out of the box

for the past several days I've been attempting to read the current blogs of Posie, a crafter, as well as browse her collection of quilts. At first, I was simply looking at the pictures, and then the words caught my attention. "I think she thinks like us," I told my mother. And then I read the quote below, and knew it was true. This is not me all of the time, but just enough of the time that I can laugh and nod simultaneously:

"Turns out, predictably yet still much to my dismay, I am very much an inside-the-box thinker. Darn it! I wanted to come out so bad! But I like the box. I like the safe little box. I tried so hard to peek my little bunny nose, quivering nervously, out of the box, but only two seconds out and I hopped back into the box. I couldn't get out of the box. I couldn't imagine how to get out of the box and still follow the rules. I'm also a rule-follower. You tell me the rules and I'll follow them, and if you break the rules I'll completely freak out and start twitching and look at you as if the Rule-Setting People are right on the other side of the box, ready to pop out and throw you in jail. And they will!!! I think they will. They do that."

is it snowing in NY?

I have two suggestions for you:

one, take some pictures of the snow for me. I miss it. Or, you could just send me some.

two, wrap your presents with fabric this year. Here's how, straight from Japan:

But only do this with the presents for people who will truly appreciate and re-use the fabric. Too bad they're probably the same people who would reuse the wrapping paper (people still do that? ah yes. It was always a personal challenge to myself when wrapping presents for my mother on a "voluntold" basis*^ to only use paper that had been used the year before and carefully flattened and folded back up. There was one piece of paper that lasted years...I just kept using it for smaller and smaller presents and cutting off the parts that were only held together by last year's tape. I always cringe when people just rip the new paper off a huge present (don't believe me? ask mr. waaz, who is definitely a ripper) when they could just carefully unstick each piece of tape, hand the intact paper to me, and THEN get all excited about their new present. makes sense to me!)

Why are you rolling your eyes? stop that! I am perfectly normal. Someone once told me so, and it wasn't even a complete stranger.




*well...she did let me stay up late christmas eve AND drink hot chocolate if I'd wrap everything for her. And yes, this sometimes included presents for myself. No, losing the element of surprise didn't ruin it for me, it merely added a further element of anticipation.

^navy term. never heard it before? it's how waaz ended up in Cuba, for starters.

wooly nativity

this is one of my EP's christmas presents from his granny boo. Each piece is handmade by a lady who lives near GB with wool from her own sheep. We especially like the little drummer boy who is, in fact, the fuzzy version of EP. We may not keep it out this Christmas, however, due to the imminent arrival of Putz Puzza, a.k.a. Santa Anastasia.

ps: mom-does Mrs. H have a pic of the complete set? would she like one? you may tell her I love it :)

Happy Thanksgiving

mmm-mmm!!












The boy gets his first solids (E would like you to know that since the boy cannot yet sit up on his own that she will have nothing to do with feeding him anything but milk. I, on the other hand, embrace change and growth and therefore let him eat it if he likes it, which he did)










xy

loving me some firefox

ps: trying out a new idea and typing my side thoughts (since we all know I love me some tangents, kind of like I love me some firefox) in italics and perhaps a font size smaller, if I think of it. let me know if it drives you crazy.

So, I saw something somewhere on the www how's that for ambiguous that prompted me to check out the newest version of firefox, and I may have found a new love (sorry, mr. waaz. you've been replaced by an inaminate series of 1's and 0's). I downloaded the newest version (2.0), and it's spectacular. Automatic spell check (I spell perfectly 99% of the time how do you like them apples?, but my typing is not so great now that I'm not writing pages upon pages every night for college), and many many add-ons*.

I browsed their list of favorites, and decided on the ad blocker, the cooliris thingy that lets me preview pages without actually clicking on them or having to open a new window as well as copy bits and pieces of websites or links so I can send them on to other people (my mother and I are link happy), and jajah, which reduces my international phone bill from $0.06 a minute to $0.02 a minute. I haven't tried it yet, but if it works well, you should definitely check it out so you can call ME anytime you want :)

All this so that during the 10 minutes at a time or so that I'm in front of the computer, I can have a more perfect experience while typing or scrolling with one hand and nursing a babe with the other. Ah, the lengths to which we go.

