Rock To Wind A String Around

We leave for Florida in three days, and I have so much left to do.  The weekend flew by in a blur of lawn-mowing, weeding, and oh yeah, Season 1 of Breaking Bad.  We also squeezed in dinner with the ethiohio group at Abyssinia, a trip to the farmer’s market, blood donation for both of us, an outdoor concert, and water ice with Amy & Joel.   I see a lot of laundry and frantic packing over the next 2 days and then we’re off to rendez-vous with Albert in Atlanta on Thursday night.   My life simply drips romance, no?

Elliott arrives at my parents’ house on Wednesday, after a few days of cousin fun and Busch Gardens.  We’ll arrive to surprise him on Friday afternoon,  and then terrific Pops will pick him up on Sunday or Monday, in time to escape the dreaded garage cleaning.  He and Pops set sail on their long voyage after that.   They tried to go earlier, but bad weather and a faulty insect management program (Elliott is very allergic to mosquito bites, the central AC can’t run on the generator so the hatches were open and Elliott was bitten to ribbons) caused the delay.  They’ve installed a smaller AC unit for the trip and the weather has cleared, so they’re eager to get the trip started.

As soon as I figure out how to use that new-fangled contraption, the scanner, I’ll deliver additional red shirt photos.  I thought I missed the boy before, but nothing makes the heart ache as much as a walk through 10 years of pictures–my boy, he is so very, very big.  And so very, very far away.  As much as I hate packing and trip preparation, I can’t wait until Friday.

4 weeks gluten free.  I’m reluctant to admit it, but I feel much better.   This gluten free state wll probably become permanent, which is mostly fine, unless it’s one of those days when I really, really want a Snyder’s hard pretzel.  Popcorn with curry powder is a delicious but not always suitable substitute.  Eating while migraine-free does make popcorn seem more palatable though.    I’m also enjoying the search for new and exciting gluten free dishes–there are dozens of beautiful gluten free blogs out there–several are vegetarian friendly, so it’s fun to peruse.  As a side benefit, Astrid Meklit, always a lover of a varied and healthful diet, is really enjoying the number of meals we share, and she’’s trying all sorts of new dishes too.  Saturday night’s sopes with black bean salsa fresca, and the accompanying grilled arugula salad were inhaled by all three of us.  It was all so delicious, I wouldn’t hesitate to serve the same meal to guests, especially if I followed up with the pomegranate lime semi fredo I made last week for Father’s Day.   Maybe I’ll bring our bag of masa harina on the road, and make sopes  in Florida?

Boy sighting soon!  Boy pictured in red shirt, sooner.

Elsa’s lovely mama asked to see the entire series of red shirt pictures from Father’s Days past.  I can post 2008 and 2007 but then I need to dig through the photo boxes for the rest.  Tis true, tis true, I didn’t switch easily to the digital camera, even though it has all the bells and whistles so everything ‘important’ taken in 2006 or before was done with my beautiful SLR film camera.  In addition the 2007 shot was actually deleted from the hard drive by accident(see why I loved that real film), but I’ve included one of the outtakes.  Pity though–in the real photo 8 yo Elliott is looking through the window and you can see his sweet reflection–at least his daddy has a copy.

2008:

2007:

10 years ago, we celebrated Albert’s first father’s day.  Despite the big love I harbor for my man, my wallet was puny.  4 month old Elliott dipped his fist in Plaster of Paris,  we made a card, and at the last minute, I took a picture of Elliott wrapped in Albert’s favorite shirt.  It was a meaningful gift, and definitely the most appreciated and it quickly became a tradition.

While I love all the pictures of my beautiful boy, the red vintage shirt pictures are my very favorite–11 years mark the march of time like nothing else does.  The shirt that was once longer than a Christening  gown is beginning to fit.  How many more Father’s Day photos do we get, before the shirt is too small for my too big boy?

My wallet is a little bigger now than it was 10 years ago (yay, new shorts for Father’s Day, and the new Sonic Youth album) .  Guess which gift was still the most appreciated?

How’dya know?

*In an attempt at full disclosure I must mention that we do nothing similar with Astrid Meklit–all of my creative gift-giving was used up prior to March of 2007 it seems.

It’s that time of year…. Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. is once again accepting children’s art submissions for our 2009 art contest. We have partnered with Paper Rabbit Designs of Portland, Oregon to print our notecards. Barbra at Paper Rabbit Designs has once again graciously given EOR a discount on printing and design layout! The submissions for the 2008 series were turned into 3 beautiful sets of note cards (sold in the EOR online store and at our events), framed and matted for sale at Art for Ethiopia in Denver and used as decor at our Lights of Hope auction in Portland.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

1. Art must be original artwork created by children adopted from Ethiopia.

2. Contest is open to all ages.

3. All submissions must include a bio of the artist-child (ie…Johnny is 2 years old and was adopted from Ethiopia in 2008. He      enjoys running, playing music and dancing…).

4. All submissions become property of Ethiopian Orphan Relief and will not be returned.

5. Mail submissions and bios to: Kim Pasion, 3020 SW Christy Ave. Beaverton, OR 97005. Deadline is Monday, August 3rd, 2009.

