New York City!

A Whirlwind in a Winter Wonderland

This past weekend, Hannah, her mother, her grandmother, and her pa flew to NYC to catch a rock n roll show (yes, I secretly hope to be called "pa" or "pops." Not sure why.) Sarah's new full-time Mom duties have precluded one of her previous, and more glamorous, occupations- yet there was an open-ended invitation to rejoin whenever or wherever she wanted. Well, the right one came along at the right time so we jumped. To New York City we went... the day after their third record-breaking snow storm. JFK was still back-loaded but our dear Laguardia was open for business.

Now, NYC has a pretty rough reputation down here with us southern yokels. Therefore I was surprised to see so many hardened city-folk slipping as they slogged through the slush that was carved to the curb, gathering grease and grime. (Pardon the alliteration- I couldn't help myself) Those who chose form over function paid a dear price- it was a bad weekend for heels. 
And I was expecting colder weather, too. But we yokels have had a pretty serious winter so far and my blood has thickened significantly. I could, therefore, cover a city block with the unconcerned nonchalance of my Yankee brethern.

Man, nothing builds self esteem like learning to navigate Manhattan. Trains and taxis and tourists, oh my. But I now know Midtown from uptown and I know my streets from avenues. And I know that some of my best friends are in New York. The fam and I got to cover many bases in a small amount of time.

To the pics...
Bennett and Vivian (very pregnant with her second son) and Topher, three of my far-flung friends made time to hang out. Vivian doesn't go out much but hey, she says, "how often do you get put on the guest list at Radio City Music Hall?"

Facial hair: laughable, respectable, and serious.

The smiles say it all.

A four-eyed forum: The five of us (yes, five) enjoyed steak frites, great company, and and mediocre service.

Viv meets Hannah. Ah, Vivian- can you find Velasquez?

Momma Donna accompanied us. Many hands makes light work, don't you know. There is a solid relationship between Hannah and her grandma- one's presence amplifies the other's happiness. She and I split care duties while S was shakin' it.

We'd have been lost without Momma Donna.

Bjorn and headphones- ready for a rock show. We caught 4 songs of the set like this, much to the delight of all who noticed.

That's a big house.

Part-time rock star. Isn't she lovely?

The full line up, and man, they sound good!

Radio City in all its glory.

A small nag was laid to rest upon our return home. Since I walked across that stage in December, I had a hard time believing that it was really over- that college was done (undergrad, at least).

This was waiting for me when I got home. The frame looks great, Dad. Thanks.

Avast! A Bike Race!

Whew! I don't know about you guys, but 2011 is leaving me in the dust. The time is just slipping by! In an effort to make the most of my time...

let it be known that every minute spent with Hannah is time well spent...

...I'm trying to keep myself engaged. One of my most recent efforts was a bike race. Not just any bike race-- a cyclocross race, and I was the host/founder/gofer/doer/course-setter-upper and taker-downer. And it was fun. Think of cyclocross as steeplechase on a bike, people doing crazy stuff on bikes just because. I've mentioned it before and I doing it again because it is my favorite discipline of cycling. Someone once told me that people at CX (that's cyclocross) races are there to have a good time, whereas people at road races are there to make sure everyone else has a bad time. I'm over that. Life's too short.
This is the 3rd cross race I've put on but it was the first legitimate one, held in honor of the World Championships which were held in Sankt Wendel, Germany yesterday. It was a ho-hum day for me because my favorite crossers (Sven Nys, Bel. and Katie Compton, USA) finished a disappointing second in their respective races over a fast and technical course.  Katie was supposed to demolish her competition! Sigh...
My race was a less formal (and nowhere near as well attended), but equally arduous affair contested by racers ranging in age from 8 to forty-something.

Perhaps I should just let the pictures tell the tale...

Some of the racers-- some of whom are more enthusiastic than the others

The prize table- trophies and prizes for three categories, three deep.

Megs and Stephen scream over the grass section

The switchback section

Jamie and Allie, both deserving of a flower in January

The Men's A podium. Rob Giannini (center) has won every race I've put on.

Jamie put on an impressive show, lapping half the Men.

I wish I could put you guys in the driver seat for a lap. A local rider had said he was going to wear a helmet camera. How could he know he was going to break his arm the week before the race?

Sarah just kind of shakes her head in resignation when I talk about CX. I mean really, what wife wants to see her husband plunge himself into organizing something as esoteric as this. Still, bikes were part of Rob before Sarah was so she just sort of rolls with it. Where was she? Home, making a test for her accounting class. Perhaps there's the overlap-- we share a certain taste for measured schadenfreude. My vehicle is bikes, hers uses calculators and tax laws.

More soon.

Too Much Snow

Snowmageddon!

When it snows in Athens, the mood of the citizenry can best be described as jubilant. A sacred hush fell over the town as the first wet, large flakes began to fall at 10:00 the night before classes started at UGA. Teachers and students alike were grateful to have their New Year's break extended just  little.  By morning, though, the snow had turned to freezing rain and a sheet of ice formed over what would otherwise have been primo snowball material. 8 inches topped with ice? It was difficult to keep my cross bike upright.
Still, it was Hannah's first day in the snow-- a day I'm sure she'll never forget. Our friends Hope & Jeff and their son Samuel joined us for a walk through the neighborhood.

