My dear readers and followers old and new,

I can’t believe this — it’s been almost a month since I last posted! But this is what happens when you are having an amazing summer filled with many trips 🙂 Plus, when I return from those wonderful vacations full of new strength and energy, I try to channel it into writing more than blogging!

Anyway, I promised a little report with pictures and wisdom learned on vacation, and here it goes:

First, here is where I stayed, as I do every year:

This house in a small Alpine village in Italy belongs to my husband’s father, who, upon his death, divided it up between his three brothers (my husband is the youngest of the three). On the right is the mountain where it sits:  

Below are the three brothers in question:

And here are their three wives (I am in the brightest blue T-shirt):

This is where we sometimes cooked: (left)

This is where we walked (center):

This is where we slept:

And here is where we chopped wood — on the right — (okay so I didn’t, personally):

Finally, here is where we ate my mother-in-law’s polenta (below):

The small Alpine village is my favorite place on Earth. The water in the Alps is fresher and cooler than anywhere I know.

(And yes, I can swim in it, too, even though it is so freezing when you enter it, it burns your skin. And yes, my seven-year-old daughter entered the mountain river freely this year — no coaxing necessary!)

The strawberries that hide under the leaves are the sweetest.

And though I didn’t climb the highest peak this year, the mountains always find a way to challenge and inspire me.

When I was here last summer, I did much soul-searching, reaching for patience and peace. This year — and this may sound too cocky — I felt like all was already in place, no major new lessons required. Living is just like walking up the mountain, the winding journey is beautiful and scenic, but it never goes in a straight line, and you never quite know behind which bend hides the next destination. Catching happiness is as difficult as asking a butterfly to sit still on a flower for a photo.

Still, I say it’s worth a shot.