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Well Eli, you’ve been in our lives for 6 months now. It’s hard to believe, but since we just started sleeping again a few weeks ago, it’s all a bit foggy.
So for your 6 month birthday, your mom was out of town and we spent our first weekend alone together. I grilled for us on Friday, but you slept through that. Then we watched a documentary about Reggie Miller beating up on the Ewing/Starks Knicks. (You slept through that too). On Saturday we went to your music class and you chewed on a maraca. Then I gardened a bit on Saturday while you played in the grass with Russert. And then we had to sleep at your grandparents house because of the leaky water pipe that ruined our dining room. You weren’t feeling great last night, so ‘grandpa with a mustache’ bought you Tylenol at 4am. Today we went to a diner, we went shopping and then we spent the afternoon transplanting string beens, zucchini and cucumbers. You really liked the soil. You made a mess. Tonight I gave you a bath, and a bottle and you fell to sleep on my shoulder.
I had a really great time with you this weekend. And i’m also very glad you mom just got home. I’m wiped.
She attacks, she teases, then sneezes, and she’s done.
I think he’s in love. And confused. Get used to it kid.
Image and Video From iPhone. Go iPhone!
Dough
Bread
Thanks to our friends Matt and Genna, we received the book Artisan Bread in 5 minutes. We made our first loaf last weekend (a Deli Rye), and the results are to the right. It took about 20 minutes to make the dough, plus 2 hours to rise, and then 30 minutes to bake. You can keep the dough in your fridge for up to 15 days. Then you just pull out a grapefruit-sized chunk anytime you want fresh oven-baked bread. I sound like an infomercial.
One drawback of moving from Brooklyn to Ithaca was the drop in culinary choices. (Although I did hear a stat that Ithaca has more restaurants per capita than NYC). But while we’re not going to new restaurants every weekend, we are spending a lot more time in the kitchen. And once you’ve worn through the recipes your mother passed down, you start to get creative. And with that creativity, comes some gratifying evenings at the dinner table. And at the end of the day, a great meal crafted from your own hands is more rewarding than one you paid someone else to put together. I’m pretty sure that’s a universal law. Like gravity. I wonder if Newton baked his own bread?
Our Family Band Album Cover
Rachel and I visited my brother & his fiance in Chicago last weekend. We spent the weekend exploring Bucktown; the area of Chicago they call home. A few thoughts:
On Chicago:
- It’s a real city. It has it’s own unique food, a recognizable skyline, classic sports franchises, and corrupt politicians.
- After reading Devil In the White City, I was pumped to visit the location of the Chicago World’s Fair and to see what remained of the beautiful lagoon described in the book. The lagoon was a waterway and park designed by Frederick Law Olmstead (Landscape Architect/Central Park). And I hate to judge the Chicago Parks after one visit to their historic site, but it was a mess. There was garbage everywhere and they’re going through a controlled burn of the park, but it just looks destroyed. Fred Olmstead would be pretty pissed if he came back and saw what they’ve done to his lagoon.
- It’s not worth going to the top of the Hancock Building. Save a half hour and spend it drinking Chicago beer
On Bucktown:
- Love it. It has an odd mix of historic and post-modern architecture. But it has a small-community feel on the outskirts of a big city. It reminded us of the tree-lined streets & brownstone neighborhoods in our favorite parts of Brooklyn.
- A few good restaurants: Big Star for Mexican, Piece for Pizza and Brewery, and Revolution Brewery for beer
On Brian & Natasha:
- Two thumbs up. A very nice couple. I would visit them again.
- Congrats, and welcome to the family, Natasha. See you both in August for the big event.
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