Photos and a brief family update

We're all still sick, but we all seem to be getting better. Chris is definitely doing well (although he is having some trouble adjusting to being back in our bedroom after two weeks of needing to sleep in the recliner in order to be able to breathe).

Nora had her weight check appointment today, and she's gained about six ounces. Not enough to completely reassure the doctor, so we'll do another weight check at the end of March. *shrug* Since the bloodwork came back clean, I really haven't been worrying too much about this, to be honest. I suspect if we can just get the family healthy, and stay healthy, she'll start to put on more weight.

On to the pictures. Here's Miss Mairi with her hair up in pig-tales. Yes, she is as much of an imp as she looks — and as much of a sweetheart.


And here's a picture of Miss Nora licking the "beater" from when I made guacamole the other night. Loves her avocado, my Nora does...


Actually, I'm pleased to report that even with being as picky an eater as she is, Mairi has some interesting favorite foods. She loves egg drop soup, and one of her favorite restaurants to eat at is Elia's — they serve Middle Eastern cuisine. When she finds out we're eating there, she gets all excited that she's going to get hummus, falafel and baklava. (Nora will eat almost anything, which makes it all the more curious that she's not gaining weight more quickly.)

Quickly as possible

A family update (in no particular order): I am getting better, as far as I can tell. I was able to work almost a full day today. The cold is trying to settle into my chest, I'm trying to not let it. We'll see who wins. ("Tune in Monday, when our heroine...") Chris is on his second course of antibiotics, the five-day variety this time, after seeing the doctor again yesterday. He is still having trouble sleeping because of his cough, even when sleeping in the recliner. We are not amused. Mairi seems to be getting over the cold, but still has a rather awful sounding cough. Thankfully, she is able to sleep and that is doing much good for her. The doctor said as long as she appears to be getting better, not to worry if the cough lingers — apparently it does that with this cold. Side note: it is highly unfair when small children are healthy but their parents are not. Nora, the only one in the house not to require antibiotics so far *knock on wood* (yay for breastfeeding!), appears to be almost completely better. The río nasal has almost ceased its flow. I'm going home now, hopefully to rest and finish recovering. May you have a lovely and healthy weekend, reader, wherever you are...

A person can develop a cold

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Okay, not that mighty but definitely fallen. (And yes, Adelaide's Lament isn't entirely appropriate, but it's been running through my head all day.)

Saw the doctor this morning, I have a sinus infection and an ear infection (right ear - no pain though *shrug*), so I'm on Zithromax (or a similar generic) through the weekend. *sigh*

Is it spring yet??

Miscellaneous quotes

"What we call 'Progress' is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance."

- Havelock Ellis

"Irrigation of the land with seawater desalinated by fusion power is ancient. It's called 'rain'."

- Michael McClary

"The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane."

- Nikola Tesla

"The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to another."

- J. Frank Dobie

"This is surely the time to let go of grievances, I told myself sternly. What good does it do to dwell on them? Brooding on a nest of grudges will only hatch more grief."

- Liza Dalby, The Tale of Murasaki

So, how are things with you?

Things in South Bend are okay. Only okay because I think we've had about ten days so far in 2006 when all four of us were healthy. :-(

Chris and Mairi both just finished up their antibiotics yesterday, his a ten-day run, hers a five-day. He was diagnosed with bronchitis, and I think Mairi was too but I honestly forget. Both seemed to being doing better yesterday, though not 100% healthy and not really as much better as I'd hoped for by this point. Nora woke up with a very runny nose Sunday morning, but so far it has stayed in her head (thankfully!). I've been staving things off (someone has to be healthy in the house — thank heavens for vitamin C) but yesterday started to sneeze and drip quite a bit. *sigh*

I don't mean to whine, really I don't. Mostly I'm feeling frustrated because I would like for us to be healthy and I can't figure out what I can do to increase the odds that we will be. Are we not getting enough sleep? Not eating well enough? Do we need to disinfect the house? Exercise more? Is it this stupid "can't make up my mind what season it is" weather?

Let's change the subject, this is just annoying and depressing me.

