A slice of January

Posted on February 3, 2010
Filed Under christmas, collections, family, friends, me and my brain | 1 Comment

Most people probably agree that the cold months following Christmas and New Year’s can be a little bit of a letdown. But there are always good little moments. Here are some of mine so far in 2010.

One long weekend I finished up the Santa puzzle my mom gave me for Christmas in 2008. It was a lot of fun… a really good cozy winter activity. I think it looked better put together than it did in the picture on the box.

During our holiday visit to the farm, Ezra’s sister Abby introduced us to Bananagrams. It’s so completely up my alley–a word game, sort of like Scrabble and Boggle put together, but better (well, definitely better than Scrabble anyway). So on that long weekend I mentioned we gave Bananagrams to Amy and Doug for Christmas. Of course, we played several rounds.

Bananagrams
Amy’s fabulous creation with the Bananagrams tiles… not a part of the actual game

And, of course, we had to get it for ourselves shortly after that.

I’m still going through my Christmas postcards. I promise to share more about them soon (take that as a “coming attractions” or a warning, as you wish).

Californian, French ambassadors greet Rainer

Posted on August 21, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, dining, family, friends | 2 Comments

Rainer has now attracted visitors from far and wide. This past Monday evening he met our good friend Matt, who was making a stop in Boston to visit his dad and friends before returning home to Los Angeles after a work trip to Ithaca. Matt seems like a pretty big fan of spiffy wee kiddos in general, and since he showed interest we chatted him up about all things Rainey. It’s always good to see Matt.

On Tuesday evening we had a bit of an adventure leading up to our visit with Ezra’s sister April and her husband Manu–hailing from France, they were Rainey’s first international visitors. The original plan had been for April and Manu to meet Ezra at his office when he got off work. Alas, Rainey had just had a rough 18 hours or so. He kept me up much of the night on Monday and then refused to sleep until late in the afternoon on Tuesday. As I was a bit of a wreck, I asked Ez if there was any way he could come home a little early so that I could take a quick nap and clean up before April and Manu arrived. So, Ez came home, picked up Rainey, and drove into town to collect April and Manu. As I was drying my hair, Ez called to say that our car’s brakes had failed on the on-ramp to Storrow Drive. Naturally, I freaked out! But everything was okay. Because it was rush hour, traffic was moving slowly, so Ezra was able to rely on the emergency brake to inch the car into the nearby parking lot of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office. He called to have the car towed and then walked to the T. Rainey slept through most of this! April and Manu took a cab (in classic Boston-area taxi style, their cab driver needed help figuring out how to get them to our house).

With everyone here safely, we had a lovely evening introducing Rainey to his Aunt April and Uncle Manu, catching up, dining at House of Tibet, and filling Rainey’s ears with his first taste of the French language. April and Manu brought him two cute little kids’ books in French. One is the French translation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They’ll be good practice for me, and I’d love for Rainey to learn to speak a bit of French, too.

On Saturday, after Ezra made a big batch of delicious oatmeal (Manu had never tried it before), we walked around Harvard Square. It was SO HOT and uncomfortable. We ended up stopping at Daedalus for a drink so that we could relax in the air conditioning. Poor Rainey minds the heat (as I do). After that we walked down by the river and then took Manu to Legal Seafoods so he could eat his first lobster roll.

Somewhere there is a delightful little video of Manu cooing at Rainey in French. I must find it and post.

More visits

Posted on August 17, 2009
Filed Under Blather, Gastronomie, das kiddo, dining, family, friends, the 'hood | Leave a Comment

Last Wednesday Kim, Glenn, and Hope arrived and met Rainer for the first time. It was sort of weird that they hadn’t met him sooner. Aunt Kim, Uncle Glenn, and Cousin Hope were sooo helpful! I think they enjoyed their time with the little mister, too. During their visit we played in the park, went out for ice cream, took lots of walks, visited the ducks in the Public Garden, went to the Davis Square farmer’s market, and ate lots of good food (both home cooked and not). They left yesterday.

