Mermaid

I've just been thinking about the walk we used to take beside a reservoir on a path lined with mica, and how Zoë would stick flakes of mica to her arms and face so she would shine with mermaid scales.

There's a photograph of her mermaid face somewhere — I need to find it!

sunshine

this weekend truly felt like spring -- like spring in baltimore in fact, which is appropriate since we've basically had baltimore's winter this year, while they've had our winter. which is a-okay with me. on saturday, m and i went to see an education after we sat in the sunshine for a while sharing a latte from bard.
























and then on sunday, while boo was skiing with some friends (i can't tell you how weird it feels to say that, not being a skier myself. it's as if he were playing polo with some friends. or. something exotic and expensive like that), bean and i took a long, leisurely walk all over the place. we paused to eat bagels from the works in the sunshine. i could've fallen asleep.fifty-five degrees.
























and then it was time for our oscar party, complete with ginger beer floats and tiny samosas. if you haven't already watched this trailer for every academy award winning movie ever, i really think you should.

A Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever -- powered by Cracked.com

chicken house?

i know you're like, "shut up about the chickens already!" but wouldn't our playhouse make an adorable chicken coop? i think it could be retrofitted fairly easily.

we bought the playhouse when we first moved here in 1999, and the house numbers on the side represent the ages of boo and bean at the time (3 and 6, if you can believe that), and also happened to be our street address in baltimore, where we lived before moving to portland. this thing cost just about one thousand dollars, which was the exact amount of cash we were left over with after we sold our baltimore house and bought our portland house. ever practical, we spent it on this playhouse, which has seen some action over the last ten years, although not as much as we imagined at the time. i think it needs some chickens.

she's home!

we did it. we got our mädchen! we were an hour and a half early at the hotel in virginia, we were so excited. we killed some time and then went inside, where we waited with many other anxious parents in the lobby. finally, she emerged, looking like the most wonderful sight we'd ever seen. here, m and boo wait and wait:
























me, finally getting to put my hands on that girl. i can't even tell you how many times i hugged her in the first hour (and three days later, i'm still touching her every chance i get. she's very indulgent).
























m, ditto:
























she said many goodbyes to the other cbyx kids, and then they let us take her away with us! we drove into washington d.c. and went to this vegan bakery, sticky fingers:
























bean and i had wanted to go there forever, and it was fabulous. she had a vegan chili dog, and we all shared some cupcakey delights and iced coffee. this whole time she was telling us about her adventure and the details of her trip home, describing saying goodbye to her family, showing us photos, giving us gifts, laughing, and crying:



















we spent a couple of days in baltimore, where we walked around fell's point:



















and celebrated stella's first birthday:



















with ellen's parents (who graciously hosted us the whole time we were in baltimore) and a select few of stella's grownup friends:
























bean gave me many presents, including this adorable cake cookbook, which has a gnome theme:



















our last stop before arriving home was cambridge. bean and minnow were reunited, and she hugged a couple of happy grandparents. we ate indian food and toscanini's ice cream. bean had a moxie float, which made her very happy:
























bean and my mom:
























i neglected to photograph many other poignant reunions (with artemis, flora, miss gliss, the dancer lady, the sports fan, animal lover, and enoch), as well as a massive banner that was taped to the side of our house when we pulled up in the driveway (made by artemis and flora). she spent the whole day yesterday with friends, walking to arabica, watching movies, eating dinner, playing games. last night was the first she spent in her own bed in nearly a year. oh, did i mention that the girl is fluent in german? our favorite thing is when she talks and talks and talks in german and we just listen, amazed and delighted. one of her highest priorities right now is to find ways to continue to speak, in addition to the german class she'll be taking in the fall at usm. boo and i have made a renewed pledge to work our way through the rosetta stone german program, too.


one moment i can't believe she's really here, and the next it's like she never left.

and finally, here is an appropriate poem my dad sent me, by pat schneider:



Don't go. Don't stay.
Daughter. Morning after afternoon
the last year slips away.

Singing all the old songs, you will go
(ambivalence of moon, certainty of sun)
we know

only half of what we are.
The earth is earth to us, star
perhaps

if apprehended far enough away.
Daughter – don't go.
Don't stay.





"To A High School Senior" by Pat Schneider, from Long Way Home. © Amherst Writers & Artists Press, 1993

baltimore loves us

the baltimore sun's environmental blog, b'more green, loves milo in maine! yay, cause we love baltimore right back.