The girls are doing well. Mairi is still in her "friend or foe" phase, but when she's being a friend it is just too much fun. She loves to help me, whatever I'm doing. It's fun to cook with her — we made guacamole the other day and she helped me with making cupcakes for both January birthdays (Chris and Nora). She's a good big sister (when not sitting on Nora *sigh*) and loves to make Nora laugh (and for the most part she's very, very good at it). She remembers stuff that I can't believe, and will talk about when Nora had to be in the hospital a year ago and such. She's learning to sing, and one of my favorite things is to sing together with her. :-)

Nora is doing well, as far as I can tell. She's not put on any weight according to the home scale, but she eats plenty and is very, very active. She has a weight check with the doctor next week. She's not walking on her own yet, but continuing to make progress in that direction. She's learning to speak more and more — yesterday she said "bye" for the first time when leaving my office. When I get home at night, as soon as I come through the door she starts crawling towards me saying "Hi! Hey!" A lovely way to be greeted! :-) She has started in on some of the less attractive toddler behaviour recently, and will throw a humdinger of a temper tantrum when told she can't do something. Fortunately, distraction works great at this age.

All in all, we are well (other than that whole being sick thing). How are you?

In case you've ever wondered what I do ...

... here's an example of my handiwork. We have a new exhibit here in the department, describing exactly what Special Collections is, and I'm in charge of exhibit title posters. The poster will be 80" by 38" (that's right, 6'8" x 3'2" — the individual letters are about 10" tall). Each letter contains an image of something from the collections.


Yes, it took a lot of work. But I think it was worth it. :-)

The top four answers are on the board

A rather fun meme I got from my Aunt Janet. Enjoy!

Four jobs you have had in your life:

1. Library staff
   
2. Newspaper photographer
3. Tour boat snack bar cashier
   
4. Janitor
   

Four movies you would watch over and over:

1. The Princess Bride
2. French Kiss
3. Charade
4. Guys & Dolls
   

Four places you have lived:

1. South Bend, IN
2. Niles, MI
3. Adrian, MI
4. Sault Ste. Marie, MI
   

Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. Northern Exposure
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Beauty & the Geek
4. Surface
   

Four places you have been on vacation:

1. Prince Edward Island, Canada
   
2. Maine
3. Toronto, Canada
   
4. Charlottesville, Virginia
   

Four websites I visit daily:

1. Gmail
2. Strip fix at For Better or For Worse
   
3. Sluggy Freelance
   
4. Amazon.com
   

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Pasties
2. Baklava
3. Egg drop soup
   
4. Guacamole
   

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Paris, France
2. the Keweenaw
3. Charleston, SC
4. San Francisco, CA
   

Four people I am tagging that I think will respond ...

1. Amy B
2. Anne F
3. Teri
4. Willoughby
   

Well, that's a relief!

For those of you who didn't know, when Nora saw the doctor last Wednesday for her one year check-up she had only gained less than a pound since the previous visit (three months earlier). While her height and head circumference measurements were continuing along a nice, upward curve on the growth chart [example chart, not Nora's], for the second visit her weight measurement followed a downward curve.

For a number of reasons, it seemed likely this was just an anomaly: her other numbers are good, her development and behavior are normal, she's so very active, she's been transitioning to solid foods (which are initially less well absorbed by the body than breastmilk), and I've been sick a fair amount this winter (so it is possible that my milk supply was down). However, given the thyroid troubles I've had with both pregnancies, we were still somewhat concerned. After talking things through with our doctor, we agreed to have blood drawn, just to check. Poor Nora — she had three shots and then a blood draw!

Well, I just got off the phone with our doctor's nurse and all the results came back normal: thyroid, the complete blood count (CBC), lead levels (I think this one was an "as long as we're drawing blood for testing" thing for the doctor), and the comprehensive metabolic panel (which evaluates organ function and checks for conditions such as diabetes, liver disease, and kidney disease) — they're all good! So, we'll go back at the end of February for a weight check and hope for the best in the meantime.

