It is 4:40pm on Friday afternoon and I am lounging around as if it is Tuesday. I have plenty of time! Just three days from the Summer Solstice, candle lighting in our neck of the woods is not until 8:30pm. But you would think I would know by now that there is NEVER enough time to get ready for Shabbat whether it is winter and candle lighting is closer to 3:30 in the afternoon or you live in the Arctic, as I once did , and in the summer it is closer to mid-night.
Truthfully I find the late Shabbats much harder than the earlier ones. Sure I complain vociferously in January when I have to cook starting no later than Wednesday and I am arriving home within 15 minutes of candle lightening even when I take the absolute earliest bus from the city. Despite the grousing, it is fun, we are all in it together. We are a little club with a common mission, trudging through the snow to get our last minute ingredients. And as soon as Shabbat starts, it is over as quickly. Havadalah and then there is time for a movie, and I am not talking a 10:15pm show! A reasonably time show - one where you can be home and in bed by 10:15pm.
So with my late Shabbat today, once my cooking is done (assuming I get off this couch), Yair and I plan to wander to the other side of the golf course and listen to the FREE Jazz in the Woods concert. We will be able to hear two hours of it before we need to come home to daven and light. There will be no Saturday night movie this week, but we will still have a good time. When we walk into the house we will be welcomed with a scrumptious meal of kebab and rice with African peanut sauce.
Next week, Shabbat is almost equally as late. I think a few hours of swimming in the Delaware River is in order! See you Up-Camp!
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Family Diery: Musings of a multifaceted Ima
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Never too early to start reading
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| A dear friend and colleague of mine sent our little boy a gift certificate to buy books. Boy did we have fun! |
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| The whole family loaded into the rig (with specific instructions) so we could pick the "perfect" books. |
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| We looked at lots of books. We went with a few classics and a few that were just fun to read. We made sure not to buy any books we already had. That was the hard part because we have lots of books already. |
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| Thank you Carl! Our library is five books happier! Maybe someday we will have a Nobel Prize in Literature. |
What Dat! A baby?
The bambino and I just got back from a whirlwind tour of New Orleans! We flew in late one day and left dark and early 36 hours later. He is a charm - he really is, but I forgot just how challenging it is to travel alone with a little one. They like to be fed, and they like to be fed every 2.5-3 hours!!! Plus the diaper bag needs all sorts of extras - a change of clothing (or two), bottles, burp cloth, toys, etc. All of this competing for space with the standard laptop carry-on. Navigating the conveyor belt, taking off the shoes, not dropping the baby (or the laptop), not losing the wallet or the ticket can all be very very stressful at 6:00am!
I just heard on television that the airlines are ranked 49/49 in customer service with other service industries. I usually am fairly forgiving, but this morning I saw the industry at its absolute lowest, and I was not feeling so generous with my wailing 5 month old in my arms only wanting to eat. I rarely pull rank, but felt it best for everyone that I move myself to the "first class" line and told them I was active duty and on orders. I left out the part about the crying infant since that part seemed self evident. He told me he would help me next. Wow! I should have thought of that sooner. Not one of the other couple hundred people batted an eye when I moved myself to first class. I think they all felt like my little boy did, and had it been socially acceptable for us all to be crying this morning, I think many more of us would have been. Later, when I was on the plane, people from the line came up to express their empathy with me. And to think I was afraid I was bothering everyone.
Once we breezed through TSA (and I am not joking - TSA has been fabulous on my last several flights) and I was able to get him feed, he started making friends with everyone in the terminal. He actually made friends with everyone on our 36 hour trip. Holding a baby makes people want to talk with you! Strangers on the street, people on the elevator, LTJGs at my meeting, Navy Rear Admirals, children, the elderly, parents missing their own children, men, women - everyone wanted to come talk to my baby.
