1. Newly cleaned sparkly jewelry. I don’t know when during a normal day I dip my entire hand into paint and cottage cheese, but it seems to happen with some frequency.

2. New words from a toddler: “flower,” “no kicking,” “deer.”

3. Radishes the size of my fist at the local grocer. I’m not sure I’d eat ‘em (that’s a lot of radish) but they’re gorgeous.

4. Ruby watched “The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning” the other day. I was in the same vicinity, doing dishes, folding laundry, etc., but I wasn’t watching enough to catch the nuances of the story. I stopped every 10-15 minutes and asked for an update…”what’s happening now,” “why is so-and-so doing that,” “what do you think will happen next?” At the very beginning, the queen had been killed by a pirate ship and the king had banished music in the kingdom as that had been one of his queen’s favorite things. Seafolk then had to sneak music. When I asked why she thought the king would do that, Ruby looked at me as if to say “DUH, Mom,” and shrugged her shoulders. With a weary shake of her head she sighed, “He’s devastated.”

5. Peter Bjorn and John, Young Folks

Battle against embitterment and take part in 365 days of Grace in Small Things.

1. Oprah’s Reading Room in O Magazine. The blurbs about the books are written by writers themselves, so reading about the books is brief and pleasing and something to look forward to. If my “to read” pile wasn’t already as tall as me, I would get a hold of every title in the new April issue.

2. Snyder’s Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel Pieces. Don’t get the nuggets — they are crumbly and dry — but every bit of the pieces is graced by the salty spicy flavor.

3. Sweet potato casserole, and it’s not even Thanksgiving!

4. Acupuncture band-aids. They’re these tiny “seeds,” round bandages with a metal pod in the middle that sits next to your skin at one of the pressure points in your ear. You’re to push it a few times a day to re-energize the treatment, and make it last a bit longer. I don’t know about all that — they’re just so flippin’ cute!

5. Pussycat Dolls, Jai Ho (from Slumdog Millionaire)

Battle against embitterment and take part in 365 days of Grace in Small Things.

1. 70 degree weather in March — even if it won’t last!

2. Free to Be You and Me by Marlo Thomas and Friends. It’s timeless!

3. “When you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill

4. Finding the nightgown (thanks, TBone!) that I thought I had lost — folded inside the yummy t-shirt sheets

5. Marlo Thomas and Friends, Sisters and Brothers

1. Eastbound and Down.  Holy cow.  Did you watch the premiere of this show?  Talk about a guilty pleasure.  It’s about a has-been professional baseball player who moves back to his hometown after a fall from grace.  Hilarity ensues.  He is disgusting, crass, rude, politically oh-so-incorrect, and I was almost screaming I was giggling so hard.  He’s just wrong.  We love it! In the clip he leaves a car dealership endorsement gig (working for the delicious Will Ferrell in a perfect blond wig), takes a couple tabs of ecstasy and goes to a high school dance.  Hooah.

2. Watching a crane in operation.  Normally I don’t see these things moving, but during my recent train travels, I have seen them turning and lifting and plugging away.  They really are awesome machines.  Have you ever noticed that the bottom of the control car (waaaay up at the tippy top) has a glass floor?  I mean, of course it does, otherwise how would the operator be able to see what he was doing, but come on!   That’s like a ride that most people would pay for at an amusement park!  I bet the job satisfaction rate is unbelievably high (like demolition).  Any crane operators reading out there?  You let me know…

3. I am thankful that my day has not gone like this!

4. Or that I have to go through this to get to work, for that matter…

5. They Might Be Giants, Birdhouse in Your Soul

Battle against embitterment and take part in 365 days of Grace in Small Things.

1. Good male friends (thanks TBone! Thanks Jeff!  Thanks H&F!) I love women and my female friends, but there is something to be said for the warmth of a man that can really befriend a woman — really be there — see her vulnerable as well as strong, serious and silly.

2.  Memories can be really fun – I hold them so dear and they can make me laugh out loud.  This moment’s?  H&F and I were at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas, watching a fantastic 70s band who were all wigged up and bell-bottomed out.  I tried to perform the dance moves to YMCA with my legs instead of my arms (don’t try to picture it, it ain’t pretty) and H was gettin’ chatted up by every Southern belle in the place (while his partner was asleep upstairs).  We literally danced the night away.

3. Here’s a Jeff one — we went to see Lipsynka at Studio Theater.  For months afterwards (for MONTHS afterwards, FOR months afterwards), we would crack each other up by speaking like she does, accentuating weird/different words in sentences.  I love you, darling.  I love YOU, darling.  I LOVE you darling.  I love you.  DARLING.

4. And Tbone.  The beefcake, not the steak.  Years of love and support as we learned our way around Capitol Hill.  And lots of Inglenook burgundy.  Ouch.  I’m just sayin’.  Cookie McCain!  She’s wearing a hat!  Stella!!

5. Deep Purple, Hush (Love.  The.  Hair. I think mine was actually styled like the dude in the green when I was in eighth grade.  I’m sorry, but while watching this video I kept waiting for HR Puff’nstuff to boogie in.)

Battle against embitterment and take part in 365 days of Grace in Small Things.

1. Darkness.  Shaun and I learned that if we go to the trouble of lowering our shades (as well as closing the blinds), it gets almost completely dark in our room.  The first night of this was a revelation, and we zzzzed our way to a great night’s sleep.  Of course, in the morning it’s pretty dark too.  Not Vegas dark, but darker than we are used to.  We all slept later than usual, and woke with lots of “hrrrpmh,” and “pffffffft” and drool as we realized that this was the other side of the good news.

