Best Book of 2009

Looking back over my Goodreads list, I noticed that I read several books that I quite liked this year. But if I had to choose one book that I read in the last 12 months and truly enjoyed, I'd have to go with Life of Pi. There's a chance I actually read this just before the New Year, but even so it meets all of the qualifications of good reading to me: great writing, a gripping story, sympathetic characters, and--perhaps most importantly--it stayed with me. Even after a full year (if not more) I still find myself thinking about Life of Pi. Great read.

At the same time, I vaguely remember having shed actual tears while reading this year. What book was that? Does anyone remember?

Lights!

Last evening we braved some very chilly weather (18 degrees--but it isn't getting any warmer in the next week, if you know what I'm saying) to see the Christmas lights downtown. Perhaps you are not aware that the Coeur d'Alene Resort features The Largest Floating Resort Holiday Light Show in America, but it is indeed true.


We are fortunate that one of Jonathan's only words is "lights," which meant that he was an active and blissful participant in the evening's conversation ("What do you see, Jonathan?" "Ites!" "What's that, Jonathan?" "Ites!"). Clara was disappointed to not be able to "go through" the castle of lights, but she was pretty excited about the lit Nativity, the lit sea monster, the lit Noah's Ark, and the lit world. And she was particularly thrilled to meet Rudolph and Frosty on the boardwalk (The World's Longest Floating Boardwalk, as it happens), both of whom gave her a hug and a candy cane.



It was a fun, if cold night. We were practically running towards the end, both to expidite the holiday cheer and to increase our distance from the random person in a Santa suit lurking at one of the docks. Odd.

Stay tuned for our holiday cruise to the North Pole, upon which we will hopefully embark when temperatures are out of the teens. Brrrr...

Best Article of 2009

A fellow instructor shared this article with me, and I had my students read and discuss it. The article is from a 1996 edition of Newsweek and talks about how some (many!) college students are prone to, you know, not really doing anything in class for an entire semester. Then when they receive their well-deserved (and dismal) grade they start in with the phone calls and emails begging for extra credit and leniency. Well, my friend Kurt Wiesenfeld and I do not buy their sob stories, no indeed we do not. I am much more merciful as an instructor to my students who communicate with me throughout the semester than I am to the students who come in the 13th hour and just cannot understand why never coming to class or doing any homework warrants a failing grade.

Can you tell it's almost the end of the semester? I think if any such emails from students start coming my way I will just forward them a link to this article with my kindest regards for better luck next time. If only luck was all it took...

Best Restaurant Moment of 2009

In times like these, you know...

Best of 2009

I've decided to let myself be inspired by my sister Megan and my friend Reba, both of whom are doing a little "Best of 2009" series on their blogs. I think I'll march to my own drummer here, though, rather than following a specific list. This is primarily because when I looked at the prompt for December 3rd and it asked me whether I have "delicious'd" anything this year I just stared blankly at the computer screen. I am not hip, and I had to google "delicious," which clearly means I need to make up my own entries.

Nevertheless, here's a moment for December 1st.

Best Trip of 2009


Twenty-four hours in Seattle, 10 hours in the car, two parents, two kids, one day of sun, one day of rain, and hundreds of zoo animals.

Birthday Week

Clara turned three this week, amid much fanfare and general hoopla. We didn't tell her it was her birthday until that morning (mostly because we wanted her to sleep the night before), so when she came out of her room and saw balloons and streamers and her birthday wall, she looked truly surprised and asked, "My birthday is today??" Later, when Jeremy was helping her get ready for the day, she said, "Daddy, I've been waiting and waiting for my birthday, and it's here today!" Then her voice got really quiet and intense, and she said, "I'm so excited!"

We started the day with an exploration of her birthday wall--a tradition we started with Jonathan's birthday where we put a kind of "year in review" in photos on the wall. Then we had very special puffy pancakes, which thrilled her greatly.


She also received her first present: a new baby doll and sundry baby gear from Jeremy's grandma...and Jonathan. She loved pushing the baby around in its new stroller. Jonathan seemed a bit jealous, so we put a 10 pound weight in Clara's old stroller and he was pleased as punch.



