christmas odds & ends

We had a nice Christmas. I guess. I have been in quite a funk for about a week now, since I heard that Emilie's condition was rapidly deteriorating. Things like my 31st birthday or our last child-free Christmas don't seem all that important when a dear friend is dying... or, far worse, when a family is losing its beloved wife and mother.

And yet. Emilie inspires me, as she did in life, to embrace the small moments of living. And so, I delighted in watching my adorable husband conduct his children's choir on Christmas Eve (complete with 3-year-old Eleanor, whom I would love to scoop up and take home with us)... partaking in traditional Norwegian foods (meatballs & lefse, no lutefisk) for dinner... singing a midnight service of beloved carols... feeling more moved by the candelit "Silent Night" more than I have in years past... cuddling with my husband and kittens under a twinkling tree...

I have heard so much this year about how this Christmas was going to be drearier and more bleak than Christmases past. I suppose that had much to do with the economy, lost jobs, fewer gifts, worries about the future. We are fortunate to still have jobs and prospects, but we didn't do too much in the way of gift-giving this year either, in the name of saving for my upcoming maternity leave. And certainly, despite 2-year-old Daniel's proclamation a week ago that "Christmas is coming!", this Christmas was likely not a happy one for a particular family in St. Paul.

But it always seems to me that the holidays - I'm thinking of Christmas and Easter here - are much richer in meaning when colored by the sorrow as well as the joy of life. I felt this about our wedding, too: my brother's death two months prior made our marriage a much more complex celebration of life and love than it would have been otherwise. Without a family's sorrow, a wedding can be just about flowers and cake. With it, a wedding can become a concrete reminder of God's promise to bind up our family at all times in our life together.

And in the same way, the promise of Christmas (and ultimately Easter, for us the much bigger holiday) is all the sweeter when we know what enemy we're up against. I am abundantly thankful that the measure of Christmas, for us at least, is not about Santa and gifts under the tree. And wonderful though they are, it's not even about family togetherness or the ways we hope to make Christmas memorable for our children. I shed more than a few tears this Christmas, not just for Emilie but, of course, for Eric and others now gone from my life. And yet the knowledge that my tears will one day be wiped away makes Christmas precious for me, no matter how much sorrow I have to endure until then.

emilie in the news

Emilie's story*A story about Emilie's blog appeared on the front page (above the fold!) of the Sunday Pioneer Press today. Check it out here.

I also enjoyed this blog entry, also by the Pioneer Press writer.

*At first, I wrote "Emilie's story," but this article really isn't that - as with any of us who have an internet presence, large (Emilie's) or small (mine), there is so much more to my dear friend than that which appeared on her blog! I thought the article was interesting for its balanced picture of the pros and cons of blogging - I confess to feeling a lot of the same emotions as were expressed in the article by some of her other real-life friends, and once asked her whether all the blogger notoriety was getting to her. I think that it did, but I know she got a lot out of blogging all the same. The attention from people who didn't know Emilie is admittedly somewhat strange and overwhelming... but at the same time, I am glad to know she touched so many people in her all-too-brief life.

at peace

I am very sad to report that Emilie passed away in her sleep last night. She went very quickly - the decision to enter hospice was made just six days before her death. It seemed at the time that she had perhaps months left, but that was not to be. Our hearts break for Steve, Daniel, & Benjamin, and for her parents, brothers, & sisters... but we are so glad she is now free from suffering. As my mother said to me this morning, there is one more angel singing with the heavenly host tonight.

I've been thinking about her constantly for the past few days since we got the news that the end was near. There is so much I could say about Emilie and what a devoted friend, amazing wife & mother, talented writer, and loving person she was. She was a rock for me after Eric's death, after my first engagement ended, during our journey to have a baby. But I suspect she was that way for everyone; anyone who knew her has a "how Emilie made my life better" story. She made my life richer, happier, and more authentic - that much is certain. But she also made it sillier and more spontaneous, as the following memory will attest!

