Moot Thoughts & Musings

I don't need to dress up as Superwoman for Halloween. All i have to do is look in the mirror!

Anyway, in case you missed me these past couple of days, here's what I've been up to. I went to the annual, national meeting of my professional organization, which was in DC. Since I now live in Philly, I drove down, and since I now have a 4 mo old, he went too.

I was a little worried going all alone. For one thing, it was Ellis's longest carride to date, and for another, I wasn't sure how I was going to maneuver at the conference. Well, Ellis did great in the car. He slept almost the whole way down and definitely the whole back. Overall, Ellis did very, very well.

I drove down on Wednesday night and the first thing I did upon arrival in DC was get lost. I was staying with a friend from Cov (Autumn F. for those who care), and she lives in the city proper, not far at all from the capitol. On Thursday morning, I decided to drive over to the hotel where the conference is since I had baby gear and stuff for the student welcome table that I organized. It was a harrowing experience. I will never drive in DC again! I thought I could manage city driving, but this city is a nightmare. Going ot the hotel was okay, mostly because we were going at like -5mph. It took about an hour and a half to go 5 miles straight through the city. Coming back was horrible; I got so lost and have no idea why. It's like all of a sudden I'm on the wrong road, circling around the Washington Monument! Harumph. I don't like being defeated by directions, because normally I'm very good at figuring out maps, directions, and generally where I am.

Thursday i set up the student welcome table and welcomed students. It's nice for first time attending students, because a major academic conference can feel pretty intimidating, esp. if you come alone or barely knowing anyone. This was my fifth year attending, and it was fun to be able to catch up with people I've gotten to know over these past few years. And there was our small Covenant crowd, yay! I left early Thursday evening. Exhaustion set in, and I knew Friday would be intense.

I got up at 5 am on Friday and was on the Metro by 6.45. LOVE the DC metro! I didn't jump on the whole metro idea at first, because I knew I would have to take a cab home since the metro station was a mile from my friend's house, and I wasn't going to walk a mile in the middle of the night, surely the hour of my return. So in order to take a cab, I would have to bring the car seat. But I managed the Metro. I strapped Ellis to my front in the Bjorn. Piled all my stuff (including the carseat) into the stroller and took elevators. It worked great. And when my midnight departure from the conference rolled around, I was so thankful just to load into a cab and not have to think about anything. I had a 7 am breakfast meeting, and I rolled in with Ellis and the moderator rolled in with a stroller and a 5 yr old, sticking an Elmo DVD into his laptop and asking one of us to take minutes. It made me feel a lot more comfortable about being there with my baby.

Bringing Ellis to the conference at first made me nervous, because, well, you know, academia isn't exactly up there in the family friendly scale. But it turned out really well. I received so many encouraging and supportive comments from women who had brought their babies in years past (or at least wished they had been able to, depending on how many years have passed). At one point, another woman and I were in the same lounge nursing, and she joked that this was beginning to feel like a La Leche League meeting. It was also rather amusing to see super famous scholars (men and women alike) melt at the sight of Ellis's bright blue eyes and cheery smile peering out the top of my Bjorn. (I was also able to get in some good conversations with people I probably wouldn't have approached otherwise. Go Ellis!) However, i didn't have the bravery to bring Ellis into any paper sessions, though one woman encouraged me to go ahead and do so. Joanna held E for a bit so I could catch a couple papers in teh afternoon. I tried to go to singing from Ren facsimiles (my favorite event!), but he was just too fussy. Oh well. After dinner, we went to a 10pm reception and chatted with people. He had been sleeping in my Bjorn, but then he woke up and started CryFest, so I left, got him settled, and caught my cab home. We were both exhausted. And after two days of juggling baby and conference, i was feeling a bit at my wit's end.

I was so thrilled for the dawn of Saturday, because Chris arrived. He came down on Amtrak and took over boy duty. I got to go hear some really fabulous papers, catch up with a couple of people I needed to talk to, and just have some relief. Phwew! I was really ready for him to come. After my morning mile walk to the Metro (with boy in bjorn, stuff in stroller), my body just ached and my head pounded from strain of the past two days. Saturday was an important day for me. I was really excited by the papers I heard. We had super fun with our Cov friends. And then in the evening I hit a couple of parties held by places where I'm applying to grad school.

