Smokin' aces

Cap spent the day in the city yesterday participating in a conference for adult educators. He left the apartment at 6:30 and commuted in. He put in a full day and met Stephen for coffee afterwards.

The kids and I wanted to pick him up at the station, but our phones have been tempestuous and we could not connect in time. (Cap's cell has reason to be upset. It went through the washing machine a few months ago. Our home phone has no such excuse. Sometimes it rings REALLY loudly and sometimes it fails to ring at all. As if possessed.)

Cap came home around 7:30 and the kids tumbled into bed with him to hear a Rhino story (a homegrown yarn :-)

When he stumbled out, so tired, I made an executive decision and he ordered a veggie fried rice and sweet and sour chicken (his take-out comfort food).

I was worn out from attempting to keep my pms at bay for the last few hours of the day while alone with the kids. First was very needy and grumpy (his fever spiked overnight and has persisted today which explains that) and when the two of us are needy and grumpy we tend to implode and combust about each other over and over. I know, I'm the mom and I should be able to control myself, but sometimes I mess up.

So, I idly surfed through the DVR to see what we had recorded and came upon Smokin' Aces. Smokin' Aces is a flashy, hyper movie with a cast of thousands. Ben Affleck! Ray Liotta! Andy Garcia! Ari from Entourage! Alicia Keyes! Ryan Reynolds! Peter Berg! Jason Bateman!

I figured I'd watch it long enough to decide it stunk and then I'd delete it. And the Chinese food would be delivered about then and we could choose something together to hunker down with.

We ended up watching the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, it stunk. But, after awhile, I have to admit, I wanted to see how it was going to end. The best part of the movie for me was seeing Jason Bateman in his scene. He was great and got to play a part that showcased his art. And Ryan Reynolds was solid.

I then cleansed my palate with a new episode of House. Not sure why Fox held onto what was clearly the "Christmas" episode till the end of January, but I didn't care. It was a new episode of House!

Cap even watched much of this while he was at his laptop. A true sign of his fatigue.

Bel canto

Finished it in a burst and fit of emotion. What a great book.

Figures

Being sick detached me completely from the figures. As I started feeling better, I started feeling a vague yet distinct sense of dread. Was it possible that we could have hemorrhaged money while I was in my achy daze?

So this afternoon, I took a look. And then I did some end-of-the-month accounting.

Between January 1 and January 28 we spent:

$1000 on groceries (supermarket, drug store, etc.); $140 on household (post office, stationery supplies, etc.); $80 on gas for the car; and $400 on health (before insurance reimbursement).

This was a pleasure to see because it comes in $100 less than what we had budgeted.

But, there's more.

We also spent:

$245 for Kinder's spring semester drumming class fee; $175 for early-bird registration for the NEU conference which will be in May; $60 for a family membership to a local museum which will get us into the much more expensive local science museum free of charge for the next year; and we had a $790 car tune-up and repair bill for which we borrowed $700 from my parents.

I guess only time will tell if the conference and museum membership were "worth" it.

In the meantime, I feel like I am going to have to dig a bit deeper, to temper the aspect of myself which feels so much is true and important in the moment, to wait and see how these numbers roll and flow...until I can see for real, whether we're making it. (And continuing the conversation in my head about what that we are spending our money on that we can live without. Because, no Holly, I really can't imagine sending these guys to school.)

Question: what do I do with January 29, 30, and 31? (They get folded into January, I guess...) I wish each month had four weeks...exactly.

Suggestions

Danielle dropped off my b-day gift yesterday afternoon. It was quite a treat. She remembered my delight with this bag a couple of weeks ago in Target. I love it. It was stuffed with thoughtful and funky kitchen supplies.

And a gift card to the book store. What a friend.

I have some ideas of books I want to read. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. The Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry.

Since tightening up the finances, I've become more aware of a) how many books I actually own that I haven't read yet; and b) the pleasures and riches of the local used book shop.

So, I'm going to save this gift card for a moment that's not here yet. When inspiration (or, let's face it, depression) strikes and plucking a new book off the shelves of this wonderful book store is going to be the perfect answer.

