Up/Down

Up:  Sean is getting inspired in the kitchen these days and I am reaping the benefits.  Last week he made homemade stew, then meatballs, and the other night he made us some kale and butternut squash soft tacos.  Delicious!

Down:  Owen is eating less of a variety than even a few months ago.  He basically eats whole wheat bread with cheese and sometimes turkey, bagels with cream cheese, cinnamon raisin bread, cookies, and all kinds of fruit except for citrus.  We still feed him vegetables in baby food form, since that is the only way he will eat them.  Whenever we give him some of what we are eating, he spits it out and then proceeds to systematically throw all the pieces off his tray.  It is tiresome.

Up:  Owen had a mallomar the other day and just about lost his fool mind.  We had to put the box away, because when he got a glimpse of the yellow wrapper he would refuse to eat anything else.  He is definitely an Andersen!

Down:  Our kitchen floor is disgusting (see above about Owen throwing his food off his tray).  Even though we try to pick up the food pieces, inevitably a half of grape ends up going unnoticed until it gets stepped on.  (Where’s a pug when you need one?)

Up:  Now that it is cold, the cats have decided to join the family bed.  They can be quite cozy.

Down:  Posy’s everlasting infernal nose whistles.  The poor smushed-face cat can’t breathe, and her labored breathing is VERY loud at night.  Sometimes she has awakened Owen.  Sometimes I kick her out of the room before she can wake Owen, but that is always a gamble, as she is liable to YOWL outside the door then, and in case you forget what I’ve mentioned here before, little Posy has the loudest YOWL I have ever heard.  It’s so loud you think the sound is coming from your very own mouth.

Down:  I get home at 6-ish every night which is right in the middle of Owen’s cranky time.  If he is really tired too, every single thing we do is wrong and worthy of causing a crying fit.  He’ll get so angry that we don’t understand what he wants us to do!

Up:  There are so many new novels out this fall!  My "To Read" stack is looking not unlike the leaning tower of Pisa; such bounty pleases me, even though my reading time is slim.

Down:  Donna Tartt’s interview in the New York Times Book Review irked me.  She mentioned many authors who she loved and all – ALL – the names she mentioned were men.  All.  Even in an answer in which she talked about how much she has been influenced by and loves 19^th century novels.  No women.  To be honest, it made me a little grumpy that I had already purchased her new book.  I will still read it, but will do so with raised eyebrow.  (That will show her!)

Down:  I keep having to stand on my train ride into the city.  Stupid Septa won't add a much-needed car on any of the scheduled trains on my line, despite the fact that they are all crowded.  The few days when I am able to find a seat, it is usually a middle seat.  So much for my body buffer zone.

Up:  It's been cold outside at the train station, so when the train arrives, its warmth is pleasantly cozy.

Dorothy thinking, I'll show you cozy.