We had a lovely dinner tonight for two friends of ours, Jeff and Crystal, who are expecting a baby girl in February. Jeff used to work with me at the Oregonian and we reconnected when I moved out here. They had us over for dinner in September and I've been wanting to have them back ever since.
So, tonight was the night. I spent much of the day cleaning the house (also in anticipation of Mom and Dad joining us for Thanksgiving...yay!) and preparing the dinner: roast chicken and potatoes, salad, chocolate silk pie with homemade whipped cream. We got just about everything done that I wanted before they arrived, and Drew even lit a fire -- the first one in our new house! -- to ensure that the fireplace does, indeed, work. We can't wait until Thanksgiving, when it will be COLD and we'll just keep the fire going for most of the day!
Rachel was especially sweet today; she cheerfully helped me with the pie crust (we're getting to the point where I can just give her tasks to do in the preparation of a meal and I know they'll get done), and then she did her homework. When I thanked her for doing her homework, she said cheerfully, "You're welcome! It's MY responsibility." Of course, I smiled hugely at that. Then Drew went out Hanukkah shopping -- Rachel is going to be very happy with her gifts -- and I continued cleaning and prepping while Rachel crashed out on the couch. (Friends of mine with kids in kindergarten warned me that kids are so exhausted at the end of the day because their brains are absorbing so much, that they end up sleeping really soundly). I covered her body with a blanket and just kept cleaning and cooking around her.
Jeff and Crystal came at 6:30 and at first Rachel moped around because she had thought that her friend Ivy would get back in time from running errands for them to have a playdate, but it was not to be. But she was cheerful by dinnertime, and after chatting with our guests she got down on the floor and busied herself with coloring. Turns out she was making a picture for Jeff and Crystal, which turned out to be a depiction of them with a turkey (gobble, gobble! she wrote helpfully) and I could tell they were really touched. Crystal immediately said she'd put it on their refrigerator, and I told Rachel later how proud I was that she was so well-behaved and made our guests feel so welcome. I can tell she's going to be a great hostess someday.
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
A restful Shabbat
So, yesterday we were invited to Shabbat lunch by a friend of mine, Andy Boltax, whom I haven't seen for, oh, 25 years or so. He and I worked on the Daily Northwestern together and he was always extremely nice to me; maybe because we're from the same part of the country (he was raised in Connecticut) and he was very disappointed when I decided not to seek the editor-in-chief's position (I was an African Studies minor and I needed to improve my overall GPA, plus I thought the position of off-campus bureau chief was better suited for me).
Andy reached out to be via Facebook. It turns out he has been living in the area since around 1997. He was raised a largely secular Jew and now has become quite religious and keeps strictly kosher. So, no way I could bring over a homemade babka. (sigh). He and his wife are both journalists -- she works on the website of AARP magazine and he owns his own company that advises news organizations on content management -- and they both work. They have four daughters, aged 17 to 10, but only Chana joined us. She's 13 and Rachel immediately took to her and her friend, Sheer, who joined us later in the meal.
It was one of the best kosher meals I have EVER had in my life -- even the cholent, which I have terrible memories of from the Chabad House in Portland -- and I helped myself to just about everything. Even Drew and Rachel found things to eat, although Rachel's portion was mostly the homemade challah, and we had a great time sitting around and catching up on two decades' worth of news. Andy read a d'var Torah portion about the futility of worrying, which was especially timely for me, and we ended up staying for 4 1/2 hours, even though Andy had to leave toward the end for closing prayers. We all agreed we'd had a great time and we had to do it again. I pledged to smoke a brisket for them at their house, as long as they provided the kosher smoker and I supplied the ingredients.
Then we went home and had a decidedly non-kosher evening of pepperoni pizza and cupcakes from our favorite bakery in Shirlington. We watched an Angelina Ballernia series of episodes with Rachel and then Drew and I watched a creepy but great movie called "Side Effects." Awesome day.
Andy reached out to be via Facebook. It turns out he has been living in the area since around 1997. He was raised a largely secular Jew and now has become quite religious and keeps strictly kosher. So, no way I could bring over a homemade babka. (sigh). He and his wife are both journalists -- she works on the website of AARP magazine and he owns his own company that advises news organizations on content management -- and they both work. They have four daughters, aged 17 to 10, but only Chana joined us. She's 13 and Rachel immediately took to her and her friend, Sheer, who joined us later in the meal.
