Random life tidbits

-The last carton of eggs we used had about 6 or 7 double-yolked eggs. I have never seen that amount of double yolks in one carton before. If I didn't already know that this is a "singleton pregnancy" (I am not making that term up), I would definitely think I was having twins. Especially after dreaming of having triplets. But nope. Just one baby. 

-We have a family of turtledoves nesting in our backyard. There are three of them, and they make Sam and me happy (but especially Sam, since he works in the back room and can see them, just peacefully relaxing). 

-We've entered hotter weather in D.C. The azaleas have withered and the roses are in bloom, but this week past they all looked . . . tired. It's supposed to be a bit cooler this week, which I am looking forward to (I don't know how I will manage this last month or so in hotter temperatures while pregnant--I guess I just will). 

[azaleas from the national arboretum a few weeks ago. so vibrant. so beautiful.]

-Slowly, archives are starting to open up. This past week we went up to New York and I spent a couple of days at the New York Public Library. It was so nice to be in an archive again! And the NYPL is such a lovely space to work. (Also, New Yorkers were very kind to me, the heavily-pregnant lady.) 

-Speaking of archives opening up, the Library of Congress will open June 1st! I was, unsurprisingly, the first person to call and make some appointments to visit the archives there. Here's hoping I get some research before Baby comes! 

-I am hoping that Baby comes around his due date. I don't know if I can do an extra 2 weeks. But I guess he'll do what he wants. Babies usually do. 

Baby bump, baby moon

 Last month, Sam and I took a trip (post-vaccinations! Wahoo!) to the Southwest for a little "babymoon" (which is apparently a Millennial thing to do). 

[#pregnart. This was . . . around 30 weeks? If I remember correctly?] 

[hanging out in beautiful sedona]

We spent time in Arizona (Sedona and the Grand Canyon) and in New Mexico (mostly in Santa Fe). Neither one of us had been to the Grand Canyon before, and we were both glad we drove the distance to see it. (I can now understand why my parents--after traveling with 5 kids in Southern Utah to visit Zion's National Park--ultimately decided not to drive further south to see the Grand Canyon. It is out of the way, and I can understand my parents not wanting to add another half-day to our vacations.) 

The Grand Canyon truly was awe-inspiring (Sam even teared up a little bit when we got to the first viewpoint), and we enjoyed driving to different look-out points (I was not going to be hiking the Grand Canyon or riding a mule at 7 months' pregnant--there might be some women who do hike the Grand Canyon, and more power to them, but I was good with just walking and looking around). The scale is hard to describe; Iphone pictures don't do it justice. (And I'm sure the perspective is just as amazing from inside the canyon.) 

[my eyes might be closed in this picture? and for some reason, that makes it even better.]

[someday we will tell our son, "oh, you've been to the grand canyon." and he'll say, "but i can't remember it!"--or something along those lines--but we will insist, because it's true, but also to annoy him.]

Other highlights of the trip included seeing red rocks (I just really love them), the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Santa Fe, good food, and staying in a proto-earth ship. I

[inside the chapel of the holy cross]

[and the chapel of the holy cross from the outside]

[santa fe welcomes you]

[also, chimayo, new mexico was lovely.]

A (belated) Easter thought

 (but still always applicable) 

"Look, I know all too well that the story of the world is entropy, things fly apart, we sicken, we fail, we grow weary, we divorce, we are hammered and hounded by loss and accidents and tragedies, we slide away into the dark oceans behind the stars. 

But I also know that we are carved of immense confusing holiness; that the whole point for us is grace under duress; and that you either take a flying leap at nonsensical illogical unreasonable ideas like marriage and marathons and democracy and divinity, or you huddle behind the brooding wall." --Brian Doyle, "A Song of Believing" 

D.C. in spring is the prettiest time of the year.

 I've had a bunch of photos of D.C. spring that I've been meaning to post on here, but my computer is laaammmme and has been having storage issues, which can make the very act of downloading a chore. BUT! without further ado, here are some pictures of D.C., all pretty in pink. 

(Because I will stand by what I said--spring is the best time of year for D.C.) 

