Emily M. DeArdo's Blog, page 11

Maddie: Seven Months!

Brace yourselves, everyone. Maddie is seven months old. Ahhhh!

Here’s the monthly update!

CAN DO:

Sit up for a good amount of time!

Blow raspberries and babbles a ton. She loves blowing raspberries!

Getting really close to crawling!

Mama thinks she’s getting another tooth, and she has her first dental appointment!

Say Maaaaaa….we think :)

Feed herself!

Recognize people in pictures

Playing peek-a-boo!

LIKES:

Giving Duke some of her food. (She’s eating some solids, and she will drop things for Duke to eat. He loves it.)

FOOD! We love food!

Giggling

Here she is her in favorite chair! She can sit here and supervise whatever Mama is doing.

Seeing people. She’s so, so social. And then talking to them.

Audiobooks!

Her pool

Watching English Premier League with Dad on Saturdays

Still loves playing with her feet

Going outside

When grandma (our mom) blows bubbles at her on FaceTime!

Songs

Adventures. She goes on a lot of them. Car rides are so fun!

She and Duke are very good buddies. (Duke is their dog)

At the local coffee shop with Mom and Fishie!

DISLIKES:

Being ignored, ha!

She doesn’t seem to like bananas—as in eating them as they are. She likes them pureed, and she likes to play with them, but eating them? Nope.

Cold food—still not a thing she enjoys!

Sleeves!

When she can’t see her mama—although with the peek-a-boo playing she’s getting OK with this. :)

Gallery:

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months!

Six months!

Last Saturday :)

Sourdough!

Last weekend, I made my first sourdough loaf!

I know, I know, everyone was doing this in 2020. But I didn’t have a starter in 2020, and I didn’t want to mess around with making one.

So when I visited Diane and crew this summer, I made a point of asking for a sourdough tutorial, because Diane makes it frequently. And she obliged me!

Patty enjoys the fruit of her mom’s labors—sourdough and penne with homemade sauce!

I wrote it down carefully. I asked questions. I was given some of her starter, which was carefully placed in my suitcase.

I fed it for about a month, every other week. And then this weekend, once I had all my equipment, I made it.

And it was yummy!

The nice thing about it, I think, is that you don’t have to knead it—at least not in Diane’s recipe. You do stretch the bread a few times, which is like kneading, but it’s not the intense kneading you need either by hand or with your stand mixer. That was nice.

Starter after sitting out all night…

I was a little worried after adding the flour and water because it seemed so dry. But Diane said it was OK!

It looks dry but it’s FINE!

And indeed it did become more and more “dough like” as the process went on.

After the first fold

After the second fold, about to go into the proofing basket. Lovely!

It went into the floured proofing basket and flopped perfectly into the Dutch Oven…..and came out looking so pretty! And it was delicious!

It has a nice crust, sharp but not so sharp you can cut yourself with it. It’s chewy, but not too chewy. In short, it’s good bread, and I might be addicted to making it now. Next time I will let it rise a little longer so that it’s a bigger loaf with a slightly more pronounced sourdough flavor.

If you want to try Diane’s recipe, here it is! (With my notes)

Have you ever made sourdough? How’d it turn out?

Everybody Hurts

(And yes, I did choose that title based off the song.)

One of the things I’ve come across a lot in 40 years is the idea that if you are financially well-off/secure, that you don’t suffer. It’s gotten to the point where I feel like I need to write about it here, to disabuse folks of this notion.

It’s usually not put that baldly, but that’s the gist of a lot of things I hear. Like, “Oh, a homily on suffering at a wealthy parish? They don’t need it!” Or “Well you’re financially secure, you don’t know what suffering is like!”

That’s…just not true.

Let’s start with the obvious and quote Scarlett O’Hara: “Money does help.” Yes, it does help. When my family was dealing with me being in the ICU, we weren’t worried about how we were going to put gas in our cars or keep the electricity on. True statement. Money helps.

However—my parents had a child in the ICU. A child they were being told was going to die. They had two other children to take care of at the same time, and potentially prepare them for the death of their sibling, while they were dealing with the possible death of their daughter, and maybe thinking they were going to have to plan a funeral. And at the same time, they were also dealing with my siblings’ schoolwork and teachers and all that jazz.

Yes, money was helpful—but they were suffering.

Life doesn’t look at your W2 or your 401(k) and go, “you know what, I think I’ll leave you alone because you have a good bank account.”