Yes, I said applying.
For many good reasons, I decided to finish where I am with a master's and apply to new PhD programs. I had a good talk with my advisor about it. And I'm feeling really good about this decision. The thing is, though, that the only viable options in my area are Ivy League, which is good...if I get accepted. So I'm madly working on my applications, and I did some good networking over the weekend. So we'll see!

The hour time change didn't ameliorate my 1am bedtime, and we struggled awake in the morning. Poor Ellis slept all day and all night. Being a good conference baby is also exhausting!

So we're back. I feel refresehd, recharged, and excited.

...and I'm off tomorrow to go to Florida to visit my g'ma.

Posted by at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Posted by at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

When I checked the weather map this morning, there was this strip of green and yellow over my part of Pennsylvania. That means it's raining, which a glance out of the window confirms. BUT there is a white/pink strip over western PA, and an email from my sister, living outside of Pittsburgh, saying that it snowed 2 1/2 in of thick, wet, heavy snow and they made snowmen. One year ago, I was wearing shorts.

I love Bjork! We borrowed a couple of CDs that we don't own, and I've been listening to the same ones over and over and over. What I love about Bjork is that it's not the first time you listen to the CD that you love it, but about the 4th time. Every CD has its own unique sound. I love the way she experiments with different sounds and different combinations of instruments and voices. I'm listening to Vespertine for about the tenth time in two days.

I'm preparing to go to a conference in DC from Thurs-Sat. I'm not presenting (this one is too major league for me doing that at the moment). But I am organizing some stuff for students. I'm really looking forward to it. I always have fun at this annual conference. I'm bringing Ellis, so that should be interesting. I'm a little nervous about how I'll manage. Chris is going to come help me on Saturday.

Ellis is just not sleeping! He goes down for his late morning nap okay, but other afternoon naps? nope. bedtime? nope. About the only way he'll really go to sleep is by nursing, and sometimes if I try to put him down after that he'll wake up. The past few nights he'll go to bed around 9.30-10.00 and sleep for 45 mins and then be up again until midnight-1am. Sometimes he stirs again at 4.30, but usually I just put the pacifier back in and he settles again. Then he wants to eat around 6 am. I try just putting him down, but he flips himself over, which wakes himself up. I've even sat there and held him down so that he won't flip. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. And he won't sleep in his new position after flipping. This has been going on for like a month. Why won't he go to sleep? he's tired enough. I think I'm goign to try to pick up a copy of No Cry Sleep Solution while I'm out running errands, because, baby, I'm tired.

Chris has been great about spelling me out in the afternoons sometimes. I go to Starbucks for an hour and do a little work, which is so refreshing. He stays at home and bounces the baby.

We actually did something horribly cool and grownup on Saturday. I got a nice haircut on Saturday so was feeling fabulous. In the evening, we left Ellis with Grammy and went and sat at the bar at the Chestnut Hill hotel. He drank Scotch and I had a gin and tonic, and we were grownups talking to eachother.

I could really use a Starbucks latte about now.

Posted by at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

bbyvb vgfdff c minnbc which means: "I love my exersaucer"

Posted by at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I guess whatever was ailing our blog server is fixed now?

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There hasn't been much blogging going on in my brain. Often when I'm going through my day, I'll think, oh, i'll blog this or that. It usually doesn't get from the brain to the blog, but at least I'm thinking about what to write. I haven't really thought much about what to write. I've been sort of in a funk lately. But I think I get like that when the season changes, even if I'm enjoying the seasonal change.

Thankfully, last Monday it stopped raining, so it's been a lovely autumnal week, that's progressively getting cooler. It's raining again today, but I don't think we'll have a week's worth of rain as before.

I went to the thrift store on Wednesday and got a couple things for me. But more importantly got an exersaucer thing for Ellis for $6! After nearly sandblasting the crud off of it, it looks almost new. It's in great condition, and he is in love with it! Squealing and cooing its praises. The moment we set him down in it, his face just lit up. I'll have to post a picture later.

On Tuesday i wrote that he wasn't reaching and grabbing yet, but on Tuesday evening, he proved me a liar. He was figuring it out all day, and by evening he was a solid grabber. Now he's working on object grabbed to the mouth thing.

I'm really getting into that show The Apprentice...it's like corporate Survivor. Though I think I prefer the Marth Stewart Apprentice better than the Donald Trump one.

