PEANUT!

Today I had the great pleasure of spending most of the day with one of my favorite smallest humans, the Peanut. I have a great fondness for the little munchkin, so when her parents called last night to ask if I were free today and could watch her, I was absolutely delighted to accept.

I'm also irrationally proud of myself that although it's been something like 15 years since I changed diapers with any regularity (I did a lot of babysitting as a kid, which now seems like a lifetime ago), Hathor complimented me on my mastery of V's cloth ones. In addition, I got ridiculously lucky and the Peanut went down for both a morning and an afternoon nap--the latter following nearly an hour of playing quietly in her crib.

When I related these things to David tonight, he said, "Somebody's full of herself!" He's just glad I don't want one of my own.

I did take a few pictures on the camera phone, which the Peanut likes better than me (it's red and shiny!). I don't have any way to upload them, though, having left my card reader at home, so this one's from Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow, we head across the mountains for Second Christmas.

W2

Internets, this is the third separate blog post I've started over the past week to try to explain both my recent absence (in person Christmas-ing!) and where I am for the holidays.

Before leaving Mpls, I was busy being all sorts of festive: I sent out all my Christmas cards, had a cookie-baking and -decorating extravaganza, finished my Christmas shopping, and attended the Nutracker at the State Theater downtown (David's first ballet, in addition to his first Nutcracker!).

Then last Tuesday I flew into Seattle, where I met my aunt for lunch downtown and got to see Brother Rockstar for a bit before heading across the mountains with my dad. We arrived in Walla Walla at about 9 that night, and I've been here since.

Mandy pointed out to me in a recent e-mail that I've neglected to actually mention here that a few weeks ago, my parents moved. Here. To Walla Walla. From sunny southern California, they moved to Walla Walla, two weeks before Christmas.

The good news is that they are now within a mile of my aunt and uncle, my grandma and grandpa, and my dear friends the Swinjarnyars and their Peanut (as well as other bloggers of note). They're also now just a few hours' drive from my mom's other two siblings and their families and both of my siblings. (It's also a nice place to be in the summer, as my blog archives attest--and it's a veritably paradisaical fruit basket during much of the year, too.)

The bad news--though apparently only for me--is that it looks nothing like this Christmas past, or this one. Instead there has been a pervasive, low-hanging grayness every day I've been here, and although it hasn't been Mpls-cold, it has been in the 20s and distinctly chilly. Also: no palm trees.

And I'm trying to just get over it and enjoy being around family and friends--which I do, very much--but I admit that I miss, terribly, holidaying in a holiday destination. I know I should appreciate the fact that I got to spend any time there at all... except that spending time there was part of the deal I made with myself when I decided I could survive Minnesota for my doctoral work. A month of warm sunshine makes a world of difference in the middle of an Ohio or Minnesota winter. I'm not precisely sure what I'll do without it.*

Anyway, here I am. We'll head back across the mountains for Christmas with my nuclear family next weekend for more food, presents, and general festivities!

*Starting to run again is probably a good start; as I wrote here in 2007, on surviving a Mpls January: "I'm afraid I'm going to have to start running again, though, to make it through this winter, which is a daunting prospect indeed." I didn't bring my shoes with me to Walla Walla, having successfully managed to carry-on only, but am confident they'll be happily waiting for me back at home.

Wrapping Up

It's the last day of NaBloPoMo! I didn't do so well this year, but I did try. It looks like I'm coming in with 29 posts for the month of November.

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the past few days, including the ornaments I promised last time. Becca and I created a tree worthy of Martha Stewart, complete with painted and glittered acorns, gilded oak leaves, and tiny string balls (far easier to make than the big lamp one!).

We also got to see the Swinjarnyars, and the ever-delightful Peanut, yesterday in Walla Walla. Good times!