When the series finale of Sex and the City was about to air, Emilie and I were distraught. We both loved the show, but unfortunately, we were a little late to the party - we only got to see new episodes after they came out on DVD, since neither of us had HBO. But we just couldn't wait until the last season was released on DVD... we knew everyone would be talking about it and we just had to be part of the hype. I think there were plenty of Twin Cities bars and restaurants hosting SATC parties where you could go sip Cosmos and watch the finale with other maniacal fans, but for some reason that didn't seem to be an option for us. Instead, we decided that the only possible solution was to find a cheap motel that offered HBO and rent a room for a couple of hours. So, we each threw in $25, stopped off at a liquor store to buy Cosmopolitan fixings, and arrived at a very seedy motel near the fairgrounds that had assured us they carried HBO. We got there about an hour early so we could mix our vodka and cranberry juice, and spent some time speculating about how Carrie and Big would end up (and I think we may have also jumped on the bed - we were so excited!). After sobbing our way through the one-hour series retrospective and the one-hour finale, we emerged from our room, teary-eyed, half-empty bottle of vodka in hand, and left. (Don't worry - we weren't too tipsy to drive.) We giggled all the way home at the thought of what the motel receptionist must have been thinking!

Emilie was much luckier in love than Carrie, however... she was really much more of a Charlotte. (Post-Harry, that is.) I love this shot of Emilie & Steve at their beautiful wedding in May 2003. What an incredible day that was...

I love you & will miss you, my sweet friend. We rejoice that you are at peace.

prayers for emilie

Please say a prayer for my dear friend Emilie and her beautiful family today. Em: know that you, Steve, Daniel, & Ben are in our hearts and prayers.

focus? what's that?

Yesterday was my last (scheduled) hearing until January 14. (Of course, emergencies are bound to pop up around the holidays, but still.) This is a good thing on many levels, not the least of which is that my level of concentration is plummeting. Although I did manage to write a letter and review a parenting plan this morning, I also spent an embarrassing amount of time researching which detergent is best for washing cloth diapers in a high-efficiency washer. (If you are interested, my criteria are safety for sensitive skin, cost per load, and availability at our grocery store. So far the winner is Seventh Generation Delicate Care. ETA: Okay, would you believe Delicate Care is the only variation of Seventh Generation not carried at our local store? Instead I got Ecos Free & Clear.)

We had a wonderful time in Minnesota this past weekend -- the highlights were my baby shower and the St. Olaf Christmas Festival! It was a very emotionally-charged weekend, especially because the opening piece of the Festival was The Gift, which was commissioned in memory of Eric. It was pretty amazing, and a tremendous honor, that that piece was included in a beloved tradition (97 years and counting!) that has been a part of my life since I was young. And, of course, the shower was all that baby showers should be! There were precious pink outfits, board books galore, and a perfectly orchestrated four-course tea. What more could a mama-to-be ask for?

I am so looking forward to this weekend -- it is going to be uncharacteristically quiet for Advent. No rehearsals, no concerts... how did we get so lucky? So instead we'll be doing some projects around the house to get ready for Baby Hartwell's arrival, and maybe even finally decorating our tree (with plenty of feline help, I'm sure). Personally, I'm also planning to sleep a lot. People keep telling me I should be doing a lot of that these days!

how cute is this?

If you're in the market for a child's play kitchen (and have a lot of time/skill to spare), check this out - you can make your own kitchen with stuff from IKEA! Ingenious.

good things, bad things

Good: We are leaving for Minneapolis tomorrow!
Bad: It is going to be 7* there on Friday.

Good: Seth is over his cold!
Bad: I now have a cold.

Good: We only have one more childbirth prep class to go!
Bad: I still don't have any idea of what to expect during childbirth. :)

{Well, I should really say that I don't have any idea of what it's going to feel like. I have a very good idea of what to expect, as I can't seem to read enough on this subject. But as for how my own labor will go or what my pain tolerance is, of course, I really can't say. I guess that's what makes it so interesting, eh?}

Good: I am going to be 31 in 19 days!
Bad: Nothing bad about that. I'm loving my thirties so far!

