food lit and a changing table: another hodgepodge post

one of the things i was looking forward to most this summer (aside from the obvious) was being able to do some leisure reading. i'm typically a fiction reader, but during my recent trip to the IC public library i was drawn to all of this food memoir writing...

i read julie & julia first--the author (check out her current blog here) works her way through all of the recipes in julia child's mastering the art of french cooking, volume one over the course of a year. at times i found her voice to be a tad annoying/whiny and some of the descriptions of her messy (okay, filthy) kitchen were stomach-turning, but it was amusing enough...

still haven't read heat yet, but i've heard lots of good things from friends and family members who have. bill buford gives up his desk job to become a line cook at mario batali's restaurant, babbo, and travels to italy to learn how to make pasta, butcher various animals and prepare classic italian cuisine. after all of the talk of aspic and other french culinary gems described in julie & julia that have never sounded particularly appetizing to me, i'm looking forward to learning more about the italian take on food, organ meats and all...

i'm almost done with stealing buddha's dinner, which i initially heard about on "all things considered". the author and her family came to the US as refugees from vietnam when she was less than a year old and she writes lovingly about the american (pringles, toll house cookies, ice cream) and vietnamese (pho, mooncakes) food of her youth. she also peppers her writing with 80's pop culture references, which i love.
bill finished the baby's changing table and brought it over to the house with kathie's help the other day. like the crib, it's absolutely beautiful, as you can see. once the changing pad and cover arrive from target, we'll be all set!

only five days left till the due date and i still feel great the vast majority of the time. afternoon naps have likely helped in this department, especially over the past few days when temperatures have crept into the high 80s. during trips to the dog park (another perk of summertime) over the last week or two, various friendly and inquisitive dog folks have told me in equal measure that i'm carrying low ("that baby has definitely dropped") or carrying high ("well, you haven't dropped yet"), that i look like i'm ready to pop or that i don't look like i'm full term at all, that the baby must be a boy or must be a girl. it's an interesting bit of anthropology, that's for sure...

baby shower!

this saturday was the baby shower at our new house. many thanks to betsy and sandy for hosting such a lovely party for us complete with a fun red wagon theme and tasty food. the mini cream puffs with chocolate sauce were my favorite!
here i am with a drawing i made when i was probably 5 or so that my mom included in her gift. if you can't read the (teacher's) writing across the top, it says "i am going to be a mother." apparently at that tender young age i envisioned myself doing a lot of ironing as an adult. 5-year-old me might be disappointed with my preventive get-it-out-of-the-dryer-quickly-and-give-it-a-good-shake-to-avoid-wrinkles method.

betsy, julie (hiding behind the belly) and me.

opening presents in the dining room. note the drop cloth under the table--we're a little cautious with the newly refinished wood floors. (l to r: betsy, kathie, sara (jackie's niece), jackie and me)

joyce made this baby blanket from a pattern in mason-dixon knitting, which we gave her for christmas. she will be adding a few more panels and a border--it was hard to give it back for finishing!



mom and i check out some board books. hanging from the columns is a clothesline of baby finery from my chicago girlfriends. it was all coiled up under tissue paper in a big basket. the end of the line was tied with a teething ring that draped over the edge--i started pulling and out came all of these cute baby clothes!

sandy, jan, joan, jean and kathie (in doorway).


sam and the huge sock monkey (a present from jean) hang out in henry's wagon. the monkey is now holding court in the nursery glider.

2 weeks

Check it out... time is flying by:

What our baby looks like now.

just some stuff that's been going on...

oscar got a bath, haircut and nail trim the other day at a nearby vet's office. he's so over it, as you can see. rob thinks the cut isn't close enough, and i more or less agree. on the other hand, oscar looks so pathetic when his hair is really short (especially his skinny little tail) that i'm kinda glad he was spared a close shave. still, i wouldn't be surpised if he winds up with an at-home cut that makes him look a little like a drowned rat before the summer heat has dissipated.

this was the tastiest dinner yet from our frozen stash of naomi's kitchen food--"fiery pork skewers" (shown pre-grilling). i added the pineapple and green peppers. it was our first use of the wee weber grill this year--deeelicious with coconut rice and a salad of fresh greens from the farm.

now on the needles...the baby surprise jacket! it's all knit in one crazy-looking piece, then folded ingeniously into a cardigan. surprise!!! the pattern is a little tricky (all garter stitch, but lots of increases and decreases), so i broke down and bought the instructional DVD. i didn't feel confident enough to go it alone with sarah, who's a pro at these by now, all the way in CA. you can see the finished product, with optional collar, on the cover. warning: my investment in this DVD means that any family member or friend having a baby within the next five years will likely get one of these! fyi, i'm using my koigu-esque yarn in deep shades of green, blue, purple and brown for this little cardi.

this might not look like much more than a big pile of stuff to you, but when i came upon it next to rob's desk the other day, it made my heart skip a beat. he had "packed" his hospital bag before i had packed mine! just so you know, in rob's style of packing, the clothes sit beside but don't actually enter the bag until he's ready to leave. this used to baffle and irritate me a bit, but i'm used to it now. i felt a great wave of affection for my husband as well as a pang of guilt for not having my own stuff together. it was a good motivator, and now my bag is mostly ready! 37.5 weeks and counting...