Monthly Archives: January 2012

At the berwyn sears

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

One of the first tests of my teenage life was acquiring tickets to the Bruce Springsteen concert.  My friends, KDM and KAW, and I camped out overnight at the Sears in Berwyn (the one with the garbage statue and the … Continue reading →

Posted in experience, friends, friendship, lessons, motherhood, nostalgia, sisters, teen stress | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Shadows and windows

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

My recent window photograph got me interested in how light works, especially during the dreary days of winter. There was an oh-so-brief moment of sunshine today, flirting with the intermittent snow flurries, and I wanted to capture that moment. Curiously, … Continue reading →

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Intertextualizing five-year olds

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I visited Monkey Man’s class yesterday, and his teachers shared with me his story dictation (parent helpers and teachers take dictation while the kids tell stories, and then later the class acts out the stories as they are read aloud). … Continue reading →

Posted in art, connection, education, family, lessons, movies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The most perfect food on earth

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

That would be the potato. I love its many variations. Growing up, however, I was not such a huge fan of potatoes, and I trace my disregard to the staple boiled and mashed potatoes that we ate in my house. … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food, neighbors, potato | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Are the bulls on tonight?

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Monkey Man’s dinner table question: “Are the bulls on tonight?” Grandma’s answer: “I think so.” Monkey Man: “You can’t catch me, na na boo boo.  He cheated. The bad guys cheated the bulls, Daddy.” Gorilla Girl: “The coaches need to … Continue reading →

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Sunday dinner: a ritual that sustains us

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Sundays have become family meal times, like the old days when we had a big ham or a roast on Sundays, late in the afternoon.  A couple of weeks ago, when I made B &B Roast Chicken, we ate early, … Continue reading →

Posted in bread, family, family meals, food, ritual | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Dinner and dancing — the french way

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

We don’t have fancy dinner parties, but because I have been on a cooking jag, it is always good when we can cajole friends and relatives into coming to sample whatever new recipe I’ve decided to try. I know that … Continue reading →

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Windows

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Roused from sleep by the warmth of cuddling five-year olds as the sun washes over us, with the promise of a weekend ahead. Sleep deprivation and the aches and pains scrunched in a corner of the bed matter not.

Posted in family, morning, motherhood, winter | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Quatre-quarts: four by four mistakes

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

When I read the directions for Dorie’s quatre-quarts, this week’s French Fridays recipe, I thought, “Oh, how simple, I’ll double the recipe and make two!”  Dorie notes that the recipe is simplicity itself — four parts each eggs, flour, butter, … Continue reading →

Posted in family, food, mistakes | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

“Một con vịt”: what “sisters” teach

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Necessity is the Mother of Invention

When Monkey Man and Gorilla Girl were three, we visited an older Vietnamese woman, Nu, who taught them a little Vietnamese–counting from one to ten, the words for airplane, dog and duck. Nu also was a surrogate grandmother who fed … Continue reading →

Posted in adoption, connection, corn, family, food, identity, language, lessons, teaching, Tet, tradition | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment