in August a number of years ago. In fact, my father, mother and brother were all born on Thursdays. I always thought it must be somewhat significant we were all Thursday babies. I remember a superstitious rhyme which predicts the personality of a child. It goes something like “Thursday’sContinueContinue reading “One of Many Memorable Birthday’s”

August is here already, and summer is coming to an end. It’s been a busy few months and I am enjoying the last of the warm weather. Remember when you were a kid, you knew once August was here, soon after it was back to school. I miss those carefree days. I always spent mostContinueContinue reading “Summer Memories”

From the very beginning of my life with Sal, he has always had antique cars. In the 60’s and 70’s, it really wasn’t all that unusual to drive around in old cars, because you could buy an everyday car for under a hundred dollars. When I was in college, I bought a late model 50’sContinueContinue reading “Mini Car Tour”

The other day I started thinking about vegetable gardens and what role they have played in my life as well as my husband’s. Sal’s traditional gift for mother’s day was tomato plants. My mother-in-law, Anna Loffredo Lombardi, loved to work in the garden, both planting flowers and vegetables. When Sal was a teenager he wasContinueContinue reading “Fresh from the Garden”

I met my husband at a jazz club in Providence in 1976 while he was working as an undercover police officer, going after drug dealers. He certainly looked the part with his long hair, jeans, sneakers, and his famous t-shirt that said “Smoke Colombian.” He also drove an old car, a 1947 Packard. Who knewContinueContinue reading “Tasty Salad for the Summer”

This Summer is so unlike the summers of long ago. I remember a time when school was out and I was too young to have a job. It reminded me of my carefree youth and summers spent with my grandparents. During the early 1950’s, my maternal grandparents owned a summer home in Bristol, Rhode Island,ContinueContinue reading “Family Memories of Bristol Summers”

Polpette Vegetariano con Gorgonzola So, what do you do in a pandemic when you’re spending all your time at home? Besides the usual, reading, laundry, watching endless hours of television and checking Facebook, I invent recipes. My mind starts thinking of the possibilities, to figure out what the heck I can do what’s in myContinueContinue reading “A Vegetarian Pandemic Creation”