Maternity Leave

I've had two weeks now to get used to our little pumpkin's arrival. Tomorrow is her official due date. Ha! She showed me. But maybe that little marker will make the whole thing seem official.

Today does feel like the official start of my maternity leave as my mom has headed back home and Mr. Right is back at work. It's just me and the pumpkin here at the house on a day that is supposed to reach 94 degrees. She is happily sleeping on my chest in one of these amazing baby slings (thanks Kris!), and for the hands free and happy baby mode, I'm very glad to have this little warm bundle against me on this hot day.

I am a little daunted by this maternity leave thing. I'm a little perplexed about what it is you do with yourself on leave ... and then I start to make a list of things I need to do that goes on for a whole page and then she wakes up from her nap and makes some diaper noises that impress Mr. Right to no end, and then it's time to feed her again, and are there really no clean blankets left? and then I remember, oh yeah, I've got plenty to do here. So, we're fine.

Most of all I try to remember the number one item on my list: take the time to stare at her precious face as these moments will go by fast. She is already 2.5 weeks old! I read some other new mom blogs and some of them talk about wanting to stop time to be able to really appreciate this moment ... I understand this feeling now, after years of trying to appreciate the moment through meditation or yoga, all you need is a newborn. After a lifetime of "what's the next thing?" it's lovely to look down at my daughter's face and think, "What could be more perfect than this moment?"

I was at a family get-together yesterday for most of the day, and I'm learning how you turn into a quasi-celebrity if you have an infant in your arms. Or at least you learn what it feels like to be the bodyguard of the celebrity. I looked up at one point to find about eight little girls clustered around me, peering at me and the baby. I didn't know what to do or say. Finally I got her into her seat and they clustered around the seat and I felt much better. A little later, I had a little magical moment as a little seven year old asked to hold her, and it was such an incredible moment to see her joyful smile looking down at the baby. I remember my own fascination with babies starting very young, a decade of daycare work and babysitting, and all those years wondering what my own child would be like. And here she is.

Our Little Peanut is Here!

I've been promising photos to lots of people, and this might be the easiest way to get them to you along with the stats on our little munchkin.

Last Thursday night at about 1:30 am, two and a half weeks before the baby was due, my water broke! I had no other symptoms, no contractions that I noticed, no premonitions, nada. I was so shocked -- I know I was full term, but mentally I hadn't prepared myself at all to have her come early. I was expecting to have to blow right past my due date and agonize well into July. But no, the baby had other ideas. And once your water breaks, well, you know you'll be meeting that baby soon.

Mr. Right and I got ready, with me mostly running around in circles, and then we headed to the hospital at about 2 am. Here's us at the hospital. I was nervous, but I was so excited to meet our baby that I was just feeling very happy. Mr. Right was a big help through the contractions.

Because we knew the baby was probably still breech after many attempts to turn him or her around, we knew a cesarean birth was pretty likely. So they checked, and yes, the little boulder under my ribs was still the baby's head. So they set us up for the birth, and at 4:54, the docs delivered the baby. Mr. Right, upon my request, was the one to announce the baby's birth to me: "We have a little girl." Much crying and rejoicing ensued.

Mr. Right took some amazing photos of our newborn daughter. And these last few are of us finally settled into our hospital room and recovering. I know it's a cliche, but goodness I'm in love with this little girl. Of course I think she is the most amazing baby ever. We are all doing well and settling into our new life together. I have been bouncing back amazingly well to the degree that I can forget that I am still recovering, until it all catches up to me and then I have to go collapse. Will post more as we get caught up on our lives. I still am just stunned that she arrived so early, and so there was a lot of setting up to do when we brought her home. We love getting to know her, and we can't wait to introduce her to you!

Foreshadowing...

My sister-in-law made this amazing diaper wreath for us. It must have like 80 diapers on it, not to mention toys and little shoes, all for our "little monkey." So cute! Here I am, putting it up around my 9 month pregnant belly.

I am all behind in my blogging, so I'm trying to catch up now. Baby is due June 29.... get ready for this blog to transform into baby meets world ...

When Life Gives You Meyer Lemons, Make Crepes: Mixed Results

This is my first "hey look, I made this" post in a while. Writing the previous post about spices has made me realize how passionate I am about food. Anyone who knows me would say, "Well, duh!" But ever since finding Mr. Right and the whirlwind romance, wedding, and now the Munchkin on the way, well, I've been distracted from my passion for food. Sometimes I diminish it as not important, not that healthy, too expensive, and so on. But then someone asks my opinion about something food-related, and I just explode with information in a way that totally overwhelms anyone standing within 20 yards. So. Guess I've kept it tamped down a little too long.

And so I had a baking adventure with crepes. Crepes are a pretty safe bet as a popular food. It's fun and a little bit fancy, and it brings back memories of blissfully wandering around Paris clutching a Crepe Nutella. Somewhere in my food explorations I stumbled across a photo of a crepe cake which made me drool. I mean, look at that thing! I like crepes, I love cake, and the idea of slicing into this confection intrigued me, but didn't motivate me to jump up and make it.

Evidently, I needed the proper filling to really inspire me, and lo and behold, after my spontaneous trip back to Santa Barbara in late March (more in a later post with photos), I had the inspiration. Lemon curd made with the meyer lemons I bought at the farmer's market during my visit. And voila, Martha Stewart again had a recipe! I set to work.

Making the curd was easier, quicker, and required less ingredients than I might have imagined. I was imagining the need for eight egg yolks, heavy cream, etc. which are all wonderful as ingredients, but I am hesitant to make foods that require food follow-up: as in, I would then have to make something with 8 egg whites, and I'd have to come up with something to do with the extra cream since you never use a whole container. But no, this recipe only needed 2 eggs, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Easy! I whipped it up with the lovely smelling Meyer Lemons and voila, had a completely addictive lemon curd in minutes, which I had to restrain myself from treating as lemon pudding and eating it all immediately. However, I decided not to make it into a mousse by mixing the curd with whipped cream because curd is super yummy, why dilute it? (And why buy cream said my inner cheapskate). I will discuss this decision later as the downfall of my endeavor.