And then I thought I'd see if anyone who reads this blog has any book recommendations. What have you read lately that has rocked your world?

Lonesome jim and bel canto

Lonesome Jim is a movie directed by Steve Buscemi starring Casey Affleck, Kevin Corrigan, Mary Kay Place, Seymour Cassel and Liv Tyler. A veritable indie-fest. It was quiet and quirky...one of those independent movies I appreciate without being deeply moved.

Bel Canto, on the other hand, is a whopper of a book. I'm not done with it, yet, but if you haven't read it, go find a copy and start reading. It's based on the Japanese embassy crisis that occurred in Peru in the 90s and is completely riveting. There's a lot I love about the novel. One being its message of the power of art in human experience.

Past

The kids are finally fever-free this morning. Yay!

The tulips are from Cap. In honor of my birthday. Lovely choice, I think.


I felt like cooking this morning. Kinder felt like drawing yesterday. First is telling me stories again. Life is righting itself.

I had some chocolate for the first time in awhile last night. Cap gave this bar to me. We recently watched some of Moonstruck on tv and it had us in stitches. It's Cosmo's moon! (The chocolate was good, if a touch too sweet.)


First and I both love this chair. During our sick-time we both wanted the chair. He got it and I dreamed of getting another someday.

Oy vey

We're all sick now. Yesterday morning was the rare occasion that saw us all too sick to function much. Thank goodness Cap was well enough after pain medication and some extended sleep to take over in the late morning.

I felt like I was hit by a truck and by early evening was fantasizing about a pill that would knock me out for 24 hours just so I could be free of the relentless all-over ache. Crazy, considering I slept much of the day.

I started craving matzo ball soup early in the day. At the end of the day I got chicken soup with dumplings. This morning my fever is down to low grade and the ache is gone. I believe in a good chicken soup.

Fever 2

There was some perkiness this morning, but it has been spent.

Feeling the love

Birthday presents are starting to arrive on my doorstep :-)

Gone baby gone

Something not everyone knows about me: I read crime-mystery-thrillers for fun. Law and Order SVU in print. It's certainly not all I read and it isn't even what I can be commonly found reading. But, there's something I like about the genre...the pulpiness, the yarniness, the attempts by flawed, but ultimately good guys and gals unable to do anything but work their asses off to help and serve. There's a fierce righteousness contained in these pages that draws me right in.

Lately, I've plowed through a few of these novels. Echo Park by Michael Connelly, Innocent in Death by Nora Roberts, and yesterday, I finished Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane.

Gone Baby Gone sucked. In that it made me feel really bad. It's well written, and had the pulpiness and yarniness I wanted, but I can't remember the last time I felt so hopeless and full of doubt and unresolved after reading a last page and closing a book.

Maybe it's that I overconsumed, like watching one too many episodes of an SVU marathon. But, the author really posed some tough, visceral questions in this book.

I almost don't want to see the movie now. There's a degree of self-protection one can cultivate while reading a book that is near impossible while watching a movie (for me).

Hammock

Here's Kinder a few days ago. He made a hammock for Little Foot, one of his Webkinz animals. He made a room for him underneath, the frog was all set.

Kinder used the nook between the kids' room and the living room. I worried that there would be tripping and confusion in the middle of the night as the kids made their way to the big bed.

So, Kinder moved the hammock up high and there have been no mishaps despite the china tea set laid out on the green lego board "carpet" right under the hammock.

Fever

Kinder's got a fever. It came up on him so quick. Brought him to the doc this morning to rule out strep early and it appears to be a virus, unless it's appendicitis.

First took it upon himself to read to his brother which made me melt when I discovered them in their room.

I'm rethinking the ear thermometer we have. I don't doubt that he's got a raging fever. But, the readings this afternoon tipped 105 and as calm as I am, there is a part of me that freaks out when I see 105...

So, no celebration of his drumming tomorrow. We had planned for some friends and some family to join us at his class and then come over for pizza. Disappointing, but what are you going to do.

Borders

Went to a local Borders book store to meet up with Kelly, Pippa and Mary yesterday. We combined going for coffee with perusing the 40% off all stock before closing sale.