* * *

And, if I may, a shameless plug for this year's St. Olaf Christmas Festival: The Orchestra is opening this year's program with The Gift, the piece written by Steven Amundson in memory of Eric. I believe the piece has but cut for time, but that's okay - it is still a huge honor and will be very moving, I'm certain. The program will be broadcast live on MPR on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. CST (both on the radio and streaming online). Take a listen if you are so inclined!

gratitude

My friend Amy, who lost her brother Greg a couple of years ago, posted this lovely passage on her blog:

I am thankful for my extended family and my close friends, and for the outpouring of love they have given me over these difficult years since losing my brother. As I mentioned last year, this is a holiday of mixed emotions for me. It brings to mind the things I have lost, which threatens to overpower thoughts of the many things I still have to be thankful for. But I do have so many blessings in my life. This year, above all things, I am thankful.

I couldn't have said it any better. And this year, I am thankful for many things and people: my wonderful family, my beautiful friends, my fulfilling career, my health, my home, and most of all, my incredible husband and our little daughter that we are so excited to meet. I have wanted to be a mother since I was practically a baby myself, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude that my dream is coming true... and that I get to share it with someone who is a fantastic person & partner, and will be a phenomenal father. I am very blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

relief!

Seth finished his master's recital last Saturday! It was a tremendous success and we're working on getting some of the video up so you can hear him.

Here he is blowing out the 'congratulations' candles on his cheesecake!

More pictures are available here.

mixed emotions

Yesterday, and today, are a time of extreme emotion in our house:

Elation and relief - at Obama's historic win and a new direction for our country. I was especially moved when Virginia went blue. Just think: Obama's parents' marriage would have been illegal in that state, and just a generation later they elected him President of the United States. Progress!

Confusion and dismay - at the discrimination perpetuated in California, Florida, and Arkansas. (And at the Minnesota senate race, which is still too close to call.)

Shock, sadness, and fear - at the news that my friend Heather and her husband lost their daughter Grace at 38 weeks due to a tangled umbilical cord. Grace was delivered stillborn yesterday. I am utterly heartbroken for them and, selfishly, terror-stricken for us. I have already been made painfully aware that our loved ones do not belong to us and that life is fragile. But (whether it's pregnancy hormones or the realization that I already love our daughter fiercely), I am just sick over this news. Please say a prayer for Heather and Jeff and their families.

Onward...

fall photos

I just added a bunch of pictures to our Flickr site - click on "Daily Zeitgeist" to the right and follow to our "Fall 2008" set. There you'll find lovely fall leaves in the Bosque, our Obama jack o'lantern, and more pictures of our daughter's ever-evolving room!

(Unfortunately, you will also note that now that we have a chair in the nursery, the kitties have a launchpad to get into the crib. They really like it there, even more so now that we have a mattress [not pictured]. Hey, what's not to like? It's cozy, cheerful, and a great spot to snuggle. But we realize some limits may be in order. We're working on it...)

a couple of photos

Here's our daughter's (unfinished) room!

This photo shows the paint color really well. I absolutely love how it turned out - it's cheerful yet soothing, which is a rare combination! (And isn't Seth a fabulous painter??) The crib is definitely not this orange in person - it looks identical to teak (which is what the dresser is - it was mine as a child).

I have no idea why this picture is so dark, except that it was a rare cloudy day. Usually this room gets a lot of light! Anyway, you can see the true color of the crib a little better here. It doesn't look like it from this picture, but there is room by the window (on the other side of the crib) for a chair, which we are getting from IKEA.

And yes, at some point we will start putting things in dresser drawers instead of laying them all out on top of the dresser.

Obviously, it's not finished yet. (For one thing, apparently you need a mattress for the crib...) Stay tuned!

long time no post!