Friday was Rainey’s four-week birthday. He’s growing and developing every day. He loves when Mommy and Daddy sing to him. The other day we sang and danced to “How High the Moon” and he got so excited! It seems that he is starting to be able to focus better on things a little further from his face, so he’s starting to enjoy the mobile in his crib more and he’s getting better at batting at the animals in his play yard.

Hope has a birthday coming soon, too. She’s getting so big! I was very impressed with how polite she is, and if she ever misbehaved I could always tell that she knew she was misbehaving. She must have good parents or something.

On Sunday our dear friend Heather came by to say hello and meet Rainey. She brought us fresh pies–peach and apple–from local shop Petsi Pies. Every time we drive past their shop on Beacon Street in Somerville I wonder about them. We tried the peach because it was still warm and it’s so good… tastes like they went out and picked the peaches that morning. Heather’s so lovely–always a breath of fresh air. She also gave Rainey a great book–Bruno Munari’s ABC. It has wonderful illustrations and is more creative and appealing than a standard ABC book (for example, a quail represents the letter Q). Thanks, Heather!

Pregnant Lady spills the beans

Posted on June 19, 2009
Filed Under Blather, Pennsylvania, das kiddo, dining, family, friends, me and my brain, the 'hood, the written word | 8 Comments

Now that I’m pretty far along, I’ve been pondering my overall thoughts on this whole pregnancy business. I don’t have anything too deep to impart just at the moment, but here are some practical reflections:

Only time will tell if it will actually achieve its intended purpose–to reduce stretch marks–but I have loved using Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter.
http://www.burtsbees.com/wcsstore/Bee2C/images/products/762_l.jpg

It just feels nice to smooth it onto the ever-expanding baby bump. I haven’t tried any of the other belly butters for pregnant women, so I can’t offer a comparison, but I’ll go ahead and recommend Mama Bee anyhow.

There are a lot of books and magazines out there, and I’ve done my darnedest to ignore most of them. Some are targeted at a different sort of mother, I think. Some just seem like a series of ads with nothing more than absolute fluff (if that) in between. And some have agendas that don’t fit in with what I have in mind for myself and my family. All that said, I have come across a few books and even a magazine or two that aren’t too bad–a few are even helpful! One of the first books we bought when we found out we were pregnant was the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. It’s a good reference guide with straightforward explanations of what’s happening to your body and to your baby throughout pregnancy. Another good book (well, I haven’t had a chance to test out the book’s recommendations yet, but it seems good) is The Happiest Baby on the Block. Yeah, it’s kind of the flavor of the moment, and there’s a good bit of rah-rah in the book, but the basic advice it provides on how to calm a crying baby is specific, seems sound, and comes recommended to me from friends and medical pros. As for magazines, the only ones I’ve been able to stomach have come to me free from my Ob/Gyn office. Fit Pregnancy seems to be at the center of the franchise, and they also publish some special magazines for mom and newborn and that kind of thing. It’s still a magazine with ads and some goofy celeb articles, so it’s not perfect, but it seems aimed more at an intelligent, perhaps more modern and urban audience than some of the other mags. I’ve found decent product reviews, recommended exercises, recipes, etc. in a couple of recent issues.

Ez and I have taken two classes so far at Harvard Vanguard in Cambridge–Prepared Childbirth and Caring for Your Newborn–and I’m so glad we took both of them. Sure, some of what was discussed we already knew, but there’s plenty we didn’t, and it’s good to have it all confirmed and put together coherently. It’s also good to see other expectant couples and hear how they’re doing. Our instructors were both very good–very knowledgeable, approachable, and down-to-earth. I know that Isis Maternity does loads of classes, and they’re probably very good, but I just wanted to go with the Harvard Vanguard classes. I’m not sure, but I think they might be a little cheaper (may depend on your insurance). Even if they’re not, I just wanted to stick with something that feels a little less retail and a little more health-oriented for now. As with the Mama Bee, I can’t compare the classes to anything else, really, but I feel that I can whole-heartedly recommend them.

