I am who I am

A different kind of mother would have noticed BEFORE she left the house that the shirt she put her son in this morning was horribly stained. And not just with one stain or even a light colored one but some thing that looks like spaghetti sauce all over it.

A different kind of mom would have noticed.

But I'm not that mom. I'm the mom who was racing around the house today trying to get out and threw what I thought was a nice clean white shirt on my adorable child. When did I notice that he looked filthy, oh about an hr later. My first reaction was upsetness but my second reaction the one I'm sticking with is , eh whatever. that's how he looks at the end of the day anyway, why not just start out that way.

For all you other moms, you know the ones who have extra clothes in their car and are always at the ready with a wet wipe instead of just wiping their kids hands with the inside of their own shirt. To all of you.................................



I'm off to make ketchup and mustard from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook.

33 1/2 and other random stuff

Today is my half birthday. I am officially 33 1/2. I love celebrating my half birthday. We celebrated them in nursery school and I unlike others have never seen the reason to stop. The problem lies in the fact that not everyone thinks a half birthday is a celebratory event. Ah, one day the world will join me!
I'm pretty sure that if I sent the idea to Hallmark they would start making half bday cards, but I don't believe in cards so ya know, I wont be doing that.

Knit night, as always, was perfection.

I have once again won the mother of the yr award, given to me this time for the black eye Jonah is currently sporting. He tripped on the door jam.
How do you commemorate your little boy's first black eye? Is there a traditional gift? Is there a specific cake? I hope there's a cake.
Maybe I should invent one. We could call it "black eye pie" or "black and blue 3 layer triple chocolate cake". Do you like how I threw in triple chocolate there for no reason what so ever other than the love of chocolate.

I have been craving fall weather for at least a month now and it finally started peaking in. And except for the 3 days of 90 deg temps that we are currently experiencing I'm sure it will be back soon. Right, RIGHT MOTHER NATURE! Cause a girl can go a little batty when its 90 deg out and the trees are changing color. It makes my insides go all wonky.

Oh and the project day that I had planned yesterday was more of a theoretical project day than an actual one. Lets say it was a planning day for the real project day that is going to take place today.
Oh and amazing green couch from the 50's that was in goodwill on Monday. If you're still there today you are coming home with me!!!

Hey weather, whats up with you?

Just when I thought we were safely on our way to fall summer is busting down the door again. its going to be 90 deg today. 90! Talk about insanity.

I mean how is a girl supposed to work on her husbands wool knit sweater for Christmas on a 90 deg day. How I ask.

And I'm not sure the apple picking plans that we had for today are going to come to fruition either. And darn it if I didn't have dreams of making apple sauce and apple butter but that may have to be put on hold as well.

On the other hand it is probably a perfect day for continuing sanding and painting the thrifted furniture that we bought for our house. I super duper really want the sofa table to get done and be nicely ensconced behind my sofa where it belongs. And since only I am standing in the way of that happening I guess I better get on it.

A friend of mine has a great blog, andreastreasures.blogspot.com, where she has been showing all her amazing projects from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook which has inspired me to break out my copy and try some of the recipes too.

I think its going to be a project day, just not a wool sweater project day!

cafe des artistes closed, and I'm just finding out about it now

I just got depressed. it came on all of a sudden like a ton of bricks.
And whats weirder is that its over something so unexpected.
I just found out that Cafe des Artistes closed. And the worst part is that it closed 2 yrs ago. 2 yrs, and I just found out now. That fact is sort of astonishing to me.

Cafe des artes is, or was, this amazing restaurant in NY, on the 1st fl of the Hotel des Artistes which used to be an artists residence/studio space building. The walls of the restaurant were covered in amazing works of art done by the residents who lived above.
It was very pricey and the kind of place where men had to wear jackets. I only went twice once for dinner and once for drinks.
The time I went to dinner, the food was amazing and the atmosphere transported me back to its heyday.
The time I went for drinks I sat at the bar with a friend, had way too many cosmos (the one and only time I drank cosmopolitans) and ended up talking long into the night with a local NY news caster, the late Peter Jennings in case you're interested.

I only went into the restaurant twice but I walked by it and looked into its windows at that amazing art work at least once a week for the majority of my life. My cousins lived on the same street, my apt was 10 blocks away but I grew up in their apt as much as I did my own.

I would purposely walk down one street instead of the other just so I could peer into cafe's windows. I loved the idea that if you couldn't pay your bill a painting would be accepted. Those days ended long before my time but I loved that it happened at all and that I got to benefit from it. It became a ritual.

My other connection with it was that my Aunt Laura used to make their desserts with her friend Madge, that was until the health dept found out that 2 young moms were cooking out of their home kitchens and selling it to a fancy restaurant.

Aunt Laura taught me to cook, instilled in me my love of cooking, showed me that by putting love into the food that you cook for your loved ones is a way of expressing that love.

The reason that I didn't know that Cafe closed is that in 2003 Aunt Laura died of breast cancer and they sold the apartment. I miss her more than I can put into words.

