Fun with Dirt

Fun with Dirt
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

We have been doing various projects to get our house ready for the market. Yesterday, Daphne helped me plant a little herb container garden for the front porch. She was a pretty good little helper. Our house looks better and better every day.

Meanwhile, things are looking a little bleak with the house we are trying to buy, so we may end up back at square one. Keep your fingers crossed.

It would be nice for something to actually go smoothly for once. I'm not holding my breath.

Anticipation

In a few weeks, Daphne and I are going with my mom and LarryFeathers to Indiana to visit my family and attend the greatness of the Harvest Homecoming. There will be apple dumplings, chicken and dumplings, a Fun Slide and Carousel, numerous trips to the Zesto, pizza from Pizza King, and general fun with cousins and such. I can't wait. Fooie and Mel, will you guys be in town? If so, we can take the kids to Community Park.

New Albany is a really good place to call your home town.

Stinkers

My Favorite Picture
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Yesterday I took Daphne to an indoor playground. There were a couple "big kids" there (about 4 years old). Daphne boldly went up to them, and said "What are you doing?" And the girl said to the boy, "Let's go over here where SHE won't bother us." Then later, Daphne said to the big boy, "Do you want to play with me?" and the big boy said, "No" and walked away. I wanted to trip him. And his mom.

The Peanut is trying so hard to learn about the social world, but I can tell it isn't easy for her. She only wants to play with big kids, and they won't give her the time of day. Poor kid.

The whole thing didn't seem to bother her, fortunately. It was way more upsetting to me than it was to her.

Keep trying, little Peanut.

The Forgotten Birthday

So, I had a nice birthday and got lots of great gifts. Then I left town, and I've hardly had a chance to play with any of my new stuff. This French Press is the exception. I use it every single day. Good coffee is important.

Knitting through the Pain

During all the fretting that's been going on, one way I have kept myself sane is by knitting like a maniac. The three projects in this post were made for Kim and Marty's baby-on-the-way (whom Daphne has named "Blueberry"). It was tricky coming up with gender-neutral projects that I liked, but in the end, I chose the hat above, made with sock-monkey yarn, a nice alpaca cream-colored blankie, and a neutral cotton washcloth. If the baby is a girl, I think I'll probably make a small flower to decorate the hat a little and make it more feminine.




I actually did quite a bit of knitting on the plane, which along with the sedatives, seemed to help a lot in keeping me calm. I have a couple new projects in the works, which I will show you when they're done. I am learning a lot through all this, and becoming a better knitter, so that's good. I am already panicking about being 1000 miles away from my favorite yarn store, and my friend Emily who always knows how to help me in a knitting crisis.

Brave New World

OK, so here's the deal. We're moving. To Virginia. Things have been really chaotic lately and blogging has had to fall to the bottom of the priority list. But, it's nice to know I've been missed, and I will try to blog more.

In a nutshell, here is what has been going on: Kev got a job offer at the beginning of August for a full time postion doing rocket stuff for a company in Northern Virginia, just outside Washington DC. We had to make some quick and very very difficult decisions. We flew up to VA to do a whirlwind house-hunting expedition, which was stressful and defeating. The last day we were there, we found a house we both loved. So, after lots and lots of fretting and hand-wringing and going over and over the pros and cons, we decided to make an offer on the house and accept the new job. This has been really hard on us and on my family, who thankfully will probably be able to move up and join us in a year or so. Meanwhile, we went on vacation to New York. The whole time we were there, Kev was sick and I was sad, and we were trying to deal with real estate wheeling and dealing, but we managed to squeeze in some fun by hanging out with the family and going to the Dutchess County Fair for milkshakes and the Fun Slide, and we got to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our new neice or nephew, which we can't wait for. And the last night, Kev and I went to the movies. We saw Pineapple Express, which was funny, but not as funny as Superbad.

All of this happened over a 2 and a half week span. We flew to VA on a Monday, back to Dallas on that Friday, were welcomed home by the delightful aroma of a deceased Pancho under our crawlspace hatch, got up at 3:30 the next morning and flew to NY, and then back home 9 days later. That's 4 flights. In two weeks. And you all know how I feel about flying.

On top of all that, I turned 40, but I've hardly had time to catch my breath, much less dwell on that.

Since we got home, there has been more wheeling and dealing, lots of cleaning and packing and arranging for landscapers and fence guys and handymen, and Daphne has chosen this week to have a terrible two relapse. I think maybe things will settle down by Thanksgiving. That may be optimistic.

So, we are excited, sad, and nervous about this move. As much as I complain about Dallas, it has been my home for 30 years and I am going to miss it. And even though I know my family will join us eventually, it is going to be extremely hard to leave them. Please try to consider their feelings and be sensitive in your comments.

Sorry about the lack of blogging. I will do better. Next time, I'll try to post some pictures of something happy and/or interesting. Photos from our NY trip on Flickr if you want to see.

Thanks for being patient.

Break Time

Today is the last day of my 30's. I don't know really how to feel about that. I have spent the weekend celebrating with family and friends. It has been nice. Tomorrow, I begin new adventures in my 40's. Gonna lay low for a couple weeks, but I'll be back.

Weekend of Firsts (or WALL-E-HO!)

Once everyone stopped being sick, we had chicken soup. Go figure.

It was really good. Kevin made the dumplings. I always mess them up. But now I know the secret, so next time I will make them and they will rule!



