Italian Citizenship

I think my mom would be very proud that my daughter and I have started the ball rolling to pursue our Italian citizenship. By extension, that also means European Union citizenship. I was inspired by friends and family who have pursued this themselves. I probably should have started the process long ago. I did have a couple of false starts with the Italian Consulate in San Francisco, which wasn’t very communicative. The momentum is here now as I’ve signed a contract with a reputable organization that can make this dream come true. Many people don’t know that I grew up in Italy and Spain in part, even though I was born here in California, as my father was. My mom was from Italy herself, and my first language was Italian when I was growing up in Sardinia, where my little brother was born. I’ve owned property in Italy for years now in Calabria, where most of my family continues to live. I do plan to continue living in my home in Vallejo indefinitely (the one that I’m waiting to move back in after it’s renovated). Backward American politics certainly has something to do with this decision, but there are several pragmatic reasons also. My mother had acquired dual citizenship herself long before she died.

Real Home and Garden Updates

My contractor had suggested leveling this cemented corner area and also creating defensive space where this old rose bush is on my house under renovation (after the fire). I reluctantly said yes to the cement since I knew it would make the house safer, and that is my number one criteria for all decisions after the trauma of what I lost, of course. Today I was surprised, after seeing the rose bush had been cut back to almost nothing by someone who was probably doing construction around that area, that it bounced back with plenty of buds. Even more good news was that recently the contractor clarified that he had no intention of killing the rosebush, but simply moving it to a different location, so to the front yard I believe it will go!

I had been wondering if the clippings I got from Monique were still alive. Well, these gorgeous, long-stem pink flowers that I forgot the name of are back, so I got my answer. These bring me such joy!

I’m so pleased that the cover to my beloved hot tub gazebo is now back in the backyard and not on my front yard where it had been sitting for a few weeks even after the chain fence had been removed. This kind of progress is heartening!

I had to insist that the frosted window in the main bathroom be replaced with clear windows. These windows are opposite the mirror above a double-vanity and I have plenty of privacy in that bathroom, which is going to be redesigned to have a separate water closet anyway, which is through another door. It will take several weeks, but these windows will be replaced with what I had before.

I keep bringing outdoor decor and gardening supplies back to my house under renovation regularly. I now have the gates reinforced. This way I don’t have to move numerous extra carloads when it gets closer to my move-in date, and I can start to rearrange my garden decor and plants as I go, so I have less work to do when I move home. I’m careful to keep all the fragile items in a place that will not be moved by the contractors and the less fragile items which they have up against the fence I am not concerned about falling off shelves when I’m not around.

I moved more crates of supplies today, which also helps to declutter the backyard in the rental. I’m always making tweaks to my home garden when I stop by, and today I brought my dogs and the two fosters. I pruned some branches and cleared the grounds of the lookout by moving branches into the bamboo “forest” so that the birds will hopefully pick up those branches and make nests, but most importantly I’m adhering to the chop and drop method, so that organic material is not constantly leaving my garden, but replenishing the soil and hopefully fostering the right plants to grow. I’ll still pull weeds, even if I let the nitrogen fixers linger.

Speaking of birds making nests, my favorite dove couple (I believe they’re the same one for years) made an appearance again today. At least one of them did, as you can see, resting on the fence with no fear of the dogs below. These doves are very special to me, as I’ve documented over the years. I have many pictures and videos of interactions with the dogs, but most importantly, they nested one year (obviously before the fire) in a wreath on my front porch. I intend to replace the wreath on the side wall of my entranceway with an even stronger one so that they will always have a place to raise their chicks without fear.

Billion Lives Symposium 2025

In April 2024 I was invited to attend the End Game Summit hosted by Action on Smoking in Health in Washington DC. It was a wonderful experience and I really got to see a lot of DC that I hadn’t seen before. That was my first real “trip” after the fire.

I also met Dr. Jeremiah Mack when I was wandering around the national mall. He had recognized my beard and me from the summit. He also lives in the Bay Area. We hung out a bit at the museums and then he told me about this symposium, which I was not aware of in time in 2024. I’m so glad I went and that it is on my home turf. I took the day off my remote job and went into San Francisco like a real commuter, which I hadn’t done in many years, taking the ferry both ways. I was a ferry rider for four years in New York City years ago.

Not judging well how long public transportation would take me when I got off the ferry, I did cheat a little and take Uber in both directions, but I did not want to be too late to the symposium, nor did I want it to miss the next of the infrequent ferries back to Vallejo.

Here are pictures from my commute and the lobby of UCSF:

Here are pictures from the symposium itself, with just a handful of the amazing fellow activists in this area, from all over the country. Some of them are involved with tobacco control globally, too.

Hello from Vallejo, California!