Family Update: A Nice Holiday Weekend

Happy holiday weekend to all!

We skipped the update last week, sorry about that, I hope you didn't miss our family news too much! As Kevin had announced, my Mom was visiting and we had a very busy weekend, hard at work doing a "make-over" of our bedroom. It is looking beautiful! I am still working on it, little by little finishing the second coat of white on the mural, but it is nearly done. Here's a little glimpse. I will post better photos when the room is finished and reassembled with furniture and artwork.


So what's new for the Bartoy family these days? Well, we've been busy with visits. First, Kevin's friend Steve visited us, as we wrote about 2 weeks ago. We loved seeing him and Benjamin had a fantastic time with his Uncle Steve. We're always busy with various activities when Steve is here and this time was no different. We visited the Civil War Colored Troops reenacters at Fort Negley and hiked up the hill to see the view, we ate at the Omni Hut and we tried the hot chicken from Prince's.

The day after Steve left, it was my mother's turn to visit. She and Benjamin played and bonded. Ben loves his Yaya! She spoiled him rotten with toys, books and a full wardrobe for fall/winter. Multi-talented as always, she spearheaded our bedroom design and also made an awesome, waterproof oil cloth cover for Ben's kitchen chair which allows us to make speedy cleanups after meals. Hallelujah for that.

Super-cute seat cover for messy silly baby

I'll take this opportunity to do a quick brag on my mama: she recently started her own business, Cerise Decor, doing decoration for children's rooms. Check out her beautiful work on her website (and hint-hint nudge-nudge, recommend her to your friends in Austin!).


Benjamin has grown and changed so much over the last couple of weeks. He is so communicative these days. He points to what he wants. He clearly expresses likes and dislikes with beaming smiles, disgusted pouts, frowns, pants, squeals, coos and groans. He understands many words and remembers people's names.

He loves babies and little kids and screams excitedly whenever he sees them -- in the grocery store, on TV, at playgroups, in books. He is fascinated by animals -- chickens, horses, cows, dogs. He babbles and sings all the time, introducing new sounds almost every day.

He interacts so much, imitating his daddy's silly grunts and laughter. He waves hello and goodbye without prompt and gives hugs if you ask -- so sweet!! He "sings along" to music in the car, on the stereo or when we sing. His favorite objects right now are the phone, the television remote and spoons.



Benjamin is a joker and loves to get reactions and smiles from us. For example, when I put him down for a nap, I often sit next to his crib until he goes to sleep. I usually pretend to sleep so he's not tempted to interact. But, if he's not quite tired yet, he rolls onto his belly and scoots toward me, then pokes his hand through the crib railings to touch my hand or my nose and wake me up. When I open my eyes, he giggles happily. It's so hard to keep a straight face!

Ben is increasingly agile. He understands cause-and-effect concepts pretty well and pulls a table cloth toward him to slide a glass closer, or flips the corner of his placemat to grab a piece of biscuit that is out of reach. He loves to pretend-drink from our coffee mugs or wine glasses, he thinks it is so cool.

He is quite close to crawling too, and he might as well be, considering how mobile he is. He gets exactly where he wants to be by scooting, sliding and squirming. We've had to get the pack-n-play out of storage to contain him when I'm showering or otherwise occupied. Fortunately, he plays very well on his own, cooing to his toys and flipping through his books. Check out the little worm in this video.

Benjamin has been trying a lot of new foods recently: lentils, yogurt, peaches, pineapple, plums, barley, pasta. He absolutely loves cheese. He really likes drinking juice too, apple mostly, sometimes with a little bit of prune diluted with water, which he gets after his nap in the afternoon most days. And he is in heaven when we give him a teething biscuit, as illustrated in this video.

Mouth at the ready...

Yum!
(Don't you think Benjamin could be the new spokesman
for Earth's Best Teething Biscuits?)

Bang bang on the table

Feels good on the teef

We've been working on a couple more teeth recently, so after a bit of respite, nights have once again become difficult. Benjamin is also quite a mama's boy lately and easily cries if I leave the room or if I put him down for a nap. He's taken to throwing fits when something is not to his liking, with top-of-his-lung screeches, feet kicking and back arching. Oh boy. We're being schooled on keeping our cool.

