monsieur chagall, meet chavuet

last night, at my mother's urging (and we know moms are always right), i went to a lecture by dr. jean clottes, a charming, erudite frenchman who's an expert in rock art. no, not art for rock n' roll, but prehistoric drawings found in the caves at chauvet. they are the earliest known cave paintings and date back an estimated 32,000 years ago. looking at the slides during the lecture, i couldn't help thinking of marc chagall's drawings. they are so similar (and sophisticated), yet chagall couldn't have seen the chauvet drawings, because they weren't discovered until 1994. wow!

robert's tomato

this summer my husband succumbed to the ad pitches for hanging tomato plants after he heard they would produce a guaranteed 22 pounds of tomatoes. he hung the plant in a sunny patch, watered it, did a little dance to the tomato gods, and dreamed of BLTs, caprese salads, and home-made pasta sauce but...this is the first, and ONLY, tomato the hanging plant has given us. on the bright side, it was delicious!

what's love? questions from a 10-year-old

my friend kim took her son, whose about 10, to see the movie A.I. , and he asked her if robots could be programmed to feel love. it got her thinking about love: is it unconditional and should it be? is forgiveness part of love? how much do you forgive; is there a line? is its opposite indifference? these are such great questions! what do you think?

crazy acts of boundless compassion

my friend amy just told me an amazing story. she was walking by the east river last weekend when she spotted a cormorant with fishing line tied around its neck. the bird was in great distress. the next thing you know, amy's tracked down a kayak and paddled out with an old knife to free the bird. what makes this story even more amazing is that amy doesn't know how to swim, and the east river has some of the deadliest and strongest currents around. but she went anyway. people were yelling to her from a bridge, the cormorant got under the kayak, but she prevailed and got the string loose. it's completley crazy and irresponsible...but also so admirable. i wonder, what impetuous, out-of-this-world acts have people done to help someone or something?

lucy

lucy is a black lab/chow mix i adopted from a shelter 12 years ago when i was single in new york and sharing a cramped rental apartment with my airline stewardess roommate. needless to say, she and i (lucy, not the roommate) have been through a lot together. when i got her, i gave her a ross perot chew toy (he was running for office). fast forward: the two of us are now five, if you include husband and two kids. (that's a photo of lucy pre-wedding, which she was in.) we live in in our own home in connecticut. she and i watched obama give his acceptance speech the night he was elected. and, you got it, we're both getting older, a fact i've studiously ignored, until this week. lucy has started to limp and move very slowly, so today, i took her to the vet for x-rays to find out if she's got a fracture or injury of if it's just old-age setting in. needless to say, i'm incredibly sad because i never believed she'd be anything other than a puppy. i'll pick her up after work, and she'll ride next to me on the front seat of the car, like she always loves to do. maybe we'll take a (slow) walk in the dog park in westport, followed by a trip with the kids to get an ice cream. at 12, she's entitled to a little mint chip every now and then, don 't you think?

the tooth fairy! (and other rites of passage)

my oldest son lost his first tooth last night! realize this isn't big news to those of you without kids, or those of you who've been through this with your own, but i am blown away. yes, i knew the tooth was coming out. it's been wiggling and twisting in his mouth like a kid on a church pew for days now. but it seems like just yesterday that his first tooth was growing in. anyway, he carefully left the tooth in a "tooth fairy bag" (photo coming soon) that my mom made for him, with a note: "dear tooth fairy, can i keep my first tooth? love, william" and it worked! good old t.f. left the tooth, a morgan dollar, and a note to keep brushing.

another milestone reminding me how fast life is, how we must cherish every day, and mark special milestones with rites of passage, which seem all-too-few in our culture. (maybe it's time to start a few new ones in our family?) but most of all, william's lost tooth reminded me of how good it feels to believe in the possibility of the tooth fairy. and dreams.

are stores the new museums?

i've long wondered if stores have become our new museums. is fashion just moveable sculpture? then i read michael kimmelman's thoughtful piece, "how we look at art," in yesterday's new york times. "almost nobody, over the course of that hour or two, paused before any object for as long as a full minute," he writes, noting that in the old days, people digested art slowly. really looked at what they were seeing. today, kimmelman writes, we capture art on the fly, in bits and bytes, on cell phones and digital photos, but don't bother to see it properly. but i wonder if we've become more attuned to looking at stores, to design and fashion, which seem to promise an immediate connection to and reflection of our lives (even if it's aspirational). looking at photos of the british museum and the louis vuitton store display, it's hard to tell commerce from art apart. interesting that the baby "remembers" how to devour art (literally!) in a way kimmelman writes about.