Well, better do something constructive.

Posted by at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Check out the belly and foot on Lynn's blog. amazing.

Posted by at 12:19 PM | Permalink

Ellis turned four months last Saturday!

It's going by faster and faster. I can barely keep up. I can hardly remember this last month. He seemed like he jumped from 3 to 4 months overnight. How different when the first month seemed forever.

Ellis is more and more a joy every day.

He's definitely taking in more of the world around. In addition to his WinniethePooh mobile, which he still loves, he's getting into other toys around him. He likes his little baby gym thing and will squeal at those toys and will lay there and stare at others. He has no problem getting up on his forearms and lunging and wiggling around.

He likes to eat his hands. He doesn't reach, grab, and pick up something yet, but if you put something in his hands, he'll grasp it and put it in his mouth. This is especially cute when he happens to be holding a blankie. It looks like he's cuddling it (but he's secretly trying to eat it).

He's showing his personality more and more everyday. He's for the most part really easy going. He likes to be around people and will let anyone at church hold him (and he really gets passed around). Easy-going doesn't necessarily mean laid-back, though. He's constantly actively involved with his world, at this point usually through intent watching. He doesn't miss a thing. He likes a changing scenery. He's adding more sounds to his vocabulary. Zerberts are a favorite. (Watch zerbert movie! It's kind of poor quality, but it's worth it for the sound. 34 secs. 204 kb)

(When I put the hat on him one chilly morning, Chris called him "Big E Pooh from the Hundred Acre Hood"...) One he does not like is to ride in his carseat. If he can either be calm enough to enjoy watching the trees go by or to fall asleep, then it's ok. Otherwise, I've gotten really good at reaching behind me while driving (and shifting!) and sticking the pacifier back in, sometimes holding it in. I think part of the problem is that he can't see anyone, and since he can't hear anyone either, well, maybe he misses us. He's a good traveler, but prefers to be where he can take the most in visually, thus he likes the Bjorn better than the stroller.

He's getting stronger and bigger everyday. If he's reclining, he lifts his head, straining to get more upright. But the more upright he is, the more he slouches forward by eating his hands. He also really enjoys jumping in our laps.

Posted by at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I just reheated my coffee in the microwave, snagged a piece of chocolate, got a bowl of cereal, and put on Bjork in the CD player. I've got to wake up! It's harder today.

I did get up early, bundling sleepy Ellis into the carseat, to take Chris and his mom to work. I came back, nursed Ellis, fell asleep, and dreamed of trying to catch the right train in the rain and of trying not to forget Ellis on a seat in the train.

Over a month ago, Ellis started officially sleeping through the night. The real problem is getting to bed. And we've been having trouble with this for almost a month now. He'll go down alright say about 8 pm. He's exhausted. We usually go out and about during the day. He has play time with daddy in the evenings. So he doesn't have trouble falling asleep after I've nursed him. I've started calling this his "evening nap." He wakes screaming less than half an hour later. The screaming is an extra touch he's added in the last couple of nights. I don't know if it's teething. He doesn't grab at his mouth or anything. His gums aren't swollen. He drools lots (and sprays drool lots with the cutest zerberts ever). And he does eat his hands all the time.

So screaming goes off and on for over an hour (by now it's 10 pm). When he gets calmed down I try to nurse him a little bit (he won't nurse during Scream Fest). Then he peacefully sucks and then looks up at me and starts grinning and smiling and being entirely too pleasant and acting not at all sleepy.

Phase two sees me taking this baby down to the basement to watch TV. I put him on the couch and let him zerbert away, rubbing his belly and his back to get him to relax a bit. He stares at the moving pictures on the TV, mesmerized (what am I doing to my kid?!?).

I've watched more TV in the past three nights than I have in probably the last three months. Last night I watched HBO's new Rome show. Wow! It is pretty incredible. I think a bit too violent for me. I get squeamish when heads get put on pikes. (This is why I am a music historian and not a regular historian.) The show is pretty cool though, I've never seen anythign to bring the ancient world so much to life. (Caveat: since I don't know the varying degrees of what my readers will watch; the show is definitely rated R, in my opinion.) I've also discovered that Poirot and Sherlock Holmes come on in the middle of the night on the Biography channel on weekends. And last night, I discovered Martha's new show The Apprentice, which was like Survivor in Martha-world. I will admit I was riveted.