Next the crepes. I was much less worried about this part as I've made them before and they don't require a lot of fancy ingredients either: flour, eggs, milk, a little salt, a little sugar. Easy! However, the crepey formation was a bit more challenging -- it takes forever to cook them all one by one in the crepe pan, 12 in all. But that's ok; the bits I tasted were really yummy and I was excited to try my new confection when it was all put together.

So. I pondered a bit on how to make it look pretty on the plate, and hacked off around the edges to try and make it look pretty, oh, and round like a cake. This was not as simple as I thought and it was neither fabulous before I did the edges nor afterward. Then I started layering in the curd, which also was trickier than I expected as some of the crepes stuck together so I'd skip that layer and then have to go back and re-slather between layers, which then made the other layers all off center. Finally, after some struggle, I got it on the plate and snapped the photo. And it was time for the ultimate determination: how good did it taste?

After all that work, maybe I had overly high expectations as it was really took a while and some frustration to make. Yes, it was good. The curd and the crepes were a nice combo. But it wasn't GREAT. It wasn't like birthday cake. It was more like, well, crepes with curd on them in a huge pile. The crepes were good but, not unlike eating cold pancakes, were a little bit of a weird rubbery texture. And the curd was nice too. I didn't love how after you sliced it, it kinda fell over and apart on the plate. So then, time to submit it to my official testers, wandering around in search of Saturday morning breakfast. They were puzzled and suspicious by how it looked at first (as pre-teens often are). After tasting it, the verdict: they liked it in a "hey it's a homemade thing that is sweet," but not in a "oh my, I want more right now" kind of way. Which pretty much confirms my opinion that it was good to try, but not a repeater.

And now I realize as I look at the recipe I did not choose to follow, if I had chosen to turn the curd into mousse by adding heavy cream, I think it would have had more of a creamy lemony crepey mixture that could be a lot better than what I created. Hmmm. Well. Now I know. This blogger made it much more successfully (click to see how pretty!) and was very happy with the results, so hey, go for it if you are so inspired. But it looks easier than it is.

It's funny, though, returning to my thoughts about my passion for food. As I was making this cake, I started having a running blog entry in my head. Planning and thinking about the right photos, discussing the pros and cons in my head with my reader(s); (I supose there could be more than just one of you -- hi mom). So, after a break from my baking adventures, I refound the pleasure of talking and writing about food. Ta dah.

Spice Friends

My dear friend Tina had been perusing a well loved spice catalog and was inspired to ask me and a few other folks what their favorite spices were. I replied, thinking I could dash off a quick list and suddenly I found I had a dissertation. I had no idea I cared so much about this. So I saved the email, and I'm sharing with you here. I feel like I should have a good reason for doing so, but mostly I am just amazed that I really care that much about this topic. As I'm just noticing as well how personal spices are -- how each person creates their own little culinary world.

(By the way, the photo is from a very old Nantucket herb garden we visited last June. I dream of having such a garden some day: fresh spice beats jarred hands down anyday).

First off in my list of smug spice advice, pre-filled spice racks aren't that helpful as they will include lots of stuff that you'll never use and is often all dried out anyhow. If the spice no longer has a strong smell, it won't have much taste either.

Daily/weekly most used spices:

• We use a lot of peppercorns in a grinder. They aren't cheap when you buy them in tiny bottles from the grocery store, so I like to buy a bag at any specialty store within reasonable price. The multicolored peppercorns are the most fun and supposedly give you more flavor.
• Red pepper flakes -- used so much in our house that we buy the big containers from the store. Not even usually in the fancy spice catalogs, but boy do we like them.
• We use a lot of vanilla. I might use almond extract or anise extract once a year or so. Orange extract is handy to have around to use instead of orange peel or lemon peel when you're feeling lazy. Not a spice, but I'm ok with including it because it's my list.
• Cinnamon (Penzey's is supposed to be super awesome, although truly I'm not sure I notice the difference but it smells good!)
• Bay leaves -- I use these a lot in soup, sauces, beans, etc . When I lived in California I was very excited to be able to find them on trees in the neighborhood. Free spice! What a country. They smelled so good.
• Oregano (turkish or greek are both fine, Mexican is different) -- pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc.
• Cumin -- used in pretty much any mexican food or indian food.
• Nutmeg -- I love this stuff especially whole with a grinder. You can survive on the pre-ground stuff; it just isn't as wonderful,
• Cayenne powder -- for heat without adding much of a flavor.
• chipotle powder -- I love the smoky flavor this gives things with a little heat
• thyme -- I like this stuff and use it pretty often. I recently learned it is often used in herbal tea.

For monthly use (very good to have on hand and annoying if you don't have on hand:

• ground mustard -- used in Indian cooking, sometimes in cheese sauces
• curry powder -- it's really annoying when you don't have it even if it doesn't come up all that much. My latest intel says the Tone brand at the warehouse stores is best
• Mr. Right likes garlic powder, but I don't think it is anywhere near as good as the real thing but it's easy for garlic toast or if you have no garlic
• White pepper: I have found their white pepper to be really interesting and has a much different flavor than black pepper. I use it in soups alot. You only need a little because it is intense! I just buy a little shaker of it.
• Rosemary -- you won't use it much, but it will come up for lamb, stews, carrots, potatoes, potatoes
• Chili powder -- for chili, duh. But I tend to use chipotle powder more
• ground ginger -- not nearly as good as fresh, but it's good to have

Nice to have but you won't use very often at all:

• cardamom gives a really nice flavor to baked goods, kindof an interesting exotic taste to banana bread or muffins
• coriander seed (you have to grind it up yourself though which is annoying
• cinnamon sticks (for mulling wines or cider and being fancy)
• vanilla beans (if you like strong vanilla flavor in something or are making puddings or panna cottas)
• allspice -- pops up in baking, especially around the holidays. I think you can sub in cinnamon/nutmeg if you have to.
• Paprika -- for chicken -- I like Penzey's Spanish a LOT. Really different.
• Cream of tartar -- it comes up for meringues and cookies and stuff, but you won't use it much.
• Dried sage -- you know, I just never ever use this. I'll use fresh sage on eggs. My mom uses it. I just don't.
• Tumeric -- sortof a hippie spice. I like it for some things and it is supposed to be a superfood, really good for you.
• Saffron -- I never ever feel the need for it. It's super expensive. Some people swear by it in rice.

