Summer Holiday for the Madonna

Saturday was the big summer Italian holiday: Ferragosto. Known as Assumption Day to us, it is a day to celebrate the ascension of Mary's body into heaven. While most Italians seem to observe this most important of holidays, I don't think all have the Madonna on their minds as they join friends & family at the sea or in the mountains. It seems to signal the peak of the summer season in this culture.


Lucky for us, many of our neighbors either don't venture far from home or have taken their vacations earlier in the summer, providing us with quite a gang for an afternoon gathering.


Maddy seems happy to be back in the swing of things; she is finally adjusting to a normal routine after that long summer of traveling & visiting. (Pun fully intended.)


Gene prepares the polenta for the grill, not without a few suggestions from bystanders. Poor guy.


Think she let anyone get near her grill? Oh, and she isn't on fire! There is a roaring fire next to the grill to provide the embers for the grilling. No gas grill here.

For us, Ferragosto marks the end of our summer season; Mr. Duncan has already returned to work & actually headed to the airport Sunday morning for his first business-related trip. I still have about a week. See you at the pool?

(I like this post explaining Ferragosto, if you want more info. about the holiday. And, of course, there are certainly church parishes across the country that celebrate this holiday day with great fanfare, to include street processions -- just not here.)