katie's back*.

 

...well...almost. technically, she's on her way to st simon's for the weekend. but after I picked her up from the airport, we had time for a quick lunch with her girlfriend sammar at one of our favorite buckhead restaurants, portofino.

we sat outside and enjoyed a leisurely meal... six small plates, mussels, wine and coffee. it was fun to listen to the girls talk about their weddings (sammar's is next month!) and honeymoons and study abroad and moving (sadly, just as katie is getting back to atlanta, sammar is moving to charlottesville - tomorrow!) and just stuff.

the small plates - apple & grape salad, tomatoes & mozzarella, corn & edamame, pototo chips, roasted eggplant & orzo, shrimp & avocado...yes, we ordered all the salads!

I look forward to more lunches. and happy hours. and dinners. and spending time together. talking about stuff. and having someone take our photo!

katie & mary

*katie has a bachelorette party (for another girlfriend who's getting married in august) in st simons this weekend. in early may, she bought a round trip ticket, planning to arrive this afternoon, have time for lunch with me, then meet up with her friends to drive down tonight, return on sunday and fly back to LA on monday (whew!) but two weeks ago, her fiance's transfer came through and they quickly made plans to move. back to atlanta. and katie's round trip turned into a one-way ticket. so while she's not quite back in atlanta, she is in the eastern time zone and that's huge!  they've found a condo in town for the short term. and next week, until they can move in, she'll be here with me and holly (while marc makes a quick trip to germany). lots of changes. but all good. yes, to say I'm delighted would be the understatement of the year!

happy birthday.

...to katie. she turns 25 today. marc and I had fun flipping through the pages of her baby album last night. and I finally chose this photo to share. she's smiling (this was - and still is - pretty typical). she's styling (even more typical these days). and she's in motion. always going someplace. someplace new. someplace challenging. hopefully someplace fun and fulfilling.

   k, best wishes for your birthday and this next year. love. miss. xxoo - m.

focused friday. linen liesl. finished.

...now after 8pm and I feel like I'm coming in just under the wire. but that's ok. I really (really!!) wanted to do an FO Friday* post... my version of course has no capital letters, and since it's friday (in 2011) starts with focused.

yep liesl (fka zola) is done!

once I got going (on the right number of stitches :-) it was easy-peasy. a good bit of knitting, but not too hard. I love the bias bind-off and having the shoulder seams sit on the back side of the tunic.

I was a little bit nervous yesterday when I tried it on. finished, but unlaundered.**

um.

but then I washed it. and dried it. and wow!

this is after wearing it all day. yes, I think it grew a little, but I know that a little spritz and a few minutes in the dryer will get it right back into shape.

LOVE! (raveled here).

*FO Friday = "finished object Friday" - an opportunity for knitters to show off completed projects on their blogs. 
**(I almost didn't do this post because the photos are just ... so... you know, not knitterly.... but oh well - did you see up above where this is my FIRST "fo friday" post??!!)

happy birthday.

...to katie.

photo from the thanksgiving play at school - katie was "big bear" and apparently I was a pilgrim

k - sending you my warmest wishes for a wonderful day and the best kind of year...and a big virtual hug.

can't wait to see you and celebrate!

xxoo - m.

i carry your heart.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
   i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(je le porte dans mon couer)

k - safe travels and best wishes on your new home and your new job. xxoo -m.

knitting and other news.

...happy to report that I finished another sock. and a sweater (yes, alexandria is done! and I have a plan to get photos today to share later). it feels really really good to have all my class knitting done. to wrap up my teaching schedule for october and november, I'm going to re-run the six classes I've offered so far. which means no more preparation required on my part. and that means I have five whole months to knit whatever I want. just for fun. right now, I'm enjoying just thinking about the possibilities of what to start next while I wrap up two lace shawlettes and the mate to this sock.

and the other news.

first - sara has started her own blog. as excited as I am for her on this new venture, I admit to being just a teensy tiny bit sad about the second fille leaving me alone here. mere seule. mere et filles sounds so much better, doesn't it? 

enough whining from me! because the second piece of news is that katie and I are catching up on our ride. we should be back on track for weekly posts this weekend. (side note - I can't believe we are 26 weeks into 2010 - yikes, the year is half over!!)

atlanta rotation.

yep! her next assignment is a lot closer to home! (and this is really about all we know right now, but to say I am excited...that would be a HUGE understatement!)

happy birthday.

