In the spirit of Halloween, which I (sadly) did not get to enjoy this year, please enjoy this delightful photo of my mom, whose costume is a family staple, and one that would have made my dad so proud. (Of course, he probably would have wanted to wear it himself.)
I'm not saying I'll never post on this blog while I'm abroad, but I'll probably post rarely enough that it's worth your while to shift your attention to the blog Maggie and I have dedicated to documenting our preparations for and adventures in Paris:
Last weekend, Maggie and I took a short trip to Maine to relax a bit before the big move. I'm stealing this slideshow from Maggie's blog to give you an idea of the things we saw and did. (I'd describe the trip in great detail, except there's so much to do to prepare to leave! Maybe after we get there, when I'm less busy? Um, maybe not.)
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We're getting really close to leaving for France, and so I'm taking this opportunity to post the most recent pictures of the garden, which has wildly exceeded our expectations. We've gotten pounds and pounds of cucumbers, there are fresh tomatoes every day, we had a gazillion salads composed of our own lettuce, and there have been a few zucchinis and green peppers. All in all, a huge success!
Hopefully our housemates will continue to document the growth (and eventual decline) of the garden, as well as their efforts later in the fall to incorporate all the great compost we've created from kitchen scraps and yard waste. And then, there's next summer to look forward to!
Dad's yahrzeit is coming up (22 Av, August 12), so I've been thinking about him a lot. Tonight - and a few other nights, including (but not limited to) the nights of July 4th (Independence Day!) and July 9th (Somerville's celebration of Independence Day, including grand fireworks display!) - it's been our neighbors' impromptu fireworks shows that remind me of one of the classic "Dad" stories.
I was 10, maybe 11. It was July 4th and we went to a BBQ at the Dietrichs' house, about 3 blocks from where we lived. The party was fun, everyone was enjoying themselves, and as the sky darkened the hosts spread the word that they would light off some fireworks in the street. Now, fireworks are illegal in New Jersey - but it's July 4th! Let's have a little fun!
Not Dad. As an employee of the state and of the county (he was County Prosecutor) he felt that it would be unethical for him to observe the fireworks without intervening on behalf of the law. But he also didn't want to spoil everyone's night. So, he recused himself (that's the technical term) from the party - he went home. My dad was the most honorable - and most strictly ethical - person I've ever known.
Tonight, when the neighbors set off their fireworks, my response was more my dad's than my traditional, childish, "Ooh! Fireworks! I want to watch!" I used my Flip video camera to document the display, and thought about calling the police.
Little kid with sparkler, ok, not so bad. Throwing a very loud firecracker in the middle of the street? Questionable.
And again. Sounds like gunshots. Scares Panda.
Fireworks are just as illegal in Massachusetts as in New Jersey, and Somerville (where we live) is the 17th densest populated city in the country. Fireworks on your front step? Entertaining, maybe - but also a little dangerous, and a lot annoying to neighbors who cherish their quiet evenings. Maybe I'm a curmudgeon before my time, but our neighbors certainly aren't going out of their way to endear themselves to everyone else on the street.
The least they could have done was invite me, so I could recuse myself.
I'm way behind on posting this, but over Memorial Day weekend, Somerville threw its annual parade. Rather than try to describe it in words, I'll just embed a few videos I took of the event, which was pretty epic. Highlights included a bunch of bands, a ton of Shriners, and Mayor Joe!
I just learned how to embed sound files on the blog, and I'm really excited about it. This one is for Poppop. It's from the Friends Village concert I gave on his birthday, and it was recorded on the digital audio recorder he and my mom gave me for my birthday.
Maybe I should rename this blog, "Garden, Dinner, and Family," since all of my posts recently seem to deal with these topics. Here are some snapshots of my life recently that focus on those topics.
When I was home in early June, we celebrated Poppop's 89th birthday. Here he is with three of his favorite things: a digital camera, cake and hot tea.
Recently, we picked up the farmshare that normally belongs to the "Brown girls" (because they went to Brown) who live down the street. One part of an incredible meal we made from all the fresh produce was this appetizer, inspired by the cooking class Maggie and I attended on July 24th. It's swiss chard sauteed in olive oil and garlic over Tuscan Wheat bread from When Pigs Fly (bakery down the street), topped with garlic + olive oil goat cheese from The Dairy Bar (right next to When Pigs Fly). Mmmm.