2. Soba noodles

3. More recycling bins than I know what to do with.  I remember at our old house (a mere six blocks away), our bin was constantly getting jacked, and the city would make us pay for a new one.  In all honesty, after the second or third $60, I started losing interest in recycling altogether.  I no longer cared about the world.  Now, my sense of environmental concern has been restored.  I have ten bins!  Count ‘em!  Hmm.  Maybe the guy we bought this house from is the one who was stealing everyone’s in the first place.  The hell with you, Mr. Asher!

4.  Knowing where the phone is when it rings.  Sweet Jesus I grow weary of the search.

5. Susan Werner, Misery and Happiness

Battle against embitterment and take part in 365 days of Grace in Small Things.

Hello everyone. This is Amy’s husband Shaun. Amy asked me to post here so that anyone checking would know what’s up with her. She is in a 28 day in-patient rehabilitation program for alcoholism. Basically she got to a point in her struggle that’s like standing in the ocean getting hit by a wave and then as soon as you pick yourself back up, another wave hits. She needed to take a time out and get professional help. The place is called Father Martin’s Ashley. It’s a wonderful and healing place. I spent the past weekend there participating in their family wellness program and it was profoundly helpful. Amy is doing great. She feels better and looks better than I have seen her in years. Amy comes home on July 7th. If you would like to write to her, you can send letters to:

Amy F.
c/o Father Martin’s Ashley
P.O. Box 240
Havre de Grace, MD 21078

She asked me to conclude this post with the following poem from W.S. Merwin:

Thanks 

Listen
with the night falling we are saying thank you
we are stopping on the bridges to bow for the railings
we are running out of the glass rooms
with our mouths full of food to look at the sky
and say thank you
we are standing by the water looking out
in different directions.

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging
after funerals we are saying thank you
after the news of the dead
whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you
looking up from tables we are saying thank you
in a culture up to its chin in shame
living in the stench it has chosen we are saying thank you
over telephones we are saying thank you
in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators
remembering wars and the police at the back door
and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you
in the banks that use us we are saying thank you
with the crooks in office with the rich and fashionable
unchanged we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us
our lost feelings we are saying thank you
with the forests falling faster than the minutes
of our lives we are saying thank you
with the words going out like cells of a brain
with the cities growing over us like the earth
we are saying thank you faster and faster
with nobody listening we are saying thank you
we are saying thank you and waving
dark though it is

(post title by Johnny Nash, I Can See Clearly Now)

Do I have a blog or what?

I know. I know.

I really have missed blogging, and vow to get back to it. Pronto. As soon as I get some sleep. And, let’s see. Get Shepherd settled into daycare. Help Ruby with her transition from private preschool to public pre-kindergarten. Move into our new house.

You’ve all been very patient with me these past weeks. I appreciate the encouraging emails about the first month or so of a new baby’s presence, and about the fact that you miss my musings. I really will not wait for all those things to happen to start updating Fannfare again. I can’t believe how much time got away from me since my last entry on Ruby’s birthday.

We have lots of news here at Chez Fanning. The biggest item is that we are indeed moving, to a house about six blocks away. We have been looking, sort of casually, for a new place since we got back from Colorado. The house we ended up buying popped onto our radar on a Thursday afternoon, and we went to the Open House and made an offer on it that Sunday. We are so happy to stay on the Hill. Have I mentioned we love our neighborhood?

Following are some pics of just why we love it here.

Happy 4th of July dear readers! We spent the morning hoofin’ it down the main drag in a fairly respectable Independence Day parade! Our Nation’s Capitol also boasts a pretty impressive fireworks display this evening — the jury is still out as to whether or not we will brave that.

Hope you are enjoying time with your families, good food and drink, and (y)our freedom.

More on Fannfare soon, I promise!

Eddie from Ohio, Fifth of July

All of those are options when faced with a snow day. I think we tried each one twice. What ended up being the best time was the crafting. Yes, we did many many crafts, including macaroni art, baking baking baking, and Valentines — well past the mail date.

Ruby is back in school today. She didn’t want to go, which I take as a good sign that her Dad and I were good entertainment and company. Shaun stayed home to help, which was a God-send. Even as we snuck off to our laptops every now and then to make sure we weren’t getting buried with emails and messages, Ruby got lots of attention and her family and friends will gets lots of refrigerator/magnet treasures from our day.

Ruby insisted on putting “stripes” on everyone’s “pants,” although there was not a person to be found in any of her pictures. Striped and invisible, all…

This Valentine came with an open with caution disclaimer on the envelope (we mailed some even though they would arrive late) as I didn’t want my mother to be cleaning granulated red sugar off of her wood floors until Halloween.

Voila. A St. Valentine’s explosion!

Peering over the baby belly to show Dad the spoils…

Our sugary reward.

Holla! Held together by Gluestick, the Fannings celebrate a successful wrap-up to Snow Day Number Two!

Eric Idle, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

That is, until I saw this:

If I were even on a reasonable diet, two of these would knock me out for the day. And sometimes do.

They don’t do much to nourish a growing baby, either, if I decided to just have two peppermint mochas a day.

But, oh, are they good for the soul. Cheers!

Van Morrison, Oh The Warm Feeling