The rest of the day was filled with cupcake baking, playing with friends, and having a family over for a special birthday dinner, where I'm pretty sure she did not eat more than two bites. And then we opened presents! She was thrilled with everything, perhaps most especially the new quilt my parents sent. It's extremely soft on the back side, and when we checked on her the next night before we went to bed, she was snuggled under her blanket, sound asleep, wearing nothing but her diaper. Like I said, it's very soft.



As if this one wonderful day were not enough, we threw a birthday party for Clara on Saturday. We had fun decorating the house and getting everything ready for her friends, although I think the party itself was a bit overwhelming for her. I should've realized things were getting a bit crazy for her when she spent an inordinate amount of time eating her lunch. All of the other kids were long since gone and playing, and Clara was still eating (typically she doesn't last more than about 10 minutes at any given meal). When I asked her if she wanted to open presents, she just said, "Almost, Mom." Then when the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to her before digging into cupcakes, she plugged her ears. Poor Clara. Sometimes a girl just needs a little peace.





Clara really wanted a duck party, which I thought would be easy to pull off. As it turns out, it's pretty challenging to find duck-themed goods in north Idaho. We stuck with blue and yellow for the colors, and we had a little duck game to play. For lunch, we made duck-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches and made ducks in a pond--blue jello with paper ducks "floating" on top. For party favors we gave rubber ducks (surprisingly hard to find), homemade yellow play dough ("It's not yellow enough yet," Jeremy kept saying), a little wooden duck, and some leftover Halloween candy (a great benefit to having a birthday so close to Halloween).



One of the most fun things for me was when we brought in Clara's last present, which has been literally months in the making. It's a play kitchen fashioned out of found objects, scoured from thrift shops and the Habitat for Humanity store. Some of our good friends gave us a scrap piece of countertop they had, and some other good friends assembled the whole kitchen. My one friend even painted it for me--she said she needed a project, and I had no complaints whatsoever. She did a fantastic job! So clever! Clara just loves it (although she evidently doesn't love to have her picture taken in front of it), and I am so appreciative of everyone who worked to help my little vision come together. There are still a few things I want to finish with it, but she loved it. Interestingly, her favorite thing about it so far has been a sponge that my friend threw in as something of an afterthought. But Clara just loves to use the sponge to clean and clean that kitchen. Maybe she sees the joy Jeremy and I derive from cleaning the real kitchen... Maybe...



And now, if you're still reading, I'll favor you with a little list of things we just love about our Clara:

1. She is just as smart as a whip. The other day, she pointed something out, and when I told her it was a good observation, she said, "Yes. I'm like a giganotosaurus." A few days later, she was walking through the produce section with Jeremy and said, "Avocados are from Mexico." Finally, this morning at church she was talking to a friend and said, "I have a cough. Mommy had a cough yesterday." Then she paused and added, "I have the swine flu."

2. She is a good big sister. Every hearty shove and throw-down she gives to Jonathan she matches with tender hugs and a sincere desire to make him laugh. She still says that Jonathan is her best friend.

3. She has big, beautiful blue eyes.

4. She loves to dance and sing.

5. She is extremely talented at making herself scarce when we're with friends. If there are other people around, she will do everything she can to avoid contact with us. Classic.

6. She loves going to nursery at church, and she has a special love for her wonderful nursery teacher.

7. She has many diverse interests, ranging from dinosaurs to pasting to princesses.

8. She loves, loves, loves books. She would be read to all day long if she had the choice. And if "Dinosaur Train" weren't on.

9. She feels joy purely and truly.

10. She is our special girl. We are so blessed and grateful to have her as our daughter.

And after all that: Happy Birthday, Clara! And yes, I will now stop taking your picture.

What a Fright!

We got a nice jump-start on Halloween by celebrating All Hallow's Eve Eve, a holiday I'm sure will gain increased acceptance once people realize just how great it is to extend the celebration of all things orange and scaaaaary.

