sweet comfort

we are at home again with the quiet, the woods, the purring cats, the lonely yule tree and our wood burning stove.

upon arrival we were greeted with the pungent smell of cats that had taken revenge, mostly on our down comforter. several dousings of enzyme spray seem to have done the trick. most likely it was loki, who, though fed every day by our neighbor, cannot withstand the lack of human affection for long. he sits beside me now as a type, one paw casually draped across my thigh.

milwaukee was fun, busy and cold. there are many highlights. i will mention but a few.

lots of cooking by various people: brigit's potato gratin, andy's pies, nari's grandma's custard, dan's lasagne, nanna's cookies, my thenthuk. food, and plenty of it.



there was tim's improv comedy show at a small theater in downtown milwaukee (he is the one with insufficient memory at this time)



and sue's condor talk at the lovely audubon center.



there were many sessions of bananagrams, a very fun, creative and addictive approach to scrabble. get ye to a bananagrams dealer now!


(megan was a whiz, thus a blurry, busy girl)

i managed to sneak off with dan a couple times to check out artsy, funky neighborhoods, a favorite urban pastime.

there was paperboat boutique in bay view, where i saw life in wondermountain, an installation of lisa congdon's! paperboat is a lovely space, full of handmade goodness. and they were playing devendra banhart.





we also lunched in riverwest, at the coop



and visited the legendary poetry book center, woodland pattern, where i could have spent the entire day and a whole lot of money.



it was awesome seeing tashi have such a blast with her cousins



and turn * * * 11 * * * e-l-e-v-e-n!



and interact with the very articulate little tucker.



there was also an amazing meal with the in-laws at meritage, a great restaurant in washington heights, another cool neighborhood. mmmm, grilled swordfish, on greens, a flavorful potato fritter and a most excellent carmelized onion sauce. seconds please!



there was not a whole lot of this:



but i do work part-time, thus have days like today to catch up, relax, do yoga, read my vbac book, schedule appointments, write, meditate on my kicking baby and stare out the window.

i must say, i returned to virginia with a renewed love and appreciation of the beautiful place we've made our home. how about if we share the rent a big old cabin and lots of good food (rather than spend money on gifts) and the families come here next time?





well, it's something to ponder anyway. . .