Growth Spurt

We experienced our first major growth spurt this weekend. The tomato bushes almost doubled and there is the start of some very tiny green tomatoes. The eggplants, which I was about to scrap, are finally sprouting. Even the green peppers have tiny leaves sticking through. I am going to assume it's not a weed even though it is very weed-like. Now it's just a waiting game. Water and wait. Story of my life.

Realization

I've come to the realization that I am reality TV junkie. Junkie in the worst way. Looking back, it all started post 9/11 with my first taste of Temptation Island and has developed into a fullblown habit. I can, at any given moment, turn to Bravo or TLC and be sucked into a program. I realized my habit was really bad when CityCrab and I were discussing Operation Repo and Pawn Stars over dinner. My real favorite is the Housewives franchise. I love the drama, the dresses and the drag out fights. NY is my personal fave since I love NYC as the backdrop. Of course, with their nontraditional season, I need to find fill-ins. So, of course Millionaire Matchmaker makes the DVR to do list. One of my new faves is 9 by Design. Originally thinking this was a Jon & Kate or Duggar themed show, I passed on it. But then I saw the promo and hooked and now it's a DVR list staple. Oh, the addiction. The sad part? I don't want to be saved from myself.

Blog Roulette

Have you ever played blog roulette? This is where you click "next blog" in the toolbar above and it randomly takes you to the next blog. Then you hit it again and see what comes up. I don't do this often since I view it as an activity of those who have a lot of time on their hands. But I've done it enough to make a few observations:

1. 1 out 2 blogs on blogger are in a language other than English. I've seen Spanish, Portuguese, French, several iterations of Asian languages and even Hebrew. Pretty amazing on the part of blogger.

2. Most of the blogs I come across are used as a communication tool. Family themes with mundane descriptions of holidays or daily events with loads of pictures. Presumably to let friends and families know what is going on. I am guilty of this and know at least 3 other friends who are, too. But it is a nice way to stay in contact without having to actually be in contact.

3. Then there are the cause blogs. Another way to keep friends and families updated but these are much more dire situations. Sad stories of sick children, parents, grandparents. These are the unfortunate blogs.

4. I have also learned that everyone else is a blog slacker. Of the blogs I am able to read, the most current post usually starts with "has it been a month since my last post?", or "wow - it's been awhile", or, a direct quote, "holy sh!^, I'm lame." This always makes me feel better.

Try it sometime, spin the wheel and see what you find out. I think you'll be amazed. If not, you'll be sucked in the vortex of some random Midwest families most recent trip, which can prove to be a great procrastination tool.

And, from The Little Shelf....

I am lucky in that I come from a family of readers and thus have a constant resource of books either from my childhood or from suggestions. Here are CityBaby's favorites (and mine, too):

The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Suess - This is my all time favorite Dr. Suess book and you have probably never heard of it. The title story is about the Sneetches, a unique tribe where some have stars on their belly and some don't. But it's really about understanding other people's difference and tolerance plus it has a guy named Sylvester McMonkey McBean who is a Fix It Up Chappie. And there's also a little obscure poem in there about Mrs. McCave who has 23 sons and she names them all Dave. Hilarity ensues.

How To Make An Apple Pie and See The World by Marjorie Price - This books takes you on a journey around thw rold to acquire the ingredients to make an apple pie. Brilliant.

The Art Lesson by Tomie DePaola - a poignant story about DePaola as a boy and his search to express himself through art. All of Dipoala's books are great.

Annie The Apple Farmer by Monica Wellington - in Spanish with English subtitles about Annie and how she grows her apples on her farm in upstate NY then sells them at, what I am guessing is, The Union Square Farmer's Market. CityBaby loves this one.

We also read a lot of the typical like Mike Mulligan and His Steamship and Goodnight Gorilla and, of course, Good Night Moon but hopefully the above will give you exposure to a few you haven't seen.

From the Shelf

Here's my update since my last book post.

The Rabbi's Wife by Reva Mann: riveting, read it in 2 days. Literally could not put it down. I read it everywhere even at stop lights. Rabbi's daughter grows awry then goes back, then settles soemwhere in the middle.

Queen Takes King by Gigi Levangie - not my proudest literary moment but a nice break from something as intense as The Rabbi's Wife. Screams beach read.

Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough by Lori Gottlieb - Oy what a book! Gottlieb got a lot of press a few years ago when she wrote the article that is the basis for this book. It's non-fiction and is an argument for overlooking flaws in men and marrying them despite their shortcomings. I ripped through this in about 4 days (it took some time to digest in between readings). I would not reccomend buying this book since there isn't anything in here that no one has heard before but if you can hget it froim your library or buy it used on amazon, it's an interesting read.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I already blogged about this one. It's worth every period, comma and word.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand - I'm a big Hilderbrand fan. Blue Bistro is still my favorite by this is a close second.