Jonathan, Clara and I all wore orange yesterday (Jeremy, sadly, could not participate since he owns no orange clothes). We carved our pumpkin--which we grew ourselves in our backyard and which had sprouted one or two lovely spots of mold, which we cut out as part of Clara's uber-postmodern jack-o-lantern design. Then we had an all-orange dinner followed by a trip to the church for a Halloween party/Trunk-or-Treat. After the Trunk-or-Treat, we were standing in the parking lot talking to friends when Clara said, "I want to go home now." Of course she did. It was almost 8:00!


Clara, as you can see, was dressed as a fairy. She especially loves her wand (as does Jonathan, incidentally--what's not to love about a sparkly star on a stick?) and went around all day yesterday "magicking" people. I was alternatively magicked into gold, a cow, a girl, and man. And then back to gold. She is a very good magicker.



Jonathan was able to wear Clara's bumblebee costume from days gone by, complete with her black onesie with the puffed sleeves and keyhole neck. Don't worry: we bought him some sweatpants instead of tights, and we covered up the more girlish elements of the onesie with the costume. And unlike Clara, I made Jonathan his own antennae, which--much to our surprise--he wore all night long. It's an All Hallow's Eve Eve miracle!




We woke up this morning to bowls of cereal with milk that magically turned orange when stirred. It's going to be a great day...

On a cloudy day

I'm still in my room, since my fever returned yesterday afternoon. (Clearly something was wrong when I turned my space heater on, managed to warm the room up to 74 degrees, and was still huddled under my down comforter.) I feel pretty good again today, though, so I'm cautiously optimistic that I might see Jonathan this evening.

Clara, on the other hand, I have had the pleasure of seeing several times over the last day and a half. Jeremy put a bucket of flour in the hallway, so when Jonathan is sleeping they come and open my bedroom door so Clara and I can talk. She sits on the bucket and says truly fascinating things. A sample conversation:


Clara: "So, do you want to talk about dinosaurs, Mom?"
Me: "I sure do! What should we talk about dinosaurs?"
Clara: "Do dinosaurs stomp around, Mom?"
Me: "I daresay they do, Clara. Why do you think that is?"
Clara: "Maybe because they're quadrapeds."
Me: "They're not all quadrapeds. Are you a quadraped? How many feet do you walk on?"
Clara: "Just these two."
Me: "So you're a biped."
Clara: (Laughs.) "That's silly, Mom."

A brief pause.

Clara: "Do dinosaurs roar, Mom?"
Me: "They do, indeed, Clara..."

She can go on in a similar fashion for a surprising length of time. I sure do love my Clara.

A little autumn trip

A few weeks ago we took a little overnight trip with some friends. We rented a vacation house on the banks of what I think might be the Priest River, although I wouldn't swear to that. The house was right on the water, as you can see, and I loved it. So charming! It had a terrific attic/loft space with sleeping space for six as well as a fun play space. Downstairs was additional sleeping room for three, which is where our friends slept. I really thought it was ideal. The only thing that would've made it better would've been if it hadn't been quite so cold and drizzly. That's autumn, I guess!


Clara had a memorable trip. She ate a worrisome number of red vines, enjoyed a movie while nursing a big mug of hot chocolate, and got to sport this cool fake mustache. But when we asked her what her favorite part was, she said, "I love to jump on the trampoline!" If she's lucky, maybe one day she'll get bounced off the trampoline and suffer from a lifetime of lower back problems, just like her mama. Trampolines are evil, but fun.




Jonathan spent quite a lot of time either in his high chair or in the backpack. When he was freed from those restraints (which wasn't often--good thing the boy loves to eat), he spent most of his time trying to find a way to climb up the death trap of a spiral staircase leading to the loft. I think he went home a bit disappointed to be still in one piece.




And Jeremy and I chased the kids, made a few meals, and just enjoyed the good company of good friends. Jeremy even tried his hand at fishing (with a real fishing pole!). And we all took turns rowing in the row boat. Here's what I learned about rowing: some people are naturally brilliant at rowing (like me) and some people are not (like the rest of the world, from what I can tell). My rowing talent is a real burden, but I bear it well.




Thanks, Sarah and Jason, for a memorable trip!

Luppa Luppa Lo

This week I've felt a bit under the weather with what I assumed was just a cold. Then yesterday morning I woke up feeling absolutely horrible. I took my temperature and was shocked that it was 102 degrees. I cannot recall having that high of a fever in my entire adult life.

