Breathing

This past week, Michael and I spent some time breathing. We enjoyed our first vacation since visiting Michael's grandparents in Florida in February, and boy did we need it!

Michael and I rented a condo in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware with my mom and brother. We spent the week visiting, relaxing, reading, lying on the beach, playing put-put, and eating. Michael's parents and my godmother joined us for a couple of days in the beginning of the week, which just made a great week even better.

The whole week was such a treasure. It has been over a year since I've seen my mom - far too long. And this week we were able to catch up in a very relaxed way. It was nice to know that we didn't have to squeeze everything into a 45-minute lunch, but that we had a whole week to spend together. Henry, Mom and I are morning people (much to Michael's dismay), so we were often awake and sitting around a kitchen table together at 8 every morning. We enjoyed leisurely meals and... well, leisurely everything.



Michael and I would take walks around Rehoboth in the early evenings, often ending up at Royale Treat for an ice cream sundae. We would walk around in this small but energetic town, listening to the sounds of summer - cicadas, crickets, bullfrogs - and dream about leaving New York City for something smaller, quieter, with a slower pace. I am so grateful to have had the time with my husband, away from the hubbub of everyday life.

The View from our Deck

Grandma

A couple weekends ago, I met my brother, dad and cousin in Orlando to visit my grandma. She's a beautiful, impressive 91-year old woman who sends text messages to her family and updates her Facebook page. We went down to see her because she is moving out of the apartment she and my grandfather moved into in 1990 and is getting set up in an assisted living facility.

Aspects of the trip were somber and heartbreaking. Grandma is saying goodbye to the last home she shared with my grandfather. She is losing weight and isn't quite strong enough to move freely. She is handing down the jewelry that she's collected over the course of an amazing life. When my grandfather passed away, she put his wedding ring on a gold chain and put it around her neck. She's hadn't taken it off until she gave the chain to me, and the ring to my brother.

But I was surprised by how inspiring the weekend was. As Grandma went through some of her things, she shared stories about where they came from. Each had an amazing story, representing another exotic country, another love story between her and my grandfather. This 91-year old woman has been to just about every place you can imagine, and lives to tell the tale. She would not let a single detail slip and frequently pulled up dates and locations faster than my dad. She is utterly amazing.

If I live half the life she has, I'll consider myself a lucky lady.

Happy Monday!

This picture is from my aunt's blog, and for whatever reason (perhaps the pink glasses), I love it! Totally makes me smile on this Monday morning:

Peas in a Pod

Last night, Michael and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary with a cake!

We also celebrated with gifts. But you know the crazy thing? We bought each other the exact same gift: tickets to the play God of Carnage! Michael’s gift to me was for Friday, September 11th and mine for him was for Saturday, September 12th.

Night Walk in Florida

Why I Love My Job

Today, I had a ridiculous meeting with my boss. The goal: to make sure I'm happy in my job. I've been placed on a new project and have a bit too much on my plate, so I brought a list of the things I'm working on and asked my boss what she would like me to focus on. Her response?

"No, Lillian. You need to think about you. What do you want to get rid of? We want to make sure you're happy."

Then I looked at my list, and realized I don't want to get rid of anything. I love all the projects I'm on! How insane is that?!

Weekend Joy

This past weekend, Michael's folks joined us for a fabulous couple of days. The highlight was our "Obama Date Night" - dinner at Blue Hill followed by the theater!

Blue Hill was out of this world - a farm-to-table restaurant, the meal was an event. We spent 2 hours enjoying the Farmers Feast tasting menu. The highlight: a farmers salad with cherry tomatoes, grilled peaches, black cherries, microgreens and a tomato sorbet... Or maybe the strawberries with marscapone... Or maybe the summer bean salad in a basil and mint sauce... or the black raspberry truffles...

Some shots of our wonderful weekend:

Dana & Marty

Dana & Michael

Marty, pooped after a great trip!

Sweetness

Melissa's Stud, Isaac

Melissa, Ben & Isaac

Anna and her looker, Namoi

John & Naomi

Michael, Naomi & Me

A Feast

Tonight's dinner: baked chicken, corn on the cob, salad and beets. YUM. The only thing we didn't purchase from the market? Spices! Sadly, Michael was at the office tonight, so he missed the delicious meal - but the leftovers will be twice as good!