Anyway. Back to Ellis. I've tried various things first to get him to stop screaming and second to get him to go to sleep. Last night I felt like I was on a good track for awhile, until he perked up. When he screamed, I swung him in my arms, until he stopped, then I put him back down his bed, and tried to soothe him. Now with many kids, a little white noise, like waves or dolphins or heartbeat, will put them to sleep, but that doesn't work with Ellis because he can't hear it. He is very calmed by lights, though. So I took his baby monitor, which is like a globe that has a light that can be switched on inside, and put it in front of his eyes and twirled it in my hands. He was mesmerized and fell asleep. (only to start the waking, screaming cycle over again a half an hour later.) I try staying in the room, folding laundry or something, to make sure he's really asleep, but it seems like everytime I let my guard down, bam he's awake again. Finally, somewhere between midnight and 1 am, he'll go to sleep for the rest of the night. I try to do all they say to do...create a definitive bedtime ritual/mood, whatever.

I'm not sure what to do. It's not like he's got day and night mixed up, but sort of halfway so? and maybe it's teething. Maybe in a few weeks, the pearly whites will poke through, revealing all. Maybe starting solids will help...eventually...I'm so not ready for that for awhile. I guess I'm not too worried, if a little worn out; I just want to make sure that he's just being baby and not getting totally screwed up for an appropriate bedtime.

Posted by at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I'm doing something I've never really done before. I'm conducting a performance. Sure, I've taken conducting class and can do it in theory, but I've never really done it in practice.

For Christmas, our church is doing a few numbers from Messiah, with whoever wants to participating. At first I was dubious, but I showed up at the first rehearsal last week to sing in the choir, I was impressed at the level of talent our smallish congregation could muster. From the congregation, we have a little orchestra comprised of 3 violins, 2 flutes, and 1 (2?) cellos, along with keyboard accompaniment. And, from what I can tell, about 15 voice choir, pretty evenly spaced throughout the parts. The two soloists are really great. The only thing they lacked was a conductor. So I though, hey, I've had conducting class, I could basically sing Messiah in my sleep, a challenge would be nice, and even if I'm just up there beating the beat, that's better than nothing, so I volunteered.

Yesterday was my first time in rehearsal, and I must say, I thought it went pretty well. I can tell where I definitely need to improve myself, but I felt encouraged by how it went--more than even just conducting, the whole leading a rehearsal thing, too.

So here's to new challenges and experiences!

Posted by at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Yesterday it was still raining. Raining for a week straight! And more getting around in the rain. I had lunch with Em and Vangie, who was in town for a wedding, driving all around the world to coordinate said function. When I got home after another soggy day of out and about, I was greeted with the happy news that my father-in-law was offered a new job, after being unemployed for over a year. Blessings!! To celebrate, I set about making a pumpkin pie. Besides it was cold and dreary outside, what better day to fill the kitchen with warmth and spices.

So, I thought I'd document how to make a pumpkin pie. From the pumpkin itself to the end product.

You can use an official pie pumpkin, they are slightly richer in texture, but honestly, I can't tell a whole lot of difference between a real pie pumpkin and a typical jack-o-lantern pumpkin, which will be bigger and cheaper, perhaps. Cut up the pumpkin into manageable pieces, piercing the piece with a fork. Bake in a low oven (around 200 degrees) for about two hours, covered with tin foil and a little water in the bottom of the pan. (I've also had success microwaving smaller amounts. Cover with plastic and check every ten minutes until it is tender.) After it has cooled, peel the skin. It may come off easily by just pulling it, but often I have to use a potato peeler to help.

Puree the pumpkin, which can be done easily with a food processor or a handheld blender (my favorite kitchen appliance). (In a pinch I've used a fork to mash it, but the texture isn't as smooth.) There's a lot of water in the pumpkin, so it's good to drain it a little. I always use a paper towel, because it soaks faster. Then you're ready to make the pie.

Recipe
2 eggs
2 cups of pureed pumpkin
1 can of evaporated milk (my Joy of Cooking said I could 3/4 c milk if I didn't have evap. milk, and it's just not the same, I'm sticking to the evap. milk)
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp gr. ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
(or if you're like me and are a spice fiend, you can throw spices in with abandon. I also use a little cardamom, too)

Mix ingredients. Pour into pie crust. Bake 35-45 min on 350 (until knife or toothpick comes out clean).