Things are going well in our corner of the world. Work has been a bit trying lately – I seem to have a higher than average number of clients who are getting into trouble. Seth is teaching an undergrad studio at the university and LOVES it. I think teaching at the college level suits him perfectly. He’s also very busy preparing for his graduate recital on November 15. It’s going to be fabulous!

In baby news, I am 23 weeks pregnant and it’s still a girl! We had another ultrasound on Tuesday because at the last one, the baby wouldn’t move and the tech couldn’t get a good view of the heart (le bebe was sleeping, perhaps?). On Tuesday, in an effort to get the baby moving, I downed a can of Dr. Pepper before the scan. That may have been a mistake. Our daughter was so squirrely and hyper, all the pictures of her are blurry. But, evidently they got what they needed and her heart, stomach, bladder, and diaphragm (which, since she’s destined to be a singer, we think she will probably use a lot) are all healthy. Hooray!

We have picked out a name (but are not sharing – sorry!) and ordered her crib because everyone said it could take up to 6 months, so we thought we’d better hurry… but it’s already in and we’ll get it on Saturday. So, we probably appear a bit hysterical to the good people at Babies R Us. Oh well! I’m sure we’re not the only people to have a crib with 3.5 months to go… right? The baby’s room is painted and will have a new crib as of Saturday, so I’ll take some pictures. I love how it’s turning out!

One of these days I need to have The Talk with my bosses about my maternity leave. I’m sure it will go just fine considering how excited the entire office is about this baby – but it’s still a small firm and therefore doesn’t have the resources to fund a nice long leave for me. I don’t want to leave them in the lurch, either, considering I’m in court three times a week and that would be a lot for them to take on in my absence. We’ll see how it goes!

32 days till the election… is anyone else tired of the state of things? Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a card-carrying Democrat, but even though I’ve been doing my part to participate and am bordering on obsessed with the op ed columns, I’m still growing a bit weary of politics. I’m tired of the hostile, ignorant vitriol being spewed by both sides. I’m tired of people talking about Christians like they are the enemy. I’m tired of people assuming I can’t be liberal and religious at the same time. I’m tired of people taking mean, personal jabs at Republicans – because even though I might disagree with conservative policies, I know a lot of lovely, generous people who are Republican (my parents, to name two). And, naturally, I’m not thrilled with the jabs taken at Democrats either. I can’t help but think that people who speak in sweeping generalities must not know anyone on the “other side.” But why would they think that the inappropriate hostility is going to persuade someone? I think you are doing your candidate a real disservice any time you don’t take the high road. Anyway, that’s what’s on my mind these days…

the big news...

It looks like we are having a healthy baby GIRL!

(The ultrasound tech wouldn't commit for sure, but she said we could go shopping as long as we keep the receipts.) :)

pictures!

These are from our recent stay at a B&B in Santa Fe (the early music ensemble Seth recently joined had its annual retreat there).


And here we are celebrating our third anniversary!

on pins & needles

Emily & Brett are having their baby today! (It's a scheduled C-section, so that's how I know today will be the day.) The best part is, no one know's the baby's sex. One of their friends even set up a betting pool so we could all cast our bets. I'm not telling what my guess is... but I can't wait to find out if I'm right!

Congratulations, you guys! We are SO excited for you. And Em, it's been fun being pregnant with you these 18 weeks! :)

ETA: It's a GIRL! Congrats, Mom & Dad! We love you!

You can see pics of Ella Maren here.

three years & counting

Happy anniversary to the love of my life!

small world

I was really hungry this afternoon and had already eaten all of my lunch and snacks (!), so I headed to the Subway two floors down from my office. (Note: I only got yogurt and a cookie, not an entire sandwich, but that's not really the point of this story.) As I was standing in line, I noticed a couple in front of me with their little girl. The father was wearing a backpack with a Medtronic logo on it, so I struck up a conversation (it's a Minneapolis-based company). Turns out, they are from the Twin Cities. Then I thought, wow, he looks just like my friend Emilie's husband. So I asked, "This is kind of a crazy question, but..." Turns out, yup, it was Emilie's brother- and sister-in-law Bruce and Anna and their daughter, in town for a conference. And to make matters even funnier, I have been to their house before for Emilie's baby shower!

It's not every day you meet strangers at Subway who turn out to be people whose bathroom you've used!

portraits of wyoming

Here are a few pics from our weekend in Jackson, Wyoming. (Kelley, thanks for the loan of the dress - I would have had to go naked without it!)

More pics are available at our Flickr site!

while I was gone...

I guess I didn't need to worry about whether my office would be happy for us!

MIA, again

Where oh where have I been? Well, to make a long story short, my computer at work has a virus. Or, I should say, it had a virus. Amazingly, my boss decided to spring for a new computer for me, so my sick computer went away and has been replaced with a dazzling new laptop. This means that I have internet again! Oh, sure, we have internet at home, but usually by the time I get home I'm too exhausted to get on the computer. Being almost 14 weeks pregnant will do that to you! And yes, I did break down and get a Crackberry a few weeks ago, but it is really hard to type posts and long e-mails on that thing. I'm trying not to become too dependent on it or else I will end up needing physical therapy for my thumbs.

Anyway, it's been quite a few weeks. I spent a whirlwind weekend in Minnesota for Emily's baby shower, which was a lovely event. I am so excited to meet Little K in just a few weeks! (Well, okay, I won't get to meet him/her for a while longer, but mainly I'm excited for the phone call or e-mail that reveals whether Little K is a he or a she! I am going crazy with the suspense, so I can't imagine how Em & Brett must feel!) I also got to attend the Lutheran Summer Music choir concert. My only regret was that Seth couldn't be there - he is a legend around that place and it doesn't feel right to enjoy LSM without him!

Last week my oldest friend Kelley invited me over to her parents' house to try on a big bagful of maternity clothes she is graciously lending me for the duration. I'm in an awkward in-between stage where you aren't really big enough for maternity clothes but nothing normal fits. Basically it's as if I've just eaten too many desserts, yet can't justify buying new clothes. Soon I'll be able to wear some of the great things she loaned me... and I must say, it was quite a trip trying on maternity clothes in K's childhood room where we used to hide from our brothers while they were off doing boy things!

I am feeling much better than I was a month ago. The nausea is about gone (knock on wood) although I will be very surprised if I ever eat chicken again. (However, we just learned that a Buffalo Wild Wings is opening here tomorrow, which has some of the best sports bar food ever, so hopefully I can still partake. Otherwise, an outing involving chicken and beer isn't going to be that enjoyable for me...) I've now moved on to the world of round ligament pain. The night before experiencing it for the first time, I remarked that I had no idea if I'd know what it was, considering I do not know where my round ligaments are. Turns out, I was wrong: I definitely knew I was in pain. YOWZA. Even worse, I consulted my two pregnancy books and neither of them spoke a word about this. Luckily, my trusty friend Google was there in my time of need, but what's with not informing women about this? If I hadn't known what it could have been, I would have been terrified. Okay, I'll admit it: I was terrified anyway. It was major, people... like pondering-whether-to-ask-my-boss-to-drive-me-to-the-emergency-room major. Still, I'm feeling much better overall, and we're starting to get really excited about this. The further things get, the more it feels like this might actually be happening! (I still haven't told my office, though, because it's been mighty dramatic around here with some client happenings and it just hasn't been right to drop "Oh, by the way..." into the conversation. I've been trying to broach the subject for over a week now! Hopefully tomorrow!?)

This weekend (well, tomorrow, actually) we are headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the wedding of Seth's cousin. It will also be a whirlwind trip, which is disappointing as we would have liked some more time to explore the Grand Tetons. I'm told Jackson is absolutely stunning and we're looking forward to our time there. But we have to get back by Monday because I have three hearings that day... so back we come.

It's been a nice summer. Seth has been singing Billy Budd with the Santa Fe Opera, and it is quite the experience. I've gotten to go a couple of times, to his show and to a dress rehearsal of Handel's Radamisto (which was spectacular). It's nice to know people in high places. :)

today in sports news...

This isn’t a surprise to some of you, but we think it’s finally safe to announce that, to borrow Sarah’s language, we will be drafting a rookie for Team Hartwell in late January! (If you don’t speak sports talk, like me, that means: we’re having a baby!)

After 28 months of charting, 14 months of trying, and many tests/procedures, our doctor told us it was time to start IUI/IVF. (As it happened, with our particular issue, they probably would have wanted to skip right to IVF.) Lo and behold, three weeks after getting this very discouraging news, a miracle happened.

I’m 10 weeks, 4 days along now, and we had an ultrasound yesterday which finally allowed us to be excited about the whole thing. (We've discovered that when pregnancy is hard to come by, it’s almost impossible not to feel anything but cautious and anxious at first.) Finally, we saw the baby moving and waving at us yesterday, and we breathed a sigh of relief… although I’m told that parents never breathe normally ever again!

I’m feeling much better than I have in the last few weeks, and we are telling the world. Except I’m not going to share with my office for a few more weeks (if possible), so if you know my boss, please don’t tell him! I'm pretty sure they just think I need to lay off the doughnuts.

how many books have you read?

I borrowed this meme from Liz & Kristine. Play along in your own blog if you want to!

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well, let's see.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (I’m sure I haven’t read the entire thing, but I’ve read a pretty fair amount.)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (I’ve come pretty close to reading the entire complete works – I’ve read all the sonnets, and most of the plays. I haven’t read all the histories, though.)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (I just started this on Sunday!)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (I'll admit this is well-written, but I HATE this book)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (Seth is making me read this by the end of the summer. It’s his favorite.)
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I'm happy to report I've read well over six books! I'm not too sure where they came up with this list, though - since when does The Da Vinci Code belong on the same list as Shakespeare and James Joyce?!

wednesday humor

Me (telling my boss about the opera Seth is in this summer): Well, it’s Billy Budd, from the Herman Melville book, and it’s all men. You know, because it’s a sea voyage and everything. Just men.

My boss: How do they know when the show is over?

Me: ?!?!?!

My boss: You know, ‘cause it ain’t over till the fat lady sings. If there’s no fat lady, how do we know when to go home?

:)

remembering eric david, july 3, 1980 - june 20, 2005

I love you & miss you, Buddy Er.

I'm still so sad about the death of Tim Russert. I've been watching Meet the Press as long as I can remember. Sunday mornings will never be the same. Nor will elections. Tim, I hope there is a white board waiting for you in heaven.

Sorry, I haven't had a chance to write a proper recap yet, but our NYC pictures are up here!

back from the big apple

We’re back from New York, and it was divine! As soon as we upload our pictures, I’ll post a few and share some fun tidbits. It was an amazing vacation, and our concert in Carnegie Hall is a memory I will never forget. Right now I’m adjusting to the fact that I most decidedly do NOT live in a big city (sniff). And to add insult to injury, the SATC movie premiere and after-party are taking place right this minute mere blocks from where we were, just yesterday! Boo hoo. How I would have loved to catch a glimpse of the pink carpet...

thrilled!

I'm not trying to start a debate here (though I'm up for it if you are), but I am absolutely ecstatic about this.

And to the spokesperson from Concerned Women for America, who had this to say:

We know that it's in the best interest of children to be raised with a mother and a father. To use children as guinea pigs in radical San Francisco-style social experimentation is deplorable.