She sure acts like a healthy, normal kid! :-)

Mom always said I should read more GOOD books

Bookings (note some of these are not full-length books or plays, but short plays, short stories, or novellas)

Bold the ones you have read:

Anon., Beowulf
Achebe, Chinua Things Fall Apart
Agee, James A Death in the Family
Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
Baldwin, James Go Tell It on the Mountain
Beckett, Samuel Waiting for Godot
Bellow, Saul The Adventures of Augie March
Brontë, Charlotte Jane Eyre
Brontë, Emily Wuthering Heights
Camus, Albert The Stranger
Cather, Willa Death Comes for the Archbishop
Chaucer, Geoffrey The Canterbury Tales (selections)
Chekhov, Anton The Cherry Orchard
Chopin, Kate The Awakening
Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness
Cooper, James Fenimore The Last of the Mohicans
Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage
Dante, Inferno
de Cervantes, Miguel Don Quixote
Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe
Dickens, Charles A Tale of Two Cities
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor Crime and Punishment
Douglass, Frederick Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Dreiser, Theodore An American Tragedy
Dumas, Alexandre The Three Musketeers
Eliot, George The Mill on the Floss
Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man
Emerson, Ralph Waldo Selected Essays
Faulkner, William As I Lay Dying
Faulkner, William The Sound and the Fury
Fielding, Henry Tom Jones
Fitzgerald, F. Scott The Great Gatsby
Flaubert, Gustave Madame Bovary
Ford, Ford Madox The Good Soldier
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Faust
Golding, William Lord of the Flies
Hardy, Thomas Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Hawthorne, Nathaniel The Scarlet Letter
Heller, Joseph Catch 22
Hemingway, Ernest A Farewell to Arms
Homer The Iliad
Homer The Odyssey
Hugo, Victor The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hurston, Zora Neale Their Eyes Were Watching God
Huxley, Aldous Brave New World
Ibsen, Henrik A Doll's House
James, Henry The Portrait of a Lady
James, Henry The Turn of the Screw
Joyce, James A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Kafka, Franz The Metamorphosis
Kingston, Maxine Hong The Woman Warrior
Lee, Harper To Kill a Mockingbird
Lewis, Sinclair Babbitt
London, Jack The Call of the Wild
Mann, Thomas The Magic Mountain
Marquez, Gabriel García One Hundred Years of Solitude
Melville, Herman Bartleby the Scrivener
Melville, Herman Moby Dick
Miller, Arthur The Crucible
Morrison, Toni Beloved
O'Connor, Flannery A Good Man is Hard to Find
O'Neill, Eugene Long Day's Journey into Night
Orwell, George 1984
Orwell, George Animal Farm
Pasternak, Boris Doctor Zhivago
Plath, Sylvia The Bell Jar
Poe, Edgar Allan Selected Tales
Proust, Marcel Swann's Way
Pynchon, Thomas The Crying of Lot 49
Remarque, Erich Maria All Quiet on the Western Front
Rostand, Edmond Cyrano de Bergerac
Roth, Henry Call It Sleep
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare, William Hamlet
Shakespeare, William Macbeth
Shakespeare, William A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare, William Romeo and Juliet
Shaw, George Bernard Pygmalion
Shelley, Mary Frankenstein
Silko, Leslie Marmon Ceremony
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Sophocles Antigone
Sophocles Oedipus Rex
Steinbeck, John The Grapes of Wrath
Stevenson, Robert Louis Treasure Island
Stowe, Harriet Beecher Uncle Tom's Cabin
Swift, Jonathan Gulliver's Travels
Thackeray, William Vanity Fair
Thoreau, Henry David Walden
Tolstoy, Leo War and Peace
Turgenev, Ivan Fathers and Sons
Twain, Mark The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Voltaire Candide
Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. Slaughterhouse-Five
Walker, Alice The Color Purple
Wharton, Edith The House of Mirth
Welty, Eudora Collected Stories
Whitman, Walt Leaves of Grass
Wilde, Oscar The Picture of Dorian Gray
Williams, Tennessee The Glass Menagerie
Woolf, Virginia To the Lighthouse
Wright, Richard Native Son