Thursday, April 27, 2006

The Baby in Black

Monday, April 24, 2006

Books too few

I've read a few books lately. Not as many as I would have liked, mind you, but I haven't become completely illiterate.
After the partial re-read (I confess to not re-reading the entirety of the death row section) of In Cold Blood, I read The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall. I learned a lot about the process and history of freehand tattooing. It was well written and researched, but didn't grab me as much as I had hoped, since it had received raves from reliable sources. I think the style put me off a bit -- descriptive, focused on the interior life of someone I found rather dull. Deep rather than broad and, as Philip Roth might say, I'm much more of a fox than a hedgehod.
After the Capote and the tattooing, I needed a little frippery and Neal Gaiman's Neverwhere fit the bill. Quite charming fantasy about the shadow world existing in London's tube. Mind the gap.
England, England embodied the good, the bad and the annoying of Julian Barnes. Some moments were pure comic genius, others very trite and predictable, the insights obvious and tired. Barnes always fizzles out a bit, I find, even though his books are relatively short.
I read Octavia Butler's The Parable of the Talents while on holiday. It irritated me, yet I couldn't put it down, probably because the protagonist's daughter was kidnapped and, given my present maternal circumstances, missing daughters hit home. I liked that science fiction elements of the book were concerned with environmental and social issues, rather than pure science, and I think Butler had some insight into the importance of religion to socitey. Yet the self-consciousness of the two narrators really got under my skin.
For our bi-monthly book group, Robin picked Frank Norris' McTeague. I am that much more well-read for having plumbed this "realistic" novel of 1899, but I can't say I enjoyed it. To claim that the characters were 2-dimensional would be giving Norris credit for a dimension or two too many and I found the race science in the novel repugnant. Norris also had real issues with sex. I know it was made into an opera a few years back and I think it would suit a libretto quite well. The image of the melodramatic final scene in the novel made finishing it worthwhile and I would be interested in seeing Greed, a Stronheim (?) silent film based on the novel, just to see the ultimate image on a big screen.
I am almost finished with Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, which I am enjoying quite a bit. Although I appreciated that Beloved was well-crafted, I had many issues with it, so I've been putting off giving Morrison another chance for, well, a decade. Charity pays off.
Okay, so that's six books in slightly under two months. Pretty pathetic, I know. I have read a lot of the New Yorkers, so I can still feign mild literacy. (OK, who didn't cry reading the Calvin Trillin piece about his wife?) The divine David Mitchell's new book, Black Swan Green, is sitting all lovely and hardcovered downstairs, calling to me. I need to finish Song of Solomon before Eli finishes his current book, else he'll get dibs. Noooo!

Millimeter by millimeter

We have locomotion. Not a significant amount, but the desire to propell is present. A couple weeks ago Yelena started pivoting on her belly. Now she is trying to pull her knees in and push them back and forth while doing something similar with her arms. She can't pick her belly up and I imagine she is a far cry from doing so, but it's really cute watching my comando drag herself an inch on her belly. She gets frustrated soon and flips herself back over to her realm of comfort.
She's had a bit of a cold the past week. Nothing bad, we've just had to asperate her a few times which is unpleasant for all involved. Nose blowing is a skill I value highly. Four plane rides and 2 weeks in Spain and not single sniffle. Playing with other kids during Passover and a few rapid Chicago April weather changes and she's all snot.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

1,000 Words

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Catch up

We've been busy as you probably surmised from our hyperspace silence. Yelena has been enjoying her first Passover, an enjoyment made possible by the rabbinical permission granted for her to continue eating cereal. Although I saw an eyebrow cocked at the amounts of aluminum foil covering vast expanses of our kitchen and an empathetic smile at Mommy's 39th matzoh and cream cheese sandwich, it's as if Yelena never were a slave in Egypt.
First night we went out to our friends' parents in Skokie (Rafi's grandparents), as has become our tradition. All the benefits of spending a holiday with a family; none of the neuroses of spending it with one's own. There were many children there and much mayhem ensued. The other babies were great and went to bed around their bedtimes without fuss. (The humorous highlight of the evening was Rafi displaying his adept use of the sign for "more" every time his father, Brian, gave him a drop of wine. More, more, more. Kid after my own heart.) Yelena decided that she wanted to stay up and hear the story incumbent upon all generations to tell. She was not interested in nursing a sip, lest that put her to sleep and she miss something. She didn't fuss or cry a jot, she just wanted to be social, apparently. She received many compliments on her wide eyed interest and cheerful demeanor. And her chubby cheeks. We finally decided to leave during bentching at 10:15, since otherwise she'd never get to sleep.
Second night we hosted a small gathering. Yelena went to bed at her normal bedtime without fuss. Her buddy Zev, who apparently the night before had been awake and cheerful a la Yelena, couldn't take the pressure of his demanding public 2 nights in a row and lost it, so we didn't get around to Hallel a second night. Oh well. Everything's a bit different with a baby, eh? I did make a yummy Sephardic charoset of which I was particularly proud. My carrot parsnip soup turned out creamy and delicious, too. (We had vegetarians over and somehow matzoh balls without chicken broth are kind of gross.)
Friday night Greg and Paula were in town and stayed with us. I cooked another large meal -- providing more leftovers! -- while Greg took pictures of the bambina.
Last night we went to friends' for dinner, with Yelena again happy to be up way past her bedtime.
Phew. I'll get another picture or two up soon.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Still here

I really would love to tell you all about our trip to Spain. Between recovering, reading McTeague (ick) for book group, cleaning the house and kashering for Passover, I just haven't had have the time to blog. I really shouldn't even be posting now, but Yelena just fell asleep and the smell of the oven cleaning itself (how very responsible of it) is keeping me from going downstairs. Blech. I suppose I ought to attempt transferring Yelena to her crib and braving the stench and getting a few things done, but first, I am proud to present Yelena with a bow in her hair!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

You may be flat, but you're my sweet home Chicago

Despite the best efforts of the striking French to bugger up our return flight, we arrived yesterday on time and safe and sound. Or is that safely and soundly? Does the safety and soundness describe our return or our state of being? Hmm.
As you may tell from the above inner monologue, I am a bit jet lagged and operating on a mega sleep deficit. Until I can replenish the slumber treasury the knowledge of our safety of body, soundness of mind and goodness of time must suffice. Oh, and Yelena is well, asleep and remains the epitome of baby sweetness.
Tony is a bit ahead of me on the vacation encapsulation: you can read his version of events as he posts here.