Check out the album here:

Weekend

Internet, let's just say I'm making up for a series of bad weekends with a series of really good ones. I'm pretty sure I had a series of fairly lame weekends sometime this past winter. (I wasn't actually able to find much evidence of that on this blog, but then you can't really take everything here at face value, either.) I would like to say that I'm making up for the past year's less fortunate weekends, ones filled with grading or writing conference papers or simply staying home alone under my covers, because the past few (and, hopefully next few) have been so otherwise embarrassingly awesome.

This one started Friday evening with a small dinner party at the Swinjarnary. I didn't get to see the Peanut crawl (seriously, watch that video), but I did, for the first time, feel like we had real human interaction. I talked to her quite seriously about the delicious orange vegetables she's been eating recently, and when, as I held her at the table, she alternately stretched forward for the edge of the table and then threw herself back again into my arms, repeatedly, she looked into my eyes as if she knew that she had devised quite the clever game. She has always had personality--she's been a charming little extrovert as long as I've known her (our first meeting, on May 20, is pictured on the left)--and been ridiculously good-looking, but those brain cells she inherited from her brilliant parents have apparently recently begun firing in earnest. Awwww.

Saturday, David and I drove to Portland, arriving in time to pick up my replacement contact lens (I don't think I mentioned that when my new pair arrived several weeks ago, the left lens had some foreign material stuck to it, rendering it unwearable) before making it to Edgefield McMenamins for an evening concert by Andrew Bird and the Decemberists.

I'd purchased our tickets to the (eventually sold-out) show months ago, after missing Andrew Bird in Minneapolis the weekend of the Pop Culture Conference and discovering to my joy that he'd be in the Northwest at the same time I would. I'd seen him before and was really excited about this show, but the large, grassy amphitheater was sadly not the best venue, in my opinion, to display his considerable talent. He was also technically an opening act, so he didn't play long, either, and not my favorite tunes.

The venue was spot-on, however, for the headlining act, the Decemberists, whom I had never seen live and whose music I had only begun listening to in earnest in anticipation of the concert. Their most recent album, The Hazards of Love, is what is often referred to as a "concept album," but in my estimation is more accurately considered an epic modern opera. They played the entire opera, from prelude to final reprise, in one seamless flow, quasi-costumes such as a spangled white dress for Margaret and a sparkly, red-belted black number for the Queen adding to the engagingly theatrical effect. It was unlike any other concert I'd ever been to, and deeply emotionally and aesthetically satisfying: there's something about being able to follow the story and know what's coming next that's a bit thrilling, even though the tale itself is terribly sad.

After the concert, from which we escaped a bit early, allowing us to get out of the parking lot in reasonable time, we met college/camp friends of mine in Sherwood. We stayed up late eating and chatting with them before heading back with Beanna to her apartment in Vancouver.

Sunday morning David and I had brunch with Beanna before heading back to the east side of the state in time to catch the matinee of Harry Potter with his parents. Oh! But on our way, we stopped at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery and Sturgeon Center and got a few pictures with the sturgeon (our only photos of the weekend, sadly, on the real camera):




If it gets better than this, it's not much.

Goodness

Ted already posted most of my favorite pictures from the Independence Day bash he and Hathor hosted yesterday, but here are a few he didn't (mostly of V, because I love that little Peanut--and she has the most irresistible fat creases!):Bonus: Video of V's signature faceplant:


And here's the munchkin today on her official half birthday:
In other news I've been underreporting (I've been seeing the Peanut [and her parents, with whom I've now been friends longer than I haven't!] as often as I can this summer), I'm living in the Garden of Eden. We have picked Bing and Rainier cherries, Reka and Duke blueberries (80 pounds to date, with more to be gathered), and raspberries from the backyard.

