Progress!

Its been a while since I did a construction update, which is partially because I forgot and partially because the builders took an unannounced and unplanned hiatus for about 6 weeks. Sigh. So the front entrance & driveway improvement portion of the project won't happen until the spring. However, the deck is coming along nicely now. We just need railings, real treads on the stairs, a gate and the pergola.

December 18

Rose is growing by leaps and bounds, and is now chatting up a storm. Its very cute, especially when punctuated by that big toothless smile. It's just so amazing to see delight cross her face when we have a conversation. Tim is loving her and really enjoys spending time with her. She's now grabbing and swatting at things, which is a new feat this week. She's slept through the night five times in December, so that's encouraging. Especially when you get a night like last night where she woke every three hours for something to eat. She's definitely in a little growth spurt right now as she was really sleepy today too.

I'm staring down the face of my return to work, but now I'm thinking it will actually be OK. Although it will lend structure and routine to our lives, it will definitely take some getting used to.

A Preview

I had to go to a work event this week, which certainly gave me a preview of what lies ahead once I return to work. Specifically. a very early wake-up. And a pretty scheduled morning (and I guess evening too) routine, none of which is all that appealing. I'm trying to work out a four day week for as long as possible, but I know my boss will be a weasel in the end. He's already started and I still have four weeks before I go back. Sigh. I really need to change jobs, which I had naively thought I could accomplish while on my maternity leave. I'm lucky if I get laundry from the washer to the dryer at 0this point. What was I thinking/smoking/sniffing?

However, those are all worries for another time. I trust that things will work out in the long run. I do think that getting back to work will be good for my mental health - feeling competent rather than this long learning curve I'm currently on will be a nice experience.

To sleep, perchance to dream...

Oy. Just when you think you might get a nice li'l uninterrupted stretch of 6 hours of sleep, Rose pulls out her whammy gun and instead you get up every two and a half hours. Not just one night, but two in a row. Needless to say the dark circles are back under my eyes. However, the good news is she's sleeping much better during the day this week. As I say, baby steps. Pun intended.

We will be making the big move upstairs from our guest room/bassinet arrangment to OUR OWN BED (!!!!) and Rose to her crib. Hooray! I think it will either be tomorrow or Friday night. I'm so excited, I can't believe it. I haven't spent a night up there since October 1. Tim had two nights there while I was in the hospital, lucky guy. We've basically only used the room for a closet since Rose came home. It will be nice to get that slice-o-normal back, when so much is not normal anymore...I have to learn to embrace the new normal. Its the new black.

Little Bits

So while we adjust to having Rose as part of our happy little trio of Tim, Maxwell and I, its nice to see that there are snippets of our old life surfacing every now and then. Like last night. Tim stopped at Barnes & Noble on his way home (good!) and brought me a present (better!). Its the current Rolling Stone with Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert on the cover (best!). We heartily enjoy both of them, as does most of America I imagine.

Rose had her first photo shoot today. OK, so it was at Target, but it was still a photo shoot. She did remarkably well and is so cute. Once the pictures arrive, I'll post one here for all to admire.

So one of the first days that we were home with Rose, Ellen DeGeneres had a hip-hop guy on her show. His name is Chingy. Unexplicably, that has become our nickname for Rose. Its kinda catchy and she doesn't seem to mind. I think she thinks it gives her cred.

Progress on our deck project has screeched to a halt. Its literally been a month since the team has been here to do any work on it. Aggravating. Just freakin' finish it for the lovvagawd. We have approval from the Conservation Commission to do the front entrance project, but I fear that they'll start that and never finish it either and we'll be stuck hiking through snow & darkness with Chingy in tow to the back door for the whole f-in winter. I will not be a happy camper, needless to say.

Surfacing...

It's been a long time since September 30, Rose's official due date. However, she didn't arrive until October 6. For four days we were at the hospital being induced, induced and induced. She finally burst onto the scene at 12:44am on 10/6, and I do mean burst. The labor nurse was panicked as she didn't do delivery, and the med student said he'd never seen anything like it. The good news is she's just so cute, healthy and happy. Love that! We're getting on well for week 3, and are anticipating the growth of her little tummy to hold enough food to tide her overnight. Allegedly that happens around 10 lbs, and she was 8.2 last Wednesday, so hopefully she's continuing to grow like a little weed and we'll get there!

Sleepy Saturday

We had a lovely visit today from my brother, Drew, his wife Suzanne and their little guy, Liam. Liam is all of three weeks and three days old. I'm amazed at how much they've all learned about each other in that short time. The initial oh-my-God-he's-crying response has been morphed into knowing what the cries mean (9 out of 10 times anyway) and knowing pretty much how to resolve the issue of the moment. They also have a calm demeanor about them, which I'm sure helps keep Liam calm too. I'm hoping we make as much progress in three weeks as those three have.