The Late Bloomers Revolution by Amy Cohen - this is the kind of book that makes me realize if someone could write their mundane story, so could I. It was entertaining - read it in 2 days - but nothing more than a here's-why-I-am-a-crazy-neurotic-New York-Jew-with-issues. Who isn't?

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - entertaining, easy to read, and I love London as a backdrop.

Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand - not as good as he others but enjoyable. I like finding a writer whose collection I haven't read since it's a way to ensure I'll have books for weeks.

Next up:
The Weissmans of Westport by Cathleen Schine - found this through NYTimes Book Review. Also want to read The New Yorkers by her.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - I'm going to steal this from CityCrab's nightstand when he's done with it.

The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson - We've had this book since last summer and I can't help but be intriugued by all the goods press it is getting. It also inhabits CityCrab's nightstand.

What is everyone else reading?

I've Gone Green

It's spring. I'm embarking on a garden project. I need to renovate a lot of things including my blog. That's why I've decided to go green. What do you think?

Fruits, err, Vegetables of Our Labor

All the watering, and fertilizing and praying, not to mention the motivational talks, are paying off. The tomatoes, yellow squash and yellow pepper plants have shown significant growth. But more exciting are the plants that we planted as seeds. The lettuce started to sprout last week but the cucumbers and squash literally popped up overnight. It's so exciting to see the little leaves sticking out of the dirt. Even the watermelon and beans are starting to show promise. Our only loser right is the eggplant. In the herb department, everyone is doing fine and we've significant growth there. The interesting thing I have learned is that all herbs look the same when they first sprout. Looking across the 6 pots and seeing the same thing, had me wondering if I mistakenly planted the same seed in every pot. They sprout the same then turn into their own plant. Am I boring you yet with all my useless knowledge and talk of dirt? I'll post pics when I have a chance.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I'm happy to report that after a few trips to our local garden center and Lowe's, we successfully planted what will be sure to bring us a summer full of vegetables.

Here's where our tomatoes, peppers (green & yellow), squash, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants, lettuce, green beans and watermelon will be living all summer long.













And here is my father doing the initial water. You can tell he never met a camera he didn't like.

I've been out there watering twice a day and think I can already see some improvement. We shouldn't expect our first crop for a few weeks and we are all anxiously awaiting it.

Garden Update

There's not much to update. I haven't actually planted anything yet because I have been waiting for the nighttime temperatures to reach 50 degrees. Also, I'm feeling anxious about planting. However, this Saturday, I am going to buy plants and get started. I have a diagram of what I need to buy (some veggies do best started as plants, others can be seeds) and optimal placement (things that grow in vines need to be on the outside, bushes in the middle). In other gardening news, I also have herbs growing in individual pots. I did this last year with basil and thyme and it was such a success, I've decided to expand to rosemary, parsley, cilantro and dill. These were planted about 10 days ago and I am just starting to see a few leaves pop out of the basil and dill. Every day I go out and water and inspect. It's a bit frustrating but I am hanging in there. CityBaby helped me plant those (and helps me water, which is just a mess) but we are both hopeful that before long we'll have some herbs. I'll post pics when I have something to share. I don't want to bore you with pictures of dirt.

Easter

I'll just go ahead and answer the questions about to roll off your tongue. Yes, we are Jewish. No, we don't celebrate Easter. But who are we to pass up an invite to an Easter Egg Hunt? This past weekend good friends of ours held an Easter Egg Hunt and invited us. We are always up for a cultural exchange (we send them a Purim Shalach Manos every year) and well, let's be honest, chocolate is involved. In preparation, I put together a small basket for the host. Picture me in the seasonal candy aisle at Target surveying everyone for their opinion on what to include. We roll up to find everyone in their beautiful smocked clothing (we went slightly more urban) and empty baskets. Empty baskets??? Shoot! You need some type of receptacle to hold your eggs. I looked back into my car. Would a Whole Foods grocery bag do? We were already smockless- why push it? And truth be told, my only option at home would have been a Halloween pumpkin. Thankfully, the hostess had a basket for CityBaby. Once he got the hang of it, he really enjoyed it. He didn't love the Easter Bunny arrival but he has never really taken to human size creatures. Here are some pics. I'm thinking about using them for next year's Chanukah card...whaddya think?





GC and Citybaby discussing strategy.



I'm not that into you but I'll take your bubbles.

