First outing

Aside from the doctor's office and post office, yesterday we took Clementine on her first real "outing." We went to breakfast at the Tin Shed on Alberta St. and she was tucked into her "peanut shell" and slept the entire time.

The above photo is taken outside of the shop Frock, which -- though tiny -- has great clothes and jewelry and T-shirts for women, men, and children. And the owner has a daughter named Clementine! (Have you read Sarah Dessen's newest book, Along for the Ride? The clothing boutique in the book is called Clementine's, in honor of Dessen's baby daughter, Sasha Clementine. Perhaps this name is on the rise?)

There was a new baby in that book, and I have no idea if it was modeled after Dessen's own experience with her daughter, but the baby was colicky and cried cried cried. It was a little harrowing, reading it while pregnant. A little "eek!" Well, I know colic doesn't kick in until 2 weeks or later, so I can't say YET that we've escaped that ("eek!") but I can say that so far all the dire sleep warnings are proving unfounded. Clementine is waking once in the night (at which time I find that after a few hours of sleep I *miss* her already and I'm more than ready to get up and hold her!) and sleeping like a dream the rest of the time. We're well rested and very happy! Yay! May it continue this way :-)

Oh, I just read a good book on Amber's recommendation: The Mercy of Thin Air. It's a literary-supernaturally-tragicky romance, and I enjoyed it SO MUCH. It came up in the context of talking about The Time Traveler's Wife (I've been hearing nothing but bad about the movie so far; anyone like it?) and there is a similar beauty, romance, and poignancy. The main character, Razi, is a vivacious young woman in 1920s New Orleans . . . or rather, she is the ghost of a vivacious young woman who drowned in 1920s New Orleans while at the height of a great love affair that would certainly have lasted a lifetime. Rather than passing "beyond," she has lingered "between" for more than 70 years. Finding it too painful to be near her love, Andrew, she has followed his life at a distance, through news clippings, and is satisfied he's had the life she believed he would. Until his obituary is printed and she discovers she's been following the wrong Andrew O'Connell all these years. What really happened to the man she loved? While she seeks him out -- is he still alive? -- she also finds herself drawn to a young married couple whose own past is haunted with a tragedy not unlike her own. The narrative is a split-in-time story about the loves of both couples. I highly recommend it! (I can attest that it's good to read at 3 am with a baby in your lap :-)