Today was a rainy day, which is always a good time to cook something good. We roasted a turkey this afternoon, and it was ready for pickin' around 4:00. Simply stuffed with fresh parsley, cracked garlic cloves and a chopped up onion, then rubbed on the outside with world-famous Bell's poultry seasoning from the cute cardboard box with the turkey on it. It was amazingly aromatic after only about 10 minutes in the oven, and tasted sweet and juicy. Nice. Paired with the amazingly delish chocolate biscotti recipe I have stashed away, it was a yummy little combo for whatever people wanted to nibble upon.

Progress...one step at a time

Our contractor for the home improvement project came by tonight with a sample of the deck flooring and with the plans for the driveway drainage system. Woo hoo! Although he only brought the tan floor sample and wants us to choose it...I don't call that a choice. Tomorrow he drops off the grey. We nixed the faux redwood and the pale beige, but I'd like to see the grey. Its what we have now, the foundation of the house is grey, and it flows nicely. I'm not sure about the introduction of a third color into the palette.

The good news is he thinks he'll have his guys here next week (although he told us that 10 days ago about this week...) and it should take them 3 days to frame the deck. The race is on...will they still be here when TPTBNL arrives? Let's hope not. I'll be one cranky petoot if they keep me up during those scant moments when Li'l Junior sleeps. If Mama ain't happy ain't no one happy. They'd best remember that.

Late Bloomer

So I missed the whole Sex and the City buzz for all those seasons it was on HBO. We didn't subscribe, and I figured why get hooked on a TV show, blah, blah, blah. Well, I have found out now what I was missing then! The cleaned-up versions are shown a couple of times a week and I just can't get enough! The situations are so real and the writing is very clever. However, I have to say that I don't like Charlotte at all. She's too uptight and I find it hard to believe that the others would be friends with her in real life. I can only imagine how good the show is with all its original language. Something tells me I'll be renting the DVDs this fall...

The Pleasure of a Pedicure

OK, so its been at least 10 days since I had my latest pedicure, but it still looks great and I'm still loving this color. Its called La Paz-itively Pink. Usually I go with a red or a brownish but something spoke to me of hot pink and this was the hottest pink I could find.

My previous pedi was in May and I had a French finish, which I did like but really, can delicately pale pink compete with La Paz? I didn't think so.

Ahhh Saturday...

We had hoped to do a late-afternoon beach outing today, complete with li'l picnic but the weather isn't expected to cooperate. Oh well. Instead we're meeting our ex-pat pal Jimmie for lunch which will be fun. He's home from London to get his house ready for rental and then he's back across the pond tomorrow. Two years in London sounds lovely to me. My travel for work consists of an occasional visit to the Back Bay. Where is the glamour?

The home improvement project carries on - now we have cement footings in the backyard. Ever watched cement dry? Its a lot like watching paint dry, but with less action since most of it happens underground inside a cardboard tube. I'm looking forward to the good stuff - demo of the existing porch, installation of the door out of Tim's office, etc.

Tim is recovering from Korean jet lag slowly but surely. He returned late Wednesday night, then had to work the next day and got home at 9:30pm. How lovely. On Friday he was up and ready to go to work and thought he'd sit in the comfy chair for a minute, and the next thing you now it was 12:30. Oops. Oh well. Luckily most of his group travels widely for work so they know that stuff happens.

Let the digging begin!

So what to my wondering eyes did appear but a miniature backhoe in the yard when I got home today. Looks like construction on the deck project is getting ready to roll. I called the contractor to be sure he had parked this lovely item in the right yard, and he assured me that he had. Alrighty then! When I asked about the teeny little restriction in the permit from the conservation commission lady that said we can't have any equipment go over the lawn, he said he'd take care of her. Alrighty then again! Call me crazy for (a) wanting to be law abiding and (b) not wanting to piss her off. Mostly (b).

Preparations...

So Tim jets off to Korea for work tomorrow morning. The car arrives at 4am to get him to Logan for his 6:45 flight. Yeesh. He's so not an early riser, although he's quite chipper once he gets out of bed.

We went for our individualized birth class on Monday morning, and we both did much better than I thought we would. Chalk it up to a Powerpoint presentation instead of videos or pictures. And Alma, the awesome nurse who has been my rock since day one. I can't say the same about the breastfeeding class. I endured that one alone, two videos and a stuffed-animal-style demonstration boob to boot. I didn't anticipate feeling as grossed out by the end of the class as I was. I think it was the close-up of the earth mamas doing various things to prepare themselves for nursing. TMI.

The timing was finally right for Tim to feel the baby kicking last night! Usually whenever the Player to be Named Later would start soccer practice, Tim would rest his hand on me and then TPTBNL would get benched, so I was psyched he got to experience it. Tim announced that he now believes that I'm really pregnant and not just faking it. I've been pretty sure for a while, but its nice to have the vote of confidence.

One Step Closer

While Max bathed and then snoozed, Tim and I just assembled the glider for The Player To Be Names Later's room. It only took four screws, but the last one sure was a doozy.