What I really never use, and I mock it when I see it:

• cinnamon sugar -- so easy to make your own it's ridiculous to buy it unless you MUST have it on hand at all times in a special shaker.
• "italian seasoning" I just make up my own with the ones I have
• dried parsley flakes-- dried out it doesn't add any flavor, it just adds green specks. Feh. I mean, maybe sometimes you need green specks I guess, but I don't like it, and it annoys me that it pretends like it adds something.
• dried basil flakes -- see above. Feh again.
• dried cilantro flakes -- see above.
• dried lemongrass -- see above
• dried jalapeno bits -- see above
• dried chives -- see above
• dried marjoram -- see above
• dried mint -- see above (although I do like mint tea which is made from dried mint)
• onion powder -- just use onions, people!!!!

Obviously, I spent way too much time on this. But my friends, being the dear souls that they are, put up with me. One of these friends, Allison, said if you count butter as a spice, that would be her favorite. Which led us down the road to a lively discussion of condiments, of which I am a big fan. But that's for another culinary obsessed post, isn't it? What's on your spice list? Did I forget anything?

Color me inspired. I have been reading Cold Antler farm, a blog about a city-based woman who decides it is time to make her dream come true by starting a farm. This has always been a dream of mine in some form or another, although I wouldn't say it is has been the number one fore-front topic on which I obsess. We all have our over the top obsessions, some more heroic than others (ok, mine appears to be, um, brownies), and then we have our more manageable passions and quiet dreams. And if I never live and work on a real honest to goodness farm, I'll be OK. However, I do think I've got come compost in my blood (ick?), and combined with that oh-so-trendy desire to live more greenly, I think we can make even our lives in suburban MA a little closer to the earth-based vision I hold in my head. And for the next house … who knows … Vermont or rural NH are not that far away, and Mr. Right likes the sound of both of them. Even if he's not completely convinced he loves the idea of cleaning up after chickens. But I dream of having hens scratching about in the yard and gathering still warm eggs with my family. Of trying to figure out what to do with all that extra goat's milk we are getting. Of surpluses of rhubarb and of a real root cellar.

Now that we are more or less installed in the new homestead, what steps can I take to get the place running in the right direction? First off, this is the first time I have ever been a homeOWNER which I guess is another way of saying LANDowner (which immediately makes me feel guilty in a kind of "nobody owns the land" kind of way, but you know what I mean). This is important only in that it is the first time I've ever known for pretty sure that I'd be living in one spot for more than just a year or two.

Which means, for the first time, I can plant PERENNIALS!!!! This may not be cause for celebration in your world, but in my world, there is nothing more wonderful than thinking to myself, "I'd sure like some fresh raspberries right now," and be able to go out in the garden where there are raspberry bushes begging to be picked. As opposed to going the store and feeling depressed at the tiny plasticky box with 12 moldy berries for $4. Or aspargus stalks popping up, signalling that spring really IS coming, despite the fact that April in New England can be worse than February in New England. Or … eating blackberries right off the bush at dusk in early August while they are still warm from the sun and the mosquitoes are buzzing around your ears. Sounds like heaven to me! Rosebushes! Morning glories! Fruit trees!
Of course, all these visions are even now, years off. You don't get much year one, you're not supposed to eat them while they settle into their new spots, so tells me all those to whom I've been waxing enthusiastic. But you don't get any if you never plant 'em, I say!

In addition to the most wonderful perennial lifestyle we can now adopt, there are things like composting bins and rain barrels. I really miss composting as I got pretty used to it at our last place. It cuts way down on the amount of trash output, and so it's less taking out the trash, less stinky trash in the house, free fertilizer, and all kinds of happy smug feelings when you aren't throwing away piles of beautiful rinds and peelings that you know can be put to use.
Now chickens … well … that probably isn't going to happen anytime soon. We have a shared backyard, so I'll be lucky if I can get away with composting. Someday, please forgive me for saying this, but I can't resist: the chickens will come home to roost.

A Littlish Announcement

I noticed I haven't posted many photos lately. Heck, I haven't posted much of anything lately. So for those of you who are more faithful readers, I hope this is a nice post to see to reward your regular checking in. With a photo that I decidedly did NOT take, but was certainly involved in the process.

Mr. Right and I are expecting a little one. Hopefully in late June. Yay! Gulp. Yay!

PS. That's the head in side profile, tilted back. Baby is looking up, probably at my stomach, wondering what the heck it is I just ate. Sorry, baby. Gummy bears and kimchi, probably. That's about the standard right now.

Putting Down Roots in the Bath

We are settling into our new life in Melrose. Just like in any new situation, there's the honeymoon phase and then the, 'uh oh, this isn't good' phase. And we're moving through both. There hasn't been any major surprises about the house, thank goodness. We are coming to see that the previous owners weren't exactly exacting about the wonderful updates they made. (Thanks for the brand new windows that don't actually close/lock, guys!) But we are coping and planning for what needs to be done.

I have noticed a shift in myself though, a shift that makes me happy. After leaving Pittsburgh for Washington DC so many years ago (ugh, was it really 15 years?), I haven’t lived in a place that felt like I was there for the long haul. DC was great but never felt like I'd stay, then off to grad school in California which was temporary, and then to Boston. Boston somehow managed to turn into "home" in a way that Pittsburgh, DC and Santa Barbara never did. DC was just too short of a visit. And Pittsburgh and Santa Barbara both call to me and still pull me in many ways, but the call is never one that said "you're home." I always felt a little itchy while living in both towns, like I wanted more than they could offer me. It's a very personal thing, and even an unpredictable thing. I have no family in New England. No history longer than my 12 years living here. But it's where my roots are now dug into the dirt, even moreso with the addition of my local-born husband with his two local kids and his enormous local family. Yep, I'm here for a long haul in New England -- not necessarily til the end of my life -- who knows where we'll go? but for a good while.

