The Land of White American Cheese

So we've arrived. We're back on the East Coast. We didn't come quietly though and for awhile it seemed like Mother Nature didn't want us to leave the West Coast. The day we flew back east, our plane was delayed 1.5 hours on the tarmac in Seattle because of bad weather in Philly. Almost like we shouldn't have been on the plane. When we finally got to the airport in Philly, it had started to rain. By the time we got the rental car (past midnight), it was pouring. Julia and I were standing outside the rental car office with our 12 bags, trying to keep everything from getting wet and trying to keep our spirits up. We stayed in an airport hotel for the night (and I will never stay in one of their chain hotels again), then drove up to Lansdale the next morning, looking for breakfast on the way. The only bright spot was the fact that our movers delivered all of our possessions on Sunday morning. In the pouring rain. We had to endure many jokes about rain, being from Seattle, and having the rain to welcome us back east. It does not rain that hard in Seattle.

On Saturday we took an excursion to the local Safeway (called Genuardi's here) to find some food. We needed lunch meat and cheese so that Dan would have something to eat on the job his first week. Now I remember that lunch meat was more expensive in Connecticut than it had been in Maryland. And lunch meat in Seattle was not cheap, but for $8.99/lb you could get the all-natural ham or turkey with no preservatives. Not here. They don't even carry anything besides ham, turkey, salami, and bologna. So we sighed and paid the $9.99/lb for the turkey. Then we had to find some cheese. We like cheddar. There was no cheddar. Instead they had muenster, Swiss, and seven different kinds of American cheese product.

The first time I lived in PA I was struck by the fact that the American cheese here is white. They don't add the orange coloring that everyone else in the country adds to it. My dad tells me I should be happy about this, because it leaves the cheese in a more natural state. Which is true. But the stuff in deli was clearly labelled cheese product. Not cheese. And I didn't know that there could be seven different kinds of it. And it was not seven different brands...there were only two brands. I am not quite sure what the difference between the varieties are (the labels were not very informative), but we ended up getting the cheese product that was on sale.

This stuff melts. As both Dan and I discovered when we ate it on sandwiches that had been made the night before. The cheese product melts of its own accord to make something that is the consistency of mayonnaise. Only more drippy. I don't remember American cheese doing this when we lived here before. Perhaps they have changed the formula for making the cheese product. This week we bought provolone.

So there has been a lot of culture shock here. The accents have been driving me crazy. I actually heard someone say "yous" the other day when they meant "you (pl)". I cringed because it reminded me of high school. It has been almost impossible to find vegetables in the store beyond lettuce, bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers. We found a Whole Foods and bought some kale, not knowing if we would ever see it appear in the other grocery stores. I did find Alaskan salmon at Costco, which may be the only reason we keep our membership.

Some bright spots: we went apple picking, which we were not able to do in Seattle. The fall colors are beautiful and happening all at once. The rain has stopped and we haven't been subject to any more Seattle rain jokes. I discovered that my favourite tea shop in Seattle does mail order. And last week Julia and I made a great find in the Safeway. Tillamook Cheddar.

Ahhh...the sweet days of summer

Summer is in full swing here in the Pacific Northwest. That means lots of nice, warm, mild weather, incredible sunsets, just enough rain to keep things wet when you don't feel like watering the garden, and no bugs! Truly my idea of a summer. It also means that we've been busy trying to soak everything up. This summer more than most because it will be our last in Seattle for awhile. Come September we are embarking on a new adventure (i.e. move) that will take us to Philadelphia. We have lots of great memories of this place (and Dan has told me that we cannot change the name of the blog as he wants to move back here), but it is time to move on and try something different for awhile. Besides, being from a military family, you cannot really expect me to last more than four years in any one place.
Here are some pictures of the various things we have been up to this summer....

Not in chronological order, but still shows how much fun we're having this summer.