...to katie.

she's grown into a beautiful young woman. and I've grown up a lot myself. it's been - and continues to be - quite a ride. honestly one of the best parts of my life is being the mama. I am truly grateful for the opportunity and the blessings my girls bring me.

katie - all the best, most wonderful wishes for today. and for your life. xxoo - m.

(p.s. not one for regrets, but I am very thankful I now take lots of pictures (and they're all dated!). and wow, the late 1980's and 1990's were bad for fashion!)

announcing.

...a project with katie. a weekly photo collaboration inspired by  brian andreas' stories.

I wanted to call it some kind of ride, recalling this story:

(from the card katie included with my birthday flowers last year)

Each weekend, one of us picks a story, and then we have the week to take our photos. The next weekend, I put the two photos together and post them, along with the story, on the blog. So far, it's been fun, but - I think - a lot harder than we thought to find just the right photos.

blog silence.

...I hadn't realized it had been five days since that last post. and I didn't even get the last three daily photos uploaded til just now. I've been knitting a lot and cooking a little.

and very pleased to have a finished scarf to show for my time.

the story.

moving to nyc.summer 2009...I didn't really know until just this morning how the album would come together. honestly, I didn't decide until just a few days ago there would even be an album. but after I picked up the 62 prints from the move, I knew it was just too big for the regular photo album (especially after the 58 prints from the apartment hunting trip). I was thinking - as usual - photos + a few words (and hopefully a bit of pretty paper). so yesterday morning I visited aaron brothers since they have the best selection of kolo albums. and (lucky me?!) this location is going out of business and everything is 50% off. and of course this is bad when you don't have a plan, but I picked out six (maybe more!?) albums that seemed like they'd work. and sara helped me decide on the camel catalina album. same format I used for paris. plenty of room for the photos. and the coloring is perfect for my favorite basic grey periphery papers. I roughed out the format - three sections, one for apartment hunting, one for the transition/packing and one for the move. and it must be meant to be because that left one slot for closing thoughts.

this morning I started on the journaling for those four pages. searched my ali edwards collection of digital and found the perfect one. the story. used photoshop to add a subtitle (part one, etc) and the journaling to each one. then the title piece.

thank goodness for flickr to help me remember the captions for the photos. that part went fast. and I'm very pleased with the final results.

here's the first page.

and the last.

and images of the journaling.

apartment hunting report - day two.

big news first - she found one! apartment 6H in a beautifully restored building on E 79th street, between east end and york avenues. it has lovely light. and a separate bedroom. closet space. and a very clean kitchen and bathroom. it completely passes the mama test.

the applications and paperwork should be processed this weekend and she'll sign the lease tomorrow.

also yesterday, we had a very late lunch at sarabeth's on central park south - sat outside (such a change from my spring break visits with sara...being able to sit outside!) and enjoyed people watching.

then we walked back to our apartment (in the rain) through central park. a few more photo opportunities.


and rode the subway to the village for dinner at otto and dessert at l'arte del gelato.



a very full, very exciting and very exhausting day. I fell asleep 5 minutes into "he's just not that into you". maybe I'll get to watch it (again!) today.

so many photo opportunities.

...aka graduation weekend.

(see all the photos here).

thinking about paris.

...is really hard when I'm trying to think about new york (sara and I have made tons of progress on our plans - but we still need to get the 50+ restaurants and shops I've saved in my favorites folder sorted and organized...we've got lots of energy and appetite, but even we can't manage that much in five days!).

so I've been putting off paris plans. confident katie & I can put together the big rocks and little pebbles (hoping anyone who reads this blog is familiar with steven covey's 7 habits :-) to pull it all together in the 4-1/2 weeks between the trips. because I planned last year's nyc trip in less than that. and katie's been to paris. and we have lots of input.

but this morning I saw joanna's post. and spent nearly 30 minutes checking out the links from here. (downloaded this, loved this). and then the book. ...and so did katie. she sent me an email saying we needed to both it before we went (you know, the whole mother-daughter thing). um wow, coincidence? (probably not, I think our "daily read" blog lists have a lot of overlap) but still - - agreed!

very much looking forward to the planning, and the experience. this video was cool, too (and thank goodness francie is studying up on her french!)

(thanks, joanna!)

make a wish.

1. make a wish 1, 2. making creme brulee, 3. make a wish 2, 4. make a wish 3

...ah yes, a very good time. and seeing these photos, feeling just a bit bad (even "no regrets" me!) that I might've pouted when she refused to pose for a "real" birthday picture.

hope all your wishes come true!

the funniest line from the day goes to sara "mom, where's the blowtorch?" I mean really, how many times can you fit a line like that into normal conversation?

k.

