Clementines, hearts, and goddesses of literature — July in Cleveland

WHERE I’VE BEEN: It’s been a long time, dear friends! I took a bit of a break from regular blogging because my sweet new daughter Nora Clementine made her entrance through the marvelous door called Cleveland, Ohio. I’ll try to get back to things now, though, as you’d imagine, life is a little different these days. We’re definitely cooking more, eating out less, and going for about 10x more walks than we used to. We’ve been taking our girl all kinds of places, which works out most of the time (but not always, of course), so she’s been to the Tow Path, the Westside Market, Bac, the zoo, and about 100 trips to Target. You can check out our adventures here where I’m taking a photo a day of our growing girl. Here are a few other things we’ve been into lately:

 

I STILL LOVE THE HEAD AND THE HEART — We saw this band by accident with the Decemberists last summer with Erin and Pete, and we listened to them while we drove all over the south last August (Memphis, Asheville, Appalachian Trail). So they remind me of cheese grits, Gus’s fried chicken, hiking trails, and, of course, rivers. I recently pulled out my record and started listening to them again. They’re still good. Check out this one, which starts out slow and serene and works its way up to gorgeousness: Rivers and Roads. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8yLwuDi2mA

THE MOVIE I’D SEE IF I COULD GO TO THE MOVIES: I think I’m done with movies for a few years, but I do have Netflix. So here’s my see-you-later movie for this week. It looks whimsical and beautiful. Bill Murray and whimsy? Well, I have to check that out.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX_BQwa7680

TONI MORRISON — If there was a divine goddess of literature, she would look like Toni Morrison who is so amazing and forceful she doesn’t even seem human. There should be statues of her. I would buy one.  I just finished her new book “Home,” another short one following “A Mercy,” about a troubled former soldier searching for the sister he left behind. It felt a little rushed — I was left wanting more about the characters and the setting — a piece Morrison is usually a master of illustrating. But, as always, there are moments of great beauty. It’s short enough that it’s worth checking out for those alone. But if this is your first foray into Morrison, start with “Sula” or “Beloved.”

TASTE OF TREMONT — Dying to come visit me, Nora, and/or Ryan? Longing for some steaming hot pasta in steaming hot weather? It might not sound appealing, but Taste of Tremont is always fantastic. Professor Street is shut down, and you can get some of the best food in the city for about $5. Worth. It. See you there.

BEING BUSY — Thanks to my ever-philosophical friend Ann Marie for sharing this stellar and Thoreau-like column in the NYT about being busy. If you live in America, this probably applies to your life in some way. Check out this fantastic passage: “The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration — it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. ‘Idle dreaming is often of the essence of what we do,’ wrote Thomas Pynchon in his essay on sloth.” I wish I had a picture of a sloth to post here.

NORA C: My little Clementine’s latest hobby is giantsmiling. Huge. Toothless. Superendearing. Especially first thing in the morning.

TREMONT FARMER’S MARKET— For some reason we’ve never been into going to this wee market in the past, but this year we’ve headed up to Lincoln Park every Tuesday to grab some arugula and some food truck food for dinner. Tremont feels a little more like Athens when it gets about 20 percent more hippie on Tuesday nights. Plus we can stop by Churned, the supertasty new ice cream shop on the north (I think) side of the park run by the Cookie and a Cupcake people.