I felt fairly honored. I am his mother and do think he is one cute little kid, but then I realized the magical power of a baby and how as a society we are taught to tuck our children away so they are not a "bother". Here, I had brought my baby out into the world - first to a professional conference and then through the airport. People were just not used to seeing this little bit of perfection in their otherwise drab world. He smiled and coo'd and finally fell asleep. Then he would wake and do it all again. Believe me, the whole time it was running though my head whether I had been too presumptive to bring an infant to a professional conference. In the end, the little voice inside my head was quieted. The world needs to see more babies!
With that revelation, the two of us will be flying again next week. Not sure I have the energy to do it all again so soon, but here goes. Yair will be out as an ambassador for all the babies, and I as his mother will not be so worried that he is bothering everyone.
I just heard on television that the airlines are ranked 49/49 in customer service with other service industries. I usually am fairly forgiving, but this morning I saw the industry at its absolute lowest, and I was not feeling so generous with my wailing 5 month old in my arms only wanting to eat. I rarely pull rank, but felt it best for everyone that I move myself to the "first class" line and told them I was active duty and on orders. I left out the part about the crying infant since that part seemed self evident. He told me he would help me next. Wow! I should have thought of that sooner. Not one of the other couple hundred people batted an eye when I moved myself to first class. I think they all felt like my little boy did, and had it been socially acceptable for us all to be crying this morning, I think many more of us would have been. Later, when I was on the plane, people from the line came up to express their empathy with me. And to think I was afraid I was bothering everyone.
Once we breezed through TSA (and I am not joking - TSA has been fabulous on my last several flights) and I was able to get him feed, he started making friends with everyone in the terminal. He actually made friends with everyone on our 36 hour trip. Holding a baby makes people want to talk with you! Strangers on the street, people on the elevator, LTJGs at my meeting, Navy Rear Admirals, children, the elderly, parents missing their own children, men, women - everyone wanted to come talk to my baby.
I felt fairly honored. I am his mother and do think he is one cute little kid, but then I realized the magical power of a baby and how as a society we are taught to tuck our children away so they are not a "bother". Here, I had brought my baby out into the world - first to a professional conference and then through the airport. People were just not used to seeing this little bit of perfection in their otherwise drab world. He smiled and coo'd and finally fell asleep. Then he would wake and do it all again. Believe me, the whole time it was running though my head whether I had been too presumptive to bring an infant to a professional conference. In the end, the little voice inside my head was quieted. The world needs to see more babies!
With that revelation, the two of us will be flying again next week. Not sure I have the energy to do it all again so soon, but here goes. Yair will be out as an ambassador for all the babies, and I as his mother will not be so worried that he is bothering everyone.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Small things make me happy
With five kids, dates are hard to come by.
Yet my husband and I have managed to make the ritual of tea drinking our daily date. It may only be 10-minutes but it is 10-minutes once, maybe twice, a day we manage to keep sacred.
Dates are even more important when an already crazy schedule is being asked to 'flex' just a little bit more. We are finishing up home-school this week; preparing for Shabbat; making logistical arrangements for the mutt; the baby; and my job; while packing for a three+ week road trip (crossing into Canada) for the majority of the family; camp for my daughter, and road trip/business trips (Yes-PURAL) for me and the baby. My head hurts just typing about it.
6/7th of the family have their passports. Upon investigation the world wide web last night, it appears the baby will be able to pass through with just his birth certificate. But eeks - one more thing to remember to pack (and more importantly not lose while trekking). Never the less, it is not our nature to let the littlest among us be without passport, so David is off getting his photo taken, and we will have the application submitted prior to pulling out of the driveway.
Now that it is summer, we have moved away from our creamy British tea in the ceramic winter mugs and have moved to Earl Grey with Fresh tea leaves and Lemon Verbena in clear glass cups, with an optional splash of agave. Needless to say, I am looking forward to my evening tea break with David. It will be a well-deserved 10-minute island of time to ask him how is day was between Kumon math lessons and the mounds of laundry.