Most of the time though, he is just peachy, happy and smiley. He is so good while out in public or with company, and rarely fusses -- knock on wood that it stays that way. He continues to be a great baby, such a sweet personality and fast on his way to becoming a little boy! He will be 10 months old in a few days, I cannot believe it. We need to start planning his first birthday party soon!



This weekend is a holiday weekend, what with Memorial Day and all. So Kevin is home with us for a long weekend. It is so nice to have him here with us more than usual! And, I don't know what came over him yesterday, he must have been stung by a busy bee. He did all the laundry including folding. This is usually my chore, so it was quite a lovely gift. He also vacuumed Benjamin's room and has been a regular Cinderella around the house, making lunches for Ben and me, watching baby so I can get stuff done (like blogging and baking), and doing all his own chores without being reminded. Not to gross you all out, but I have to admit, this domestic productivity is quite sexy! He and Benjamin are hanging out and laughing their hearts out in the next room as we speak, it is so sweet to hear.

What are you all doing this holiday weekend? We're enjoying the beginning of summer weather and relaxing. Kevin has gotten the garden mostly under control, so he's able to veg a bit for once (now that he's done all the laundry, he he). And, we might grill some burgers with friends and family tomorrow. Happy Sunday everyone!

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Sunday Morning Coffee with "The Weight"

For a few weeks now, I have been thinking about a new format for Sunday Morning Coffee. It wouldn't be a permanent replacement, but it would switch things up a bit once in a while.

And, today, we are rolling out this new format.

There are certain songs out there that have power beyond the band that originally wrote or performed them. These songs speak deeply to something within us. They are songs that give you goosebumps when you hear them.

So, I thought that we would explore what I consider to be a few of these legendary numbers.

To kick off this new version of Sunday Morning Coffee, I have chosen what is perhaps the best rock and roll song ever which was written by what is perhaps the best rock and roll band ever.

If you haven't guessed it already from that introduction, I am talking about "The Weight" by The Band.

I have no idea how Rolling Stone could rank this song as #41 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. I guess it just goes to show how worthless such a list is.

Without further ado, here are five takes of "The Weight" brought to you without commercial interruption. Perhaps you all could chime in on your favorite or suggest another version that should be put up for consideration.

I hope you all enjoy this new format for your Sunday java.

Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and Old Crow Medicine Show, "The Weight":

Playin' it with friends always makes it sound better. And, they nailed it in this version. But, I am a sucker for a good fiddle.

Uncle Tupelo, "The Weight":

This is likely one of the worst and most unprofessional versions out there. I love Uncle Tupelo, but this is a "give me money back" moment. Embarrassing.

Professor Louie and The Crowmatix with The Rock Of Ages Horns, "The Weight":

This version demonstrates the power of always having a horn section. That's how I roll baby!

Rooney, "The Weight":

Spreadin' the love to a new generation.

The Band with the Staple Singers, "The Weight":

Be forewarned! This is a religious experience. This version from The Last Waltz by Martin Scorcese. I don't think this one has ever been outdone.

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Dirty Dispatches: More Garden Architecture

Well, I guess that I just can't stop myself with new types of architecture in the garden.

Last year, we only had the zucchini trellis. But, this year, we have already added the teepees for the cucumbers, peas, and beans.

Now, I think that I have officially flipped my lid.

Using burlap, bamboo poles, fencing wire, rebar, and, yes, once again, tennis balls, I have constructed two sun shades for our mesclun and our lettuce. You see, last year, our summer was too hot for these colder weather crops. Our lettuce bolted and our mesclun was burning hot from some super spicy arugula.


In this photograph, you can see one shade in use and one shade in the "up" position.


I think that the shade is working though as you can see that the first sprouts from the mesclun are readily emerging.



On the opposite side of the garden, I have constructed a melon ladder out of last year's bamboo and some fencing wire.


Jen wanted melons, but I didn't think that we had the space inside the garden. And, now that I have turned our corn and melon patch into a bocce court, I wasn't sure that we could have melons this year.

