Hit me with your rhythm stick!

Gus and Dad have a drum-off in the basement - they have plenty of rhythm.

Batter up!

I won't try to impress you with my baseball lingo (I'm mute, really when it comes to sports analogies, or I use the wrong one in the worst context possible...I remember a conversation about "bases" and me stumbling badly, but that's another story). Thursday we attended a game of the Asheville Tourists against the Seashore Birds of Delmarva (we still don't know where that is). Gus loved all the ongoings and the attention of his Say-Say (Jacob's cousin, Sara). I cheered for the wrong team (I'm prone to do that) but at least I cheered a homerun...sometimes I cheer when there is nothing worthy of cheering happening...baseball is still a very confusing game to me...

Blueberry much!

I made this blueberry cobbler, after being inspired by a friend of Jacob's sister (Thank you, Angie) and after Jacob's Dad unloaded a big bag of hand-picked, home-grown blueberries with us last weekend (Thank you Ronnie & Cindy).

My plan was to take a picture of "my boys" enjoying it, but it was gone too fast (and I was busy eating too, no hand free to snap pictures)...

Any berries work (they are coming into season now) the cobbler is sweet yet wonderfully delicate and deferential to the berries' natural flavors. It's delicious fresh out of the oven, but it cuts neatly into squares after a half hour in the fridge and still tastes wonderful.

I love the indulgent days of deep summer...

Berry Cobbler:
- preheat oven to 350 degrees
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of self-rising flour
1 cup of milk
- mix all ingredients in a bowl















1 stick of butter melted
- add to mixture
- butter a baking dish and fill with mixture
- top with 2 cups of berries
- bake for 1 hour

Enjoy!

He is a player!

It struck me today out of the blue, while I was busy with something - dishes, laundry, something that can be done without sight or mind.
My son is a great player.
He can play on his own for what seems like eternity at a time. He ahhhs and ohhhs and grunts and claps his hands, then heaves his bottom onto his knees and crawls busily over to his various "toy chests" around the house.
There - depending on the mood - he will either violently topple the container and deftly distribute all his primary-color treasures over a wide terrain, or softly sing to himself and lovingly consider each piece as he lifts it out of the basket or box.
Then minutes go by where I don't pay him any attention and when I do again, I realize that he isn't paying me any mind either.
He is lost to his own fantasy world, where sound, texture, color, shapes rule and no one can tell him what to do. He doesn't see me and only when I call out to him, does he come back to me - most often with a bright smile.
I love him to pieces when he plays like that - like I said. He is really good at it.

Gus @ 10 months

Another months under his diaper (no belt yet).

His advances continue to astonish me and leave me breathless.

Little of baby left, and a lot of toddler peeking through.

Some milestones:

- likes to give Mommie love bites and farthy kisses on the belly and thighs

- can walk a few steps unassisted, until the big grin fells him

- can cruise at dizzying speeds along furniture or with a chair as a walker

- crawls even faster...you wouldn't believe it

- "Taaaataaahhh" (translation: All exciting things)

- Very shrill shriek, blasted off at deafening frequencies (translation: Things better than "Taaataaahh"

- Also ba-ba, ga-ga, wha-wha...but no ma-ma yet (I'm not taking it personal)

- Loves black beans (as food, facial mask and hair styling product), Cheerios, pot roast (he is his Daddy's child), cantaloupe, water melon, apple (eaten with Mommie, while sitting in her lap), not a big fan of anything squash and green beans...we'll keep working on it.

- Plays hide and seek with toys

- Places things into things

- Plays his Ukulele and drum with abandon

- Loves to sneak into the closet and play Daddy's guitar and banjo

- Loves to ride the horsey (me)

- Loves, loves, loves wheels, any kind of wheels

- Adores handrails. We have to stop and use them whenever we come upon them...

There is so much more, but right now Gus wants to play...so we play.

CAR-free

Suze Q, the Burgundy Buggy, the Kickster...whatever name I called her by, she was always a dependable, wonderful car to me. She (and yes, she is a female...unlike the Taurus before her...he was a guy...but that's another story) saw me through a trying divorce, a confusing and later tranquil period of singlehood, a good dozen snowstorms and many otherwise treacherous mountaineous miles, before we met Jacob who courted both of us (driving her around like she was a fancy porsche or an elegant Jaguar) and won our hearts. She endured a cross-country trip tethered to a giant moving van to follow us to North Carolina...and for the past 10 months she has been a quiet presence in our driveway, where she was marooned most days, because I don't have a need for her. She has patiently let Gus "drive" her to fantastic places (he did discover her distinctly squeeky horn and liked to use her windshield wipers to tiresome lengths) but otherwise she mostly collected dust, grime and served as a place where bugs came to die.

Gus and I will now "experiment" on living without a car at our beck & call. Not a big deal in a small town with an exellent and bike-friendly infrastructure - although I'm curious to see how I feel about it in the frigid winter months or when the mall two towns over calls my name...

I know Suze doesn't have a soul, but if she did, it would be a beautiful one. She was selfless in her purpose, she never required more than the absolutely necessary and she never let me down when everything and everyone else seemed to do just that. She kept me safe and made sure I got home - every day of the past 8 years. She kept all my secrets and she listened to my singing without judgement and endured my questionable taste in music. She has been worth every penny I paid for her.

Suze is now going to go and "live on a farm" in Alabama. Yes, I signed away her title on Saturday and let Jacob's father drive her off today. She is hopefully going to be a useful vehicle to him and I will "visit" her on holidays and keep up on how she is doing. She isn't completely lost to me yet and that's a comfort.

She may have never been a beautiful or cool car (Sidekicks have awkward proportions, no matter from what angle you look), but I always thought she was the best car in the parking lot. I have never been embarassed by her nor desired any other car, no matter how snazzy or smart.

I will miss her, as much as you can miss "a thing".

Here's a shot of Gus who tried to cheer me up as I wiped away the tears...it was hard to stand there and hear her incredibly loud muffler fade into the din of Brevard... bye, Suze

Mow-a-deux

It looks a little bit like a graceful pas-de-deux, a sweet dance of two, but it may feel more like having a little, intent monkey on one's back...I don't know, but when I came back from my Sunday morning long run, I found my two guys mowing the lawn - together! ...one of them was REALLY excited about it and wanted to go on mowing for hours...