Daphne has been really good lately. We decided to treat her to her first movie in a theater on Saturday, so we went to the 11:30 matinee showing of Wall-E at the great Inwood theater, which has changed me forever. Now, no other movie theater will do. The Inwood has big giant comfy couches with ottomans, so we sat in a couch-built-for-three with the Peanut anchored securely between us. She had her own little bag of popcorn, her juice cup, and PSB (Pink Soft Blankie), and she was ready. For about the first 45 minutes, she was completely mesmerized, probably by the sheer hugeness of it all. It was more fun watching her than the movie. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and now and then her little hand would sloooowly make its way into the popcorn bag and then to her mouth. It was so dang cute...she was like a little adult sitting there. Unfortunately, the movie was WAY over her head. There were no cute forest creatures or catchy songs. It wasn't very colorful. There was hardly any dialogue. So after the novelty wore off, the squirming began. Squirming isn't so bad, though, when you have a whole giant couch to squirm upon, so we made it through the whole movie without having to leave. The biggest problem now is gonna be taking her to a regular old theater. With chairs. We've set the bar too high.



Today we made Daphne her first root beer float. She loved it. She spent about three minutes drinking it, and then about ten minutes trying to summon every last molecule from the bottom and sides of the cup. I thought she'd cry when we finally took the cup away, but she was OK.

She got a root beer float because she ate all of her shrimp and "spaGARagus." I love my kid.



Tomorrow it is supposed to be 107. It is just not right.

Also, tomorrow I begin my last week of being in my 30's. Which is also just not right. I am not old enough to be 40.

Anyway, Kev got a wireless router thing, so I should be able to blog more blogs than I have been blogging lately.

Time to shut down for now...

Illin'

On Tuesday, my digestive system suddenly turned against me. I will spare you the details, but it wasn't pretty. There was a scary moment when I was so dehydrated that I almost blacked out while I was brushing my teeth. Blacking out is no fun. If it has never happened to you, you are lucky. It happened to me before when I was in the hospital right after Daphne was born. I got all dizzy, hot and cold at the same time, and everything started to get black and spotty. They had to carry me to the bed and use smelling salts on me. This time it wasn't quite that bad. I made it back to bed myself and put up my feet. But dehydration is nothing to mess with, man. Don't let it happen to you.

Anyway, I had to spend all day Wednesday in bed getting absolutely nothing done and feeling like I'd been hit by a bus. I couldn't even knit or read. Fortunately, I had my nice family to take care of me, so thanks to them I am doing much better now. I still can't really eat anything very substantial. And I am going kinda crazy from not having coffee for three days. Kev made some this morning and it smelled so good.

Now, I am way behind on things like blogging and returning email and chores and so forth. Sometimes I feel like I'll never catch up with my life.

On a completely unrelated note, I am seriously thinking about getting the lasik.

Sick Day

Sick Day 1
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Daphne and Kev are both sick. Daphne is starting to get better, so she's kinda having fun with her Sick Day today. I got out this hamper, and so far, it has been a pool, bathtub, car, washing machine, cage, and, in this picture, a beach chair. I don't know why we bother buying her toys when she can have this much fun with a hamper.

Kev, on the other hand, is NOT having fun. He is in bed. I will not take a picture of him. A sick Kev is not a pretty Kev.

Me and my Big Girl

Me and my Big Girl
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Here is a Sweet Daphne moment. I appreciate those moments more and more every day, because they are sometimes overshadowed by Alien Daphne moments, like the other night when Alien Daphne threw her whole bowl of rice on the floor and thought it was funny.

This picture was from music class yesterday. It was the last day of class, and Kev got to go with us. One of the perks of his working from home. A couple more pictures on Flickr if you want to see...it was fun hanging out with Daddy and playing with the parachute.

I think one of the drawbacks to ME staying home with Daphne every day is that I take her for granted. It seems like I am always rushing around doing chores or whatever, and I forget to stop and just play with her or talk to her or give her my full attention. This morning at breakfast, I asked her if she'd like to have a conversation, and she said "Let's talk about Old Sesame Street." (We've been watching my Sesame Street Old Skool DVDs lately...so much better than the Over-Elmo'ed new episodes). So, we talked about Old Sesame Street, and we talked about the Olympics, (try explaing THAT to a two-yr-old!), and the magic of Velcro (much easier to explain...used the bibs as visual aids). It was good. She is a very interesting kid who makes interesting observations, and she's fun to talk to. I like her a lot.

So, I am going to make more of an effort to spend more time with her every day, actually paying attention, and not just rushing around. Maybe that will help prevent Alien Daphne from making so many appearances.

Warning: Complaining Below

I have been too lethargic to blog, or do much of anything else lately. I heard that it was 103 today. Last week, Daphne and I walked to the coffee shop for breakfast at 8:00 am, and got home before 9:00 already dripping with sweat. I just want to be able to ride my new bike, or take my kid outside to play, or go for a stroll. If the heat doesn't get us, the mosquitos will. How long until October?

To protest the existence of summer, I am going to knit myself a huge wool scarf. And perhaps a matching hat.

The berries haven't even been very good this year.

Sigh.

At least there are no lions. They've got Elf on the USA network. I think I'll go watch it and imagine it's winter.

The Popsicle that almost Wasn't

Happy Kid with Popsicle (at last)
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

It's been a tough week at the LRHS headquarters. The sweet little girl in the picture disappeared last Monday and was replaced by a cute but defiant little alien, sent here to test our parenting skills and our patience by argueing, kicking, hitting, and being generally very poorly behaved. We are going the no-spanking route, and time out hasn't been very effective. She kinda enjoys it, I think. She sits there and sings or talks to herself and has a great time. So, we have to take away priviliges, and take them away we did! The poor kid had almost no fun last week, and neither did we.