Dates are even more important when an already crazy schedule is being asked to 'flex' just a little bit more. We are finishing up home-school this week; preparing for Shabbat; making logistical arrangements for the mutt; the baby; and my job; while packing for a three+ week road trip (crossing into Canada) for the majority of the family; camp for my daughter, and road trip/business trips (Yes-PURAL) for me and the baby. My head hurts just typing about it.
6/7th of the family have their passports. Upon investigation the world wide web last night, it appears the baby will be able to pass through with just his birth certificate. But eeks - one more thing to remember to pack (and more importantly not lose while trekking). Never the less, it is not our nature to let the littlest among us be without passport, so David is off getting his photo taken, and we will have the application submitted prior to pulling out of the driveway.
Now that it is summer, we have moved away from our creamy British tea in the ceramic winter mugs and have moved to Earl Grey with Fresh tea leaves and Lemon Verbena in clear glass cups, with an optional splash of agave. Needless to say, I am looking forward to my evening tea break with David. It will be a well-deserved 10-minute island of time to ask him how is day was between Kumon math lessons and the mounds of laundry.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Summer bucket list
I love my lists. They make me feel accomplished and validate that I was indeed productive.
Summer is not complete unless I get through my summer bucket list. So as not to be disappointed that I 'did not get to do enough', I make sure to get started right away. In Alaska, anything over 40F qualified as summer. In the Lower 48, I may wait until it is a bit wamer, but not much....there is just too much to do!
So what are the things on my bucket list? Lightening bugs and Shakespeare in the Park. Ice Cream Cones, homemade popsicles and S'mores made in the chiminea on a random Tuesday night after dinner. Sleeping outside is a favorite - sometimes it is in a tent, but usually it is on my Romeo and Juliet balcony. Once I get started sleeping outside I do not want to move back in. Fresh tomatoes and basil, and dinner as many nights as humanly possible on the deck. Red wine in the Adirondack chairs on the front lawn making small talk with the neighbors walking their dogs.
No summer is complete without just one margarita. Occasionally I will make a pitcher of Sangria when I invite friends over to sit on the deck with me. Another guilty pleasure is going to Starlight Theatre to watch off-Broadway productions under the stars. Once a summer is my goal, but going three times (or more is ideal). We capitalize on the half-price military seats and can get the whole family there for next to nothing.
Those are the easier parts of my list. The next part of my list requires a little travel. So once a summer we load the dog in the back of the rig and take a road trip. I must must must swim the Delaware River at least once a summer. Being 'Up-Camp' is a genetic mandate and one I am required to instill in my children. I am blessed to know my, second cousins twice removed or third cousins or something like that, since I have been a child. And it all because we have been swimming on the muddy bank of Oliver's every summer since we have been born.
Most ideal is to spend a few days on Cape Cod with my other cousins. Now that is a real vacation! The water is freezing cold and invigorating. In the evening we return to the cape house for a New England feast while we watch the sun melt into the bay. I am not sure if we will be able to make that happen this summer, but I really would like to try.
Summer is not complete unless I get through my summer bucket list. So as not to be disappointed that I 'did not get to do enough', I make sure to get started right away. In Alaska, anything over 40F qualified as summer. In the Lower 48, I may wait until it is a bit wamer, but not much....there is just too much to do!
So what are the things on my bucket list? Lightening bugs and Shakespeare in the Park. Ice Cream Cones, homemade popsicles and S'mores made in the chiminea on a random Tuesday night after dinner. Sleeping outside is a favorite - sometimes it is in a tent, but usually it is on my Romeo and Juliet balcony. Once I get started sleeping outside I do not want to move back in. Fresh tomatoes and basil, and dinner as many nights as humanly possible on the deck. Red wine in the Adirondack chairs on the front lawn making small talk with the neighbors walking their dogs.
No summer is complete without just one margarita. Occasionally I will make a pitcher of Sangria when I invite friends over to sit on the deck with me. Another guilty pleasure is going to Starlight Theatre to watch off-Broadway productions under the stars. Once a summer is my goal, but going three times (or more is ideal). We capitalize on the half-price military seats and can get the whole family there for next to nothing.
