Finished The Road this evening and it was totally heartbreaking. I really need to lay off of books involving children in unbearable places. Although it was a tough read, the painstaking detail of the day-to-day activities of the father and son kept me reading on. That and the want/need to have the end of the story be at least a little hopeful. The movie version comes out at the end of November from the director of The Proposition and stars Viggo Mortensen with small appearances from Robert Duvall and Michael K. Williams. That last name should ring a bell if you watch The Wire. He plays Omar Little on the show (it’s a fantastic show, if you haven’t seen it) and I’m looking forward to seeing him out of his Wire character.
Next on deck? Twilight from Stephanie Meyer in hopes that I can have a little fun and then maybe some Neil Gaiman after that. It’s good to be back on the reading wagon where the only problem is finding what I’ll read next.
Reading The Road for a book club and I have to admit this is a nice palette cleanser after the decadent, wickedness of The Other Boleyn Girl. This photograph was the first after a search with the keywords ‘desolate landscape’ and nicely encapsulates the feel of the background described.
My relationship with the online world is one of love and hate. There are so many things I love about it … inspiring people, beautiful images, amazing communities of creativity. And then so many things I hate … the idea that there is such an increasing loss of real world connectivity. The potential to miss those small day-to-day interactions that form so many little pleasures in life.
But, that said, I’ve been a reader of Alex the Girl for years and always find myself glad that I visited the site. Her most recent post is a nice little dedication to the doing of things. At first glance, you might think she’s a bit PollyAnna, but don’t be fooled. She’s just made a commitment in her writing to continue to living life in a very present and active way. If you’ve read her long enough, you’ll see she has the same doubts and challenges, but she never seems to be afraid to make mistakes and I love that about her writing.
This weekend, we spent Sunday in an ideal way: walking through the market buying produce for the week, drinking coffee from Cafe Fiore (as I’ve mentioned before … hands down the BEST coffee in the city!) and perusing the wares of Ballard. We even ran into some old friends we hadn’t seen in years. It’s always lovely to run into people while everyone has the same relaxed, Sunday glow.
I even got the scoop on the closing of Olivine, my very favorite boutique. I first heard of the store closing from My Ballard and found out from the owner that though they’ve sold the shop, they are opening a new one in Fremont (otherwise known as the Center of the Universe). It will be occupying the space right next to where the Frankie shoe shop started out (across from Mad Pizza). The new store will be called Show Pony and promises to carry many more handbag and accessory lines than the current store does. In the meantime, the current store will change names and rid itself of all of the beauty products to focus more on clothing. Ah well, another reason to hit Fremont.
And barely as the doors to DiVino could be locked, a new sushi spot has staked its claim on the premium spot. For years and years, Sam’s Sushi was the only spot here to grab sushi and now it will have a hip little competitor.
The husband and I just started a new blog over at Doozlife to provide a home for all of the baby-related information filling our heads. It’s a tragedy really, I had to get rid of all of the INXS lyrics, how to play the flute and the words to It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) just to make room for it. Don’t worry, I kept the random fantasy movie related information (”They looked like big, strong, hands.”). It doesn’t mean I’m promising not to talk about the boy here. That would be silly.
You should really spend some time at the Lightmark with a cup of coffee. The ‘Making Of’ section doesn’t seem to work properly (or I’m not as smart as I look with my glasses on) which is unfortunate because I’m intrigued by the light shapes and how they’re generated.
It’s with great disappointment that I have to say that the Dig! Lazarus Dig! is just not working for me, neither is the cheesy mustache. Still … it’s Nick Cave and you don’t just dismiss a legend because of a greasy strip of hair living on his lip. Despite the album distaste, the feel of this album, the videos and his appearance point to the heavy possibility that he’ll be playing a lot of the older stuff live.
Case in point, the BBC has three videos plus an interview for your audio visual pleasure. One of them is a performance of Tupelo from The Firstborn is Dead. To tell you the truth, it makes me a little regretful that I passed on tickets for the show this year because the live show is amazing. It’s the kind of show you never want to end and when it’s over you stay around for every bit of encore. Sigh.
The days are finally warm(er) and the boy was finally able to enjoy some time in the pool. As you can see, he’s very busy. Busy digging, busy investigating, busy pointing at just about everything (especially lights and dogs).
To add to the busy-ness, he just started walking. And by just started, I mean he literally started taking steps today! For a few days now, he’s been feeling a bit more daring … practicing moving from the couch to me. It was super exciting to watch the joy on his face when he actually stood on his own and took a few steps. He’s officially moving on to being a toddler. Sniff. I have mixed feelings about that. I’m of course so excited to see his personality grow, to see the kind of little boy he’s becoming. But at the same time, I’m going to miss the baby he was. Being able to hold him with one single arm or swaddle him into a tiny little bundle.