Pie crust is very straightforward. It's not as intimidating as people make it out to be. These are measurements for one crust. (So, like if you were making an apple pie and needed a top and bottom, double these measurements.)

1 c. flour, 1/3 c. shortening, enough COLD water to make it stick (start with about 1/4-1/3 c.)

Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter (or fork, if you don't have one) until it is crumbly. Add water and stir around with fork, until you can form it into a ball. It's important that your water is cold. I often have an ice cube sitting in some before I use it. Roll dough out on a floured surface. If you roll it out on wax paper then when it is rolled out, you can put your pie plate upside-down in the middle of the dough, slide your hand underneath the wax paper, and flip it. That way you don't have to wiggle around with your pastry. Trim and flute the edges. The key to perfect pie crust is minimum handling, so don't mess with it more than is absolutely necessary.

A decorative bonus. Find a leave from outside (unless you think you can freehand one or someother design yourself)--if you get a sturdy one, you can wash it with soapy water first. Cut out the leaf design on the extra pastry you trimmed off the pie. Bake seperately, for about 15 min on 350. After the pie is baked, lay your decoration on top. Voila!

Just call me Martha!!

(Actually the last idea, my mom saw on Martha years ago.)

Posted by at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Yesterday the hot water heater broke and the water had to be turned off. With uncertain predictions of the time frame in which it would be fixed, I decided to escape the madness. (Besides, I didn't get a shower, and that makes me super grumpy. *alas*) Ellis and I bundled up into the car and made our down the turnpike in the rain to Lancaster.

It's cold and soggy, but we found warmth and respite there. We sat in front of my parents' cozy fireplace on comfy couches, people reading books and making light chit-chat, eating warm gingersnaps right out of the oven, letting the rain fall outside in the dark.

It was so cozy that Ellis slept incredibly well. Probably better than ever. He usually falls asleep in the early evening, but then wakes up and fusses for a couple of hours until 11 or midnight before falling asleep for the night. Except for stirring briefly a couple of times, Ellis slept from early evening until about 9.30 in the morning. Go baby!

But we missed daddy and the water is working again, so we trekked back along the water-logged turnpike and came home.

Posted by at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

A new Beethoven autograph score was discovered in the basement of Palmer Seminary outside Philadelphia. It's a piano, four hands version of his Grosse Fugue. It's not a new piece of music, but it's a new book containing music written in Beethoven's own hand.

Posted by at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is my first traditional autumn in four years. The leaves are changing. It's been so long since I've seen the leaves change! They're so beautiful. It's been raining for days. Brown, yellow, red leaves bluster down in the breeze and stick soggily to the streets.

I'll admit, I'm susceptible to the mood a CD puts me in. And on a cold, chili day like today, I'm in the mood for the Baltimore Consort. I'm listening to On the Banks of Helicon: Early Music of Scotland. It's early music with a fun Celtic flair. It makes me feel less guilty to listening Celtic music, which I enjoy, but sometimes feel too faddish to enjoy. (Like that should really matter to me, but, hey, it does.) On this CD there are the fun folksy dances and ballades, but also more studied instrumental pieces.

One of my favorite features of this CD is the fact that all the facets of Scottish history in the 16th c find their place musically in this collection. There are dances from The English Dancing Master, and then there is the French influence. If you remember your 16th c Scottish history, you'll recall that there was a decided French presence/alliance with Scotland. I love how this CD takes the delicate political and cultural interplay of England, France, and Scotland and weaves together an interesting musical collection.

Posted by at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I just figured out the MT Bookmarklet! This is so way cool!!!

Posted by at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

IMG_1341.JPG
Originally uploaded by Diberjones.

In the spirit of joining the bandwagon, I'm also testing out using Flickr. Still not sure how I feel about it. Though I like you can create blog entries from it. I also can't figure out why the Flickr badge won't stay in "side", rather it pops up down on the bottom.

Posted by at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I took Ellis over for his checkup this morning. He'll be 4 months on Friday! Aack! Didn't he just turn 3 months? He weighed in at 13 lbs, 7 oz. 24 in. Growing steadily! He got two shots. I always feel terrible when he gets a shot, like I've betrayed him. But he usually recovers quickly. We're having a quiet, snuggly day at home today. It's stopped raining and now is cool and overcast. The leaves are really starting to change.

