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March 31, 2006

Ann and Zack visit

Well, Ann and Zack left today after a week-long visit. It was great to see them, but unfortunately on their first day I got a stomach bug, which I kindly passed on to Ann, then Jeff, then Ethan. Mandy and Zack escaped. So, we had to postpone the planned shower from Wednesday to Thursday. It was lots of fun - many, many people happy to see Ann's pregnant self. It's easy to give a big party when someone else handles the logistics (Dane), and it's a potluck. Our house worked well for the purpose.

I can't wait for Ann and Zack's baby to come, and I wish for a good labor and delivery for them. We'll have to head out the way after the baby comes...

Posted by ktingey at 01:40 PM | Comments (6)

March 15, 2006

More Mom missing

The other thing about shopping was that it just made me think about how much Mom would have loved to be there with me and Linna. If she were still around, of course she'd have been there for the birth, and probably would have visited at least once since then, as Erika has. She loved helping me shop for Ethan, and would have been so happy to get some things for Linna. (Of course, in this case, it was stuff for "their" room, which is still really Ethan's room. But now it's Ethan's room with nice curtains. Since they both sleep in the big family bed anyway, it's just a room for his toys.)

I just wish she had been there, all along. Through the rough spots in the pregnancy, for the bed rest in the hospital, for the long induction and labor and the very quick birth. And then the time in the NICU. I'm so, so happy and grateful that Erika and Dad and Martha were there. I can't even begin to thank them. But I wanted my mommy too.

Posted by ktingey at 04:16 AM | Comments (6)

March 13, 2006

The joy of shopping

Today I went to Washington Square to exchange something at Pottery Barn Kids (I know, I know - how suburban can I get?), and since I was there we (Linna and I) walked through Nordstrom as well. We didn't buy anything, as I just can't stomach spending lots of money on clothes ($150 for a nightgown, no matter how nice, is just too much). But boy, did it make me think about Mom. I don't know how many times the three or four of us (Mom, Gammi, Erika and I) went to Nordstrom together at Stanford Shopping Center. And there's certainly a sameness to all Nordstroms, so it doesn't matter that Mom never set foot in Tigard - Nordstrom's makes me think of her. Very nostalgically.

The funny thing is that as a kid I hated shopping, and often excused myself from the day-after-Thanksgiving outing, when I could. But once we were grown up, I guess the trips grew on me. We'd always share a dressing room if there was a big one, or traipse back and forth in the clothes if there wasn't. Then we'd have lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe, which isn't bad. In the later years, Gammi would mostly sit and watch, or try on a few things if there was something in particular she needed.

Even now I don't like shopping much, and don't like spending money on clothes. But God, I miss going shopping with Mom. It's just about impossible for me to buy anything at Nordstrom without encouragement from someone - maybe that's part of what I miss. When I was in California a few times last year, I kept wanting to go shopping with Erika, to get my fix in. It's a rare pleasure now, even rarer since Erika's 800 miles away, and Mom infinitely farther, plus she probably doesn't need any new clothes. And mostly I just don't have friends I shop with. Karla is the exception - we shopped together once last year just after I learned I was pregnant, and it was really fun.

Even Mom's last Christmas, a month before she died, when hospice was already calling and offering their services, we took one last shopping trip to Nordstrom and bought each other nightgowns. I needed a new nightgown that would be good for nursing in, Mom needed a very soft cotton one that wouldn't bother her tender tumor, and Erika just wanted some cool pajama bottoms for lounging in. She always gave us nightgowns for Christmas, which we would open on Christmas Eve and sleep in. In fact, that's the last new nightgown I got.

Posted by ktingey at 10:05 PM | Comments (7)

March 06, 2006

Cooking news

Last night I made a recipe for "crisp curried shrimp" from one of the Best of Gourmet cookbooks I inherited from Mom (and finally unpacked about a month ago). It was quite good, and extremely easy. We'll be making it again. Basically, you just coat the shrimp in a mixture of flour, curry powder, cayenne, and salt, then saute with scallions in olive oil over medium-high heat. Yummy. Ethan loved it, of course, which is also good.

The day before I made a recipe I've long had my eye on from the low-fat Moosewood cookbook. It's a walnut sauce for pasta. It was supposed to have cottage cheese (yuck), but I used ricotta instead. Didn't have basil, which would have been good. Did have spinach. I ended up doubling the amount of walnuts because I wanted a very nutty flavor, and I liked that. And I added a touch of olive oil. However, it turned out a little thick, perhaps because it was ricotta instead of cottage cheese. Ethan tried a nibble but didn't like it. Then I had some for lunch the next day, thinned out a little with water. And he ate half of it. So we had it again today, this time with a little more olive oil and some milk to loosen it up. Yay, finally a way to get spinach into an unsuspecting Ethan! He already loves pesto, and I guess it's similar to that.

Posted by ktingey at 09:32 PM | Comments (4)