Suddenly, Sweet Nice Daphne returned yesterday, and she was finally able to have a popsicle we made several days before (using our cool new popsicle molds I received from a very nice lady in Minnesota). Look at that face! She was good all day, and we all had so much fun.

All is forgiven, Little Peanut! I know it's hard to be two.

Spiral Scarf

Spiral Scarf 2
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

This is my latest finished knitting project, and I love it. I cannot wait until the fall so I can wear it. It is groovy and swirly and it matches my cowboy boots. Kev thinks it is "weird." It reminds him of pasta. It looks better in real life than in this bad dark photo. It is a nice sort of rust color, and it's very soft...made from baby llama yarn.

It is always very satisfying to finish a project. Now, on to the next one...

Pickles and Jam from Cheryl

Pickles and Jam from Cheryl
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

My friend Cheryl, the one who has the goats, gave us each a jar of home-made pickles and blackberry jam. I had the jam on my bagel this morning for breakfast and it was Deeeelicious. The pickles are for Kev. Pickles are one of my kryptonites. I'm glad the jar didn't break or leak on the way home from Mineola. I'd have had to sell the car.

Big Ol' Weekend

Hope you all had a good 4th of July weekend. Mine was action-packed. Friday, we went to my parents' house for the annual neighborhood parade. All the kids decorate their bikes and wagons, and ride up the street. It's pretty cute. Daphne loves to watch. This year, a big boy pulled his bike over to the side and high-fived her. She talked about it all day. There are more pictures on flickr, including one of my dad in his home-made admiral hat that is not to be missed.



Saturday morning, I headed to East Texas to spend the rest of the weekend with my good friends from high school. Highlights included sweet potato fries, antique stores, shrinky dinks, baby goats (above), and a delightful morning stroll at the Mineola Nature Preserve. The goats belong to my friend Cheryl, who has left her rock and roll lifestyle to become a full-on farmerette. She drives tractors and bales hay and has cows and goats and all that. It is pretty amazing. Quality time with my friends is rare, so I really enjoyed it, and appreciate Kev for taking care of the Peanut solo this weekend. They had a great time without me, going to the pool and watching movies and having popcorn and playing in the teepee. I should probably leave more often.



Downtown Mineola has several antique stores, and I scored some pretty cool stuff. I got this orange owl tin tea set from the 50s, as well as a family of the REAL little people for the Peanut, which she loved. If you know Kev's cousin Sean, check out the Little Person on the far left...it looks just like him. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have Daphne playing with these.



Finally, I got this groovy tea towel from 1971. It was $1.99. How could I pass it up?



So, it was a good weekend, but I am glad to be home with my little family. I missed them.

Happy 4th of July. October just gets closer and closer every day...

Rocky Mountain, Hi!

Some people are beach people. I am not one of them. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of the ocean. It's just that I prefer looking at the ocean from a hotel balcony, or the deck of a ship. The beach is different. It has all that sand, and sun, and jellyfish. It's just not my thing. Give me the mountains any day.



Kev and I just got back from Colorado, where we attended a wedding. A beautiful outdoor wedding on the side of a mountain in Breckenridge. Did I mention it was outside? In June? and it was chilly! And there were no mosquitos! What a nice break from the heat of Texas, where I get bitten by bugs within seconds of stepping out my front door. In that picture above, there was snow right near us, and it was FREEZING! It was no place to be tromping around in flip-flops and a t-shirt. And it was GREAT.



During the trip, I saw two new birds to put on my list, which is always exciting for me. I saw the mountain bluebird in the top picture...Kev managed to get a couple great shots of him. I also saw the tree swallow, below. These tree swallows know how to have a good time. They swoop and dive and sing and seem to be having so much fun. It would be so cool to be a bird. We also saw a little red fox, but I didn't get a picture.



Besides the wedding, we had time to do a few touristy things. We walked around the town of Breckenridge, where there are lots of shops and restaurants. We saw this funny-face aspen tree:


And we ate crepes:




As I sat there with my crepe, next to the giant sign that says crepes, a lady walked up and asked me what I was eating. Pretty funny. That crepe there in my hand was GOOD. It was a S'mores crepe, loaded with chocolate and marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs. Mmmmmm. We went back the next day for more.



And, we rode horses. This was my first time on a horse, and it was pretty fun, although I don't know if it's something I would do again. It hurt my knees, and I got a pretty bad sunburn on my arms. And Caesar, my horse, was not the most cooperative. But overall, I enjoyed riding the dusty trail, and we got to see a lot of pretty scenery.

I think Colorado might be my favorite place. It's right up there with Maine. I was trying to think of bad things about Colorado. Here is all I could come up with:

• It has a really dorky state flag.
• The altitude gives you a headache for a couple days.

Even Denver is cool. It has a great downtown with a lot going on, and it's really clean. So, go to Colorado, be cold in the summer, ride a horse and have a crepe. You'll be glad you did.

More pictures on Flickr if you wanna see...

Break Time

Going to take a few days off from the computer. Back on sometime early next week. Have a good weekend.

Haircut!

Haircut!
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

This is what my hair can look like when a nice stylist spends half an hour drying it straight. Tomorrow, it will be curly again. Dangit.

Look! It's all straight and swoopy and smooth and soft. Sigh.

And I don't even have anywhere to go. Kev is in Phoenix for a meeting. I'm wasting a whole straight-hair day waiting for Daphne to wake up so we can eat frozen pizza and watch the Muppet Show.

