Signora Sheila

Where faith meets la dolce vita

Chestnuts Bursting on an Open Fire

Reading time:

4–6 minutes

Chestnuts, an open fire, and the importance of finding joy in the simple things. The fire didn’t heat better out of the fireplace. All it really did was create more smoke! Although no one would ever convince the dear, stubborn, old man of that! Yet we fondly remember those simple…
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Like a Queen: Treating Enemies Like Royalty

Reading time:

4–6 minutes

No taller than a 10-year-old, with a sly and suspicious gleam in her eye, she played the role of the proverbial evil landlady with me, but was as sweet as honey to my Hubby. The other residents, also hostile, seemed amiable by comparison. And the dark, damp apartment revealed a miserly…
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7 Tools for Breaking Through Anger {Video}

Reading time:

3–5 minutes

Do you know the story of The Little Engine That Could? The little train in this children’s story discovered he could do anything by first convincing himself that he could. So he went around continually repeating, “I think I can, I think I can…” It’s a great story for teaching children to…
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Tradition and Cultural Adaptation

Reading time:

3–5 minutes

Adapting to different cultures is usually difficult and confusing, and quite challenging. Take the standard Italian greeting of a kiss on both cheeks. It’s really not as standard as you might think. Because many people here only touch cheek to cheek while kissing the air. And in many business or…
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Our Towns: Where is Home?

Reading time:

3–5 minutes

Our Towns is really our Tale of Two Houses. Ah, the complex fascination of life overseas (challenging, frustrating, but so blessed)! In fact, new acquaintances often ask, “So where are you from?” Our response? “Um, do you have an easier question?” So, to cut a long story short… Having lived all over the…
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The Journey of Growth Takes Change

Reading time:

3–5 minutes

Every journey requires change. A change of place, of movement, of position. It requires leaving, surrender, and a leap into the unknown. So some people (like me) don’t mind change, but more seem to actually fear or dread it. Which is understandable. Jumping off a cliff, so to speak, can…
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Benvenuto,
I’m Signora Sheila!

Welcome to my blog and my corner of Italy, dedicated to all things slow, real, and lasting. Here, I invite you to join me in slowing down, living with purpose, and rediscovering the things that really matter.