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An Audience First World
21 minutes ago
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Kids and Doggies!
So, the other evening the kids were eating lasagna. It had been a really busy day- they were whiny, dirty and reluctant to cooperate. Littleman in particular was taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to finish eating. Babyman was crying, more than ready for bed, and Sweetcheeks had finished eating. Finally I left Littleman to finish up while I ran Mr Sweetcheeks' bath and then put Babyman to sleep.
As I helped Sweetcheeks into his bath, I realized that not only had Littleman not come upstairs yet, it was awfully quiet downstairs. "Littleman?" I called. No answer. Uh, oh. I hurried into the kitchen to find this:
He was sound asleep on his chair at the table.
Poor Littleman. After hunting down my camera and checking on Sweetcheeks, I snapped a couple pics before helping Littleman off to bed.
* * *
In my previous post Moon Moment, I mentioned that we were at my sister-in-law's house that evening. Earlier in the day we'd been relaxing in their spectacular garden, enjoying the warm fall afternoon. They have two dogs, and one of them ("Thoreau") is quite the kisser. He honed in on Babyman right away.
I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that we spent much more time laughing at Babyman's plight than we did discouraging Thoreau's lapping tongue!
He expressed some displeasure.
But was a very good sport, overall.
He even showed off his own tongue tricks for us!
* * *
Mr. Sweetcheeks loves his Aunt and Uncle's yard. He had a particularly nice time.
Really, we all did.
As I helped Sweetcheeks into his bath, I realized that not only had Littleman not come upstairs yet, it was awfully quiet downstairs. "Littleman?" I called. No answer. Uh, oh. I hurried into the kitchen to find this:
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| From assorted |
He was sound asleep on his chair at the table.
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| From assorted |
Poor Littleman. After hunting down my camera and checking on Sweetcheeks, I snapped a couple pics before helping Littleman off to bed.
* * *
In my previous post Moon Moment, I mentioned that we were at my sister-in-law's house that evening. Earlier in the day we'd been relaxing in their spectacular garden, enjoying the warm fall afternoon. They have two dogs, and one of them ("Thoreau") is quite the kisser. He honed in on Babyman right away.
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| From Lisa & Mark's 10/12/08 |
I'm only slightly ashamed to admit that we spent much more time laughing at Babyman's plight than we did discouraging Thoreau's lapping tongue!
 |
| From Lisa & Mark's 10/12/08 |
He expressed some displeasure.
 |
| From Lisa & Mark's 10/12/08 |
But was a very good sport, overall.
 |
| From Lisa & Mark's 10/12/08 |
He even showed off his own tongue tricks for us!
 |
| From Lisa & Mark's 10/12/08 |
* * *
Mr. Sweetcheeks loves his Aunt and Uncle's yard. He had a particularly nice time.
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| From Lisa & Mark's 10/12/08 |
Really, we all did.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Moon Moment
Hurrying to and fro, packing away leftovers, collecting toys, stray socks, and dirty glasses, stepping lightly over the dogs and the baby to drop everything in it's rightful place. Conversation, squeals and laughter fill the small space of my sister-in-law's house. Is everything ready to go? I glance around. There's nothing left for me to do, at least until we are ready to walk out the door. No one is paying any attention to me. The children are all attended to. My husband is in the middle of a story, sure to be occupied for a few more minutes at least.
I slip quietly through the sliding glass door, stepping out into the dark windy night.
The air is fresh, and just beginning to smell of dry grass and autumn leaves. Even though it's October, the night is warm and pleasant. The gentle breeze suddenly gusts, gleefully whipping the flower beds and making all the windchimes sound. I steal down the back steps and find my way along the rock path to the firepit's clearing. There, I plant my feet firmly and tip my head back to the sky. The moon's glow is just visible behind the racing clouds, perfectly centered in my vision with the waving pines all around. Stiff with tension, I stretch to loosen my muscles. As the wind whips higher, I throw my arms out and breathe deep, deeper. Suddenly the moon explodes through a break in the clouds, shimmering silver and blue. It's nearly full, and glorious. I drink in the sight. Feelings of peace, awe and gratitude mingle with sadness and longing. I want to stay right there, stay and listen to the wind in the trees. Stay to watch the clouds. Stay to talk to the moon. To feel the earth beneath my feet and remember what it's like to notice the subtle beauty. "I miss you", I tell the moon. I do miss her. I miss the quiet connection. I miss my spiritual self. I watch as the clouds hurry to veil her brilliance again. The wind whispers to me that I'm probably wanted inside. Still, I linger. The beauty of the night is a balm for me, a sip from the chalice to keep me going a while longer. Finally I turn back toward the house. As I near the door I can see the boys inside, bouncing and talking and hanging off their uncle. The shouts and laughter are audible long before I open the door. With a last longing look, I slip back into light and noise, love and chaos.