NYC

We went to Manhattan last weekend for Tim's birthday. I'm so glad - he's always wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and we did! We even found it by subway, which made me very proud of us (he looks a lot like his brother, Mike, in this photo but its really Tim). The views from the bridge are just amazing. A highly recommended activity should you ever get the chance.

Other highlights included a very lovely lunch at the cafe at St. Bart's Cathedral on Park Avenue. Another very highly recommended spot. We dined al fresco amid a few raindrops, and I understand that the party moves inside for the colder months. We also tracked down Moby's little tearoom, Teany, in the lower East Side. The tea was really good (90+ varieties!) but the service was surly and the teapots were chipped. And Moby wasn't there, nor did they have any of his music playing at the time. Not really worth tracking down. However, should you want a fix, bottled Teany iced tea is available at Whole Foods in the city. Our last recommendation is Havana in the Village. Cuban food at pretty much its very best. We stayed at the Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington, which was a very welcome oasis.

We had a great getaway, but you know the old saying...travel east, travel west, after all home is best.

Catching up

Wow, I really need to be more disciplined in updating this site! Luckily I have a couple of good snippets right now...first of all, the scorecard. Max is now up to 2 mice, 6 chipmunks, 4 snakes and 5 frogs. And he ate three of the frogs. Apparently, they taste like chicken. He is such a sweet little guy...its scary to know that within that cute little exterior truly beats the heart of a killer. And it does. He's actually lurking in the backyard right now, but between the heat and his reputation there isn't much around to hunt. Or catch. (Editor's note: during the course of this writing he has caught but not snacked on another frog thanks to Tim's heroics. Make that 6.)

On a brighter note, on Sunday we went to the wonderful wedding of my wonderful bookgroup pal, Karen. Karen and Chris met a long, long time ago and have a really special connection. The ceremony was on the lawn by a small grove of trees at the Sherborn Inn, and was followed by a very lovely brunch. Karen's sister, Chrissy, was the justice of the peace for the day, and the ceremony was beautiful. Very personalized. Right down to editing one of Maya Angelou's poems to better suit the tone. Other readings were from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, Garrison Keillor and the Apache blessing. A lovely medley. A lovely day.

We're off to the Big Apple this weekend to celebrate Tim's birthday. We're staying at the Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington, and when I called today to confirm our reservation the very warm and helpful lady upgraded us to a junior suite for no good reason at all other than she and I had a very nice conversation. Suite! We're taking Amtrak to the big cit-ay so won't have to worry about anything more than how grungy the bathrooms are and whether they run out of decent snacks in the club car.

Cherries!

Oh joy! Its cherry season! For a few shining weeks each summer, fresh luscious cherries are available in every grocery store, farm stand and fruit outlet. And even at Costco. Chomp on them after they've spent a night in the fridge and their cool, juicy, al dente goodness is one of summer's highlights.

Their color, ironically, isn't cherry red. Its actually a lovely blackened maroon which isn't really replicated elsewhere in nature. Yes, some plums come close (nice try) but they just won't ever be cherries now will they.

I can't make the connection between these gems and the fire engine red maraschinos of Shirley Temple fame. Surely they're not of the same genus or phylum. And let's not even talk about the canned stuff called cherry pie filling. That's not even food.

Here's a great recipe I've made for the past few summers. Don't let the title throw you off - its really good. It turns out better if you cook the cherries on the stovetop first and pre-bake the piecrust , both for about 10 minutes or so.

http://pie.allrecipes.com/az/HlthyndDlicisChrryPi.asp

Max 4, Rodents 0

For someone who appears so docile and mild-mannered, Max is at heart a cold-hearted killer. Since we've had him, he knocked off two mice last June and now has branched out to chipmunks. This June he's eliminated two of them, and is desperately working on adding to the notches on his lipstick case. Daylight hours are filled with his demanding meow to be let outside to hunt. As you know, his outside activities are monitored as we're afraid he'll become either coyote or fox fodder, so his macabre little hobby is pretty time consuming for us humans.

Max!

OK, I finally honored my New Year's resolution to learn how to transfer photos from our camera to the computer. In celebration of that, here's Max.

You might recall a previous post where I mentioned he murdered our older laptop by repetitive sleeping on the keyboard. Due to a confluence of a roll-back on the Walmart.com website and a benefit from work, we bought a new laptop for super cheap. It's very snazzy and makes all the photo transferring so easy its embarrassing. So, the upside is more pictures for all of you. : )

Of Mind Candy & Wet Vacs

This summer is going to be great! All new mind candy...Queer Eye is back and so is Kathy Griffin, My Life on the D List. Love them both, so many new episodes to see. Bravo, Bravo!