The EOR board of directors will be choosing the finalists. We will have two top winners, boy and girl who will each receive an EOR T-shirt!

The 2008 cards were more popular than we ever imagined–they were a terrific fundraiser for us.  Last year’s grand prize winner was 12 year old Alyiah who was adopted from Ethiopia at the age of 11. Below is her prize winning masterpiece:

art-submission1

Please consider sharing your little one’s art with us.  I didn’t include any of Astrid Meklit’s scribbles last year, and I’m sorry I didn’t.  Our card pack of toddler masterpieces has been our best seller.  We’ll be ready this year–AM is working on a mixed media piece to share.

August 3rd really is just around the corner, so mail your art today.  If you’re local and plan to enter, I’d be happy to collect and ship your little one’s work.

*  Sweet N of the incredible t-shirts linked this to her blog.  Please oh please sweet internets, consider doing the same–we need lots of art and several of you, ok all of you, have a wider readership than I.  YOU can spread the word!!!

Thanks, pals!

Sorry it’s been so quiet around these parts.  With Elliott out of town, we live in a state of suspended animation.  We came home from DC last Tuesday, climbed into a box and will remain there until he returns in August.  Actually, we’ve been occupied with meetings (planning the Enkutatash celebration), playgroups, library trips and park visits.  With all of that activity, there’s been little time for blogging.

Items worth mentioning:

I’ve joined Astrid Meklit in the land of gluten-free eaters.  After reading more and more about the connection between migraines, IBS and gluten, I decided to try life without gluten for a few months.  2.5 weeks in, I’m not sure how everything will shake out, but I’m willing to keep going.  GF living is fine at home, but eating in restaurants as a GF vegetarian is a huge hassle. The obvious answer to this problem is to eat at home, which is fine while we’re in Cowtown but less easy during our extended visits to DC.  I’ve decided to further complicate the issue by planning a trip to visit my parents in rural Florida in July.   Guess we’ll pack a bag of rice pasta, and Mary’s Gone Crackers and our own toaster for the trip and hope for the best.  There are plenty of gluten free restaurants along I-95, right?

Astrid. although missing Elliott a great deal, has eased into the life of an only child with grace.  She wakes each morning and announces the schedule of our day.  My unyielding life coach is a  big fan of:  painting, people domino building sessions, bike-riding, watermelon, and cuddling on the couch.  She is poised enough to couch every demand as a question, tacking on “if you like” to every new item.  As in, “you can get me another popsicle, if you like.”  How charming is that?  Today, among other things, I was invited to:  brush her tongue, smell her feet, read another book, join a band, and drive to the treat store.  Apparently, if you like is only a nicety on Astrid Meklit’s part.  When I declined a trip to the treat store (Rita’s water ice) it was clear that I am indeed expected to like the suggestion that is made.   I’ll make a note of it.

I know that working any group of muscles for an extended period of time can wear them out, but I never thought that three hours of weeding would render my hands useless.  Albert is in the same boat–he tried to hang our ladder last night and dropped it because his hands were so stiff and sore.  I couldn’t face Astrid’s hair after her bath yesterday, so I waited to do it properly this morning and  found I needed to rest between parts and twists.  it shoudl be noted that 3 hours of weeding done by two people (and  a small helper) barely made a dent in the clover that grows beyond measure in each flower bed.

There’s more to tell but paragraphs keep getting deleted.  Seriously, it’s taken longer to write this than War and Peace, because I have to rewrite that which was already beautifully written but now missing.   Hmmm….

Elliott left for Florida bright and early yesterday.  The three left-over fab family members drowned our sorrows in bowls of gelato, and in sweat as we climbed the hills from Dupont Circle to the art walk.  We made it to three smaller museums, including the Phillips Collection(although Albert and i agreed that a full day to see it properly would be nice), stopped for a Greek lunch, visited a farmer’s market, squeezed in a short nap for the girl, and then flew off to IKEA and a quick Mexican dinner before we hit the hay.

Today, Astrid Meklit and I hit the road for Cowtown.  I’m a little nervous about such a long drive with only my little gal for company, but I’m caffeinated, and she has her trusty pink blanket–what else could we need.

See you on the flip side!

Pops has arrived!  Even with a long day filled with museums, train rides, mid-day ice cream breaks and a trip to Target to buy Elliott is 56th sweatshirt (because  every……..single……time   he’s asked to bring a jacket, he puts one on as he’s getting ready to leave, gets hot, takes it off, and ‘oh no–my jacket is back at the house’ gets muttered as we’re crossing into our 3rd state of the roadtrip) the day seemed empty until beloved Pops got in tonight.  Elliott was eager to pack up an go as soon as Pops arrived, but we convinced him that Pops needs a little rest before he starts the long drive back to Florida, so tomorrow at 6 am, I’m sure Elliott will be ready to go.   Sadly for Elliott, the rest of us like Pops too, especially someone small and Ethiopian, so I think they’ll be here for quite awhile tomorrow before Elliott flees to freedom from tyranny life on small watercraft.

Nothing else noteworthy to report.  I nurture a small hope that I’ll see Nancy while we’re both in this same sweet town.  I nurture a similar hope that tapas will be my dinner before I head west.  If i can combine a visit with Nancy with some delicious tapas?  Kismet indeed!