Passover 911

Last night was the first Passover seder. The seder is the festive meal during which the story commemorating the biblical event of Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt is told. And, yes, it's the same story every year. And, yes, we eat the same food every year. Last night, however, we had quite a bit of excitement. The host, my sister-in-law, contracted some kind of stomach virus about 30 minutes before everyone arrived. So, here we were, our own group of Hebrews without a leader. Fortunately, we had Ann. Trusty, old Ann. As the rest of us sister-in-laws rolled up our sleeves and dug in plating gefilte fish and chopping celery and filling water glasses, Ann became our leader. She told us to put out the matzahs, 3 at the head table in the matzah cover. She reminded us that the celery needs salt water. She made sure everyone who wanted 2 matzah balls got them. She kept us soldiers in line, the wine flowing and the kitchen spotless. You couldn't set down a dirty dish without it being cleaned only seconds later. And, she even remembered to put out the desserts. At the end of the night, as we stood shoulder to shoulder washing and drying, we knew that had it not been for her, our seder would not have happened. I know miracles are traditionally reserved for Chanukah, but this truly was our Passover miracle. Now for the second seder.......

Spring Cleaning

I am a little late to the spring cleaning game. Probably by about 5 years. All the typical signals have not spoken to me until now. This week is Passover, where the Jews celebrate their journey through Israel. Associated with this holiday is the expulsion of any bread products from your home. This to me is the loudest signal of all to spring clean. This year I've got lots to unload. Baby toys, now that I have a toddler, clothes, mine, CityCrab's and CityBaby's and a garage full of stuff. I am embarrassed to admit that there are boxes in there from NYC. We moved from New York in 2003. Yes, it's that bad. I am not auditioning for Hoarders but I need to get some spring cleaning under belt now otherwise, I'll be calling it Fall Cleaning. My plan is to dedicate some time each week to digging and purging. So far this week I've gotten rid of bread, some junk mail and a couple of books I passed on to a friend. And, of course, I cleared my head. So, now the real task lays ahead.

Garden Party

This year we are growing a vegetable garden. We're lucky to have the expertise of my parents, who are humans disguised as expert gardeners. My father built us a first class garden (cypress exterior, swing door with lock to keep out the really smart deer.) Then we had a special blend of dirt delivered. It's a combination of compost, cedar, which oxidizes the dirt and a bunch of other really good stuff. Next steps included laying down newspaper (black & white only) then alfalfa hay to help the roots find their way to the ground and well, root. Apparently with vegetables you want the roots to grow deep and the vines to grow high.

Our crop will include lettuce, peppers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants, pole beans and cucumbers. CityCrab has requested a watermelon. I probably should caveat this by saying I do not have a green thumb. In fact, I'm a plant killer. But with the help of some very knowledgeable resources, I know we can do this.

As promised here are some pics:

Mea Culpa

I suppose I should just address the big elephant in the room so we can all move on. I try to be frank and honest without being confrontational. Remember the Self-Imposed Blog Rule? Yeah, well. Whatever. When I created the rule, I forgot I have 4 other jobs running my life. So, here's an amendment.....once a week, or once a month. You may even get 3 or 4 posts at once. Just keep checking back, I promise I'll keep blogging. And, I hope you accept my apology.

Help

I just finished The Help. A great read. For some reason, this novel resonated with me on so many levels. I believe that if I had read this novel at a different time in my life, the impact would not have been so great. Now that I am living in the South, I have a different perspective. CityCrab grew up with help. Mena was this sassy, strong, outspoken woman of strength. The first time I met her, she had cajoled me into shredding chicken salad for her (wasn't that her job?) and told me that if the impending hurricane actually hit, she was going to "haul ass out of he-ah." I just continued to shred the chicken. Since then, I've become accustomed to these kinds of relationships. For example, I can't think of a holiday where Ann isn't with us. And she travels, whether it's at my house or a sister-in-law's, she's there. She makes latkes for Chanukah, she helped me save my gravy last year at Thanksgiving and cut Citybaby's 1st birthday cake. She is a friend, she is our family and I couldn't picture celebrating an event without her. It is my hope that Citybaby forms these relationships since they bring a certain understanding and exposure. I constantly show him pictures of his baby nurse who sat with him through the night his first few months and his first nanny, who will always live in our hearts. When I mention her name, he still points towards the front door waiting for her walk through. It's this kind relationship that warms one's heart and I highly recommend The Help.

Purim

Purim is a festive Jewish holiday that is this week. Ok, so basically it's the Jewish Halloween. You dress up in costume and read the story of a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination. Tomorrow at school, Citybaby has a Purim parade followed by a music class. Parents, grandparents and caregivers (it is the South afterall) are invited. You are likely wondering, where I am going with this? Mama Ruth. She has been nagging me to go to school to see Citybaby. She said all she wants to do is peek in the door and see him. But we all know this is not true. She wants to go to school, walk the halls, talk to people, tell them who she is, where's she from, and that the camp is named after her family. Oy, the horror! So, I thought tomorrow is the perfect time for her to come. There will be other parents there. She'll get lost in the fray. Plus, she knows some of the other parents and grandparents so maybe she can tell them her same story over and over again. I already warned the teachers that I was trucking her in for the event and that I cannot take responsibility for anything that comes out of her mouth. What am I picturing? Well, I don't put it past her to make requests to the music teacher a la a late night Cole Porter party, cigarette holder and all. I just hope she doesn't sneak over to Citybaby's crib and stick a red ribbon in there.

