i just HAD to have my new doggy (first steps)
Category Archives: de rebus familiaribus
rest in peace, pepaw, we’ll miss you
Pepaw, a name that people use for grandfather in the south, was a foreign word to me until I met Tracie P nearly five years ago now.
When I first met pepaw and memaw at Thanksgiving 2008 (pepaw was 88 years old at the time), they must have been as nervous as I was, knowing that Tracie P and I were on a path that would most likely lead us to starting a family together (which we did).
I’ll never forget how memaw gave me a hug that day, even though we’d never met.
“We’re a hugging family, Jeremy,” she said. “Just give me a hug.”
As foreign as I must have seemed to pepaw, who grew up in East Texas and only ever left his home to fight serve in the navy army (on a personnel transport ship) in the second world war, he always treated me like one of the family. He always had a smile and a firm handshake when we saw each other.
One is given and one is taken, the circle of life…
By the time I got to Houston yesterday for my 11 a.m. meeting with Tony, Tracie P had already called to let me know that pepaw was beginning to fade.
When I arrived at the restaurant and we sat down at our usual table, Tony knew something was wrong.
“One is given and one is taken,” he said after I shared the news.
“Tracie’s grandfather will live on in your new baby. It’s the circle of life.”
Ooo that (new car) smell (for precious cargo)
There’s nothing like that “new car smell” (is that a wine descriptor?).
We bought a minivan! Tracie P employed her Neapolitan-honed negotiating skills and got us a great deal (NICE WORK, mommy!).
As the Parzen family expands (in theaters July 2013!), we needed some extra room for our precious cargo.
Isn’t Georgia P sweet? That’s her on her fourteen-month birthday (Feb. 12). It’s such a special time in our lives and she is our joy.
Buon weekend, yall!
somebody likes daddy’s scrambled eggs
Georgia P turned fourteen months old today. She is such a sweet girl and such a big eater!
The Parmigiano Reggiano is what makes all the difference in the eggs.
We love her so much…
Our joy…
the sweetest sound
Georgia P’s gonna be a big sister!
We can finally share our joyous news that the Parzen family is expanding…
Yesterday, we had our first-trimester sonogram and we are thrilled to report that Baby P 2013 is doing great (expected due date is mid-July).
Tracie P has been very tired but otherwise feeling good. The morning sickness has been much easier this time around and it’s true about the pickles: I’ve only ever seen her eat a pickle when pregnant (guacamole’s been another craving this time as well).
Of course, we have plenty of anxiety about the pregnancy, like all parents-to-be.
But now that we’re no longer first-time parents and we know a lot more about what to expect, we’ve really been enjoying our Parzen family expansion…
Little Georgia P is so sweet and such a joy to be with. We can’t wait for her to have a little sister or brother.
Thanks for letting us share this momentous news.
It’s just too much joy to keep to ourselves….
Best meals 2012: Le Logge (Siena), first visit
Looking back on the best meals of 2012 (a mnemonic indulgence to which I treat myself every year between the Christmas holiday and New Year’s Eve), I can’t help but think about how the standouts were marked as much by the people with whom I shared them as much as the foods we ate and the wines we drank. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
That’s Georgia P, above, eating her first pizza (homemade, by Tracie P, of course), a few nights before Christmas. Whether Parisi eggs and birth-year Barolo or mushroom and peperoni pizza, 2012 delivered some of the most memorable meals of my lifetime. Buona lettura e buon appetito!
Best Meals 2012: Osteria Le Logge (Siena, March).
Alfonso and I met up in Siena yesterday afternoon and joined good friends Laura and Francesco at Laura’s restaurant Osteria Le Logge for dinner.
As I prepare to head up to Friuli today, there’s not enough time to post properly on the brilliant meal and stunning flight of wines. But here’s a “taste” of the “intellectual provocation”… THANK YOU, again, dear friends, Laura and Francesco, for opening your hearts to two weary Americans traveling along the wine trail in Italy…
Atlantic croaker sausage with mineral-water-macerated lettuces sous-vide
veal tongue Carpaccio in salsa verde
vitello tonnato with seaweed and ポン酢醤油 (ponzu jōyu)
Parisi egg with potato foam and marzolino truffles
fusilli with chicken livers and eggplant
Marcarini 1967 Barolo Brunate
Thoughts and prayers for the families of Newtown, CT
Tracie P and I are keeping the families of Newtown in our hearts, thoughts, and prayer today.
As President Obama told them yesterday, “whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown — you are not alone.”
Do Bianchi 