Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

We had 3 babies born within the last 6 months in my inner circle of closest friends: my best friend Kim & Joe had my Goddaughter, Mika on my birthday (October); friends Kate & Chris had Ellie in November; brother A3 and sis-in-law, Dayna had my nephew Alex in February. My sweet Savannah Banana celebrated her 2 nd birthday two weekends back, all of us gathering to celebrate her and all of our babies being together for the first time. It was just too sweet. Lots of little smiles from the girls; lots of passing around Alex, our newest addition and his first time meeting the gang; new parents looking up any time a baby cried, to see who it was, since all of them spent the afternoon not holding their own. Mom is coming down today for Easter weekend with me, though we're going to meet A3, Dayna, and these two for breakfast tomorrow.  Life is good. Protective big sister, Savannah with Alex Savannah and Alex, sweet sibling love

First, let me start off by saying, Happy Veterans Day! Thank you U.S. Veterans for all you've done and continue to do for our country and in protecting our freedoms. I definitely spent a lot of time this weekend thinking about both my Grandpas, my Dad, both my brothers, and countless aunts, uncles, and cousins who've served our country! Because of Veteran's Day, Sticks Library was closed today, giving me a glorious three day weekend! And man, this weekend left me full bellied. I headed to the Mitten on Saturday afternoon, staying with bestie L and her gang, and had a weekend absolutely packed with good friends and amazing food. Saturday found us gorging on food and drink at our friends K& C's new home in Royal Oak. Royal Oak in recent years has become a total hotspot in southeastern Michigan, a place where many late 20/early 30 somethings are settling down, probably due in part to the great downtown chock full of good restaurants/bars and local shops. It sti...

Last weekend I had dinner with B1 & B2 and Jay. I brought the dessert: homemade pumpkin pie. Mmm...right? Wrong. I was so dissapointed; not only was my "fast" crust terrible, but the pie itself was also flavorless. The three other diners were more than gracious. For whatever reason (I think the excess of rain due to Irene and other coastal storms) has left the pumpkins less sweet this year than in years past--my pumpkin, my only one, rotted because of all of the rain! Anyway, I learned my lesson last weekend, so when I offered to bring dessert to a dinner at M & N's this week, I vowed the pies would turn out better. I again returned to Mark Bittman's How to cook everything-- no longer blaming him for last weekend's failure--and decided to try doubling everything in the recipe. The recipe should be called, "How to double everything pumpkin pie," har har. Anyway, I literally doubled everything: the cream and the eggs, doing this made the pies eve...

Yesterday was day 2 of my 3 day weekend and I had almost no plans, and yet, I find that these are the kinds of days that fill up so quickly. I had a scheduled dental appointment and had arranged for my friend Yannick to come along in case they gave me laughing gas and I needed a designated driver; the procedure wound up being fast and gas-free, so we found ourselves with no agenda. "Have you ever been to Taft Farm ?" I asked. "NO?! Than we MUST go get doughnuts and cider...and birch beer!" (I must point out that when I have particular cravings, I MUST have that thing RIGHT THEN!--it was one of those mornings...I was feeling a little cavity-free giddiness). So we found ourselves at the lovely Taft Farm, oggling the squash being carried outside in huge crates; eyeing the cherry tomatoes; marveling at the many local products. We left with two birch beers, two doughnuts, a bag of beets and frozen portabella mushroom/carmelized onion ravioli for me and a little box ...

Been meaning to post this, but waited for pics, so here goes! Despite being a cook and loving to cook, it has been over a month since I moved into my little cabin in the woods and I hadn't cooked in my little kitchen until this past Sunday night. I'm not entirely sure why, other than the fact that I don't like eating alone, so I jumped at the chance to try out my new kitchen when Ian, a fellow Farmer, suggested we hang out...and maybe even make dinner...and maybe even make dinner at my house. Ian showed up with arms full of food and headed back to the Farm's kitchen for more ingredients (perk of working at the Farm is that we shop in the Kitchen's pantry, fridge and freezer). I'd chosen to try my hand at making galumpkis (stuffed cabbage) to see if I liked it enough to make it for the Farm; Ian decided on gorgonzola cheese mashed potatoes and maple rosemary roasted carrots. And so we stood side by side, me mixing galumpkis filling and boiling ...