The more things change

I have a short story to tell. We moved from our last apartment because we felt the room for Miss J was too small. There was no place to put the rocking chair (let alone any other chair) for reading stories and singing lullabies. So we ended up sitting on pillows on the floor to do these essential nighttime activities. I used to develop cramps in my rear from sitting on the hardwood floor waiting for Miss J to fall asleep so that I could sneak out. So I was overjoyed when we moved to the present house with a nice large bedroom for Miss J that had room for her crib, dresser, toy chest, cedar chest, and the rocking chair. Things were great! We could read stories, sing lullabies, and say prayers all while rocking. I had a comfy chair to fall asleep in while I waited for Miss J to drift off (and the heat to click on to make covering noise for my escape).

But after a few months, this whole independence thing started kicking in. Now she wants to choose the pjs, the books, the songs, etc. Which was fine, I can handle choices. But the kicker was when she started to refuse to sit in my lap for bedtime. She wanted to stand next to me while I read the stories, sang the songs, and said the prayer. Or she wanted to sit on the floor while I was up in the rocking chair. Or I would sit on the floor while she was in the rocking chair. Or she insisted that there was enough room for both of us in the rocking chair, sitting side by side. The last configuration was very flattering, but a tad uncomfortable.

So I decided to build a "nest" with lots of pillows and books on the floor of Miss J's room in the corner instead. Since then, we've taken the side off of the crib (our frugal Scotch-Irish version of a toddler bed) and moved the pillows to the floor next to the crib. So we are back where we started a year ago....reading stories, singing songs, saying prayers all on pillows next to her bed.

Two upsides to this full circle: now I get to give her big hugs and kisses while she lays in bed, and I don't have to stay in the room anymore waiting for her to fall asleep (instead I get to sit on the steps outside of her room, listening to her sing songs, talk to her dolls, etc...all while developing cramps in my rear from the narrow staircase).

Knitting...or what I do when I am not working

I'm famous. Or at least that is what I can tell myself. I saw Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on Monday night and it was a great treat. I laughed a lot, learned a little cognitive psychology (so I can count it as a work-related activity), and met some really nice knitters. I was in line with Paul and Naomi (from Stephanie's website) and had a nice conversation with Paul. He knits 7'x7' 7lb afghans and then mails them to Afghanistan. Quite inspiring.
I've haven't written much about knitting here, mostly because I don't want to scare my family. But I think they know by now that I knit. A lot. I picked it up again (after my Granny and Mom taught me in high school) when we were leaving New Haven for Seattle. And I haven't been able to stop. I even took a class to learn how to knit socks. Then I asked for knitting design books for Christmas. It does have it's benefits though, as people who have received my gifts will tell you. I think my sister Em still wears her hat. And Julia is drowning in handknits/crochets. But I love doing it....there is something very relaxing about it. Plus it keeps me awake in seminars. I just have to remember to ask really good questions so people don't get the impression that I wasn't paying attention. The best though came this week when a friend at work asked me to teach her how to knit. That was cool. I hope she comes to enjoy it as much as I do.

A weekend in Bavaria

Well, not really Bavaria. But it sure does look like it. And everyplace was Das Something Haus or Markt that. We took a short break to drive up to Leavenworth, WA; home of the German Alps in Washington state. It is up on the eastern side of the Cascades, so we had to drive through some mountain passes to get there. But it was worth the drive, even if you only look at the scenery and skip the wurst and bier on the other end. We stayed at a terrific little hotel (Pension Anna) where we had breakfast every morning served up by ladies in dirkles. The hotel was right in downtown so we were able to stroll the streets of Leavenworth. The location of the hotel also meant that we could drink beer in the evening and not worry about driving back to a hotel.

The snow was incredible to see and this was the real reason we chose to go to the Cascades. We have had some snow over here on the western side of the mountains, but it never lasts very long. And it usually throws the entire city into panic mode. So we thought it would be nice to go away for the weekend and experience real snow, in a town that actually embraces it, instead of fearing it. We thought that we would do some snowshoeing, but decided not to, thinking there wouldn't be enough snow. There was enough snow, as the pictures taken below at Lake Wenatchee State Park attest to. But we had a good time just the same: walking near the Columbia River in Wenatchee, walking along the Wenatchee River in Leaveworth, visiting the Salmon Fish Hatchery at Icicle Creek, and eating German food. Julia had a good time too, although she kept asking to go home....