There are a lot of deals out there.  The major baby clothing folks have frequent sales.  Of the basic standby brands, Carters and Oshkosh seem pretty good–they might even be corporately connected at this point.  They have a lot of outlet stores and they’re always sending out coupons and having promotions.  Gymboree is all right, though I think their stuff is maybe a little better for slightly older children rather than newborns.  They have a lot of sales, too. 

http://www.teacollection.com/live/images/products/small/R93267L_Cilantro.jpg
Our kiddo has this little gem from Tea Collection waiting for him.

When it comes to slightly more posh stuff, I’m a fan of the Tea Collection (well, some of it), BabySoy, and Janie and Jack.  Janie and Jack can be a little on the uber-preppy side, but the stuff is very well made and some of it is so cute!  It’s pricey, but sometimes they have good sales, and sometimes it’s just worth it to splurge.
 
http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/JanieAndJack/100008662?$PRODLIST$
Bubnick’s hoodie from Janie and Jack. You can’t see from this little picture, but it has a submarine on it.

BabySoy stuff is simple, well made, and really soft.  Of those three more pricey clothing options, Tea Collection has the best sales.  Their range is nice when I’m sick of the blue for boys, pink for girls business.

And then there are the consignment shops. I mean, kids grow fast! Super big props to my pal Lisa for taking me on a tour of some of her favorite kid consignment stores in our area. My fave of them all is Growing Up in Belmont (they’re on facebook but don’t have a web site yet). Their prices are just as good as other consignment shops, and they get in the best merch. There are good kid consignment shops everywhere, it seems. I’ve been to good ones in State College and the DC/Northern VA area, too.

Lots of people have asked me how I’ve been feeling and what I’ve been craving. At first, I felt pretty good. At the VERY beginning, I was a bit light-headed and warm. In the first trimester, I was pretty tired at times, and maybe a little moody, but I really never had “morning sickness.” I was lucky. My second trimester was pretty easy, as it is for most people, though I think I had less energy than some people have. I found out around the end of my 2nd trimester that I am anemic (possibly pregnancy-related), and that may be why I felt so blah. I’m on iron supplements now, and I think they’re helping. Sometime during my 2nd trimester, the heartburn started. Now it’s pretty bad, especially at night. That’s the big thing that kept me up a couple of days ago. No amount of antacids, repositioning, or drinking water seemed to help. But some days it’s better than others, and it’s very normal at this stage in pregnancy. Like many pregnant women, I’m experiencing a little swelling. I especially notice it in my ankles, but again–it’s not that bad. I’ve encountered pregnant women who have it a lot worse than I do. As of today, I physically just feel big. I get winded pretty easily. Again, that’s all typical. That’s me, Typical Terri the Pregnancy Fairy. Anyhoo…

Cravings… I don’t know that I’ve had specific cravings, but looking back on what I’ve been eating over the last 8 months, I’ve consumed a good bit of:

Those are the items that seem remarkable. I still eat a lot of tomatoes, and my veggie intake seems about the same as ever. If I am getting more protein, I think it’s from the dairy products and nuts. I haven’t been eating substantially more soy products or anything like that. And I tried pickles at one point, because you know–they say pregnant women crave pickles. Well, I actually found them a bit repulsive, and usually I like dill pickles. Go figure.

And a final note: I might have the best friends and family in the whole world. Whenever I get a bit nervous or stressed about some aspect of pregnancy, childbirth, or motherhood, I am able to handle it okay, and I think a lot of that is because I know I have support from friends (both those with children of their own and those without), family (via phone, web, and in person), and of course my wonderful husband. Besides the obvious biological stuff, I would not be doing this without him. We’ve always said that when we are together everything is better. We’re planting this kid in a well-tended garden.