Despite my feeling that Boston would be home, I never settled on a physical home. I've had a apartments that I loved, no make that LOVED, and I still miss. But I knew they weren't IT. Part of it, yes, I'll admit, was waiting for Mr. Right. And part of it was knowing I didn't want rent going down the drain for many more years.

Here we are then, Mr. Right and I, our first home bought together. I've been unpacking and putting away dishes and hanging things on walls I haven't seen in a decade because where was I going to put them except in my new home? So there they are on the wall, my great-grandmother's apple crisp recipe in the kitchen. The beautiful Talavera plates from Mexico I never used because I didn't have a cupboard for them. The glass grape sculpture that my grandmother saved for me because no one else wanted it (I was fascinated by it as a kid). It's a wonderful feeling that my personality is now shaping this place. To surround yourself with things from your history and family and travels is such a pleasure.

The loudest signal, however, of my newfound acceptance of the new place is a small thing. I decided to take a bath. I can't explain it; I'm not a huge bath person as showers are just easier, but every once in a while, I enjoy the warm water and quiet time. Yet if I'm not really settled into a place I have no interest in the tub. But here, in our new home, it was time. And it felt great. I guess that means I'm home.

So how about you? How do you know if you're home (or not home?)

Resolutionary Road

And we start the new year off, the new decade. I just poked through my previous posts to see if I have ever discussed the new year resolution thing, and I was surprised to see I had not. I want to share something with you that I have found pretty helpful. The whole "I want to be nicer to whomever, or lose 50 pounds thing" just never worked for me. But somewhere along the way I picked up the habit of writing out some things I would like to accomplish in the coming year in terms of FUN things. Like one of my resolutions last year was to bike the Cape Cod Canal. Not a huge accomplishment, but for whatever reason, I got attached to it, and we made it happen this past October. And now I can consider it part of my life's adventures.

I am sucker for those life lists that you hear people working on, and I've maintained a relatively informal one in the back of my planner for the past 5 years or so. I'll try to work things from my life lists into my year list. And sometimes things that weren't on my life list appear on it once I've gone to do this because it was such a cool accomplishment that I want to make sure I treasure it.

One of the most important part of working on the goals for next year is going over what you accomplished (fun things or not) in the previous year, some of which were never on your list in the first place. It really brings a sense of closure to the year. Then you can build your next year list of fun things. 2009 was a particularly big year, with the selling of our home and the buying of a new one, as well as starting to take classes toward a potential new career. This year will probably have less ambitious goals as we settle into our new lives here in a new town. I'm fine with that too! Establishing our life in a new community will be an important goal.

Okay, I'll admit I like lists. And this may be way more life introspection than you've ever wanted. It gives me an enormous sense of satisfaction. It doesn't have to be something you do on your own if that doesn't appeal to you. For the past few years, Mr. Right and I have been setting aside an evening to work on our individual lists and share them, and we even create a few shared goals (ie have a dinner party, cook a special meal (we thought about goose) take the kids on a family vacation, etc.) It does help us figure out our priorities for the year -- it was an impetus for our trip to DC in the summer with the kids. Ugh, I hope that doesn't sound like we are these fabulously organized planners of our lives. Not in the least. But we enjoy doing this together, and it does work for us. Don't knock it till you've tried it!

I'll try to get some of my lists posted up in a side column here.

So what are you proud of that happened in 2009? And what are three fun things you'd like to do this year? I'd love to hear if you want to share.

Dillard57 Relocated!

We have settled into our new home in Melrose, MA. The last few months were a blur of packing and planning and occasional panic as we navigated the white waters of real estate negotation. We have come out the other end unscathed, although I have learned a lot. NEXT time, when I do the walk-through, I'm going to notice if they've taken all of the blinds off the bedroom windows. Sigh.

I don't have a whole lot of fascinating stories about this process unless you like to hear long deliberations about couch colors (who knew that there were color trends in couches?), and how do you find the best place to put the pots and pans? Now I struggle to find curtains and curtain rods and the drill and drill bits buried in a box somewhere that would allow me to put them up. Mr. Right has been a non-stop whirl of box emptying and shlepping, upstairs, downstairs, in between. We have squeezed in a few interesting adventures -- mostly notably, in October we biked the Cape Cod Canal, which I had on my list of new year's resolutions for 2009. The photo above is from that visit while Mr. Right and I were taking silly photos.

We like Melrose. Our neighbors have been very friendly, and we love walking into town to run errands. Need eggs? The grocery store is just a block away! Need books, duct tape, the YMCA, a church service? All within an easy walk. This is what I have always loved about living close to town. Mr. Right loves his new commute.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I am appreciative to the point of amazement at the way our life has changed in the past few months and the wonderful family and friends who helped us through the transition. If you had told me five years ago that this is what my life would look like now, I'm not sure I would believe you.

Tonight I watch a documentary about Frida Kahlo and rest and have a moment to catch my breath before we return to the work of setting up a new household. Oh and get ready for the holidays!

And More Transitions...

Since I last posted I'm a little shocked to say we have managed to move out of our house. We are now into our temporary digs at my very very very generous in-laws.

Our house finally sold, hooray, yay, celebrate!!! Aaaaand, we had all of 3 weekends to pack up 4 people's things and get out of there. Ack! Panic! Scramble! Whew.

All our worldly possessions are pretty much stuffed into the garage area, and I'm really not sure where my car keys are. We have taken over Mom and Dad's place, and just incredibly grateful at their kindness.