There are lots of different types of suffering, and financial poverty isn’t the only kind. There’s emotional suffering, physical suffering, combinations of all these things! Saying that being wealthy/well-off/ middle class negates any possibility of suffering “just ain’t so”.

This also goes with the whole, “Oh you’re thin I’m so jealous” thing.

Diane and me, May 2005

Folks. Look at that photograph. This was taken about a month and a half before transplant. I felt awful in this photograph. We’re at my grandfather’s surprise 80th birthday party, which I went to because it was his 80th birthday, even though my body was like PLEASE LAY ME DOWN AND LET ME SLEEP.

I weigh maybe 90 pounds here. The week after this party, I went into the hospital for almost a month. The sweater I’m wearing is an XS and it’s still hanging off me (look at the sleeves). Diane has a healthy paleness about her. I look sick. I was not healthy. In the hospital I was fed TPN (nutrition through an IV line) and lipids (fat!) to get me to gain any weight. This is NOT HEALTHY IN BIG CAPITAL LETTERS. This is a person near death.

And yet I had people telling me that I looked so thin! And making comments about how they had hips, and I didn’t, in a way to make themselves feel better about their bodies! (Seriously, they did this.)

I WAS DYING.

And people were looking at me, being jealous of my thinness.

That’s a problem, folks.

So please don’t think that because someone is financial secure/thin/good looking/happy, her life is just all sunshine and roses and awesomeness.

Everybody hurts.

August Yarn Along--Christmas knitting takes off!

I went on my first “yarn crawl” on Monday and so that was a lot of fun! A crawl is basically visiting a bunch of shops that are all participating in the event; it’s a great way to visit new stores and get discounts and other goodies, like….TOTE BAGS.

The bag with….

My goodies inside! :)

The Carnation Yarn Trail runs through Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky, and man, it’s extensive, as you can see on the map (scroll down)—it goes from Grand Rapids, MI, to just outside Louisville, KY! A lot of knitters will visit stores as a vacation or a fun thing to do with their yarn buddies, but I “just” visited two stores, though I am keeping this list for future reference.

First I visited 614 Knit Studio, which is on the north side of town. I’d never visited it before but it’s so gorgeous that that’s going to change! The top photo is of their ‘baby yarn’ wall and I bought almost all of the teal yarn for a dress for Maddie. I also picked up some Malabrigio Rios in Anniversario for me (that’s the pretty multicolored yarn!) that might be (yet another) shawl. :) Shawl knitting is my love language! I also got a shawl cuff so I can experiment with different ways to wear my many shawls, and some blocking pins that I think will work a lot better than the ones I currently have, which are sort of fiddly.

My second stop was Yarn it and Haberdashery, which is my “regular” local yarn store. I got the dark blue yarn you see in the photo for a Christmas project. (You can see the project on Ravelry here), as well as the knit picks needles so I can cast on a baby blanket without waiting for a current knit in progress to be done! :) (Yes I have a second niece coming, she needs a blanket! Yay babies!)

In progress we have:

*Chocolate Lily, where I have just finished the main body increases. That means there are two more sections to go before it’s off the needles!

*Christmas project (see link above)

And things that need blocked: Quindici and Take It All. (Seen below—quindici is the one done in blues)

Whew! That’s a fair bit of knitting and finishing to do.

Onto reading!

Above, The Silmarillion surrounded by the projects that need finished. :)

I’ve been meaning to read The Silmarillion* for awhile, but it wasn’t until a week or so ago that I decided to be serious about it. Thanks to this great reader’s guide, I’ve been making progress! This is very different from the Lord of the Rings books in that it’s very dense—I’m taking a ton of notes in the margins—but rewarding to read.

I’m also re-reading Cardinal Pell’s prison journals*.

End of July Daybook

It has been so long since I’ve done one of these, but I saw that Elizabeth Foss has re-started them over at her blog and that gave me the impetus to go ahead and write this one! Because I like them and it’s been way too long since we’ve had one!

Outside my window::

It’s a sunny day, the grass and trees are green and thriving (see above photo!). It’s only going to be 81 today so that mens I can sit on my porch and read without frying to a crisp. This is excellent.

I am listening to::

In the car, it’s the Six * soundtrack. It’s so fun. I’ve also been working on learning Scottish Gaelic, so sometimes I tune into the BBC Scotland (Alba) channel and get a mix of Scottish music and talk radio—sometimes in English, sometimes in Gaelic. I’m really good at picking out the word “and”! (which is agus).