One hot day last weekend, Maggie and I decided that fruit smoothies were in order. We wanted to be as cool as possible, so we decided to transform the smoothies into popsicles, which we froze in small plastic cups, with plastic cutlery as popsicle sticks. They were as tasty as they are funny looking, and we still have two in the freezer!
I couldn't finish without a garden update. This is the haul from a few weeks back: seven huge cucumbers, and two nice-sized zucchini squash. This abundance of produce so impressed me that I couldn't help but shout:
Last night, I designed what was probably my most creative dinner menu ever - and it was tasty, too! The centerpiece would be a cod dish (cod being on sale at Shaw's). I decided to bake it in a marinade composed of butter and white wine, in which I sauteed onions and, at the last minute, added red horseradish. That last ingredient was as much for the color as for the taste.
To accompany the cod, I invented one salad and borrowed another. The invented salad consisted of (farmer's market fresh) lettuce, avocado, sauteed red pepper, and boiled Yukon Gold potatoes. For dressing, I made my own ranch from Mark Bittman's recipe in Tuesday's New York Times, adapted from his How to Cook Everything. (The ranch was probably the least successful part of the meal, perhaps because I didn't include chives, parsley, dill, or any of the other herbs that are sometimes used in ranch dressing.)
The borrowed salad came from a list of 101 simple salads compiled by (again) Mark Bittman in Tuesday's New York Times. The #7 is: Grate carrots, toast some sunflower seeds, and toss with blueberries, olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of black pepper. Sweet, sour, crunchy, soft. We substituted almonds for sunflower seeds, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. The tartness of the blueberries (fresh from our backyard - we didn't plant them, but whoever did doesn't seem to be harvesting their crop...) contrasted nicely with the more staid qualities of the carrots. And the almonds added a welcome crunchy texture to the mix.
The part of the meal I'm most proud of is its color palette - green, red, orange, blue, pink, white, brown, almost everything! I've come a long way from Chef Boyardee Dinosaurs and Kraft macaroni and cheese . . .
Clockwise, from the top: baked cod with sauteed onions and butter/white wine/horseradish dressing; carrot-blueberry salad; and improvised green salad. (Maggie's next career should be in food photography.)
Maggie and her cousin Rebecca enjoying our extremely classy meal. (Wine and dinner rolls (only 25 cents each at When Pigs Fly!) rounded out the menu.)
You're probably getting bored with garden updates, but hopefully this one will be more exciting: we have produce! Please enjoy these pictures of the veritable vegetable bounty in our front yard. (10 points and public recognition to anyone who can name everything in order!)
The only bad news is that our zucchini squash have contracted some kind of mildewy fungus, as you can see from the very last picture. But scientific studies have shown that you can treat the leaves and stems with a milk solution to kill the fungus. So we're doing that, and hopefully it'll work!
Sometimes, I skype with my cousin Jacob. Tonight, I got to skype with lots of other people too - my mom, Aunt Brenda and Uncle Bill, and cousins Sandi and Ethan. But as usual, Jacob was the center of attention. Here's what it looked like:
That's Jacob on the left, Aunt Brenda in the middle, and my mom on the right. Hi everyone!
Last Sunday (July 12) Maggie, Panda, and I headed down to the Charles River for a special treat: a picnic and the Sunday New York Times (highlight: crossword). For the first time, we picnicked in high style, using a special picnic backpack that I originally gave my parents for their 20th wedding anniversary. It has everything you could need on a picnic, as you can see.
We had cheese and bread, chickpea salad, ice-cold lemonade (thanks to the special insulated wine "bucket" on the side), and other goodies. Hooray for summer picnics! (And thanks, mom, for the picnic backpack!)
Our garden has exploded with color and produce! Here I offer two sets of photos - the first group of four was taken June 19th, and the rest are from July 5th.
In case you're wondering, the updated list of herbs/veggies includes:
Lettuce (green and red leaf)
Red Beans
Peas
Peppers (red and yellow)
Tomatoes (beefsteak, cherry, and other)
Broccoli
Zucchini squash
Burpless Cucumbers
Melon
Raspberries
Strawberries (very small, but surviving!)
Basil (Thai and other)
Purple Sage
Dill
Mint (two kinds)
Rosemary
Lemon Balm
Curly Parsely
Sunflowers
Creeping Thyme
And a bunch of flowers, as you can see. We've already enjoyed a few salads of home-grown lettuce, and Joey made a delicious basil-lime granita for dinner last night with some of the basil from out front. So exciting!
