Vegan (or not) Zucchini Muffins

When I was in graduate school I shared an office for a while with a woman who had a son a year older than Mariah. She was smart and funny and I always liked chatting with her when we were in the office together. I remember once moaning to her that I wanted something (can't even recall what, now), but didn't need it, and she looked at me and said, "Need. What an interesting concept." I've repeated her words often over the years--mostly ironically, I hope.

Anyway. This does get to muffins, believe me. Once she told me that she'd taken her son to the pediatrician and, in the course of the appointment, had asked for advice on how to get more vegetables into him. The doctor had suggested that maybe she bake zucchini bread, carrot muffins, things like that. Deanna was outraged. "What a sexist!" she exclaimed. "How dare he tell me to bake!"

I didn't see it quite the same way. I liked to bake (you'll be surprised to hear) and it didn't strike me as sexist at all, but as practical. He was 15 years ahead of Jessica Seinfeld, after all. But in the moment I sympathized with her; she was a good office mate, after all, and if she didn't want to bake zucchini bread I wasn't going to insist.

I don't know if Deanna ever got her son to eat vegetables, but whenever I make these muffins I think of her. My kids know they have zucchini in them, and they love them. They are loosely adapted from a recipe at marthastewart.com, and if the flax seed meal and the buckwheat flour freak you out you can certainly try her version and let me know how it is. But this is how I make them:

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. salt (I use less)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tbl. flax seed meal
• 3 eggs (or egg replacer, which is what I use: 4-1/2 tsp. beaten into 6 tbl. warm water)
• 1 tbl. vanilla
• 2 cu shredded zucchini (I think this works best in the food processor rather than the box grater, because you get a drier, firmer shred, but you can decide.

Technique

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Mix the dry ingredients (flour through baking powder) in a bowl and set aside.
• Mix the sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the zucchini.
• Spray or grease your muffin tins, and fill them mostly full (the muffins don't rise a lot). When I do this, I get 15 muffins, which means using a second muffin tin. If yours come out the same, don't forget to put a little water into the empty muffin cups so they don't scorch in the oven.
  
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when you poke it into a muffin. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan briefly before turning out onto a wire rack.

Vegan ice cream

(One small edit below...)

I have to say, one thing I didn't miss while we were on the barge was cooking. I love to cook, and I love to feed people, but a week of luxury was really nice, too. The first couple days we were back I was too jet-lagged to cook, and too brain-dead to plan (it was over 100 and brutally humid). But it's cooled off now and I'm back on schedule and now I'm making meals again--not as good as Charlie's (our chef on the barge), but they're just fine. And the one thing Charlie never quite worked out for Mariah was vegan desserts--she mostly got fruit salads, which were fine, but she did sneak a few ice creams here and there on shore when he wasn't looking. So she was delighted to come back and get vegan ice cream again.

I promised this recipe a while ago, but it's taken me this long to test it more than once and make sure I like it. Everyone in the family likes it, in fact--with "real" (store-bought) ice cream in the house, this is what everyone wanted for dessert tonight.

Make sure you have your ice cream maker's bowl well chilled. I just keep mine in the freezer all summer so it's ready.

Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk [ETA: best if this is well chilled. I just store it in the fridge.]
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
4 oz. silken tofu
1 tbl. instant espresso powder (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until well mixed. Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the machine's directions--mine takes about 20-30 minutes. Then remove it from the machine into a freezer container; freeze for as long as it takes to eat dinner. The next day it will be a bit hard to serve (maybe--once mine never really thickened up and it was like very cold mousse--also delicious, but not what we expected), but leave it out while you eat dinner, or nuke it briefly in the microwave, and it will be fine.

This is very rich--small servings are plenty.

Re-entry

I blog about my reflections on our trip today over at the Mama, PhD blog at Inside Higher Ed. Follow me there...

Back again

I am back from the most fabulous family vacation ever, and all I can say is, if you ever need to make 13 people ranging in age from 3 to 70+ happy, take them on a barge trip in Southwest France. There was something for everyone, from the jacuzzi to the wines, the beach to the ruins, the high culture to the low. We saw bull games in the Camargue and fireworks over the water the night before Bastille Day, swam in the Mediterranean, ate gourmet food on the barge and off, drank and tasted some of the most famous wines in the world, and relaxed and enjoyed each others' company.



For those of you keeping track, I did not read one word of The Water-Babies (you were so right, Becca!), but I did finish one entire knitting project and made a little progress on another. (I also had two pairs of knitting needles confiscated out of my luggage in Vienna--argh!) I've "marked all read" for most of what was on my google reader, caught up on a few other blogs, checked in on facebook, done the laundry, and deleted most of my email--all the kind of low-brain-power activities that I can do while still feeling mightily jet-lagged. Things don't ramp up until later in the week.

what stays, what goes

I'm packing for a trip and I'm trying to be ruthless about fitting stuff in carry-on. So the extra bottle of hair conditioner is out, as is yet another pair of black sandals. But what do I do about books I desperately want to read, but I only have in hardcover? What do I do about knitting--don't I need more than one project, in case I finish? (Or, more likely, get bored or frustrated?) So far the books and knitting are in, though I may regret it as I schlep through airports. I have a little while yet to decide, and no more time to shop, so I doubt I'll be adding more. But what if I'm not in the mood for The Water-Babies (which I have assigned in my fall semester course and must therefore reread)?

I'll be away from the blog for a bit. Back with details...

Not Indispensable

I'm blogging over on the Mama, PhD blog at Inside Higher Ed again today. This week I'm thinking about indispensability, and why it's a dangerous myth for both teachers and mothers to buy into.

Five Years

Today's my fifth blogaversary. So here are the first lines of the posts on July 6, from 2003 to 2007 (or as close to July 6 as I can come, if I didn't blog on the day...)

Today Nick swam.

Nick had his first day at summer camp yesterday.

I'd been planning a post about cooking in someone else's kitchen, but it seems a bit callous to go on with that when we're 100 miles from London.

A year ago today I was in England, in the midst of my first week of classes.

I think I may again be competitive for bad mother award--who else takes her kid to the library and won't let him check out books?

Today is also my brother and his wife's 22nd 23rd wedding anniversary--and this weekend, we leave town for the big celebration of my parents' 50th!

How I spent my Fourth

Mariah and I went out today and registered voters as part of the Obama campaign's Independence Day registration drive. (They're at it all weekend, actually.) We met up with a group in the morning and were sent out with a map, a packet of flyers, registration forms, and volunteer sign-up sheets, and an experienced worker (she's an Obama organizing fellow).