I stayed in bed all day yesterday, in a kind of feverish haze (although my brother was disappointed to hear that I did not hallucinate even once), and then at about 4:00 in the morning my fever broke. I woke up this morning with no fever, but I'm extremely weak. The nurse I spoke with at Urgent Care told me to stay away from people for 24 hours after my fever was gone (with no medication), so I'm still in bed, trying to regain my strength and praying that the fever will not return. I haven't seen my kids since yesterday morning!

For as miserable as I've been (if this is the swine flu, get your flu shot!), I can't help but be grateful for a wonderful husband who has taken such good care of Jonathan and Clara. They've baked cookies, gone on walks, gone to the park, done crafts... I've hardly heard any crying--and the kids have been calm as well! Jeremy has delivered all of my medications, kept me well hydrated, and forced me to eat a bit even when I didn't want to. He's definitely top shelf.

Here's my favorite craft project to come out of my illness:


It's a black and green pig (for the swine flu), and the speech bubble coming out of it says "Luppa Luppa Lo (Because Mommy will love it)." I guess Jeremy was trying to prompt Clara to have the pig say "Get well soon" or something, but she said that I would love it if the pig said "Luppa Luppa Lo." I totally do.

And on the back of the pig are two little orange hands--one of which is missing some digits. Sometimes little orange hands need their fingernails clipped.


I miss my family.

Little Turnip on the Prairie

I've been re-reading the Little House on the Prairie books this week for the first time since childhood. I picked up the set for a great deal at a little used bookstore in town, and for a while I was hesitant to read them again, since I feared they might have lost some of the magic they held for me as a child. My fears were in vain, however, and I have felt all manner of heartswelling emotions as I've lived the pioneer saga again with the Ingalls family. I will even admit to openly weeping today as I finished the last book, which is extremely rare for me to do, on account of my stone-cold heart. I've noticed things this time that I didn't notice as a child (Ma's deep-seated hatred of Indians, for example), but overall I have been in a happy little prairie cloud.

Anyway, in one of the books (I can't remember which one, exactly), the family is busily harvesting turnips and talking about how much they (and their horses) enjoy eating turnips, raw and cooked. I realized that I have never in my life tasted a turnip, but I figured that whatever is good enough for the Ingalls is good enough for me. So off we went to buy some turnips.

Now, I don't know if the produce folks at our local Fred Meyer have some kind of sick sense of humor, but for some reason they store the turnips in the same bin with parsnips and rutabagas. I am thinking that none of those vegetables are currently at the height of their popularity, so I feel I am not alone in being uncertain how to distinguish the three. No, that's not entirely true. I could definitely tell which one was a parsnip. But turnips and rutabagas? If you ask me, the turnips should be stored in a bin with, oh, let's say broccoli and apples. That would make choosing a turnip very easy.

Nevertheless, my powers of reasoning (and faith) prevailed, and I managed to come home with two robust and lovely turnips. I put them in the fridge, after which I proceeded to stare at them several times a day for the next three or four days, since I had no idea what to do with them. Finally, I just decided to cook them and mash them and hope for the best, but not before tasting a little bit of raw turnip. A note here: if you like strong radishes, you will like raw turnips. I do not like radishes.

Cooked and mashed with some milk, butter, salt, and pepper, turnips are actually pretty good (how could they not be?). They're very reminiscent of cooked cauliflower. And I mean very reminiscent. I can't say that we'll be eating them weekly, but I'd go for a turnip again. I'm just like Laura! But first, I think I'd like to tackle a rutabaga.

These teeth are made for cleaning

Clara recently took her first trip to the dentist--a task I have been putting off for a good long while on account of my own dental phobias. All I can say is this: if I got to go to the dentist where she gets to go to the dentist, I would go all the time. The office had a slide, games, trains, video games, and toys, and once she got into the exam room she got to watch the end of "Kung-Fu Panda" while getting her teeth cleaned.

All in all, a pleasant visit and a clean bill of dental health. And she got some new "tooth-taste," the kind you have to spit out, which has added a whole new level of adventure to her evening cleaning.