I am joining Leigh Kramer's link-up for the first time this month. Here's what I was into in August:
Books I've read:
A Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Late, I know. I've read Ann's blog on and off for a few years, and I had read articles and blogs about her book. I ordered it and 2 other books for my parents, fellow southwestern Ontario farmers, for Christmas 2011. It turned out not to be my mom's cup of tea. (She doesn't drink tea, in fact. Or coffee. My husband has tried but has not won her over to the delights of cappuccino.) So I nicked her copy on our trip to Canada last month. A Thousand Gifts is written in beautiful prose poetry, inviting you to slow down your life, be thankful and truy dwell in each moment, whether painful or joyful. If you love country living (or just like imagining it), it is a beautiful read. I'd like to see this kind of lifestyle (living in the moment, capturing the beauty in the every day, thanfulness even for seemingly ugly things) contextualized for the urban environment. I got a little weary of the repetitive adjective-after-noun style which seems to be Voskamp's hallmark ("the spaces wide open" "attention full" "the bubble trembles slight"). This book is meant to be lingered over and enjoyed in small doses. If you are a straight-shooter with no interest in poetry, you might want to look elsewhere.
Books still on my desk:
Signs and Wonders by Alix Ohlin
Handbook of Cultural Geography by Kay Anderson
The History of Montreal: The Story of a Great North American City by Paul-André Linteau
In addition to sundry articles and about twenty more of my students' term papers to mark...
Movies I've seen:
I think I may have seen one movie in a theatre since our first child was born 3 years ago. For us, watching movies means our lovefilm.de subscription which mails movies to our home (no Netflix in Germany! And iTunes rentals seem so expensive.) We snuggle up on our huge sectional couch; my tiny 30 cm screen laptop brings us closer. Two trans-Atlantic flights gave us more viewing options & time than usual, despite flying with a baby and an almost 3 year old.
Admission - I watched this on the plane from Heathrow to Toronto, interrupted, oh, about 7 times to take a child to the bathroom, serve a child food, calm a child down etc. Light comedy. I'm a sucker for any academic movie, and I love Tina Fey.
Les saveurs du palais (English: Haute Cuisine German: Die Köchin und der Präsident) Ah, I love a good French film. A French foodie film? Throw in a smidge of politics and a pinch of Antarctica? Yes, please.
I also got the chance to catch Curious George (twice!) and Toy Story 3 on the plane rides, with my adorable little boy leaning against my arm asking me "Wo ist George? ... Wo ist er jetzt? ... Und was macht er jetzt?" ("Where is George? ... Where is he now? ... And what's he doing now?") He didn't want to put the earphones on and the plots would have been too hard to keep up with anyway, but he enjoyed the moving pictures. His favourite character in Toy Story was the "baby", that demonic looking cupie doll. I let him keep thinking it was a nice baby.
Television:
We don't have a TV, so we have only occasionally watched some series online over the past few years, such as Downton Abbey and The Office (American version). Ah yes, while at my brother's place we did watch an episode of the Amazing Race Canada. I wonder if those insightful body builders won...
Things I love:
The German Kindergarten/Krippe system: this coming month both of our kids will start Kindergarten (ages 3-6, kids who turn 6 start grade 1 in September of that year) and Krippe (day care for 1-2 year olds, when they turn three they start Kindergarten). We've had two parent nights to visit the Kindergarten and Krippe in order to learn the values and day-to-day routines and two "familiarization talks" with the two Erzieherinnen (literally means "upbringer", like an Early Childhood Education person) responsible for each of my children over the past two weeks, so they can get to know my child's needs and routines individually and let me ask questions. I think this deserves a post of its own in the coming days!
Don't even get me started on the great Pikler-gear they have in the Krippe for the toddlers. Our daughter was there today to meet her Erzierhin and was so excited to climb, explore, slide and pull herself up on everything.
Anyone who really knows me, knows I love my Ergo. The Ergo Baby Carrier is just the best. My sister gave me her lightly-used one when I had our first baby, and we have used it a ton with both our babies. We thought we lost it for awhile, so I even bought a new second-hand one, then found the original and sold the 2nd one to a friend. Then I submitted some photos to an Ergo Baby contest and they rewarded me with a brand new top-of-the-line Performance Ergo carrier!
We use it almost daily when at home (on walks, at church) and of course we took it with us on our 3 week trip to Canada in August. I can't imagine trying to pull/push luggage, a buggy with a toddler in it and fish around for boarding passes and a passport without my Ergo. It was handy not only for our 11 month old who usually rides in it, but we also put our 18 kg son in there on my back when he was jet lagged and couldn't walk anymore. He loves it! He hasn't ridden in the Ergo since he was 18 months old, but this is our new thing. Now that Annabelle likes to look around and have more range of movement in the stroller at times when I have both kids by myself, I ask Andreas (when he gets tired) if he wants to ride on my back. He climbs on, I strap him in and we're off! As I wrote on Pinterest, the Performance Ergo is even more comfortable than the original, with thickly padded shoulder and hip straps that feel like a high-quality mountaineering backpack. The weight is so well distributed I can jog with my big baby in that thing, and it is comfy. So much easier than trying to carry them.
My most-read blog post:
In Memorium: My Austrian Spiritual Father
A tribute to an Austrian mountain man and what I learned from 6 weeks hiking through the alps, sleeping in a cave and going 48 hours with no food.
Linking up with Leigh Kramer today.
