My Ithaca visit is going extremely well. Although Nathaniel sabotaged our sleep last night (keeping all three adults up: quite a feat!) and we had to leave the house by 4:30am, everything else has gone amazingly smoothly. On my first flight I got to chat pathogens with a nice biology professor from the University of Iowa who was coming to Ithaca for a seminar. We had a great conversation about germs, bacteria, ear infections, and the like! I had an easy connection, and my second flight got me into Ithaca half an hour early.
When I arrived at Christi’s house she was finishing up a fantastic curried squash soup and spicy hummus, which made for a delicious lunch while we swapped stories. We took a walk down the hill, along my old route, and then I headed out for a play date with Jenny, Natalia, and their little ones. I was thrilled to see the changes in the kids and hear about the great developments in both families. I love seeing how different little kids can be from one another; although I remember some of the same stages and sounds from Katherine’s development, both of the little ones today had their own style and their own voice. Great fun.
After the play date I picked up my favorite local dessert, the black-and-white cookie at Greenstar (which is named, this being hippie Ithaca, the ying-yang cookie), something I’ve been looking forward to for weeks, and met Christi at Just A Taste for a delicious tapas dinner. So many flavors, so much conversation, and so great to be home again. I am now headed to bed at a ridiculously early hour, hoping to make up for some of the sleep I’ve missed.
Erin
Alan Schmierer