...1987 to 2008. 21 years. only child to older sister. always our first daughter. learning together. accomplishments to celebrate. a beautiful woman you've become. so much laughter. and love. happy birthday!

looking forward to celebrating later today. yummy soup and biscotti for lunch (thank you sara!). pizza and salad for dinner (thank you marc!). and creme brulee for dessert (thank you sara again!)... guess celebrating=good food in this family! plus a movie and maybe a visit next door to see baby brooke and mommy holly. fun times. very blessed. and grateful.

a perfect day.

...from this...
...to this...
...to this...and very cool that we happened to be seated next to the owner at Murphy's, and had a delightful conversation with him and his organic produce supplier and I hope they do expand their organic offerings and I'm very excited about going back with Sara (and Katie) for lunch (and/or dinner, brunch, dessert).

...anyone still think I'll be bored when I retire?

the drop in.

...as in a very quick visit - not quite so fast as the drive by, but close. Which I paid to Katie (and her friend Sam) last night to drop off a few things she forgot on Saturday. Got to see the apartment "nearly finished" - it's looking great and Katie has promised photos. I'll share here as soon as I get them!

adpi and nancy drew.

...lately I've been trying to keep my posts to one topic - not that I'm trying to drive up my daily posting average, but I think a little bit of something "on topic" is probably easier to read... and maybe I can figure out a way to merge these two topics but for now:

I've joined the ADPi Mother's Club at Georgia Tech - mainly because I will grab on to any opportunity to see Katie, but also because I would like to meet other moms...strike up a new friendship, maybe - or just a way to feel more connected to Katie.

One of our first projects was to provide two dinners and a lunch for the girls (120 of them!) during "recruitment" (fka "rush"). I volunteered for dinner tonight - along with Teresa, Pat and Lauren and Carol - and had a ball, despite the wicked heat, serving wraps, pasta salad, fruit and drinks [in case you're wondering, my contribution ended up being paper goods and ice] to the most beautiful girls on Tech's campus. Yes, we served dinner outside their back door, in the parking lot and they still looked terrific (is Katie in this picture? I don't think so...)

pat and teresa

another fun note - for the first time in 3 years, I found a legal parking space...right outside the ADPi house. Fed in quarters to buy 1.75 hours of parking and there were 1.32 minutes left when I pulled out. Cool, no?

Then home and a serious need to catchup on my journaling (which saw a full week absence - no entries since last Monday morning). Ugh - so missed "the routine, the habit, the opportunity for reflection and for introspection". So I filled up three pages with words, a sketch of the hat I'm knitting for Sara and 4 colors. Feeling back to normal...a bit.

Which gets me to the nancy drew part. Karen gave me this book for Christmas 2004. And I have so enjoyed not only the words, but also the illustrations. Takes me right back to #39, The Clue of the Dancing Puppet, my first nancy drew read in the fall of 1971 (I think - I had started 4th grade and just discovered the school library). I remember nothing of the plot today - just that it was my first one and I proceeded to read all the others, somewhat obsessively I guess til I burned out in the 6th or 7th grade. I do remember that my mom read the entire book in about 45 minutes - either right before or right after dinner the night I brought the book home. And I remember thinking how cool it would be to read so fast so I could read more.

And this bit of wisdom (p. 100) seems perfect as a momento from the past weekend:

When shopping with your friends, take into consideration thier personal tastes when they comment on the outfit you are trying on. If your friend calls a dress "fussy", it may be because she always wears casual togs. Consider the source and if possible, shop with a friend whose style you admire.

no post offices in italy.

...that's my conclusion, anyway. Today, 7 postcards - yes SEVEN - and 1 letter arrived from Katie, postmarked Zurich, but the postcards are from Florence, Rome and Venice. From my cartes postales set on flickr:

1. carte postale 3 front, 2. carte postale 3 back, 3.carte postale 4 front, 4. carte postale 4 back, 5. carte postale 5 front, 6. carte postale 6 back

and in case you're wondering, I've been good - only read the 3 postcards and 1 letter addressed to me! (but boy am I curious about what she's written to Marc and to Sara...and I can't find about Sara's cards til Friday!)

Mail from Sara has been a bit more regular (after all, North Carolina is in the same country as Georgia, and really, just a state away :-) and she's gotten into collages on her card fronts - can't tell you how much I love that! here's the card that arrived on Saturday (I need a butterfly punch :-)

needless to say, my plans for this evening got a bit sidetracked. Bookclub tomorrow night. and I actually find myself "running out of alone time". hummmm....