Whoever you are, I invite you to come spend one day in my office with me. Hell, it won't take a full day. Maybe two hours, tops. And after you've seen what a damn mess a mother and father can make of a child's life, I dare you to say that a loving same-sex couple cannot offer a better home. Anyone who is capable, nurturing, and mature can be a good parent. Gender has absolutely zero to do with it.

raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens

Leia and I had a moment last night. We've been on the outs lately, mainly due to her recent pooping problem. We got a new kind of litter recently, and she really doesn't like it. (It's noisier/crunchier than the old kind, and we think she doesn't like not being able to sneak in and out of her litter box as usual. She prefers stealth.) Therefore, she's gone on strike and has pooped twice on the laundry room rug. Our kitties normally have impeccable bathroom manners, so this is very unusual and VERY ANNOYING. (And, obviously, we'll be getting more of the old litter soon.)

Last night, though, I was awakened by a loud clap of thunder, and then Leia came tumbling onto our bed and immediately snuggled up to me. It was just like that scene in The Sound of Music when all the kids come running into Maria's room because they're scared of the thunderstorm. She climbed onto my chest and I stroked her until she fell asleep. We stayed like that for an hour, maybe two (unfortunately, I couldn't get back to sleep, but that is another story). Maybe I should have sung "Raindrops on Roses" to her... but I didn't want to wake Seth up.

happy (belated) mother's day!

I hope all of you had a wonderful day yesterday. I am well aware that this holiday is a painful day for many—whether because of family strife, loss of one’s mother or child, fertility challenges, or something else. It is a difficult day for my own mother, who has lost two children, and a difficult day for many I know who want children desperately, who have lost their own mothers, or both. Certainly there is much good reason to praise the moms of the world, but society seems bent on ignoring the rest of us for whom the day might be more painful than not (as I learned yesterday at church, brunch, & Costco in turn).

Still, to closely paraphrase the words of a friend of mine, I believe that all of us women are ‘mothers’ that need to be celebrated. Just as a mother would wrap her arms around her child when they need it, I am trying to wrap my own ‘arms’ around a friend, loved one, husband. Just as a mother teaches and shapes her child’s mind, I strive to find something to contribute to everyone who asks for it. So, to all the amazing women in my life (mom or not!)… Happy Mother’s Day!

input wanted!

As you may know, Seth & I are going to New York City in 12 days! We are VERYVERYVERY excited about this. Not only will we be spending 5 days in the Big Apple together, we will also be making our Carnegie Hall debut singing Faure's Requiem. I think I may be a teensy bit more excited about this than Seth, considering he may very well sing at Carnegie again and I will most certainly not. At any rate, we are really looking forward to our trip! We've both been to NYC before and have done all the really touristy things, so this trip will be more of a walking-around-and-eating-lots-of-food-
and-maybe-going-to-a-museum-or-two kind of excursion.

And that's where you come in! What are some of your must-visit places in NYC -- attractions, restaurants, shops? Here's a partial list of some things we've heard we have to try. Any other ideas?

* West Village (Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, Amy's Bread, Rocco's for black & white cookies and cannoli)
* Carnegie Deli?
* Cafe Europa?
* Le Pain Quotidien
* A fancy restaurant one night -- maybe Gramercy Tavern or one of Mario Batali's restaurants (Babbo, Otto, Lupa) or Artisanal, which I hear has a cheese list to die for)?
* Gray's Papaya hot dogs (because Fools Rush In is one of my favorite movies)
* Sarabeth's for brunch?
* The Boathouse over the rowboat pond in Central Park -- I'm told that getting a glass of wine & a cheese plate there is a wonderful way to relax in Central Park

(Um... does it seem like maybe all we're going to be doing is eating? A friend of mine also told me about a fabulous handbag consignment shop, and we plan to spend some time at the Met or MoMA, too. And we're hoping to see either Wicked or Avenue Q on Broadway... in between dinner and our midnight snack, of course.)

new piano, part II

Seth, after playing a bunch of songs on the piano: Huh. Who'd have ever thought that practicing, like, works?

all in a day's work

Here's how Seth & I spent our Sunday. (Well, first there was church, followed by lunch at the Flying Star with Michael & Justine, dear friends of ours from Minnesota who are now in grad school at Michigan State. They were passing through en route to the Grand Canyon and it was mighty fabulous to see them again!)