So, in a grand experiment, I have planted some of the Ali Baba watermelon seed that I collected last year and some Rocky Ford cantaloupe seed that was gifted to me from a master gardener at The Hermitage. Now, it is just a matter of waiting to see if we can encourage the plants to climb up the ladder and then suspend their fruit with some type of sling.


Just so the melons wouldn't get lonesome, I planted some leftover Painted Mountain corn seed that I had from last year at either end of the row.

I am pretty sure that we have officially maxed out the garden architecture!

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This Is Journalism?

When Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this week, many Americans were shocked and greatly saddened.

The news led to a great outpouring of emotion from both sides of the aisle in the Senate.

Yet, many news outlets thought it part of their journalistic mission to hunt down any doctor who would give a pronouncement on how long Senator Kennedy has to live. Other news sources started to speculate on who would fill Senator Kennedy's seat in the Senate. And, still others reacted as if the Senator had already died.

One particularly terrible show was put on by Michael Savage. Savage is part of the triumvirate of right wing radio and television that includes Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. These individuals consider themselves "journalists" but really do little more than spew their hate-filled and ill-informed opinions to millions of Americans every day.

I think it is fair to say that these "journalists" are much more Howard Stern than Walter Cronkite.

When news of Senator Kennedy's illness hit the press, Savage mocked Kennedy by playing clips of Arnold Schwarzenegger from Kindergarten Cop saying, "It's not a tumor," and went on to play the Dead Kennedy's "California Über Alles" in "honor" of Kennedy. When long-time senator and close Kennedy friend Robert Byrd broke down in tears on the Senate floor concerning Kennedy's illness, Savage ridiculed him by saying:

"You gently send in orderlies in white coats, and they gently remove the old man, and they put him in a chair — strap him in — in the Senate retirement home, and wheel him over next to a curtain facing a nice outdoor window, and three times a day they feed it."

After hundreds of thousands have reacted in outrage to this abhorrent behavior, Savage now claims that he is being persecuted for "refusing to take the party line."

What Savage and the other hate mongers do not realize is that they are not being attacked because of some "liberal fascist agenda," but rather because they lack simple courtesy and human decency.

I am not quite sure how these ignorant hacks have been allowed to be considered even remotely as "journalists," but it is an absolute disgrace that their rhetoric would be taken as serious commentary by anyone.

I suppose that real journalism just doesn't sell anymore. So, we are stuck with shock jocks cum journalists who are given a tremendous stage and very little accountability.

And, we wonder why America is in such dire straits?

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Qlogging with Edna St. Vincent Millay

Poetry is the world distilled.

If we are to be inebriated by its beauty and its tragedy, we must drink deeply from the poet's cup.

Today, we share a glass with Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Photograph by Carl Van Vechten

Following her parent's divorce when she was twelve, Millay and her two sisters lived with their mother, who had little money but a great love of literature. Brought up in the echos of classic verse, Millay soon discovered a knack for poetry and published her first works while still a teenager.

With her powerful female voice, Millay embodied a new sense of the "modern woman." Her bohemian lifestyle greatly influenced her verse. And, she was quick to recognize the politics of her poetics. Most notably, her poetry turned a critical eye to society with her involvement in the case of Sacco and Vanzetti.

Arrested for protesting the Sacco and Vanzetti verdict, Millay was actually given an audience with the governor of Massachusetts to plead for the lives of the two men. Her appeal fell on deaf ears and on August 23, 1927 both men were executed in the electric chair. Having her political voice silenced, Millay turned to poetry and published her indictment of this injustice, "Justice Denied in Massachusetts," in the New York Times.

While well known in the first half of the twentieth century, Millay's work lost its prominence with the rise of the modernist poets. It is only within the last few decades that Millay's work has once again garnered its proper critical acclaim.

I hope that you enjoy your dram of the world distilled from the pen of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

First Fig

MY CANDLE burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!


Second Fig

SAFE upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!


Thursday

AND if I loved you Wednesday,
Well, what is that to you?
I do not love you Thursday--
So much is true.

And why you come complaining
Is more than I can see.
I loved you Wednesday,--yes--but what
Is that to me?


Midnight Oil

CUT if you will, with Sleep's dull knife,
Each day to half its length, my friend,--
The years that Time takes off my life,
He'll take from the other end!