I've been in New Haven since Monday, kicking off my dissertation research with painstaking archival work in Yale's Gilmore Music Library. I won't bore you with details, but it's equal parts fascinating, mind-numbing, incredibly useful and completely pointless. Apparently this is what I have to look forward to throughout my career - tenure, here I come!
On to the reason for this post: like my dad, I have acquired the habit of enjoying food a great deal more when I'm away from home. (No offense meant to Maggie's or my own cooking ability, since clearly we are awesome in this regard. It has more to do with a willingness to try new places, see old friends, and meet new ones. And it helps that this research trip is Harvard-funded, so I'm more inclined to actually spend money on food.) My jaunt to New Haven has proved no exception.
Soon after my arrival, James and I hit up an excellent Chinese establishment right across from his apartment (Royal Palace Restaurant - yelp reviews here). For $6.95 we had soup, General Tso's chicken (James very spicy, me not at all), and fried rice. Awesome deal. In the evening, we patronized a well-known New Haven establishment, The Educated Burgher. (This is Yale's version of Bartley's in Harvard Square.)
There, I enjoyed a 1/3 lb. bacon cheeseburger with curly fries and a chocolate banana milkshake. Sure, I'll regret it in 20-40 years, but until then, it's all good.
Yesterday I had a small breakfast of Frosted Flakes (I never get sweet cereals at home!) and a lunch of a ham-and-gruyere croissant and a sandwich composed of Boar's Head (TM) roast beef, horseradish, and cheddar on a kaiser roll with a Snapple lemon iced-tea. But the main event was dinner.
Apparently the place to get pizza in New Haven is Pepe's, located in the city's own miniature Little Italy. James and I met there Will, Judy, Lindsay, and Kristen Oakes, family friends from way back who live 30 minutes from New Haven. Sure, we had to wait almost an hour and a half to be seated, and sure, then we had to contend with the world's slowest/most negligent waiter, but then! The pizza was excellent. We got an original with mozzarella (the original original comes without cheese!) and a pepper, sausage, and mushroom with mozzarella. Amazingly, Pepe's only serves pizza. That's right - no pasta, no subs, nothing. Don't believe me? Check out the menu:
My junk-food culinary overload continues tonight with all-you-can-eat sushi at an event James and his colleagues have been planning for at least a week. I'll let you know how it goes!
I can barely describe the many layers of thoughtfulness, style, and significance that permeated the wedding of Meredith and Andres at Mass MOCA. Suffice it to say, there were many. We enjoyed the Klezmer band that played traditional music throughout cocktail hour, the ceremony, and the first part of dinner before switching to covers suitable for dancing. We relished the "Pfoho fizz," a special cocktail whose origins have something to do with the Harvard dorm (Pforzheimer) where Meredith and Andres lived for three years. We oohed and aahed over the ketubah, commissioned from an artistic uncle whose use of color and whose layout created a document unlike any we'd seen before. And we were impressed by the skillful, respectful combination of various Jewish and Chinese traditions during the service, which took place among the museum's exhibitions, saving us the $15 entrance fee (of course, there was much, much more to see). As evidence of the service's hybridity, the chuppah (supplied by the groom's Taiwanese parents) had been hand-embroidered with Chinese characters. Beautiful.
The wedding was also fun - the band was great, the food was delicious, and it was nice to experience a purely social event with many of my classmates. When we finally left the party, Maggie and I walked (!!!) through the rain back to our host's house, giving us time to digest and rehash all our favorite moments.
The next morning, we were up fairly early and had breakfast at a new restaurant on Main Street before getting coffee at Brewhaha Cafe. Eventually we walked over to the hotel where the wedding party had stayed, said goodbye, congratulations, and thank you to Meredith, collected Matt and Madeleine (Frank had gone back to Boston with Tom the night before) and drove back to Ben's house.
We said goodbye to Ben, his roommate Annie snapped this photo, and we took off - in the wrong direction! But on purpose, as we wanted to walk around Williams College, located in Williamstown, 10 minutes west of North Adams. Williams was beautiful - and with property values in Western Massachusetts actually reasonable, I'd be more than happy to get a job there.
Finally, we arrived back in Boston around 3:15 in the afternoon, just in time to show our apartment to a prospective subletter for next year. And with that, our weekend getaway came to an end!
