I’ve learned to appreciate one second of complete peace and quiet.
If I get one of those a day, I’ll feel lucky. Think about it.

one-MISSISSIPPI.

Leila was asleep.
Mike was working out.
The sun was out, I was looking at some trees out my window.
I had coffee next to me.
Life was perfect, for one second.

Today I took a visit to Mosaic, a coffee house run by a church in the Wallingford neighborhood.

Christy, the barista at Mosaic

There is no price structure to the drinks or food at Mosaic, so you just donate what you think your order is worth. Overall the place had a very relaxing vibe, and my chai was tasty.

My thoughts were going in a thousand directions, so when I found this page on How to Create a Personal Manifesto, all my ideas started to coalesce.

Halloween’s over, but check out Maggy Mason’s nautical-inspired costumes for her family: Masons of the Sea

Life with Leila can be difficult sometimes, but I’m nowhere near here yet. Is life with a toddler really that bad? I guess it puts troubles with a 3 month old in perspective.

Our daughter is only 2 months old, and she already has a boyfriend. His name is Rodrigo.
He’s near her changing area, and can make her smile almost instantly. Did I mention he’s a cartoon sticker? Sure, we feel a little jealous but we haven’t tried to make them break up.

I have a lot of affection for my little girl. She’s still tiny, cute, and cries a lot. Her name is Leila.

I also have a new appreciation for cooking. It can take a bit of practice to cook with a baby around, but I’m starting to get the knack of it. I’m starting off with very simple meals that don’t take more than about 10 or 15 total minutes to prepare. Well, and we’re getting a lot of Thai take-out from the place 2 blocks away. More to come soon!

Today I’m two days past my baby’s due date, and my Mom arrived a few days ago to support me during labor and to help out after the birth. I still can’t believe that the months went by so quickly. But that was probably because I spent most of the winter in a fog of dreamy pastry-eating and in marathon sessions of sleep.

Speaking of pastry, Mom rubbed my belly a bit yesterday and called it a pączek (a Polish doughnut). I think pączek sounds much cuter than doughnut, like a doughy little woodland creature that darts in and out from behind a tree throwing raisins and orange peel at you while giggling. She didn’t bring us any from NJ, but she did bring us some delicious sweet rolls called bułka słodka from a bakery in NJ.

A bułka słodka from NJ. This one was filled with farmer’s cheese, golden raisins and candied orange peel.

Mom and I went food shopping a little later in the afternoon, and we saw a table of local currants for sale. Three colors: black, red, and white. She got excited about the white currants, which she hadn’t tasted since she lived in Poland (over 30 years ago!). I had only tried black currants, which I actually thought were entirely too tart at the time.

Despite a somewhat steep price, we bought some of the white currants and took them home. After washing them in my new blue mini-colander, we sat down in the 90-plus heat to try them out. Mom made the interesting note that when you first start eating currants, they seem to taste entirely too tart to continue consuming. But then your taste acclimates and they get more and more appetizing – even addicting. Also, she advised that it’s best to put an entire little cluster in your mouth and pluck off the transparent beads like a Roman empress would with grapes.

White currants