1. We are experiencing serious potty training success. Actually, we have been for about a month, but I didn't want to say anything until it seemed like it was going to stick. Friends, it's sticking. I felt high and happy after the first few days of successful potty training because there were days, weeks when I thought I would be sending my child to college in diapers. It appears this will not be the case. I feel about 20 pounds lighter.
2. I have a new niece! Emmalyn Grace was born yesterday and she is healthy and happy. Also, my neighbor had a baby girl, too: Sophie Quinn. Love.
3. Our neighborhood flowerbeds are teeming with poppies, bleeding hearts, irises and all sorts of beautiful eye candy. (This is where I should insert a photo, I know. Friends, I'm working on it.)
4. A stack of delicious CDs from the library: John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington, Gustav Mahler's symphony No. 6, Stravinsky's le sacre du printemps, Debussy's preludes, lovely things for our ears.
5. 64 oz. Ball jars from the local hardware store. I had only been able to find them online and the shipping was atrocious. My pantry is organized. For now.
6. A new reading lamp for my girl. Also found at the local hardware store. I'm pretty sure it's actually a brooder lamp, but I've also seen them used in my art class and on construction sites. They come with a handy clip so they can go almost anywhere. $9.50!
7. A gift of a potted purple hyacinth.
8. The right book in my hands at the right time. Specifically, "The Art of Eating" by M.F.K. Fisher. More specifically, the section called "The Gastronomical Me."
9. Plans for trips to Gettysburg and Maine are progressing nicely.
10. Ideas for two new articles.
11. It's smoothie season!
12. I've figured out a way to MacGuyver my yogurt machine so that I can make larger quantities of yogurt instead of making a new batch every three days. Now, I only make it once a week.
13. It's Friday!
29 April 2011
19 April 2011
#23
Another one done.
I have been swimming in Shakespeare and loving it. My original goal was to "read six works of Shakespeare (with annotations)" and I did just that, with a little tweak.
At the outset of this project I consulted my high-school-English-teacher friend and told her my plan. She helped me put together a best-of/most-referred-to-in-other-literature list of works. And then, importantly, she reminded me that Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels. This little tip gave me permission to watch the video of the Shakespeare play without feeling like I was cheating.
I quickly fell into a routine: I'd check out the text from the library to review it, read the synopsis on Wikipedia and then watch a video of the play. I've followed this method with the following plays:
1. Romeo & Juliet
2. Hamlet
3. Twelfth Night
4. Much Ado About Nothing
5. A Midsummer's Night Dream
6. The Merchant of Venice.
Of course, I'd like to explore more of Shakespeare's works, namely "The Taming of the Shrew," "Othello," "Macbeth" and "As You like It." However, I will be taking a bit of a break as it seems that many of these works are running together in my mind. Ahem.
Any other Shakespeare recommendations must-sees/must-reads?
I have been swimming in Shakespeare and loving it. My original goal was to "read six works of Shakespeare (with annotations)" and I did just that, with a little tweak.
At the outset of this project I consulted my high-school-English-teacher friend and told her my plan. She helped me put together a best-of/most-referred-to-in-other-literature list of works. And then, importantly, she reminded me that Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels. This little tip gave me permission to watch the video of the Shakespeare play without feeling like I was cheating.
I quickly fell into a routine: I'd check out the text from the library to review it, read the synopsis on Wikipedia and then watch a video of the play. I've followed this method with the following plays:
1. Romeo & Juliet
2. Hamlet
3. Twelfth Night
4. Much Ado About Nothing
5. A Midsummer's Night Dream
6. The Merchant of Venice.
Of course, I'd like to explore more of Shakespeare's works, namely "The Taming of the Shrew," "Othello," "Macbeth" and "As You like It." However, I will be taking a bit of a break as it seems that many of these works are running together in my mind. Ahem.
Any other Shakespeare recommendations must-sees/must-reads?
18 April 2011
zoom!
Driving. Zooming to a friend's house. Late. Late. Late. Very slow minivan ahead of me. Irritated because it's my own putzy fault that we're late. Grey day. Drizzly.
I slow my car to meet the curve of the river, which is what is shaping the road. My eyes flit to the river. It's rocky here, lots of rapids, dips, pools, plunges.
A heron is poised on almost every boulder I can see. Fishing.
I pull the car over. Let the minivan putter in peace. Take a deep breath.
My daughter and I sit watching the 20 herons fishing for their brunch. For seconds, minutes, hours. I don't know how long.