Anyway, we must have been inspired by being around Pianist Extraordinaire Justine again, because when we got home we decided to tackle our new piano. Recall that it used to look like this:

You can see that the wood grain is kind of nice, but, hopefully, you can also see that a lot of the wood is sort of banged up and, well, it just needed some TLC. After a few many hours with the power sander, stripper, and some high-gloss oil-based paint, it now looks like this:

(We also decided to paint over the manufacturer's name because, well, we had never heard of it before... and yes, we considered lettering 'Steinway' on it with a gold Sharpie, but that just didn't seem classy.)

The finishing touches: the stool I've used for cello playing since about 3rd grade, and a bunch of framed photos of us and various musicians in our lives -- some of our teachers & conductors, my brother, and an empty frame waiting to be filled with a picture of the two of us at Carnegie Hall in just two weeks! (Yes, I had that many empty picture frames lying around... it's very sad. I know.)

We are very proud of our project. Hey, it's definitely not the most spectacular instrument I've ever played on, but you get what you pay for (it was free) and there are worse ways to spend an afternoon. And it's getting a lot of use already -- as I write this, Seth is playing/singing tunes from Les Miserables and an old John Denver anthology (why do we have one of those?!*). I predict it will fill our home with wonderful music for years to come.

* ETA: Seth has just informed me that my mom gave us the John Denver anthology. Oh dear.

I'm going to end my posting frenzy today with a few product recommendations! If you are my husband, mother, father, or a former roommate of mine, you already know that I am something of a marketer's dream. They could wrap cat poop in a pretty package with a classy font and write it up in In Style Magazine as the latest must-have and I'd probably buy it. (Yes, I realize that this conflicts with my beliefs about consumerism and stewardship and yes, I'm working on it.)

Anyway, here are a few things I've been loving lately:

• Neutrogena Rainbath Shower & Shave Body Wash: 2-in-1 body wash and shaving gel! It lathers up well, it has a "marine scent" (read: summer), it saves time. What more could you want?

• Method Home Le Scrub Bathroom Cleaner: I am a huge fan of Method products in general (it's rare that my love of buying yummy-smelling potions in cute bottles is also good for the planet). Anything that makes cleaning the sinks and tubs pleasant is a plus in my book.

• Trader Joe's Chile Lime Chicken Burgers: Great on buns or chopped up over salad greens. Come to think of it, I love most things from Trader Joe's...

One more picture, because I think this is one of the most adorable shots in the history of photography. I think they should put a "Kitty Tongue Pink" in the Crayola box...

a couple of amusing pictures

So check out what Seth did to our garage in his spare time...



To get the logo so precise, he made it into a transparency and borrowed an overhead projector from our neighbor (a 7th grade teacher). Oh my.

And thanks to our church choir director who was looking for a new home for an old piano at church, here is our new (to us) piano! It needs refinishing, but that didn't stop a certain little boy from thinking he would make some music...

welcome to our new home!

Welcome to Team Hartwell! The title of our new blog is probably self-evident, but I'll add a little story to up the cuteness factor. As most of you know, we met at music camp (yes, we tell everyone we met at band camp) where we quickly learned we'd be working together as the Dean and Associate Dean of Students. From day 1, we worked beautifully as a team. Every time we discussed how to approach something (a student discipline issue, how many sundae toppings to buy for the ice cream social), we'd often end our conversations with "Go team!" When we got engaged (a scant 6 months later), we started calling ourselves Team Hartwell. I guess the rest is history?

I told Seth I thought it would make a great name for our new blog. His response: "We'll get t-shirts."

We thought a blog about our family -- currently consisting of the two of us plus our adored kitties, Luke & Leia -- would be a fun way for our family and friends far and wide to keep in touch. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into our lives!