I can't say we had a lot of success. Most of the houses we approached were empty--or at least the folks there weren't answering the door. We registered one new voter and informed one felon of his right to have his voting rights restored, and that felt good. But the real reason we weren't all that sucessful is that most of the people we met were already registered. And every one of them told us she (or he, but they were mostly shes) was voting for Obama. Everyone was friendly, though one woman reminded us that she'd been voting longer than I'd been alive, and she was plenty well informed and didn't need me to teach her anything. Fair enough. Another woman gave us each a cold bottle of water, and that may have been the nicest thing anyone's done for me all week.

My feet are tired and I'm still feeling the heat of midday, even now, but I'm glad we did it. We didn't get to go watch fireworks tonight--it's been raining off and on, and Nick has a sore throat--but we did our patriotic duty. And I'd do it again.

for the train-lovers among you

I have two nephews who love trains. One of them dresses as an engineer as often as possible, and both know arcana about trains that I could never in a million years master. Neither of my kids ever really went through that obsessive stage (though Nick does know an awful lot about dragons...), but I remember my brother going through a dinosaur stage that was somewhat similar. I'm always impressed by the way kids absorb knowledge about the things that interest them, and it's been fun to watch my nephews with the trains.

But it may be a good thing they don't live in New York; the subway system offers a whole new level of obsessiveness, at least for some kids. This is a fabulous picture-book tale of two boys and the subway--check it out!

Mothering at Mid-Career

Did I mention that I just finished my annual report? Why yes, I did. It's put me in a reviewing mood, it seems; over at Inside Higher Ed, I speculate on what it would be like to report on my work as a parent.

The Week that Was

It's been a busy week. As June comes to an end camps kick into gear, plans for our summer trip take on more urgency, and there are various finishing-up things to do after the end of the academic year. Here are a few highlights:

• I turned in my annual report. Early!
• I met with Claudia for coffee and discovered that she grew up in my neighborhood. I knew Richmond was a small town, but I hadn't quite realized how small.
• I re-knit something I'd knit in March. It is oddly satisfying to rip out an entire garment (OK, just a stole, but still) and re-knit it so that it actually works. I did some more ripping out (of something as yet unfinished) yesterday, and that was satisfying, too. I realize I like the process of knitting enough that ripping and re-knitting is not so bad.
• There's a lesson here, I think.
  
• I finished a long article on fantasy literature and education that's been percolating for a while, and got friends to read it on a ridiculously tight deadline. Good friends. One more pass through the revision mill and I can send it out.
• Friday night I got to go to a free "art-tasting" at the Visual Arts Center and made a fabulous glass pendant. Now I want to buy a soldering iron so I can make more!
• The four of us went to see Wall*E yesterday--what a sweet movie!
  
• Went to a "Unite for Change" Obama party last night and was blown away by the engaged, thoughtful, articulate group of recent high school grads there. They, almost as much as the candidate, give me hope about this election.
• Heard the rough cut of some of the music we recorded earlier this month; now I can't wait for the rest of it!
  

Tuesday again!

So it looks as if I haven't posted since last Tuesday. I have things I want to write about--movies I've seen, things I'm doing--but since I'm doing them, I'm not writing. That may change, or it may not--no promises.

But in the meantime, here's what Mariah's recent graduation made me think about.

By the way, one of the awesome friends I mention in the piece is responsible for the fact that Mariah is now driving/riding a bubble-gum pink scooter, on a long-term loan/rent-to-own deal. I can see her--Mariah, that is, not the friend--out the window of my office as she is strapping on her helmet to go to a job interview.

There, see? Some news!

Parenting in the News...again

Over at the Mama, PhD blog at IHE today I'm talking about Lisa Belkin's shared parenting piece in the NY Times magazine, as well as two pieces more specifically focused on academic women and academic parenting. Let me know what you think!

Vegan Food for Meat-Eaters

We threw a graduation party for Mariah on Saturday, and I put her (mostly) in charge of the menu. Since she's been vegan since about September, she wanted to provide food that was 1) food she could eat and 2) food that would prove to meat-eaters that vegans can eat well. I think she satisfied both conditions.

Here's what we made (sorry, no pictures--I was running late and it was all I could do to get the food on the table within the first hour of the party!)

• raw veggie platter (grape tomatoes, cucumbers, baby carrots, sun-dried tomatoes)
• grilled veggie platter (zucchini, asparagus, red peppers, mushrooms--Mark was a hero, standing over the grill in the hot sun so we could eat)
• home-made sushi (carrot and cucumber rolls)
• samosa-stuffed baked potatoes (from Mariah's favorite cookbook, Veganomicon. These were a huge hit.)
• chips and salsa
• home-made hummus (also from Veganomicon) and black bean dip
• pita crisps
  
• sesame tempeh (also a big hit)
• fresh fruit: grapes, cherries, strawberries
  
• chocolate-chocolate chip-walnut cookies (yes, vegan ones, also from Veganomicon, though we used pecans instead of walnuts)
• chocolate-raspberry cookies (ditto)
• chocolate cupcakes (one recipe of crazy cake makes two dozen cupcakes; I used balsamic vinegar instead of plain to fancy them up a bit, and I bought canned frosting which has no dairy products. Next time I'll look into vegan icing...)

I also forgot to put out the broccoli florets on the raw veggie platter, and the watermelon and canteloupe with the fruits. Oh, well.

The sesame tempeh is so delicious, and so easy, and so "meaty," that I thought I'd post it here. The sauce is from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone; I got the technique from my sister and brother-in-law, but I don't think they've ever posted it. So here it is:

Tempeh with Sesame Sauce

2-3 packages multi-grain tempeh (2 packages serves four generously as an entrée)

¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons soy sauce
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (or already chopped)
1 teaspoon ground ginger (either fresh or dried works)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper


Cut tempeh into slabs or chunks

Combine the next 9 ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth. Pour the sauce over the tempeh slabs/chunks in a shallow saute pan that holds all the tempeh without too much overlap, and heat until almost boiling. (I think you could also stand the tempeh on end in a saucepan if that's what you've got, but I like to have the most surface area possible getting caramelized at the end.) Reduce heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, turning the tempeh so it caramelizes a bit on both sides. You can do this ahead of time and then barbecue the tempeh briefly, or simply serve it as is. The longer you let it sit in the hot pan the more sauce the tempeh will absorb. You can serve this hot or at room temperature; it's tasty and filling either way.

Books for Babies

I went to buy a book for a colleague who had a new baby recently...