I am wearing::

You know, when the world shut down in 2020, it was so easy to get into the “I am not going to get dressed” thing, right? I’ve never been a person to leave the house in my pajamas, and I’m still not. But yes, my favorite leggings and a great t-shirt are sort of my summer uniform, along with a fun lipstick. (One of my New Year’s Resolutions? Wear more lipstick. It sounds really funny and sort of silly, but I love doing it now!) Generally my hair is up. When I’m dressed like this I feel like I can get a lot of things done, which is always a good idea!

Grateful for::

Talking to Maddie and my sister this morning—Maddie is blowing raspberries and it’s so cute.

Good weather

The local farmers’ market, which I remembered to visit yesterday!

A new baby to knit for

a local yarn crawl to attend!

Pondering::

Two big projects—but not writing projects. One of them is a wholesale overhaul of my apartment. The other is about gaining back muscle strength and endurance post COVID lockdowns.

The apartment is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile, and this has two parts: the really deep clean + organizing, and then the decorating part. The two are sort of dovetailing because as I deep clean/sort/donate/organize things I notice things that need replaced or things I need to get to ensure things are running smoothly around here. The other part is replacing broken things with things that I, in some cases like better, like the lamp below:

This lamp is perfect!

The goal is to have the cleaning and organizing done by Labor Day. I think I can do it! The decorating will take a bit longer as I look for things that are good fits, like the lamp above. There was a lamp there that didn’t really fit the space or my style, but I kept it because I hadn’t found anything else I really liked. As soon as I saw this lamp (from Target) I knew it would be perfect, and it is. So then I was able to get rid of the old, broken lamp!

Another part of housekeeping is having the energy/stamina to do it, because I don’t always. If I get sick, the entire system collapses, so I need a better system, for starters, but that also feeds into the second project—getting my stamina back. Lockdowns did a huge number on my overall fitness, and so I’ve decided that I’m really going to re-focus on that. I’m doing Take Up and Read’s Well and Good summer program, and that’s been really helpful in addressing certain issues I’d been having. I’m not trying to lose weight—at this point, I want to be strong and be able to function on a daily basis, for myself, but also for Patty, Madeleine, and my new niece!

So I’ve been working out three times a week—the goal is to build that up to 5 days. The workouts vary but I can already seem changes in my stamina and strength, which is all for the good. And if I have more strength, I can do more around the house as well! It all works together.

Reading::

The King’s Pearl*, about Henry VIII and his daughter Mary; Mansfield Park*'; Taste: My Life Through Food*, and Theology of Home III: At The Sea. *

Creating::

a shawl—I’m in a yarn club so every quarter members get a special kit with an exclusive pattern, yarn for the pattern, and a knitting notion. I’ve been knitting through kits I have, and this is the one I’m on now—hopefully I’ll have it off the needles by August’s Yarn Along! I’ll have full notes there too.

To Live the Liturgy::

Today’s the feast of St. Martha!

Around the House::

See above! :) But right now the laundry is going as I write this.

From the Kitchen::

When I visited Diane, she taught me how to make sourdough bread and gave me some of her starter. I am most likely going to bake my first loaf with it within the next week. Fingers crossed!

Patty observes the process!

Plans for the week::

As we head into August my schedule is lovely and clear. August has two medical days—an Echo as part of my yearly transplant testing, as well as the whole day testing/doctor visit extravaganza. But other than that, the month is so clear and I love it.

My Jeopardy Episode--Online!

So many of you will remember that I was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 2016! (You can read all about that here.)

I have FINALLY found the episode online! So if you want to watch it, here you go!

(I can’t embed the video because there are restrictions on it, sadly. But that link works!)

It's a Summer Sale!

Ave Maria Press is running their big summer sale from July 11 to July 24 on their website! Use the code SUMMER22 at checkout to save 25%!

So of course that means it’s a great time to stock up on Living Memento Mori!

Get copies for yourself, and for friends and family! This is a great time to do it and support your local Catholic author.

Seventeen

Me and my first niece, the Maddie Bear!

There’s soemthing about this transplant anniversary that just hits differently. Maybe it’s because it’s seventeen, which is getting up there in transplant years, and it feels more remarkable. I think it’s because some big things have happened in this transplant year.

My sister became pregnant, had Madeleine, and I got to meet the sweet little girl, who is my first niece! Then my brother and his wife announced they too are pregnant, with a girl, so I’ll have two nieces by the end of January 2023. Wow!

