Nashville!

We are back from visiting my older son Jordan and his wife Sophie—we had a very relaxing time. In fact, I actually slept in (for me): 7 AM Eastern almost every day! Of course that’s still 6 AM Central.

I lived in Nashville as a little girl, so we took a quick drive by the elementary school I attended for first and second grade. You can’t see it in this picture but the doors on the far left and far right are marked Girls and Boys.

We’d been told by Ben that we wouldn’t see Jade the cat because she was even more shy than our Chloe cat. Well I don’t know what Ben was thinking, that cat cuddled with me every morning, purring like crazy. Or maybe I really am the Cat Whisperer.

We had a blast baking and decorating cookies, although Sophie was by far the best cookie decorator. I tended to go for the slightly macabre (which won’t surprise Jeanne any more, right Jeanne?). The round cookie was supposed to look like he’d been in a fight but the stitches part sort of ran together so he looks like he has a black eye.

Merry Christmas and please, a happy New Year

Kent and I won’t forget this year any time soon. Go here for the year in pictures.

And here’s a recap of our year:

Even for Boston, last winter was cold and snowy, and the snow remained on our patio until March 19. At least we don’t have to shovel a long driveway.

I ramped up my sewing, and made a lot of bags, toddler clothes and aprons. Wally helped.

Once things thawed out a bit, we turned our attention to our patio. One of the main reasons we bought this apartment over others we looked at was the very large outdoor space—well, large by Boston standards anyway. We moved bushes, added ground cover that can thrive even with little sun, and planted impatiens, begonias, herbs and ferns. We couldn’t enjoy the patio in June since most of June was very rainy and cold, but our work paid off later in August.

Ben and Jen asked us to visit at Easter and you better believe we said yes. Watching Alison eat (and dislike) her first Peep was hilarious.

My folks organized a family reunion in Estes Park, CO in July, which gave us the opportunity not only to get out of the chilly rain in Boston but also to catch up with family members, some of whom I hadn’t seen in decades. We also headed down to Providence for Waterfire—the city put platforms in the river and then lights huge bonfires on them. It’s a very cool spectacle.

In August, my best friend Kerry and her husband Brad came out to see us. Thankfully the weather actually cooperated, and we had a blast going to Fenway, checking out the Freedom Trail and watching Brad replicate a Man v Food event.

Throughout the year, I rediscovered how much I like baking my own bread, I learned to make yummy granola bars, and Kent became a pizza dough master. We also got more storage for our apartment, things like tall bookcases, a sewing cabinet that looks like a chest, plus an amazing new rug and a new chair.

On October 28, a 31 inch water main ruptured and flooded our apartment with about 18 inches of water. For the first three weeks, we stayed in Providence at a friend’s house, and I found the house my mother lived in when she was a little girl. Right now, we’re in temporary quarters waiting for the insurance company to approve the construction plan.

We spent our third Thanksgiving in a row with Ben, Jen and Alison. This has become a cherished tradition for Kent and me, and we love that we can spend time with them, celebrate Christmas early and just soak up family time.

Three weeks ago, Kent learned that AOL was eliminating the small company he works at. He opted to take the voluntary separation packet since the job was going away no matter what. Right now it looks as though his last day there will be at the end of February.

Two weeks ago, we learned that the trustees for our condominium association are being sued—and Kent is a trustee.

We’ll end the year on a better note when we head to Nashville to visit Jordan and Sophie the day after Christmas. We are looking forward to seeing them and putting the stresses we’re currently facing out of our minds for a few days.

Here’s to 2010—may it be a lot more peaceful not only for us but also for you.

With love,

Kent and Elizabeth

We are insane

We're heading to Target on Christmas Eve to buy a meat thermometer. We can't make my mother's amazing pork without it.

If you don't hear from us, send help.

To be fair

I want to dislike Boston intensely, I really do. In many ways, this has been the hardest city to live in both personally and professionally. I miss the smiles and friendly nods you get in the Midwest and God knows I miss working in my field.

But I need to be fair to Boston. Since moving here, I’ve been fortunate to meet some amazing people who have become good friends in ways I wouldn’t have expected having known them for just over a year. Let me explain.

We’ve been hit with a triple whammy this fall. It started with the water damage to our apartment (no change there, the construction plan still hasn’t been approved). Then almost three weeks ago, we got the news that Kent’s job and indeed the entire Boston office would be eliminated. Finally we were notified that the condominium association trustees were being sued by one of the homeowners—Kent is a trustee.

Since getting all that news, our friends and also strangers have rallied around us. The night of the flood I was entirely undone by a tough South Boston woman who took my order for our dinner, learned about our apartment damage and then hugged me and kissed my forehead like you would a small child. We’ve got friends who have been fasting and praying for us, and frankly that blows my mind. Others have helped us with expenses or have given us concert tickets so we could have a very special evening together. My folks sent us a care package of the most amazing cheese and crackers, along with money to buy wine—and strict instructions that money must be used for that purpose (I obeyed, Mom!). My friend Jeanne told me she’s sending me a book and I cannot wait to read it.

I am not a good enough writer to express how humbling and uplifting this outpouring has been for me. But I think I am making peace with Boston. It’s not the outwardly friendly town that Kansas City is, but I’m experiencing kindness and friendliness here when I need it most.

December snow

We had some friends over last night for a pot-luck cocktail party. All of them hoped the snow would start while they were there so they could see it from our huge windows. Alas it didn't start until sometime around 2 AM. I got this video about 6:30 AM.

Our big monorail cat

If you are familiar with LOLcats, then you’ve probably also seen the MONORAIL cat. Eddie is our monorail cat, and he started balancing like that at a very early age. While our office chairs did survive the water damage, they are in storage so Eddie has to make do with the chairs on hand. He's a big 15 pound cat and these chairs are a lot narrower than our office chairs. Eddie remains undeterred.



And here he is after his graceful dismount:

Some people call me Maurice

Wally has a way of finding places to recline that are in keeping with his nickname, The Ginger Prince. He’s done so in all five places we’ve lived in his short, not quite three years of life. Boy that’s kind of depressing to realize we’ve lived five places since we got Wally and Eddie in June 2007.

Aside from the incredible view we have from this apartment, we also have an exceptionally comfortable bed. We aren’t particularly glad it’s a king size bed, it seems awfully big when snuggles are required. But it sure is comfy. In addition to being comfortable for us, the bed also has four pillows: two are normal pillows which are very soft, and there are also two king size pillows, equally soft.

So every morning when we make the bed, Wally finds his way in there and creates a throne worthy of a gangster of love.