It was strange being in the place and position with my newfound knowledge and understanding of my money. I did have a gift card that Renée gave us for X-mas and had that in hand.

I picked up and put down a few books. D'Aulaire's Norse myths, a David Macauley book (Underground), and a Magic Schoolbus book about famous scientists (which I would have bought if it had been paperback).

I could not resist The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech. Her book, Walk Two Moons, is an amazing book for young (and old) readers and made a big impression on me years ago. I bought Castle Corona for Will for his birthday unable to resist it then. The illustrations are just gorgeous (done by David Diaz).


I ended up picking up two paperback mysteries for myself, Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane and Red Hook by Reggie Nadelson. The funny thing about Red Hook is that a few years ago I had made a note to myself to check out a mystery called Red Hook but I'm pretty sure this is another mystery called Red Hook :-)

I looked for the Michael Chabon book The Yiddish Policeman's Union for Cap, but they were all out of it. As soon as I was on line I wished I had looked or some Neil Gaiman stuff. It was one of those situations where I became fairly overwhelmed and couldn't think very clearly. Feeling like I should find something because it would be a bargain, being jostled by the bodies and murmurs of a crowd.

It was a relief to sit down for some coffee afterwards (the café was closed and we ended up at a Starbucks nearby).

It's almost always good to have a young one around. Nurslings are great for soothing frazzle.

Local celebrity sighting

On Saturday morning I saw Stephen Colbert in the parking lot of Whole Foods. He was wearing sweats (Cap observed) and was with one of his kids. It was funny to see him with a slight frown/serious look on his face. It was very exciting.

Party on

Yesterday, Cap and I went out for a few hours to celebrate his birthday. (Thanks to Danielle and Norb who had the kids for hours, way longer than I anticipated---the kids of course were in heaven.)

We drove out to Jersey City and stopped in to see Cass, Bob and their kids. Cal is talking up a storm and was a total love bug. Helene is mellow, alert and big. She fell asleep in my arms which was such an honor. Cap and Bob bonded over music, film and art (Bob is one of a handful of folks who Cap can really talk to in depth about these things). Cass looked great, adjusting to life with two kids and looking forward to a break in kinder winter climes (good ol' SF).

Then we went to India Square, a long block lined on both sides of the street with Indian restaurants, cafés, markets, cd/video shops, clothing stores, and the like. It was fascinating driving past the Phillipine neighborhood, the lone Polish diner, then the Italian strip, before reaching little India.

We trolled for parking wondering just how far the carloads of families, the strolling friends, the occasional couple walking close, had come on this day to grab a bite to eat, load up on rations, and just soak up the warm-despite-rapidly-falling-temps vibe and bustle.

Cap had done some glancing at online reviews and we opted for a restaurant, more upscale than greasy spoon, that had gotten rave reviews. We were seated next to a happy, boisterous crowd that were filling up before a wedding. We opted for the massive buffet where each dish looked more enticing than the last. The food was fresh, spicy and flavorful and we stuffed ourselves silly.

Afterwards, we went to a market and after leisurely checking out the simple and orderly assemblage of goods, we left with a giant bag of dried lima beans, a bag of spicy snacks and a bottle of tamarind sauce.

Onward to the cd store. Cap adores Indian music. The shopkeeper sang the songs off the various Asha Bhosle cds that she brought out for him to help him know whether the cd had the right era of songs that he was looking for. He ended up choosing two cds and when we were short the cash and Cap had literally emptied out each pocket and placed every last coin he had on the counter, she told us to bring in the last $2 next time we came in (no cards, no checks, and no need to run across the street to the ATM).

I hobbled back to the car. I was so full and felt like my stomach was ballooning as the food sat there with no where to go. It took me hours to recover.

I've been keen on visiting India someday since seeing the movie Darjeeling Express. Yesterday I felt like a got a glimmering glimpse of a mutation of life half a world away.

Visit

Erik M. and his dog, Trudy, came over last night for a visit. This is a nice aspect of moving. When you move, friends from away come to visit and more often than not, will sleep over. When that happens, you get to spend a kind of time with them that you never did when you lived near each other.

