I'm pretty sure I've told you before about my love of all things weird and random... If not, I LOVE all things weird and random.
It's true, I will freak out for things other people might find hokey, dorky, or hideous. I just adore that kind of thing.
And at this point, I will introduce you to Strega Nona:
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| "Ciao, mi chiamo Strega Nona." |
My mom got Strega Nona (who is a utensil holder) for me...and I love her so much! (Both my mom and Strega Nona!)
I love Nona so much that I made a drawing of her:
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| I made my Nona a little chubbier, because grandmas should be chubby...especially this one. |
The reason I'm calling her Strega Nona is because of one of my favorite books when I was a little kid.
"Strega Nona" means 'Grandma witch'...but Nona is a nice witch. She has a pot that cooks spaghetti all by itself when she tells it too! That's why she had to be a little chubbier than the utensil holder... If you liked spaghetti that much, and had a pot that cooked said spaghetti all by itself, you'd be chubby too...I mean, think about all those delicious carbs!
Here's the story of Strega Nona, in case you missed it as a kid:
The best part is that I have another utensil holder that looks like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets...I am currently doing a little drawing of him to go with Nona. All this time that I have had the other utensil holder, I thought he was the Swedish Chef...now I know he's really Nona's grandson instead...he's a nice Italian man! I should be done with my sketch of Nona's grandson pretty soon...and then I'll share him with you too!
Awesome Sweetred .... you captured Strega Nona handsdown! How cheerful - it would appear that she already has a belly full of delicious spaghetti.
ReplyDeleteThank you! My version of Nona has definitely been dipping into the spaghetti pot a little often! :)
DeleteSweet Red who wrote the book? Your sketch is wonderful. I love the face on the table in the background too. You've come so far!
ReplyDeleteLynn, the author is Tomie de Paola. I caught that when I watched the attached video. Hugs, Pamikins
DeletePamikins got it right, Tomie de Paola is the author! Thanks for the compliments...I've got to do some more work on the face in the background (but thank you for noticing her!!!) I look at my work sometimes and give myself a little pat on the back (as humbly as possible!) because I can see improvement... I used to feel silly about calling it 'my work', but I realized: I did work REALLY HARD (and still do) to get to this point! Thank you again for those kind words! <3
DeleteSweet, I loved that story about the spaghetti pot. I remember studying that book when I took LIbrary Science in Collage.
ReplyDeleteYour painting is wonderful.
Thanks Boo! I have loved that story since I first read it as a little kid! And the artwork is right up my alley too...so cute! I would love to be a librarian (maybe someday, when I grow up! haha)...it must be wonderful to get to be surrounded by so much knowledge and so much wit and so many feelings compacted into one small building!
DeleteSweets, Strega Nona is fabulous, you did an amazing job getting all the details correct.. My grandma had this same adorable character in her kitchen too. Hers was exactly the same except she flew on a broom and she hung from the ceiling. We are Sicilian and it was tradition to have a kitchen witch to ward off all evil spirits. Thank you for the good memories. I can't wait to read Strega Nona. Hugs, Pamikins!
ReplyDeleteThanks my Pamikins! I have my Nona in the studio, so she can ward off ugly pages! Since she's not in the kitchen, if I make something that tastes bad, I can blame those bad guys for it! I love that this reminded you of your grandma...a lot of my good memories of my grandma are being in the kitchen with her or at the table eating...she always made enough food to feed a small army! She was in her 80s when she died (and I was only 11 or 12), but she made her feasts almost til the day she died, the way she would have wanted it. To this day, whenever I bake cookies, I think of the cookie jar in her house, which was HUGE and NEVER empty of homemade goodies!
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ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, the story is so cute. Now I understand why my grandma had her very own Kitchen Witch!!! Lynn, if you listen to the book, they tell you the name of the author is "Tomie de Paola". Thanks for posting this story Sweets!! Hugs, Pamikins
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting back to Lynn! You are so much faster than me...I'm always a day late... :) ...but you still love me, right? <3
DeleteYou captured Strega Nona to a T. I want a witch that would cook anything! I do love spaghetti, though so that would be perfect!😊
ReplyDeleteThanks my honey! I'm with you, I'd want a witch that would cook anything...If she made spaghetti, she would have to use different shaped noodles...I've got a weird issue with angel hair type pasta stemming from the tormenting of my sisters when I was very little...it's gross, so I won't go there...but we'll just tell my kitchen witch that she has to make penne or rigatoni noodles instead! :)
DeleteI loved this book too! And I adore this painting!!!!!!! OH just awesome!
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