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Dear Photograph

Tom Hussey reflections series

Books of the paper variety

Obviously it's great that people read - no matter how they read or what they read.  Newspapers, magazines, books, ebooks.  Whatever.  Yay for reading.  But.  It makes me so sad to see the remaining brick and mortar Borders stores closing.  My husband and I met for our first date in a Borders, and often go to bookstores just to browse.  That said, I take partial blame for the demise of the book store, as I prefer to use the library over buying books and often order books online.  But my question is this - is this the beginning of the end of print material?  I suppose we're in the midst of the downfall of printed newspapers and magazines already, and with the rise in popularity of ebooks, I have to wonder.  I like the feel of a book in my hands.  I like the smell of a book.  I like the physical aspect of turning the pages and bookmarking.  It's so unappealing to think of reading to my child from a screen or monitor rather than from a dogeared, colored on book. 

What do you say?  Are books the relics of the future?

The Frontier is Everywhere

via The Red Chair

I've returned, or have I?

This blog has been interrupted by unforeseen illness.  Oh.my.God.  Poor C was sent home from daycare with fever Wednesday.  That fever lasted and lasted and lasted.  Then, when we thought all was well, the snot (pardon my French) started.  Poor kid couldn't sleep well, eat well, or play well.  Now the nose is starting to cooperate, but the cough has set in.  Hopefully he's well enough to return to daycare, and I can get started in making up for lost time at work.  And here.  And in sleep training (which hasn't been totally blown). 

There has been one advancement....a big project has been undertaken here at la casa sin color.  More on that in coming days. 

Welcome 2011!

As we polish off 2010, I did a little searching for nice 2011 calendars.  I'm sort of obsessed with the passage of time, and have kept all of my planners and calendars for 10 years (they serve as a strange journal, since I don't keep one otherwise), so I am careful to choose a calendar I really like.  Round 1:

$22.95, Snow & Graham 2011 Wall Calendar at Patina

Okay, this isn't for "journaling," but it helps me focus on living in the moment to flip forward every day (losing the last day forever).  $16 Vintage Forever Calendar from Etsy seller Eclectic Home

$12 from Etsy seller bomobob

$12.95 Daily Doodle calendar from West Elm  Remember your year in doodles.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Unbelievable.  It's almost Thanksgiving.  So far we've spent November caring for a sick baby (ear infection and a cold) and trying to catch up on work.  Boo.  Thus, I'm left with a long to-do list to accomplish before Thanksgiving.  Here goes.....

1.  Remember the Kolache Challenge? 
2.  "Thanks" jar (from Young House Love)
3.  Drive somewhere to see some changing leaves
4.  Finalize a menu for our post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner
5.  Early Christmas shopping while it's still "early"
6.  What's autumn without a pumpkin dish?
7.  Don't forget the Autumn Spiced Scones
8.  Make a donation to the food bank
9.  Make a donation in our kitty's name to the NSPCA

Motherhood

Saw this on Highchair Critics and had to pass it on....



My C is growing up so fast.  Someday that purity, that innocence, and that trust will go from his eyes.  He won't smile and giggle with me over nothing.  I won't be his greatest comfort.  That's part of the gig.

Home Ec, Circa 1989

When I was in Home Economics with Mrs. Taylor in 1989 I chose to make a pair of maroon (school colors, of course!) stirrup pants for my final sewing project.  I even wore them later to school on game days, as athletes had to dress up (which part is funnier - that I just called myself an "athlete," or that I considered my horribly executed maroon pants dress clothes??).  Anyway, looky what I found at Gap:

Gap Stirrup Leggings

Interested?  Get them for the low, low price of $12.99 in your choice of black or charcoal.  If only I had kept those pants, I'd be in style for sure!!  :)

Words

Watch this outstanding video found on Radiolab by Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante on words and language.



Doesn't it make you think about the minutia of life differently?  It's beautiful.

Autumn

Let's ignore the fact that it's going to be 108 degrees today.  It's almost fall.  School has started, catalogs of Halloween costumes are out, and the nights are growing cooler. My sister and I were daydreaming about sitting out on the porch with a good book, a sweater, and a cup of hot tea smelling the crisp autumn air . . . ooooooooh, I can't wait!  Until then, I can swoon over these:

His for Fall:

Kenneth Cole Reaction Motorcycle Jacket

The North Face Men's Hayden Shoe

J Crew Argyle Sweater

Hers for Fall:

Frye Paige Tall Riding Boot

Banana Republic Wool Cloche

Anthropologie O'Reilly Jacket

Anthropologie Sugar-Coated Shirtdress

For Baby:

Next Knitted Romper

For the Home:

CB2 Branch Mat

Sundance Catalog Four Winds Throw

I'm guessing there are inexpensive versions of all of the above.  I'm off to find them.

when happiness is

I'm back!  We have a wonderful baby boy and have moved into our house.  I wouldn't advise doing these at the same time.  We got the keys to the house on February 26, I went into labor on February 28, and had the baby on March 1.  Then my mother-in-law surprised us with a visit starting two days after our release from the hospital.  I love my mother-in-law, but that's an inappropriate and unwelcome surprise. 

Anyway, over the past months I've learned... 

-prior to kissing your baby's impossibly cute feet, check to make sure said baby hasn't somehow managed to get his or her poo on those adorable feet.
-breastfeeding CAN be easy!
-Dr. P's quiet reassurance far outweighed the constant babble from one of my nurses.  Sometimes less is more.
-I was blessed to have an easy and enjoyable pregnancy, relatively easy delivery, and a quick recovery.  I'm afraid it's made me less than sympathetic to other new moms.  Sorry.
-As with women's clothing, there is no such thing as standard sizing in baby clothes.
-The pain of hearing your baby cry after circumcision far outweighs the pain of childbirth. 
-Though I wouldn't have predicted it, I miss grocery shopping and cooking and cleaning the way it used to be.

I've been gone a long time.  The first few weeks were just really busy and overwhelming.  Getting to know C, moving, adjusting.  Lately, though, I've just been immersed in drinking in the whole thing.  I'm at once impossibly happy and worried and scared.  It's the strangest thing.  I find myself obsessed with absorbing every minute - blissful, overwhelming, tiring, or anything else.  It doesn't matter - I want to etch each and every sight, sound, smell, and feeling into my brain.  It's all moving so fast, and it breaks my heart to think that one day I won't remember the smell of his sweet head, or the feeling of his nuzzling into my neck.  It's so strange how everything seems to be amplified now, with him.  The yellow of the sunflowers is more vivid, the smell of the jasmine, sweeter.  And, unfortunately, the worries about the future are more intense.  How will I teach him how to be safe in this world without making him afraid of it?  How can I impress on him the importance of relishing each moment of life?  How can I occupy each and every moment fully, so that I never regret taking it for granted? 

This is Father's Day.  B's first Father's Day with C.  It feels more like it's for me, though.  A day to pamper and honor B makes me feel good.  I look at them together (with H, the kitty, of course), and I burst with love.  I've come to realize that while my disappointments in life are real and sometimes consequential, they can't stack up to all that I have and all I have had.  Now I'm going to go gaze a little longer at what I have, in awe.