All right, here are your pictures

Posted on May 31, 2009
Filed Under Blather, art, das kiddo, family, friends, nostalgia | 2 Comments

For those of you who need to see the nursery and other things I’ve mentioned (Kim, for example), here ya go.

Some views of the nursery in progress:




I’m planning to hang some images from vintage children’s books in the nursery once I get mats cut.



I’ll try to put this one in a shadow box–the book is in nice condition and I don’t want to cut it up.

And here we have Heather’s adorable doggie, Misha. This is an old picture, but it’s so cute I couldn’t resist. How could anyone abandon this dog? Heather just found her… tried to discover her owner, but no one ever stepped forward, so Heather got herself this great dog!

Catching Up

Posted on May 29, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, daytripping, family, friends, music, this old house | 2 Comments

Time marches on, and progress continues.

Over the last couple of weekends, Ez and I ran about a million errands, and at the end of it all we had an assembled crib with mattress and crib skirt in place, nursery curtains hung, fully-stocked kitchen cabinets, and cheerful new plants to add to the new-life vibe we’re cultivating. We also found time to go to the beach on Memorial Day.

May 19 we went to see St. Vincent at the Somerville Theater. Opening act Pattern as Movement was… well… hideous in my opinion. My attempt to describe them: Opera jazz rock with ethnic yodels and sea lions. Ezra’s attempt, perhaps more on the nose: Catholic liturgical prog mass. I’m sure they’re lovely people, but… no. St. Vincent is always good stuff, and the new album sounds like another solid effort, but the show felt too short. After seeing her from the front row at the Middle East last year, the whole thing felt much less intimate to me. The Somerville Theater isn’t a bad venue for her, but really small venues are often best. Tuesday’s show was the first of her current tour, so perhaps later shows will feel a tad more spontaneous.

Recently, I also got to visit with dear friend Heather and meet her adorable doggie, Mischa. No joke, I’d say at least 15 groups of people stopped on the street to admire the pup and chat with us. That Mischa is a charming pooch.

We went to our first childbirth class this week. Seems good so far. Ez made me giggle–probably without even trying–during the relaxation exercise.

Ooo–we are finally getting a new dryer. Whooppee! Dry clothes.

Okay, so this post is pretty boring, with no fun pictures. I plan to follow it up with a silly post, less relevant to anything at all, but with pictures (not mine). Prepare for visual stimulation! Ish!

A Visual Montage

Posted on April 22, 2009
Filed Under Blather, craft, daytripping, friends, knitting, photography | 3 Comments

I promised a picture of the little hat I knit over the weekend, so here it is!

Knit hat

And while I’m at it, here are a few others to catch you up on the last several months.

Union Square, New York January in New York’s Union Square

doorway, Portsmouth
A Doorway in Portsmouth, NH

And the obligatory picture of a cute baby, Lydia, who we finally met over the weekend.

Lydia and JohnLydia and John

A Monday in New England, or an excuse to catch up on the ol’ blog

Posted on April 20, 2009
Filed Under Blather, craft, das kiddo, daytripping, family, friends, knitting, sports in general, this old house | Leave a Comment

So it’s Patriot’s Day, which I didn’t even know existed before I moved to the Boston area. And it’s Marathon Monday–this year it’s the 113th running of the Boston marathon. A guy Ezra works with has already finished. He came in 60th overall. Yeah, that’s right, 60th out of 26,331. One of Ezra’s other co-workers and our friend Randolph are still hoofing along and seem to be doing quite well. Whoop whoop!

Suki is at my shoulder as I write this, accepting kisses and purring.

Some New Englanders have today off; Ezra is working from home.