On to the wet vac. Oh, we've had rainwater in the garage before, and actually a couple of years ago Tim waged a little trench warfare in the yard to divert the huge puddle in our driveway. That works so well. No we get some streaks of wetness but nothing like the flooding that caused everything in the garage to float. However, until this very day, we have never had water in the cellar. Well, let's just say there's a first time for everything. I am SO thankful that Tim brought home a wet vac a couple of years ago. We really haven't used it much, but today we discovered that it's a piece of gold. Not only does it vacuum up water quite efficiently, it also pumps it out. All at the same time. What an amazing invention. Without that, we'd be up to our knees in water as there is not a pump to be had in New England. Literally. Everyone around us has been flooded too, if that's any comfort. Actually, watching the news makes me grateful every day, and today is no different. Some people in neighboring towns have been evacuated and tons of people are flooded out of their homes. Makes a little wet vac-ing seem like no big deal. Which it really isn't.

May-day for my computer

So remember when I wrote that Max was enjoying being "on the computer"? Well, he has logged his last entry and launched his final program. I went to turn on my beloved laptop earlier this week and got a very scary message. (Black screen, orange letters) Take me to your serviceman. And then you couldn't turn the computer off. That message has burned a hole in my retina. So, MBL is currently at CompUSA for a spa treatment. They can definitely retrieve the data (yay!) but aren't sure if they can return the computer to usability. Gasp! I'm walking on eggshells. How can the two of us possibly get by on one laptop? It would be like the pioneers and their covered wagons.

We are moving forward with the home improvement process! The building permit has been submitted and of course takes 30 days because its a small town. Boston takes 48 hours, but here is highly trafficked and overworked Reading, it takes 30 days. Discuss. However, the builder said once that is all set he'll dig right in, so to speak. I do need at least a day's notice so I can move some plants that will otherwise be sacrificed to the project. I have become sentimentally attached to lots of these babies that we've planted and watched grow into really nice flowers, and the thought of Mike Mulligan's steam shovel tearing them apart is a bit hard to take.

OK, my current favorite TV ad: Jimmy Fallon's Pepsi ad. Does anyone know who the woman is in it? I've seen it 100 times already and we're just into the baseball season, and I still laugh every time.

Of Teeth, Flowers and Home Improvement

Our poor little kitty, Max, had his teeth cleaned yesterday and ended up having his two big fangs yanked because they were falling out. Good dental care is important for all tooth-ed creatures! And dry food is important for those who don't or won't brush. Apparently he had mostly wet food until we got him, so it all caught up to him. I felt so bad dropping him off at the vet. Every time he's ever left his home in a cat carrier he has gone only to the vet, so between getting shots, being fixed, being declawed and being detoothed he really isn't too happy to see that carrier come out. Not to mention the time we wrenched him from the only home he'd ever known to bring him here. That was traumatic for him but he is much happier here so score one for the cat carrier. He's currently hiding because I'm sure his mouth is very sore. I hope we see him soon. And more trauma lies in the form of shoving a pill down his throat, which ought to make us even more unpopular. And I can't really blame him.

The good news about yesterday is that I had the day off and raked out all the flower beds in the front yard. It looks so good! Our house looks best in the springtime and this year is no exception. I planted a bunch of tulips and daffodils last fall and they are so cheerful. Speaking of our house, we're going forward with our plans to do some revamping work -- new, wider front stairs so we can put pumpkins and flower pots out there, an overhang over the front entrance as a little shelter from the elements when trying to open the door, a new driveway that will drain into the yard instead of the garage, and a new deck with a pergola out back! The builder thinks it should all be done by the middle of the summer, which is very exciting. The only holdup could be ye olde conservation commission, as the house is close to a little stream. I'm crossing my fingers on that one. It will be nice to have all that done before Baby X arrives in the fall. Not to mention that it will be nice to come in out of the winter weather with the bambino and not have him/her get rained/snowed upon.

Sunday, Sunday

Its amazing how quickly the weekend flies by. Since we're fast approaching Easter, this week there is a lot of preparation at church. I like participating in these simple ways of giving back and over the course of a year its not a huge time commitment, but there are certainly bigger weeks than others. Saturday was the Altar Guild's annual cleanup. Yup, just like the ad on TV, I was one of those church ladies with the Murphy's Oil Soap shining up the woodwork. And there's a lot if it, just for the record. Once we'd scrubbed and polished every surface thinkable, we had our spring meeting. I figured I'd be outta there by noon, but it was 1:45 by the time I got home. Yeesh. After that, a little cleanup around the house, run the dishwasher, flip the laundry, fill the birdfeeders, take a shower and off we went to a dinner where my boss was being honored. It was at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, which is quite lovely. I'd never been there before although its been around since the early '90s at least. The event was OK as events go, and the food was actually fabulous. There must have been 250 people there and the dinner was as good as if they'd made it special order. Love that! Tim and I both had the pan roasted cod served over mashed red potatoes with some lovely grilled aparagus on the side. The salad was great, and now I have to figure out how to make fried leeks as Tim was going wild over them. One scary moment with the dessert - flourless chocolate torte, but the menu didn't say it had hazelnuts in it. If you'll all recall, it was one lone hazelnut that almost did Tim in a little over 9 years ago. Luckily he'd only taken a small taste so we were in the clear. Talk about buzzkill!