As I picked up each book, the anonymous big-box store faded away as the memories flooded in: sitting in the frayed armchair with Nick in my lap, late one night, reading Little Bear's Visit until we reached the part we wanted to hear. Initiating the call-and-response of Eric Carle's Do You Want to Be My Friend? with Mariah, and hearing her echo back the text. Laughing together over the smart dog who travels along with the safety officer in Officer Buckle and Gloria. I could outfit a different library for a new baby every day of the week, if I had money enough and time, and all the libraries would be good.

Read the rest here...

(Cross-posted, as usual.)

Mothering at Mid-Career

Someone asked me the other day if school was out for the summer, and I'm afraid my reply ("as much as it ever is") was a little too brusque. Maybe this is what I should have said?

(In case I'm being too subtle: read my blog post over at the Mama, Ph.D. site at Inside Higher Ed...)

Oh! and my copy of Mama, Ph.D. arrived yesterday. Only great self-control--and heat-induced exhaustion--prevented me from staying up way too late to read it. And we have a houseguest arriving today and two graduations this week, so I'll have to portion it out rationally. Drat!

Bullet Points

• Today is the third (fourth? I'm losing count) day in a row of unbearable heat and humidity.
  
• Highs have been over 100 F. My brain doesn't really function in this heat.
• So far the prediction for tomorrow is more of the same.
  
• I've been experimenting with vegan ice cream. Recipe to follow, when I get it right.
• Vegan ice cream has one great advantage over "real" ice cream: no need to cook.
• Actually, there's another advantage: because you don't have to cook it, you don't have to cool it before you can put it in the ice cream maker. Faster ice cream=happier family.
• Mariah and I spent about 12 hours at church between Thursday and yesterday.
• Almost all of it choir-related.
• We sang one service and one concert, and did a long recording session as well.
• Eventually there will be a CD.
• Mariah and Nick both graduate this week. I should get off the computer.
  

Gap Year

It's Tuesday, so I'm blogging at IHE's Mama, PhD site again today, and I'm thinking about the year past, and the year ahead...

More from the Tedium Monkey

Nick's applesauce/oat bran muffins went over so well he decided to see if he could make dinner. Turns out he mostly could, with the help (again) of me as tedium monkey.

Here's what he made:

• Boneless chicken breasts, marinated (lemon-rosemary marinade by me, rosemary picked by Nick) and grilled on the panini grill
• Grilled zucchini and a portobello mushroom (for Mariah), also on the panini grill
• Linguine
• Cheese sauce (a very light bechamel with some cheese whisked in). I helped, though I misjudged amounts a bit and we ended up with a lot left over.

Nick likes meals with options: you could eat everything separately, everything altogether, or any combination thereof. I ended up cutting up my chicken and zucchini and tossing it with cheese sauce over linguine, and it was mighty tasty.

The panini grill is a great way for a kid to make a meal, I've decided. It's almost foolproof, puts neat grill marks on the food, and is easy to clean up. Everyone was delighted with the meal-- especially Mariah, who skipped the cheese sauce and chicken to make her meal vegan.

Vegan Baking and the "Tedium Monkey"

[apologies if you get this multiple times through your feed-reader; I've been editing...]
Nick's been unpredictable in his responses to his sister's vegan ways. Sometimes he flaunts his meat-eating to her (this goes over about as well as you would imagine). Other times, though, he's pretty sweet. Monday morning, with the extra "weekend" day, he got up and began browsing her cookbook, Veganomicon (highly recommended, by the way). After a while he came and found me.

"Mom, I want to make some vegan muffins. Can I make these?" He showed me a recipe for applesauce-oat bran muffins.

Well, we didn't have any oat bran, but we googled for a substitute and worked out that oatmeal powdered in the blender might work, so I said yes. Did he want any help? His face fell a bit.

"I wanted to do it all by myself, but I'm not sure I can." Then his face brightened. "I know, you can be the me!"

I was puzzled. "The what?"

"You know, normally when we make stuff, you're in charge but you let me measure stuff or stir sometimes or get out the ingredients--I'm the monkey who runs around and does the tedious stuff. I'm the tedium monkey! You can be the tedium monkey!"

I might prefer "sous chef," but "tedium monkey" works. And so did the muffins.

Mama, PhD

If you've followed any of my blog posts on the Mama, PhD blog, you'll know that I have an essay in a book of the same name, coming out any day now. I haven't got my copy yet, but both editors have received theirs--and you can order one now, too! So, go, get it!

Does Academe Hinder Parenthood?

Scott Jaschik's article in IHE last week on academe and parenthood got a lot of people thinking--and some people perhaps just reacting, or venting, or something else. In any event, I got to react to all of them this week in my Mothering at Mid-Career blog over at Mama, Ph.D. Enjoy!

If it's Tuesday

I must be blogging at Inside Higher Ed... This week I'm talking about time, and where it goes. Especially the month of May, which has (again!) almost completely gotten away from me.

"Reading" pictures...

Everything is new to the infant. I remember seeing my tiny daughter, only minutes old, lying in her father's arms drinking in the scenery with eyes wide open, and suddenly realizing what an odd world we'd brought her into.

Shaun Tan and Brian Selznick show us that odd world in their remarkable picture books (or are they graphic novels?) for older readers. Read more about The Arrival and The Invention of Hugo Cabret, here...

(cross-posted at Lessons from the Tortoise)

Loss

It's been a busy week, as the weeks after Mother's Day always are, it seems. Once graduation rolls around there are all kinds of things in the kids' lives--tests, parties, special assignments due--and in ours as well, as our friends all come out from under their busy semesters and want to get together, as do we. I also "went back to work," in a manner of speaking, this week, with two days of workshops to jumpstart a fall project. So there's been a lot going on, most of it fun.

But it was punctuated by sadness. Our beloved and beautiful cat, Anna, had been ailing for a while, and this week we finally let her go. We knew as of Monday that the end was near, and we said good-bye to her yesterday. This is the first pet I've lost in this way; only one of our childhood pets died when I was a child, and I was almost completely unaware of her passing. I'd left home by the time my own childhood cat, Misty, died. This is also the first time our kids have lost a pet, and it hit Mariah hard. She chose Anna from the Siamese rescue society eight years ago--or Anna chose her--and they had been companions ever since.

Today I see her food bowls and the hair that she shed on the couch and I expect to see her come around the corner, but she won't. She had a good life with us, but--as my mother said earlier today--there will always be a hole in our hearts for her.

Girl Athletes and Women Professors

There's quite a discussion of the New York Times piece on girl athletes in the comments over at 11D. I think it's fair to say Laura didn't much like it. But it had me thinking about myself and my colleagues--when does difference become inferiority? When does equality become an unsustainable sameness? I muse about it more today over at the Mama, PhD blog at Inside Higher Ed--come over there and let me know what you think.

