Bare Necessities Pasta

Bare Necessities Pasta (referring to Disney's The Jungle Book) is what Daisy dubbed the dish I initially presented to her as "Sesame Pasta." Since then, we've shared this simple meal for lunch more than I care to admit. If you'll allow me a brief foray into the world of culinary blogging, I will present to you the best lunch ever:

Pasta, Tahini, Soy Sauce, Maple Syrup

1. Boil pasta and drain
2. Add enough tahini to lightly coat
3. Add soy sauce and maple syrup to taste

It's easier than boxed macaroni and cheese! I always think about adding sesame seeds, grated carrot, or some sort of herb, but I'm always so hungry that I stop here -

- and set two plates on the table for Mowgli and Baloo.

Sweet Home Atlanta

As May reaches June

(Time's drum is so steady),

Beneath a balloon

Lie four boxes, ready.

Our international move comes with a long to-do list: packing up, researching Consumer Reports' car list, feeling irritated at customs procedures, purging closets, planning July's schedule, and signing a lease!

Our new condo in Atlanta is just one mile from the chemistry building at Emory. It is two stories, with both bedrooms and the bathroom on the upper level (weird). Besides the cute, hand-drawn floor plan that Gretchen, our new landlady, drew for us, these four pictures (and Google street view) are all we've seen of our new home. 

There you have it. At least it has air conditioning, ceiling fans, window coverings, and access to a pool. Everything else it may have is frosting on the cake. Or gravy on the biscuits. Sugar in the tea?

Eiffel Pretty

To finally end that story of our Easter Sunday in Paris, here are some of my favorite pictures from the hours we spent at the Champ de Mars. It was another magical event when all the adults and kids could have a great time.

The playground was a big hit - lots of kids were wearing their Easter Sunday best, and their parents either played happily with them or fell asleep on benches:

Part of the fun of these carousels is that the outer children can joust for rings, gathering them onto little sticks. This guy helping Daisy scoot the rings onto her stick was so jovial, even though I'm sure he must have been doing this (or cranking the wheel to turn the carousel) all day long.

The Eiffel tower is such an iconic background, and the sky kept changing with the light wind and the setting sun, so I literally could not stop taking pictures.

We played on the grass...

...had crepes for dinner (and dessert)...

...watched the sun set...

...waited for the tower to turn orange and for the lights to twinkle...

...and didn't want to leave.

We all six walked across the Seine to the Trocadero fountain, and by the time we got there the sky was finally black. Even though it was so late, Chris and I were reluctant to end our last night in Paris, so we ended up walking along the river all the way back to our hotel, which we later calculated was 3.5 miles, soaking up the bohemian crowd gathering along the banks and the reflected light on the water. It was after midnight before we went to bed!

Rodin Museum

After lunch with Luke, Jenny, and Jack on Easter Sunday, we went together to the Rodin Museum gardens. Admission was free for 1 parent per child, and regular admission is 1 Euro, so we agree with Rick Steves that this is possibly the best deal in Paris.

 The adults got to admire Rodin's sculptures while the kids threw pebbles into water. If you've ever tried to do museums with small children, you'll agree with me that this was Museum Heaven.

 Rodin lived and worked at this location when these gardens were an untamed forest.

Daisy and Jack

 Here's Rodin's famous "The Thinker," and I was surprised that he and his wife are buried beneath it. We found that out after we let Jack and Daisy climb up around the base...

 With the flowers in bloom around sculptures curving with momentum, the place felt very alive.

 In the back, there was a shaded sand box surrounded by benches, where we all relaxed.

Our wild American kids sort of got on the nerves of some persnickety French boys, who didn't dare get their clothes dirty and guarded their sand creations from getting jumped on. Eventually, the boys left their posts in favor of a snack break, and Jack truly accidentally smashed through one of their sand tunnels (everyone, including the boys, knew that it was bound to happen), and I think that I laughed so hard that I cried. Adventures with kids in Paris...

Notre Dame

After church on Easter Sunday, hanging out in the shadows of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world...

And she's off

Flying, flying

Music pouring out

Endless bells 

May, Mother's Day, Marvel

I have some pictures from Mother's Day that I can share, but first, here's a little video collage of what Daisy's been up to...you know, normal 3-year-old things like playing the vuvuzela. I'm hoping that it translates into good brass chops. Also, isn't she getting good at gliding on the bike? 

Now for Mother's Day. We had amazingly hot weather for May. I don't think that we wore shorts more than a handful of times last summer!

My wish for the day was to explore the Six Lakes in nearby Duisburg (15 min by train). It looks like it could be Wisconsin, huh?

Sandwiched on the isthmus between two lakes sits a preposterously awesome playground. I took this picture when Chris and Daisy were about to crawl in the tube slide. Later in the day, she climbed up and slid down all by herself!

