morning gruel

between showers

Aahva is now five months old. So that means I haven't actively blogged in, well, five months.

But that's not the only thing I haven't been doing. Other things that have fallen by the wayside include baking, showering every day, working forty hour weeks, and sending out thank you cards for the baby gifts.

While I certainly enjoy showering and baking, not getting the chance to do these things every day is not a tragedy. And thank you cards? Well, anyone who knows me is aware that I rarely send cards of any sort -- but I am no less appreciative of your thoughtful gift.

Work? As you know, we sold our store at the beginning of the year. So what have you been doing with yourself, you might ask. For anyone who may be concerned, I do indeed have a job. A good job. A job I really, really like. And although it does not yet amount to forty hour weeks, the upside is that I get to spend lots of time with my awesome family!

It's true that my life has changed in the last five months. A lot. But only for the better. I am making more art, playing more music, and simply enjoying life more than I can express. And I have these two wonderful people to share it all with.

You may be hearing from me more often. We'll see if I can fit you in between showers...

the parent trap

My parents came to visit this week.

As I've grown older, I've come to the same realization that so many other men have come to: I'm like my Dad. I mean, I'm not exactly like him: I'm taller and less gray, but time could certainly take care of that. And while many people are terrified by the thought of being like their parent, the good news for me is that I like my Dad.

There are so many things that I've learned from him over the years -- things that have really helped me to survive -- the most important thing possibly being to never take anything too seriously. Given the option between laughter and any other response to adversity, laughter is the best option.

I feel like I should be ending on a joke...

greetings from sickville

If this were a postcard, the front would have a symbolic representation of rotating illness -- possibly a 'recycle' symbol with a virus in the middle and baby, mama, and daddy in between the arrows...

The flip-side would say:

Wish we hadn't come to Sickville, the name should have tipped us off but we thought it was ironic. We are all happy despite being sick and are looking forward to seeing you when we return to Socialtown in Normalland soon. We will tell you about our trip but will not be bringing any souvenirs... Well, maybe a snow globe.

the hottest hot

Morgaine and I spent a night in Whistler this week. She was shooting a wedding and I went along as the nanny.

To make our trip more enjoyable, I decided to invest in commuter mugs. I imagined us sipping tea and eating freshly baked scones as we drove along the Sea-to-Sky Highway. It's good to own a commuter mug -- I always cringe when I stop for a cup of tea on the go and end up with yet another paper cup.

As it is with so many other consumer products, I discovered that if I spent a few extra dollars on our commuter mugs, I could get those of superior quality. So I bought us a couple of stainless steel Thermos brand mugs. The selling point? Thermax. I don't know exactly what it is but it was touted on the label to promote the 'coldest cold' and the 'hottest hot'. Good idea, no?

No. The presence of Thermax does not make for a better commuter mug. Quite the opposite. Half way to Whistler, I took a sip of tea and burned my tongue. In fact, my tea wasn't a realistic drinking temperature until we arrived at our hotel.

It's not a commuter mug, it's a drink-it-when-you-get-there mug.

expanding man

Hello My Darling Readers...

It's been too long. I think it's pretty obvious what I've been doing, but just to clarify: I've been quite busy parenting. And as if that isn't enough, I have also been up to a whole bunch of other stuff that I'll cover in future posts. For now, let me tell you this...

I always thought that it was a cliche when parents would tell me that having a child changes your life. I mean, of course it changes your life, but they would say it like some great secret was finally revealed or something.

And then I discovered that they were right. Okay, it's not exactly like some great secret has been revealed -- I don't have any more answers than I had three months ago. But having a baby has allowed for expansion where I didn't know I had room to grow. And every time my son smiles at me, my heart expands more and more to the point where I think it can fit the whole world.

And you're all there too...

day 10

Aahva's tenth day with us looks something like this...

learning curve

It seems that I still have a lot to learn about this whole 'husband' thing.

Yesterday, the ever-brilliant star in my sky that is Morgaine and I were going out. Now, I can not stress to you enough how beautiful Morgaine is and how she gets more and more lovely everyday.

Anyway, she was getting dressed and she put on this very nice purple top. I thought she looked great. Franky, I've never seen a more beautiful pregnant woman in my life. And that belly under that purple top looked so sweet and lovely that it made me smile and say, 'you look like a grape'.

To which she responded with, Never, EVER tell a pregnant woman she looks like a grape if she's wearing purple, or a pumpkin if she's wearing orange, or a tomato if she's wearing red. How would you like it if you were tall and skinny (which I am) and you were wearing green and I told you that you looked like a string bean?

She went to change her top. I made a mental note never to wear green.

Calling Morgaine a peach, by the way, has been deemed acceptable.

my new favourite thing...

I know what you're thinking; My new favourite thing must be my child. You haven't heard much from me lately and you know the baby's on the way...

Well you're wrong. Now, if you know anything about me -- if you've been following along at all -- you know that I have a certain weakness for banana bread. So last night when I went out for dinner with friends, I nearly had an aneurysm when I saw banana bread pudding with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream on the menu.

I know it's terribly rude to eat dessert while everyone else is having dinner. So I waited. And waited. I somehow managed to order a main course. And as I ate, I made polite conversation, pretending that I was fully enjoying my meal and that I wouldn't rather be eating banana bread pudding with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, trying desperately to pay attention to everything that everyone had to say, when in reality all I could think about was the fact that this restaurant had taken banana bread to the next level and it was somewhere back there in the kitchen waiting for me.

I started to panic when everyone mentioned how full they were after the main course. What if no one wanted dessert? I couldn't be the only one. But Morgaine knows me too well. She suggested that we share a dessert and let me choose. Of course she knew what I'd pick: banana bread pudding with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, my new favourite thing...

Until next week or so...

people get ready

It seems that time is shrinking, in that its availability keeps getting smaller. But I don't mind. You see, although I feel busy and a bit tired, I got this way by doing the things that I want to be doing. And what I most want to be doing right now is getting the world (or at least myself) ready for our baby.

I can say however, that one of the great things about feeling tired is food. You see if I'm tired but still have stuff to get done, no one can blame me for indulging in a little caffeine and some sweet treat to get me through the rest of the day. In fact it works so well that I'd be willing to promote the combination of tea and banana bread as a cure-all.

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By the way, feel free to check out my latest post in our shared blog...

to do list

patch cast-iron tub
paint baby's room
study details of my role as birth partner
work
paint living room
paint bedroom
study some more about my role as birth partner
work more
decorate baby's room
keep studying so that I can finish that very thick birth partner                                book before the baby arrives

(this gap represents the very long list of other baby prep minutiae)

write blog