Today I had to be at church at 7:30 to set up for the 8am service, and then checked in with Tim's annual booksale following. He had another session after the 10am service, but I didn't hang around for that. My purchase was Plan B by Annie Lamott. I've done a lot of spritual searching in the past several years and her previous book, Traveling Mercies, was very helpful. After the second book sale, we were off to Lexington to meet my brother, Drew, and his wife, Suzanne, for a belated birthday lunch. Very lovely. Then a quick zip to Marshall's and Whole Foods, a dash back home and this evening I'm off to church yet again as part of the committee searching for a new rector. Lots-o-church this weekend!

On the Computer

So Max has taken to snoozing on the laptop when the screen is opened up. He lends a whole new dimension to the term "on the computer". I'm still behind the 8 ball on transferring photos from my phone to the computer, so no photo of Maxwell yet. Gotta get crankin' on that one. It was one of my resolutions for 2006 and here we are Marching into April already and I haven't done squat about it.

Is anyone out there as huge fans of the Bud Light Real Men of Genius ad campaign as Tim & I are? I find them so hilarious. If you are, click here. Unfortunately the one for Mr. Boneless Buffalo Wing Inventor hasn't been posted yet. I laughed out loud while alone at that one.

Max is fascinated that I'm typing on his snooze spot and has walked across & crouched on the keyboard twice in the past minute. I guess he wants to say hi. Now he is sitting with his back to me as I moved him off twice, and he's not all that pleased.

I have some feng shui moving in the career department. I moved my "office" from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs bedroom, which puts the whole writing thing much more in my face than being closed away in a cold room upstairs. I hope that helps me move things forward in my quest for a job with meaning that I like. It doesn't sound like such a tall order when I write it down, but man, it sure is hard to figure out and find. I wonder if I put too much pressure on myself for the "with meaning" part instead of just doing something that I like. I think that slows my thought process. Doesn't all work have meaning? Why do I feel like I have to be doing something or working somewhere that is oh-so-important (like a hospital or any non-profit) instead of some company that makes pretty things that make people happy? That has its own meaning. I think part of me needs to take a big chill.

PS something is chewing the top of the rails on the our neighbors' split rail fence. Its kinda comical and makes me grateful that our fence is non-chewable chain link.

Springing

Ah...the signs of spring. Singing birds, greening gardens, that clean woodsy smell in the air. And basketball. So much basketball! In addition to the NCAA tournament, we're now tied to the the ACC tournament as the good ol' BC Eagles vie for the title in their first year in the Conference. Its quite exciting. I've become a sports fan (yes, its true) due to osmosis. Tim loves many sports, but college hoops is either tied with the Red Sox or might even edge out the boys of summer as the big favorite. So now that I'm converted, I can't wait to see the championship game against Duke this afternoon. However, I have to go to a wedding shower at the exact same time. We all know how showers are, and to have this incredible conflict is just the icing on the cake (you know, the inevitable cake you get as a reward for watching the bride-to-be open every last wineglass). Can I drop off the gift, say hello and then feign a migraine? The temptation is there...

More Knitting Woes

I have always wanted to knit an Aran blanket. However, its daunting: all those patterns, all that yardage. Lo and behold, I found a pattern for a baby Aran blanket, which seemed doable. Not so big you can't bring it around with you, not something that needs arms, buttons or that really needs to fit anybody. So I get the book, the yarn and the round needles. Problem #1. The book only lists how each pattern works, but doesn't spell out how each row is supposed to be knitted to make the row linking all these patterns together. So I dutifully translated wide cable, narrow cable, moss stitch, double moss stitch and others into the series of knits and purls you need to do to create the actual how-to instructions. Then I picked up my needles, cast on 174 stitches, knit 8 rows of not-so-great moss stitch (some turned into ribbing, but I wasn't going to tear it out - laziness, I know), and then got into the pattern. Problem #2. I left off a big chunk of one of the repeats while translating, so I had 40 extra stitches at the end of the row. Rip, rip, re-translate. Try again. Problem #3. Read pattern wrong. Threw project into kitchen, narrowly missing the cat food. Rip, rip (hip knitters call this frogging -- rip it, rip it...). Solution #1. Abort project as even if I could get it under control, it took more than 1/2 hour per row and my train ride is only 1/2 hour, and that is my designated knitting time. I'd finish 1.5 rows per day at that rate, which really wouldn't get me anywhere quickly. Not to mention that with all those patterns going on you need to check off progress on a graph or something and there isn't really a lot of room on the train to set up shop. So now, I'm happily working on another blanket with really thick yarn, really thick needles and only 100 stitches per row. I simple cable of my own design in the center of the blanket. I'm much happier, although I still do have Aran envy.

