Simone & I went apple-picking with our good pals the McAffees this week. We braved the rain and thunder and enjoyed the entire orchard to ourselves. This was my very first apple-picking (*see Stuff White People Like #132). I had never been a huge fan of the apple until just this last fall when a coworker gave me a freshly-picked apple from a nearby farm. And wow, I was swept off my feet. Not to put Utah-grown apples down or anything, but seriously--have you ever tried a Honey Crisp from Pennsylvania? Well, you should.
I also got to cut an impromptu bouquet of wild flowers. Here's a little shout-out to Linus for helping me! I heart those whimsical cosmos.

Grandparents Shaw Visit: Over the River and through the Woods

If you've ever been curious about Frank Lloyd Wright's 'Falling Water', well, this is some of that water. (They don't let you take pictures in the house, so you'll have to enjoy this one instead.)
Hanging out with grandma.
Hanging out with grandpa.
Caution: Some of the Pittsburgh dinosaurs are starting to assemble.
One of the sources of my great looks. (My dad's the other one, of course.)

most recent spacebike guy encounter

spacebike guy was the topic of our first posting. we've seen him several times, and sometimes manage to get grainy footage, sometimes debatable evidence at best. but this occasion lent itself to some more leisurely shooting; he wasn't even riding his machine. amorette asked for his permission to take a few photos of his work. he agreed, and told us he wasn't riding because he was having a financial crisis. i must admit that i feel conflicted about aestheticizing spacebike guy here in his time of hardship, and really don't mean to make light of his situation. amorette was able to refer him to some social services she's involved with. (dan hadley, if you're reading, check out spacebike guy's nod to your air jordan motif .)

lake erie daytrip

we spent monday on a trip to lake erie. the 2 hour drive was beautiful, going through incredibly green damp landscapes of forests and farms under a sky like the one in the photo of the lake. being at the lake was like being at the ocean, it even seemed to smell like the ocean.
the wind was blowing pretty hard, and we thought kiddo wouldn't like it, but she seemed to love it on her face, and the sound of the wind and the waves. kind of like, 'whoa, it's like i'm in a huge woomb', maybe.


we'd make good hoboes if we ever decided to go off the grid.

do these pants make my head look huge?

we went to a jazz concert –joe sample trio– with our friends jessica, bryce and isaac. we enjoyed good food, conversation and music, and we felt cool to be seen with a cat like simone. we began bombarding her with music since the womb, and she seems to enjoy it intensely. she recently had her first earful of miles davis' "kind of blue", and she was 'feeling it'. she has also been perfecting some new dance moves. in this picture she's actually in the middle of a crucial sequence. more moves to follow...

simone's first chuckles

parker's been in cincinnati this week on a job and when he called to check on us today simone had an exciting outburst of giggles. perfect timing.

thanks to lalanya who captured this footage.

according to my calculations...

"according to my calculations, dad is taking advantage of me." nora and dad spend a lot of time together while mom's at work (she's back, part time), and he's starting to affect her style, maybe negatively. also, she has a mild case of hip dysplasia (her left hip socket is a little shallow), so she gets to wear a fashion-forward harness for a whole month (which is almost over), and for another month just at night –you know, slip into something comfortable– and then she should be just fine. although her left hip is mildly displaced (for now), all in all, her hipness is in full effect; pretty soon all the kids will want a harness.

living every week like it's shark week

on our 1st trip to the zoo, we decided to start heeding tracy jordan's advice, to live every week like it's shark week. we also found that we owe a debt to our marsupial pals. spending time out in the bush, we even learned how to improvize our own hats. next time, she'll wear her fox suit. simone has been listening to dad read Horacio Quiroga's stories for niños about jungle animals. -p

sushi fix

i've been jonesin' for some sushi for quite sometime. a friend of mine inspired me to make these deconstructed sushi bowls for dinner. we've made these a few times in the past week. the rice is seasoned with rice vinegar seasoning and we throw on all the veg we have. the wasabi paste and ginger were indispensable as were the strips of nori. i think next time i'll throw in some fried tofu....or better yet, salmon. they're certainly not as fancy shmancy as the rolled kind, but it still has that sushi goodness. -a

a deer licks simone

we had a fun day at the zoo, and even had an encounter with a deer named buttercup.

more unskilled diy fun with old longjohns

this is proof that my compehensive exams have ended. we watched wes anderson's movie version of roald dahl's "the fantastic mister fox", and we got inspired to make 'foxy' improvised bandit masks and outfits, but only simone's is fit to publish. -p

slowly but surely catching the diy spirit

i've had a soft pair of long johns that have been too stretched to fit me, and i finally found a good use for them. check out this swaddle and hat combo. their rough aesthetic is partly intentional and partly due to the fact that i haven't had time to learn how to use my sewing machine yet. still, i think it gives her a certain level of gritty street cred. -p

rock the cradle of love

my sister tamra and her fiancee bryan made this cradle for simone and shipped it to us last week. bryan builds boats in seattle and has made us some incredible wood works of art. parker thinks this cradle feels like something right out of an iron and wine song, which is a high compliment. also, the brooks crafted this stellar blanket, which became an instant friend of simone's. thanks guys!

momma, I'm commin' home

she's giving the doc a big cheer for getting her out safely.

3 days old

smitten.

Oh baby! Welcome Nora Simone!

Happy happy.

paying dad back for suctioning out her nose and mouth.

Nora Simone was born March 3 at 8:25am. She weighed 8lbs 1oz, and was 18 inches long.

inner city deer

so this picture encapsulates pittsburgh for me--the unpredictable and often offbeat combination of urbanity and nature. we saw this deer next to a warehouse by my work (which is in the city). there was something surreal about seeing a deer in front of a graffiti backdrop in an industrial part of town. maybe he was taking his smoke break.

-a