mangia!

by Brooke
Haven't posted in a while and Gina's post on her What's For Dinner? blog about her sweet nonno inspired me to share this. I am not Italian...as much as I like to think there is a drop of Italian blood running through my veins somewhere, I'm fairly confident it's all German and French Canadian. But, I love Italian food and Italian people and their attitude about their food. Being friends with the Gianottis and Ciaccios from birth and later with the Patinellas and Segneris, I went to a lot of parties with a lot of food. Love = Plenty to Eat. And I love the command of "mangia! mangia!". Not, "Oh, here, I hope you enjoy this" but "Eat! Eat!" It can be startling with how direct it is, almost seem a bit coarse, but it is loving---like, "don't worry about being dainty or polite---we want to see you fed."
So, here is a picture of Eli that I felt spoke to that. Now, granted we are eating at the Pasta House, which might not be considered truly Italian. But there is spaghetti and there is sauce (I won't go so far as to call it "gravy") and he is enjoying it big time.
To represent the big-ness I love, I used giant chipboard letters for the title, Italian-flag colors in patterned paper by Frances Meyer, a big photo corner by Heidi Swapp (which covered the people in the background fairly nicely), a journaling card by Creative Imaginations, a Bazzil blossom and brad and some Italy stickers that I was given.
And since a post from me would not be complete without a little of my scrapbooking philosophy:
You do not need to fill a book with random shots of your kids eating. But, I like to do pages like this because I believe in scrapping more than birthdays, vacations and holidays and other "special occasions." And, such a page does not have to be about just what is happening in the picture: "Eli enjoying his spaghetti in a messy way" or the date "Summer lunch 2007" but can also be a memory triggered by the picture, or an overall feeling like the one I described above.
:)