portland
so we were in portland this weekend visiting joe's uncle arthur and his son benny. it was interesting because the twins offer the chance for some interesting dynamics to happen. being what they are, which is 5 and 1/2 year old twin boys, they are a particular brand of excitement laden energy and can be very extreme at times. this is being nice. at their best they are hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable and super cute and very very sweet, not to mention very bright and with great senses for the humor and profound in life. When they are like this, it makes me envious to not be able to call them my own, and makes me long for the days when maybe i will maybe (if i should be so lucky) have a chance to call such a child my own flesh and blood. at their worst they are the exact opposite--namely little jerks who don't think about anything before they act, say terrible things that hurt your feelings and then maybe even throw a punch or two for good measure, all the while screaming at the top of their lungs about how they aren't listening to you and they don't care and maybe slamming things around in the house or spitting and other various obnoxious and semi-dangerous behaviors. or maybe just being annoying on purpose, which is a favorite past time no matter what attitude they have about it.

now a description of the cousin--he will be 11 in june and has a really laid back dad who toured and worked with the grateful dead for years, and who now works for the special olympics, all while living in a beautiful house in portland, about a mile and half from the studio where he does hot yoga. his mom is remarried but i've never met her or her new husband, but i know that all three parents have a great relationship. there is only benny and no siblings and so much attention has been lavished on him, not without reason. anyway, he is generally a good kid as far as i can tell, but not without his own issues. anyway, he is a very anxious kid and had a hard time sharing, and also really into video games and some of them not appropriate for 5 year olds. he had a hard time letting go of control of his house to share with guests and doing the "don't touch that, put that down, clean that up, do this, do that, over here, not that, no, stop, kind of stuff which of course just makes five year olds of the sort listed about go even more in the direction you don't want them to go in. it was joyous, i tell you, just joyous.

in the midst of all this i read one entire fiction novel entitled "roommates wanted" by lisa jewel. it was good and lighthearted. i thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it for a light fast read. i don't read fiction a whole lot anymore so it was a nice antidote, so to speak, for the other book i am reading--collapse by jared diamond. it's heavy.

i also opened my first jar of dill pickles homemade by me ever! and--they were delicious. kinda spicy because of the amount of garlic (a lot) and chilies (also a lot) and very dilly but just at the beginning when it really counts, then the kick takes over. and just the right crunch. so delicious!! hooray for homemade pickles!! i love them and i love being so self sufficient in the middle of winter and i love being a homemaker. i said it. i love being a homemaker! hear that world? bring it on!