Something about nieces just hits differently. Maybe it’s because of the genetic connection. Maybe it’s seeing my siblings become parents. Maybe it’s both? It’s undefinable, I think. It’s just a special thing, to be an aunt. It’s different than being a godparent, which I also love!

How can you resist Patty? You can’t.

And I turned 40, which, to be honest, wasn’t something I was sure I’d see. But I did.

When I was twenty-three, my sister hadn’t met her husband. My brother had met his wife, but they weren’t dating. Diane, Patty’s mom, wasn’t married yet (although she was dating her husband) so her kids weren’t even thoughts. (Well maybe they were thoughts. haha.) My godson was seven years old.

So many things hadn’t happened yet.

Thanks to Suzanne (my organ donor) I was able to see all these things, and more.

Maddie: Six months!

I CANNOT believe that Madeleine Grace is six months old! Holy moly!

We’re leading off with a picture of her in the Stanley Cup Champion Avalanche onesie that people at the grocery store dearly loved (as well as dearly loving her cuteness).

Here’s what she can do, what she likes, and what she dislikes, at six months!

CAN DO:

Feed herself bottle pretty much independently 

Sit in high chairs/ shopping cart! (See above!)

Laugh! 

Trying to crawl 

Brush teeth 

Look for objects when she drops them

Very vocal! Especially when she is not paid attention to

Sleeps with her pacifier and will grab it to self soothe, she likes chilling in her crib before we get her.

She LOVES:

Baths and the baby pool! (Hoping to do “big kid” pool soon)

Balls 

Sitting in the high chair 

Duke the Doggie—She laughs when she sees him and when he gives her kisses

Falling asleep to audiobooks.  She will turn her head toward Alexa when Mom hasn’t turned it on yet.

Tummy time.  She just loves to move!

Going to the park and watching all the bikers/ walkers. 

Playing with her feet

Going on a adventures 

The lotion song, or basically any song (Melanie has many, many songs for Maddie, they’re all adorable)

Playing with her feet 

Being outside 

DISLIKES:

When mommy is out of sight

When other people put her bed 

Sitting too long— she gets bored 

When people are talking but not to her (ha! This sounds a lot like when her mother was little :) )

When she is tired

When she drops her bottle / ball 

Staying still for diaper changes (Her Aunt Emily also struggled with this. :)

Photo Gallery

newborn

One month

two months

3 months

4 months

5 months!

Yarn Along: Digging into the stash!

I don’t know what it is about vacations but it always seems to give me mental clarity. Does this happen to you?

One of the things I was thinking bout when I was in Texas (which I will write about soon!) is knitting. I didn’t bring a knitting project with me, but I was thinking about what to do with some yarn I have and hadn’t used. That lead me to remember this kit that my parents got me for Christmas, for a shawl called “Take It All.” The kit uses one main color (that’s the ‘natural’ color you see) and a mini-skein kit for the contrasting colors. I thought that would be a great project to work on. I wanted something pretty simple but also fun, and this checked all the boxes. (You can see a version of it knitted up here)

I also decided wht I’ll be knitting next, so I have my updated “knitting queue” ready to go. It can be so overwhelming to have yarn for so many projects, and to have a huge Ravelry queue, so sometimes it’s easier for me to write a “top three” list and then work down that.

My Ursina sweater is sort of in limbo because I have to learn how to do magic loop! So I’m taking a short (I hope) break from it. I finished my Quinidici shawl, and that was a lot of fun. I especially liked working with La Bien Aimee’s cashmerino yarn! I used Winterfell, Hegelia, and Nymeria for my Quindici. (I bought the yarn with birthday money—a very good expenditure if I do say so myself!) I actually have a ton of Nymeria left so I’m thinking about doing another quindici with two other colors…hmmm! (You only use a little of the second contrast color in this project.) I mean, waste not want not, right? :)

As far as reading: I love visiting a little independent bookshop whenever I visit Diane. So we made a trip to the Blue Willow Bookshop!

It’s so adorable and it’s home to lots of amazing things. I bought two copies of the 200th anniversary edition of Emma for Di and I….she’d never read it, except in its Baby Lit version:

Johnny: Emewee, are these the same book?

(Yes I have multiple copies of Emma, don’t judge.)

When I do the full Houston write up I’ll include book links.

What are you making/crafting/reading?