Tag: pregnancy
Lately
Last night I went to the grocery store for milk and yogurt and the usuals, and the cashier smiled and commented on how much my belly has grown since she last rang me up. For the past couple of months, each time I’ve gone grocery shopping, no matter who my cashier is, he or she has asked about my progress and said a few nice words. I don’t know any of these people. No idea what their names are. A few of them might have been to Delancey, since it’s in the same neighborhood, but I don’t think that’s it. I think they know me by the round appendage on the front of my body. I hadn’t expected to like being That Pregnant Lady, but today I’m starting to think I might actually miss it, this feeling of having a cheering squad wherever I go.
Anyway, that’s what’s going on around here. Just, you know, talking about my body with strangers in the checkout line. That, and continuing to work on my manuscript, and helping Brandon try to get Essex open before we fall into the Black Hole of Infant-Related Sleep Deprivation. There will be custom walnut bar stools. And wallpaper with herbs and whales on it! Lacquered, smoked pork shoulder! Housemade amaro!
In the meantime:
I bought apricots at the market this morning, and though I mostly want to stand around and sniff them, I think I’ll turn them into a crumble. I’m going to try a new recipe, and if it turns out to be worth sharing, I’ll pass it along.
And after that, whenever blueberries are ready, I want to make this. If any of you have tried it, please report.
And I highly recommend this. I’ve made it twice in the past three weeks, mostly to eat for breakfast, but then I wind up stealing a slice after lunch and another in mid-afternoon. One note: I use Bulgarian buttermilk, which is creamier and sexier than the usual low-fat kind. It’s available at my local grocery store, Ballard Market. And I use white whole wheat flour instead of the regular whole wheat flour, because that’s what I currently have around. And I buy whole raw flax seeds and grind them in a spice grinder. FYI.
Since reading Megan’s post, I’ve been thinking about making my own yogurt. We’ll see if anything comes of this, however, given that I first started thinking about making my own yogurt a year and a half ago, when I read this piece. I’ll get there someday.
If I weren’t supposed to go easy on caffeine and yadda yadda blah blah blah, I would be drinking cold-brewed iced coffee every morning right now. Have an extra glass for me.
I love it when Tommy talks food.
Youngna drew my attention to this E. B. White piece, which she calls “the ultimate summer essay.” I think she’s right.
Katie has a lovely, delicate eye, and she’s been on fire lately. For example, this. Which is a photo of this strawberry cake, which is also on my to-make list.
Last: I went to visit an old friend and her brand-new son, and when she showed me his nursery upstairs, I suddenly had a vision of him a few years from now, building a blanket fort in the corner, under the eaves. And then I thought, A BLANKET FORT! I get to build blanket forts again! And maybe eat strawberry cake in them.
I took the pictures in this post earlier this week, while on a 36-hour mini-vacation with Brandon. We went to Whidbey Island, ate mussels, read the newspaper, saw a bad movie, visited a farm that grows some of Delancey’s produce, and met a dog named Peanut.
I hope summer is being good to you.
Let’s wing it
Before I say anything else, I want to thank you for your kindness about my aunt. I was very nervous when I put up that post, but I felt much better for having written it, and I hoped that meant something. Thank you for reading, and for saying what you did, and mostly, for understanding. There is no smooth transition to be made from talking about death to discussing Thai food. Let’s wing it. I don’t know why that fried egg looks like it has no yolk. It definitely had one, because before I took this picture, I punctured it with that spoon. I think this is my punishment for not taking a proper photograph: my iPhone ate the yolk. Anyway,…
Read moreShe felt like cheering
I have three half-siblings. I know I’ve told you that before, probably lots of times. My half-siblings are a decent bit older than me, so growing up, they often seemed more like uncles and an aunt. I was an only child, mostly. But my mother came from a big family, and she had an identical twin sister named Tina. Though Tina lived in California and we lived in Oklahoma, she and my mother did their best to make sure that their children, my cousins Sarah and Katie and I, would feel close as we grew up. I fell in love with the West Coast – and, I’m sure, wound up living here – because of trips we took to visit…
Read moreYou know me well
My manuscript is due on June 1. Hello from the Cave – or, as I first typed, “Hell from the Cave,” which has a nice slasher-movie ring to it. Hi. For those keeping track, no, you are not crazy: the book was supposed to be due in March. I had to ask for an extension, unfortunately, because of the small human under my shirt who makes me very tired, and because there’s been a difficult health situation in my family. 2012 came in roaring, and though I wish it would settle down and start acting its age, I doubt it’s going to. I am, however, going to FINISH THIS BOOK. If I can stay awake long enough. Each night, when…
Read moreNo such thing
Earlier this week, I think it was, one of you kindly wrote to me, asking if I might do a post about what I’ve been eating for lunch lately. The reader who wrote to me is pregnant, and there are a number of foods that us pregnant ladies are told to avoid, making quick, easy lunches hard to come by: no deli meats, no (uncooked) cured meats, no high-mercury fish (tuna, for example), no cheeses of certain types, and so on. I am going to spare you, however, a post on what I’ve been eating at my desk lately, because my lunches are about as riveting as C-SPAN. The post would go something like this: nut butter sandwich, carrots, tangerine,…
Read moreThis is important
You people. YOU PEOPLE. I’m still blinking in disbelief at the kindness you’ve shared with me and Brandon and Tiny Person Under My Shirt. I hate secrets, and this secret, no matter how well intentioned, surprised me with how heavy it felt, how unwieldy it was to carry around. It’s been a relief to to share it with you, and an unexpected thrill to have it met with such encouragement and excitement. I should have gotten pregnant a long time ago, just for the morale boost! Thank you for that. In return, I give you a waffle. Initially, I planned to give you some orange buns, and then I planned to give you these seeded breadsticks that my mom used…
Read moreSeptember 4
Hi. I’ve never made an announcement like this before, and it feels very awkward and shouty to do it through a computer screen, so please be nice and pretend that we’re sitting in your living room. I’ll give you a minute to get settled. The thing is, I’ve been working on my manuscript, yes, yes, but I’ve also been working on something else. That something else has made it difficult, actually, to work on my manuscript, because it’s made me want to lie on the couch instead, eating peanut butter sandwiches and fantasizing about donuts. I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s there, under my shirt. I’ll give you a hint. It’s a baby. I’m 13 weeks along,…
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