Oh and the Friday before we fully moved out, we went house hunting, not expecting much but feeling like we needed to see the options. And one of the houses actually seemed like it could work for us. Walkable to Melrose center, lots of space, all updated ... we couldn't figure out why NOT to put a bid on it. So we offered, and, dear reader, they accepted. Um. This is my first time experiencing this process of buying a house. The mixed feeling of joy and terror was one I will not forget anytime soon, probably because I am still feeling it. However, don't get too attached to our place yet as we haven't done the home inspection. But so far so good.

So! Pardon us during this transition time as we figure out which way is up and where exactly the toothbrushes are located. And while we dream little daydreams about where we will set up the eat in kitchen and what to do exactly with that extra room on the 4th floor ... Mr. Right is suggesting we put in a disco with shark acquarium. I am voting for chicken coop and/or pottery studio with full kiln. We are having fun coming up with silly ideas. Most likely it will be a rec room and, dare I say it, an art studio for me. Oh, quickly, knock on wood, and don't get ahead of myself, but wouldn't that be lovely?

Chicago

I spent many Christmas holidays as a kid wandering the halls of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, which seemed (and still seems) like such a magical place. But our visits there were generally an in and out trip as we were there with about 15 family members of various levels of age and mobility and patience. After our visit and a trip to Ed Debevic's, it was back to Grandma's in Indiana. So I grew up feeling like I'd been to Chicago many times, but this last trip (for a work conference) proved that I really had never seen Chicago at all.

However, having been a fan of the show ER during its early years, you get this eerie false familiarity as you wait for the "El" train, knowing you've never done this before but you've heard and seen it so many times on TV.

I had a great time with many adventures, some of my favorite being a long train ride pilgramage to Oak Park, the home of one of my childhood heroes (once you've been to Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright becomes very heroic no matter how old you are). It was such an amazing sight to see an entire town transformed by the architectural visions of this one artist. Beautiful. I'll try and post some photos of the town later.

I decided one evening to head over to the Art Institute by foot and accidentally discovered something beautiful I'd never heard about: Millennium Park. When you read about it, you think, ho hum, city park. When you go there, you say, Frank Ghery outside auditorium with a free world music concert blasting with people dancing and picnicking in the grass out front? Huge public art everywhere? A huge garden composed of wild plants and wildflowers of the region? Right next to the Art Institute? Wha?? It was gorgeous. (skyline photo above taken from the garden). And the new wing of the AI was incredible. I went on the free Thursday night and it was intoxicating to be surrounded by a museum full of happy summertime art fans wandering through its halls.

I also did Chicago's food traditions justice. I had a steak sandwich submerged in juice (disgusting but so good), a visit to Frontera and their new fast food joint, Frontera Fresco, and had to make sure I got some chicago style pizza from Ginos East, for which I've been craving now for about, oh, 15 years. I even stumbled across a city farmer's market, so I was in farmer's market bliss seeing what it is they have out here on the farm in the midwest (in July: lots of Michigan cherries and peaches).

I was really, really impressed with Chicago. I just had no idea it had so much to offer.

4 trips, 1.5 months; I am tired

I am slowly approaching recovery from travel burnout. But the blog must go on! I've got photos to post! It's now early August, the cicadas are whirring along with the air conditioners. After dinner tonight, I sat on the side porch and enjoyed a bowl of melty raspberry sherbet while listening to the summer noises of basketballs and crickets and sprinklers and dogs. I leafed through a Gourmet magazine and thought, ahhh, I don't have to pack anything for this weekend!

I do have some lovely memories to share, however. So let's begin.

After the wonderful trip to Nantucket back in June, we had a quick weekend up in New Hampshire. This doesn't count as a trip because it is where we visit Mr. Right's family pretty regularly. We did, however, enjoy the sandcastle competition at Hampton Beach, which made the visit more vacationlike.

Then we were off to Virginia and Washington DC where Mr. Right's brother lives. I lived in DC for a year so I'm always happy to return to the area, as well as being that much closer to my homestate of PA. We drove the scenic route through the Cheasapeake bay peninsula, stopping in New Castle, DE for a rest break and learning about motor oil ice cream, and reading sign after sign promising us fireworks, peanuts and Virginia ham. We finally gave in to the hype and stopped for crabcakes here, at The Great Machipongo Clam Shack, where the crabcakes were every bit worth the small delay on arriving to see the much beloved cousins.

We pressed on for the remainder of the 11 hour drive, and arrived in beautiful Chesapeake just in time for Independence Day and much joyful reunion. The morning of the holiday, we got up early to wish bon voyage to a friend of the family who was headed off to the Middle East for military duty. Mr. Right's sister in law made a sign with her grade schoolers for us to hold which was a big hit while the bus drove away.

We toured an outdoor airplane museum afterward and the kids enjoyed having their photos taken next to all of these crazy planes.

Virginia Beach was a first for all of us. It was really pretty and hey, who knew the ocean could be warm after years of New England ice water? We briefly visited The Dismal Swamp but were chased away by the dismal mosquitoes; we stopped by the Norfolk Harbor Festival where we hung out with shanty singing pirates and human grapevines (see photo).

We visited Colonial Williamsburg (where we had a group photo in front of the governor's mansion and then tried on silly hats) and in the same day went to Busch Gardens, where Mr. Right and I, both hardened roller coaster veterans, were humbled by Apollo's Chariot, a ride that left us quaking in our boots and bewilderedly wondering if we were just getting too old for such things.

Then we were off to DC where, frankly, it was too hot to take many pictures. But we introduced the kids to the standards (in order: Air & Space, National Museum of the American Indian (where, strange as it sounds, the food court is amazing. Next time we're getting the turtle soup!), the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, National Archives (ugh, longest wait ever), and finally, Arlington National Cemetary. All in 95 degree heat that was NOT a dry heat, and mostly on foot except when we just couldn't manage another step and flagged down a bike carriage and let him do the sweating for us. Fortunately, somebody was wise enough to book a hotel with a pool right in the middle of the city, so we made good use of it.

And so, we completed the return leg of the Great American Road Trip in our little red wagon, accompanied by a great book on tape, The Last Dragon, which was a big hit and may have saved our sanity as we crawled through NYC traffic.

