dreaming out loud

A Mixed Bag

New Year’s Day was lovely – if colder than I’d really like – and filled with assorted prep work for some assorted projects. Then Caitlyn decided that she’d really like to start the year with a stomach flu, so my Day 2 of 2011 has been spent sitting with a feverish girl who begs for water after throwing up all the nothing that’s left in her tummy. Two days old and already the year is reminding me: Balance, Pace Yourself, You Are Not Always in Control. I don’t generally make Resolutions for a New Year. While the change in the …

Caitlyn, Seasons

A Mom Moment

 ,

One of the blogs I’ve been reading lately has a weekly tradition of posting a single image on Fridays of a special moment from the week, something special the writer wants to “savor and remember”. I like the idea, but I’m not that handy or prolific with the camera (Ian takes a lot of the pictures for me), so I’m hesitant to sign up for making this a regular weekly thing for me. Also, it’s supposed to be without words, but I’m terrible at that, too. On Christmas Day, we were joined by a guitar and a keyboard and several …

Caitlyn

A new bookshelf

 

I’ve started a new shelf over at GoodReads called “Caitlyn’s Chapter Books” where I’m attempting to list all the longer books I’ve read to Caitlyn. I’m mostly recreating the list at the moment, since I should have started this years ago (it’s not like I’ve only been reading long books to her recently). Listing all the picture books would probably be an interesting exercise, but that seems a little daunting – we read a lot of picture books. I’m adding these books to my GoodReads profile partly because I am reading them and partly to keep a list to share …

Seasons

Once more, with pictures

 

We started the day with stockings. Stockings, in my world, must be opened before breakfast, with everyone in their jammies. It’s a warm and cozy tradition, with the smell of Christmas coffeecake wafting from the kitchen. This coffeecake equals Christmas. I only make it once a year. I can’t have Christmas without it. Buttery brioche pieces dunked in more butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar and baked in a ring over caramel sauce. Mmmmm… And this is where we deviated from tradition. It’s a mostly vegetarian house; while Caitlyn and I might eat some meat on occasion, apart from …

Seasons

Favorite Moments

 

…never feeling panicked about how the flow of Christmas Day was going… …Caitlyn being so very enthusiastic about her presents but nearly always remembering to say “Thank you” without prompting… …my guests declaring they might never order tiramisu at a restaurant again, since it wouldn’t possibly measure up to what I made… …and the best one: Caitlyn giving me a star sticker for a job well done: “You did a really good job cooking, Mama.”

in the kitchen, Introspection

Kitchen Magic

I spent another afternoon in the kitchen (yogurt, bread, more gifts, a brave attempt at something resembling curry) today. Sure, my feet are a bit sore from lots of standing, but in all I’m pretty happy just now. Which leads me to wonder, why do I like the kitchen so much? First, I like to eat. And I like to eat things with recognizable ingredients. I like to assemble things. There’s something appealing to a pile of parts and some instructions, and something satisfying about getting a useful or beautiful thing out of the raw pieces. Quilt kits, LEGO sets, …