Um, okay, let’s just ignore the sleep deprivation, sore breasts, pumping at work (oh joy of joy), post-partum depression and did I mention SLEEP DEPRIVATION? I think this may be what’s known as the “fog” wherein parents have enough distance (and enough decent sleep) to think that having another baby might be a good idea. Now, don’t get any ideas. We’re not ready for that yet. Let’s suffice to say we’re reflecting on where’s the boy’s been, where we’ve been and where we’re all going together.
It’s been so long, that I almost forgot how much I enjoy hours spent in Photoshop with an idea and my tablet. Today, thanks to some serious napping on the part of the D, I was able to spend a few hours playing around in PS. I’ve realized a few things during this mini sabbatical.
I really love time spent figuring out how to approach making the design you have in mind real.
I need to do this more often.
My version of PS is really getting to be unusable (in my mind at least).
I never said they were earth shattering. I just wish I had more time to spend playing around with designing things, reading tutorials and generally building some real skill. It’s been so long that I did this on any sort of regular basis that I actually had to brush dust off of my Wacom tablet. Sigh. The project the husband and I are working on together is at least getting me thinking about things. Whether I can execute them is another thing altogether, but hey, it’s the journey right?
Long ago and far away, we used to shop in a very random way at the grocery store. Now that we’re a single income family, it’s become more and more important to stick to a plan. How many times have we been to Whole Foods and spent $100 on olives, cheese and wine? We’re a little (I said a LITTLE) smarter now. We do our best to come up with a menu and then try to shop to that list.
Then there are the days when we haven’t done any of the things we should and are standing in the kitchen staring at potatoes, spices and a myriad of grains that take longer to cook than either of has the patience for. That was the situation last night and out of that desperation came a quick and made up recipe I’ll call Summer Burrito.
Potatoes (any kind really, except Yukon Golds … too soft)
Red pepper flakes
4 eggs (beaten)
Cilantro (chopped)
Fresh vine tomatoes (chopped)
Onion
Garlic
Ginger (fresh if you have, powdered if you don’t)
Spinach (fresh)
Sesame oil
Tortillas
Grated cheddar cheese
Drop the potatoes in water and bring to a boil. When the water has boiled for just a few minutes, remove them from heat, cover and let sit. Meanwhile, slice onion, mince ginger and chop garlic. Add a bit of sesame oil to a sizable pan and heat to medium. Add garlic and onions to the pan and saute quickly until almost transparent (really just a few minutes). Drain and add your potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of red pepper flakes and the ginger. Stir the potatoes around and add torn leaves of spinach. Cook everything until the potatoes are little brown and crispy on the outside. Make a well in the center of the pan and add beaten eggs to the middle. Once the eggs have slightly set, mix everything together to make sure they’re spread throughout the potatoes.
Once everything is done, pour into a nice sized bowl and add fresh tomatoes, cheddar cheese and cilantro. If I had it on hand, I might have added some chorizo. Fill up a nice warm tortilla and enjoy your dinner al fresco
My relationship with the online world is one of love and hate. There are so many things I love about it … inspiring people, beautiful images, amazing communities of creativity. And then so many things I hate … the idea that there is such an increasing loss of real world connectivity. The potential to miss those small day-to-day interactions that form so many little pleasures in life.
But, that said, I’ve been a reader of Alex the Girl for years and always find myself glad that I visited the site. Her most recent post is a nice little dedication to the doing of things. At first glance, you might think she’s a bit PollyAnna, but don’t be fooled. She’s just made a commitment in her writing to continue to living life in a very present and active way. If you’ve read her long enough, you’ll see she has the same doubts and challenges, but she never seems to be afraid to make mistakes and I love that about her writing.
How’s that for a title? Besides changing up the theme to something a bit more basic (I’m a big fan of Chris Pearson’s themes). Tomorrow (hopefully, best laid plans and all) I’ll update the theme with some images of my own. I’ve been totally inspired by some of the simple, straightforward recommendations he makes on the use of categories, commenting and SEO within Wordpress. If only it wasn’t so difficult to find a reliable pocket of time. When faced with the prospect of messing around with code vs. playing with the boy … there’s no contest.
The husband and I have also been working on a little project together. It’s a secret for now, but we’ll let you in on it in the next week or so. Sssshhhh …
Today, I picked up the beautiful photographs of the boy from Heather Quintans, a photographer who shot the Dooz a couple of months ago in her SoDo studio. If you live in the Seattle area and are looking for a photographer I highly recommend her. She was great to work with, made us and the boy feel at ease and clearly took great pride in capturing just the right moments. For us, one of the best moments came when we were changing the boy’s diaper and packing things up. Heather was able to capture a quiet moment when the boy was still and seemingly thoughtful as he laid back on the studio bed. I’m in love with all of the images and while the grandmothers continue to suggest we take him to Sears or JC Penneys to have his pictures taken, I have to believe those thoughts will be wiped clean once they receive the photos we ordered for them.