Ter's garden also includes basil (remind me to tell you about my attempt at Hot Lips' summer squash, cilantro pesto, and feta pizza); parsley (we've made tabouli twice, last time with petite lentils and feta); kale (which we blend into green drinks); and broccoli (though I was out of town for its only picking yet). Tomatoes and cucumbers should be coming on soon.
And speaking of living in paradise, last weekend after the beach we Oregoned it up on our way back to Hermiston: Tilamook Cheese Factory; the Portland waterfront; the Historic Columbia River Highway to the Portland Women's Forum viewpoint, Crown Point, Latourell Falls, Shepperd's Dell Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Multnomah Falls; and the Bonneville Fish Hatchery and Sturgeon Interpretive Center. Here are a few of those pictures, courtesy of Becca:

More to come!

Roadtrip I

So I'm in Walla Walla! David and I arrived Tuesday night, and I'm settling in nicely. Heather has even offered me a bike for the summer, and once I've picked that up I'll feel even more at home.

Friday night, David and I uploaded the 2400 pictures we'd taken on the trip, and although Paul and Ter saw all of them (we set Picasa's slideshow timer to one second per image, and even so it took close to an hour to get through all of them--and P&T deserve medals!), I'm trying to be more selective about what I post here.

To start off, here are the shots we took between Portland and Boise, beginning on Friday afternoon when we skipped out from the conference a bit early after I'd given my paper. Saturday we did the PSU farmers' market, hung out with friends at Mount Tabor and Joseph Wood Hill parks, and celebrated the news about my fellowship. Sunday we spent some time with David's cousins before heading up to Seattle, where we hung out and ate dinner with The Rockstar. Monday, after spending the night with April and Chris, we took the ferry to Seattle, where we met up with Dee, shopped a bit, and got to see The Rockstar again at his day job. Tuesday, after a run, breakfast, and coffee with April, David and I crossed the pass and made it to Hermiston in time to meet the family for dinner. Wednesday morning, after a wonderful but too-short visit there, we stopped in Walla Walla for an even shorter lunch visit (where I met The Peanut for the first time!), and then had dinner with Jan, Dennis, and Maddy before stopping for the night in Boise with David's cousin.

Here are the pictures (click here for larger versions and to leave comments):


More to come (eventually)!

Holiday Wrap-up

So after nine hours in the car yesterday, which followed another 14 or so on Tuesday, I am back in the desert. My parents and I had headed north on Christmas Eve, arriving at my sister and brother-in-law's house Christmas afternoon, having survived a scary spin off the road just south of Roseburg, Oregon and having been semi-miraculously still able to drive the damaged vehicle the rest of the way north to Port Orchard, Washington--despite snow for much of the way, including a nasty storm around Portland. Due to weather and The Spin, we arrived approximately seven hours after our most optimistic estimate, but still had a festive evening, opening some of the Christmas presents even though we'd planned to do the tree after New Year's, and not all of us had finished our shopping (ahem).

We spent a few days there before heading over the mountains to Walla Walla, where I had a fantastic time eating delicious food, jogging with the aunts, being silly with my eight-year old cousin, and visiting friends (Ted and Heather hadn't managed to talk Veronica out yet, but I did get to see, among others, the blogging types boy-Lorin, Kuyler, Burtmiah, and David).

We returned to the we(s)t side in time for New Year's Eve, which I celebrated in Seattle with a variety of friends and relatives, first at The Rockstar's* CD-release party in Pike Place and then at a smattering of festive locations around the city.

On New Year's day we did Zoo Lights at Point Defiance, and Friday my mom, sister, and I met another aunt in Tacoma for lunch. On Saturday Joel ferried over from Seattle and we did a big dinner and the second round of the Christmas tree.

Sunday, Abraham were playing another show at a little cafe in the U District, so we headed over the waters again, where I thoroughly enjoyed not only an awesome show, but meeting up with both a high school friend I hadn't seen in a decade (adorable as always, and especially so at eight months pregnant), and with David, who'd made the trip up from Portland after hearing the band New Year's Eve. A few flakes had started to fall during the show, but by the time we'd finished a big dinner afterward, it was snowing in earnest, making the drive home adventuresome and stranding David on the west side of the mountains. By Tuesday it was gone, so he, my sister and I tripped to Tacoma to meet up with another friend at the Antique Sandwich Company before he had to head back to the east side; my mom was also able to fly back to Palm Springs that morning.