First up, neighborhood walks, because that's what Sam and I like to do after long days at work. 

[so many pretty front gardens in the capitol hill area. i like how the flowers just cascade from these plots.]

[artistic tree outside cvs.]

[these beehives are in front of our ward building and i kind of love them.]

[another call box, this time near dupont.]

[we found this tree filled with oragami cranes and i really, really, really loved it.]

[daffodils in our backyard!]

[and crocuses in the cemetery.]

[this sculpture by saint-gauden is officially titled the mystery of the hereafter and the peace of God that passeth understanding, but it's also called the adams memorial or "grief". it was made as a monument to marian "clover" hooper adams [hnery adams's wife] after she took her own life. such a sad story.]

And now for the pink. Starting with pink magnolias outside of the Smithsonian castle. 

[i don't know why people use "pansy" in a derogatory way. i mean, yes, they are delicate. but man, they are resilient.]  

[and now, what you've all been waiting for, pink cherry blossoms by the tidal basin.]

And now, back to "how things are going for us," I am still pregnant and am outgrowing all of my clothes. 

[at 27 weeks with one of the handful of dresses that still fit. this will probably not fit in a couple of weeks. i haven't had much luck finding maternity clothes because you can't try on maternity clothes at target or other retail stores, and ordering things online is hit-or-miss.]

[trying to get a full-body shot by standing on our orange couch.]

[also, sam and i finished the 1000-piece puzzle we were working on! it got hard at the end, because there were just tree and snow pieces left. BUT WE DID IT.]

a new spring

It's been a little over a year since the pandemic hit the U.S., since cities shut down, since Princeton shut down, since the archives shut down, since we realized that life was going to be very different for a while--for how long a while, none of us knew for sure. 

I remember how strange it was to see the beginnings of spring--of daffodils, green buds, of cherry blossoms--juxtaposed with everything closing up; with death and sickness and fear. 

A year later, with spring in the air again, things feel different. A few nights ago, Sam and I ate outdoors at a restaurant, felt the warming spring air around us, and saw how others around us--seated outside at the restaurant, passerby on the street--seemed so much more relaxed than a year ago, than a month ago. There are changes coming, and I hope that there are good things ahead for all of us. 

"there's a hope in every new seed

and every flower that grows upon the earth [. . .]

I'll come back to you in a year or so

and rebuild, ready to become 

the person you believed in, 

the person that you used to love." --noah and the whale, "the first day of spring" 

Mid-Atlantic Snapshots

On our walks, I've been taking pictures of these call boxes which dot D.C. Some of them have been designed to show historical scenes of the local neighborhoods. 

Others portray historic figures. 

And yet others are truly labors of love. Like this one outside of Tyler Elementary School, with the "Tyler Tiger" (who looks like a burglar), admonishing us to "Do work." 

I got new glasses frames. I also got a new phone and am trying to figure out both my new frames and Portrait mode in this picture.

WFH view some days. 

Princeton covered in snow (I went up there for a day to drop off/pick up books). It was a bit eerie being there. 

This was the day I got back from Princeton in D.C. Amazing what a distance of 170 miles south can do to weather patterns.

Sam and I went out to eat in a restaurant for the first time in . . . I don't know how long. The ramen here was pleasing to my palate. This lantern design was aesthetically pleasing.

Stained glass windows are also aesthetically pleasing.

Okay, so this does not technically fall into "Mid-Atlantic." This is a picture of Luray Caverns, which are in Virginia. But we went there last week and they were really cool! It really gives you a different sense of time--in this case, deep, deep time. 

This one (below) was my favorite part on the tour. They are stalactites which are reflected in 8-10 inches of water, and the "stalagmites" on the bottom are actually just reflections. But they look like a miniature model city or canyon!  

The famous Luray Organ. It was playing "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" when we walked past. 

And then, back properly to the mid-Atlantic in D.C., in our apartment, stitching away, since that's apparently what I do while nesting. 

The (almost) finished product! (I'll put Baby's name/birthdate/weight and height underneath the flower, once he has and name/birthdate/birth weight and height. All of those are still TBD.)