Right on time.
I slow my car to meet the curve of the river, which is what is shaping the road. My eyes flit to the river. It's rocky here, lots of rapids, dips, pools, plunges.
A heron is poised on almost every boulder I can see. Fishing.
I pull the car over. Let the minivan putter in peace. Take a deep breath.
My daughter and I sit watching the 20 herons fishing for their brunch. For seconds, minutes, hours. I don't know how long.
Right on time.
15 April 2011
14 April 2011
13 April 2011
#29
We made it to the National Zoo last week. #29 is done.
Several events pushed this activity to the top of the list:
1. the weather has been perfect
2. we wanted to go before it was crawling with kids on spring break
3. and oh yes, there was the possibility that the zoo would have been closed indefinitely had the senate/congress/president not passed the budget
I can be a bit cynical about zoos, but at heart, I love them. I cherish the opportunity to see a panda bear sitting back on its haunches eating bamboo, the Walter-Matthau-like elephants and their knobbiness, the roar of lions (they roared while we were there!), the disconcerting proportions of silverback gorillas, and so much more.
Books are great, pictures of animals are helpful, but seeing an animal move, eat, breathe is revealing.
Several events pushed this activity to the top of the list:
1. the weather has been perfect
2. we wanted to go before it was crawling with kids on spring break
3. and oh yes, there was the possibility that the zoo would have been closed indefinitely had the senate/congress/president not passed the budget
I can be a bit cynical about zoos, but at heart, I love them. I cherish the opportunity to see a panda bear sitting back on its haunches eating bamboo, the Walter-Matthau-like elephants and their knobbiness, the roar of lions (they roared while we were there!), the disconcerting proportions of silverback gorillas, and so much more.
Books are great, pictures of animals are helpful, but seeing an animal move, eat, breathe is revealing.
12 April 2011
blueberry-rhubarb muffins
Friends, I've been in the kitchen.
I decided to make blueberry muffins last week and while rummaging in the freezer for the berries, I had to move a bag of frozen rhubarb. Eureka!
So, I made blueberry-rhubarb muffins instead and The Hubby is very happy about this development. He calls these the best muffins ever. And I am totally in love with rhubarb again. A lovely vegetable that I've been neglecting for years. Guess I need to make up for lost time: I've been doubling this batch and sharing with the neighbors.
This recipe is inspired by one I found in an old Williams-Sonoma cookbook.
Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. turbinado sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
2 eggs
2 c. frozen blueberries
1 c. frozen rhubarb
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter standard muffin tins. (Be generous with the butter, especially when it comes to the creases, or you'll regret it when it's time to remove the baked muffins.)
In a medium bowl, stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, butter and eggs until smooth. Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Add the blueberries and rhubarb and stir just until evenly incorporated.
Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.* Let cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove.
Makes about 16 standard muffins.
*A few years back I decided to cave and buy an oven thermometer, at the recommendation of some cookbook author. And it has made such a difference in my baking and cooking experiences. Oven temperatures - no matter their age - are surprisingly temperamental. My oven in Arizona is 15 degrees off the mark. My oven in Virginia is 50 degrees (!!!) off the mark. I can only imagine the disasters I'd be creating (and ruining) if I couldn't tell the true temperature of my oven. Go buy an oven thermometer: it's worth the money.
I decided to make blueberry muffins last week and while rummaging in the freezer for the berries, I had to move a bag of frozen rhubarb. Eureka!
So, I made blueberry-rhubarb muffins instead and The Hubby is very happy about this development. He calls these the best muffins ever. And I am totally in love with rhubarb again. A lovely vegetable that I've been neglecting for years. Guess I need to make up for lost time: I've been doubling this batch and sharing with the neighbors.
This recipe is inspired by one I found in an old Williams-Sonoma cookbook.
Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. turbinado sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
2 eggs
2 c. frozen blueberries
1 c. frozen rhubarb
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter standard muffin tins. (Be generous with the butter, especially when it comes to the creases, or you'll regret it when it's time to remove the baked muffins.)
In a medium bowl, stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, butter and eggs until smooth. Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Add the blueberries and rhubarb and stir just until evenly incorporated.
Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.* Let cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove.
Makes about 16 standard muffins.