We had quite a busy weekend. Saturday we met up with friends John, Sonya, and their wee spunkmeister Lydia. Pictures of Lydia eating and generally checking out the world are coming soon. After a nice little visit with the pals, we decided to go to IKEA. Our goal this trip out was to get some lamps for the nursery, but of course we ended up finding a lot of other things that we genuinely need as well–a new bathroom rug, some little pads to prevent our furniture from scratching the floor, that sort of thing. Then yesterday we rented a U-Haul van and moved some assorted furniture out of the home office and into the studio. I’m not yet totally useless for such things, though anyone watching me push my wheeled cabinet up the ramp at the studio enjoyed quite a little comedy routine, and I did wake up this morning with an assortment of aches. We moved the larger part of the desk through our (open) front window… we’re just a couple of engineering geniuses is all.

Last Friday we had a doctor’s appointment, and afterward I wandered over to Windsor Button, where I found two skeins of Sirdar Sublime yarn–one a washable merino and one a washable cotton. They’re in such nice colors–I had to get them to make hats for our mini muncher. I finished the first one last night–they’re so easy! Pictures to come.

(Feels like) a long weekend in New York

Posted on February 1, 2009
Filed Under Blather, art, dining, family, friends, sports in general, wide world of vacation | 1 Comment

It’s been a long and very good weekend.  Ez and I spent Friday and Saturday in New York.  On Friday Ez worked and I wandered around, checking out Tinsel Trading Company and spending a couple of happy hours browsing (and eventually buying) at The Strand.


Spotted after lunch

On Saturday Ez was kind enough to walk with me to the vegetarian cafe S’Nice in the West Village, where I know they have delicious steel-cut oatmeal with all the trimmings.  There I ate said oatmeal with dried fruit and honey and enjoyed one of the tastiest glasses of apricot-orange tea ever.  We went to The Strand again because Ez needed to get his fix (he didn’t really have to twist my arm to get me to spend more time there), and then Ez took me to the Chelsea Market, where the New York Lux office will soon be moving.  It’s quite a nifty building.  I’ll have to upload a picture or two.

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I fell in love with this spot at the Chelsea Market.

Then we met up with Ezra’s old friend Jen Williams in the Cooper Union area (Jen went to Cooper Union and now teaches there).  I’d never met her before, though I’d heard a lot about her.  She seems pretty great, and we had a really nice time chatting with her, wandering around the Lower East Side, popping into a small gallery to check out her friend’s show, and just basically hanging out.  For dinner, the three of us went to the tasty Pan-Asian vegetarian (and largely vegan) restaurant Wild Ginger (it’s just as good as Ez and I remember).  We’re hoping it won’t be another 10+ years before we see Jen again.

And oh, hey, the Steelers won their NFL record sixth Super Bowl (that’s about 14% of all Super Bowl games that have been played).  And the game was actually exciting.  I am not a big NFL person, but we’re Steelers people in this house.  (And, incidentally, it was a day of more pleasant sports news, as PSU men’s basketball upset ninth-ranked Michigan State, the Celtics won again, and Rafael Nadal beat Federer to win his first Australian Open title.)

Every time I go to New York I want to spend more time there.  I like its energy and pervading spirit of creating new things.  I think it improves my health to be around that vibe more often!

Obama Everywhere in the USA!

Posted on September 25, 2008
Filed Under Blather, friends, music, politics | 3 Comments

I have to post this fine video.  My old high school friend Jessie Yamas is in it!

keep looking »

Song of the Day

The Essex Green-Sorry River 

Photos

My Photos on Flickr


The Knitting Turnip

On My Needles

Rhapsody in Tweed cabled pullover for Ezra! using Tahki Donegal Tweed in Forest, from Fall 2004 Interweave Knits. I've just picked this one up again, so it's moving up in the queue!

Sweater with Cable Patterns pullover using Araucania Nature Wool Chunky in Mauve, from Rebecca Magazine Number 28

Heather Pullover using Classic Elite Wings in Larkspur, from Rowan’s A Season’s Tale... This needs the knit doctor. I'm going to have to frog back a little bit and redo the shoulder area. Long story.

Hush Pullover using Jo Sharp DK wool in Wine, from Rowan’s Calmer Collection

More scoop on my knitting endeavors can be found at my home on Ravelry (clicky here).

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