Sundays with the Yentas

Since I live in the same city as my mother and grandmother, from time to time we do things together. Typicaly, it is an organized event. I would never subject myself to say, shopping or hair appointments with them. Too much unsolicitated advice and torture. About a month ago, we attended the meeting of a local women's group and I should have learned my listen. There were quite a few woman there of Mama Ruth's age and since she's been kicking around Charleston for some time now, she knows everyone, their deal, their story, where they live. Here's an example, when an acquaintance of hers took a nasty spill on the stairs of their home, the only questions she could ask was, "what was she doing upstairs? Her master is on the first floor?" And this is an acquaintance? Anyway, on the way home in the car, Mama Ruth, riding shotgun, asks if when women her age have a "friend", do they sleep toegther? Um, excuse me, what? Then my mother yells from the back seat, "Ma, you're their age, what would you do?" Ok, so at this point, I want to drive the car off the road into an embankment. But, alas, I soldier on. Last Sunday, we attended a women's health lecture. This is the one where my 91 year old granmother stands up and ask this questions. "I can't walk since I get very tired. Is it OK that I ride the stationary bike every day?" Um, that's more exercise than people a third your age do (myslef incldued). Needless to say, the lecturer was amazed at this question. She also expressed shock when she learned that you shouldn't eat ice cream - apparently, she had always believed it's good for your heart. So, as you can see Sundays with The Yentas never disappoint. Next week, we are going for deli.

I'm A Believer

I am not a a true believer in divine intervention, karma or anything else that dictates that celestial or spiritual beings do things. However, today I believe I might have had one of these experiences. I was sitting in my local coffee shop nursing a cup of coffee and streaming off of their free wireless. I was on the phone with a colleague explaining my current nanny conundrum. I am losing my second nanny. I know it makes me seem like a bad employer. In actuality, I am a very good employer and may also be running a fertility clinic since my current nanny is leaving us because she is pregnant. (that's how I lost the first one, too.) So, I get off the phone and a woman sitting at the next table leans over and asks me if I am in fact looking for a nanny. Now, normally this would piss me off. Uh, eavesdropping? Even though it's something I do often. (I've always thought those long distance earphones they sell on late night TV were intriguing.) But my ears immediately perked up and we started a very pleasant conversation which ended in a potential match. And, if anyone loves a good matchmaker, it's me. Hopefully, this will work out. Now that would make me a true believer.

Speechwriter Gig

Mama Ruth is receiving an award. It's local, it's from her synagogue and, truth be told, her name probably just floated to the top of list. How many 90+ people do they have kicking around who they can give an award to? Not to demean her contribution to the community - she does do a lot. One of her made-up principles of the Evil Eye is that you shouldn't be awarded or call to attention to your good fortune. So, at first she didn't want to say anything. She was being coy. After that set in for the appropriate amount of time, she decided that she should say something - they were going to the trouble of the award and all. So, because I have a communications degree and won an elementary spelling bee, I was asked to consult as her speech writer. I instruct her to put down a few thoughts. CityBaby and I roll up to the house to find a fruit and coffee cake buffet (leftovers from mah jong, I'm imagining) and 8 pages of handwritten notes on a legal pad. 8 pages! On a legal pad! So, I settle CityBaby down in front of the fruit and we get to work. I cut and cut and cut. She adds and adds and adds. I try to tell her that these people don't care that in 1962 she won the award for Israeli Bonds. Heck, in 1962 Israel was just a fledgling country. I inform her that no one in the audience will know who Hedda Hopper and Bess Meyerson are (I had to google Bess). I plead with her to not tell the story, for the millionth time, about how the Sisterhood did a play about her. And, then out of thin air she comes up with the ending: "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere." Wait, where? What are you talking about? I succumb and join CityBaby on the floor for fruit and coffee cake. And the two of us sit there and listen, for the millionth time about the play and Hedda Hopper and Bess Meyerson and the Great Israel Bond Drive of 1962. Sigh...........

Self Imposed Blog Rule

I have not been a very good blogger. In fact, I've been a bad blogger. Sure I am not twitter which is a blog for time-crunched folks like myself. But the thing that really gets me is I like to blog. I like to write and I like to observe and then dish it up for all you readers. So, I am self-imposing a blog rule: blog every day. Even if it's just to say hi. I have recently gained inspiration from the millions of every day people who following Oprah for a year or creating Happiness or knitting every pattern in a book. So, I am going to blog everyday. Maybe for a year or just a month, I suppose you'll have to stay glued to see how long I last.