After a couple of hours of chatting and catching up (we hadn't actually seen Erik in a few years), Cap made us each a late night cheese quesadilla and we watched a bit of X-Men 3, a bit of Jackass 2, and the latest ep of Bill Maher's show which featured Dan Savage reporting on his time spent interviewing folks in South Carolina about the primary there. We laughed. A lot.

Bean bake

Our dinner tonight was so pretty. So, so pretty. I thought of taking a picture of it while it was baking in the oven looking incredibly enticing. But, I didn't. And then I completely forgot about taking pictures. So, here's me, now, with a look of complete culinary satisfaction on my face. Because not only was dinner pretty, but it kicked ass.


I went to see Dr. Vinny today, so my face looks extra satisfied, doesn't it?

I couldn't get the words on my shirt, now my favorite pajama top, into the picture with my face, so here it is:


My Christmas gift from my sister. I love it.

On to dinner and the reason for my giddiness. Tonight I made a recipe that Kate passed along. She made this for the Fiber Arts holiday potluck and it was tasty. It did go very well with Lucy's homemade, fresh-out-of-the-oven whole wheat bread with butter. Yum.

I adapted the recipe, which is originally from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. Bon appetit!

Bean Bake

2 15 oz. cans organic Great Northern beans
1/4 cup olive oil (I eyeball it)
1 large onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into thin half moons (thin is key)
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 14.5 oz. can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 1/4 tsp salt (I eyeball it and probably chucked in more)
black pepper
2-3 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley
3 Tbs fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Put oil in a large pan and set over medium/medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent. Put in the carrot and cook soft, stirring now and then. Now put in the tomatoes and heat through. Turn off the heat.

Put the beans and their liquid into a 2 quart baking dish. Add the onion, carrot and tomato. Add the salt, a coating of black pepper, the parsley and oregano. Stir to mix.

Bake uncovered for 2 hours. Serve hot or room temp depending on how you like it.

We had it with brown rice tonight.

Overheard playmo talk

"Are you a professor?"

"No."

"Are you the mayor?"

"No. I'm just a dad."

Also, after collecting the mail from the little mailbox,

"Nothing good. Just a couple of welcome to your new house cards."

And, finally,

"And now showing on Super Station WGN, AFV!"

What i'm knitting

I finished the scarf I've been knitting for Lady X (a belated birthday gift) and jumped right into a scarf for Lady Y.

I used a Noro yarn called "Crayon" for Lady X's scarf. I was happy to be able to complete it using two skeins. I have two skeins left which will be enough for another project, most likely another scarf.

The purple yarn for Lady Y is from a soft, chenille-like (may be true chenille, not sure) skein I bought to make Kinder a scarf ages ago...I think when we lived in MA. Lady Y is a child and I'm not sure I got the width of the scarf right, but if anything it will be too big and she can grow into it.

I have thoughts of decorating Lady Y's scarf with her initial or hearts or dots or birds or something. Getting ambitious. Feels good.

I love my knitting bag. It's a simple, cotton bag Cap brought back for me from Japan last summer with one of those simple, funny messages you can find on t-shirts and the like, over there.

Playmo house

The kids have entered the Playmo phase. Playmo is what they call the Playmobil toys. This morning Kinder and I went out in search of the deluxe Playmo house. We struck out at Marshall's and the local children's consignment shop, but they did have it at the first independent toy store we hit (there are two independents and a Learning Express franchise in our town).

Uncle Mike D. gave the kids big, generous bucks when he visited and they have been saving their money for just the right thing. Today, that perfect something came into their lives and it has been heaven.

It took all day to put together and finally, after dinner, they have settled down to play with it.

I took a few pictures and it's interesting to see that Kinder's expression throughout the series is one of singular concentration. First, on the other hand, is all smiles and dimples, his body darting from one side of the house to another.

I felt a little like I was watching play therapy. I noticed that First was using all sorts of politeness as he took on the roles of his little folk. So he does know how to use manners I growled inwardly....

I learned that this is not a doll house. No. Don't call it a doll house. It's a Playmo house.

Thanks, Mike.