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This weekend was all about getting around and the rain and having difficulties with both.

On Friday, Ellis had his first train ride as we took Septa into center city to visit the library at University of Pennsylvania. It's actually the first time I've taken Septa alone, too, so I was a little unsure about things. But I figured out my route and what line to take beforehand and thought it would be pretty straightforward, as I have had no real difficulties managing public transportation systems in other cities and in other countries. Since it threatened rain and I was unfamiliar with it all, I decided to just carry Ellis in the Bjorn and not even bother with the stroller, even though after about 5 hours my back and shoulder were killing me. I am glad I didn't have the stroller to deal with. Getting down to Penn was no problem and except for the fact that I started going down the street out of the station in the wrong direction (which I quickly righted when I realized, hey! I don't want to cross this river!), everything was easy. I visited with someone I know at Penn and she took me around the library, which was very helpful, and I photocopied a song as my contribution to Erica's thesis.

By this point, I thought for sure Ellis would be hungry, and I sure was! So I went into a Starbucks to get me some sustenance and to find a place to nurse (since it was drizzling outside). The Starbucks was packed out!! University students seeking solace on a dreary Friday afternoon. I couldn't blame them, but I was left high and dry. So I figured it wasn't drizzling too much and got situated at a park bench, and no sooner did I get Ellis untangled from the Bjorn, it started to really rain. Aack! Back into the Bjorn! I decided the best thing to do was to scurry off to the train station. He wasn't fussing yet, anyway.

According the train schedule I had printed out, I would have to wait about 45 mins for the next one I wanted to take. So I settled down and Ellis fell asleep before I had a chance to feed him. I drank my coffee and he slept and slept. After awhile he woke up, I fed him just a little, because I didn't know when my trian would be coming (soon, surely!) and I was going to use the half hour train ride to feed him. Other trains kept coming through, but I doggedly waited for the line I had planned to take. When it arrived, an hour and a half later, it was only going into center city, so I had to transfer anyway. I have no idea what happened to the schedule I had, because what was happening didn't match it. I waited for about a half hour in center city during peak hours. The place is packed, train times keep changing, I found two possible lines i could take, and waited for the earliest possible time. Ellis still hadn't eaten and had a poopy diaper. I didn't know where to change him and was afraid to leave me post since times were changing. Finally, we got on the right train and got home safe and sound, three hours after I had expected. Ellis did so great!! I was so proud of him. He went a long time without eating and didn't even complain. He just looked and looked at everything going on gooing and zerberting at the people around him. And now I understand the ways of Septa better, and I'm sure it'll go much more smoothly next time.

On Saturday morning, I was really tired out, but I had planned to pick up a lady from church and we were going to Beadfest, like a huge bead tradeshow. I looked up her address in the directory, google-mapped directions, and set off. But I was so tired I had read "jenkintown rd" instead of "jarrettown rd", which put me at a very different part of town. I called Chris who gave me new directions, but I heard the wrong exit, so there I was lost again! It took me two hours to get to this lady's house when it should've taken 15 mins!! I felt so stupid, because I'm normally really good with directions. And, of course, it's raining the whole time. I only stayed at Beadfest for a little bit. It was cool, but I just didn't have time, money, or energy to spend there. I left Ellis at home with a bottle (I finally went out and bought a pump last week), and he took it fine, so I was relieved on that account, because this could really free up some library time for me in the near future.

In the afternoon we set off to go to Lancaster for my mom's bday. I had made a pumpkin cheesecake. Mmmm. It was still raining. At one of the travel plazas along the turnpike we got our ritual Starbucks and shortly thereafter crawled in traffic due to an accident. Finally we got off the turnpike, and no sooner did we set out on our country road, we were diverted, probably due to the swollen river, we then proceeded to try to avoid. So here we are driving all over up and down this ridge, around and around. Water is just streaming down this mountain and rocks are everywhere. Some guy gave us directions to get back on the right track. I couldn't remember which direction he said to turn for the final turn. I thought it was right, so we turned right, and I called my mom to double check on the map for us, but she thought we were further down and said, no, we should've turned left, so we turned around and drove for awhile, but it wasn't looking right, so we called again, and we were heading in the wrong direction, so we backtracked again, and eventually got back on track. It took us three and half hours to take a trip that is normally just over an hour.