The Dooz’s favorite lunch: Quinoa with spinach, tofu, mild onion (like Walla Wallas) and a little sweet potato or squash. Prepare the quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) in advance. Fry up the tofu first until it’s a little crispy, add in the onion til transparent then the spinach and sweet potatoes (even easier if you can find the frozen organic cubes). Toss with the quinoa and the tiniest bit of light shoyu. Eh voila, the boy always devours it!
It’s not Friday anymore and I’m not superstitious, but I do enjoy blaming any abnormality on Friday the 13th when I can. For example: a friend and I drove to a fabric store at lunch for a 10 minute peruse of their selection. I found some fantastic vinyl backed fabric (to use for an all purpose bag and to practice my sewing skills) and some projects to earmark for future. We walked out to the car, turned the key and … nothing. Nada. Not even a cough from Gordy to pretend he was trying. (That’s right, my car’s name is Gordy. Judge away.) A quick call to the husband, a phone call to our insurance company (who actually were very nice) and a tow later, we’d confirmed that not only did we need a new battery, but the alternator needed to be replaced as well. If you know anything about cars (or at least paying to have them fixed) you’ll know that there’s a charge for merely whispering the word alternator. And so hundreds of dollars later, I’ve vowed to stay home the next time around.
I suppose it’s not totally fair to call it a bad day. The husband made his semi-famous pulled pork for dinner and later in the evening I received a beautiful little arrangement of flowers which just happened to contain my favorite of all … creamy, pink peonies. They were sent as a very nice gesture from a company I had interviewed with. A nice touch to the whole experience.
And today, we took the boy up to Bella and Max in Bothell for his first haircut ever. I was tempted to do it myself, but the wiggle factor proved to be more than I could handle. Instead, he sat inside a miniature Blue Angels jet with a basketful of toys, waving to himself in the mirror while also watching Elmo’s World. The Elmo part was especially fascinating to him because a. he’s never seen Elmo before (and therefore has no idea about his fetish for being tickled) and b. he doesn’t see much TV. As with most things, the boy was an excellent sport and came out looking quite handsome. Post cut, the men took a miniature train ride through the little village area the store is located in (they give you a free train ticket with every haircut). A good time was had by all.
And now, I’m poking around Quillpill after just registering with them for beta. The idea is of course, Twitter-esque, but really seems suited to process of writing. Especially if you’re like me and ideas often come in bits and pieces that don’t make sense alone but when placed together start to form something.
I love, love, love Blik decals. The Dooz’s nursery is adorned with the adorable sheep from the Wee Gallery. The best thing about these decals are that they are completely removable, so as your tastes change so can your walls. It’s especially nice since many are pretty high impact and something you may not love forever. In updating the nursery to a newly minted toddler room (well, almost toddler) I’m definitely looking towards one of the Threadless collection. I’ve often thought about different designs I might hand paint on the walls, but this is much more doable!
The husband and I have been having an ongoing conversation (for many years) about Detroit, from its rich history to the continuing saga of its present. It’s a conversation that ultimately leads to the topic of resurgence and more importantly if that can ever happen for D-town. And, big surprise, I believe it can. As with so many other things in life, hope is in the small things.
Since leaving Hamtramck, I’ve always believed that the people making an effort to be downtown, to hang out at places like Zoot’s, the Cass Cafe, artists, students and other creative types who made the downtown area they’re own, would be the people that could help turn things around. Not the automakers … or the unions.
And where does that begin? With people like Sweet Juniper, living in the midst of the larget collection of Mies Van Der Rohe architecture that also happens to be in the heart of Detroit. With the advocates who are living there, creating things and supporting the people that live there (nevermind the corruption in government). I admire these people.
But as we speak about all of these things, inevitably the husband asks a very obvious and important question. How do you actually live there? He asks, because we have a family and Detroit can be dangerous and limited in the things it can offer. I’m not just furthering a stereotype here, we both have multiple stories of first hand experience with the crime and lack of resources. In the case of Sweet Juniper, living in Lafayette Park, the husband (knowing the area well) says, “Where do these people buy groceries? Where do their kids go to school? What do they do?”
It’s a tough conversation because any thought of returning to Michigan has many implications, not the least of them is the economy. I don’t remember a time when our family and friends there have all been so unanimously despairing of the economy. They all tell me that it’s devastating and no one seems to know how/when it will end, only that its depressing.
I believe it will. I believe there is hope for Detroit and for Michigan. And here’s why.