Update on the food

I took the couple with the new baby an asparagus-mushroom strata and lemon-blueberry corncake from The Cornbread Gospels. The friend facing surgery had it postponed, but there's another strata in the freezer for her when she needs it. And, thanks to your comments, I now have a better list for the next time I face this dilemma!

Sharing Food

Every now and then I need to take a meal to someone. A friend has lost a loved one, a colleague has had a baby, someone has just had surgery--the response is to take them food. Right? In situations like that I usually bake: bread, brownies, muffins. Maybe I'll make some soup to go along with the bread, but my focus is on the baking. Recently a friend and I teamed up to take a meal to someone and that worked out great: I did rolls and soup, she did dessert and salad. Easy-peasy, and a good meal for our friend as well.

Today, though, I need to make some real meals. Someone I know from church is having a double lumpectomy today; a colleague has just had a baby and has no family in town. These are folks who need food in the freezer, meals that they can pull out later and enjoy without planning. A loaf of bread or a pan of brownies just won't cut it.

So I scanned through my recipes here on the blog and guess what? Mostly they're for side dishes and desserts. I have a few quick dinner recipes, but they're not really freezable ones--stir-frys and pastas and the like. I'm thinking strata could work, or maybe chilaquiles; I suppose a pot of chili could go in the freezer, but we're having temps in the 80s these days and chili just seems too heavy. I can do strata with spring vegetables--asparagus and mushrooms, maybe? And then it can be brunch or dinner or lunch or whatever is needed (I remember those topsy-turvy days of early parenthood, vaguely...).

What do you make for a friend in need? Why am I so stymied by this?

Mothering at Mid-Career

My new weekly blog at Inside Higher Ed is up! So, what do you need? Leave me a comment and give me more to blog about...

While you're there, check out the other blogs, too. The Monday Mama PhD blogger, Megan Pincus Kajitani, is taking your questions. And UD (University Diaries) is about to take a sabbatical.

There are lots of other cool blogs to check out, too.

(again, cross-posted...)

Mama PhD at Inside Higher Ed!

Starting today, seven Mama PhD contributors will be blogging over at InsideHigherEd.

Caroline and Elrena started things off today with an introductory post; from now on the blog will run along this rotation:

Monday: The Career Coach Is In by Megan Kajitani
Tuesday: Mid-Career Mothering by Libby Gruner (hey, that would be me!)
Wednesday: ABCs and PhDs: Biologists at Home, by Dana Campbell, Liz Stockwell, and Susan Bassow
Thursday: Math Mom by Della Fenster
Friday: Drama Mama by Anjalee Nadkarni

Check out my inaugural post tomorrow...

(cross-posted at Lessons from the Tortoise...)

Finished Objects

As the weather warms up I probably do less knitting than usual, but I've still finished two things lately, and I love them both. The first, the "scribble lace" scarf (on the left), is for the silent auction at Nick's school; the other, the clapotis (is this perhaps the most famous free pattern on the internet?) is for me. I've got a couple of other projects brewing, and with the basketball playoffs going strong and baseball getting started I do have a little more TV time* than usual, so I may get to them!

*baseball is more conducive to knitting than basketball; I rely heavily on instant replay if I'm knitting while watching basketball.

Call for submissions

The Literary Reflections department of Literary Mama is seeking personal essays about writing as a mother, reading as a mother, or developing a career as a professional mother-writer. If any of you have such an essay in your portfolio or an idea brewing along these lines, we welcome your participation. Also, pass along this call to any other writers/mothers who may have an interest in submitting to Literary Mama.

Here’s the submission guideline link for handy reference.

Signs of Spring

Sign #1: the ratio of light to dark laundry loads has shifted, from 1:2 to 2:1.

Sign #2: hanging the light load out to dry.

On Road Trips and Picture Books

As I mentioned in my last, Mariah and I were out on the road last week, finishing up a college tour that put about 1200 miles on our car, allowed us to visit lots of old friends and a weekend with family, and got her much much closer to a decision about what she'll be doing next year. The whole thing had me thinking about picture books. Read this month's column and you'll see why...

(Cross-posted at the other blog...)

The pause that refreshes

On Tuesday afternoon, Nick has a guitar lesson. I walk him to the guitar shop, two blocks away, and then sit down on a This-End-Up style blue couch (it looks like the sort of thing we scavenged as grad school furniture) and knit. For half an hour, no one talks to me, I talk to no one--except maybe to answer a question about my knitting--and I can relax. He's probably old enough, really, to walk there on his own; it's also certainly close enough that I could walk him there and then go back and spend the time at home. But I choose to sit on the couch--which I share with other parents, kids waiting for their lessons, and a very hairy dog--and knit. It's a brief window of peace.

Yesterday we got back from our multi-state, multi-college visit about 45 minutes before Nick got home from school. Mariah and I unpacked the car and debriefed a bit with Mark, then I went to pick Nick up. When lesson time rolled around I picked up my knitting bag and joined him. The laundry isn't done, the groceries unbought, the suitcase not yet unpacked. But I had half an hour of quiet, a nice break from the road and from the pressing demands at home.

One more perk

I stopped at WEBS yesterday.

Twice, in fact. The first time I had less than an hour, and I couldn't make up my mind that quickly. I had barely made it all the way around the store by the time I had to leave.

The second time I had Mariah with me and she offered sage advice and good counsel. Don't buy anything you can buy at home (unless it's a lot cheaper). Don't worry about what you'll make with it if you love it. No, you don't want that one. No, nor that one either.

In the end I was pretty restrained. But it was well worth the trip.

Perks

I am stupid-tired tonight. Maybe I'm even espresso cookie-tired, but I'm not in my own house and I can't bake. Still, I can type. (A bit.)

Why am I so tired? Mariah and I are on the accepted-student-open-house circuit. We've covered about 700 miles and two colleges in two days, and we've got one college and many more miles left before we're done. Thank goodness she can share the driving: the 500 miles yesterday would have been impossible without her. And thank goodness that our musical tastes are close enough that sharing iPods through the car stereo is pleasure rather than penance.

Thank goodness, too, for friends and family who are opening their homes to us. Last night we were at Becca's, and we got to meet S and E for the first time, and get reacquainted with M, and talk about books and school and work and blogging. And this morning Becca handed over the ARC of Jenny Davidson's forthcoming YA novel, The Explosionist, which I can hardly wait to read. (I'll review it over on the other blog when I finish it...) A fabulous blogger meet up AND a new book to read--now those are definite perks of this trip.