Can you see how tired we were and in need of a vacation?

Where the baby fish are raised before being taken outside

Where the baby fish live outside for 15 months or so....

Another shot of the outdoor fish runways....they get a nice view, don't they?

I think I will sit here and admire the mountains...where is my hot cocoa?

She got worn out by all the fresh air...this is by the Wenatchee River

Family Picture at Lake Wenatchee...the snow was at least 3.5 feet deep!

Where's the sausage haus?

Downtown Leavenworth

Julia next to the impressive bald eagle at the Fish Hatchery

We had a good time and Julia amused everyone we met. She was tickled to have both her mommy and daddy sleep in the same room as her. She also enjoyed the sausage and was particularly impressed that German breakfasts included meat, cheese, yogurt, and fruit. Auf Wiedersehen!

What In the World Have We Been Doing?

We have been reading "The Poky Little Puppy". And playing in the snow (three times since Christmas!)! And using the potty (all of us). And running! And trying to jump up and down (this mostly involves bending of the knees and raising of the arms, but there is always much excitement). Julia is a full-fledged toddler now...just look at the pictures for proof. I cut her hair (or at least gave her some very stylish pixie bangs). She tolerates the barettes and ponies much better now, but there are some days when she refuses to have anything in her hair. Her independent streak is really starting to come out now too. Luckily her tantrums are not too bad and she is still easily distracted. But I do have to laugh at her sometimes when she gets upset. She can still put up a good fight at bedtime, but those are getting less traumatic too. I am sure it will start all over again when she moves to a regular bed.
Her latest accomplishment? Talking in little sentences. Mostly these are either demands ("Mommy sit!, Daddy play! Ju-ju eat cheese!"), but sometimes they are descriptions of what is going on in her life ("Cat chase!, Ju-ju sleeping, Daddy airplane Tuesday."). It is so amazing to hear her try out new words and immediately pick up on new language. She has her colors down pat and has moved on to days of the week and the alaphabet. I catch her trying to sing the alaphabet song to herself (only H through L..then it is a blur until you get to P and W). She is also fascinated with babies...we've seen some new babies in the past few weeks and a couple of her daycare friends are expecting little siblings. So she always asks to pray for the babies at night. Very cute, although I am sure this solicitous concern would not extend to any future sibling she may have.
We've all been very busy around here. Dan has been interviewing with different universities (only one more to go and then the potential second interviews start). I was away earlier this week at a meeting in California and spent a lot of time in the previous week working late to prepapre for the meeting. We travel to Baltimore next week for a short meeting and a short visit with the Klein/Beusch families. So there has been a lot of airplane travel (hence the Daddy airplane references) going on for us. I am teaching for two weeks once we get back from Baltimore and then we were hoping for a short break. Maybe take a long weekend to visit the coast or the mountains. But I am afraid that work will intrude very quickly.
In other good news, Dan got his grant! Which means he is smart! But I new that already. It is good news though and hopefully give us some more options in going forward from here. We will get some more pictures up soon....

Happy Halloween!

I know it is a little late, but it is not yet Thanksgiving. And we have some really cute Halloween pictures to share. I finished Julia's ladybug costume the night before (thank goodness for Liquid Stitch!) and she was just adorable in it. She was a little frightened at daycare because everyone was dressed up. So she didn't know what to make of the dragonfly, bumblebee, and little cow that were running around. The costume didn't last all day (the stick on velcro didn't stick too well) and we had to use some safety pin magic before we went out trick or treating.

