In case you’re wondering about my invective, go watch MoveOn.org’s latest ad. It’s pretty freaking powerful.
Archive for Zeke
Dinner for six (sort of)
Tonight was our Thanksgiving redux, replete with grilled turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes with cheese and sausage, pumpkin soup, and pumpkin bread. Everything except the bread (which I baked) was made from scratch. I can’t say enough about the stuffing. I’m a stuffing fiend, going so far as eating StoveTop for dinner, plain, when I was single. I’m lucky enough to have a husband who really puts everything he has into the dishes he cooks. You can taste the love with every bite. Joining us at our groaning table were our friends Josh and Tony, my sister, Carolynn, her husband, Tom, and their son, my adorable nephew, Zeke (in case you forgot what he looks like, here he is).
We all ate way too much (I have my nutritionist tomorrow morning, what an idiot girl am I?) and enjoyed each other’s company, and in the end, packed up all sort of leftovers to take to friends (I may feast on stuffing alone yet again!). The Clementines I picked up for dessert weren’t as sweet as I’d have liked, but edible. I’ll have another before bed, perhaps.
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On this day: Still good 2005
Happy Thanksgiving!
First, let’s get the adorable kin pictures out of the way. Here’s Léa, manhandling her apple pie á la mode:
And little Zeke, slurping on his daddy’s head:
Both youngsters were delightedly well-behaved. Léa even had some of G’s delicious Cheddar Soup (almost everyone else had seconds). We got home around 7 pm to re-watch the parade, since I missed seeing Hello Kitty Supercute and my sister informed me that she was definitely there. Meredith Viera even commented on her appearance, wrongly pointing out “her signature right-side bow.” If you’re looking at her it’s on the right, but it’s on Kitty’s left. Idiot wasn’t even paying attention. Oh well, she’s in the parade, that’s all that counts. I got all stupid and choked up watching the Rockettes and the marching bands. Why do I do that? A good day, all in all.
A few things to be thankful for:
My snoring husband, because this means that he is at home with me, lying next to me in our king-size bed with kitties akimbo, and is slumbering sweetly and peacefully.
The internet, for bringing friends to my virtual door.
My family, without whom I wouldn’t be as fucked up as I am, making life much more interesting.
Blogs, which a lot of the time, feel like group therapy, which in real life, I CANNOT STAND, but online, feel much less creepy.
My expensive medication, which is a lot less expensive than it used to be thanks to my new job and a fabulous pdoc who gifts me with samples, and allows me to live something like a semi-normal life. I’m striving for normal. I’ll get there someday.
My new job, which aggravates the shit out of me because they want me to be manic. But I have a job to aggravate me, and therefore, a steady paycheck with benefits.
Espresso. ‘Nuff said.
Tigger, who wakes me up at 5:30 am to pee by smacking my face, without whom I would not be here.
Pye and Harry, who have the awesome power to simply be and that is enough to make me smile.
Life is hard. Wear comfortable shoes.
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On this day: Thanksgiving morning 2005
Simple pleasures
We went to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and spent a ridiculous amount of money on pale blue linen curtains (what was I thinking? I’ll have to iron them all!) to put up in the dining room, and some green and yellow striped viscose (I think) ones for the living room. So that our nosy neighbors will stop watching our tv. We also bought some accessories for the master bathroom. Every time I look at them, it makes me smile. I may turn the mat around so that it’s facing the loo.
I returned all of my company tshirts back to TCS for my former coworkers to enjoy. Also dropped off a pair of baby socks for MNK’s as yet unborn baby. Found out from my sister that the other pair that I’d knitted for Zeke will be too small for him by the time it’s sock-wearing season, so I’ll drop them off for TH, who’s due in February. I found out today that BMM’s expecting, too. I was never that friendly with her though, and her political views are about the opposite of mine, so perhaps I’ll leave off investing any time for her. I spent some time dishing with my friends, and the more I hear, the happier I am to be shot of that place. I start C&B on Tuesday at 9:30 am. Squee! Gary said he’d take me to Woodbury Common Outlets tomorrow to clothes-shop; I’m in dire need of acceptable clothing. One pair of khakis to my name, and Dockers at that! Not that there’s anything wrong with that…I’ll have to try Daffy’s and Dress Barn Woman and Lane Bryant too, I think The Gap is going to be too expensive.