If only I could make it last. I feel like Cinderella when the clock is nearing twelve.

If You Give a Kid a Donut

The Devil
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

I have managed to avoid ever going to Krispy Kreme in spite of the fact that it is right next to my grocery store and it pipes the scent of its deep fried donuty goodness into the parking lot. I avoided it, that is, until yesterday, when a rainy day dictated meeting up with friends at Krispy Kreme for a play date. I gotta admit, it's a fun place. You get a cool paper hat, and you get to watch the donut-making process in action. And I can't speak for the other flavors, but my blueberry donut was delicious. Daphne chose the one with sprinkles, of course. And this was her first ever donut. I was afraid of what might happen after she ate it, and at first, it didn't seem to affect her. She didn't misbehave, or bounce off the walls. In fact, she was really good. Until nap-time. Then, she couldn't sleep. So, no nap. Then the sugar really hit her and by the time it wore off, she had colored with a blue (washable!) crayon all over my closet door and was generally naughty. Then she woke up about an hour after she went to bed, crying hysterically...most likely a donut-induced nightmare. She won't be going back to Krispy Kreme anytime soon. But I probably will.

Relief

Yesterday we had a big storm which made it cool outside so we all took a walk. Daphne wore her rain boots and splashed in puddles. We had no electricity most of the day. It was nice.

Blog Blues

I am feeling like the LRHS needs an over-haul, so if I get some time, I may make some changes. Maybe it's time for another logo design contest. In the meantime, I have added a button over on the right that is a link to etsy.com. I encourage everyone to go there if you need any interesting gifts for the people and animals you like. It is all handmade, and most of it is very reasonably priced and if you look around, you will find a lot of really great stuff. Like, say you have a friend who likes owls, and you want to find them a cool gift. Type "owl" in the search and you get all this! Or say you want a Steven Tyler from Aerosmith necktie, well you can get one here. And here is what you get if you type in "Spock." So, there's something for everyone on etsy.com, and you can be sure it is something they won't find at the mall. It's good to buy handmade.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Happy Father's Day, Dad
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

My dad is about the only guy I can think of who is nicer than Mister Rogers. I bet he even gave me a bite of that cake!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy-O

Happy Father's Day, Kev
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Fanks for letting me play your dwums. You are a good daddy. Love, Daphne-O.

Hostess with the Mostess

You know the hypothetical that is often discussed: If you could have any four people over for tea, who would they be? Well, today I had tea with Daphne, Tyrone, Austin, and Tiny Ben Franklin. What an eclectic mix! You can only imagine the conversation.

A couple days ago, I overheard Daphne tell Austin and Tyrone they had to go to time out. Then a couple minutes later, I heard her say, "Are you guys ready to be nice?" It's Monkey See- Monkey Do around here these days, so Kev and I are really going to have to be careful.

Thanks to Uncle Jeff for the Ben Franklin action figure, by the way. It was a birthday gift. He has a tiny kite and key, too, but I put them away until Daphne can be trusted with tiny items. She managed to pull a necklace apart the other day and I think she ate a bead.

Pajama Party Time

So, it's Father's Day weekend, and Kev and my dad are both out of town. My dad went on his annual Canada fishing adventure, and Kev is in Colorado at a bachelor party. So, last night, the Peanut and I were on our own. We put on our pajamas, ordered a pizza, had ice cream for dessert, and watched the Curious George movie for the second time this week. There were also pretend tea parties and picnics, and I worked in a little knitting. I started a new hat, this time it's for ME. I've been assured it will fit, even though as you can see, it seems about the right size for Daphne.

Tonight, we're going to stay with my mom, so it'll be another girls' night in. I guess we'll have to have Father's Day next week.

Show and Tell

I didn't know Kevin's sister, Kim, could paint, but look at this! It is the church where we got married. She sent it to us with Daphne's birthday gifts. I am going to get it framed and hang it in a special place. I love it. Maybe being pregnant is making her extra talented.



On flickr, you can participate in craft swaps with other people who make stuff. There is usually a theme, and it is really fun. These are owls I received in an Owl Swap. Daphne tried to make them hers, but I'm keeping this batch for myself.




And finally, I cooked something that isn't yellow! Kev and I went to Cafe Madrid not too long ago, and the waiter suggested piquillo peppers with goat cheese as his favorite thing on the menu. I politely told him I don't like peppers and he politely told me that if I didn't like these ones, I wouldn't have to pay for them. Guess what. We paid for them. They were delicious. So I made them at home. You have to buy the peppers in a jar, and at my grocery store, this jar is $9.99, so I won't be making them often. Anyway, I just opened them up, scraped out the seeds, and rolled them up with goat cheese inside. Stuck them under the broiler until the cheese got all melty and the peppers started to brown. Mmmmm. Daphne even liked it. She kept calling them pepperoni. (by the way, I got two batches about this size from one jar).

It is windy. I hope it will rain. That is the only time we get relief.

Yesterday at the grocery store I was grumpy because I was REALLY hot, but then I saw one of the guys from Sudan in the parking lot rounding up all the carts. He was wearing a safari hat and the biggest smile you ever saw. I was less grumpy after that.

All Done

This afternoon, I finished reading the Perks of being a Wallflower book that Bleach suggested. Now I am sad. Good books never seem to last long enough. And it was a really good book. I think many of the people who read this blog would probably like it.

I guess that means it's time to get the sewing machine back out.

Someone keeps hacking into my email account and sending spam to my contacts. This is most upsetting. I really don't want to have to change my email address. Computers can be a real drag.

