I get kisses again.

Seems a boy who sports purple shoes, a buzz cut, and a brand-new Cookie Monster hat (what? It's from Sesame Place!), can stand up for himself with his friends about whether or not it's cool to kiss your parents in public

Whew.

The day has come

When my son won't kiss or hug me in front of his friends.

I knew it would happen some time, but I wasn't ready for it.

Yesterday he let ME kiss HIM, but he wouldn't kiss me back. Today, nothing.

Ah well.

Reviews from NYC

Momoya Sushi - W. 21st Street and 7th Avenue in Chelsea. Delicious sushi. I had several of their ala carte specials. Types of fish I'd never heard of, and all just some of the best tasting food I've had...ever. MM had the salmon nigiri and the tekka maki. And made it disappear. It's very noisy, though. Not a good place for a shmooze.

Sweet Melissa on 7th Avenue, b'twn 1st and 2nd Streets in Park Slope. I had the mushroom quiche and a salad. Also iced coffee and a chocolate croissant. Very good. Nice atmosphere. Easy to talk for hours in.

Le Pain Quotidien on 19th Street near Broadway in Gramercy. Fun curried chicken sandwich. Also easy to talk in. Good for people watching.

Szechuan Delight on 7th Avenue b'twn Garfield and Carroll in Park Slope. Delicious Sub Gum pan-fried noodles. MM would have given their dumplings rave reviews if his mouth hadn't been so busy eating them.

There was lots more, but that will have to do for now.

Vacation in brief

NYC, y'all.
New yarn.
Visiting with friends.
MM saw two movies and The Lion King.
Lego Store.
Sushi.
Swimming.
Sesame Place.

Any questions?

Cooked this weekend:

• Fritatta made with eggs, cheese, potatoes, chorizo, onions, and fresh herbs from our garden (for a pot-luck barbeque)
• Brioche (my first! From How To Cook Everything). Came out beautifully and was really very easy. It went very well with my BIL's homemade strawberry jam.
• Pesto (from Good Food Gourmet) using sunflower seeds instead of pignolli nuts - 5 times cheaper. Came out very well, but needs more olive oil to replace the oiliness of the pignolli nuts. Sunflower seeds are much drier. I'll use 1/3 cup oil next time.
• BLT using the first beefsteak tomato from the garden. Oh. YUM. YUM. YUM.

What did you do this weekend?

Briefing in brief

We went to Vermont on Amtrak.

Have I told you how much I love Amtrak?

I do. I totally love taking the train.

We saw my nephew perform in Annie.

We saw fireworks.

We picked black raspberries, and one of us (naming no names) ate them two at a time straight from the bushes until his mouth and fingers were stained purple.

We ate really good food, and one of us (naming no names) built things out of Lego and other things out of sand.

And we brought back two jars of homemade strawberry jam made while we were there of berries picked while we were there.

Yes.

The house across the road from my sister's house is up for sale. Alas, I can't afford to buy it right now. Maybe it'll be for sale again in another 10 years.

Experiments

I baked this bread this weekend and had moderate success. However, I didn't notice until late that the first temp is in Celcius (my stupid stove is only in Farenheit), and I didn't use enough yeast.

So next time: More yeast (and maybe more proofing the yeast) and higher heat.

What I was hoping for was a crusty loaf. What I got was a slightly moist ciabatta. Not bad, just not what I was looking for. I hope that my corrections will turn this into the crusty loaf I'm looking for. But if not, ciabatta is still a good bread.

Lego kit 7662 was discontinued

It was $103.00 in stores three years ago and MM has saved his money until he had enough to buy it. Now that it's discontinued, it sells for over $400 in the collectibles market.

MM is sobbing.

I feel so guilty for not having gotten it for him three years ago. I didn't know they discontinued them.

Dammit.

He got a sunburn

On his shoulders. So did all the rest of the campers. Apparently 2 extra slatherings of sunscreen yesterday weren't enough.

I think that the daycamp should have them keep their shirts on in the pool.

What he's reading on his own

He went back and read the first Encyclopedia Brown book on his own again. He's been reading the Jokelopedia. And he's working his way through the Bananagrams for Kids book (good word games there.)

On the "next up" list is a pack of books my mom sent him which includes: A Wrinkle in Time (I don't know why I don't still have my copy); Black Beauty and Black Beauty Returns; and the first two Hardy Boys books.

And now a question for you all: What age do you think it's appropriate for your kid to watch Monty Python's Holy Grail and Blazing Saddles?

We went camping.

Perfect weather. 75 and sunny. Not humid. It rained in the middle of the night. Poured, actually. We stayed snug and dry in the tent. The sun was out and the tent dried completely before we packed it up.

Hotdogs, hamburgers, s'mores for dinner.

Bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast. And french-pressed coffee. We're not savages.

Farm stands, and diners, and ice cream, and inexpensive gasoline.

Badminton, and batting practice, and Rummy 500, and Labyrinth.

And the views. HOLY GUACAMOLE, the views. Turns out, the Shenandoahs have good reason to be such a big deal, who knew?

Pictures coming later. Both MS and MM took some.

I took along an appropriate book, but I didn't get much chance to read it at the campsite.

I did read some more of The Magician's Nephew to MM.

Neither book I've linked to is the edition I own.

What did you do over the weekend?

That tells me

The image is from Pandora. It says,

Why this song?
Based on what you've told us so far, we're playing this track because it features acoustic rock instrumentation, a twelve-eight time signature, repetitive melodic phrasing, extensive vamping and use of a string ensemble. [emphasis mine]

.
Well...I don't like that Pandora doesn't use a serial comma...so there!

But really, I've been listening all day while I've been working on stuff and there's only been a couple of clunkers. Pandora is way cool.

What we're reading

Bedtime reading for MM: just finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Just started The Magician's Nephew.

He's got a bunch of books he's reading on his own, too (thanks Mom!!!).

He loves books.

I love that he loves books.

It's Mario Time!

via Tiffany Leigh

He Makes Decisions and Braves the Consequences: Random Bullets of Muffin Man

• These are the sandals he picked out for the summer. "Purple is a power color!" and he faced down the one rotten kid who teased him about the color.


• He loves his shorn head. Will probably not grow it back to the former unruly curliness. Lo, I am sad. But also happy. It's his hair, his choice.


• He is standing up for himself to a longtime friend who is acting badly toward him. I'm sad that the friendship may end (the friend is going through rough times at home), but am so happy that MM won't stand for abuse. "I am DONE with that."
  


• Only two more weeks of school for him, then he's a 3rd Grader.

What I learned from Twitter this morning

• An ump made a bad call and the Tigers wuz robbed.


• A 19-year-old American was killed by Israeli soldiers on the flotilla


• BP: shears? Are you serious


• Toys are a reason to live

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysteriously Knowledgeable 8-year-old

I would accuse him of reading ahead, but MY SON would NEVER do THAT.

Question for you all

When did you learn cursive writing? I remember learning it in 3rd grade. MM is learning in NOW. In 2nd grade. AND HIS WRITING IS BETTER THAN MINE.

Whoa.

SCIENCE!!!

As seen at WWDN: in Exile

Changes...

When he was six, he couldn't get through the Mos Eisley Pod Race level on the PS2. Yesterday? He did it all by himself. And collected 8 cannisters.

I'm so proud.