It was one of the best kosher meals I have EVER had in my life -- even the cholent, which I have terrible memories of from the Chabad House in Portland -- and I helped myself to just about everything. Even Drew and Rachel found things to eat, although Rachel's portion was mostly the homemade challah, and we had a great time sitting around and catching up on two decades' worth of news. Andy read a d'var Torah portion about the futility of worrying, which was especially timely for me, and we ended up staying for 4 1/2 hours, even though Andy had to leave toward the end for closing prayers. We all agreed we'd had a great time and we had to do it again. I pledged to smoke a brisket for them at their house, as long as they provided the kosher smoker and I supplied the ingredients.
Then we went home and had a decidedly non-kosher evening of pepperoni pizza and cupcakes from our favorite bakery in Shirlington. We watched an Angelina Ballernia series of episodes with Rachel and then Drew and I watched a creepy but great movie called "Side Effects." Awesome day.
Friday, November 15, 2013
cold! cold! cold!
Yes, winter has definitely arrived here in D.C. It was 40 degrees this morning when Drew and I walked to the EFC Metro station, me in a miniskirt with tights, a jacket, a hat and gloves and I was STILL cold. I had two meetings downtown, though, that required formal dress so there was nothing much I could do. Spent part of the day at the National Portrait Gallery (ahhh....) and had a late lunch after my second meeting, then took the Metro home in barely enough time to change into casual clothes and pick Rachel up from kindergarten.
She threw a fit when the 2nd of her two friends on the block couldn't get together tonight (Lina's nanny was just about feed the kids, and said to come back at 7, and Rachel stamped her foot and said "I want to play NOW!" and I was so appalled that I said our goodbyes quickly and left). I was so exasperated when we got home that I told Rachel we wouldn't be going over there, even though I really wanted to talk to Lina's mom, Carol, and Rachel cried and pinky promised not to throw a fit again. Carol called after the kids had eaten and told us we could come over, but I explained the situation and said Rachel has to learn not to throw a temper tantrum when she doesn't get her way.
Of course, Rachel being Rachel, she then went sobbing up to her room and brought down two of her jewelry boxes with jewelry in them, trying to give them to me as a way of apologizing. I took her into my lap and we cuddled while I told her she really can't behave that way, and pretty soon she perked up and washed her hands, set the table, wrote in her journal and then we did some scrapbooking (I bought her a Hello Kitty scrapbook when we went to Target yesterday) before Drew came home. We had Scotch broth, challah and salad for dinner as soon as he walked in the door.
She threw a fit when the 2nd of her two friends on the block couldn't get together tonight (Lina's nanny was just about feed the kids, and said to come back at 7, and Rachel stamped her foot and said "I want to play NOW!" and I was so appalled that I said our goodbyes quickly and left). I was so exasperated when we got home that I told Rachel we wouldn't be going over there, even though I really wanted to talk to Lina's mom, Carol, and Rachel cried and pinky promised not to throw a fit again. Carol called after the kids had eaten and told us we could come over, but I explained the situation and said Rachel has to learn not to throw a temper tantrum when she doesn't get her way.
Of course, Rachel being Rachel, she then went sobbing up to her room and brought down two of her jewelry boxes with jewelry in them, trying to give them to me as a way of apologizing. I took her into my lap and we cuddled while I told her she really can't behave that way, and pretty soon she perked up and washed her hands, set the table, wrote in her journal and then we did some scrapbooking (I bought her a Hello Kitty scrapbook when we went to Target yesterday) before Drew came home. We had Scotch broth, challah and salad for dinner as soon as he walked in the door.
I'm raising her well....
On Monday, Veteran's Day, Rachel and I went shopping for clothes. We stopped at the Westover Market, a neat little grocery store in the "town center" near our house, and I got her a snack and me some brisket sliders (the market has a beer garden out back, so they're a restaurant, too, with surprisingly good food).
"Do you want to try some brisket?" I asked.
"No thanks," Rachel replied. "The only brisket I want to try is MOMMY'S."
"Do you want to try some brisket?" I asked.
"No thanks," Rachel replied. "The only brisket I want to try is MOMMY'S."
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
It's lonely around here
Anne and David left yesterday (sniff). We had a great time with them right up until the end. On Sunday, after a leisurely breakfast, we hung around the house, me cleaning up and Drew raking the dead leaves off our lawn (my, there were a lot of them), running to the farmers market and then it was my turn to run to the hardware store for more paper bags to stuff the leaves into (we bag the leaves out back and sweep the ones out front into the street). At first we were going to go to Mt. Vernon and then say goodbye as Anne and David headed to the airport, but then David, Drew, Rachel and I decided to take a walk while Anne did some work outside on her computer in the sun.