We had a nice evening celebrating my mom's birthday. My aunt and uncle were there and friends from church.

Our trip home was only minorly hampered by a detour probably due to flooding on the road we were taking, a road we were on to avoid possible flooding on a different road. Phwew!! We made it home in one piece!!

But I've had enough adventures for a little while!!

Posted by at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

We've had a baby boom at church this summer. The fourth boy born is now about a month and a half, followed by two girls (they're too little to come out and play yet). Some of you might recognize Charlie's and Josh's moms from Covenant.

The big kids banished outside to play on a warm Indian summer afternoon.

(ack! sorry about the poor quality! I guess I went overboard on trying to make this small, low res)

Posted by at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Yesterday we went to hang out with Ellis's peer group. These three boys were all born within a month of eachother.

more to come...

Posted by at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

When you move to a new place, there's a period of mourning involved. Nothing is familiar in the new place; every time you turn around, you're faced with the reality of what the place is not.

I miss my old Whole Foods on Magazine St. (if it's still even there any more). I miss Friday evening grocery shopping, the huge row of bulk items, the loud annoying cheese counter manager, and the helpful fish counter guys peering over piles of huge, whole Gulf shrimp. I miss the islands of pre-made food, the wine aisle, and baskets of Louisiana strawberries. I miss the impossible parking lot. I miss the funky Magazine St people and the privileged Uptowners. I miss all those instant soups that never worked out for me.

After dropping Chris and my mother-in-law at their respective places of work, Ellis and I went to the Whole Foods around here. It's not the same, not as fun. But the aisles breathed of familiarity, and I went down every one of them gazing at familiar labels. I picked up a couple things I needed to make pumpkin cheese cake for my mom's birthday and then grabbed a few 365 Whole Foods brand favorites, like raspberry soda and blue corn tortilla chips. I also got some natural vitamins and a whole wheat triple berry muffin for my drive home.

Posted by at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

You are Woodstock!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
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I also took that politics quiz that was circling around. Scored as a social (61%) and economic (26%) liberal...go figure. (Can't get the html to copy for some reason.)

Okay. Now on to something productive.

Posted by at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Apparently Hurricane Katrina has let loose several armed dolphins. It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted by at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fall is inaugurated. September 21 is the first official day of Autumn, but the day slips by and no one takes notice, taking stock in their own rituals that mark the changing of seasons. My years of living in Louisiana taught to me to throw out the dropping of the thermometer as a harbinger of the year's waning. One thing that has remained constant for me from the frigid temps of the north to the lazy heat of the south is the First Pumpkin. My good friend Em and her husband came for supper last Friday night. (By the way the chickpea stew is fantastic! I totally recommend it.) She brought me the sacred gift of the first pumpkin, bedecked with the perfect gnarly stem. I made two pumpkin pies out of it, delicious, smooth, spicy pumpkin pies.

Posted by at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Yesterday we were visited by a team to evaluate Ellis for early intervention services. They were really nice, down-to-earth, friendly, helpful people. (I was so glad, having no experience with social services folks and having a general suspect for the social sciences). So they accepted him into their program. A teacher, physical therapist, and speech therapist/audiologist were on the evaluation team along with the services coordinator.

Except for anything to do with hearing, they said he was doing marvelously. The PT was really pleased with his motor skills, and they all remarked how well he was taking in things visually, which is good, because he is essentially compensating for hearing with seeing. So they're setting us up with a teacher for the hearing impaired to come every other week. (Provided by the school district at no cost to us! Your tax dollars at work, folks.) Behaviourly they found no responses to sounds at all. I hope he has some residual hearing! It seems more and more that he may not. Even 2% hearing is a lot to work with. Anyway, the meeting was good, and they're putting us in the way of lots of information, which is more helpful.

In some ways, I feel free to start learning sign language now. I'm not sure how to express this, but before I felt like I wasn't sure if I should or not. But now I feel like it's okay. We want him to have everything method of communication of available...work on speaking and using any residual hearing he might have and have sign language to use. Some parents are really against their deaf children using sign language, which I don't really get, because it also denies them access to the deaf community. (To me, that's like adopting an African-American baby and then denying his/her cultural heritage.) And though I want Ellis to be able function well and independently in the hearing world, I want him to have access to the resources and encouragement the deaf community could provide, too. I feel encouraged.

Posted by at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)