Happy birthday

It was Cap's birthday yesterday. He is now 43. He is a Capricorn (hence the blog nickname). He is so special, I am so lucky,



The kids each made him a puzzle to give him. Kinder used the last of the blank puzzles left over from his birthday party. First made one from paper. Kinder made him a sweet card, too, heart-themed.


I had to include this pic of the three of them. I mean, look at that DNA at work in the set of Cap and First's mouths. I laughed out loud when I saw this and called the kids over. First marveled at it, tickled by the truth.


Cap worked a bit around the house, including laundering the strep bug out of all the bedding (First had his first case of strep with scarlet fever diagnosed on Monday), the kids enjoyed lots of tv, and I spent the afternoon in the kitchen baking a yellow cake, frosting it with chocolate frosting, and whipping up baked scallops with butter and cracker crumbs (his mom's recipe).

We had a lovely dinner and Cap read to the kids from "Little Nemo" before they were sent off to bed. Cap and I watched a Japanese movie called Train Man which was great. A quirky tale of romance. (Cap discovered yesterday that our town library has an amazing foreign film selection.)

Happy birthday my love!

Holiday leftovers

I have some pictures...of moments I didn't have the wherewithal to post about at the time. There were also times that I didn't have the wherewithal to even take pictures. We went up to MA on Christmas morning and spent time with Cap's family, Karen, Brent and the kids, and Jamie. I didn't take a single photo apparently.

An honorable holiday mention goes to (Karen's) Uncle Peter's Christmas bangers and salsa. All you need to know is that they are so sublime, so perfect, that there is no wanting more. Once they are gone for the season, you are happy and sated until next year.

Here are the leftovers:

Some shots taken while we were playing out back.




From the Fiber Arts holiday party.








From the I've-lost-my-mind-and-I'm-going-to-take-a-zillion-shots holiday photo shoot.





Our gingerbread cookies. Kinder is the one who made this happen. They are gluten- and casein-free, were such a pleasure to make, and we have a new tradition in the making, I think.





We paid Cam a birthday visit on his actual birthday. Julie outdid herself with GF pizza and GF birthday cake.


On New Year's day we celebrated Oshougatsu with my family. We feasted on my mom's traditional New Year's dishes, played sudoku, chatted, and ate some more. At the end of the day, my mom pulled the theme ingredient for the Iron Chef competition out of a bag. Apple!

When we got home, Cap and the kids took down the tree.





The first weekend of the new year we gathered with my family again, this time for the Iron Chef competition that Cap had challenged Sandy to. I was too busy eating and having fun to take pictures at Sandy's. Here are some of the pictures from Takai's (where Cap cooked and served).

Sandy made: mulled cider; an apple, Brie, ham and walnut sandwich; apple-butternut squash soup with a swirl of yogurt; apple-potato latkes with applesauce; chicken with apple and carmelized onion with apple-potato torten on the side; and for dessert, apple three ways: apple pie, apple bread and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream.

Cap made: mulled cider with a kebob of apple, smoked gouda, and candied fruit with a drizzle of honey to dip in and slice of candied ginger to chew on; a sushi apple tree (see photo---this was his best dish) comprised of sushi rolls of chicken salad with apple, tuna salad, and peanut butter with apple and a trunk made of brown rice balls with chicken apple sausage; chicken and apple curry with apple chutney and a mini pita with apple butter on the side; and for dessert, apple slices poached with cardomom and brown sugar with vanilla ice cream (unfortunately, his intended dessert, pound cake with the poached apple slices on top was not to be---the pound cake had a mishap in the oven).

It was a blast. The food was great, we all had a good time, the dishes were judged and scored, and Cap won by one point.





The night before Iron Chef, Cap and I went out to hear the symphony. My mom came over to watch the kids and we finished the 600 piece puzzle with her the next morning.

(Last summer, thrilled at the low subscription prices, I went a little crazy and bought three theater subscriptions. Two to the symphony and one to the New Vic. We are reaping the benefits now, especially in the dawn of our new budget. The day after New Year's Day we saw a Chinese acrobatic circus at the New Vic which was amazing. Kinder has been trying his hand at various contortions ever since.)