I've never liked cranberry sauce either. Every Thanksgiving, cans of the stuff would go flying off the shelves, and usually straight onto the dinner tables of all my relatives.

Whether the "regular" type, or the jellied version, I just couldn't stand the taste of it.

Then, around 2004, Signora V. said we should try to make it from scratch. So, I bought fresh cranberries, she found a recipe she liked, and we started cooking.

Well, I thought it was even worse than the stuff from a can. I think it made me look something like Sylvester the cat after Elmer Fudd put alum in his milk. Way too tart (among other things) for me. She said that this was the way it should taste, and she was quite happy. So, I guess it wasn't a total loss.

For the record, I also strongly dislike the taste of cranberry juice. I do know, however, that the juice has medicinal benefits.

Signor V.

"For me, there's only my wife..."

"Sure I cook with wine - sometimes I even add it to the food!"

"When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?"

"It was a grass harp... And we listened."

"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?"

"No. Saints and poets, maybe... they do some."