Waiting for Ruby

Happy 2008!

In Philadelphia, the real partying happens on New Year's day! Unlike most parades that last about an hour, The Mummer's parade goes on from 9 in the morning until about 8 at night! Though,we only stayed for several hours.

The parade is related to the Mummers Play tradition from Ireland,but it blends themes from many different cultures.

I highly recommend seeing the movie Atonement. The director of the movie was the same director of Pride and Predjudice, and he paints the most gorgeous imagery that that alone is worth seeing his movies. Atonement was so beautiful,so well acted and of course,the story is hauntingly beautiful.

I love British romance novels(my favorite is Pride and Predjudice), and almost anything from the British Isles,most likely because 75% of my ancestors(Irish,English,Scottish)are from there(only my paternal grandfather was German). Although I do love Scandinavian things,and I have not a one ancestor from there-though my husband's ancestors are from Sweden!

Well,2008 is now upon us, and I hope it brings great things for everyone. We hope it brings our little Ruby Claire!

Christkindlmarkt

We had such a lovely weekend with Ron's parents and my Mom. Bethlehem,PA is so festive this time of the year, after all, it is a Christmas town. But the best part of visiting during the holidays is, of course,the German-style Christmas market. The market features aisles of handmade works by fine artisans, live holiday music, German and Austrian food,and much more. I was polite enough to ask if I could take pictures,but everyone said "No",except for the cuckoo clock man(because I didn't ask him!). He was even dressed to coordinate with what he was selling!

My favorite vendor is Kathe Wohlfahrt(no comment on her last name!). She has beautiful wooden nutcrackers,ornaments,music boxes. It is our tradition to buy one ornament there each year. This year,Ron picked out a Gingerbread house with an amanita muscaria mushroom in the front. Look at this picture from the brochure of one of her shops in Germany!

As soon as it gets dark in Bethlehem,they light atleast a miles worth of candles,they look so beautiful lighting the sidewalk. I tried to capture it with a picture,but I wasn't so successful.

NYC

 

                                        

Poe and rich in Philly

On Saturday,we visited the Edgar Allan Poe house museum in Philadelphia. What a treat to see the actual basement chimney that sprung the idea of his tale of the black cat!

http://www.online-literature.com/poe/24/

He was born in Boston,and lived in various places, including Philadelphia. He was traveling back to Philly when he collapsed, and died mysteriously in Baltimore at the age of 40. Mysterious,that is a word that can also describe the Poe house for it was left empty, no one knows how it was furnished during his time there.

Then we visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art's new Perelman building. I was most excited to see the fashion exhibit featuring Philadelphia-born Ralph Rucci, often the only American designer invited to show haute couture in Paris.

The Perelman building also has an exhibit of modern furniture pieces that feels like a mini MOMA. We saw the Ron Arad for Vitra chair there(only without the glides),that sits in our living room,ready to rock our little Ruby Claire to sleep. A gift from my mom, Claire, it is one of our favorite things. I love the brilliant seashell-shape....

We finished the day at a divine neighborhood coffee shop with award winning cheesecakes. I basically skipped lunch so I wouldn't feel so guilty eating the chocolate cake with chocolate pretzel crust!

Ah,living in the city,all that culture being so close by,we revel in it.

We went to the theater to see Dan in Real Life, but the theater had to close because of "major plumbing issues"! I have never experienced anything like that before!!!!

Sunday, we shopped for materials and then Ron built shelves for Ruby's closet, and was still able to see his beloved Giants(lose to the Cowboys).

Fall Dinner By Firelight

We had a really nice weekend filled with fall spirit! We had a lovely dinner by the fireside in which we enjoyed grilled chicken sandwiches on sourdough bread with roasted pepper spread and homemade butternut squash soup. We even found apple wine to go with our dinner!

After dinner we roasted marshmallows and made smores,and then just hung out by the fire for a while. Then we had pumpkin cheesecake and homemade apple pie for dessert! It was really windy and my camera kept dying on me so we didn't get great pictures,unfortunately! A great reuse (reduce,reuse,recycle!) idea is to use a wine bottle or beer bottle as an outdoor candleholder! We used 2 amber beer bottles and decorated them with leaf napkin rings(just slide them over the neck of the bottle). Since it was windy,we didn't care when they fell over,if they broke-oh well!

Here is the recipe for the roasted pepper spread (from Rachael Ray's fabulous and easy cookbook- 30 minute Veggie Meals):

• 1 jar(14 ounces) of roasted red pepper,drained.
• 1 clove of garlic, cut into tiny pieces
• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• A handful of fresh,flat leaf parsley
• A pinch of black pepper and sea salt,to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until a paste is formed.

Downtown Picnic Lunch

Dear Ruby,

It was a bootiful beautiful day for a picnic! I won't drive downtown, so I rode the bus in to meet Dad for a picnic lunch. Did I feel silly taking a picnic basket on the bus? Well, I didn't care what people thought,but I did feel uncomfortable about people staring. It is Halloween,after all, so there are plenty of strange people out, but then again,there are always strange people on the bus!

It was for the greater good of the day. After all,to experience a true picnic you need the old school basket and the works. We even had a little bouquet of daisies that the boy I babysit for brought me yesterday! He's such a charmer.

I picked up some delicious spinach and jack cheese perogies from a best-of-Philly-award-winning perogie kitchen right down the street from us. 

A ladybug landed on Dad's sleeve when we were about to leave. In many cultures, including China's,they believe it brings good luck if a ladybug lands on you and flies away on it's own. Good luck,we could use a little of that! So many things make us think of you,little Ruby. One day you will ride into the city with me,and the three of us will have a picnic during Dad's lunch hour. I dream about it often.

Love,

Mom

When we travel with water,we always use a SIGG bottle-they are the best- and if we pack sandwiches or certain snacks-we use reusable fabric wraps. Check out these products and even more green stuff here:

http://www.reusablebags.com/