Tonight I'm at a blogless relative's, in the lap of luxury, then we're off to my parents' house for the weekend: another perk of the trip is that they live in between two of the schools we're seeing.

So it's exhausting, but there are rewards. And at the moment the one I'm looking forward to is a comfortable bed.

Really?

Apparently I was an arrogant monk in a past life. Check it out.

In a Past Life...

You Were: An Arrogant Monk. Where You Lived: France. How You Died: Typhoid fever.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

(I saw this over at Magpie Musing. She was hung for treason in her past life, so I feel as if I got off easy.)

Fifty Years

Today is my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary. What an accomplishment! They were married on a chilly Monday morning in April, the day after Easter, in 1958, and it's another chilly Monday morning this time around. Something about it must have been right, though: after one granddaughter, two countries*, three grandsons, four children**, and five homes***, they are still going strong. (Yes, those events are out of order--and I only counted the countries they've lived in together, which is actually the same as the number of states they've lived in...and far smaller than the number of states or countries they've visited or even spent significant time in.) There are big plans for a celebration this summer, but we are all scattered today, so this is the best I can do.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Edited to add:
*the USA and Japan
**living in four states: NY, NJ, VA, CA
***Dad says there were six, but I didn't count their first apartment because I didn't know about it. See, even after fifty years, there are surprises!

not a photo post

This morning when I got up there was a lovely sliver of a crescent moon hanging low in the branches of a just-budding tree, due east of my house. I got out the camera and snapped a couple of pictures on the "night" setting, and another on the regular one. But, alas, what I got bears so little resemblance to what I saw that there's no point posting it.*

Nonetheless the moon in the morning somehow seemed appropriate to me. Things are a little topsy-turvy here, a little unsettled, but in a good way. It started with Easter--it's always unsettling, in a good way, to have company in the house. We cleaned from top to bottom (probably the most unsettling thing!), and then lived with much smaller children--and extra adults!-- than we usually do for almost a week.** It was great to have the long visit, especially when Mariah left town before Caroline et al did. Things were so busy and full here that it didn't seem quite so empty to have her gone.

But then Caroline and family went back home and Mariah was still gone--on her first nearly-solo vacation. She went to NY with a couple of friends, one of whom has a grandmother there. Mariah and the other friend stayed with dear friends of mine (and Mariah's) for the better part of a week, managing subways and taxis and late nights and botched plans all on their own. She had a great time, and the rest of us enjoyed Nick's spring break. (Mark was working, so it wasn't much of a break for him.)

Somewhere during all this excitement the college news started coming, and we now know that Mariah has college options for next year, so we're again happily unsettled. The next few weeks will be a whirlwind of college visits, comparing financial aid offers, considering whether waitlists are worth waiting for. There's also still the possibility that she'll take a gap year, deferring her admission (somewhere) for a year of work and travel. All this has to be decided in the next month.

All this energy has me craving a little peace and quiet. I'm seeking out meditative, even repetitive, work to give me a sense of order. I spent much of yesterday unraveling a thrift shop sweater for the yarn--it was an oddly satisfying experience to just sit and take something apart. But I've got all kinds of things I need to be putting together, too; I can't let this restlessness take over. So I'll breathe deeply and contemplate the moon that I can't see.

*If anyone wants to suggest a good point-and-shoot digital camera, I'm in the market for a new one...
**The house didn't really feel overfull at all, but one day there were workmen outside cutting trees, and the lead guy asked me "what kind of meeting are you having in there?" Apparently three adults with laptops open registered as something other than normal family life...

belatedly

I think I've posted an Easter reprise post for the last couple of (no, three!) years, so I've had it in mind to do this year, too, but the week has just flown by. So, belatedly, I give you Easter.

• As usual, the best houseguests ever. All four of them, and only one emergency room visit! (Eli hit his head on the kitchen radiator, Easter Monday--two stitches and a good story.)
• The cooking and baking started Friday, and never really stopped. Highlights included hot cross buns, birthday cake, tempura and sushi, and lemon-cornmeal poundcake. Photos below of Easter dinner. (The tempura and sushi, which were also lovely, got eaten as soon as made, and therefore were not photographed.)
  
• The weather ranged from raw and chilly to warm and sunny. No snow (thankfully--we did that last year), and no rain, either. Lots of flowers.
• Mariah had solos for Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday, and she and I had a duet on Good Friday. The Easter music was fabulous, too.
  
• Mariah heard from one college right before Easter, and another two just after--so far, things are looking good, but I'm not saying more yet as there are still three to go.
• Caroline got to talk to folks about Mama, Ph.D., which was a fun bonus event. (Go, pre-order it now!)
• I finished one wrap (top photo) in time to mail it off for an Easter-birthday present for my mother-in-law, and another (second photo) in time to wear it myself, Easter morning. Hurray for quick knits!

And now for the food:

Mushroom Gallette, from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. A perfect vegan entree.

Nigella's Lemon Linguine, which is definitely not vegan but very, very, tasty.

Roasted asparagus, avocado salad. Mmmm.

Rosemary Filoncino. Mmm, mmm.

Lemon-Cornmeal poundcake, from The Cornbread Gospels, served with sliced strawberries. There was whipped cream with it, too.

And there you have it, the Easter feast. And feast we did--for several days afterwards, as well.

Children's Lit Book Group

This month I read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books and write about vampire love in my Literary Mama column: "Vampire stories are . . .perfect for teenagers. Vampires stay out all night, scare the respectable citizens, take crazy risks, and live, seemingly, forever." You can read more about the books, and my take on vampires, here.

teaching and tae kwon do

At first I didn’t mention it at work. I think I felt a little silly about it: a middle-aged woman — an English professor! — taking tae kwon do. But then one day a colleague asked about a small bruise on my arm and, unthinking, I told him I’d blocked a kick with my forearm. It hadn’t been a smart move in tae kwon do, but as I told him about it, I could see the respect in his eyes. I began to think I should bring in my broken boards, leave them in the office, maybe mention how easily my palm had just gone through the wood. It couldn’t hurt.

Read the rest here..

(cross posted at Lessons from the Tortoise)

"A more perfect union"

I've been watching the HBO miniseries John Adams these last couple of nights. I was frustrated, when I first heard of it, to discover that it was scheduled opposite a new ESPN documentary, Black Magic, the story of African American basketball at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). In the end I watched bits and pieces of John Adams on Sunday night, part two of Black Magic Monday night, and filled in some gaps from John Adams (things I'd missed while putting Nick to bed) last night.

Then I read Obama's speech. Now, bear with me, because I know it's a leap from founding fathers to HBCUs and basketball to contemporary politics. Except, it's not.