To cheer myself up, I will tell you that we have been watching a lot of Mister Rogers lately, and we have seen him knit AND play the melodica. Did you guys know that his mother knitted him all those sweaters he wore on the show? She must have shown him how to do it. And his melodica was exactly like mine. And I felt so happy until the music shop lady said "it's a great instrument for little kids to start on," which made me a little sad. But then I forgot about that and felt happy again because Mister Rogers took it back to "his place" and played one of his songs on it and it was just cool. Also, YoYo Ma has been on his show about three times since we've been watching regularly. And then one day he (Mister Rogers, not YoYo Ma) went to visit the doctor's office and actually got a shot just to show little kids it's not that big of a deal. I love Mister Rogers.

Daphne has to go to the doctor's office tomorrow. She has to get two shots. In spite of Mister Rogers' efforts, she isn't going to think it's not that big of a deal. It is going to be pretty traumatic for everyone, I'm afraid.

Now I feel sad again. Brad, I need another book...

Book and Video

Thanks for the suggestions of books to read. I went to Border's today while Daphne was napping (don't worry, Kev was home with her!), and used my five free Border's Bucks toward the book recommended by my cousin Brad. It is called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." I am only a few pages into it, but I already love it. Thanks, Bleach.

Also, my other cousin, Ben, sent me a link to this YouTube video, which is worth watching. Thanks, Bean. You know me very well.

I like my cousins.

Birthday Re-Cap

Gumdrop Tea Cakes
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

So, Daphne is two. Her birthday has come and gone, and it was quite a production. Pictured are the tea-cakes I made in lieu of a big giant birthday cake. My original plan was to make these very elegant and lovely looking tea-cakes as pictured on the packaging of the cake tin, but instead they came out looking more like gumdrops. Which is fine, because Daphne is obsessed with gumdrops. Or the idea of gumdrops. She's never actually had one. Anyway, the cakes tasted good, and everyone seemed to like them, so I was pleased.

On her actual birthday, which was Thursday, we took her for a corny dog and ice cream at Harry's. (There are plenty of photos on flickr if you want to see). Kev's parents came from New York to join us, and Daphne had a big time playing with them.

He party was Saturday, and I kept it small like last year. We had cake, and then let the kids play in the new $8.00 wading pool and lady-bug sprinkler. We attempted gift-opening after the cake, but there were too many distractions and it was chaos. I can't handle much chaos, so we moved the party outside. It worked out well, and I think everyone had fun.

Meanwhile, on Long Island, Kev's sister was catering a birthday party. For a six-year-old. I heard the family spent $3000.00 on this affair. For a six-year-old. I bet they had better hors-d'oeuvres than we did, but I bet our kids had just as much fun - or more - in the $8.00 pool. Give me a break.

So, I have spent the last couple of days recovering from all the celebration. There are lots of new toys to play with and new books to read, so Daphne has been having a blast. Thanks to everyone for all the nice gifts. I am going to have to get rid of some of the old stuff. But I'll save that chore for another day.

For now, I think I'll stop because I feel like I'm getting a cavity from looking at that cake picture.

My Little Baby is Two

Happy Birthday, Little Peanut. You make me happy when skies are gray.
I love you!

I Put My Sewing Machine Away and Now I Need Something to Read

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you.

Pay Attention to ME!

A couple nights ago, I made spaghetti and meatballs. Daphne found a mushroom, and made this announcement: "I found a mushroom!" I told her she was so lucky! And for the rest of the meal, we looked for more lucky mushrooms. Each mushroom was a cause for celebration.

Last night, we had left-over spaghetti and meatballs. This was after a very long, hot, and tiring day, and Kev and I had about enough energy to lift our forks, but that was it. Not a lot of meal-time banter was happening. Suddenly, Daphne announced, "I found a mushroom! I'm so lucky!" She received no reaction. So, she said it again. "I found a mushroom! I'm so lucky!" Silence from the crowd. So, she looked at us, and said, "Laugh."

That got a reaction.

Brush with Fame

So, the other night after the big Pink Martini show, we were walking back to the car, when we saw the great Thomas Lauderdale (their pianist/director) signing autographs outside the backstage door. He is a sort of strange little man. For some reason he carries a red plastic backpack all around but never seems to open it. But he's HUGELY talented, and a funny story-teller. So, anyway, I got a piece of paper and pen from Kev (always prepared!) and asked Thomas Lauderdale, not for his autograph, but for the name and composer of a piece played as a duet by him and Nicolas Corosa, the violinist in the group. He was very nice, and wrote it down for me. I swear to you, this was one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. I was in tears by the end.

I just bought a version by Joshua Bell from iTunes, and it's good, but it just isn't the same. I don't think you can capture something like that in a recording. Especially when you have to listen to it on computer speakers. Maybe it will sound better when I use the iPod dock. I'm not crazy about Joshua Bell anyway. But, it's better than nothing. I will see if there is a way to post a link to whatever kind of file I purchased from iTunes, but in the meantime, if you look up the piece on YouTube, you can see various people playing it and you'll get the idea of it. Praeludium and Allegro. Genius.

Thanks, Thomas Lauderdale.

Ralph-in-the-Box

Here is one of Daphne's birthday gifts. Don't tell her. She will love it.

I am mad because sockmonkey-in-the-box was MY idea. I thought of it a long time ago. I looked it up on the internet even, to see if anyone else already thought of it, and there was no such thing. Then suddenly, there it was at Froggies for $31.95.

People need to start supporting my million dollar ideas.