Here in Seattle kids do not go door to door anymore. They go to the mall. Or they go to the downtown shopping area. Queen Anne always had a Halloween trick or treat event...we went last year and it was so crowded that you couldn't move down the sidewalk. Plus there were a lot of pushy kids and equally pushy parents. So I was relieved to find out that Magnolia was hosting it's own trick or treat event. They closed off the street, which made navigation a lot easier. And there are fewer people over here, which made it easier. And the relative lack of parent pushiness made things much nicer. Julia didn't quite get it though. She would take the candy, even grab some when a bowl was offered to her, but you could tell that the whole concept didn't make sense to her. She isn't into chocolate; in fact she got the most enjoyment out of the toothbrush from the dentist and the pencil/stickers from the lawyers. This, of course, is a good thing. I can tell her that she doesn't like candy when she asks why we don't have any in the house. She liked wearing her costume though, and was really into the pumpkins. She loved pulling out the seeds, watching me carve the face, and looking inside once the whole thing was finished. And while she is not too keen on pumpkin pie yet, she has been devouring pumpkin bread. (From a bakery on Kitsap that was selling it 2/1 because Halloween was over and it wasn't selling so well!)
We've had a nice couple of weather weekends lately and spent this past Saturday poking around Winslow on Bainbridge Island. It was Julia's first ferry ride and first bakery experience. She liked the boat, loved the bakery, and was in dog spotting heaving. We spent the day with the Beusches from Olympia and then went back to Olympia with them for the night. It was a lot of fun and I think we will be going back to Bainbridge soon. Anyway, since I know everyone is coming for the pictures and not the witty commentary, here ya go....

What, we don't get to eat this one?

Let me help you by hitting it!

I think it could use a few more teeth, don't you, Daddy?

Umm..this pumpkin should be over there and bring the other one here!

Where did all the seeds go?

Happy!!

This has become Julia's newest and most favorite word. She is still saying "no" of course, in her cute little girl way, but exclamations of "happy!" now come forth from her lips as well. We pull up in the car after work and she says, "`ome! (pause...) happy!" (loosely translated as "Finally we are home and I can get out of this car seat and be carried around by Mama while she does interesting things in the kitchen!". When we sit down to eat dinner she will declare "happy" again. It is very precious and makes us smile every time we hear it. She has also started saying "yeah", which is nice too. Because she used to grunt when she wanted to utter an affirmative and now she can actually say a word that is decipherable. Little things.

She is starting to show her independence more and more....lots of little things can set her off. Like asking her to put her toothbrush away. Now I probably shouldn't argue with a kid who wants to brush her teeth, but the mere suggestion that she might be finished is enough to make her run away and cry. We are slowly overcoming that one though. And she has started throwing/pouring food onto the floor to see what the reaction is. So far I have calmly told her that we don't do that, give her a towel, and ask her to clean it up. Luckily she likes to clean things.

We're missing Dan this week; he is in California for a conference. But we are hanging in there so far. We even managed to make minestrone yesterday for dinner. She said it was "happy". I think that means she liked it.

Out in the Woods

I spent four days and three nights out in the woods of the Olympic Peninsula with my brother Tom, in for a visit from Central NY. I had a great time, especially since it was our first time camping together. I think that Tom had a great time too (he doesn't say much, but he did catch three fish!) and I hope that we get to do it again sometime. We hiked up the East Fork of the Quinault River in the Quinault Rainforest; it was an in and out hike with the terminus being the Enchanted Valley. We saw elk, some birds, wild rainbow trout, some ground mammals, and lots of signs of bears, but no bears. He had a fun time observing Julia too and she finally warmed up to him at the end of the week.

The first bull elk we saw....he only had a harem of five girls.

Anderson Glacier and Mt. Anderson as viewed from the Enchanted Valley

The very frightening suspension bridge we had to cross to get into the Enchanted Valley. It was easily 50 feet above the river, narrow and wet. And did you see that there is only 1 handrail? I had to talk myself across or else I would still be up there in the middle of it.

Last day, at the trailhead....13.5 miles x2 in four days!!! Not bad for not having backpacked since high school (for me, Tom does this for a living).

Uncle Tome gives Julia some fashion pointers on his last day with us. She was awed that she got to wear the grey fedora.