*since so many people love firefox and its companion email program Thunderbird, those lovers who are also computer-savvy have spent many hours coming up with special ways to customize the internet experience, and then made those customizations downloadable. As of today, there are approximately 2563 add-ons available. Which is why I only looked at their "recommended" list.

To Market, To Market, (to buy a fat pig)*

I finally remembered to visit the market in housing yesterday. So, after leaving a note for waaz, changing the boy's diaper and strapping him onto my back with my modified airplane blanket (you'd be amazed at the looks and comments I get with him back there), and set off from my house at the top of the hill to the street at the bottom of the hill where all the vendors from the local town of Mineo gather to show off their wares to us "stupid americans." My sources were right, it's pretty small, but worthwhile nonetheless. I raided our euro jar, and was only able to return 51 cents of the 15 or so euro I started out with, but check out what I got:

this is the market bag I stashed it all in, hand knitted by my wonderful mother:
I asked for mezzo (half) of one of the bags of mandarin oranges that were being offered, but I think the man was pretty generous with both these and the tomatoes. The mandarines--I asked como se dice in italian: mandarin. figures-- must have been picked just minutes before he got to the market, because the leaves didn't even start curling till several hours after I got back to the house.
There was another man there selling olive oil that said there was a tour of his property next week, so we could see the olive go from vine to jar and enjoy a "typical sicilian" lunch with a complimentary bottle of olive oil...alas, waaz will be sleeping and I don't really feel like spending 18 euro to take the boy on a day long outing by ourselves, at least not until he's old enough to remember. I did buy some rose-infused olive oil (for massages) from him that smells divine.
The olive oil guy's buddy at the next stand had...um...sort of like grape juice, only a bit more...um...mature--get it?--from this year's grapes for 2.50 euro for 1.5 liters (a little over 48oz). I asked if it was good (kind of jokingly), and the olive oil guy practically guffawed. The consensus was that the grape guy could vouch for the red which was from his own vines, but the white was from his neighbor so if it was bad I was to remember not to blame the red guy. I think next time I'll try the white, because it turns out I'm not a fan of new red wine.
There was also a stand with rotisserie cornish hens, pork, kabobs, and...get this...hot dogs, along with other things I don't remember that smelled REALLY good, but I had no more euro and no spare hands by the time I got to him. A representative from Mario's Iron Works (custom cast iron and volcanic ceramic) was there, so of course I drooled over the selection and picked up a brochure for the live nativity that takes place in Mineo the town as opposed to mineo the housing so that hopefully we can go since I *think* waaz will be on days by then. There was homemade chocolate things and a huge selection of breads, but of course I bake my own bread, and forgot to save enough euro for chocolate, so once again I fought to beat out the boy in the contest of drool and had to walk on boy (albeit slowly).

I think that's it? no pics of the market itself since I forgot to bring the camera, but there's always next time.

~xx (again, as opposed to xy)

*If you've never seen this book, you're definitely missing out.

I found a picture

that looks like ours. Ours still has her ears though and is a bit younger. She is slightly more compact in the face also.

So, no pictures but,

We did go pick out a dog today. She is a cute one too, all grey with a white crest on her chest. She will be officially made ours in about 10 days (more or less, it really depends on the breeders mood). She has some very good bloodlines; her father, mother and grandfather were all Italian champions. Needless to say we are very impressed at her potential. Of course now that I have said all this the dog will probably eat everything in my house. That will make for great blog fodder. Pictures will come when the dog gets here. That's all for now. bye.

in 'n' out

My new theory: for every item that comes in that is not absolutely necessary, one must go out. I know it's supposed to be one in, two out, but I'm not that cluttered yet.

In: new (to me) size 12 m t-shirt, two "pepper" brand leather baby shoes with velcro straps size 4 or so, and one pair of suede (I think) dressy shoes for me. Total: $3.