I’m working on Knitty’s Hallowig out of some horrible hot pink Caron Simply Soft Brites (No Dye Lot!). I’m suffering along using a pair of Clover Takumi bamboo circs, because I needed to start knitting this thing and Flying Fingers is temporarily closed while they bring in their fall yarns, and Cornwall Yarn Shop is just a little too far away to justify the gas for one pair of needles (I also can’t trust myself to only buy the Addis I need once I’m there, and not to fall into a bushel of OnLine Supersocke). The stickiness of the acrylic yarn coupled with the grabbiness of the bamboo is making for some very painstaking knitting. I’m assured, however, that the end result is going to be completely awesome. (I’ve decided that I really need to stop saying “awesome” ever since watching an episode of Eureka where most of the geniuses turned dumb and to illustrate this point, they had one of them use the word in a surfer tone of voice. Must. Stop. Saying. It.) The better part is that it’s moving quickly. And they were only eight dollars.
I’m on page 119 of Deathly Hallows, most of which was accomplished waiting for G at the dentist’s office. It’s really good.
Saw Dr. W today and we’re reducing my dose of Wellbutrin down to 75 mg BID from 100 mg BID. We both agree that it isn’t doing me any good any more, and there is always the risk of it producing mania. He gave me another boatload of samples of Geodon. That’s another $500+ saved, thank you. I hate insurance companies.
Culmination of the Very Exciting Events
involves me giving TCS my two weeks’ notice. Starting tomorrow. Although, from what I’ve seen, they’ll probably tell me, “If you don’t want to be here, we’d rather you not be here. Today’s your last day.” My new job starts in two weeks, plus a few days for recuperation (very thoughtfully allowed me by T, my new manager). Which means that we’ll be able to go to The Fair and not worry about any of this shit any more. Dress code is business casual; no more jeans and company-branded t-shirts (no more blasted free advertising). I have some shopping to do! Luckily, there’s one in the Cortlandt Town Center, so I can go try on and not worry about stuff looking like shit not fitting.
Knitting news: I finished Zeke’s second pair of booties/socks! I almost got them all matchy-matchy; they’re just a little off. I’m glad I’m not obsessed about stuff like that. Here’s another picture with a quarter thrown in so you can see just how teeny they are!
Gratuitous pictures of Mademoiselle Pyewacket: 
Our neighbor to the north of us gave us a glowing recommendation for her cat-sitter, Libby. Libby came over on Saturday to meet the kids and us, and we were both instantly smitten. She’s a real cat lady, and the kids really seemed to take to her nicely. So I’ll have no worries (I’ll worry anyway, this is me we’re talking about) when we go away, and I won’t have to guilt my mom into driving 45 minutes each way to feed the beasties. I’m going to be demonstrating spinning at The Fair, on my wheel!
Bootie One
In the bag! Here’s a quarter, for size reference. This kind of knitting is really fast! Although I’m trying Fluffyknitterdeb’s cast on and it’s frustrating me wildly. I may stick with my figure-8 Turkish cast on instead. I plan on doing most, if not all, of the second one today. Can you imagine what sock blockers would look like at this size? Too cute!
New socks for new feet
I decided to frog the Jitterbug socks I was making for myself (the yarn seems too thick for the size 1 needles I’m most fond of) and start on a pair of booties for Zeke. I’ve knit about an inch so far, using a modified Turkish cast on for a toe-up sock. Instead of wrapping around both needles like in Fluffyknitterdeb’s tutorial, I do a figure-8. I don’t know if that makes it harder or what; I’ll have to try it the other way next sock.
Chili, chili, chili
When said with a certain inflection, it’s a standing private joke between my siblings and I. It had something to do with a tv ad we saw while at our grandparents’ house in Florida (remember Hypoluxo Boulevard?). The ad is long forgotten, but I can still make my sibs smile by repeating that word. The chili pictured is a new concoction of my husband’s. While searching for the perfect chili recipe, he pondered, what is it that makes chili, chili? Even Wiki couldn’t sufficiently explain it to satisfaction. So he decided to wing it, using the barbecue sauce he’d made with Mitmita, a seriously spicy ingredient. It’s made with the African birds-eye pepper, and is rated at 150,000 Scoville Units. That’s hot! I needed lots of sushi rice to cut the heat, because I am a pussy and spicy food makes me very uncomfortable. What’s nice (?) about Mitmita is that it is not only hot, but also very flavorful. As the ad used to go, “a little dab’ll do ya.”
For more pictures of the adorable Zeke et la famille, go here.
Ezekiel Marley Schwartz
was born today, weighing in at 8 pounds 1 ounce, after a grueling 36 hours of labor. From all reports, he’s very cute, and let out a phenomenal wail when he was born, a musician from the very start! Sorry about the crappy quality of the picture; I had to do some jiggery-pokery to get it (ten bonus points if you get the reference). Welcome to the world, Zeke!
Love,
Auntie Lyly
(edited 08/05/07 to add crappy-quality photo poached from email, printed, scanned into computer, snapshotted, and Gimped)