Clear and Calm

Tomorrow brings snow, and its unclear how much. The news stations have stopped predicting amounts, which brings out my cynical side. Yesterday it was 8-12" in our area, now they're zipping their lips. I wonder if its all going to go wide and hit the ocean instead of land. That's fine by me. I'm not a huge snow fan (although its pretty at first), and I really hate that stage when it just looks grey and dirty. Bring on spring!

We went to a fabulous Olympics opening ceremony party last night chez Gemma and David. Outside was the Olympic flag, some skis parked in the bushes and a pair of skates slung from the plant hook. Upon entrance you had to go to the processing center, where David took your photo for the all-access pass that allowed you into the rest of the event. Then Gemma bestowed an official US team pin. All snacks had a related name: Kwan Kwab Dip (kwab = crab -- I didn't figure that out on my own, sad to say. I'm not my sharpest on Friday nights), Tomba Trifle, Tara Lipinsky Pigs in Blankets, Cor-Ohno beer, Torino Vino, Czeck Mix, and other delectables. We brought Kwan Give It Up and Let Someone Under Age 65 and Who Earned a Spot on the Team Try for a Gold Medal Party Dip. Later on was an Olympic trivia contest, with correct answers earning gold medals. Now I know why the Skeleton is called the Skeleton: the first sleds for the sport resembled, you guessed it, skeletons! The background entertainment was of course the opening ceremonies. A number of women in attendance are going to shop EBay for the mountain dresses worn by the country sign carriers.

I much enjoyed the Grammy ceremonies earlier this week. Madonna was great, U2 was great, Ellen DeGeneres was great. Lots of big entertainment this week - Superbowl, Grammies, Olympics. Its a TV watcher's paradise. I am glad we don't have Tivo because all I would do is watch, watch, watch including a guilty pleasure: the first 15 minutes of Regis & Kelly. Did everyone enjoy the Leonard Nimoy ad for Aleve as much as I did?

Food for Thought

I'm writing this with one eye on the Grammy green carpet show on E!. It's a little dull without Joan Rivers' fashion critique. In fact, I think I'll change channels and promise myself to watch the wrap-up tomorrow. I love that part of award show season. Of course, the Academy Awards are the best, but the Grammy fashion is a lot different and more fun. A lot different?

Tomorrow we are going to help out at Bread of Life, a soup kitchen that our church supports. Our group's slot is the second Thursday every other month. Got that? It took me a moment or two to churn that into something that made sense. In cold weather we make shepherd's pie, which is very busy to prepare and then a lot of downtime while it bakes in the grimy oven. In the summer, its turkey with lettuce & tomato on a bulkie, potato salad and I think coleslaw. Its been over a year since I've been -- thanks to the job from hell of course. I'm really looking forward to going tomorrow. Dinner is served every night, and its always well attended. The guests are not always without homes, but they are definitely without the means to enjoy a meal every night. One well-dressed man arrives daily in his Cadillac, hungry for human contact. Another brings his 4 kids on his way home from work, before they go home to their apartment for the night. I don't know anything about the kids' mother, but you know its not a pretty story. He is a nice person and is good to his kids. Sometimes there are clothes for people to take if they need them. It is always a humbling experience.

Almost Groundhog Day

I know its been a very, very warm January so why am I still freezing? I've been cold for about 13 hours today. Really. Today is February! Which means spring really is coming. I'm looking forward to seeing the blooming zillion bulbs I planted in the fall. Last year was our first spring without Rocky & Adrienne, and one of the thousands of points of light they provided in our lives was to keep the deer out of the yard. We didn't realize that they did it; it must have been their scent in the yard as they certainly didn't encounter any deer in person (pretty much only canada geese). Anyway, last spring ALL of our daffodils and tulips were chomped just before the buds opened. This year I am very prepared. The spray container is ready to go, full of the rotten egg & garlic mixture we got at the garden center. It smells so awful that it makes your eyes water, but people can't tell after about 3 days. This is war. What can I say. And no one gets hurt. I really should send a pizza to the neighbors though.

I haven't written much about our pal, Max, yet. He's our beautiful wonderful kitty who we love. He's all gray with golden eyes and a very subtley striped tail, a la racoon. Max is 8 and has been with us for a year. We were lucky enough to get him from Tim's sister, Kelly, whose new puppy was tormenting Max. This is Max's first experience with people who love him and with being the only, and he is just so diggin' all of it. He does like to visit us in the middle of the night, which is his only drawback. Neither of us have the heart to give him the boot, so we just pat him until he's satisfied and falls to sleep. That's him sleeping, not necessarily us.

Upgrades

This week has been all about upgrades...

Nice new cutting board (the second one down) because the old one is falling apart. I really wanted to get the one that Giada De Laurentiis uses on Everyday Italian, but its $225! No freakin' way.