All Done

At last I have finished the knit tank-top. (There was a great deal of stress and bribery involved in getting Daphne to model it for this photo.) I think it turned out really good. I love the colors. I am going to have to take in the straps just a little, but otherwise it seems to fit. I am so glad to be done. On to something new...

Aside from the evil hot weather, our Memorial Day weekend was pretty good. We had Sunday breakfast at La Cubanita, which was very good, although I think the dinner was better. On the way home, we literally saw a chicken cross the road. OK, technically it was a rooster. But still. It's not something you see every day here in the big city. We have no idea why it crossed the road. Maybe the answer can be found in this funny book. Check it out next time you're at Barnes and Noble.

Monday, my mom made a brisket, so we went over there. Daphne got to swim in the little pool, and I got to watch little baby wrens in a nest on my parents' back porch. All day long, the mommy and daddy wrens tirelessly brought worm after worm to the little guys. So dang cute. I must have checked on them every ten minutes. There is one picture on flickr, but it didn't come out that great.

Various other pictures from the weekend on flickr if you want to see. Hope you all had a good weekend too.

Now, I must go clean the bathroom. Woo-hoo.

What is Blog Tag

Since people have asked...

I think it is basically when someone tags you, you have to answer their tag question, usually I have seen it in the form of making lists, like "Name Ten Things about You" or "Name Five Things You Always Have in Your Purse", or something like that. I think then you are supposed to keep it going by tagging other people, but I'm not really sure.

I looked back at the tag from MelJo and it included a whole bunch of questions. I am going to choose just one.

8 songs I could never get tired of listening to:

No, that's too hard.

8 things to do before I die:

1. See the penguins
2. See the Grand Canyon
3. Learn to make the perfect coconut curry sauce
4. Play in real snow with the Peanut
5. See a whooping crane in the wild
6. Spend more time at sea
7. Record more songs with Kev
8. Watch the Red Violin and go bowling (long story).

Anyone who reads this and wants to make their own list can consider themselves "tagged" and do so in their own blog or in the comments.

Julie Tagged Me

OK, Julie. I am gonna try to do this. But I am having trouble coming up with anything you all don't already know.

Ten Things About Me:

1. I am pretty good at tap dancing. Too bad it is a completely useless skill.
2. I lived in London for four months during college. It was cool.
3. My favorite record of all time is Van Morrison's Astral Weeks.
4. I have never seen Top Gun, Casablanca, or any of the Indiana Joneses. Or Dancin' with the Stars.
5. I have Osgood Schlatter disease on my left knee. It's no big deal.
6. The first real concert I saw was the Police, Ghost in the Machine tour, 8th grade.
7. I like spaghetti in my chili, and ketchup on my corny-dogs.
8. I can't stand the words "dollop," dawdle," and "unfurl."
9. I can only wink my left eye.
10. George is my favorite Beatle.

That must have been so interesting for you to read!

This reminds me that MelJo tagged me a while back when I couldn't blog much, but I forget what the question was. I'll have to go back and see if I can find it. Sorry, Melissa!

Good Thing Bad Thing

Good thing: Yesterday, Daphne said, "I'm gonna grow up to be a mommy, just like you."

Bad thing: It is officially too hot. I am going to try not to complain.

Big Night Out

Kev's birthday is December 26. The day after Christmas. That is a really unfortunate day to have a birthday. Just think about it.

So, Kev's birthday is usually pretty low-key. I think one year we tried to go bowling, but it was closed.

I don't even remember what we did for his most recent birthday. But I do remember the gift I gave him: two tickets to the May 21 Pink Martini show at the House of Blues. So, last night, we gave Kev a birthday celebration, albeit a late one, that was actually cool.

We started at La Cubanita, a new restaurant sorta in the neighborhood. I have my three or four favorite restaurants, so it's rare that I am adventurous enough to try something new, but I am so glad we did. It was DEEEElicious. I had some grilled shrimp in a coconut curry sauce (I have already spent several minutes on line this morning trying to find a recipe), and Kev had some kind of meat kebabs that he really liked. For dessert, we had tres leches cake that was even better than Gloria's. And the decor at the restaurant was really cool, too. If not for the giant flat-screen TV tuned to ESPN, we could have pretended we were in Havana.

After dinner, we went to Froggies and did a little birthday shopping for the Peanut. We found a Sock-Monkey-in-the-Box (a million dollar idea I had a LONG time ago), and a cool wooden ice-cream set from Melissa and Doug (they make the best toys). Daphne has become obsessed with sweets. She's like Augustus from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Every night as I put Daphne to bed, I ask her what she is going to dream about, and she always spouts off a list something like this: "Deem about mommy and daddy and Daphne and hippos and penguins havin a party with gumdrops and marshmallows and cake and ice cream and pineapples...". Thankfully she is a good eater, and while she THINKS about sweet stuff all the time, she eats her vegetables and other regular foods at mealtime.

Anyway, finally it was time to go to the HoB for the show, and I am telling you, if you like Good Music and Fun, go to see Pink Martini. It was a fantastic show. These people were really on to something when they started this band.

All that, and we were home by 10:30.

So, Happy Birthday, Kev! I hope you had fun.

They Were All Yellow

As promised, pictures of food. Fried plantains, baked garlic cheese grits, lemon icebox pie, and a Spanish potato omelet. Everything I've been cooking lately is sorta yellow. Not on purpose. It just happened.