Yesterday afternoon, Maggie and I joined our friends Matt, Madeleine, and Frank for a road trip to the Berkshires, a heavily-forested, "mountainous" region in the northwest corner of Massachusetts where every town is quaint, artsy, and peaceful. Our ultimate destination was North Adams, where we would attend the wedding of my classmate Meredith and her fiance Andres.
On the way, we took a slight detour to stop at the Montague Book Mill, a used book store in a converted (you guessed it) mill. Their slogan is, "Books you don't need in a place you can't find," and boy were they right - we had to take a detour on top of our detour to get there. But it was worth it, both for the books and for the excellent cafe where we had lunch.
Back on the road, we actually drove right through North Adams and up Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in MA (3,491 ft.). We parked just below the summit and hiked up the last half-mile or so, pausing at the top to enjoy the amazing view.
On the way down the mountain, we learned how to use second gear (it slows you down!) and, once back in North Adams, Maggie and I were dropped off at our lodging for the night. True to our pre-Paris frugal nature and our preference for "authentic" accomodations, we avoided staying at the hotels recommended by Meredith in favor of couchsurfing with Ben Lamb. Ben drove us around North Adams, giving us a local's perspective, and we saw the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a bunch of old factories converted into artists' residences and studios, Main Street and its charming cafes, and part of Williams' campus (in Williamstown, 10 minutes away).
Eventually we returned to Ben's humble abode, where Ben regaled us with stories of his summer spent counting sockeye salmon in the Alaskan wild. Wild, indeed. Then, it was time to get gussied up for Meredith's wedding! And so we headed to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art . . .
Sorry I've been AWOL. For the last two weeks, I've been in South Jersey at my mom's house. My first week here, I helped prepare for and execute a massive yard sale - I basically cleared out the attic and parts of the basement, and we sold/gave away tons of stuff. Success! My second week here, I prepared for and executed a) a concert yesterday at the Friends Village (assisted living facility where Bubbe lives); b) Poppop's 89th birthday party (directly following the concert); and c) the Unveiling for my dad's monument (today). This entailed: 1) practicing a lot, as I haven't really played since dad died; 2) baking three batches of cookies, two batches of ice cream, two cakes, and grilling london broil, chicken, and salmon; 3) getting together a short service, which I led.
I also (in no particular order) did a lot of yardwork, ran various errands, spent time with family, booked airfare to Paris, found out I got a Fulbright for next year, possibly found an apartment in Paris, and enjoyed a day at the beach with my mom and cousin Jacob.
This hole got much deeper, but I can't prove it. Also, this picture was taken before I suffered a massive sunburn. This despite having put on sunscreen. Check out Jacob's cool shades!
Anyway, it's been a busy two weeks. Today was the culmination of it all - going to the cemetery for the first time since dad died, seeing the monument for the first time, saying goodbye all over again. It was easier, and it helped to be surrounded by lots of supportive friends and family - way more than is normal at an unveiling. I think Dad would have liked the memorial (simple but elegant) and the service (short, respectful, and mostly in Hebrew).
Dad, the stone I left on your monument is one I found in St. Geniez-d'Olt, France in July, 2004. It's been my lucky stone ever since - the one I've carried in my pocket every day (strange, I know). Today, I felt like it was the right time to leave it behind, with you.
I ought to have posted about this sooner, but in my excitement (and in a bustle of out-of-the-house activity) I completely forgot.
PANDA IS CURED!!!
Well, kind of. (You knew that was coming.)
As of about two weeks ago, Panda is now capable of calmly enduring time at home by herself. The longest she's gone so far is almost 6 hours; we try to make sure she spends at least 2 hours a day alone.
The breakthrough came when Maggie put somme of our dirty clothes on the other side of the front door. When we left, Panda could still smell us (as if we were right there in the stairwell), and was comfortable enough to pass out in front of the door. Since then, she's taken to sleeping on the futon - around the corner from the door.
When we leave the clothes, she still whines and paces for a few minutes before she calms down. When we don't leave the clothes, she's just as anxious as she ever was - barking, howling, scratching at the door. We try to always leave the clothes.
Life is completely different now that Panda can be home alone. We can take leisurely trips to the supermarket; we can go out for dinner; I can check out books from various libraries on campus without having to make sure someone can watch Panda. FREEDOM!!!
