Lake Montebello and Us

I love lake Montebello. I love the people that are there, the regulars and the unregulars that come and go the small and big and young and old and every kind of person and family on feet and on wheels, I love them. The trio of ladies with babies gossiping and waddling, the supercool woman with retro rollerskates and clothes and disco moves circling around and around and around, the ever-present and changing group of racing bikers zooming in their formation like geese. I love the geese too, and the turtle we saw that one time. My kids on their little bikes trucking around trying not to trip up the racers and all the friendly smiles that fall on them and us. Lake Montebello looks like Baltimore and it feels how I wish all Baltimore felt. I am most hopeful about Baltimore, about Ferguson, about the United States of America, about humanity, when at the Lake circling the water and the humanity that sustains us.  

an independent coffee shop in towson, really? really!

For those unfamiliar with baltimore, Towson Maryland is on top of Baltimore. In theory it should be a university town, with towson university and all. But when I think university town I think independent coffee shops full of students and books and brooding. Instead Towson has starbucks and a fancy pants mall with a "luxery wing" (literally.) So Towson in my book is remarkably less cool than any other part of baltimore, basically all neighborhoods of which are really full of wonderful independent shops. When I need to exit my office to get work done (i do try to stay where there is nothing to spend money on and no cookies to tempt me but sometimes that just wont do) and i need a coffee shop I always head back to the lauraville spots. but on mondays red canoe is closed. and i come to my point: today I found a coffee shop in towson! apparently it has been here a whole year. Its cute. good soup. friendly barrista lady. books. art. outdoor seating. so far so good.

now to that work i came to do...

oh, its called the french press

Charm City and a Charmed Life in a Less than Charming Economy

Notes on a community and an economic downturn.
When I spend a dollar I lovelove to spend it someplace nearby and quaint and local and ecoware, and I have lots of such options in Lauraville and also Hamilton which is officially closer to me than Lauraville but less explored, by me, so far. Red Canoe, Grindon, Zeke’s, Spinster Yarn and Fibers, Bediboo, I am a devotee of them all. Chameleon Café was fab that one time and we will go back. Hamilton Tavern and Clementine I am looking forward to trying you. Alas, I do not spend much money out and about, I admit a serious stinginess, but when I do I want to open the wallet its so great to have these places to go. I do not pretend to be all perfect about this local-commitment; I can spend a good penny at Target too. But point is that I these shops have definitely boosted my love for the b’more. And especially the northeast b’moria. And we are staying in charm city for a few more years now. That economic downturn made the brilliant idea of investing in a house a decisive factor there – would lose a couple limbs trying to sell it now. So no San Fransisco, no Boston, No Philadelphia, No Rochester MN (well, that’s ok with me) and hello to re-commitment to loving the place you are. And it’s true there is a lot I like/love about this place. Yes. A lot. And I love my home and am excited to start up the garden again. But I digress: the lauraville sweetness gives me a set of local friendly great places to support, and bam, the times are hurting them. Well, some crazy number of independently owned small places close good times or bad, so who am I to know what the story is, but of the lot both Rock Candy and now Bediboo have/are closing shop. I admit, I only shopped the Rock Candy awesomeness once. It was awesome though. But Bediboo I have had a bit closer relationship to with the cloth diaper classes and buying of gear and toys for ms. noodle and all. So it’s sad. And none of this even touches the facts of life that the woman living in her car next to where I parked yesterday is facing. Housing crisis, living crisis.
Sorry to be depressing. In my family’s corner of the world we lead a really charmed life and perhaps the most important thing is that we are aware of that and be appreciative.
Now I am going to go buy a new part for the back of the sink and try and be a plumber.

a consideration of the last year and home

ive been waiting until i had several other important things to do - finish a syllabus, write a conference paper (well, cut and paste other projects into some semblance of conference paper) - to return to this blog. ok, i havent actually had any intentions about this. i just feel like returning to it. its a yo-yo yarn, and im sorry about that.



2008 turned me into a mom and a knitter and a baltimore hon. no beehive, no glasses, no accent, but appreciation for b'more as a place i actively like, not a town i tolerate well. so there have been several personal transformations. the global political historical transformation goes without saying. we watched yesterday on a wall of tvs at the bloomberg school of public health with a rapt audience. zoe was wonderful and seemed nearly as interested in parts of the inaguration as her adults - clapping and dancing (and dumping blueberries on the floor).



noodle is the funniest most wonderful person. she smiles and laughs and hugs and kisses and learns so fast. im crazy about her. having a little person has introduced me to a whole new community, and to neighbors i had not met before. charm city is teeming with cool people with cool kids and an interest in sustainable community living. lauraville, nearish our 'hood, is booming with locally owned kid friendly small green shops; coffee, yarn, food, books, cloth diapers, beer. places that we can afford to visit and support and enjoy. And after seriously considering moving to places like san fransisco and boston, our budget (well, the future one that includes a little income, a pleasant addition coming in 2009) suddenly looks so much fluffier. going out, enjoying the town, enjoying the region, seems all the more possible.