Next stop on our frantic US tour: Chicago!

Nantucket: Same State, Different Country

We got back yesterday from our first anniversary celebration trip to Nantucket, a tiny island right off the shore of good ol'Massachusetts. We figured it would be an easy, uncomplicated yet good place to escape our day to day routines. I expected it to be pretty in that standard Cape Coddy ain't-the-beach-great kinda place. I am surprised and happy to report it is a pretty fascinating place to visit. And now for the photos.

We took a ferry over from Hyannis, a pleasant two hour ride (more on that pleasant factor later for the return trip). Upon arrival, I snapped this shot of the harbor area. Based on the picturesque level we were already hitting, Nantucket was doing pretty good.



From there, we passed a million flower boxes. I guess this town takes them very seriously -- they were everywhere and all of them were gorgeous. We walked 4 blocks from the ferry to our Centre Street Inn, a 13 bedroom house on a quiet side street.

On Saturday, we rented bikes and took a trip over to this lighthouse, which turned out to be right around the corner from our B&B. Mr. Right always says he would love the life of the light house keeper. I'm never sure if he's serious about this or not as I would last about two days at the most.

Mr. Right and I travel well together. I'm always looking for the best farmstands and Mr. Right loves to visit breweries as he has made his own beer in the past. Happily, we found a farm and a brewery on the same street a few miles from Nantucket Town, so we had a good bike ride out to visit them both after the lighthouse.

We also stumbled upon a local landmark, the oldest house in Nantucket. It had a gorgeous herb garden in the back of which I could bore you with another dozen photos so I'll let this one suffice.

At this point we had seen quite a bit of the island and lo and behold, the sun came out so we headed off to one of the gorgeous beaches and then out to dinner at a brand new "ceviche bar" called Corazon Del Mar, where we had a great chat with the owner who waited on us from the raw bar area. After living in New England now for 10 years, Nantucket is one of the friendliest places I have visited.

Sunday was our daytrip day -- another bicycle ride 7 miles from Natucket town to a second tiny little village named Siaconset but pronounced Sconset. The Nantucket Film Festival was going on that weekend so there were movies playing everywhere, and the occasional celebrity sighting (did you see Ben Stiller? he just left this cafe!) and the strangest part of all was arriving in Sconset and seeing something strange yet familiar looming over the town's tennis courts:

Yes, friends, our celebrity sighting was The Stay Puft Marshallow Man. For real. It was the 25th anniversary of the movie, so they thought he should come over for a visit. We didn't get his autograph.

From that point on, our trip became a even more surreal. You think you're in a tiny quaint New England island, and then suddenly you're riding your bike through the African Serengeti. And there were lions.

We were at a loss for words upon spotting this little family on a distant hill as we biked through the cranberry bogs. Who would have thought we would spot the rare Cardboardus Fakus Lion while vacationing in Massachusetts? It was a startling sight.

Surprised and amazed, we biked on (and on and on, it was a long bike ride of seven miles back). And then once again, we seemed to have moved to another part of the globe. Out of the misty gloom (the our visit), there arose a windmill. Who knew we'd see lions and windmills and, well, inflatable movie stars all in one weekend? We're still recovering from that, and the 14 mile round trip bike ride.

I'll leave you with a few lovely shots of the town and a strong final recommendation to visit the Nantucket Whaling Museum when you go the island. Poor Mr. Right had to drag me in the place (oh joy, a whaling museum, I said), and then he had to pull me out the doors to leave as I was so fascinated by the history and art created by the people involved in this incredibly profitable and incredibly brutal industry. Nantucket was really a fascinating place to visit. If you're wondering why the photos stop there, the weather got really bad and then because of the wonderful weather we had a ferry trip ride that induced some, shall we say, sad tummies in certain bloggers so we won't spoil the visit by going into further detail. Otherwise it was an absolutely wonderful mini vacation!

I Heart Mr. Right (and Anniversary Cake)

I've been looking forward to this anniversary for what feels like months and months now, for lots of good reasons. Of course celebrating our first year of marriage is a big deal. And we planned a fun getaway weekend to Nantucket! However, the moment of big anticipation for me was the small one-year anniversary cake that our wedding cake baker includes as part of the package. I'm a huge cake fan, and I really loved that part of our wedding last year. Going to cake tastings was one of my favorite parts of all that crazy wedding planning.

The bakery does the same design as your cake, so we had the seashell motif again. I fell in love with their seashell cakes early on in planning as something really unique to this bakery; most bakeries make seashell themed cakes with large white chocolate seashells attached to the cake. Our bakery does frosting seashells. I know it's a small difference, but it really sold me on this bakery even though they were much further away from our Plymouth wedding site. Finally, because you are so distracted on your actual wedding day, it was fun to get to eat cake when you could relax and enjoy it, which Mr. Right and I had the chance to do this weekend. The filling on this one is orange grand marnier as I wanted to try it out. I liked it, but I was glad we used lemon on the wedding day.

I'll get in some photos of our trip to Nantucket in the next post, but hope you enjoy a little taste of our cake! Actually, we still have about 1/2 of it left, so feel free to stop by for an actual taste sometime!

The Hills are (Almost) Alive

I seem to be so lucky as to be regularly getting up to the Green Mountain State. Mr. Right and I decided we had had enough of trying to live in our house while also trying to sell it, so we went away for the weekend so the real estate folks could have it to themselves. It was a good trip -- saw some beautiful spots. We picked a funny time, in Vermont it's the "shoulder season," or to put it less euphemistically, "mud season." While things were turning pretty green in Boston in late April, Vermont wasn't quite their yet. Hence, the hills were almost alive ...

Let's go to photos, which I think is the point of this post, no?

First up, we met up with some of Mr. Right's old pals from college and their cutie pie daughter and explored an outdoor art museum called The Path of Life Garden. I'll just include one cool pic that is not of the garden as they asked not to share photos of the spot (which you can see on their website anyhow). It's a very restful and spiritually renewing place to visit.