The people who care about culture and creativity there really care about it. In other big cities, it’s easy. In Detroit, because the resources may not be as vast or diverse as in other places, the people you see out and about are people you feel connected to. You can feel it. When I lived there, I would go to the Detroit Film Theatre often and I’d always see the same people there and it was a real sense of community. Not that I’m saying it doesn’t exist here in Seattle. Of course, it does. It’s evident by the SIFF just kicking off. It’s just, well, different.
All said and done, talk is cheap. And that’s what we have right now, just talk. I’m not certain if we would ever move back to Detroit, or Michigan for that matter. If you asked me right now, I’d say no. But it’s hard to say what the future might bring. Maybe one day we’ll change from believers into doers.
Look, I even categorized things in case you want to skip over things you might find boring. Can you guess what I do for a living? That’s right, craft emails. Okay, no, not really, but sometimes it seems like it. It seems like I’m striving to communicate to people who don’t speak the same language … except we do. For instance, I might say “Can you please take care of this today as it is critical for our work?” and by the time Outlook has done it’s voodoo and shoved it through Exchange Server (which I’m convinced turns even the brightest, clearest, most inspiring emails into tripe) you read “Don’t bother worrying about this email. Because if I need this done badly enough, I’ll remember to remind you later about it.” But, I digress.
The Dad Who Chose To Take Care Of His Son
Poking around Network Solutions looking for domain names to launch a new blog that the husband doesn’t know he’s going to own yet. I’m going to be all “Surprise! See what I bought you?” And he’s going to be all “Were they out of hamburgers?” It’s just that we talk alot about his experience (so far) as a Stay-At-Home-Dad (including a better label than that) because it’s been a really interesting experience so far for all. The biggest issue we’ve discovered is that sadly, there are still many stereotypes around fathers who decide to stay home to take care of their children. He has gotten alot of “Oh, you’re Mr. Mom” and just the other day, we were at the doctor’s office for what shall be known from here on out as THE EYE INCIDENT when I overheard the nurse say “Babysitting today?”. I literally saw the question mark appear over the husband’s head as he tried to understand what that meant. His response was simply “That’s my wife and son.” We’ve had mixed responses from our families and not necessarily negative but also not overwhelmingly positive either. I won’t go on and on about that any more than I already have. But, suffice to say that I think it’s incredible that the husband takes care of the boy full time. Often it’s the mom who stays home (which is of course, awesome) but I think that one day the boy will look back and see how special having his dad with him everyday really was/is. I’ve gotten to carry the boy in the belly and I’ve spent countless hours peering into his little face while nursing him. This is the husband’s turn to have those special moments all to himself.
Looking For Inspiration
Aren’t I always? Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve done a little sewing and have been brewing lots of little ideas in my head. For most of my life, I’ve taken those ideas for granted and have now realized I need to give them the proper caring for they deserve. We are halfway through converting the dude room (or man cave, if you prefer) into a shared space for both of our creative endeavors. In planning this space, I’m already looking for ways to make it easy to capture thoughts, ideas and flights of fantasy. This is a long overdue project that hopefully, will contribute to more time spent being creative and less time thinking about it. Note to self: re-read Recollections of My Life As a Woman from Diane DiPrima.
The smallest bite ever
This is the smallest bite ever. You can tell by it’s proportion to my stress bitten fingernail.
Husband Attacked By Killer Plant And Survives
The husband was attacked by a killer plant that squirted poison in his eye. It immediately swelled up and during the night he grew green tentacles and tried to eat my brains. In the morning, we went to the doctor who gave him antibiotics which cleared it all up. Everything in that story is true except the tentacles and brain eating. Oh and then he was bitten by a spider three times. And then the dog tore his dew claw off and had to go to the vet and spend $150 of his allowance on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicines. Let’s just say it was a banner week at the Nest.
My Technology Avarice Will Not Die
I admit it. I have a problem. I love new technology and I hate new technology at the same time. As you may see, this causes problems. All of that conflict aside, I need (and that means want) a new machine setup. If money was no object, that there left image is what I’d be hitting check out on right now. Oh boy, it qualifies for free shipping. Really? I hope it comes with a house boy that delivers it to my door as well considering it’s almost 3K.
The Powerbook G4 I’m typing on at this very moment has certainly served me well. It’s made one trip back to Apple for service and has performed superbly … that is, until now. Small little things are starting to happen (like the clock sometimes changing itself to 1964) and they are increasingly annoying (like the downloaded files that pretend to only partially download). There comes a time in every tech girls life when you just don’t want to fix things and just want the computer equivalent of a pair of brand new Manolo Blahnik patent leather Mary Janes.
For now, I’ll just deal with the weirdness and hope that the laptop fairy might bestow a new machine on me. Or I win the lotto (or as Fishizzle says, the tax for people who can’t do math). Or I convince myself that spending 3K is a good idea and necessary for my mental health. Or I get a new job that pays lots and lots of money. Stay tuned.