Swanky new window treatments to go with the swanky new guest room (thank you again WalMart, and also to AC Moore for 1" wide purple grosgrain ribbon and some of that iron on stuff that makes it look like things are sewed into place). It looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Tim got a new lamp for the office to replace the one that you can turn on/off only by unplugging.

He also got some fancy titanium scissors that will probably cut through rocks if you give them a try. His old ones are going to work with him.

Still on the search for a moveable kitchen island as the previous lovely one is discontinued. Rats! We were en route to the Crate & Barrel outlet store yesterday when we screeched to a halt to go to an estate sale in a lovely older home in a lovely section of town. Nice house tour and we got a few treasures. I missed out on a nice pair of olive green candles that were twisted like rope. I HAD THEM IN MY HAND and put them down. THE biggest mistake of yard sale/estate/flea market shopping, and I know it. Its an amateur move, and I did it anyway. Sold right under my nose for a buck. Why is it we mourn the one that got away rather than celebrating the many we have? Anyway, we got to the outlet, they were having a furniture sale and they had one perfect island. $399 on the website, $179 at the sale. The only problem? It had a SOLD sticker on it. If we hadn't gone to the freakin' estate sale we would have had a chance at it. We coulda been contenders... Another one that got away. I feel that there is an island out there with our names on it. We just need to find it. It's probably at a bus stop somewhere right next to my perfect job and that pair of jeans that will make me look svelte from any angle.

Today is the Day!

Today is the day my lovely article was published in the Boston Globe! It was quite a thrill. However, its such a little item that it wasn't published on the web. So, I give you the article (please note that some of the flourishes were edited out, but here's what I submitted):

Shhhhh…the secret to memorable baked goods is a quality vanilla. Intensify that flavor and what do you get? An amazingly fragrant and luscious taste that is sure to have people asking ‘what’s in there’? The clever folks at Penzey’s Spices have come up with Double Strength Vanilla Extract, which is created by adding two times the amount of premium Madagascar seed pods to a traditional preparation ($13.49 for a 4 ounce bottle, $39.95 for 16 ounces). Measured by half-portions, you have an aromatic whisper to enhance to your batter. Used in the full amount that any old recipe calls for, your previously hushed undertones start to make some noise. Either way, this is not plain vanilla. And you only have to spill the beans if you want to.

Available at Penzey’s Spices, 1293 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington (781) 646-7707 or online at www.penzeys.com.

There is also a photo of a bottle of said product. All in all, a very satisfying Wednesday.

Note: any and all recommendations/suggestions for interesting products are more than welcome. So far the editor's comments from other ideas include "silicone is overrated", "that's too craft show for us", "we don't do Trader Joe's". She has been encouraging to keep up the suggestions, but this freelance gig is hard work. Good thing I haven't quit my day job. I think this whole venture has been good for my sanity and perspective on the freakshow where I work.

Favorites

My version of the Oprah's Favorites shows...only without the free giveaways. Sorry.

Books
Midwives
Disturbances in the Field - the messages in this great novel change with the age you are when you re-read it
Walking on Walnuts - now available on Amazon for 57 cents. amazing.
Harry Potter - all of them!

CDs
Beth Orton
Neil Young (I know, who would have thought?)
Faith Hill

Blogs
Fresh Perspective
Invisible Fist
Dear Devin
apotatea (not 'a potato' as I originally thought)

Cooking Tools
silicone basting brush - you can actually get it clean!

Home Stuff
smokeless, dripless scented candles
very luxe new bedding for the guest room - looks awesome! Sorry for shopping at my neighborhood WalMart. Isn't it ironic to find luxe at WalMart?

Stores
Target
Lottie Ta Dah (no website yet...rats!)

TV
WGBH Creates
Everyday Italian
Queer Eye - Ky is my favorite

Radio
NPR
MikeFM - I-pod effect without the investment of time...

