Wednesday, April 26, 2006

An old letter

So, when I was little... my mother was friends with a writer... and I loved him in a grandfatherly way. Which is most probably because my grandparents all lived far, far away and he seemed to feel familiar and present.
It also seems that my mother met him in my favorite bookstore. I think this is just a way that showed how much he and I loved books. I remember sitting in this bookstore, which had a fireplace, reading books in all sorts of languages, and that it was OK to do this. The books in the store smelled so good. Oh, my memories of this place are what I use to compare all other bookstores. They just don't make them like they used to....

Anyway, my mother recently found this letter from him... written in 1978. And it just made me miss him. I asked him to marry my grandmother over sushi once, he said he did not think she would have him... I think he should have asked anyway. I think he wished he had.

My mother would go over to his writer hovel and sit and talk over bad instant coffee while he smoked a dangerous number of cigarettes and my brother and I played in the courtyard... we hated that he smoked, or at least I did... so I used to flush his cigarettes down the toilet... after we moved away from him and after many years of feeling bad that I did this to him... I sent him a letter... apologizing. He replied and told me not to worry about it...

WARNING - it may get a bit gross for some.... I, however, think it is funny...

because the plumbing and sewage system was so bad where we lived that he would just flush the toilet again, the cigarettes would swirl back up, he would let them dry, flick the turds off and there they were almost good as new.

Maybe I like the story because I do really miss him.



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Sunday, April 23, 2006

Just before he managed to give himself a huge


lump on his head...

Here is the Squink showing off his swimming attire, though you can only see his keep that nasty desert sun off of my baby skin swim robe...
No, it is not warm enough to swim in our pool, but it is if you have famly with a heated one...
Oh, I can't wait until ours gets warm.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Squink on TTOAST

I received this email from the Schatz today...




Hello B,

I just wanted to tell you on how proud of Josef I am. When I dropped him off I stayed a little bit and was watching him through the glass door. He could not see me because I did not want him to realize that I had left.

While I was watching him, a little girl about the same age as Josef started to cry. Josef immediately crawled up to her and touched her. The little girl did not stop to cry so Josef put his head on her shoulder trying to comfort her. This was so cool to watch.
I am so happy to see what good character our boy shows at his early age and thought that I need to share this with you.

Love you,
C

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Saturday, April 15, 2006

Silly Rabbit

Tricks are for Kids...

I guess I should have made it clearer that this was not about meeting my husbands wishes (and my gold standard) but that it was about being frustrated by how feeding children is portrayed. I honestly thought that the ideas were cute on the link to cute kids food, but who on this planet has time to make each of their child's meal a game AND is it even honest to do so. Food will not always be sandwiches made to look like a day at the beach... When I was growing up that sort of food spectacle was saved for birthday cakes.

This sites menus link has a much more realistic and practical suggestion of what are regular, good everyday food items to offer a child.

Clarity shrugged.

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Thursday, April 13, 2006

Food glorious food

I actually like cooking. I am pretty good at it too..

I don't do it much because I like relaxing more and doing dishes less... a lot less.

I am trying to figure out this whole what-do-you-feed-a-child-that-is-16-months thing.

Schatzy wants to keep everything organic and unprocessed, which is totally fine, but not that easy for a working mom to manage sometimes (I actually don't see how this could be easy for any first time mom).

I have found that letting my son have a go at some booty is ok too...

But can I let him make a meal out of it?

I let him eat a variety of things, and am pleased that he seems to like his veggies. He adores these (which I will always be grateful for the recommendation from Jordana).

But how do I make a real meal? What are the right proportions?

What all do I need to do?

I mean, do I just make smaller versions of the food that I eat for dinner, because take out Mexican food from our favorite local places doesn't sound like it is best. Not with hot sauce anyways.

I worry that I feed him only snacks?

Though I try to make sure he gets a mix of protein, carbs and fats.

So I turned to the trusty internet to look at what people think children should eat and I found these suggestions!!!

What?

Do any of you have time to make these things?

Sorry, I would make a lousy Japanese mommy, because while making a bento box may be a competitive housewife sport, I just lack the desire to do this sort of thing on a regular basis.

This almost makes me feel like I am failing as a mommy.

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Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

TTOAST

TTOAST

Well, This is week two (I missed last weeks TTOAST) and I just seem unable to see anyone going to any great lengths to be nice to strangers. As a matter of fact, a couple of weeks ago I was standing in line at the local Wal-Mart (it is usually only a last ditch that will get me to walk in those places) and just before we had walked in I asked my mother if she felt prepared for a trial by fire. It is ALWAYS HELL to go into one, maneuver around the gazillion people that have not a care that they are buying sub-standard products that they will have to replace in short time and thus spend at least twice the amount of money to have the same usage out of a product. Then there is the evil of waiting in line to pay. Yes. I think that is evil. I have a quick way to pay and get out, but that unfortunately was closed off to me because I had to go later than I normally would.

SO, as we were standing there, I was talking about the heinous wait and that I try to tell myself that it is a way to teach me patience… when we started talking about how it may be how our world is so keen on places like Wal-Mart that may be destroying kindness. It is an awful experience, a cheap one, and for certain things (like food in the grocery store section) are not sub standard, but others, well, they just are. Then there is the wait and the hurry to get the H - E - double hockey sticks out of there and being faced with price checks and long lines that frankly, I think, make people NOT want to be nice.

I am one of those gullible souls that like to believe that when people do nice things around us, that we are more likely to mimic that behavior and do nice things… Wal-Mart does not promote this. I don’t think it was even an intention, but is a by product of the economy and population mind-set. It is a shame. It is almost like we don’t expect generosity (because it is hard work) so we don’t practice it.

Add in:
Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves.
~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau

So, what have I seen that has been nice?

I don’t know, I saw my tomatoes start blooming, I saw my 5 different types of mint take off and root, I am watching my basil and other herbs flourish… Oh that is another post on how I don’t get planting annuals (especially in a desert). But, it has been nice.

What have I seen… my mother cleaned my car up a bit and found the sippy cup of very spoiled kefir that has eluded my eyes but not my nose for a few days. That was nice of her. I did not ask, she just did.

Also, one woman that I have known for a few years and reads the blog finally got to meet Squink. She took the time to email me and tell me how adorable he was. That was nice of her.

What have you seen?

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Saturday, April 08, 2006

This is Squink...

trying to catch the balloon he got to play with at the groundbreaking at the Children's Museum of Phoenix.


Favorite what?

The other day I cancelled my attendance at a meeting... which is not so strange... my reason though has set me to ponder.

I have a background in science, and science that is not so much the strictly mathematically based kind (physics for example) but biology mixed in a wonderful bag with culture and nature...

So, as I was driving to work I heard that the grandpapa of the scientific theoretical framework to which I have subscribed... well, he is coming to speak at a local institution of higher learning. So my reason for saying I would not attend a meeting was because "my favorite scientist is coming to lecture".

I thought nothing of it at the time, but now, upon more reflection, it is a little different. I have never ever heard anyone say that they have a favorite scientist.

So, I ask you in a meme-ish way, do you have a favorite scientist?

Just so you know, mine is Edward O. Wilson

Yes, he is rather controversial, but one of the things I think is so cool about him is that he has behaved rather admirably in the face of adversity. Honor, it speaks volumes to me. That and some other things...

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Friday, April 07, 2006

Gimme a G


Gimme an O
Gimme a MRS
Gimme an OO
Gimme a TFP

Wadda you get?

GO Mrs. Ootfp





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