Lunch Out

Ca. two weekends ago, this is Iain and The Mom out for lunch at Finn's. Dad's wielding the camera, while I keep a firm grip on He Who Squirms.

That Saturday, we walked down to school, retrieved my errant computer cord, then strolled over to Finn's for roast beef sandwiches, pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It was probably the last chance to eat outside this year.

The only fly in our ointment was that the walk back from Finn's requires several uphill blocks. You could have rolled me up that hill. But we took our time, watching the leaves fall and detouring through Westminster College.

They're Here!!

Big box! On porch! For MMMMMMEEEEE!!

Today, we received our two trees from Stark Brothers. One is a Fuji apple, the other a Korean pear. I looooove Korean pears (all Asian pears, really), and they tend to be kind of hard to find (and expensive) in the grocery.

But in Kentucky we frequented Evans Orchard, where one of the great success stories is the row of Asian pears (several varieties) they harvest every fall. It was a great option, especially since locals weren't yet aware of how great Asian pears can be. So we'd wander the rows, picking the pears alongside our Japanese co-transplants (mostly visitors working with Toyota in Georgetown).

What I learned: Asian pears grow well in a temperate-ish climate. Lexington was 6b on the USDA scale. We're 6a here in Salt Lake City. You know what that means. Time to plant a tree.

Stark Brothers has a gazillion options, but we have a small yard and we want to create a Japanese-themed garden. So we're starting with just two trees. Fujis are Charles' favorite apple, so that choice was easy.

I'll plant them along the fence, and espalier them so that they protrude only a little into our teensy space, but grow up and out, providing fruit, color, and green for our delectation.

Tomorrow: get a bucket, soak the bare-root saplings for 4 hours (meanwhile, I'll be touring the school where Iain will enroll next year), then plant them in a nice little hole, with rich soil and some dry leaves to hold water. Saturday it'll rain, so we're in great shape. The little trees can spend the fall growing roots, the winter chilling, and then emerge in spring ready to rock.

In two or three years...apple pie anyone?

Growing Up Can Be Fun

Iain trying on my clogs. He's taken to trying on our shoes, boots, and slippers pretty much every day.

This morning, in the car:
Me: "I love you, Iain."
Iain: "No!"
Me: "Yes, I do love you."
Iain: "That's very DANGEROUS!"

And right now, in Iain's room, he and Charles are rolling a golf ball back and forth across the floor to each other. Iain said, "We're playing ball!" Yes.

He's Wearing the Hat, at Least

So you know that Halloween costume? The fireman's jacket, fire extinguisher, bullhorn and hat? You know those? Iain wouldn't give them much play on Halloween.

And even now, the jacket might as well be chopped liver. He ain't wearin' that, and you can just drop dead if you suggest it.

But the hat...well, it might be ok.


At least, he'll wear it around the house now and then. Just so you know who's in charge of this firehouse.

"Where's my chili, woman?"

Win Some, Lose Some, Play Some

First the good. Today we had a behavioral breakthrough.

I was unloading and re-loading the dishwasher. Iain wanted to "help." So I sent him into his room to get the 2 sippy cups of water in there.

He came toddling out of his room, one sippy cup in hand, then remembered that he needed two. he turned around, got the other cup, and hurried back to hand them to me.

!!!!

Obviously, we rewarded him with an M&M. It's like an allowance. In chocolate.


Now the bad.

Friday I packed Iain's lunch and (as usual) thought to myself, "This is all carbs! Bread, jam, fruit, juice - nothing but sugar!" So I cut up some carrots (which Charles points out are pretty sugary, for vegetables) and put them in with a tiny tub of ranch dressing.

No dice. He didn't touch them.

Tonight I was chopping carrots for our salad, and Iain said, "I have it."

"Would you like some carrots? That's fine. Did you like the carrots I sent in your lunch?"

"That's SUXTING!" [disgusting]

And with that he got down off his stool and stomped off, horrified by the very idea of carrot sticks.


I spent Friday evening and this morning at a debate tournament. It's the first high-school debating I've seen since I graduated in 1991. I debated in college, but that's totally different in a variety of ways (not least the 'celebrations' that occur on Friday nights).

Last night I foolishly agreed to judge the last round of Novice Congress. Ugh. And double ugh: I left that school at 8:45pm. With no supper.

This morning began again at 7:50, and ended around 1pm. Happily, I got to judge varsity Public Forum this morning, which was great fun. One competitor warned that if people are forced to argue against their faith, they could end up in "heck." I told him there was no such place, and perhaps he meant "Hades."

But later, after I failed to nap and stumbled into the kitchen to take care of the tons and tons of dishes we'd piled up over 36 hours, I realized what parents must love about debate. Get this:

Your teenager, source of misery and destruction, spends Friday night and all day Saturday (I cut out early, but I'm sure they were there until 5) at school. With teachers. Talking about history, politics, etc.

Then they come home, so rocked that they can barely wiggle a finger. No energy to rock out, sulk, or describe how out of touch Mom and Dad obviously are. They just want to eat, sleep, and zone out.

THIS IS GENIUS. No wonder debate parents are so happy and proud.

Oh, and we played "flip" today. "Flip" is a game wherein the beds are made with clean sheets and a certain young man giggles while I flip the top sheet over him 10,000 times. He said, "Do it again!" and I promised that we will, next week.

Iain Giggling

Last night Charles and I heard something coming from Iain's room. It was loud.

We pushed open his door and asked him, "what's up?"

"I'm funny!"

Yeah, dude. You are.

He laughed for a solid 10 minutes.

Garden Plan, Version 1

Ok, so my image-creation skills are crap. But just be patient, please.

Above, a basic (very basic) (kinda pathetic, really) chart of my four raised beds (!!!). As you can see, I've made a rudimentary plan for spring. Lots of lettuce, a number of herbs, spinach, snow and snap peas, carrots, and a small number of tomato and bell pepper plants.

I'll interplant with flowers (violets, marigolds, dahlias, lilies) and add garlic for pest avoidance, plus some nasturtium to boil out of the corners and look pretty.

Meanwhile, in a room next door, a certain Large Young Man is not asleep. He's in there talking. I went to the door and he said, "Mommy are you happy?" "Yes, I said. Are you?" and he said, "I'm hungry. Let's eat something."

I'm working on it, kid. Can you wait 'till June?