On our way back to the highway, we passed a delapidated old dairy barn. Anyone who knows me well knows I can't resist such a photograph, so I took a couple dozen. Here are two of my favorites.

And here is a quintessential dillard57 blog photo. While technically, I was not on a food quest to find blueberry buckle in Vermont, I do always feel like I'm on the hunt for interesting regional foods, and this one passed the test with flying colors. My wonderful father-in-law and I enjoy naming all the fruit and cake combinations that exist in American cooking: crisps, cobblers, buckles, slumps, grunts, brown-betty, and pan-dowdy. So here's a buckle, which is a kind of crumb topped cake with fruit:

This trip was during that crazy 90 degree April heatwave, so a stop at the Ben and Jerry's factory seemed like a pretty smart idea.

Finally we arrived in Stowe and did a little exploring. There is a great 5 mile path that takes you through the whole town plus the surrounding woods (of which we maybe walked a mile). Then we drove up to the Trapp Family Lodge for dinner. I definitely come from a Sound of Music Family. I still know most of the words to the songs on the sountrack. When I was a girl, I thought Maria was incredibly glamorous (even whilst a nun). I still am a sucker for the movie, so I thought it would be very cool to see the lodge where they settled in the US. We had a surprisingly good dinner there considering it's level of uber-tourist attraction, and the views were sufficiently stunning to reassure us that the VonTrapp family had indeed picked a good spot for their new home. We finished the trip with a piece of Linzer Torte (above), which I have never loved for its dry texture, but this one was advertised as the best Linzer Torte in the country, so I figured I would give it a chance. And you know what, I would give it that vote. It was delicious, really nutty and fruity. Those Austrians know what they are doing. Now I just have to get myself to Vienna to compare it to the stuff in the old country.

And with that (and one small car breakdown and long tow later, but we'll save that for the new car buying post), we returned home to our cat and regular lives, looking forward to our next adventure.

Urban Hippie Wannabe (long post)

I have granola envy. Here in New England, they don't talk about hippie lifestyles, they say crunchy, or they say granola. I like these terms as hippie to me has always been synonymous with flaky.

I have scrutinized my copy of Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills to figure out how to dig a well or build a smokehouse with glee but have no immediate intention of doing so. I have two friends, M and G, doing the crunchy cool Western Massachusetts Granola Thing. During our last visit, I sampled their home-made kombucha (a whole other topic I won't get into here), admired their huge garden, and cheered on their plans for launching a meade brewery and craft business. So why can't we do that here in Boston?

I've often spoken to Mr. Right about my desire to raise chickens, bees and even a goat if I'm feeling really ambitious. He is cautiously supportive although quick to point out it's probably better to wait until we've moved to our next house. He is a wise one, Mr. Right.

M pointed recently in the direction of the beekeeper life via the blog The Crunchy Chicken . And from there I pulled this list of skills that are very handy in trying to reduce your carbon footprint, as well as tickle the fancy of apocalyptic planners. My urban crunchy self loves this list! How do you fare on this list of skills?

• Food gardening and food storage (canning, dehydrating, pickling, fermentation, etc.) -- I'm not a great gardener, but I'm learning and getting better each year. The seedlings are going, inspired by CF who is the seedling queen! I usually manage to grow lots of wonderful herbs, flowers, enough zucchini to overwhelm us at least for a month or so before the grubs take over, and a few peppers, tomatoes and cukes. Anything else has never really taken, but this year's a new year! I'd love to become good at arugula, chard, cucumbers, radishes and peas, which all are really pretty easy and so delicious when fresh and organic. My ambitious future goals would be carrots, eggplant, grapes, strawberries, and pumpkins. My mother in law (who reads this blog, hi Mom!) is promising lessons on canning/jams, and through my in-laws we have wonderful access to rhubarb and berries, even blueberries! I've done some limited pickling, and I think it is very fun. So! Doing pretty good here.
  
• Seed saving and/or fruit tree grafting -- I'm not bad on saving seeds, the hardest part is finding a place to keep them so I don't lose them over the winter. Again my wonderful in-laws are ahead of me here -- they have a variety of beautiful fruit trees. I'll have to ask them about this grafting business.
  
• Foraging for wild foods, mushrooms, etc. -- I'd love to take a class on this. Fascinating! (Makes me miss my California days where you can really live off of foraging: when I lived in Santa Barbara, foraging was too easy -- you had advocados, figs, oranges and lemons landing in your lap as they fell off the trees in the neighborhood. Paradise!) As for mushrooms, I'm not a huge fan, and the whole poison thing, well, you know, makes one nervous. I know, I know, you learn the difference. But still.
  
• Composting -- We're doing pretty good on this front as we share a bin with a neighbor. It's amazing how much less frequently you take out the trash when you use a compost bin, plus the trash is less stinky. Cool! Now I actually need to use the compost in the garden, which will be new for me. Nervous about the gross factor in actually spreading out the stuff sitting around from last fall. We shall see!
  
• Animal husbandry (chickens, goats or larger) -- Definitely nothing larger than a goat, but how cool would it be to get to know some chickens, have eggs, and have a goat friend who is also a lawn-mower/milk-maker. The goat part is pretty unlikely unless we actually move to the country, and I'm nervous about the whole baby goat part. Not so comfortable becoming a butcher even if I like goat meat. So that's a iffy one, but I still like the idea of having one. I can dream, can't I?
  
• Beekeeping -- Very interested in this, may even be doable in the suburbs. Hmm. Research.
  
• Animal skinning, processing -- umm, well, not high on the list. Appreciative but squeamish, although I'm intrigued that the writer of The Julie/Julia Project turned to butchery.
  
• Sheep or other animal shearing -- fascinating but also not high on the list. Love sheepies though.
  
• Spinning wool -- how cool would that be! But alas I am not a knitter...
  
• Knitting -- I do like to do things with my hands so I may revisit, but all the exactitude drives me nuts. I drop more stitches than I knit.
  