As much as I give Maggie credit for the clothes-at-door innovation, we both realize that Panda's anti-anxiety medication (doggie Prozac) had a lot to do with it. We'll keep her on the Prozac for at least a few more months until we're absolutely sure that she'll be calm without it - until we can leave, without clothes at the door, and elicit no more than a yawn from a contented, anxiety-free Panda.
As you might know, dad could be a little . . . irrational . . . about certain things, like travel and personal hygiene. While I entertain none of the same anxiety about these aspects of life, I have adopted my dad's home care fixation. Every time someone drags a piece of furniture across my hardwood floors, I cringe - even though I've preempted such negligence by attaching felt to the bottom of every chair, couch, futon, table, and nightstand leg. Every time I look at the inside of the bathroom door, my stomach drops a little. (At the height of her separation anxiety, we misguidedly left Panda in the bathroom, thinking she could do little damage. She tried her hardest to get to us, making toothpicks out of that door. Sigh.) And even though I've tried to accept the necessity of putting holes in the wall to hang pictures and kitchen utensil-holding peg boards, it still pains me to do it.
So it is with my dad's (and now my) neurosis in mind that I proudly post the following pictures of the condo, which I think we've kept in pretty good shape. Thanks, dad, for teaching me the value of proper (better than proper: near-obsessive) home care.
(The pictures are intended to entice a subletter for next year, when we'll be in Paris. If you know anyone who needs a place for next academic year, let me know!!)
We've been hard at work on the front yard the last few weekends, and I'm happy to announce that the 17 Conwell St. Community Garden Project is underway! Here's a list of the veggies we've planted:
Tomatoes (cherry and beefsteak)
Peppers
Squash
Zucchini
Broccoli
Lettuce
Peas
And we have lots of flowers and herbs and a few perennials, too! Check in every once in a while for updated pictures as the garden grows, and grows, and grows . . .
For more than a year now, I've been traipsing all around Boston with the little brother I always wanted but never had (thanks, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Massachusetts!). His name is Devens, he's 11, and he lives with his mom and five brothers in Dorchester. Together, we've been to the Institute for Contemporary Art, Red Sox games, Franklin Park, the Boston Public Library, the Science Museum, the Children's Museum, bowling (at King's and at Sacco's, which is candle pin bowling - so cool). We've baked cookies and we've cooked matzoh ball soup. We took Panda to the dog park once, which Devens particularly enjoyed. And on Sunday, we trekked through the North End on our way to the Boston Sailing Center, where we enjoyed a free sailboat cruise in the Boston Harbor.
Sure, we had to wait about an hour and a half to board, and sure, it was hot. But once we were out on the water, all was right with the world. Devens - who refused to appear on camera while we were on land - was soaking in all the new terms and techniques we were using.
Devens even got to steer the ship!
I think the Boston Sailing Center does this "open house" once a year. Devens and I highly recommend checking it out!
Dad is in the middle, behind the first row of people, covering his face with his hand. I'm pretty sure he was playing peek-a-boo, which was maybe his favorite game, no matter how old the other person involved.
So today is tough in a few ways. April 23rd is my parents' wedding anniversary; they would have been married 26 years. And today also makes eight months since dad's been gone. (Even figuring out what euphemism to use is a painful exercise.)
As of yesterday morning, Maggie is accompanying a study tour of teachers to China as part of her duties at Primary Source. She'll be keeping a blog of the experience, and she should be updating every day. You can follow along at http://chinastudytour-april2009.blogspot.com/ - but only until April 25th, when Maggie's China adventure comes to an end, and she returns home to me and Panda.
Last Saturday, my mom was honored by the Women's Commission of Salem County for her contributions to the community and for her perserverance in the face of numerous setbacks, physical and emotional. She thought I wasn't going to be able to make it to the luncheon where she'd receive her "Woman of the Year" award, but at the last minute Maggie, Panda, and I drove down and surprised her. (Apparently she had no idea, but some of her friends and family suspected I would show up. How could I not go? If my dad hadn't taught me the importance of taking time out from work for family before he died (and he surely did), then I certainly know how important that is by now.)
Here's a rough outline of the weekend, with some flip video footage as primary source evidence:
We arrived Friday late afternoon, made homemade mac'n'cheese for dinner, watched Milk and went to bad. Saturday morning Maggie and I took Panda and Sophie to the Rec Field, where we met Allison and her beagle Sadie. The dogs had a great time, despite the crazy wind. We brought a stick for Panda to fetch, and Sadie turned out to be a fan as well.