Ice, ice baby. Even walking was tricky. I have no idea where those bike tracks came from.

Samuel had the right idea. Lucky for him, his papa is the only man around with a sled.

Samuel no longer felt he had the right idea.

The kids out front of what will eventually be Hannah's elementary school.

Pretty, no?

H & S, done with the walk.

Hannah enjoyed her first cup of hot chocolate! No, not really.

One day of snow is great. The second is fun too. The third, though, is beginning to push it. We get a little sir crazy and many Southerners seem to lack the sense to stay off the black ice in their cars. A whole week off due to snow and ice? Too much, especially for Sarah and all faculty who now have to reconfigure their course calendars to account for the lost instructional time. In fact UGA has authorized their faculty to hold classes on certain Saturdays. We'll see how that goes over.

More soon and best to all.

Friends and Family

Athens is currently in its fourth day of Snowmageddon 2011, and while Athenians tend to like a day or two with the befuddling winter weather, more than that is just plain inconvenient. They therefore tend to wander out onto roads that are often still covered in refrozen snow--we call it black ice- and I am no smarter than my fellows for I have been out in it on the cross bike every day. It is not uncommon to see a car slide by sideways, a look of panic plastered on the "driver's" face.
Sarah's classes have been canceled each day though she'll be back in front of her class tonight, trying to figure out how she's going to make up the missed time. I, meanwhile, stand by. Daddy Day Care is open for business. As I type this, th' lillun is zonked out in the bouncy seat a la "Nap Time" (see earlier post). I'm trying to introduce her to classical music. Sibelius and Schubert seem to be a little bombastic for naps, though Mozart works just fine.

Why was I writing this? Oh yeah...

Mom visit Recap:
Mom/Linda/Kushi was here for Christmas. Pics!

3 Generations present at our first Christmas at home. Note Hannah Houdini has once again gotten her hand out of the swaddle. How does she do it?

Grandma Kushi shows off Sarah's new Korean scroll, one of the many fine gifts we were showered with.

The visit overlapped briefly with a drop-by from Joe, Judy, and Will Taylor (Sarah's aunt, uncle, and cousin) who were dropping off some beautiful furniture that had belonged to Sarah's grandmother. They got in a little face-time with Hannah Mo in the process.

Joe and Judy, a three hour drive away, are our closest relatives.

Hannah doesn't seem to mind their closeness.

In fact, Hannah says her other grandparents are welcome anytime.

 And the holiday season greatly improved by a visit from Shayna and Paulo from Turin. Sarah and I never would have met if Shayna hadn't introduced us. Visits like this remind me that no matter how small the world gets, I'd be fine if it got even smaller. Great visits like this are always over too soon. We miss our far-flung-friends.

Children and jobs and gelaterias, oh my! There was a lot to talk about.

More soon. We hope the New Year is off to great start!
-Salut

Food! #1

I've been meaning to publish a post on the steady stream of friends and family we've been seeing lately. There's more to say on Mom's visit, Joe & Judy & Will came down to drop some stuff off, and Shayna & Paulo got to meet the littlest Simpson. Hopefully I'll get to that soon.

For now, though, I just gotta tell you that I miss cooking-- having the time to cook, that is. I mean go all out. Christmas dinner, modest as it was, took me five hours to make. So it was that last night, for some still-unknown reason, I decided to throw down.

Mom and I went to the new Trader Joe's last week and I picked up some cod.  We've had some fruit sitting around looking like they were just aching to stink the place up. And I have bacon (Bacon makes everything better, you know). I decided to let these things come together on a plate over one of my favorite starches, risotto.

I knew I'd be battling forces beyond my control: Sarah's work schedule and Lil' H's sleep schedule being the two foremost. Fancy dinner is simply impractical at this point, I thought. Hang it! I'm doing it anyway. So last night's special was:

Pan-seared bacon-wrapped cod topped with spiced citrus conserves, served with risotto, micro greens, and Granny Smith Slaw. That's $17 at any restaurant worth its salt!
Here's how it shook out.

Off to a good start, right? Slaw of Granny Smiths, red onions, and radish. Spiced conserves of orange and lemon with toasted allspice and cardamom with vanilla bean (jury's still out on this one).

Action fast and slow. Pan-searing moves quickly while risotto requires patience.

Mmm, Bacon!

The finished product- Not bad, the judges said.

In other cooking news, I've been baking like there's no tomorrow. Possible reasons:
1. It's cold outside
2. Baked stuff is yummy
3. I'm through with college and I'm too task oriented to stand idly by

So here we have Rob's world famous apple pie (half-consumed) and Lemon Shaker Pie, courtesy of Deb at Smitten Kitchen, both built on Rob's hand made pie dough. These guys didn't last 2 days! Both were good a la mode but the apple pie was unstoppable when topped with Mama Donna's cranberry relish.

Yup. Yum.

Man, I just made myself hungry. I gotta go bake some brownies now.

More soon. Holla.

Nap Time

Hannah Mo is two months old on Thursday. I can't tell if the time has been flying or dragging. Still, the young lady is learning us as we learn her thus increasing everyone's overall enjoyment of life exponentially. We're still trying to nail down the whole sleep-through-the-night thing but naps are becoming pretty easy. Check it out.

Step 1: Get her happy

Step 2: Tire her out

Step 3: Look for the signs

Step 4: Swaddle fast!

May it always be this easy!