Until next time, moon. Until next time.
I slip quietly through the sliding glass door, stepping out into the dark windy night.
The air is fresh, and just beginning to smell of dry grass and autumn leaves. Even though it's October, the night is warm and pleasant. The gentle breeze suddenly gusts, gleefully whipping the flower beds and making all the windchimes sound. I steal down the back steps and find my way along the rock path to the firepit's clearing. There, I plant my feet firmly and tip my head back to the sky. The moon's glow is just visible behind the racing clouds, perfectly centered in my vision with the waving pines all around. Stiff with tension, I stretch to loosen my muscles. As the wind whips higher, I throw my arms out and breathe deep, deeper. Suddenly the moon explodes through a break in the clouds, shimmering silver and blue. It's nearly full, and glorious. I drink in the sight. Feelings of peace, awe and gratitude mingle with sadness and longing. I want to stay right there, stay and listen to the wind in the trees. Stay to watch the clouds. Stay to talk to the moon. To feel the earth beneath my feet and remember what it's like to notice the subtle beauty. "I miss you", I tell the moon. I do miss her. I miss the quiet connection. I miss my spiritual self. I watch as the clouds hurry to veil her brilliance again. The wind whispers to me that I'm probably wanted inside. Still, I linger. The beauty of the night is a balm for me, a sip from the chalice to keep me going a while longer. Finally I turn back toward the house. As I near the door I can see the boys inside, bouncing and talking and hanging off their uncle. The shouts and laughter are audible long before I open the door. With a last longing look, I slip back into light and noise, love and chaos.
Until next time, moon. Until next time.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Littleman cooks: Grape Pie!
Littleman offered me another helpful recipe, this evening:
Grape Pie
- First, you take some bread that has been baked in the oven.
- You roll it out, then add some muffin batter and some grapes.
- Put it in the oven to bake, and
- ta da! You have grape pie!
* * *
Now, I have never heard of grape pie before tonight. But as I was writing this post, I decided to google it and see what I came up with. Lo and behold, there IS such a thing as grape pie! It is apparently a specialty of bakers in tiny Naples, NY. Here is one such recipe, courtesy of an article from the NY Folklore Society (http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic28-3-4/grape.html):
GRAPE PIE
Even though they may be perfectly willing to share their recipes, the bakers of Naples have trouble letting outsiders in on the secret of the perfect pie because they never bake just one: they prepare pies in quantity. After much consideration, Irene Bouchard worked out the following for me:
5 1/2 cups Concord grapes, washed
about 1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the grapes
1 tablespoon tapioca
Pastry for a 9-inch pie
Pop the skins off the grapes by pinching them at the end opposite the stem; set them aside. Put the pulp (without water) into a heavy pan, bring it to a boil, and let it boil 5 to 6 minutes. Put it through a colander or food mill to remove the seeds. Pour the hot pulp over the skins and let the mixture sit for 5 hours. ("This colors the pulp and makes it pretty.") Add the sugar and tapioca, then pour the mixture into the pie crust and dot with butter. Put on the top crust. (Irene uses a "floating" top crust—a circle of dough slightly smaller than the top of the pie—because it is easier than crimping top and bottom together and it also makes a pretty purple ring around the edge.) Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook 20 minutes more until the crust is browned and the juice begins to bubble up.
* * *
Thumbs-up tonight for grape pie! I am SO going to have to try it out. (The Naples NY kind, not Littleman's!) I wonder if our local muscadines or scuppernogs would work? Yum, yum!
