A little catching up

The storage space is up and running! But I am still mostly sad.

I went to Marie's funeral yesterday and on top of the solstice (which has its moments of feeling like a gaping and sucking black hole---maybe it's PMS) it has proved to be a bit too much. The gratitude I feel for Cap holding down the fort and buying me the third book in the Twilight saga is barely scratching the surface of my void.

Here's the blanket I nixed for Bobo. It has found a great home with the Uglys.

These pics are from the bit of snow we had earlier in the week. We have since been socked with more.





Off to do some qi gong. This will help and I've been neglecting that fact.

Cooking and baking are on the day's agenda. Beef short ribs, brownies, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, sugared pecans... Tomorrow latkes for the solstice before heading over to Queens for a Chanukah/early Christmas family gathering.

Waiting for Google

My new photo storage capabilities are not up and running yet. Grr.

So instead of posting pics from being outside yesterday in the wet snow which was melting as we frolicked, I will do something else.

• qi gong

• knit some more rows on the baby blanket

• read some more pages of New Moon (some Twilight gossip found this morning here)

• eat something nourishing

• the ledger book

• there is new laundry to fold

• the bathroom never got cleaned yesterday

• make spaghetti and meatballs (Gem has a hankering)

• plan the day with the kids

Getting a grip

• clean the bathroom

• fold the laundry

• those dang thank you cards (how's that for gratitude?)

• some cooking and more cleaning

• pick names for co-op meal X-mas Eve eco-swap

• more cleaning

• hitting the ledger book

• digging, no burrowing, way down to work towards getting to the root of my problem with money

P.S. I did pay some rent to Google for more photo storage so I should get some more pics on here soon.

Love of the Irish

I lived in Massachusetts for about twelve years. I moved there with my born and (partially) bred Quincy boy in 1991 when I was 25. Having started this blog while living in Sacramento, where we moved when we left Massachusetts, I haven't waxed much, poetic or otherwise, about the state which I do consider home in many respects.

I spent most of my adult life in Cambridge and did some serious growing in that city that I love. (Cap and I would move back there in a heartbeat if we could.)

Tonight, due to some wrestling with yarn which ultimately proved to be not enough to finish Gem's second sock, I watched the whole of Craig Ferguson's late night talk show. (He could be a whole other blog post. I really like him. Maybe some day.)

Craig's second guest, after Carmen Electra (it's kind of amazing that I didn't change the channel, but thanks to the dang yarn challenge, I was too busy knitting to pick up the remote), was Dennis Lehane.

Dennis Lehane is an author who grew up in Dorchester, MA. He is probably most famous for penning Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone. I've read some of his books and have enjoyed them. They're not for the faint of heart. Bad things happen to children, etc.

He was on the show to support his latest book, a historical novel, about the 1919 Boston police strike.

Watching and listening to him talk about his childhood, hearing that familiar cadence, made me homesick. It reminded me of the very, remarkably few times that I have met Irish Americans since leaving Massachusetts and how the two individuals I can remember running into, were from Massachusetts. And how it lifted my heart to just be with them, as if I was holding a bit of my past with me for a bit, a treasure.

I never realized how true it is, that in Cambridge and Boston, and southeastern MA where we have family and spent the last two years of our life living in the Commonwealth, that Irish Americans are everywhere. I never realized, until I left, how much of a positive impact my contact with this particular subset of New England culture had had on me.

I don't want to go into hyperbole. But, I am full of appreciation and wonder.

Handmade

Gift for brother.

DVD case cover.

Blanket for baby (a gift---no impending arrivals here!)

Finding personal peace

Gem made his own Ugly Doll.

Baxter asleep amidst quite a bit of activity around him.

A secret Christmas gift handmade by Sag and now under the tree.

Star from Karen.

Moon from Cambridge.

Winged woman from Ben.

A bit of tension, though so much less than in years past, is natural at this time of year I guess. Moments like these, photographed above, help me refocus on the positive, the warm, the good.

After some fretting about the cost, our New Year's cards are ordered. It's a nice card which I think will please many. There are three pics instead of one. And there are images of us, not just the kids.

I forewent the decorating of the tree this afternoon so I could shop without the kids. I had some success. Mostly at the bookstore where I found some delightful books for nieces and nephew.

Cap is now feeling unsure about the new computer which is stressing me out. I'd like it to be our Christmas present to ourselves, as a family (care of the economic stimulus check). I'm just in a place where I want to be checking things off my list rather than taxiing around a decision.

I did go to a lovely baby shower brunch this morning at a local breakfast/lunch place I'd never been to. The food was really good. The conversation was nice, too. I always appreciate a gathering of women who are comfortable discussing menopause, circumcision, and academia, among other things, at a baby shower.

I want to go to sleep. And I will. But, the kids are pretty wide awake, in my bed.

Omelet

My omelet hit the spot this morning. I wanted something rich. Something that would stick to my ribs and keep me fueled through the day.