There is also grit, blight, crime, violence, and poverty. Urban standards, but a bit of a heavy dose. I had not heard gunfire before moving to Charm City. But I like this town. I like its size, I like the neighborhoods with the bungalow homes with old wood and stairs and porches. I like that there are slightly better neighborhoods with beautiful old homes that we can imagine being able to buy in not too distant a future. Thinking seriously about moving to other cities - urban places that I always thought I would prefer to live in - helped me realize that this is the kind of home I always hope to live in. quality of life is dependent on many things, and for me the space that i live in is important. windows and sun and enough dirt to dig in. and our porch swing. i could be happy elsewhere. but i am happy here.

so thinking about the last year and the next year and how i want to live, i am finally getting ready to determine a list of resolutions. this is when blogs are especially useful. i feel all the more commited when publishing into space, even with no readers. and i cant lose the list.

1. i will always buy organic milk, even with its twice the price and i feel cheap.

2. i will not buy ice cream at the store to eat at home. (unless special occasions involving guests.) i will only eat ice cream when its delicious and we are at places like pitango. or if we make it at home.

3. i will start regular stretching and yoga, regular as in before my back hurts, not just when it acts up. if i cant keep up a regular home practice, i will join a class.

4. we will buy bikes and start to use them.

5. i will visit with friends in baltimore that i do not see often enough more often.

Crazy, thats me.

I officially designate myself a crazy person. I have a tendency to get stuck in a loop, my mind will keep working on something, often something relatively mundane or that I cant do anything about, and it takes me quite a while to move on. Lately Ive been stuck in a cloth diaper loop. I have got the types, the pros and cons of this and that, down. Now it is just decision-making and deal-finding that occupies an embarrassing number of hours. embarrassing. Deciding what to buy is complicated by the tightness of the budget, but at least I can be reassured to know that overall I will be saving money in the long run using cloth over disposables - especially if I were to buy some relatively eco-friendly disposables like seventh generation. Besides even so called biodegradable diapers will not actually disintegrate in a landfill anyhow, as even banana peels are well preserved in the ecology of a landfill. Anyhow, I have almost decided on what I will be buying, and they will be relatively boring and economical, though the cute and newfangled and organic and fluffy etc are tempting, just pricey. But the point is, I am getting ever closer to decision making, though being fully psychotic during the process. Meanwhile I have developed a equally crazy day dream of opening a store - a real bricks and mortar store - in baltimore for cloth diapers, wraps, baby things made by maryland work at home moms, things I like, green products, gently used things, etc. I even have a spot picked out (on harford road with red canoe and zekes and that new knitting store). I have always had a bit of an entrepreneurial bug in me, though my only experience actually running a business was a coffee shop, not a baby retail. And I know that in reality it would be craziness, and I would have to take out loans and then I would most likely go (even more) broke. And not to mention, I'm supposed to write a dissertation in the next couple years. But lately I have enjoyed the thought of dissing the diss and opening this store, with a playroom and community space where I can work with my baby in tow and meet and help other new parents and where people could buy good products in person rather than only online, which is where all the cloth diapering stuff is, at least when in baltimore. Its not the tea shop that I used to dream about opening, but I think there might be a market for it and it sounds fun. A little green shop for baby and me, and other babies, and you.

But, like I said, absolutely crazy.

wasting money/wanting to

today a i went window shopping and would like to lament that all the clearance shoes tend to be size 8. my friend and i, both in the 10ish range, were not so lucky. this is probably to our benefit, as window shopping is the only kind of shopping we can currently afford, but a 50% off sale at the most fantastic shoe store (slash chocolate shop) in all of baltimore, ma petite shoe, will make a girl open her sad little wallet, or at least desperately want to. but our shopping excursion has me thinking about how i would love to have a clothing/shoe budget and how i would love to support the numerous wonderful shops in this town. baltimore is really great for independent shops with really fantastic style. and yet, i regret i cannot turn over my disposable income to these local treasures, since no bit of my income happens to be disposable. i am particularly pouty about it as just last night, at a baby shower of all places, i listened to a co-worker discuss her recent 12grand earring purchase. no i am not joking. goddamn serious. holycrap. and so, as i drooled over bivel shoes today i thought about how my co-worker's purchase, so shocking to me, is absolutely paltry to a whole bunch of people. mind boggling bizarre. i certainly dont hate people for being rich (which my co-worker is not) but i think i can say that i hate that so much money is spent in such regretful ways. admittedly, i am not an economic protectionist and i, in fact, am not in opposition to all non-local shopping, nor do i claim any greater wisdom about spending your money than you. generally, i find such hubris nauseating. but, BUT, some spending is simply stupid. wasteful and disgraceful. 12 grand on (almost certainly conflict) diamond earrings comes to mind. dear god.

a few of my favorite places in baltimore to spend money in not-stupid ways
trixies palace
ma petite shoe
oh said rose
bluehouse