A couple of weeks ago, Michael and I went to see "Food, Inc." The movie reinforced messages learned in Nutrition Ecology, the most powerful course I took in graduate school. Taught by Joan Gussow, it changed my whole world view. Joan (and Toni) linked the ideas of chronic disease, climate change, globalization and culture with food in a way I had never heard before. Because of this class, Michael and I purchase almost all of our produce from the farmers market. We try to eat more seasonally. We eat at home and never drink bottled water. I don't say this to sound uppity, but to explain how our behaviors changed because of this one way to see the world.

Well, "Food, Inc." inspired yet another. Michael, a devout animal lover and meat eater, left the theater and said that we were no longer buying meat from the grocery store. Tonight I made our first chicken from the market. It was EXPENSIVE - twice what I usually pay at the store. But I sure felt better preparing it.

And that chicken was delicious!

UPDATE: And here is Sarah's dinner, and Aunt Jessie's dinner :)

Summer Storms

One of the best sounds in the world.

Distractions

My afternoon's efforts to distract myself from my hubby's absence: spending 2 hours sitting outside at a cafe, drinking lemonade and tea:

Somewhere Else

I've been reading Barbara Kingsolver's stories from Virginia lately. And what a dreamer I've become because of them! Both "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and "Prodigal Summer" are set on farms in small towns in the Shenandoah. Kingsolver is a biologist as well as an author, and her love of nature comes through loud and clear in both pieces. They have both left me longing for a little piece of land, somewhere around Charlottesville, where Michael and I can grow our own food and live a quieter life...

We would be bored in two minutes, and I know that, but it's fun to dream. From "Prodigal Summer":

"In all her troubles she had never yet stopped to consider her new position: landholder. Not just a mortage holder, not just burdened, but also blessed with a piece of the world's trust."

Secrets

Country

As everyone who knows me will attest, I adore country music. I think living in New York has made me an even bigger fan, with songs romanticizing small town life, riding tractors, sitting on porches, and enjoying each stage of life. The songs are simple, loving and generally very uplifting. Most glorify marriage and encourage you to savor life.

But country also has a political dimension that I very much appreciate. This city is as blue as it comes, and the longer I'm here, the more I assume everyone feels the same way we do. I mean, doesn't everyone support gay marriage and ending the war in Iraq? No, actually, they don't. And listening to country keeps you grounded in the outlook many Americans living outside of this blue city share.

During the 2004 Presidential election, I prayed for Kerry to listen to country. Toby Keith and other artists wrote songs about soldiers sacrificing their lives in war, about the anger they felt after September 11th and the depths to which people were willing to "fight" back. It just never felt like Kerry understood the country music mindset. And then, praise God, Obama played LOTS of country at his rallies. And country music stars let him.

All this to say that when I heard Brad Paisley's new song, "Welcome to the Future," with a whole verse about race relations in a post-Obama America, I got excited. The whole CD is fantastic, but this is my favorite verse:

I had a friend in school,
Running-back on a football team,
They burned a cross in his front yard
For asking out the home-coming queen.

I thought about him today,
Everybody who's seen what he's seen,
From a woman on a bus
To a man with a dream.

He-e-ey...
Wake up Martin Luther.
Welcome to the future.
He-e-ey...
Glory glory hallelujah.
Welcome to the future.

Here's the original song:


And here is an awesome reprise:

Lazy Days

Michael will tell you all about our fabulous Saturday in Pennsylvania here. We had a relaxing getaway out of the city, and now we're back for a beautiful Sunday. Sadly, Michael is in the office.

Our two months of rain in May and June really changed the City. People are now doing all they can to take full advantage of any beautiful day we have. I think more of us are clamoring for some sunshine, finding our own spaces on this crowded island to soak up some rays and enjoy the blue skies.

Today, our sky looks like this:


And so many of us are doing this:

Can you see the man sleeping on the bench in the sunshine? Perfect.

Traveling

On a bus from New York to Bethleham to visit James, soak up the sun at a blueberry festival, possible enjoy dinner at Emeril's Chop House, and try our hands at the slots. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?!

Today, at the market, I found corn, nectarines, peaches, yellow and red beefsteak tomatoes, and the real thrill: cantelope! Between these delicious goodies and the humidity of the past week, I think summer has officially arrived!

The view from our bus is a pleasant one: green all around, with some rolling hills as well. Love just listening to country and looking out the window.

Life is good.

Motivation

This is worth watching - in just 56 seconds, you'll see why we work so hard!

Barbara

From "A Prodigal Summer":

"Soon it would be warm in here, the chill of this June morning chased outdoors outdoors where the sun could address it."

Just Right

A quick spin around City Hall Park to warm up. Paul Simon singing, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," an uplifting soundtrack thanks to my iPod shuffle. Bright blue skies and marshmellow clouds.

Just right.