Justice Denied in Massachusetts

Let us abandon then our gardens and go home
And sit in the sitting-room
Shall the larkspur blossom or the corn grow under this cloud?
Sour to the fruitful seed
Is the cold earth under this cloud,
Fostering quack and weed, we have marched upon but cannot
conquer;
We have bent the blades of our hoes against the stalks of them.

Let us go home, and sit in the sitting room.
Not in our day
Shall the cloud go over and the sun rise as before,
Beneficent upon us
Out of the glittering bay,
And the warm winds be blown inward from the sea
Moving the blades of corn
With a peaceful sound.

Forlorn, forlorn,
Stands the blue hay-rack by the empty mow.
And the petals drop to the ground,
Leaving the tree unfruited.
The sun that warmed our stooping backs and withered the weed
uprooted—
We shall not feel it again.
We shall die in darkness, and be buried in the rain.

What from the splendid dead
We have inherited —
Furrows sweet to the grain, and the weed subdued —
See now the slug and the mildew plunder.
Evil does overwhelm
The larkspur and the corn;
We have seen them go under.

Let us sit here, sit still,
Here in the sitting-room until we die;
At the step of Death on the walk, rise and go;
Leaving to our children's children the beautiful doorway,
And this elm,
And a blighted earth to till
With a broken hoe.

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Guest Blog: Breastfeeding Is Not A Crime

It is long past time that we place the health of our children ahead of our misguided morality in this country.

Since when did the sight of a mother nurturing her child by breastfeeding become a show of public indecency?

Is the American mind so small as to not be able to view the female breast as something aside from a signal for sex?

Today, we are happy to have the team from MomsRising.org back to speak to a very important piece of legislation that is currently stalled in Congress. Please lend a hand in getting your representatives to take action to ensure that breastfeeding is not treated as a crime.

Just a couple of months ago, a mother was kicked out of a museum in New York for breastfeeding, a perfectly legal act in that state. Mothers continue to suffer discrimination and humiliation for breastfeeding, even though doctors recommend breastfeeding for all infants. Clearly we need Congress to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R. 3799) now--before more mothers are stigmatized and humiliated for breastfeeding.

Representative Carolyn Maloney's Breastfeeding Promotion Act (H.R. 3799) would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect breastfeeding by new mothers by providing tax credits to employers who provide a place to breastfeed and/or provide breast pumps. This makes it a lot easier for women who want to give their babies breastmilk and keep their jobs. As you may know, 82% of American women become mothers by the time they are forty-four years old, so this issue is critically important to a large portion of our nation. To read the bill, visit The Library of Congress Website.

But this Act is currently stalled in Congress, and isn't going to move forward without increased citizen pressure. You can supply that pressure.

MomsRising members have successfully raised awareness about the need to protect the rights of breastfeeding mothers in the past and can do it again. Last year, MomsRising members and other activists changed Delta Airlines' corporate policies when a mother was kicked off a flight for breastfeeding.

We can harness this same power to push through the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, but we need your help contacting Congress. Let's support mothers who are nurturing and caring for the next generation of Americans. Those nursing babies may not be able to vote, but their mothers can!

Forward this email so your friends and family can contact their representatives too. It's going to take all of our voices, and then some to get this legislation moving forward. We need tens of thousands of messages to go to Congress supporting breastfeeding.

CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSPERSON NOW!

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Another Reason To Always Question Authority

Here is a disturbing story that was covered up by the governments of the United States, Great Britain, and South Korea as well as several international news agencies for over 50 years.

In 1950, on the eve of the Korean War, the government of South Korea ordered the massacre of thousands of its own citizens for the thought crime of being "leftists."

The South Korean government is only now admitting to these widespread executions that resulted in the murders of an estimated 100,000 South Korean citizens from a population at the time of just under 3 million. For those of you bad at math, that is over 3% of the population murdered by their own government.

What makes this atrocity even worse is that it was not a secret.

United States troops and government officials witnessed many of the killings. British journalists tried to publish the story in the mainstream press, but were censored. And, when the British communist paper The Daily Worker finally published the story, the United States called the report an "atrocity fabrication" and the British government almost charged the truthful reporter with treason.