 The park offered adventurous challenges for kids of all ages:

I should totally note that I chickened out on these balance beams. Couldn't do it. Chris did it all!

We walked around to a boat house and discovered that the row boats were all rented, so we jumped onto this hilarious pedal boat. It was really fun, actually!

Daisy ate her ice cream in a reverent way.

I can't believe that my little girl wears life vests, has enough hair for french braids, and goes down really scary slides. As we sat in the back of the boat and kicked our legs in the icy water, I squeezed Daisy close, so happy for the three years we've had, and so clueless as to what the years ahead will bring!

Happy Mothers' Day

It wasn't until after I left the grocery store that I discovered Daisy's sparkly pink "clippy" perched haphazardly above my hairline. I had thought that I had noticed an unusual personal glance from my cashier. Unlike the embarrassment that accompanies the public discovery of a bit of spinach in my teeth or a remnant sticker labeling the size of my jeans, the feeling I had at that moment was pure glee, like I was part of an inside joke.

It was like when my mom would french braid my hair and when she would bravely let me experiment with hers; it was like my aunts painting my face on my 7th birthday, and me drawing on my friend's Converse in 7th grade. It reminded me of seeing my piano student's tiny red fingernails and imagining her mother, smiling, holding, painting.

When I let my daughter play with my hair today, she snapped on a memento. Her clippy, in a tiny, sparkly way, somehow proved to me and to whomever looked that we shared a moment, that I share myself with her, and that we are all more than individuals.

Here's to lipstick marks on the cheek and other tangible reminders of impact this mothers' day.

Easter Sunday

Last Friday, I, like most people I know, tuned into the Royal Wedding. The event was stunning. As the guests slowly sauntered into Westminster Abbey, I gazed at the all the hats and remembered "queuing" there two years ago on Easter Sunday. It was almost just as stately an affair.

Not so on Easter Sunday at Notre Dame.

Behind us in line stood a couple
 from CA and WI.

Kings of Judah on the facade

Daisy, *not feeding the pigeons

Adorable children!

Procession of the cross

Once the doors were opened - much too late to allow everyone in before the service began - all semblances of lines vanished as the crowds pushed forward. There was no security and no crowd control, and we suddenly realized that France and England are very different.

One key difference here was that tourists were still allowed in during the service, causing the number of people admitted to soar and the environment to be full of picture-taking and walking. Chris and I contented ourselves with leaning against the cold walls of the cathedral and we stayed for about half the service before leaving. It was enough that we could listen to Palestrina, celebrate Easter in such a historic place, and see these windows, all at the same time.

With that many people, the cathedral was actually very warm inside! I'd started to think that it was impossible.

We played outside and could hear more music streaming out from the open doors. I actually took a lot of pictures then, so I will save those for a later post. 

Saturday Snippets [Paris]

The rest of our day following the Cluny visit was characterized by a lot of walking, eating takeaway food on a picnic blanket, and seeing places that I hadn't seen before in my other trips to Paris. The sunlight felt hot and people everywhere were exuding that "on holiday" radiance.

Picnic on the Pont des Arts

 Strawberries are super in season right now. Each country seems to be megalomaniacal about their own produce (here, German strawberries cost 3 euros/500g while Belgian ones are 2 euros for the same amount). French strawberries, in our opinion, are on par with the German-grown varieties.

 We walked a little more and stopped at a Boulangerie Julien location for some amazing savory tartes and sandwiches. Although we couldn't even imagine attempting another museum with Daisy at this point in the day, we sat under a tree outside the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum. The exoskeletal building with the bright red escalator combined with a nearby drum circle's loud pulse produced a sort of mirage that I was actually inside a modern art museum.

Next, we wound through the Marais and relaxed again on our trusty picnic blanket (the first time we've ever brought one on a trip!) on the Place des Vosges. We squeezed between a girl strumming a guitar and softly singing and another girl with clothes all scrunched up, as much as possible, to better soak up the rays. The symmetrical brick buildings, fountains, trees, and light posts brought us back to another era.

Victor Hugo lived here.

 Our last destination was the Père Lachaise cemetery, reputedly the most-visited cemetery in the world. It's true that there are many famous people buried here, but they're hard to find, even with the map, since there's 70,000 and counting graves. The elaborate (and expensive) prayer chapels on the graves aren't like anything I've ever seen before. Some even had stained glass windows. 

 I walked by some that looked completely neglected, and others that were clearly much-visited. 

 Moliere's tomb was one of our victorious ends; we also paused at Proust's and Sarah Bernhardt's before Daisy woke up from a short nap. Note to parents: strollers will only be problems here.

 To top off our day, we decided to walk the two miles across the Seine and back to our hotel. It starts seeming normal after a while, but nothing beats Parisian architecture.