dinner rolls

i love nigella lawson, with her cheeky encouragement and simple recipies. last night the boys and i feasted on her soft white dinner rolls, which she says are perfect for kids to bake. both boys were too engrossed in legos to participate, but my babysitter and i had fun making them.

you'll need:

3 1/2 - 4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons (1 envelope) rapid rise, bread machine or other instant yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 heaped tablespoon butter

mix, let rise a few hours, then shape into small balls. put on pan abotu 1/4 inch apart. coat with mixture of:

egg
teaspoon of milk
pinch of salt

bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
eat as soon as they're cool enough with butter or jam. or both.

world's uglist birthday cake

who knew you could buy birthday candles shaped like army tanks?

my son wanted an army-themed birthday, so i made what is hands-down the world's ugliest cake (photos coming). it was pure military-industrial complex on a plate, with soldiers hiding from little diorama trees, guns pointing. never mind that i've spent months practicing making lovely fondant cakes in pleasing colors. never mind that i've taught my children that we pray for peace, pet animals, vote democrat, and "feel the love." the gun thing is encoded on little boys' dna. army is what he wanted. so i made the cake. as i mixed up green and brown camouflage icing, i couldn't help wondering about the pet-me-pony cakes a six-year-old girl might ask for on her birthday. or the dessert cart brimming with miniature pastel-colored cakes at the plaza, where my father used to take me for tea as a special treat when i was a child. in any case, happy birthday, william! you are six, and you are my world. i love you.

lost and found

not sure about you, but i'd love to know the story behind this note posted on foundmagazine.com.

perfect cookout

summer night + barbeque shrimp = heaven!

2 pounds large shrimp, unpeeled
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Thread 3 to 4 shrimp on skewers (note: soak bamboo skewers in water first or they'll burst into flames when they're on the grill). Slather with marinade, which is all the other ingredients whisked together. Marinate at least 2 hours. In the interim, invite friends over. Have cocktails. When shrimp's ready, cook for about 2 minutes. Serve with killer guacamole.

paris

haven't written in a while but have been to paris for four, way-too-short days. i'm greedy. it wasn't enough, and i'm yearning for the beauty of paris and the possibility that travel brings, no matter where it that is our wanderings take us. i left my husband and kids at home for this trip, and though it's ugly to admit, i missed my children but not being a mom or a wife or an employee or all the other quotidian roles i play at home. so here's the stickler: how do we retain our dreams as part of our daily lives instead of living them out and squeezing them into four-day trips? and how am i ever going to learn to make vinagrette and coffee that tastes as divine as the salads and cafe cremes in paris?

on the bright side: found the PERFECT chandelier at the flea market. photos coming soon!

flower power

i love the spring peonies starting to bloom. think it may be time to plant some more.

state of play

saw state of play this this weekend, and it made me very homesick for newsrooms. russell crowe reminded me of an older, boozy reporter who told me on my first day at work: "kid, if your mother says she loves you, verify it." now, 20 years later, i've left journalism and am in a ridiculous, mediocre job, wondering why i left a profession i so adored. (can i say, "stupid, stupid, stupid me?" ) makes me determined to encourage my sons to follow their bliss, and guts, no matter what.

god and science

astronauts were asked to assemble the top ten photos from the hubble spacecraft and they are awesome. doesn't this image makes your head spin? i can't help thinking how miraculous it is that this tiny, fleeting earth and its living beings are, well, even here at all. as my wonder at scientific discovery grows (what a photo! how cool!) so, too, does my belief in god.

abc's...

just spent the morning at my children's montessori school. many of the children are learning to read, and it is amazing to see windows opening to them as jumbles of letters transform into recognizable words. today i hope all children have the opportunity to experience this awakening, this joy. an entreaty to grown-ups: read with a child today.

(re)cycling art. saving planet.

earth day was yesterday and got me thinking about what else beyond the obvious we can do to help our planet. (i mean, do we really need to be reminded to turn off the lights, walk more, and carry reusable totes to trader joes?) i found inspiration from lisa kokin, who is a genius for recycling discarded objects into quirky, beautiful art.

window of the day

oh! to have such a profusion of flowers! sadly, it's not my little cottage, but from a gorgeous collection of window photos by QT Luong.

what i'm reading

this was a gift from my husband, who then had to make do without me on saturday while i devoured this book. it is gorgeous and haunting and as important as alan paton's cry the beloved country or coetzee's waiting for the barbarians.

paris!