I guess the reason seeing that Cafe closed 2 yrs ago upset me so much was cause it made me realize how different life has been since Aunt Laura died. I can't believe that I hadn't walked down 67th st in 2 yrs. I can't believe its been almost 8 yrs since she was here with us.

The tale of 2 toys

I've been looking for a basketball hoop for Jonah whenever we stop into goodwill or a similar store. Finally I spotted one. I casually stroll up to it so as not to attract other interest and see the $2 price tag. Yay!! I love goodwill. J claps his hands grabs the net. He likes it. All is well.
But then, he goes crazy. I mean really super insane screams of delight emanate from his little body. I get him out of the cart and he sprints with serious determination over to this:



That's right a pink baby doll stroller. He clasps it with his little fingers and proceeds to push it around the entire store with a huge smile on his face.

Now I could care less if he has a pink stroller as a toy. He rides in a stroller sometimes, he loves to push his shopping cart around this just another thing to push around and put stuff in, his girl cousins all have this toy, I mean there are many reasons why he would want this toy. And let me tell you he wanted this toy. Actually I'm pretty sure he already thought that it was his.



My choices were get him the stroller or try and pry his little fingers off the handles of this thing and considering the vice grip that he had it in................
So I got both the basketball hoop and the stroller for a whopping $5.


Jonah likes to play with both the stroller and the basketball hoop.

All is well.

Hey um coffee, you need to step up your game a bit this AM. Just saying.

Went to a fab bbq yesterday at some friends house that we haven't seen in over a yr. It was great to reconnect. And eat their amazing food, smoked brisket anyone!! Peter and I left insisting that we need a smoker ASAP.
And thankfully there were other kids for the J man to play with. Some how my 18m old, a 2 yr old, 3 yr old and 4 yr old all managed to get along and play, with out incident. In case you are wondering chasing a yoga ball around the yard is fun for all ages.

Get ready to be slightly nauseous but I finished my first Christmas present. Pickled Watermelon rind. I had never done it before but love eating it so decided to give it a try. It wasn't hard just busy work. The final product is sweeter than I would like but maybe that will change as it sits in its pretty little mason jars. I think I may try my hand at another canning project for the holidays. I'll have to go to the farmers market and see whats around.

I'm also busy knitting Peter's present and bought yarn for a few more for other people. I love buying yarn. Ah the possibilities of what can be made with those beautiful fibers. And the fact that this month is the yarn crawl is totally feeding my addiction.
Yarn Crawl: 10 yarn shops in the area, 50 miles or less, give you a 20% discount. I got some super amazing local hand dyed local sheep wool at a shop in St Michale's. Hope to go to another shop this week.

And because today I had planned to sand and paint the tables that we bought at a yard sale the world decided to rain. Don't get me wrong the rain is a good thing, we desperately need it. So I may sit on the couch and knit and drink tea and hang out instead. Sounds like a great day to me!

Have I mentioned that I love our new place?

Friends, crabs, beautiful weather, what more could a girl have asked for this past Labor Day weekend. Its so great to hang out in our fab backyard watching the kids run around and interact.
Three boys 18 months, 2 yrs, 2 1/2 yrs all getting along, for the most part. Yes there was some taking toys out of each others hands, throwing grass on each other, and other such minor things, but for the most part it was heaven for them and for me.

The first party in a new place is always a little awkward and this one was no exception but at the end of the night as Peter and I were sitting on the couch reflecting on the day and feeling incredibly blessed to have such incredible people in our lives I felt good and safe and full.

Swimming lessons start tomorrow for the J man and I . It should go well considering how much my little guy loves the water. I'm more nervous for me having to hold a squirmy toddler who just wants to GO GO GO!!

Knit night tonight, thank goodness. I need to be around the ladies who always always lift me up, make me feel peaceful through uncontrollable laughter, and remind me that creativity can be a form of prayer.

the 3 stooges aren't funny, right?

My husband has a poster of the 3 Stooges. He bought in Middle School, I don't know why. But now somehow it is in our house, AND HE WANTS TO HANG IT UP. Like on the wall, as art, for us to see and look at. Um it kind of drives me crazy.

I'm the one whose home during the day. I have to look at it.

It has been moved around the house being tried in various places, on different walls. I hate it everywhere.
Is it me? I don't think they're funny. I don't want it on the wall.

Aside from my basic - a picture of the 3 stooges isn't art- position, I don't want Jonah thinking that hitting people is funny. Its not like we are showing him episodes of the 3 S's or anything but seeing their picture has to have some effect on him later in life right?

I recently read an article about raising boys and how they need to be given the freedom to "be boys". Its defiantly a topic I need to do more research on.
Peter grew up with 4 brothers so there was a lot of rough housing going on. I'm just not familiar with that whole world. Or how I played when I was little.

We are having some friends, who also have toddler boys, over today. Boy play all over the place. Interested to see what happens.