Out: two "Max" books and one Sandra Boynton book, going to the pregnant girl whose husband works with waaz, a keyboard that I don't recall acquiring, and a pair of shoes that make me feel like Cinderella's stepsister: no matter how I cram them, they still don't fit. OH, and a votive candle holder. I have to scrub out the rust first though, lol. It's purple glass, the rust is from something else.














And this is why the coffee table is permanantly glued to the side of the couch:

Not a picture of the boy

here's what I've finished recently:


the spice thingy is from one of my mother's cross stitching magazines from around the year I was born. I did most of it while d was in cuba.

****
the blue stuff is because I found a bottle of denim RIT at the NEX (funny that the only color the Navy sells is navy), and remembered the curtains for the boy's room that I wanted a bit darker. Everything else I threw in because I couldn't see wasting $3 on a pair of curtains. a bunch of prefolds, one flat, some doublers, three covers (one not shown, but it's the same light blue), a shirt, and a pair of socks. The lighter things were thrown in to "catch" extra color.

****
I have recently grown more interested in embroidery and found a bunch of websites with patterns and ideas. This is my first attempt (design c.1930's):









****
These two really aren't gratuitous pics of the boy (what, you think I can't go a whole post without at least one pic of him? I can, and one day I will prove it.) These are the two pairs of longies* I made out of the sleeves of two sweaters that were no longer a necessary part of my wardrobe. I've got enough left for two pairs of shorties** from each.
ETA: ok, so upon further review the green fleece pants in that pic---> are not actually the black merino in question. oops.

****

Aunt C gave me pasta attachments for my mixer, but unfortunately I don't have the main attachments required to hook the pasta attachments on. You think that stopped me? nope (though I did notice a crack in the handle of my green marble rolling pin. Guess I was pushing too hard) yummy WW pasta, Grandma's key lime pie made with limes from the neighbor's yard, and...um...would you believe local sicilian apple juice??









*longies: wool (or polyester if you like it better or allergic to wool) pants that are worn over a cloth diaper, acting as a cover and pants in one. Since wool absorbs at least 30% of its own weight in pee before feeling wet and allows a maximum of air flow, it's a great option. Plus, so cute! The black pair that you can't really see are merino, and the green pair are a super soft 70% wool, 20%angora and 10% nylon blend.
**shorties are also either wool or polyester, but they are shorts length to better fit under clothes or for summertime.

hey, that thing is connected?!

PSA: this post needs to be edited for visual cohesion, but I am running late, so you'll just have to deal.

the boy has recently discovered his hands, ears, yelling, and rolling over. He is just SO cool (censored a bit to protect the innocent):





























and I have recently discovered that I do, in fact, like sweet potatoes. Who knew that subtracting the marshmallows and adding some flour could be so lovely. (file photo from TOH since I ate mine before I thought about taking a pic)

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half white, half ww)

• 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4 c plus some molassas since my cranberries were dried and pre-sweetened)
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1/2 cup cold plain mashed sweet potatoes
  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (I used oil, forgot to try applesauce but I bet it works)
  
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries (I used about 3/4 c dried orange flavored)
  
• Cinnamon-sugar

  DIRECTIONS

• In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, sweet potatoes and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in cranberries.
  

  Fill greased or paper-line muffin cups half full. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen (8 if you make them large).
  

G in a fine letter but H, H is for haggard

which happens to be what I am now after 10 hours of work last night, then a motorcycle trip to the port authority in Catania, followed by a "get severely lost on the way home" exercise.

