My long-suffering husband

The last time we visited Pam and Romano in Fidenza was two years ago, when their son Chri had just added a third puppy to the household pack. Paco was brand new and, in the way of puppies, cuddly as hell. Even Danny was charmed.

Two years later, Paco has grown quite a bit. He is a most imposing animal, but very sweet-tempered. He even submitted with fairly good grace to a photographic reprise.

I couldn't resist making Danny pose with this giant tomato can when we were in Parma the other day. Pam says it's the best brand of canned tomatoes. After I took the picture, she noted that "pelati" not only means "peeled" but is slang for "bald." Pure coincidence...