Grape Pie
- First, you take some bread that has been baked in the oven.
- You roll it out, then add some muffin batter and some grapes.
- Put it in the oven to bake, and
- ta da! You have grape pie!
* * *
Now, I have never heard of grape pie before tonight. But as I was writing this post, I decided to google it and see what I came up with. Lo and behold, there IS such a thing as grape pie! It is apparently a specialty of bakers in tiny Naples, NY. Here is one such recipe, courtesy of an article from the NY Folklore Society (http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic28-3-4/grape.html):
GRAPE PIE
Even though they may be perfectly willing to share their recipes, the bakers of Naples have trouble letting outsiders in on the secret of the perfect pie because they never bake just one: they prepare pies in quantity. After much consideration, Irene Bouchard worked out the following for me:
5 1/2 cups Concord grapes, washed
about 1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the grapes
1 tablespoon tapioca
Pastry for a 9-inch pie
Pop the skins off the grapes by pinching them at the end opposite the stem; set them aside. Put the pulp (without water) into a heavy pan, bring it to a boil, and let it boil 5 to 6 minutes. Put it through a colander or food mill to remove the seeds. Pour the hot pulp over the skins and let the mixture sit for 5 hours. ("This colors the pulp and makes it pretty.") Add the sugar and tapioca, then pour the mixture into the pie crust and dot with butter. Put on the top crust. (Irene uses a "floating" top crust—a circle of dough slightly smaller than the top of the pie—because it is easier than crimping top and bottom together and it also makes a pretty purple ring around the edge.) Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and cook 20 minutes more until the crust is browned and the juice begins to bubble up.
* * *
Thumbs-up tonight for grape pie! I am SO going to have to try it out. (The Naples NY kind, not Littleman's!) I wonder if our local muscadines or scuppernogs would work? Yum, yum!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Photo Blog: Atlanta Botanical Gardens
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
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| From Atlanta Botanical Gardens- 9/24/08 |
Friday, September 19, 2008
Breezing by
First off, I'd like to announce that Babyman MIGHT be getting the right idea when it comes to sleeping at night. MIGHT. Maybe. I hope. He (and therefore I) have slept well the past two nights. Aaaaah. (I won't dwell on the fact that it's taken 10 MONTHS to get this far. . . No, I won't.) Combine that with the first handful of nice, cool days we've had this year and I am feeling quite sunny. :)
* * *
Babyman now has three teeth, and though he doesn't yet crawl in the typical, cross-crawling formation on hands and knees, he can drag himself around quite sufficiently. (It's pretty funny looking!) The other day he surprised me by using a sound effect while pretending to drive a toy car on my shirt. Just like his older brothers! And now, if you ask him if he is a doggy, he will gleefully hang his tongue out and pant like a dog. (LOL! I guess he picked that up from Gypsy and Gimli.) On the one hand I am always hoping for him to develop faster to make some things easier for me, but on the other hand I am amazed at how quickly it seems to go. Like watching paint dry while you sit inside a speeding rocketship.
* * *
I am in love with fall weather. Give me the first couple breezy, sunny cool days and my whole soul feels different. It's a remarkable (and sometimes much needed) attitude adjustment!
* * *
I'll close now because I want to ride my fall weather high (and had-enough-sleep energy level) for more productive pursuits. I'll leave you with a fun link:
http://www.theevolutionofdance.com/
Enjoy!
* * *
Babyman now has three teeth, and though he doesn't yet crawl in the typical, cross-crawling formation on hands and knees, he can drag himself around quite sufficiently. (It's pretty funny looking!) The other day he surprised me by using a sound effect while pretending to drive a toy car on my shirt. Just like his older brothers! And now, if you ask him if he is a doggy, he will gleefully hang his tongue out and pant like a dog. (LOL! I guess he picked that up from Gypsy and Gimli.) On the one hand I am always hoping for him to develop faster to make some things easier for me, but on the other hand I am amazed at how quickly it seems to go. Like watching paint dry while you sit inside a speeding rocketship.
* * *
I am in love with fall weather. Give me the first couple breezy, sunny cool days and my whole soul feels different. It's a remarkable (and sometimes much needed) attitude adjustment!