The luncheon at which my mom would be honored started at noon, and there was a big crowd in attendance, including (from left to right): Maggie, Carla, Susan, Brenda, Bill, Sandi, Cathy, and Chris.
After a teary introduction by Brenda Hall (wife of the Woodstown mayor), my mom accepted the honor of her selection as Woman of the Year with a brief but poignant speech:
After the luncheon, the Bernstein/Solomon side of the family reconvened at my mom's house, and I spent a lot of time playing with my cousins Josh, Sam, and Jacob. Here's the latter, spelling his name (but not my own) and singing a selection from Fiddler on the Roof.
Before Jacob sings, you'll see my mom and Sophie, Jacob's zedah (my uncle) Bill, Jacob's dad Ethan, the back of Bill's wife Brenda, my cousin David, and Jacob's mom, my cousin Sandi.
Josh and Sam showed off their karate skills.
Saturday night, we went to see Bubbe. She wasn't feeling up to attending the luncheon earlier in the day, but she did have a fun story to tell us about when she was pregnant with my dad.
After we left Bubbe's, we picked up dinner at Rushes, went home and watched Changeling, then skyped with Maggie's mom Dimi for a while. That was first time she had met my mom - success!!
Sunday morning my mom donated cuttings from some of her perennials for our new front yard garden, and we drove back to Somerville. Fun times!
Exciting news! I found out today that I've been awarded the Bourse Chateaubriand, a 9-month fellowship that will support a research stint in Paris starting this fall! Woohoo!!
To celebrate, Maggie and I are starting a joint blog to report on our preparations and adventures over the next year or so.
Panda, as you probably know by now, is pretty awesome. She's smart, she's well-behaved, she's only ever had one accident in the house (it was our fault, and it was in the bathroom!) - basically she's the perfect dog.
Except!!! She can't be left alone. That's right - she has what's called "separation anxiety," which basically means she gets upset when we leave her, and she's disproportionately excited when we come back. ("When we leave her" includes when other people watch her, although she's gotten better with dogsitters.)
If I remember, I'll post a picture of what she did to the bathroom door after we left her in there for a few hours at a time twice a week for a few weeks. It's not pretty.
Our hope, of course, is that she won't always have separation anxiety - we've been working hard to train her to be happy when we leave, or at least not to be distraught. And we're making progress. These days, she seems to have outgrown scratching the door when we leave, but she still whines, howls, paces, and is generally unhappy enough that we worry about what kind of damage she might do, either to the apartment or to herself.
So we consulted with a behavior specialist (Thank you Gordon!) and our new veterinarian, and together we decided that Panda would do best on anti-anxiety medication. As of tonight, she's been on Prozac for a week and a half, and I've stepped up the training in the hopes that she'll be more susceptible to reform now.
The game is this: I leave and try to come back before Panda gets upset. Sometimes I leave delicious treats in a bone to distract her for a while. Sometimes she's calm for a few minutes, sometimes she gets upset immediately. Here's an example of Panda unhappy after I leave (warning: this is kind of sad):
See what I mean? The good news is, this is a huuuuge improvement over what she used to be like. Wish us luck with the rest of the process!
I only had one paper to write, but it's been an intense first half of the semester, so after finishing my paper this afternoon I decided to take the rest of the weekend off. That means I can finally give you an update!!
I'll start with last night. I made a lamb stew/tomato sauce, put it over pasta, and enjoyed it with my friend Larry. Afterwards, we went to his apartment (4 houses down) and played Rock Band!
This morning, Maggie and I took Panda to the dog park, and she got chased by a greyhound (three times her size) named Maddie. They ran so fast!
Tonight, Maggie and I will finish watching the last episode in season one of Mad Men, which (despite a slow start) is excellent.
Topics for future posts: Birthday Presents, Panda's Agility Training, Dissertation Progress, Maggie's Trip, Garden Plans, Home Improvement...
I have got to get back on the posting wagon. There are tons of Florida pictures and videos to share! And second semester just started, so I have all kinds of updates on classes I'm taking and teaching! On the home front, I have new kitchen gadgets to gush over! And Panda has a new training program! And and and . . .
But all that will have to wait. For now, I leave you with the masterpiece of filmmaking that Maggie and I improvised one morning a few weeks ago.
Mom's doing better - she's been out of the hospital almost two weeks, and except for a new annoyance (bursitis in her right hip) she's recovering nicely. We're hopeful that she'll be back to work in a week or two. Keep sending get-well-vibes her way!