My best friend L, husband K and their three fun kids: L (8 years), A (5.5 years) and V (8 months) are here. We've hustled and bustled around and seen lots of cool stuff and maybe I will write more about that when I'm not so tired. My favorite part of today was when we looked at my garden and I was pleased-as-punch to find the girls (L & A) so enthusiastic about it. We tasted things straight from vines; tomatoes green and fattening in the sun were examined and squeezed; questions were asked. The girls particularly liked seeing my cucumber plants, the vines tangling and interweaving--reminding me of my old female relatives for some reason--fruits hidden. I showed the girls how I search for the cucumbers, small 4-5 inch fruits just perfect for pickling and then the three of us were scouting. It's still early yet, but I rubbed our treasures--5 cucumbers--clean on my shirt and we sampled the fruits of our hunt. These pictures show the girls enjoy...

I went to such a great birthday party for Amos tonight. Fajitas and margaritas, bocce ball, ring toss, a bonfire, good conversation, sitting under a starry sky laughing. These times--precious hours with friends--have been some of the best moments of my twenties. In the midst of all the partying and fun I had to pause and snap a picture of the lovely mountain laurels growing around Snow Cottage, where B1 & B2 live. It seemed so appropriate after my last blog. As the dinner turned into dessert, a gorgeous cake made by Amos' hubby CJ, our original group grew in size as more Farmers trickled in. The lovely spring night sky grew darker and games ended, we crept closer to the fire and settled in as fireflies dotted the sky. Life is good.

Oh my God! This time next week we will be out on the open ocean. TSO, RugbyGirl, S, B1 & B2 and I are setting sail on a 5 nights and 5 days cruise to the Bahamas, Grand Turk and Caicos Islands. This was the year that I decided that, from this year on out until I die, I want to go somewhere that I've never been. So why not start with a cruise!? I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait! I have never been on a cruise so that makes it all the more exciting. I have decided that I don't care if I sit poolside soaking up the sun, or staring out at the ocean for hours, or laying on sandy shores. None of it matters. What matters is that I will be having this once in a lifetime adventure with some of my friends, something I will look back on in 50 years and be grateful for. I love the smell of salt air; the way the ocean air feels different and more exciting; the way the ocean breezes and salt splashes wash over your face making it tingle with mystery; the endlessness of th...

I was all prepared to go to bed when something compelled me to read through old blogs. I stumbled upon  this  old posting by TSO.Yes, TSO is my roommate, and yes, I see him everyday and talk to him all the time, but I miss reading his interesting and insightful looks at life, and found this posting struck a chord in me tonight. I am not sure what struck this clunky, marbly sounding chord that is now lolling around in my brain at this late hour; maybe it was TSO taking into stock all the things he'd accomplished in his travels abroad; or if it was how he demanded a revelation of himself; or maybe it was just the comment that I left, my reply to his post--advice I'd forgotten I'd given...? Who knows? Whatever it was, reading TSO's blog made me want to take stock of the good things in my life; made me particularily aware of the best thing in my life. I am so blessed to have such great people in my life. I have been thinking of this very fact a lot ...

Our internet is down at home so I have not been able to post much. I have not totally fallen off the planet, though lately I feel like I might get sucked into a black hole of activity. This was another crammed weekend while left me feeling that I had no weekend, and I have a sneaky hunch that this week will also feel a little stressful. That said, I have amazing friends who at least make it feel better with phones calls that sound something like this. "Hey, what are you doing this weekend?" "Nothing." "Good. We're going to Saugatuck this weekend. I already talked to A3 (my bro) and Chris and they are in too." "What!? I can't. I am really broke right now." "I know. I got a cheap cabin and it's ok, it can be your graduation...and birthday present." "Um...ok. But I am pitching in for the gas to get there." (It is 3 hrs each way). So now I am looking forward to a busy week, but also many pleasant things to come.