*A few years back I decided to cave and buy an oven thermometer, at the recommendation of some cookbook author. And it has made such a difference in my baking and cooking experiences. Oven temperatures - no matter their age - are surprisingly temperamental. My oven in Arizona is 15 degrees off the mark. My oven in Virginia is 50 degrees (!!!) off the mark. I can only imagine the disasters I'd be creating (and ruining) if I couldn't tell the true temperature of my oven. Go buy an oven thermometer: it's worth the money.
11 April 2011
library love
I just stumbled over this great story at NPR and wanted to share. The Library Card As A Pop-Culture Fiend's Ticket to Geek Paradise. Hope you enjoy it.
Also, Happy National Library Week!
We are going to bring our favorite librarian a bouquet of flowers, check out a wagon full of books and rejoin the Friends of the Library Association.
How are you going to celebrate?
Also, Happy National Library Week!
We are going to bring our favorite librarian a bouquet of flowers, check out a wagon full of books and rejoin the Friends of the Library Association.
How are you going to celebrate?
eggs & hydrangeas & ivy
One of The Hubby's friends raises chickens and geese on his acreage and generously shares them with all who are interested.
We provide all the compost we can along with $2 and, in return, we receive a dozen eggs. Or in this case, the equivalent of a dozen eggs. That huge egg is a goose egg. I'd count that as two eggs, wouldn't you? Each week we receive a different offering. My favorite are the blue ones, which are sadly absent from this photo.
In related news: after doing an intense backyard flower bed scour, I discovered that we have (according to a knowledgeable neighbor) a soon-to-be-blue hydrangea living by the back gate. Hydrangeas need a bit of an acidic boost to turn blue, so we are saving eggshells and coffee grounds to add to its soil.
There is something pleasing and cyclical when I realize that my blue eggshells may help "blue" my hydrangea.
Also, I am covered head to toe in poison ivy blisters as a result of my overly ambitious gardening activities. I have been to Urgent Care twice and am doped up on steroids and pain medications. I look like a leper.
I miss the (poison-ivy-free) desert.
10 April 2011
cancelled
Because of the budget wrangling and general madness that has descended upon Washington D.C., my eagerly awaited Smithsonian-sponsored photography workshop (that was scheduled for April 10) has been cancelled.
All is well, though. Just signing up for the class gave me the incentive to read my entire camera manual. And just yesterday I reserved a stack of photography books from the library so I can dig in, regardless of bipartisan politics.
All is well, though. Just signing up for the class gave me the incentive to read my entire camera manual. And just yesterday I reserved a stack of photography books from the library so I can dig in, regardless of bipartisan politics.
08 April 2011
5 more people I'd like to meet
1. Beatrix Potter
2. Amelia Earhart
3. Keri Smith
4. Nikki McClure
5. Harper Lee
How about you? Whom would you most like to meet?
2. Amelia Earhart
3. Keri Smith
4. Nikki McClure
5. Harper Lee
How about you? Whom would you most like to meet?
06 April 2011
by maya angelou
"Every human being has paid the earth to grow up. Most people don't grow up. It's too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older. That's the truth of it. They honor their credit cards, they find parking spaces, they marry, they have the nerve to have children, but they don't grow up. Not really. They get older. But to grow up costs the earth. It means you take responsibility for the time you take up, for the space you occupy. It's serious business. And you find what it costs us to love and to lose, to dare and to fail. And maybe even more, to succeed. What it costs, in truth. Not superficial costs - anybody can have that - I mean in truth."
04 April 2011
#24
It surprises me how happy I get each time I accomplish something on my List.
No joke, it makes me glow with happiness. There have been moments when I looked at my List and wondered what I was thinking to put together something so ambitious. (And when I say "ambitious" I am, of course, referring to my little world. I know that I am not even close to winning a Nobel Prize or playing in the Final Four or doing anything truly, globally ambitious.)
The reality is, the truth is, I LOVE lists. They are my great motivator.
Anyway, over the weekend I got to cross another one off the List. I bought that University of Iowa alumni license plate frame, installed it and then washed my car by hand.
Good.
No joke, it makes me glow with happiness. There have been moments when I looked at my List and wondered what I was thinking to put together something so ambitious. (And when I say "ambitious" I am, of course, referring to my little world. I know that I am not even close to winning a Nobel Prize or playing in the Final Four or doing anything truly, globally ambitious.)
The reality is, the truth is, I LOVE lists. They are my great motivator.
Anyway, over the weekend I got to cross another one off the List. I bought that University of Iowa alumni license plate frame, installed it and then washed my car by hand.
Good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)