Two eggs with a dash of milk, a pan hot with safflower oil, leftover mushrooms sautéed with scallion, garlic, ginger, and a generous handful of shredded cheese. Over toast :-) Yum!

The week drawing to a close

Tomorrow, Cap and I will be seeing this play. In honor of our 19th anniversary. I am excited.

Today I woke feeling heaviness in my chest, but I think it was remnants of being up so late last night rather than a cold. In any event, I feel fine now. (Though I haven't been practicing much qi gong, I have been taking my herbs at full strength, making and drinking nourishing teas and cooking with scallions, ginger and garlic. Taking care of one's self should always taste so good!)

Some new, sale yarn that I ordered while in FL arrived and I cast on for another stealth project. This is replacing the first attempt which I worked on while in FL until I decided, nearly halfway through, that I hated it. This revised project is looking and feeling really good. I'm doing stripes for the first time!

I picked up the place this afternoon which felt good. I feel like I am returning to normal bit by bit.

I fear there may be no, or perhaps, few, photos until we get the new computer, or decide not to get a new computer (which I really hope is not the case). If we aren't getting a new computer, then I'll rent more storage space from Google.

Wow

Our internet has gone out three times since we got back from Florida. Prior to this, it's gone out maybe three times in the two plus years we've lived here. I discovered it "down" around 7pm and tried jiggling it, but to no avail.

I stayed up later than I thought I would tonight. I knitted away on one of my unnamed projects while catching up on two episodes of House. Then I continued knitting while I talked to Cap about his day and semester (today was the last day of classes and his late day so he arrived home around 11pm).

I decided to give unplugging and replugging various black boxes a try one more time before going to bed to see if I could jiggle the internet back on. It worked, so I went online. I hoped and expected to have heard from Wendy on Rav and went there first. I was not disappointed. Then I went to my e-mail account and was delighted and stunned.

There were e-mails from Diane and Basha, two very dear, very old friends (Di=22 years; Basha=16 years), who I have not been in contact with for awhile. Di it's been 6-12 mos. But, Basha, it's been a number of years. She has a 2 year old I didn't know about!

The marvelous thing is that I've been thinking of both of them a lot lately. How sweet to hear from them tonight. I love life!!!

I'm so jazzed I don't know if I can sleep...

My new tea

While at Wendy's I tried a new tea. And loved it. It's Tazo Tea Organic Chai. A dollop of honey and a bitty swig of whole milk and it's tea time, anytime.

I tried chai a long, long, time ago, (all together now), in a galaxy far, far, away. And didn't like it. I'm surprised it's taken me this long to try it again, but I am glad I did.

A rabbit named Edward

Elsa chose this book to give to Sag for his birthday. Then in Florida, Wendy told me Sophia had been deeply moved by it. I read it this morning in an hour of quiet solitude at home.

It is that rare, wonderful book, the ones you wonder about and wait for without knowing what they are or when they'll come.

The illustrations were also beautiful and perfectly balanced with the story.

Knitting on Colbert

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Radical Knitting

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Highly sensitive

Jamie lent some books months and months ago. I took one of them to FL with me and it was eye opening. I only read a few pages, but it made an impression. The book is called The Highly Sensitive Person and you can read about it here.

It has already helped me defuse a personal interaction I had recently, and it is giving me insight into Sag...not Gem, as I had thought.

I think it's going to be an interesting tool of clarity for me.

Just a taste

Hm. Ran out of free storage space over at Picasa. I may rent more space for $20/yr, but am also thinking that I may not need that space once we get our new computer...

In the meantime, here is the first fraction of photos in a slideshow.

Back home

What a rush to step out of the airport doors into the familiar, cold wintry air. My heart was dancing as wildly as the children's bodies were. They were a blur of ringing laughter, jumps from shiny silver surfaces to painted, lettered spots on concrete, rolling and knocking about like the cubs they so resemble at times.

Then, even stronger surges of emotion as our house came into view, as we clambered up the stairs and burst back into...home. We were in the door by 9pm, thanks to Roger for the pick up.

Today was a series of moments. Disconnected in a way, but grounding. An early morning trip to the store alone for me, frenzied grading for Cap, lots of playing, watching tv and reading for the kids. Catching up on my blog reading. A visit with Danielle and the boys. Vinny. An hour to myself afterwards which he always encourages me to do, but I rarely do. This twilight I said yes and browsed alone in one of my local yarn shops, as well as, one of the bookstores. (Spending was reined in to a minimum though not to nil.)

After dinner the kids read and read and I caught up with some of my "stories" (of the boob tube variety). Survivor: Gabon (my true guilty pleasure to which I will finally 'fess up), Top Chef: New York, 30 Rock, The Office and How I Met Your Mother.

Tomorrow? Unpacking. Laundry. The accounting of the vacation spending. Walking the dog (we have Baxter for a week :-) Thank you cards. Baking. Settling back in.

The photos from our trip? Sometime this week, I hope.