Discontinue Use When Your Child Can Defeat Product

The title sums up Julia these days. She is into everything and into pulling everything apart. We bought safety corners for the coffee table--mainly because at our last PEPS meeting Dan thought that all the other parents were warily eying our sharp oak corners. That and the few close calls Julia has had with said corners convinced us that we needed to be more proactive in that child safety area. So we applied the corners. They didn't seem to make the corners of the table less hard or sharp, but we figured that it was a little better than bare wood.

Almost immediately, Julia noticed that something on the table had changed. She cam over to inspect and started pulling at the corners. We gave her a gentle admonition that the corners were not to be pulled out, but instead we should bang them down. We naively figured that banging would be more fun than pulling. Not so. Within 5 minutes she had all four corners pulled up (On a side note, her daycare teachers marvel at her "fine motor skills"...we think this is code for "We cannot keep anything taped up to the walls or her paper taped to the table."). We continued this game (and variations wherein Julia would run from corner to corner, trying to beat my block) for a week before we gave up. We had laughed when we read about "your child can defeat product", but realized that she is just too smart for safety corners.

She has started to defeat other things around the house too. She is quickly learning how to open doors. She learned earlier how to shut them and that another fun game is to run to another room and shut the door when Mama wants to change your diaper. The closing doors though has come in handy...when she gets too close to the dishwasher, we just ask her to close the door and she willingly complies. This can sometimes make loading the dishwasher difficult, but we love a challenge.

She has also learned how to defeat the pony tail. Her hair is getting so long in front and I am heeding the warnings not to cut it ("or else the curls will never come back!"), so we put her hair in a "pony" every morning. Today was the first day that I picked her up and it was still there. She struggles against having her hair combed and discovered on Thursday that she could simply reach up and pull out the pony tail as soon as I had finished putting it in. I am glad that we are raising such a clever girl, but I think it is going to make parenting more of a challenge.

On the plus side, she is learning more and more sign language: please, thank you, delicious, help, stop...and other gestures that we don't understand at all. Her words are becoming more clear as well. She greets you at daycare with a big "Hiya!" (I think my mother was trying to teach her how to say hi y'all). She says diaper with a thick Southern accent (dyeuhhhh-phur) and has shortened her own name to "Ju-ya" or sometimes "Ju-Ju". But the hardest thing lately has been feeling like I am not getting to hold her enough. She always wants to be down and exploring and sometimes being held by me is equivalent to being held back. At daycare she doesn't run to greet me somedays---a wave from the sandbox suffices. So I can see her growing up and becoming more independent, and I didn't know it would be this hard.

Pictures of the New Digs

Yes, we moved. We moved into a really nice house in another neighborhood in Seattle, a bit closer to the sound, still on a hill, and only about 5 minutes further away from work. We are unpacked, although not totally organized yet. I think all of my moves growing up have left me well-prepared for unpacking immediately. We had 90% of our boxes unpacked, broken down, and given away by Sunday night (we moved in on Saturday). We had some great help though from our friends Paul and Stacy (she just moved here from New Haven! Yea!) and Dan's family in Olympia (Chip and Ed did the heavy hauling, Christina and Clare helped with the cleaning). And a special thanks to Mikael from our PEPS group for watching Julia.

We have been settling in over the last two weeks and I think Julia is starting to like the place. It has stairs that she can climb, a big deck with flowers to pull out of their pots (I don't think she likes my arranging skills), and lots of room to run around in. Here are some pics of the new place:

The backyard, with Julia successfully scaling the steps.

Time to take a break and eat some Raniers.

Our messy bedroom...this is where the unpacking stalled.

The living room...Julia's favorite place to read aloud to us.

The dining room....I think she was rushing to her chair to be fed some cheese.

Looking from the dining room to the kitchen...the door to the deck is on the left hand side across from the island.

Two sideways pictures of Julia's room...there is also room for a toybox (read Becky's GS footlocker)!

Finally! We get to check out the playground that is three blocks away. Right next to a baseball diamond....I think we will be spending lots of time here this summer.

Julia and I are off to California tomorrow to join up with Dan for a visit to Granddad and Grandpam. Then we come back to Seattle to get ready for a visit from Gramma and Grandpa. I think she is looking forward to showing them all of her new tricks.