The reports that are now surfacing from officials involved in the exhumation of some of the mass graves as well as eyewitness statements to the killings are absolutely chilling.

With the confirmed knowledge of these horrific violations of human rights, the United States government continued to prop up the absolutely corrupt South Korean government. In the three years of active warfare on the Korean Peninsula from 1950 to 1953, almost 37,000 American citizens lost their lives in defense of a government that had murdered 3% of its own population in approximately three weeks.

Although the Associated Press, ABC, and a handful of other mainstream media outlets have reported on this story, the magnitude of this atrocity and its implications for a critique of United States foreign policy have clearly been silenced once again.

Not only do the 100,000 South Korean dead deserve justice, but so too do the 37,000 Americans who gave their lives for lies to prop up a corrupt regime in South Korea in the name of freedom and democracy.

As if we needed another reason to always question authority and never trust our government.

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Urban Homestead Revolution

How did a well groomed patch of grass become part of the American dream?

It seems that having a nice lawn has become the quintessential ingredient to success in America.

Folks spend long hours and lots of money raising grass that has little use aside from its ability to recreate the uniquely American landscape of box-like rows of houses planted on perfectly green squares.

But, perhaps I am painting with too broad a brush.

I guess that some folks might also have a tree or even two of them in the yard.

Of course, the trees are purely ornament and produce nothing for families aside from shade.

As Jen and I have slowly been growing our little farm, I have come to the realization that we need to reevaluate the values that make up the American dream. The picket fence, 2.5 kids, and manicured lawn just aren't doing it for us. Instead, I think that the tribute to our success should come from our self sufficiency.

I might be a little too old school on this one, but I believe that the ability to raise our own essentials through our own labor on our own land should be our ultimate goal.

But, guess what?

I am not alone.

Homesteading has always been a part of the American landscape. But, in today's world, an increasing number of families are joining the homestead revolution. And, many of these folks are doing it right in the middle of cities.

Our friend Angel sent me a link to a great website produced by a family of "eco-pioneers" in Pasadena, California. At their "Little Homestead in the City," this family of four produces 6,000 pounds of food annually on a plot of land that totals 1/5 acre. That is, 66 feet by 132 feet. And, they do it all less than a mile away from downtown Pasadena in the greater Los Angeles area.

How is it possible that this family can achieve relative independence in the middle of the city? Are they miracle workers? Do they have a book of secrets? Are they just just bad at math?

While I am sure that these folks have gained a great deal of special skills, I think that the one thing that has allowed them to be so successful is their ability to think differently.

It would have been much easier for this family to have a well manicured lawn and a couple of trees on their small city lot. Yet, to them, this idea was not a dream. It was a ludicrous nightmare.

And, you know what? This type of thinking isn't so foreign to the Americans.

If you are lucky enough to have family or friends still around who can remember life in America during World War II, take a moment and ask them about Victory Gardens.


It took a global war to do it, but Americans became some of the most frugal folks in the world to ensure victory over totalitarianism just over 60 years ago. Not only did Americans grow their own food, but they also recycled just about everything that wasn't nailed down and, in fact, more than a few things that were.

Rita Hayworth shows the sexy side of recycling

Today, we are facing another global threat. Perhaps it isn't as easy to vilify as Hitler. But, it is going to take an even greater effort on the part of all Americans and all citizens of the world to be able to defeat this threat.

You see, our lifestyles have become unsustainable. If we continue to consume as we do today, this planet doesn't stand much of a chance.

It is going to take a redefinition of the American dream. And, this will undoubtedly include the removal of the lawn from the American landscape.

There are folks out there like the Dervaes Family showing us that it is possible. But, it is going to take a serious reevaluation of our values to make this change a reality.

We can start small, but we definitely have to start.

Perhaps you aren't ready to dig up that lawn yet. So, just dig up a small square and put a garden in its place.

Perhaps you aren't ready to purchase some chickens yet. But, find some folks in your area who are raising eggs and buy from them.

Your little steps will make a big difference.

Even if the overall environmental and economic impact is small, the ideological impact can be great.

Think differently! Only you can help to redefine the American dream.

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