Last full day

...as I was corrected this morning. The kids and I were lolling around in bed talking about what we'd like to do today, our last day in St. Pete. Last full day, said Gem. True that.

We have been busy, our days long, going way into night.

Today the kids will go to the Y with the dads. Wen and I will drive about running errands (Sophia's birthday is next weekend and I want to give her her gift before we leave, and there's a child-size Red Sox cap which needs to be retrieved from the yarn store), getting our last alone time fix in, and going here for lunch.

Cap's back from Orlando which is very nice. Tonight chicken salad is on the menu and a luminaries walk in a nearby neighborhood is planned, as well.

Gem said this vacation "flew" and I'd have to agree with him. We're due back home tomorrow night. I'll be posting pictures at long last sometime next week!

Vacation continues

We spent the day at Busch Gardens yesterday which was a lot of fun. Which is good because it cost a lot of money. No, no, it was good for many other reasons and I shall not dwell on the financial cost...

The kids are falling asleep fast and like logs. We're much more active than we are at home, with lots of outings. This afternoon they hit the pause button, though, and eschewed the library with its promise of Star Wars books we may not have in our own library and they have been playing quietly together downstairs while I get some computer time in.

Note to self: they are not missing tv/computer time so much (at least not to the point where they whine or even talk about it out loud with me), but I am. No, I'm not whining or talking about it out loud, but when I'm at the computer, like right now, I am reveling in it. And last night, as I knit some in bed, I kind of wished there was a tv in front of me.

It seems I am channeling a bear preparing for hibernation. I have been eating a lot. The light is hitting me in its diminishing brightness earlier and earlier in the day and, boom, I am propelled by an internal signal which directs me to eat...

Eventually and possibility

Sag has been using these two words a lot lately, incorporating them into his lexicon and world view.

He is, in ways big and small, beginning the process of leaving his little childhood...

Talking and knitting

Yesterday afternoon Wendy and I had the chance to go out for a cup of tea. We stopped at Julie's first to drop off her CSA split share and it was cozy to chat in her kitchen. Her sister, due to return to Knoxville, was there also.

We continued on to Hooker Tea on the waterfront in downtown St. Petersburg. My tea, the Earl Grey de la Creme, was disappointing. Too vanilla-y, not enough EG-y. But, the baked goods were yum. A German choc cupcake and a choc chip scone.

And boy, did I talk. Clear evidence that e-mail and the phone serve me only so much. It was like a dam being pried open. Wendy's strong and she could take it, but seriously. It was a torrent of words, a swirl of feelings, and quite cathartic, for me.

Last night, I pulled out some knitting for the first time since getting here. A gift item which I have to be discreet about, just in case someone is reading this...which I'm pretty sure she's not. Anyway, I worked on it for about 3 hours and could not get it right. The pattern is 144 stitches across which made for some labor intensive unraveling the three times I did so just last night.

This morning, back in the land of internet access, I have figured out what I think my mistake has been. And I'm excited to continue on.

But, there's something else. I am wowed by a deep sense of wonder. Last night, I was a bit frustrated, but honestly, I was much more baffled. And persistent. I am realizing how knitting is revealing to me reserves of patience and love for learning, and for myself within this process of learning, that I would not have thought present in me.

It's a great thing to experience at age 42.

No photos here today

One of the things I forgot to pack was the cord which connects from my camera to the computer to down/upload photos.

Luckily, Stefan has a nifty little gadget which allows me to empty my camera onto it and then it can be uploaded into Cap's laptop.

But, at the moment, I am using Wendy and Stefan's computer and don't have access to the photos I've taken so far.

Our flight was fab. Traveling with a 7 and 8 year old is so much easier than traveling with littler ones. All was mellow and I got some knitting done.

The weather here has been hot during the day, cooling off as soon as the sun starts to set. It's raining now and will be, on and off, through tomorrow.

We went to a fantastic playground yesterday where the kids had a blast climbing, jumping, climbing, sliding, climbing, and swinging.

The book, Twilight, became available for me at the library the day we left. (I'd had a reserve request out for it for 2-3 months.) I broke one of my cardinal rules (traveling with a library book) and brought it with me. I finished it in less than 48 hours. I understand the frenzy. I understand the addictive quality of it. Julie, I may be asking to borrow some of your books soon!

Mitzi, the new kitty here, is sublime. I like her a lot and think she's a great cat. My allergy symptoms have been very mild to non-existent. I am so glad she found them and they her.

The kids and I are adjusting to not being home. We are such homebodies. Sag has already told me that he is homesick. Cap is around, working on his conference stuff, and leaves Tuesday for Orlando where he'll be conferencing for 6 days.

I went to their CSA with Wendy today to pick up their veggie share. It was the crunchiest scene I'd been to in a looong time. It was a haven, this community farm, nestled amongst the city.

All the kids are with the dads at the Y. Wendy is cleaning, I'm catching up on my computer time. I'm enjoying the quiet.