21st Century Peanut

We love Dan Zanes at our house. If you don't know who that is, you probably don't have kids. Dan Zanes used to be in a cool band in the 80s called the Del Fuegos. Now he makes CDs for kids, but the music is very adult-friendly. He plays a lot of old-timey classics, complete with banjos and mandolins and fiddles and accordians and MELODICAS! So, thanks to Dan Zanes, Daphne has learned a lot of cool old songs that she would probably never hear otherwise. One of those songs is Sidewalks of New York...you've probably heard it. It's in 3/4 time, and makes you want to do a little soft shoe. It always reminds me of Bugs Bunny when I hear it. Anyway, the lyrics go "East side, west side, all around the town..." and so on. But when Daphne sings it, she says, "East side, web-site, all around the town." A young victim of the age of technology I guess.

She starts off singing really well in the video, pretty close to being right on pitch. Not sure what happens at the end. Maybe she's singing the harmony part! ("She made it her own, Dawg!") We may not have the next American Idol here, but I think she's right on track for joining the PPHPHB.

Happy Smother's Day

That is what Daphne wished me, first thing this morning. "MOM-my...Happysmothersday mommy!" And a Happy Smother's Day it was indeed. I will show you pictures of today soon, but I will tell you now that it involved lots of delicious food, shopping, and an apron with owls all over it, among other things.

So, Happy Mother's Day to my mom, and to all the other nice hard-working mommies (and soon-to-be-mommies) I know out there in bloggerland. It's a hard job, but I think it's the best one there is.

Knitting in Circles

Knitting Again - WIP
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Here is the knitting project I have been working on lately.

It is going to (hopefully) turn out like this pattern from Knitty.com, only I am doing a mint green bodice and ruffle with brown trim (instead of the bodice and ruffle being different colors), and I am doing it in the round instead of straight, so I don't have to do any seams. I love the colors...it reminds me of Daphne's favorite thing these days: mint chocolate chip ice cream.

It's a fun and simple little project, but it's taking me forever. I have to just keep knitting around and around and around until the thing is 8.5 inches, and then I have to start over for the ruffle. I want to have it done by Daphne's birthday (in less than a month, she will be TWO!), but I don't know if it's gonna happen.

I'll post another picture if I ever get finished.

I'm No Lady, I'm Your Mommy

Going places with Daphne has become a real adventure since she learned to talk. The other day, we were at Central Market, and she wanted a bagel from the bagel case. "Mommy, can I have a bagel please?" I told her no, explaining that we had to pay for them before we could have them. She thought about that for about a microsecond. Then, she said to a lady nearby, "Lady, can I have a bagel please?"

A couple nights ago, we went to Williams Sonoma. We saw a lady who worked there. "Lady, may I have some chocolate, please?" So, of course the lady thought it was cute, and hurried to the back room only to return with a BROWNIE. She didn't even bother to ask me if I minded her giving my two-year-old a giant hunk of chocolate at 7:00pm. Luckily, Daphne likes to share, so I took two big bites and left her with just enough to achieve a sugar high that caused her to spend most of the rest of the mall trip growling or shrieking at Kev and me. Thanks, lady.

Sometimes, she calls Kev and me by name. "KE-ev...what are ya DO-in?" she will sometimes shout from the next room. "Tara, what are you talkin' about?" she will ask when I try to talk to Kev about something. We don't mind so much, really. It's kinda funny. But tonight, she stepped over the line. At the dinner table, she looked right at me and said, "Lady, can I have some more watermelon please?" Nice, huh? Now I know where I stand. Right up there with the strangers in shops and grocery stores whose job is solely to retrieve things for the Peanut.

Sigh.

At least she has good manners.

Back in the Saddle

At last, Kev's new work computer arrived, so now I have a computer to use at home again. And some space has been cleared so that I can load pictures without making it crash. So life is good. Above is a picture of the Peanut last month sitting in the wildflowers. We had to take about 150 pictures to get a few that turned out good. The Peanut isn't much into posing, so we got mostly action shots and pictures of the back of her head. Oh well. Anyway, there are some more on the flickr page if you want to see them...use the flickr link on the sidebar.

There are also pictures on flickr from the craft fair. It went really well, and we sold some stuff and got some good feedback. I think we'll do it again sometime. It was fun.

The weekend was good. Kev got the yard cleaned up and I did lots of cooking. The weather was beautiful, and we spent a lot of time outside.

I hope to have something blogworthy this week now that I got the computer back. If all else fails, there'll be pictures of food.

Hot Property

You may remember a few weeks ago when much to our surprise, Pancho returned to our backyard, wife in tow, and scooted under our house. Since then, we have heard them puttering around down there, doing whatever possoms do. I don't mind so much, as long as they don't bite Daphne, or die and stink things up.

So this morning, imagine our surprise when we saw two racoons coming across the yard and disappearing under the house in the exact same spot! What is going on?! Is there a whole Woodland Creature Community developing under our house? Did the Raccoons somehow oust the Possoms? Or have they arranged some sort of time share deal? Who knows.

Anyway, the racoons were really cute, and I tried to get a picture but I was too late.

Since our Possom is Pancho, it seems only logical to call the male racoon Lefty. (Or perhaps Cisco, but I think my dad may have been the only reader that would get that sort of obscure pop culture reference). So, WELCOME, Mr and Mrs Lefty! Please make yourselves at home. Don't bite the Peanut, and please don't invite your skunk friends to join you all down there.

Someone is calling "mommy" from another room. That's my cue.

PS. By the way, I am disappointed in the response to the Earth Day challenge set forth a few posts ago.