Last weekend, I took a time-out from mommy-care and joined Maggie on a quick jaunt to Milwaukee. We spent some time with Maggie's dad, attended the wedding of two of her college friends, and enjoyed several of Milwaukee's excellent museums. Sure, it was cold, but the coffee was plenty hot and plentiful to boot. You can see pictures of our visit here.
After Milwaukee I went back to New Jersey, where Panda and Sophie had learned how to play with each other. Cousins Sandi and Jacob came over to help me take down Plasticville and the trains. Nick cooked us dinner, and I made a successful spinach mushroom quiche. Finally, on Saturday, I headed back to Somerville. Allison had been planning on coming to visit, so Panda and I were able to ride with her, which was delightful.
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Maggie had off from work. We joined our across-the-street neighbors Alyssa and Talya for an adventure: a trip to the Middlesex Fells!
Our hike through the snow-covered terrain took us all the way around the South Reservoir, with views of the Middle Reservoir.
Here are Talya (with Panda), Alyssa (lounging), and Maggie on the bridge that separates the South and Middle Reservoirs.
It would be an understatement to say that Panda had the time of her life. She alternated between running way ahead of us, then sprinting back to where we were and beyond.
She dashed over the frozen reservoir, played with other dogs she met, sniffed at the cross-country skiers, and exhausted herself thoroughly. The following video encapsulates most of that. We can't wait to go back!
Tomorrow evening, Maggie and I leave for a week in Florida, visiting family and taking a break from the bone-chilling temperatures of Milwaukee, South Jersey and Boston. I look forward to sharing more pictures, videos, and stories when we get back!
You wouldn't be able to tell from the last few posts, but since the evening of Sunday, December 28th, I've been hanging out with my mom - in the hospital. She has a severe case of clostridium difficile colitis, a bacterial infection of the large intestine. It's unpleasant stuff, and her recovery is likely to be long and arduous. The good news is that she doesn't need surgery - that's the last thing we wanted, after what happened in August.
What My Mom is Teaching Me is perserverance - the ability to overcome challenge after challenge. She's well on her way to overcoming this one, but for good measure:
When you start typing a website's name in the address bar in Google's new browser, Chrome, the browser tries to guess which website you want before you finish typing. It usually guesses the websites you visit most frequently, or the website you visited most recently. Collectively, the websites that Google Chrome guesses based on each letter of the alphabet say a lot about me.
alluc.org
boston.craigslist.org
craigslist.org
drudgereport.com
espn.com
fivethirtyeight.com
google.com
hulu.com
ingdirect.com
jing.com
kayak.com
login.facebook.com
maps.google.com
nytimes.com
omf.paris4.sorbonne.fr
pandora.com
questionablecontent.net
realclearpolitics.com
southwest.com
twofeetmaggie.blogspot.com
umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest
verizonwireless.com
whatmydadtaughtme.blogspot.com
xkcd.com
youtube.com
zipcar.com
It's not exactly science, but interesting enough, I hope?
The first snowfall this year was a good one - we got around a foot and a half. Panda loved it! Here's a video of her showing off her agility skills. Jump, Panda, Jump!
One of the great joys of Thanksgiving was getting to see my cousins: David and Jody, and their two sons, Josh and Sam; Sandi and Ethan, and their son Jacob. David and Sandi are my dad's niece and nephew (I'll have to do a family tree at some point). Here, I'll introduce you to my first cousins, once removed.
Josh and Sam (twins) are 8. They're super fun, and teach me all about the newest in gaming technologies.
Josh helps his mom construct mobile homes.
Sam plays Nintendo DS while my mom constructs a home. Sophie looks on.
From left to right: Jody's knee, Mom, me, David
Jacob is 3, and unbearably cute. He loves to Skype and creates unique, figurative art.
Bixi vs. Vélib
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There isn't really any competition, but it has little to do with the
bike-sharing system and everything to do with the host city. While Montréal
seems Fren...
Hiatus
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As you may know, I'll be moving to Paris in one week! Louis and I have
another blog chronicling our preparations for this upcoming adventure, so I
will con...
In the spirit of Halloween, which I (sadly) did not get to enjoy this year, please enjoy this delightful photo of my mom, whose costume is a family staple, and one that would have made my dad so proud. (Of course, he probably would have wanted to wear it himself.)