Rachel and I hopped on our bikes and rode to the playground right near our house; when we arrived, David and I sat on a park bench and talked while Drew and Rachel played on the play structure and with the toys left on the playground. Then Anne called David and said she needed to get into the house; Drew walked back and returned on HIS bike. When it started getting really windy, we all went home, Anne and David packed up their stuff and left. I persuaded Anne to leave some of her things here for when they come for a return visit, probably the last week in March/first week in April.
The rest of the day was quiet: Drew and Rachel went grocery shopping and I took a nap and tidied up the house. We grilled mustard chicken out back -- it's great to be able to grill so late in the season without worrying about the rain! -- and then we went to bed late. But today was Veterans Day, and Rachel was off school, so we figured she and I would sleep late when Drew went to work.
This morning I worked on a friend-of-the-court brief that a law professor at Willamette asked me to edit; she's submitting it to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday and will be in town for the oral arguments in January (and probably will be staying with us). My neighbor the FBI agent has already asked me if she should get me tickets to watch the proceedings (!) and I told her I'd get back to her on that.
Then, I took Rachel clothes shopping for serious winter gear -- this isn't PDX anymore and she needs a heavy coat, pants, stockings, etc. We struck out on pants; she is slim-hipped with a small rear end, just like me, and so all the pants that fit her legs are way too big in the waist so Drew and I have given up and she'll just wear leggings and dresses with stockings. I did manage to find a great coat at REI that should work in cold/snow/rain, plus a wonderful hat that actually fits her. Also bought her long-sleeved t-shirts, more socks, black patent leather shoes (for dressy occasions like the ballet and Thanksgiving), and a wonderful holiday dress and sweater that she looks just beautiful wearing. Since we really didn't have to be anywhere at any special time, we had a great day; I was relaxed, so was Rachel, and we finished up our time together at home, snuggling on the couch together and listening to a Laura Ingalls Wilder CD (need to get more of them). We met Drew at the train station and had dinner at our favorite Lebanese restaurant in town, then came home and gave Rachel a bath and put her to bed.
Altogether, a really nice last couple of days!
Rachel and I hopped on our bikes and rode to the playground right near our house; when we arrived, David and I sat on a park bench and talked while Drew and Rachel played on the play structure and with the toys left on the playground. Then Anne called David and said she needed to get into the house; Drew walked back and returned on HIS bike. When it started getting really windy, we all went home, Anne and David packed up their stuff and left. I persuaded Anne to leave some of her things here for when they come for a return visit, probably the last week in March/first week in April.
The rest of the day was quiet: Drew and Rachel went grocery shopping and I took a nap and tidied up the house. We grilled mustard chicken out back -- it's great to be able to grill so late in the season without worrying about the rain! -- and then we went to bed late. But today was Veterans Day, and Rachel was off school, so we figured she and I would sleep late when Drew went to work.
This morning I worked on a friend-of-the-court brief that a law professor at Willamette asked me to edit; she's submitting it to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday and will be in town for the oral arguments in January (and probably will be staying with us). My neighbor the FBI agent has already asked me if she should get me tickets to watch the proceedings (!) and I told her I'd get back to her on that.
Then, I took Rachel clothes shopping for serious winter gear -- this isn't PDX anymore and she needs a heavy coat, pants, stockings, etc. We struck out on pants; she is slim-hipped with a small rear end, just like me, and so all the pants that fit her legs are way too big in the waist so Drew and I have given up and she'll just wear leggings and dresses with stockings. I did manage to find a great coat at REI that should work in cold/snow/rain, plus a wonderful hat that actually fits her. Also bought her long-sleeved t-shirts, more socks, black patent leather shoes (for dressy occasions like the ballet and Thanksgiving), and a wonderful holiday dress and sweater that she looks just beautiful wearing. Since we really didn't have to be anywhere at any special time, we had a great day; I was relaxed, so was Rachel, and we finished up our time together at home, snuggling on the couch together and listening to a Laura Ingalls Wilder CD (need to get more of them). We met Drew at the train station and had dinner at our favorite Lebanese restaurant in town, then came home and gave Rachel a bath and put her to bed.
Altogether, a really nice last couple of days!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
NEWS FLASH!!!
RACHEL LOST HER FIRST TOOTH! AT GREAT FALLS NATIONAL PARK! She was eating an orange when the tooth that had been irritatingly wiggly for about a week (and driving us all crazy by extension), fell out! It's in the lower right part of her mouth (left if you're looking at her face) and..just..wow!
Sniff. Even though the tooth is under her pillow (actually, Drew replaced it with a Susan B. Anthony dollar while she was saying goodnight to us) she is growing up! Ah, I will miss my little girl....
Sniff. Even though the tooth is under her pillow (actually, Drew replaced it with a Susan B. Anthony dollar while she was saying goodnight to us) she is growing up! Ah, I will miss my little girl....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)