quite the change of pace for a WASP from Newport Beach! I'll bet it was. Long, long ago, I used to date a WASP, too, and those quiet family dinners where everyone sits around and actually just eats and talks to each other politely was a SHOCK for me. =)
Hah hah hah!! I can well imagine! Augusta's family is the quintessential Italian family...if I walk into the cuccina while Aunt Marie is cooking, she starts yelling "geddoudda my kitchen!!!" and the wait is ALWAYS worth it, but I do, indeed, get out of her kitchen!
Ed