John Adams demonstrates, among other things, the ways in which the "original sin of slavery" pulled the colonies apart even as they were coming together. Black Magic demonstrates how the legacy of that sin continues to matter in the lives of real human beings. Taken together in the same week as Obama's speech, they demonstrate the importance of that speech, and of his candidacy: we have unfinished business in this country in dealing with race.* Obama gets that in a fundamental way, acknowledging both the distance we've traveled since the founding, and the distance we have yet to go; the damage slavery has done to African Americans, and the damage that racial and economic injustice have done to all Americans.

It's just a coincidence that these things came together for me--it really doesn't take HBO and ESPN to make Obama's speech matter. Read it for yourself--it's not just about one hotheaded preacher. It's about us all.

*You can actually see in both productions something of our unfinished business with gender, too, in Abigail Adams's words and in the near-complete absence of women from the documentary. A topic for another day.

brief update

The Neighborly Sweet Potato Muffins are pretty tasty, too.

The Cornbread Gospels

How many recipes do you have to test out before reviewing a cookbook? I have to confess, I wanted to write about The Cornbread Gospels the day I got it, before making a single recipe--it was that much fun to read. Crescent Dragonwagon's new book is a treasure trove of recipes, stories, and cornbread lore, worthy of a place on the bookshelf by the bed as well as on the cookbook shelf.

Dragonwagon certainly has the resume to put this cookbook together. As chef/founder of the Dairy Hollow House Inn (and the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow) she has been making cornbread in all its varieties for over twenty-five years. (She's also the author of The Passionate Vegetarian, as well as dozens of books for children.) After living for years in Arkansas, she now makes her home in her native Vermont--so she's got both Northern and Southern styles down. An aficionado of the hot stuff, she'll do southwestern-style cornbread, with jalapenos and the like, as well. She'll take you back to various Native American and Native-inspired dishes, including a tortilla how-to. And she's found recipes for cornbread from so much of the old World (Greece, Portugal, South Africa, India...) that you may forget that corn originated right here in this hemisphere. (Don't worry, though, there's plenty of good history in the book to remind you.)

But what about the recipes? So far, I have to confess, I've only tried three, but they were all keepers. There's a yeasted dough for rolls (Glazed Maple-Cornmeal Rolls), a fabulous multi-grain muffin (Janice Carr's Mixed-Grain Muffins), and a blueberry muffin so lemony sweet and tasty that I baked it as a cake (Lemon-Blueberry Babycakes; I left off the "Crumble-Bumble" streusel). I'm still waiting for the right occasion for the Neighborly Sweet Potato Muffins, the Miss Kay's Dark Secret Cornmeal Cake (it has cocoa in it), and Vermont Maple-Sweetened Cornbread, among many, many others. There are recipes for things to go with the cornbread, too--greens and soups and stews that look fabulously warming. (There are a few recipes here if you can't wait to find the book...)

I've never been one for single-ingredient cookbooks, though I've got a few cookbooks that focus on one particular part of a meal (soup and bread are my favorites). But this one satisfies both body and mind; I'll be coming back to it often.

[full disclosure: I received a free copy of the book for review from the publisher after writing this blog post]

Firsts

Snagged this from Susan, though I know Violeta and Dawn have done it as well...


1. Who was your first prom date? I went to my junior prom without a date. Before you feel sorry for me, you should know that 1)my school didn't have a prom tradition, so it was no big deal and 2) most of us went without dates. My dress was hideous, though--think low-end Gunne Sax.

2. Do you still talk to your first love? Nope. We last saw each other at a high school reunion (we didn't date in high school, though), the summer right after he got married and right before I did. We had chosen a lot of the same music and that seemed somehow significant. (Oh, my goodness, that was over twenty years ago!)

3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Either a vodka tonic or a rum and coke.

4. What was your first job? I worked as a day-camp counselor the summers after seventh and eighth grade, and decided that I was not cut out for child-care work. I still haven't quite gotten over it.

5. What was your first car? 1982 Ford Escort, bought new right after I graduated from college. I learned how to drive a stick shift getting it home from the dealer.

6. Who was the first person to text you today? Nobody. I get about three texts a year, all from Mariah.

7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Mariah.

8. Who was your first grade teacher? Miss Hirooka, at Nishimachi International School.

9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? When we moved to Japan in the winter of 1966.

10. Who was your first best friend, and are you still friends with him/her? My first best friend was Traci K, in Tokyo. Her family later moved to California and I met up with her once when I was living there right before grad school; it was something of a disaster. We couldn't figure out what we had in common anymore.

11. What was your first sport played? Sport? What is this sport you speak of?

12. Where was your first sleepover? Jo-Ann S, 4th grade. It was her birthday party, and it was a Friday during Lent, when I had given up chocolate and all kinds of other things that were served. I called home in tears and my parents said it was ok to eat what I was offered, that I shouldn't worry about it. Then I felt a little embarrassed for making a scene, but the choclate cake was really good and I got over it.

13. Who was the first person you talked to today? Mariah. "Your alarm went off fifteen minutes ago. It's time to get up."

14. Whose wedding were you in the first time? Mine. I've been in three or four since then, though.

15. What was the first thing you did this morning? Woke Mariah up.

16. What was the first concert you ever went to? I think it was Jackson Browne, the "Running on Empty" tour, summer of 1978.

17. What was your first tattoo or piercing? My mother pierced my ears for me when I was in sixth grade. The left one was off-center, and she re-pierced it a year later; both holes are still open.

18. What was the first foreign country you went to? Japan when I was almost five.

19. What was your first run-in with the law? Hmm, a speeding ticket in 1982 or 3, maybe?

20. When was your first detention? I never had detention.

21. What was the first state you lived in? New York.

22. Who was the first person to break your heart? I don't think anyone's ever broken my heart, thankfully. A couple of bumps and bruises; I've been very lucky.

23. Who was your first roommate? Betsy H, at Kent. Her sister was a senior and that somehow meant she was too cool for me. Or something.

24. Where did you go on your first limo ride? I don't remember ever riding in a limo.

Genius

The university where I teach has a fabulous arts center, bringing in wonderful acts all year round. They offer discounted subscriptions, too, and often Mark and I have bought one, choosing five acts (or so) to attend over the course of a year. Usually one or two are great, most are fine; I think we've only left one at intermission thinking we'd made the wrong choice. This year we didn't subscribe; there were a few things I thought were interesting, but the only event I really, really wanted to attend was the performance of Bobby McFerrin and Voicestra (try clicking to play the radio). If all you know of Bobby McFerrin is "Don't Worry, Be Happy," (which is fabulous, but overexposed), you may be surprised to hear how much I wanted to go--but then again, you're probably not reading this if that's all the McFerrin you know. (I've been searching for a while for his Psalm 23 and his amazing music for a reading of "The Elephant's Child" done by Jack Nicholson, but I can't find them online. Take my word for it, they are worth buying.) Anyway.

