Coming Full Circle
Is it possible to retire from a life you love?
Welcome to the twelfth and last monthly post of my culinary memoir:
Simply Divina: Becoming Italian One Recipe At A Time.
Thank you for subscribing. I appreciate the love.
Each month, I post a newsletter open to everyone. This year, for the paid subscribers, I am posting a memoir, then one on the Italian Pantry, and a post about my mentors.
When you become a paying subscriber, you have access to:
-All the archives
-Markets of Italy: 12 guides to 12 cities and their markets ( on Thatch app)
-My ebook: Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen.
Cook along with me and become a little more Italian every day!
It takes a village to dive deep into a new culture and make it home.
This last chapter of my memoir is not the end but the beginning of a new era. Spending the past year “downsizing” my work to move on to retirement has been strange. I cannot see myself not doing anything, but this year of my self-imposed sabbatical has been eye-opening. I have learned a lot about slowing down. When you have been self-employed almost your whole life, there have never been paid vacations or sick days.
I took several tours to Sicily this year in March, May, and November. Next year, I have one more trip in Tuscany for my friend’s culinary school clients. Then, I will need to evaluate my life. I don’t think you can retire from food in Italy, it is so much a part of life
The reason I say I am retiring is after my surgeries during Covid, I have not been feeling 100%. I am doing more testing to see why my leg still hurts after the surgery I had in 2020. I hope that I can do some physical therapy to feel better. It’s me time now.
I am already planning trips with Andrea to return to many of my favorite places, but as a visitor and not as a guide. When I am working, organizing, and translating, I am not on vacation and need to go back at a slower pace to enjoy these places. Also, I have a massive list of other places I want to visit. France, Turkey, Greece are on the top of the list. In Italy, seeing more of Sicily and also Sardegna.
My joy in creating my tours has always been discovering new places and creating the tours—meeting artisans, going to markets, and eating out. Now, I will continue for myself. I have been creating guides using the Thatch app. Here is my page with what I have already created. I have included the market guides for free for my paid subscribers.
I miss teaching cooking but will miss organizing and touring with clients the most. Now, it’s my turn to travel again and do more research, and I can share that here on Substack, sharing my favorite places to go, things to eat, and wonderful artisans. Sharing my Italy has been so much fun. I can’t wait to see what the future brings.
Looking forward, I have been assessing all my past jobs and examining the information I have gathered in the past 40 years. I have a huge culinary library of books, a collection of recipes from classes I have taken, and research I have gathered while traveling.
In this month’s paid post, I am sharing the Christmas recipes I created for a live class, collection of sweets, and my ebook, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen.