Those are the easier parts of my list. The next part of my list requires a little travel. So once a summer we load the dog in the back of the rig and take a road trip. I must must must swim the Delaware River at least once a summer. Being 'Up-Camp' is a genetic mandate and one I am required to instill in my children. I am blessed to know my, second cousins twice removed or third cousins or something like that, since I have been a child. And it all because we have been swimming on the muddy bank of Oliver's every summer since we have been born.
Most ideal is to spend a few days on Cape Cod with my other cousins. Now that is a real vacation! The water is freezing cold and invigorating. In the evening we return to the cape house for a New England feast while we watch the sun melt into the bay. I am not sure if we will be able to make that happen this summer, but I really would like to try.
Summer officially arrived yesterday complete with 95F temperatures and the first heat warning of the season. I am far from a fan of excessive heat, but our crop share started last week so I am happy and culinarily inspired. I love to cook and even though I live in suburbia now (sigh~) I work hard to be a locavore. As a child we grew everything we ate, so it seems sort of amusing to me that there is a fancy work for what it was we did simply out of necessity/poverty.
Last night we had an outstanding dinner. It was simple and delicious. Coupled with a glass of red wine, my husband and I, along with our children, enjoyed dinner on the back deck. To me, that is summer! That is also family!
The simplicity and deliciousness of last nights meal had my brain twirling with the anticipation of all the luscious tastes of summer - fresh herbs and new potatoes with their soft, tender skins; fresh corn grilled with a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of curry - a much welcomed deviation from the traditional butter and salt in our multi-ethnic home. Fresh berries. Abba pizza with asparagus from our front yard and tomatoes from the back. Tender kohlrabi sauteed in olive oil and salt. Yum!
Even though I should have my menu for the week completed on Sunday, I spent last night poring over recipes for Shabbat that would pay homage to the change of season and the new vegetable availing themselves to us. Immediately I found my tattered copy of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and got inspiration from her writing and family recipes. I tried to figure out how to incorporate Asian Vegetable Rolls, homemade mozzarella, zucchini orzo, and whether our family would prefer the Spring or Summer version of the potato salad. Making the final cut were the Spring potato salad and the zucchini orzo. We are still looking for guests, so stop by if you want a taste.
With those decisions made I realized Friday is also my little boy's 4-month birthday. Silly I know, especially since he doesn't even have teeth, but the rest of us like good food and any reason to celebrate. Then I realized Father's Day is coming up. Our family does not really 'do' Mother's Day or Father's Day, but it made me think about making something special for my husband. He has once weakness - that being cookies. I made these for him a few months ago and I believe he called them decadent. They take a little time, but it all seems worth it for the one you love.
So here you have my stream of consciousness. My thoughts and my writing wind all over the place - from it being summer to eating local to family recipes and I am here with a seemingly "Winter" recipe - Melting Lace Cookies and all the ingredients are purchased from the store - oh well. They are delicious. And they are a family favorite, made for me as a child by my cousin Joanie. So while my husbands not looking I hope to make a small batch of these for him. I will be sure that dinner includes fresh, seasonal produce from our crop share.
With those decisions made I realized Friday is also my little boy's 4-month birthday. Silly I know, especially since he doesn't even have teeth, but the rest of us like good food and any reason to celebrate. Then I realized Father's Day is coming up. Our family does not really 'do' Mother's Day or Father's Day, but it made me think about making something special for my husband. He has once weakness - that being cookies. I made these for him a few months ago and I believe he called them decadent. They take a little time, but it all seems worth it for the one you love.
So here you have my stream of consciousness. My thoughts and my writing wind all over the place - from it being summer to eating local to family recipes and I am here with a seemingly "Winter" recipe - Melting Lace Cookies and all the ingredients are purchased from the store - oh well. They are delicious. And they are a family favorite, made for me as a child by my cousin Joanie. So while my husbands not looking I hope to make a small batch of these for him. I will be sure that dinner includes fresh, seasonal produce from our crop share.
