old suziebeezieland

when things don't go to plan

Well, Christmas wasn't quite as we'd planned. We all got wiped out by the stomach flu.  Bob's dad came down with it at our house on Christmas day.  Then Claire got it the morning of the 26th, and I got it the afternoon of the 26th, and Bob got it the evening of the 26th.  Bob was well enough to go to work yesterday by noon (he's a machine), and Claire and I were all pretty much better by last night, although we're watching what we eat.  Today my sister, brother-in-law and dad have it. 

It's pretty mean, this virus. 

Today Claire and I enjoyed a pleasant, stay-in-our-jammies, play-with-Christmas-toys day.  She didn't even know some of the things she'd received at my folks because she was lying on the floor between trips to the bathroom to throw up while we opened gifts, so she was excited. And I'm getting over my bitterness that I was in bed and Claire was on the couch while everybody else ate my mom's Christmas dinner, which is THE BEST MEAL OF THE YEAR. No, really, I'm over my bitterness. (Bob regretted eating that meal, however.)

But life marches on, and after you're sick, there is always that great joy in life when you're not sick anymore. :)  And I had some nice quiet time to kind of lay in the darkness of my parents' guest room on the 26th and think about Christmas and pray for every single person I know. :)

package from finland

This past week, I received a box of goodies from our Susanna in Finland. She had asked awhile back if I wanted to do a swap with her, with things that represent where we live.

It was like Christmas, opening this!

Look at the apron Susanna made for me! So beautiful.

Tervetuloa Muumilaaksoon!

She crocheted three snowflakes, which she says won't melt. :D

Yum. Finnish candy.

There were so many cool things . . . a delicate little bird from Lapland named "Riekko" (he made it intact, Susanna!); an envelope of Kardemumma (Cardamom -- which is EXPENSIVE here, so I was so excited to see this) with a recipe for typical Finnish bread ("pulla") and a diagram of how to braid it, printed on fridge magnets; a little coin purse and napkins from Marimekko ; some Finnish skin cream that feels really good; a Donald Duck magazine for kids in Finnish (that cracked me up!); a seagull named Allu who symbolizes Susanna's seaside city; a cookie cutter shaped like Alvar Aalto's famous modernist vase; and some Finnish flags to put on my Christmas tree! Hooray!

Thank you, Susanna, for your thoughtfulness. xxoo

light

Finally, it's been dipping down into the 50s and even 40s at night, and it's officially December.  We here at the Bailey household need no further encouragement. As far as we're concerned, winter is upon us. Do not laugh, my little Canadian friends.  We take the month or two of winter that we get here very, very seriously.

We did a bit of Christmas decorating (the tree will come later, but everything else is out), and for the past three evenings, we've made a fire in the fireplace, turned on or lit any warm light that can be found, made hot mulled wine for the grownups and hot cocoa for the wee one, and snuggled up on the sofa to watch a Christmas special.

Yay, winter! Yay, lights! Yay, warmth! Yay, cozy! Yay!

a thanksgiving meltdown

Christy and I are off to Disneyland today with the girls.

Claire is walking around the house with her eyes closed. She says she is practicing for the "big walking-with-your-eyes-closed race." I wonder where and when that is, and if there will be commemorative t-shirts and posters.  She's so funny.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving eve service at our church. My very favorite music is when my friend Linda B. plays the violin and sings, and Pastor Greg plays the piano. Linda's voice is clear and beautiful. Her voice is exactly how I would want my voice to sound if I could sing. It was a good time of worship and giving thanks. 

It was not a quiet time of giving thanks in our row, however. I had to separate Claire and Gracie because they were talking too much, and when I did this Claire started sobbing and protesting LOUDLY and wouldn't stop, and I had to take her out and explain that church is a quiet place and nobody else was talking loudly or crying loudly, and that getting separated from Gracie is no reason to cry, because she would be together with Gracie after the service to eat pie and run around and play.  (The Thanksgiving service is only an hour long. But you remember how long an hour is when you're a kid.) 

As we walked down the aisle past my church family, who gave me some sympathetic winks and smiles, Claire was sobbing "But MOM! I have to get my crayons! On my chair! My CRAYONS!"

holy whole foods, batman!

This morning I dropped Claire off at preschool and then joined my sister and niece for a little excursion to the brand new Whole Foods that opened in Pasadena last week:

The largest Whole Foods Market west of the Rockies has opened its doors in Pasadena. This 2 story, 76,770 square foot store blends the concept of in-store dining with a supermarket by adding innovative features like an extensive Seafood Bar, Wine and Tapas Lounge, Asian and Italian eateries, a fresh Juice Bar and a Nut Roaster; a Specialty department with more than 300 selections of cheeses; a Bakery department with custom cake decorating and fresh donuts made by the hour; eco-chic apparel, accessories, and home goods from Whole Body and a relaxing Take a Break Massage Room.

