Mini in Miami

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Amalía and I are in New York, but we brought a little bit of Miami with us. Two little bits actually: the shiny gold studs in Amalía’s tiny ears. Read all about it in the post “Baby’s First Bling”, which I wrote for the Townies column of the Opinionator blog in the New York Times’ [...]

Spiritual Spring Break

Image from fashionbombdaily.com

It’s that time of year again–empty beer bottles are sprouting in my garden like so many crocuses, flocks of young chicks in bikini tops and belly rings keep swooping into my neighborhood Starbucks, and, if the boys who have rented the apartment across the courtyard are any indication, young men’s fancy is turning to lust. [...]

Say Hello to My Little Fruit

Pomegranate from kalofagas.ca

I once heard novelist Zadie Smith describe the several psychological stages an author goes through while writing a novel. Based on my own experience, she was right on about all of them–the self-consciousness bordering on self-hatred when things aren’t going well, and that experience when things are where everything you see, read, or hear, seems [...]

Of Holy Mothers and Floating Babies–or Waitin’, Wishin’, and a Hopin’

The Leaping Frog, as documented by Joanie.

We’re officially on Amalía Watch 2011. I guess since she’s only going to be born once, it’s Amalía Watch, period, but I like the way Amalía Watch 2011 makes it sound that much more official, like an election or a hurricane. At 35 weeks, one of my doctors told me that given Amalía’s size, she [...]

Swing High, Fiery Chariot

elijahchariot

I hate to miss a good party. Tonight, in Greece, is the eve of the festival of the Prophet Elias, the patron saint of our village, Lia. There will be roast lambs and goats on spits, there will be pitas made by local ladies, there will be clarinets wailing and villagers dancing and various and [...]

Burn, Baby, Burn: Folklore Inferno

It’s going to be a long day.  And I mean that literally. Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Twice a year the sun goes to extremes as the Earth tilts on its axis, tilting away from or towards the sun and giving us the longest night of the year at [...]

The Lost Summer

I never want to be one of those mothers who rails on and on about what she gave up for her kids (her career, say, or her 22-inch waistline). First, of all, because I think it’s not very nice to put that kind of responsibility on your children, who, let’s face it, didn’t ask to [...]

Math is Hard

That’s a misquote of the elusive “Teen Talk Barbie,” which was recalled by Mattel in 1991 after public outcry deemed her shallow drivel (which included “Party dresses are fun! Do you have a crush on anybody?”) antifeminist and damaging to children. What Barbie actually said was not “Math is hard” but “Math class is tough!” [...]

It’s the End of the World As We Know It…and I Feel Fine.

So, tomorrow’s my nameday. But I wouldn’t rush out and pick out my gift just yet. Because tomorrow is also, according to some, the beginning of the end of the world. So you probably won’t live to see a thank you note. If you don’t know what a nameday is, it’s the day the saint [...]

Saint Joseph and the Heavenly Hash

So, this weekend we were way down yonder in New Orleans. And I apologize in advance if I feel the need to quote any more cheesy old standard songs. Because if I do feel so inspired, I will go right ahead and quote them. Why? Cause I did it my way. OK, enough of that. [...]