It sold out before we could order our subscription. In fact, I canceled the whole subscription when I found out that show was sold out--I just didn't see the point. And I've been slightly mourning that decision, because it's always, really, a good thing to go out and experience live performance--but I forget that repeatedly, and then wander around the house glumly wondering why my life is so boring. Sigh.

So I was in that glum, bored state yesterday. I've been glum and bored for a while, actually, which I attribute to the length of February, the grey skies, and an unusually extended "hangover" from big projects that came due at the end of January.

All I wanted to do was go hear Bobby McFerrin. I knew the concert was that night, and that it had been sold out for months. I started fantasizing about it in the morning (when, coincidentally, our choir sang the McFerrin setting of Psalm 23). As the day wore on the idea became a bit obsessive--I began to think the only thing that would snap me out of my glumness was Bobby McFerrin, and that if I couldn't go, I would just collapse into a heap. Nonetheless I knitted, watched a basketball game, got dinner underway--and watched the clock for when the box office would open.

The basketball game went into a surprisingly exciting overtime, and I lost track of time for a few minutes. So it was about fifteen minutes after the box office opened that I finally called. And, yes, they did have some tickets, and yes, I could have them. The show was in about an hour and fifteen minutes. We gulped down dinner and ran out the door, leaving the kids to finish the cleanup. (Remarkably, in a special bonus gift, they did it!) And then we sat in amazement, joy, and wonder as McFerrin and Voicestra played --and I mean played-- in front of us for two hours. They improvised the entire show, with no intermission, including dancers and singers from the audience for a while, giving the lead to various different singers, always coming back to the power and the purity of the voice.

It was astonishing. It was uplifting. And now I feel as if spring really is on the way.

(Edited to add this video of Bobby McFerrin on Sesame Street)

I'm a dash--

Susan's a comma, which I think is a very good thing to be. I'm not so sure about the dash, but I'm not surprised--I use them a lot, after all! (Good with money, though? That one's weird...)

You Are a Dash

Your life is fast paced and varied. You are realistic, down to earth, and very honest. You're often busy doing something interesting, and what you do changes quickly. You have many facets to your personality, and you connect them together well. You have a ton of interests. While some of them are a bit offbeat, they all tie together well. You friends rely on you to bring novelty and excitement to their lives. (And while you're the most interesting person they know, they can't help feeling like they don't know you well.) You excel in: Anything to do with money You get along best with: the Exclamation Point

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

In Memoriam

The world lost two brave souls yesterday, men I knew only a little but who had a great impact on those I love--one my uncle by marriage, the other the father of a dear friend. Both were surrounded by family as they died; both were men of great faith. Their loss has left me a bit poorer, struggling for words of comfort or hope. As usual, I find that others have said it better. In Tennyson's great poem of mourning I find a reason to look for words, and in Hopkins's celebration of life I find a bit, I think, of the faith that sustained both.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson
In Memoriam A.H.H. Obit. MDCCCXXXIII
V
I sometimes hold it half a sin
To put in words the grief I feel;
For words, like Nature, half reveal
And half conceal the Soul within.

But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use in measured language lies;
The sad mechanic exercise,
Like dull narcotics, numbing pain.

In words, like weeds, I’ll wrap me o’er,
Like coarsest clothes against the cold:
But that large grief which these enfold
Is given in outline and no more.

Gerard Manley Hopkins
"As kingfishers catch fire"


AS kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.

Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps gráce: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—
Chríst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

Go in peace.

Smek-Day and the Cybils

(Cross-posted at Lessons from the Tortoise)

My new column is up over at Literary Mama. In it I talk about why I liked our fantasy/sf winner in the middle-grade category, The True Meaning of Smek-Day, and what intriguing commonalities I found in the books we read. Here's a taste:

the story [of Smek-Day] is as action-packed and adventurous as [several of ] the others . . . which feature plot twist after plot twist, fascinating superpowers (invisibility and flight are the best), and intriguing ways of engaging with technology -- hovercars, a super-reinforced Mercedes, cellphones, convenience stores. These are not, that is, "sword-and-sorcery" fantasy novels, but books fully engaged with modern life and imagining how magic or the supernatural might interact with our technologically-enhanced world.

Read the rest here...

Breaking Boards

Or, what we did on my birthday. (Sorry about the blurred faces; they're to protect privacy, of course.)

Friday Food: Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili

Some time ago someone served me a delicious chili with butternut squash in it, and when I wanted to recreate it, I went (of course!) to epicurious. And I found something like it, but I knew it wouldn't quite fly with my family. I can get Nick to eat squash or greens, but I didn't think he'd do both at once. So I modified it, and it was the best chili I've made in some time: flavorful, healthy, and very warming. This is a soupy chili rather than a thick pasty chili, but you could cut back the veggie stock if you wanted it thicker. I thought it was perfect. (Nick, alas, did not, but he can scramble his own eggs, so he didn't go hungry.)

Here's what I used:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled butternut squash (I used one whole, small, squash)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
2 cups vegetable broth (it was probably a little less; I just measured it into the tomato can)
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 small can chopped ortega (mild green) chilis

Here's what I did:

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until soft--5 to 10 minutes, depending on your patience. Add the spices and the squash and continue to saute until the vegetables are all colored by the spices and the squash begins to soften a bit--you don't need to cook it through at this point. Now add the beans, broth, tomatoes, and chilis. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes (epicurious said 15, but my squash was not tender at that point). Serve with garnishes such as shredded cheese, sour cream, and/or chopped cilantro--or just ladle it into a bowl with some cornbread on the side.

(Epicurious thinks this serves 4, but I'd say more like 6. It's a nice, generous pot of chili, and just as good the second day.)

Cornbread!

We have chili and cornbread almost once a week in the winter. The chili can easily be vegan, to satisfy Mariah, it's quick and easy, which satisfies me, and if it's not too spicy Nick will (usually) eat it. Everyone loves the cornbread. (No, it's not vegan, but until she moves out Mariah makes an exception for baked goods, to my immense relief.) I'll post a chili recipe soon, though most often it's just "dump a can of this and a can of that into a pot," but I thought I'd post the cornbread recipe we like the best now, so that I can remember it and you can share it, too. This is a slightly sweet, very moist cornbread: it keeps well (though we usually eat it up in a day or two) and is as good split and toasted with jam in the morning as it was under or next to the chili in the evening. It comes from a fabulous bread book, The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan or an 8x8 square cake pan. I have a pottery bread pan that's perfect for this.

