Borealiso Beautiful: January 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Baby Blog

Solids begun! Jess's bibs and Court's Bunnykins dishes are put to use, as is our Phil and Ted's MeToo Chair. Beautiful, fun and functional.

When I was in Sioux Lookout, cousin Davin peeks over my shoulder as I'm adding a post and says, "Ooh, baby blog." Baby blog? I guess I can't deny it. It's not meant to be solely that, more a place for all of my musings and discoveries, but the fact is, most of those center around baby right now. And that's ok. I mean, when has Bims ever been so fascinating?

dance

What to do when a baby is fussy? You could follow the advice of "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and go through the 5 S's (Swaddle, Shush, Swing, Sideways, Suckle), or you could just revert to the tried and tested dance 'til you can't dance no more, get up, get on the dance floor, now dance.

Nose crinkle for Aunty Dez included.

Monday, January 16, 2012

A Martha-Ricardo Moment

Here's some light, bright winter warmth for you: ginger. Wake up your mouth, warm up your throat, open your eyes and clear out your nose. Ginger-lemon tea, hot, fresh ginger-honey-lemon drink (slice, squeeze, squeeze), Creamy tomato coconut soup. The soup is courtesy of some magazine ripping that I had stashed for who-knows-how-long in the "To try" pile. It has been made a couple of times now, slightly altered and needs to move into the recipe binder. Until then, it will sit in the "To do, To file" basket. My method and madness are now exposed for everyone to see. A creative A-type I am, in this instance.

Creamy Tomato Coconut Soup
2 cups tomato sauce
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1.5 cups water
2 tsp chicken or veggie broth
4 slices fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, sliced

Mix above ingredients in pot. Bring to boil over medium heat, then simmer.
Add:

1 cup cauliflower flowerets

1 pepper, choose your colour, thinly sliced

1 cup grilled chicken, thinly sliced.

Let simmer 'til veggies reach desired consistency. Bit of crunch is best. 8-10 minutes?
Can top with some fresh, chopped cilantro when it's time to eat.

Evelyn has been sleeping for the past hour. Hence, I have time to clean out my email Inbox and to write about soup. If we were at home, I'd have to do the dishes. There are advantages to not having the Internet at your house after all.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

and the important thing is

I read a passage that I really liked in "Still Alice". Alice was asking her daughter about her new boyfriend. The questions were as follows":

What's he like? (notice it's not "What's he do?")
What's he like with you? (concern for child)
(and, my personal favourite and the reason I am writing this) What are you like with him?

To the final question, the daughter thinks, smiles and answers, "Myself."

That seems to me to be the most important thing, the factor that determines whether a relationship will work or not, whether you will be happy or not. Are you yourself when you are with your partner? I think back to some early relationships where I was drooling over a guy, embarrassed to reveal everything about myself because I thought I wasn't cool enough or would come up lacking. But I got lucky (ode to Steve). I can really answer "myself" to that question. Stubborn, passionate, hesitant, careful, impetuous, cheesy, thoughtful...I got a guy who wants (or who'll take) it all.

What are you like with him? I was able to answer that easily, for which I'm grateful.

Friday, January 6, 2012

neurons firing

imprinting memories

Christmas at 5 months means:

wonder at the lights on the tree. Time to stare. Slow down and stare.
a fascination with crinkly paper
fancy dresses and shirts supplied by mummas, grandmas and aunties. More joy for the adults than for the child!
being able to foot-paint before bathtime
having grandpa and grandma carefully save foot-printed gift wrap so that they can frame it

Bedtime Stories

October 10: Mr. Fox (Helen Oyeyemi): Why say with a few words what this review says so well with a lot? Took me a while, but I've been busy. I may have told you. It's a book I floated on top of, dipping my toe in, not really sinking into. Maybe it was the violence against women dressed up in fables. But a couple of passages that I loved. Here's one: ""Let this enemy of progress tell you something," I said. "I'm never sad when a friend goes far away, because whichever city or country that friend goes to, they turn the place friendly. They turn a suspicious-looking name on the map into a place where a welcome can be found. Maybe the friend will talk about you sometimes, to other friends that live around him, and then that's almost as good as being there yourself. You're in several places at once! In fact, my daughter, I would even go so far as to say that the farther away your friends are, and the more spread out they are, the better your chances of going safely through the world..." "Ugh," my daughter said."
August 12: Be Different (John Elder Robison): Here's a view of life with Aspergers. An easy, informative and entertaining read. I like how he stresses that Asperger's does not necessarily mean you're disabled, or that there's something wrong with you; you're just different. Your brain is wired differently. A good insight into some of the behaviours linked with Aspergers. Robison stressed that these behaviours are not there to hurt, bother or defy other people; they are entirely self-serving. As the author points out, however, knowledge is power. Both the Aspergian and those who live and work with them benefit from knowing about Aspergers so that true growth can happen.
Early August: Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker (ELJames): I don't know if I should be admitting to reading these. Annie-Claude called it mommy porn. I am a mommy. I would consider this porn. But the website says erotica. If there's a bandwagon, you should jump on it, right?
Mid-July: On the Outside Looking Indian (Rupinder Gill): This girl could definitely be a stand-up comic. As for a novelist or a "year-in-the-life-of-ist", she's a bit of a lightweight. Superficial goals that only briefly acknowledge their raison d'etre...this is a quest for happiness and self-acceptance, Rupinder, not just for Disney Land and a childhood denied. You'rein charge of your own destiny, rah rah rah.
Early July : The Dovekeepers (Alice Hoffman): She's a witch! Alice Hoffman has a good feel for the customs, speech and social expectations and taboos of these Roman times. Great strong female characters.
May 16: The Continuum Concept (Jean Liedloff): Felt like I was sitting in on my first-year anthropology class, listening to a very passionate teacher who adored her subject but who had to share it with an indifferent audience. What did I take away from this? I like to carry my baby, had her in a sling or carrier most of the time when she was young, let her feed on demand...but she sleeps in her crib (a no-no, according to Jean). I do like her description of the "in-arms phase", where "...the infant is always present but rarely the center of attention. He is simply there, in the midst of the caretaker's life, constantly experiencing things, safely being held." Until he starts exploring on his own, at which point he does so without interference ("protection"), but with mother nearby and available if he needs help. Ready, set, explore Clearwater Lake! Waldkind.
May 8: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs...really?!): Great creepy, black-and-white photos of (real) peculiar children. The story is kind of contrived and spoon-fed, though. It is a beautiful looking book, found in the well-stocked children's lit section of Brighton's tiny bookstore.
May 3: On Writing (Stephen King): I like books on writing. Teaching writing, becoming a better writer. Essentially, it boils down to two things: you need to read a lot and write a lot. That's it. As a side note, did you know that Stephen King was an alcoholic and drug addict? Liked his memoirs and thoughts on his own stories. Am quite happy to steer very clear of said stories. I believe that they're good. Good enough for me.
April 27: I Love You, Beth Cooper (Larry Doyle): Steve's been wanting me to read this for a while. It is hilarious. I was actually grossed out in the first few pages and expected to gag on a description of exploding white puss-filled zits, but was soon flying through an epic grad night. Adventures in Babysitting style. I now want to see the movie.
April 22: I am Number Four (Pittacus Lore): Tee hee hee. Young-adult superhero book at its "best". Favourite line: "That's for my dad!" (as Sam uses a shotgun to blow away the Mogadorian, revenge for the abduction of his father).

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