* * *
I'll close now because I want to ride my fall weather high (and had-enough-sleep energy level) for more productive pursuits. I'll leave you with a fun link:
http://www.theevolutionofdance.com/
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Scatterbrained Mini-musings
Ohhhh, I have a migrane.
The wild grapevines are starting to gild the foliage here and there, in tangles by roadsides- the first sign this year of Autumn. I welcome thee!
Babyman slept soundly last night from about 9:30 pm till about 3:30 am. 6 hours! A record. He then slept on, till about 7 am. I am very pleased- it's a sign, I hope, of better nights to come. A light at the end of the tunnel. A knot at the end of my rope. And so on, and so forth. Too bad I stayed up late. DOH!
My new favorite drink at Starbucks is a tall soy chai latte, no water. Yum.
Littleman's favorite phrase right now seems to be "You don't underSTAND me!" (~rolling eyes~) The kid is 4 for heaven's sake!
Sweetcheeks had a fun birthday. (Thank you all, who came out!) He's 3! I think he had a blast, and really felt special. I was glad to see that. It's tough, being the middle kid.
Babyman LOVES to wave these days. Smile and wave, smile and wave. Politics? Hollywood? He laughs a lot, loves to hang upside down and is trying to figure out the whole crawling thing. He likes cheerios and can really pack away some baby food. (I think it's all stored in his fat little knee rolls.) Still nursing, too. He loves music and singing, and will "sing" along with a CD or "sing" himself to sleep. He loves books and no paper is safe in his reach. He's still quite demanding, but will play by himself for short stretches now.
Thanks to a Wendy's kids meal prize, the boys have discovered the joy of books on CD. (So something good came out of that trip, besides convenience!) We have been listening to Magic Tree House books on CD just as fast as we can check them out from the library. It's been great!!
On that note, I've completely run out of steam. Besides, my head feels like it is imploding and I'm a little nauseous. I'm going to go to bed and pray for a repeat sleep performance from Babyman tonight. Is there a Native American dance, like a rain dance, to encourage babies to sleep at night?
Oh, CRAP.
Did I jinx it?
Babyman wakes.
Dammit. And a whole host of other expletives.
Ah, well. Off I go.
The wild grapevines are starting to gild the foliage here and there, in tangles by roadsides- the first sign this year of Autumn. I welcome thee!
Babyman slept soundly last night from about 9:30 pm till about 3:30 am. 6 hours! A record. He then slept on, till about 7 am. I am very pleased- it's a sign, I hope, of better nights to come. A light at the end of the tunnel. A knot at the end of my rope. And so on, and so forth. Too bad I stayed up late. DOH!
My new favorite drink at Starbucks is a tall soy chai latte, no water. Yum.
Littleman's favorite phrase right now seems to be "You don't underSTAND me!" (~rolling eyes~) The kid is 4 for heaven's sake!
Sweetcheeks had a fun birthday. (Thank you all, who came out!) He's 3! I think he had a blast, and really felt special. I was glad to see that. It's tough, being the middle kid.
Babyman LOVES to wave these days. Smile and wave, smile and wave. Politics? Hollywood? He laughs a lot, loves to hang upside down and is trying to figure out the whole crawling thing. He likes cheerios and can really pack away some baby food. (I think it's all stored in his fat little knee rolls.) Still nursing, too. He loves music and singing, and will "sing" along with a CD or "sing" himself to sleep. He loves books and no paper is safe in his reach. He's still quite demanding, but will play by himself for short stretches now.
Thanks to a Wendy's kids meal prize, the boys have discovered the joy of books on CD. (So something good came out of that trip, besides convenience!) We have been listening to Magic Tree House books on CD just as fast as we can check them out from the library. It's been great!!
On that note, I've completely run out of steam. Besides, my head feels like it is imploding and I'm a little nauseous. I'm going to go to bed and pray for a repeat sleep performance from Babyman tonight. Is there a Native American dance, like a rain dance, to encourage babies to sleep at night?
Oh, CRAP.
Did I jinx it?
Babyman wakes.
Dammit. And a whole host of other expletives.
Ah, well. Off I go.
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