Like I said, I worked last night from 5:00 in the afternoon to about 4:30 in the morning. I guess that's more like 12 hours than ten, huh? So I made it home and took a nap until 7:45 at which time I had to take my motorcycle in for a customs inspection at the Port Authority. On the way to Catania I followed an Millitary Vehicle Registration Office (MVRO) representative out to the office where I was to get inspected. This all went fine except for the fact that I couldn't really pay attention to where I was going because I was too busy dodging the infamous sicilian traffic. Really it's crazy; if you have the opportunity, and a crappy enough car, I highly recommend trying this at least once. It is a lesson in patience.
Anyway, after an uneventful trip to the Port Authority and an hour to an hour and a half wait there while the Italians verified VIN's and did some paperwork I was released, free to make my way home. How again do I get there? Fortunatly for me the other gentleman that came with us knew how to get back to SS 417, the main highway between Catania and Mineo. When I say highway, you should think more along the lines of Route 19 at 75 miles an hour. No joke. The entrance ramps look like alleys. I followed the guy until we had made it onto 417, at which point I thought I was home free. I decided to show this guy what a speedy little bike I had and I proceeded to pass him at slightly over the posted speed limit. (good thing the Carabinieri have better things to do than pull over crotch rockets) Well, in my haste I forgot about a tricky little spot where you have to make a loop to stay on 417. I went straight. I have no idea where I went. I tried to look it up on Google earth later, and even that didn't work. There were fields, farmers, oranges, some construction and then a dead end. So I turned around to get back on 417. I ended up on the Autostrada (read: one of two main highways in Sicily; one runs north-south, the other east-west dividing the island in half. These are toll roads. ugh. Also if you have google earth and look at sicily the autostrada are the two big blue roads. Can't miss them) I managed to find an exit bfore hitting a toll booth and continued on my not-so-merry way looking for anything that was familiar to me. I found nothing. I wandered in the general direction of the base hoping to find a road sign that would get me close. This kept up until I found a sign that said SP385 (a back way to mineo that I am not completely familiar with) and a couple of farmers on the side of the road. I stopped to ask for directions and fortunately they spoke a little english. I asked about 417, they looked at me confusedly. I asked about mineo, they said gasoline? No, no Mineo, Gela (which is a larger city much further down 417) Oh Mineo, they say, keep going down this road and turn right. So with Hallelujah chorus playing in my head, I continue on my way. Sure enough I start to see signs for 417 and I am back on track.
I should have been back by 10:00, now it's noon and I am going to bed.

G is for

grasp the grass









green bay grin


















and
green limes in a green glass dish

buildup much?!

I put the AIO's (all-in-one, basically the absorbant cotton part of the diaper is attached to the waterproof part, so all you have to do is snap it on and go...kind of like a disposable) that my mother gave me in the washer today to see if I could figure out why they weren't very absorbant and waterproof anymore. They look fine on the outside, not very dingy and all the snaps work perfectly, but the first time I used one the boy got a tiny contact rash and soaked straight through the vinyl outer layer onto his clothes.
I added 2 Tablespoons of Borax and some vinegar to help strip any detergent residue (which causes diapers to be stiff, not absorbant, and not waterproof) there might be out, set the wash cycle on Heavy Hot, and walked away. Came back 10 minutes later to check on them, and this is what I saw. I restarted the cycle after the water drained the last time, and washed them again with no soap at all. SAME result. Third time, a little better, but not much. No wonder they weren't absorbing well! Good thing I'm not paying for the water here, because I could be ar this all day. Hopefully when all is said and done, I will have 15 more clean and perfectly usable diapers in my "stash", and won't ever have to do this again.

Hmm, after re-readin that post, I can think of all kinds of parallels to my own life. Anyone else?

Although you wash yourself with soda
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
declares the Sovereign LORD.
Jeremiah 2:22

and

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7

Moving Pictures

hey, check out my new babylegs. kinda cool, right? Now if only my mom had funkier socks to work with...guess she's gonna have to go shopping.












Ooh, hey, what's that flavor on my finger?













I wonder if the other hand tastes the same?




















WHOAH; not so much. That was so bad I need to see how far away from my mouth I can get my hands.











feeling kinda dizzy...


















I have GOT to figure out how to stay upright.

hint, hint.

this is on sale at BabyUniverse (the NEX's baby store) for babies 4 months and up to 25 pounds.




if you know the man's (as opposed to the boy's) social security # and birthdate, you can sign in to aafes.com and look at the baby universe website or just click here. I'm just sayin'...

ps: please note the new post a little further down

proof that I DO use the random fabric-y things my mother give me:

Sorry, the first one is a little blurry, but you get the idea. I'm not sure this will work for much longer with this particular wrap style since the fabric isn't quite long enough, but the possibilities are endless :) This is a little looser and lower than I would probably like for long term, but not too bad for a first attempt !