On behalf of all our Team Members, we are delighted to have the opportunity to serve you. Welcome to your store!

Before one of these welcoming Team Members told me to quit taking photos of my store, I was able to snap some shots for you.

I bought something called "Raspberry Cream Granola" out of one of these.  I could not resist the name.

It boggles the mind. I'm never going to shop anywhere else, ever.

I wanted to plunge my hands into these bins to get that good coffee bean feeling, but I was trying to lay low around all the security guards.

Look past my lovely family towards the blazing fire.  We had breakfast here.  The wave of the future, I tell you . . . a neighborhood within a grocery store.

There is no reason all grocery stores can't have these types of displays. I was so happy.

A whole entire sign for a whole entire case of alternative breads. They were all very beautiful and each loaf weighed ten pounds because they were full of healthy stuff.

Over 300 domestic and imported cheeses. This is where I got dizzy and decided to forget about moving to Sweden and just live here, in the cheese case.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! :)

I apologize for the photo quality, but I didn't have much time to compose each shot or think about lighting. We had things to do, samples to try, and items to exclaim excitedly over.  

Gracie called these "cow pots." :)

 

hvorostovsky

Yesterday I woke up to Claire standing at my bedside around 6 a.m. saying "Happy birthday, mama! You are 42 RIGHT THIS SECOND!" 

We went to church, and then came home and had a fun family birthday party with my parents and Bob's parents and Stephen and Christy and the kids and Paula and Faith and Texanna.  When we were full of Pei Wei and cheesecake, and couldn't move, we sat around chatting and drinking coffee, with my newly downloaded Cole Porter Songbook from iTunes essentials playing in the background.

Then Claire went off for a fun evening at Aunt Christy's (the kids rollerskated and then had dinner and watched Ratatouille before bedtime), and Bob and I headed to Ruth's Chris Steak House in Pasadena for a delicious dinner (the sweet potato casserole is so sweet that people order it for dessert with ice cream, our waitress told us) and then off to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium for the Hvorostovsky concert.

Bob and I listened carefully, and with the exception of a group of American music students, we did not hear anyone there who was not speaking Russian.  It was wonderful. 

Don't let anyone tell you there's no more fur in L.A. The women wore rabbit and fox and mink and ermine, and I'm pretty sure I saw some actual sable.

The concert was fantastic! It started with the Moscow Academy of Choral Art.  I loved the women's dresses . . . they were a deep burgundy velvet, with square necklines and a band of gold that made an empire waste. 

Then Dmitri came out, and he was tall and slim and all in black, with that wonderful white hair on top. I like his voice -- and you need a commanding baritone to carry the weight of Russian orthodoxy and history in each song.  A tenor wouldn't work.

When the Moscow Chamber Orchestra came out, Bob and I liked Constantine Orbelian, who made everyone laugh as he shrugged when three of his violinists strolled in a bit late. They were all wonderful -- especially the strings.

Our favorites, however, were the Style of Five Folk Ensemble from St. Petersburg.  I loved the domra the most (it made me hope Julie Christie would come strolling by) and the balalaika, and the exuberant accordian player. (Does this ensemble typically have five players? There were only three last night. But they were super.) The medley of Russian folk songs was our favorite.

I think my favorite Hvorostovsky song was "Blagodariu tebia", although he had two ovations that were also great . . . Orbelian turned around and encouraged the audience to join in, which they did.  Bob and I, sadly, are not up on our Russian songs, but enjoyed listening to everyone around us. 

We were seated in front of some Hvorostovsky groupies ... seven older Russian women who sang along most of the evening.  They were definitely enjoying themselves. An usher eventually came and shooshed them before we got too far into the evening.

I was surprised at how many words I understood ... not sentences or even phrases, but words here and there, as if I were eavesdropping on a conversation just out of range.  It was exciting, and I am so happy my Uncle Keith recommended it to us.  

--Suzie B. (42 right this second)

boo!

we can make the whole world look like pushing daisies

The goosed up photo is too artificial for my taste (flushed with the exhilaration of my new levels/curves-defog-USM knowledge, I overdid it), but then again, the non-retouched photo isn't what she really looks like, either.

I am encouraged to study.

i bet the gentleman who mows our lawn thinks we're nuts

Did I tell you we have a shower in our backyard now?

An early Christmas present from my always very fun Uncle Keith and Aunt Lucy.

i'm a wreck. i didn't see this coming.

Claire starts Monday-Wednesday-Friday morning preschool this coming Monday.

If you need me, I'll be the woman in the school parking lot refusing to leave, drinking out of a flask, and craning my neck to see what's going on inside.

It might get ugly.