Lost Generation

Simple pleasures, late spring edition

1) One of the vendors at the farmers' market tonight had a sign up advertising "Buttcrunch Lettuce."

2) Feeding the kids fresh local strawberries in the car on the way home from the market. They Could. Not. Wait. I tore the green tops off with my teeth and spat them out on the floor as I handed the luscious berries behind me, eyes still on the road. Each berry elicited a "thank you" from the backseat, along with a "please" requesting another.

3) At dinner, Mae said, "Mmmmmmmm, asparagus!" (It sounded like "Spare Gus.")

Giving of Myself

For many years, bone marrow donation has been on my personal "To Do" list. Now that I'm done having babies and breastfeeding (barring any unforeseen seismic shifts in Ted's and my thinking on the topic), I feel like I'm entering a stage in my life (and in the lives of my other family members) when I could actually follow through with that dream.

Last night, though, a conversation with a friend got me thinking about becoming an egg donor. I've been so blessed with easy conception, textbook-normal pregnancies, and two healthy (not to mention incredibly attractive, if you ask me) babies. It breaks my heart to know that so many couples lack what has come so easily to me, and I'm pretty sure I have hundreds of thousands of healthy oocytes in my ovaries, just going to waste--positively languishing behind the iron curtain that is my IUD.

I wonder if I could do both, say, in the next five years? Am I crazy?

Ten minutes of research revealed that you have to be 34 or younger to donate eggs, and I turn 33 next Sunday. I guess a little soul-searching is in order for the holiday weekend...

HBTD, Part II

MVI_5697
Originally uploaded by knights_writes

I was told that the video I uploaded via Picasa (below) didn't want to come out and play... so here. Let's see if the flickr version will load.

Happy Birthday to Ted

Here's a video of Arlo helping his papa make Rhubarb Delight (rhubarb harvested from our garden) on Friday night, in honor of Ted's birthday.

The best present Ted got on Friday was a new job!

He put in his two weeks' notice at Quality Care and will begin working at Forever Green nursery & garden center on June 1st. His new position (as nursery manager, in a retail and customer-service environment) will put Ted in a work habitat that's more to his liking, and put his considerable plant knowledge and educational leanings to more appropriate use than what he has been able to do at Quality Care.

Ted will continue to teach horticulture at Kirkwood, part-time, and is really excited about a new chance to really show his stuff--and to hopefully do some meaningful work in a place where he is appreciated! Here's to new beginnings...

For Better Or For Worse: Mother's Day

Slap a beard on the dad here, and you might as well be watching the scene unfold in my house yesterday morning. Right down to the aqua-blue bathrobe, and the fact that my baby girl just this weekend mastered use of the word "YEAH!" (see first panel). Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day--I know I did!

My blog has been awfully bike-y lately for someone who rarely bikes.

I'm celebrating "Bike to Work Week" as a spectator--but at least I am riding my scooter instead of driving the car. Limiting factors include my asthma's peak season (tree pollen allergy) and the fact that my bike is a heavy old one-speed beast that requires too much exertion for my wheezy self.

This is not a photo of my actual bike--but this is the exact make, model, and color that I own. The bike was given to me by a college roommate's grandma, who had kept it in storage for several years. I love the bike, but I am rarely able to ride the bike, on account of my fragile condition.

I am Biking to Work in spirit, though. Promise. Now, where did I put my inhaler?

Score! Chinese Laundry flats, from Revival

Check these out! Today I scored these brand-new flats at Revival, the hippest consignment store in town. The shoes, made by CL by Chinese Laundry, have never been worn, and are a perfect fit. A quick search online reveals that the style is called "Unique," the color is olive (an iridescent green-and-black), and I paid about a third of the retail price for them. SCORE.

Plug for the Iowa City Bike Library

Big Kid Bike
Originally uploaded by knights_writes

We were thrilled to find this beautiful bicycle for Arlo on Saturday. Even better: we checked it out from the Iowa City Bike Library! Check out their site at www.bikelibrary.org.

My favorite features: whitewall tires, with matching handlebar grips and wide seat. Chrome fenders. A distinct lack of licensed characters.

The bike was made by Peuegot, but I have not yet determined its age. The guy at Geoff's Bike & Ski guessed that it was around 15 years old.

If you don't know how the bike library works, here's the deal. For a nominal fee (actually a deposit) you can check out a bike for 6 months. Within that 6 months, you can return the bike at any time and get a refund of your deposit--and during that period the Bike Library will also provide free maintenance and repairs for the bicycle. If you don't return the bike after 6 months, you forfeit the deposit and you own the bike.

Bikes are donated to the Bike Library by local folks who think that putting more bicycles on the roads will improve the health of our community--and also by people who simply want to get rid of bikes they're not using. We've been popping in there occasionally to look for a bike for Ted (who, being so tall, is hard to fit) and this is the first time I can recall seeing a kids' bike. SCORE!

The takeaway lessons here: if you're interested in taking up the bicycle habit, but maybe you're not yet ready to invest the moolah in buying a new bike, take a look at the Iowa City Bike Library's offerings (or, if you're not a local, see if your community has one). If you have decent old bikes languishing in the dark corners of your garages or basements gathering dust, please consider donating them.

Your donation might just make someone like me (or that person's husband or four-year-old) very happy indeed!