Wednesday, my dad and I drove as far as Santa Rosa, getting lost briefly in wine country, before staying with the inimitable Jonathan and Lauren, about whom I have blogged before and whom I see far too infrequently and miss terribly--although it looks like, through the most serendipitous of circumstances, they will be coming out to the desert this weekend!

I posted a random and lopsided but large selection of photos from the past two weeks here. My flash is broken, so lots of the indoor shots are a bit blurry. And somehow I ended up with about a ton and a half of pictures of cats and car-window landscapes--and none of plenty of important people, places, and events. Still, they give you an idea of the holiday adventures.

And now, I am back at my parents', where, as I was typing this, I just felt an earthquake** that shook the kitchen table from side to side and made things on the wall rattle. I also just realized that I am sunburned from this morning's (74 degree) run. Viva la California!

*If you're on Facebook, I recommend that you become a fan!
**Speaking of Facebook, I love that people's statuses were updated almost immediately to reflect the tremor.

Hathor

So last week Heather came to visit me! As it happened, I beat her to Mpls by only a few hours, due to my automotive adventures. Due to said adventures, we were also collectively car-less during her visit, following returning the rental to the airport Thursday morning. Heather, however, is nothing if not hardcore (and uncomplaining!), and we managed to navigate the city, from the Mall of America to downtown, via the wonders of public transportation. Actually, it meant a lot to me to have a willing compatriot as I entered the completely car-less lifestyle.

As usual, I was anxious to show off the city's good eating, so we went to the French Meadow for bruschetta, vegetarian chili, and spinach salad with warm, pepper-encrusted goat cheese and a blueberry vinaigrette; True Thai for egg rolls, red curry with kobocha squash, and Tom Yum soup; Cafe Brenda for hummus and red pepper/walnut/pomegrante dip with crudites and pita, vegetable croquettes, one of the chef's specials--a grilled zucchini-eggplant-heirloom tomato-lentil patty "stack" with sheep's cheese and guacamole--and baked vanilla custard; the Midtown Exchange for Manny's Tortas (because Las Lomas was out of tamales--though Heather got some the next day); Sebastian and Joe's for ice cream; the Old Spaghetti Factory for pasta; and the Bad Waitress and multiple Dunn Bros for coffee (and ice cremas!).

We did Uptown, downtown, and, yes, the MOA. Oh, and Rainbow, where Heather bought 50 pounds of peanut butter! Friday, we attended the Rally for the Economy, which occurred at the same time that McCain and Palin were addressing supporters in Anoka. Sunday, a friend and I biked in the Urban Assault Ride (pictures and post forthcoming), and that evening Heather and I attended "A View From the Bridge" at the Guthrie, for which a former student we'd bumped into on Friday, a Guthrie employee, had generously given us tickets! Monday, before she had to fly out, Heather even agreed to a spin down the Greenway and around Lake of the Isles on a borrowed bike.

We also managed to fit in a few meals at home, a survey class period and a tour of my department, a party at the chair's house (I'd told Heather earlier that she'd be the perfect excuse for me not to go, but she was game and we had a decent time!) and lots and lots of chatting.

I've been back to Walla Walla several times since moving to the midwest, and have taken advantage of the Swinjarnyars' hospitality there on multiple occasions, but it was really a privilege to have Heather come visit me here and see my home, school, and city. I introduced her to people here as one of my best friends, one I'd known since our freshman year of high school. That, ladies and gentlemen, is dedication, and I feel very fortunate indeed.

Pictures from the weekend; click here for larger versions and to comment:



(Remember, you, too, can join those who have experienced the wonders of the Chez Cerise Minneapolis Tour! I love visitors...)