• Sewing -- I think this would be fun. Need a sewing machine and then how to use it? Definitely suits my practical nature. And I'm awesome at sewing on buttons, so that's a start, right?
  
• Cooking, baking -- I think I'm good on this one as I cook and bake a lot. Whew. At least I can really check one off. Thanks Mom and Grandma, Moosewood and Cooks Illustrated!
  
• Making own cheese and/or yogurt -- I've made yogurt many times. It's so easy and so much milder than the store version which is so very sour. I was perversely proud of the puzzlement generated by asking for a yogurt maker on my wedding registry. Have done some cheese-making which is fun. However unless you have a huge supply of extra milk around, it's not a big priority. Definitely when I get a goat, mmm goat cheese.
  
• Making beer and/or wine -- Mr. Right has made beer. Cool! Wine making would be fun if I had a ton of grapes. So, not high on the list until the arbor is up!
  
• Solar cooking -- Might be worth researching when I've really become crunchy.
  
• Alternative medicine and/or first aid -- I've started to play with herbs and really get into that. Am definitely into the doula/alternative birth options scene, which I've discussed previously on this blog. I have and continue to give a lot of serious thought to midwifery, and I strongly support and can attest to the power of healing touch through massage/accupuncture/reiki and so on. There is a LOT to learn here and I am very excited to do so.
  
• Making soap (cold process from oils and lye) -- could be fun! I have been experimenting with making my own laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent, as I'm horrified by the price of the more environmental stuff, and I'm horrified by the nastiness of the cheaper stuff. Tadah, the internet offers a bounty of other options! I'm also absurdly into drying my clothes on the line outside. I love how they smell afterard.
  
• Making candles -- if I had a bee hive, I'd make candles in the morning, I'd make candles in the evening, all over this town...
  
• Carpentry -- Mr. Right digs this stuff. Certainly would be handy.
  
• Plumbing or electrical -- Another handy skill, not high on my list. I rue my girlyness.
  
• Bike maintenance and repair -- I have some very very very basic skills here, certainly could use more.
  
• Appliance repair -- I'm a pretty good fiddler with appliances, but motor repair is certainly beyond me. Funny, I never even thought of this as a skill, but of course it is!
  

I would love to have more of these skills. There is an authentic-ness to these skills and a link to the past that makes me happy when I am berry-picking or pie-making or yogurt-making. Totally energizing for me!

How are you on this list? Does it intrigue you or exhaust you?

I've never been able to resist a bakery. So when I spotted Tatte Bakery in the neighbhorhood where I was meeting a friend for lunch, I decided to stop by. I had admired their booth at the Copley Square Farmer's Market. Their set-up was beautiful in this antiquey, nostalgic sepia-toned way, and I wondered what other wonders their store might hold. It was as pretty as I had hoped: the displays of pastry and funny antique signs making my camera finger itch in an almost painful way, especially with no camera on me.

Their pastry offerings are artful and expensive. $6 for their signature "nut boxes" which, as promised, are a box made of shortbread filled with nuts in a caramel glaze. Simple and very elegant. So simple and elegant that I have to confess I am not crazy about them. I like some messiness in my pastry, cream squirting out the side or fruit on my nose. I want to be overcome when I bite into something because it fills my mouth and nose with flavor and texture. When something is so pretty and not really, well, bite-able, it turns it into sculpture rather than food. I like sculpture and I like playfulness with food, but if it's supposed to be a cookie, then I want to be able to bite into it. I'm still not sure how you are supposed to eat the nut box. Mr. Right and I mostly just picked the nuts out of the box and ate them, and then ate the sides. It definitely tasted good. And the puddle of caramel at the bottom of the box made up for the non-smooshy no cream factor.

They also have Hamantashen, which is much more biteable as a cookie and I adore them, if only because I love their story. Their name means Haman's Hats, and they are based on the Bible story about Queen Esther, who outsmarted and triumphed over the evil Haman who was out to have her killed. Traditionally they are made with poppy seed or fruit filling, but here they had nutella filling. Awesome! And to make it even more fun, as I was looking up how to spell the name and story about the cookie, I found out about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Latke-Hamantash_Debate which I'll leave you to read and enjoy on your own. And I was very happy with the hamantash I ate.

What is it about baked goods? Proust may have been one of the first to describe the emotional power of the pastry, but they definitely take me back to childhood. Maybe it's the memories of going to the bakeries with my mother when I was little where the lady at the counter would give every kid a cookie.

I'm glad I went in and wow, the place definitely got my blogger's juices flowing in a powerful way. My reaction surprised me a little -- with them it wasn't the product itself but the way they presented it. I loved how they packaged it. I would enjoy taking friends there. So I say hat's off to Tatte for doing something interesting and beautiful.

Winter Questions

Winter is a good time to settle in and take things slowly. We have some amaryllis bulbs unfolding slowly in the kitchen, and, like life, it will be blooming before you know it.

I don't mind the snow and the cold. And there are some seasonal pleasures, like blood oranges. They are in all the grocery stores right now, and I love their beautiful color and sweet, berry/orange flavor. Eating foods in their season just makes them so much more special, more of a treat.

We're also pondering some questions during this quiet time. Put the house back on the market in the middle of a crazy economic downturn? What about renting it? What about nursing or midwifery studies? And our two old cars that occasionally show signs of giving up, what to do about them?

So, we're taking it slowly, keeping warm and weighing our options.

Cookies for the President

I love baked goods and I love photography, but I'm not sure I like photos on baked goods. I guess if you are having an inaugural party, these would be a fun part to have somewhere on the menu. They were at a local bakery and I just had to take a photo. I've seen these pictures on cakes before and always thought that eating someone's photo is a bit odd.

Nonetheless, it's an exciting moment in history, and I'm glad people are inspired enough to create such cookies at this time.

And happy MLK day! I love the James Taylor song, "Send a Little Light," which says,

"Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King, and recognize that there are ties between us,

all men and women,

living on this earth,

ties of hope and love,

sister and brotherhood."