Indelible.

Indelible … that which cannot be eliminated, forgotten or changed.

Here we are, a bit over halfway through our “Year of Meat,” or “Charcutepalooza.” Less half is left in a challenge that has already left an indelible imprint on my life.

The learning curve has been steep in spots. The results have been sometimes sketchy, sometimes awful, occasionally stunning and always fun. Take this month’s challenge, for example. Never in a million years would I have ever believed that I could make Mortadella and that it would turn into something we could eat.

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Yes, We are Your Family! – part 3

This is my story …

At Christmastime in 2006, Joe mentioned he hadn’t gotten an email from Italy. Someone suggested we check right that very minute and there was that email saying, “Yes, we are your family!” That someone was me.

You see, Joe is my father-in-law – Steve’s dad; a man I have loved and respected for nearly 30 years. I’d known for a long time about his desire to find his family and the amazing connection he feels for everyone who shares his blood or his name. That’s kind of a foreign concept for me, for while I have always been interested in family history, I don’t collect cousins easily. I’ve found a couple that I really like, but mostly I try to get rid of my family!! I’ve always said, just because you’re related doesn’t mean you have to like someone! Joe is completely opposite.

Whether we were invited or we crashed their plans, we ended up planning our trip to Italy with Steve’s parents.  As the weeks got closer,

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Yes, We are Your Family – part 2

This is Fulvio’s story…

After a few false starts and lost mail, Joe learned real story of how the letter arrived in his family’s hand. Joe had been close in knowing the village’s name — he thought Agordo, but it was Agordino. Very close, but not exact. Agordo is actually a bit bigger than Agordino. A woman named Marina had received the letter and, while not related, knew the family in Agordino. She raced over and burst in the door, exclaiming, “You have family in America!”

Fulvio, his wife Luisella and Fulvio’s mother, Maria live in the house that Maria’s grandfather had built well over 100 years ago. They were sure they had met all the family, though there were not many, that existed. They insisted that Marina was mistaken — maybe even a bit crazy!

Maria was in the garden with her granddaughter, Barbara and heard the commotion. Marina showed the letter to Maria and Barbara and to everyone’s surprise, Maria said “That is my father!”, pointing to Joe’s great-uncle in the picture. Everyone rushed inside and compared the picture to one of her father on the wall and the connection was made! The dates Joe included in the letter matched up, and an email was sent! An historic day for both families!

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Yes, We are Your Family! – part 1

This is Joe’s Story…

Joe always thought he had family in Italy. Real cousins, not just random genes floating around in some stranger‘s system. His father was from Italy, as were all of his grandparents. So, it stands to reason that there should be some people around that were related, but where?

Growing up, Joe had heard of a small village called Agordo. Nestled at the bottom of the Dolomites, Agordo is in the Belluno region on the eastern side of Italy. He had heard that his grandfather, Federico, was from this village. Joe had traveled to Italy before, but had not been as close to this area as he was in the fall of 2006. Joe and his wife were traveling alone through Italy and were staying in Venice. They’d been traveling by train all along, so Joe stopped a taxi driver to ask if he knew of Agordo.

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