Mix together in a large bowl:
1-1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar (I use brown sugar)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Blend together in a large pitcher or bowl:
1-1/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Pour the milk mixture into the cornmeal mixture, stirring just enough to incorporate and moisten all the ingredients. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Six-Word Winner!

I convened my panel of experts yesterday to judge the Six-Word Memoir contest. Each (of course) chose a different one, so we ended up with three finalists:

1. Fresh Hell's "Don't look at me like that!"
2. Elrena's "This is exactly what I wanted."
and
3. Becca's "Potential. Lived up to? Don't know."

We then went to the super-sophisticated random-number-chooser--that is, I asked Nick to pick a number from one to three. He picked two, so Elrena is our winner! Elrena, email me your mailing address and I'll get it to the publisher, who will be sending out a copy.

Thanks for playing, and congratulations to all the contestants!

Bad Parenting Moments

It's been a tough couple of weeks. Nick came down with the flu last Monday, and despite an early intervention with tamiflu, he's been coughing and hacking ever since. I came down with it Tuesday, and Mariah followed on Wednesday. Thursday was the low point, though.

Nick actually went to school Thursday morning. He fussed a bit, but I insisted; he'd stayed home three days already, his fever was gone, and the cough seemed manageable. I was feeling human again, so I figured he must be as well.

Mariah stayed home for a second day, but she was feeling a bit better, and when I asked her to put her dishes into the dishwasher after lunch she did it.

Then the phone rang. The school nurse was on the line, saying Nick was coughing too much and couldn't stay in school. Bad parenting moment #1: sending the kid back to school when he's still sick. Sigh.

As I left the house to pick him up, I asked Mariah to fill the dishwasher with soap and close it up.

When I got back with Nick I saw that Mariah had done as I asked, but not started the machine. So I turned the dial to start and went upstairs to do a little work.

Some time later Mark walked into the kitchen to find the floor flooded, covered in soapsuds. Bad parenting moment #2: apparently no one has ever taught Mariah the difference between hand dishwashing liquid and automatic dishwashing detergent. And, yes, Ivory soap in the dishwasher will indeed cover the floor with soapsuds.

Mark and I emptied the dishwasher, mopped the floor, and got everything sorted out. And then I went and took a nap.

Tomorrow

Mariah turned 18 in December, which means that she gets to vote tomorrow for the first time. I saw Tom Brokaw say to Jon Stewart the other day that he thought this was perhaps the most significant election in his lifetime, certainly the most significant since 1968--which, if we believe Tom Brokaw, means it's the most significant one in my voting life as well. I'd argue that the 2000 election was perhaps more significant than we knew, but I take his point. We know this one's important.

What's so exciting to me is to see how excited Mariah is. She knows she has a chance to make a difference this year. I've been disillusioned by democracy (or what passes for it) over the years, but her excitement, and that of other young people, is infectious. I'm hopeful. And that's a nice way to be.

Mmmm...

Nick has been home all week with the flu. He went to school yesterday, but ended up in the nurse's office after lunch and I went and picked him up. He started on tamiflu Monday, but either it was too late (he'd probably been sick since before the weekend) or his case is just particularly stubborn. (Mariah and I, with fewer symptoms, started on the meds the same day and are much better.) He has a little surge of energy every afternoon that makes us think the next morning will be better--but so far, it hasn't been. Sigh.

Anyway by today we're pretty bored with each other. So I decided it was time to try something new for lunch. We have a new panini press--a Christmas gift, only just unboxed earlier this week--and I figured we could try it out. I suggested tuna melts (cupboard pretty bare) and discovered Nick had never had one.

So we remedied that gap in his education, and it was pretty delicious. Then we were still hungry.

"How about dessert?" I asked. We'd been looking at the cookbook that came with the press, and there were several sweet ones, though none (of course) using ingredients we had in the house. Instead we came up with a potentally Elvis-esque concoction that, while I wouldn't eat it every day, definitely hit the spot: grilled peanut butter-banana-chocolate chip sandwiches. (Well, sandwich: we split one). Two minutes on the grill and it was gooey perfection.

I think the press can stay.

Six More Words

(Cross-posted at Lessons from the Tortoise)

Check out today's New York Times.

Six-Word Memoir Contest!

So I have this contest going on over at the other blog, but it's apparently too hard.* Or not interesting enough. Or something. So here's another, more fun one:

Write your own six-word memoir! That's right, write it right here in the comments, or write it on your own blog and send me a link, and the best one (chosen by my panel of experts here at home) will get a shiny new copy of Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. You can also send your memoirs to the fabulous Six-Word Memoir folks and they will consider them for a second volume--that's right, you, too, could have your six-word memoir published. Come on, you know you want to do it!

Take until next Friday, February 15, to get me your entries. The winner will get a copy of the book direct from the publisher.




*If you read the comments to that post, though, you'll find at least one or two clues to help you along...

Look, over there, shiny things!

I've got a little contest running over at the other blog, and I don't want to leave anyone out. So click over there and see what you think!

(If I can get another copy of the book I'll run another contest soon.)

in stores today...

Six-Word Memoir book preview from SMITHmag on Vimeo.


(I'm on page 60)

Before...

...Super Tuesday, I thought I'd share this video. I have been reluctant to choose a candidate in this primary season. All the Democrats are so much better than what we have, I thought maybe I should just wait it out. Virginia doesn't vote until after Super Tuesday anyway; who knows where things will stand next week?

The video may not actually outline policies or argue a case, but it's pretty energizing. And that's really what I need right now.

After...

...the game, we put Nick to bed happy. One of his teachers promised no homework for a week if the Giants won, but I think his support of them went beyond the bribe. What an exciting game! Living in Virginia I don't really have a dog in a NY-NE fight. I have lived longer in New York than in any single New England state, but if I add up my time in the three New England states I've lived in, that probably trumps New York...so I could go either way. I decided to root for the underdog and for goofy Eli over polished Tom.

This morning Nick woke up coughing harder than he had been yesterday--and we'd stayed home from a Superbowl party because of the cough already. So I took him to the doctor and came home with two prescriptions for tamiflu: one for him, and one for Mariah to take prophylactically. The doctor recommended that Mark and I see if we could get it, too, and I called in to my doctor as soon as we got home. I'm already feeling a little achey and I've got a cough going, too.

Blech.