A Yarn Yarn

So, my friend Gemma gave me a book called Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter for Christmas. Its highly entertaining, written by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, someone can both Write and Knit. I do a little knitting but don't consider myself all that highly advanced, but was very inspired to knit a pair of socks after reading said book. I looked on the Lion Brand website because they have patterns for everything you would want to knit for yourself, your home and our pet. I found one for socks, and off to AC Moore I went, to check out Lion Brand Magic Stripes. Its a yarn which is variegated so make things striped as you knit them without changing yarn colors (hence the name, apparently). There were only two skeins left, not in the charming colors I had found on the website, but what the heck. I also needed a set of 5 double pointed needles, size 3. AC Moore only had sets of 4 double pointed needles, size three, so off I went to the Fabric Place. Of course, they have an entire SECTION of yarn for knitting socks. Why I didn't go there in the first place, I will never be able to explain. Anyway, they had a lovely version of Magic Stripes-style yarn by another manufacuturer, so I bought it along with my beloved set of 5 bamboo double pointed size three needles. Knitting on bamboo or plastic is the best. I hate the raspy sound of metal-on-metal, and unfortunately, my mother passed along all her knitting stuff to me with tons of metal needles. Anyway, back to AC Moore to return the yarn I didn't like that much. OK, ready to go. I dutifully and clumsily cast on my 56 stiches across the four needles, using the 5th as the one to knit with. I am challenged enough using 2 needles let alone 5 so I was a little strung out doing this (pardon the pun). I knit on the train on the way to and from work, so the cramped quarters and frequent jabbing of the cuffs of my big winter coat with the needles creates a bit of an undesirable setting. Working in this fashion a very delicate process until there is enough knitting done to give it enough heft to keep all the parts together without a lot of prayers and swears (ever notice that those two words rhyme?). So I did my knitting through the ribbing at the top of the sock and had started on the part that goes down your leg. I was starting to cook. It was looking good, but a little lacy which I hadn't anticipated. I guess I knit either loosely or with trepidation. I think on this project it was the latter. I showed my sock to my boss as he's fascinated with such activities and he totally mocked it saying it looked like a headband and that no one in the world except the Elephant Man has legs big enough to wear a sock that size, etc. You get the picture. And I can't say he was wrong. As I was walking from work to the train that evening, a kind woman stopped me on the street to say that I had dropped something. It was the instructions to my socks. As I turned back to pick them up, my macho little denim knitting bag fell to the ground as well. And it was EMPTY. The freakin' partial sock and the freakin' ball of yarn and 4 of the 5 freakin' double pointed size 3 bamboo needles were gone. I dug through the rest of my rather large work bag and nope. All kinds of other sources of entertainment for the commute, but no knitting. A retrace of my steps turned up nothing. All I can hope is that some far more talented knitter than I recognized that ball of fiber for what it was and what it could be and is now knitting up a luscious something for someone special.

Quick Link

OK, here's our version of Gilligan's Island. Don't ask me why the white one, which we actually wanted, is over a hundred bucks cheaper than the other ones. Or why there is free shipping. Its a mystical world on the web...

http://www.kitchensource.com/kitchen-islands/mt-b18412.htm#

Build a Better Blogger

I've been far less present in this blog than I had anticipated when I first dreamed up this idea in the first place. New Year's Resolution #3: Be a better blogger. NYR #1 = Lose weight. Sigh. NYR #2 = Go to more yard sales this year. I like this one. I can do that!

Today was the semi-official casing of the kitchen to see if it really made sense to put in more cabinets and countertops. Our semi-official consultant: Tim's brother in law, Joe. Joe is a medaled veteran of multiple DIY home remodels, so we figured who better to give us the honest truth. After much discussion and flailing about of tapemeasures and flashlights, the grand decision is to buy a moveable mini-island (isle? atoll?) that will provide more counterspace on a daily basis and can be pressed into service to provide surface where we need it when we need it. Sounds good to me. Now I can't wait for the Sunday paper to arrive with all those ads. We can comparison shop until every last cow comes home. Love that!

I had paralysis at work this week. There is a lot going on big-picture with the future of the hospital as well as some infighting at the most senior levels and a partial/almost full return of the mania on the part of my boss. He's convinced we're going to be inundated by union organizers at every turn, and to be perfectly honest all of this drama sucks ths life out of me. It's very difficult to concentrate on daily tasks and keep upbeat when there is all this other stuff swimming around all the time. I keep telling myself there has to be a better way. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Seriously. The food writing is wonderful but I think it will be a bit before I can live off it. Considering I haven't received my first $50 check yet.

Happy 2006!

Well, a very happy new year to everyone! I wish you all the good stuff - superlative health, happiness with what we have, growth and creativity, thin thighs and the realization that we all need to care for each other. The good news is that I have proudly paraded through the holidays without any family freakiness, which truly is a first for several years. OK, many years. It felt good. Everyone behaved as adults who enjoy each others company (even though we snuck presents to the "cool people." You gotta have a little disfunction).

My other exciting news is that I got the green light from the Globe food editor to get a Short Order printed! A Short Order is a sound-bite of a newspaper article highlighting a unique thing that is worth seeking out. My topic: Penzey's Spices Double Strength Vanilla Extract. I don't know when it will be printed, but I'll let you know. The Globe is going to run a photo too. This is big doins for little ole me. Just when you think you're doomed to a career of babysitting full-grown adults who should know how to behave in public and at work, a ray of light on the horizon shines to keep you huffing and puffing toward your goal.

I had another failure with the bagel & eggs recipe today. I omitted the whole bagel thing and instead cooked the eggs etc up ahead of time, then wrapped them in pizza dough a la scrambled egg calzone. (Not all that easy to do, let me tell ya. Everything was gushy.). Then baked for 45 minutes. It was an appetizing golden brown and tasted like mush. Too much dough. Way too much. Back to the drawing board. Now I'm thinking of puff pastry in muffin tins filled with the eggs. Pretty heart unhealthy however. More to ponder.