Music News and a Musical Fun Fact

My friend Ken is going to be on Jay Leno this Thursday night with his band, the great Old 97s! He is nervous because he said he has to play a tricky guitar solo. So watch if you can, or set up your Tivo. Also, their new CD comes out May 13.

In other music news, the PPHPHB has slowy been recording some new songs. Our new CD will probably come out by the time Daphne starts middle school.

FUN FACT: Apparently, male mosquitos are driven insane by the musical note "C." I am going to do some research to prove it. If it's true, then it's time to invent some motorized chimes that play a constant "C." Then again, constant C chiming might drive me insane too. Too bad no-one has invented a removeable chime silencer.

Kev has ordered a new computer, but it will not be here for several more days. I will continue to blog short blogs when I can.

Earth Day!

So far, my dad is winning the LRHS Earth Day Challenge 2008. Today he planted two trees.

Today for Earth Day, we tried re-using a paper towel roll as a pretend telescope/pretend trumpet. But then Daphne chewed the end and it got all soggy and fell apart. But it was fun for a little while.

Happy Earth Day Eve!

A quick little blog before Kev takes the computer.

Tomorrow is Earth Day! And even though EVERY day should be Earth Day, I'm glad maybe some extra attention will be brought to making our home cleaner and healthier.

This year, we switched to Green Mountain Energy, and I got re-usable bags for the grocery store. And our neighborhood finally got recycling bins, so we've been using those. It isn't much, but it's SOMEthing.

So, I hope you will take the LRHS challenge, and report back at least one nice thing you did for the planet this week. I might just give away a prize.

Time to go hang my flag!

(PS. Smarty-pantses won't win)

Got No Time

Hi, and please don't stop reading this blog. I can't post often because Kev takes the computer to his new work, and because I am furiously working on preparing stuff for a craft fair next weekend. I will try to blog more blogs when I get a chance...

Five Years

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KEV!

Love,
T

What is the What

Here is the book I have been talking about. I borrowed it from LarryFeathers, and didn't think I would read it because it is a serious and heavy book with very small print. But I did read it, and I'm very glad I did because it has really affected me. It is a novel, but it is based on the real life of Valentino Achak Deng. Achack grew up in Sudan and became a refugee at about age six or seven when his village was attacked during the very scary and confusing Sudanese conflict. He then walked with a group of other young boys from Sudan to Ethiopia where a camp was established, only to be driven out of Ethiopia and into Kenya and another camp. He was finally chosen several years later to go to the US and start a new and better life. If you want to know how that all turned out, you'll have to read the book. But, here is what he went through in Africa in a nutshell: His village was attacked, his home was burned, he was separated from his parents and had no idea if they survived. He WALKED to Ethiopia. During this walk, he had almost no food and no water and only the clothes he was wearing. He had to worry, during this walk, that at any time he could be attacked by soldiers or bandits. He had to worry about disease like malaria. And if all that wasn't enough, there were LIONS. LIONS!!! He had to swim across the Nile where he could see crocodiles waiting to eat him, but he didn't have a choice because there were guys shooting at him as he ran away. All this, and he was only a little boy. So, you can see what I mean by it being serious and heavy. But, surprisingly, there are some really funny moments in the story, and some uplifting moments too. I wish everyone would read this book. It will help you remember that no matter how stressful your life is, at least there are no LIONS. Can you imagine? I reckon we have it pretty good.

After I read the book, I realized that a lot of the guys that work at my grocery store were probably Lost Boys from Sudan, like Achak. I wanted to talk to them so badly. I wanted to know their stories. Mostly, I wanted to make sure they were OK and were being treated well and fairly here in Dallas. I wanted to invite them all over for dinner. But how do you even start?

It just amazes me what is allowed to go on in the world.

So, anyway, I really recommend this book. It is a great story. And if you are inspired at all to learn more or help, you can go to http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/ and read about what Achack is doing now. It's pretty cool.

And THAT is the What is the What.

Focaccia-cha-cha, Pancho Returns!, and Yo Yo Mommy

On Sunday, I went with my mom to a baking class at Sur la Table. It was really fun, and we learned how to make herbed focaccia among other things. So I decided to make some at home. There it is, above. It was my first time to make a bread from scratch with yeast, and it turned out really good and made the house smell great. Next time, I shall use more herbs. I was too conservative.



This morning, we realized we did a bunch of laundry including a stick of lip balm which was left in a pocket accidentally. There are now oil spots all over lots of our clothes. My favorite skirt is ruined. RUINED! As we were lamenting this situation, I looked into the back yard, and who came scampering across the lawn but Pancho, our long lost possum, this time with MRS Pancho following right behind. They apparently have moved in under our back porch. Welcome back, little friend. Please don't bite the Peanut! If you have forgotten the tale of Pancho, you can search this blog for more posts, or listen to this PPHPHB classic (scroll down to Song for Pancho):

That is Julie and Rob on vocals, by the way. Great work.


This morning, Yo Yo Ma was on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, so we got out the old family cello and sqeaked around a little. I love Mister Rogers. I hope he has a show about going to the doctor soon. And maybe one about how you can't really eat oatmeal with your fingers.

One more quick thing. Daphne has all these Playschool Little People, like 12, and all but three have disappeared. While they were in NY, I looked all over for these missing Little People. I looked under the couch, between the cushions, everywhere I thought Daphne could have possibly shoved, stuffed, or hidden them, and no luck. They're just gone. I'm thinking about offering a reward. Where have all the Little People gone??!! It's a mystery.

OK, so there's a quick blog for ya. I haven't forgotten about What is the What, but it deserves a post I can concetrate on.