Yummy Melting Lace Cookies
1/2 Cup butter or margarine
1 Cup quick cooking oats (not instant)
1/2 Cup light brown sugar
1/3 Cup flour
2 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips - melted
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In medium sauce pan melt butter/margarine
- Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients (except chocolate)
- Drop batter by level teaspoons, 2 inches apart, onto greased cookie sheets.
- Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and let stand for one minute, then quickly remove to flat surface to cool.
- Melt chocolate (use microwave or over a pot of boiling water like a "double boiler")
- With a small knife or spatula spread the back of one cookie with chocolate and sandwich it with another cookie.
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. (They may also be frozen.)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Summer Underway!
Returning back to a full time career with an infant has its challenges. But I love my little (okay not so little) family. We prevail and can pull through most anything. Our most recent accomplishment: our first road trip of the summer!
Each year my work has a national week long summit, but this year, due to funding not all of us were slatted to go. I was one of the ones who initially was not funded. I was elated (but I tried not to let it show)!!
Needless to say, they found money for us to get to the meeting, but by that time there were no rooms left in the hotel. I was told I only had to be at a four-hour mandatory meeting. Fine I thought - I will fly in at 6am and fly home at 9pm. I wouldn't need a hotel room. It will be a long day, but when isn't it? I will be home for the baby that night.
Another very short plan for when I got on the next teleconference I was told there would be another meeting, time and date still to be determined, that I would need to attend sometime during the week. My heart sank. I quickly looked at how to fly with baby Yair and find a day care service that could watch him during the day at a different hotel from the one where my meetings were being held. The logistics started to become overwhelming. I wanted just to stick my head in the sand. I came home from work that day nearly in tears.
As a strong woman, I can usually handle situations like this without it be the end of the world, but today was not one of those days. Then my dear husband, a true knight in shining armor, proclaimed that he would pack up the whole family and they would come with me - ROAD TRIP! Dallas here we come!
In no way did that eliminate the logistics, it simply changed them, but it seemed so much more doable since we were doing it together. The details all fell into place beautifully - we even got to share a most beautiful Shabbat with our dear friends from Alaska who now live in Austin. The kids were able to kick off the summer with a solid 4 hours of swimming in an outdoor pool (something not yet possible in Kansas City). We sampled every kosher restaurant in Dallas and even got to feed the giraffes at the Zoo.
So in the end, my week-long meeting was a blessing in disguise. We got to start our summer several weeks earlier than we would have. Next, I will project movies on the side of the house for our first "drive-in" of the summer.
...and maybe, just maybe, I will get some pictures posted.
Each year my work has a national week long summit, but this year, due to funding not all of us were slatted to go. I was one of the ones who initially was not funded. I was elated (but I tried not to let it show)!!
Needless to say, they found money for us to get to the meeting, but by that time there were no rooms left in the hotel. I was told I only had to be at a four-hour mandatory meeting. Fine I thought - I will fly in at 6am and fly home at 9pm. I wouldn't need a hotel room. It will be a long day, but when isn't it? I will be home for the baby that night.
Another very short plan for when I got on the next teleconference I was told there would be another meeting, time and date still to be determined, that I would need to attend sometime during the week. My heart sank. I quickly looked at how to fly with baby Yair and find a day care service that could watch him during the day at a different hotel from the one where my meetings were being held. The logistics started to become overwhelming. I wanted just to stick my head in the sand. I came home from work that day nearly in tears.
As a strong woman, I can usually handle situations like this without it be the end of the world, but today was not one of those days. Then my dear husband, a true knight in shining armor, proclaimed that he would pack up the whole family and they would come with me - ROAD TRIP! Dallas here we come!
So in the end, my week-long meeting was a blessing in disguise. We got to start our summer several weeks earlier than we would have. Next, I will project movies on the side of the house for our first "drive-in" of the summer....and maybe, just maybe, I will get some pictures posted.
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