i'm so excited! i'm going to paris next month with a friend. can't wait to break out my rusty french, my nikon, and hit the streets to soaksoaksoak it all up: the museums and tiny galleries, street life, the food. and of course, there's my quest to find the perfect chandelier from les puces.

road trip

i've never adjusted to life without spring breaks, so taking a few days off to explore, read, and enjoy all-you-can-eat hotel breakfasts.

blue hill at stone barns

my sons and i celebrated the first day of spring last month with a trip to blue hill at stone barns, one of our most favorite places. after saying hello to the cows and a hike around the gardens, we ate artisinal cheese sandwiches, farm-grown salad, and chocolate brownies at the bhsb outdoor cafe. yum! what a great way to celebrate the (chilly) arrival of the season.

happy weekend

and happy hunting. may everyone find LOTS of chocolate!

egg-stravaganza

looking forward to making eggs with the kids and the much-awaited arrival of mr. e.b. bunny this weelend. (photo by maureen shaugnessy)

pastry shop windows

the french have this fabulous expression, leche la vitrine, or lick the window. being french, it's figurative for drooling after something you see in a window. this photo reminds me of the craving for great pastry and my friend, shirley. she and a group of ladies have been mailing hundreds of boxes of home-made baked goods to soldiers in iraq every wednesday for the past three years. so today, my sons and i will bake brownies, not just for ourselves, but for the soldiers so far from cozy pastry shop windows.

bedroom fantasies

how fabulous are these bedrooms? they've convinced me i need a chandelier in mine. pronto! (photos from the inspired room. )

rainy monday (with thanks to a.a. milne)

John had
Great big
Waterproof
Boots on;
John had a
Great big
Waterproof
Hat;
John had a
Great big
Waterproof
Makintosh –
And that
(Said John)
Is that.

- A.A. Milne

window of the day

oh! to wear such a fabulous hat and watch the world go by. super photo (and hat) by stellahats.

art and the self-sufficient

there's a super inspirational article in today's new york times about how people prospered during the Depression by using their considerable skills to get by. if there's a bright side to these bumpy times, it's the thought that many of us are learning things our grandparents took for granted -- sewing, cooking, gardening, carpentry -- and in the process, expressing ourselves in ways that leave rich legacies for tomorrow. think about your most treasured heirlooms. for me, they're the sweaters knit by mom (plus her photos she developed in her closet-turned-darkroom!), baby quilts stitched by my sister-in-law, and a hand-embroidered christening gown given by a friend for my sons that's as delicate and light as wild queen anne's lace. all in all, a grand thing to remember when you're sweating the bills. or learning to thread a sewing machine.

comfort food

for my friend, connie, who is craving rigatoni and invited us to dinner tonight.

Cheesy, hammy, gooey rigatoni:

1/4 lb. ham, sliced thick
1/4 c. Fontina cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 lb. rigatoni
1/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 lb. Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Provolone cheese
3 tbsp. butter
2 c. milk

Dice the ham. Grate cheese coarsely. In saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until it bubbles. Whisk in the milk; bring to a boil, stirring constantly and continue to cook for a minute. Stir the ham and the cheeses into sauce. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook rigatoni in boiling salted water until almost done. Drain and mix with sauce. Season to taste with salt and plenty of pepper. Butter a 1 1/2 quarts baking dish and pour in rigatoni. Cover loosely with foil and bake until bubbling, 25 minutes. Remove foil; heat broiler. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter and toss in bread crumbs. Scatter crumbs over noodles. Brown the dish in the broiler for about 5 minutes and serve with massive green salad, chianti, and if you've got room, dessert.

ommm...

having one of those days where my heart and brain are just racingracingracing, and since i don't have a candle handy, thought this might help me wind down.

happy weekend

this weekend i'm going to take my sweet dog, lucy, for a winter walk on the beach. she's getting old, and moving more slowly (aren't we all), but she perks right up as soon as she smells the salt water.

window of the day

to do item no. 64

have yet to see the cherry blossoms in japan, but i have walked around the reservoir in central park under a canopy of pink flowers. not quite the same but still gorgeous.

photo by tirau dan.

think pink

when you're having a bad day, just think pink. these photographs by yvette inufio do the trick.

what i'm craving

... is a trip to le marche aux puces de Saint-Ouen, the famous flea market in paris, to find two vintage chandeliers for my study and bedroom. but since i don't work for AIG, i'll settle for... by those nifty swedes at ikea. just $39.99. gotta love it.

what i'm reading

this book is the most sensuously gorgeous love story, one that affirms the power of art and creativity over hatred and destruction. it's published by europa editions, a tiny powerhouse publisher that seems to have a genius eye for spotting smart, original books that you can't put down.