Gus can't wait to crawl

Saline drops really work

For the past week, all three of us have had colds - Gus included. The only medicine allowed for Gus and I has been saline drops. I had my doubts but now I am a believer. It really relieves the sinus pressure and loosens up my congestion. Even poor Gus took the drops well and has become accustomed to frequent nasal aspirations from big blue. He is a trooper but unfortunately, it just wakes him up when I finally get him drowsy.

As we sniffled our way through an episode of Murder She Wrote yesterday, I realized Jessica almost never gets sick. I can think of one episode, "Crossed Up" February 1, 1987 (an all-time favorite), when she solved a murder from bed. Although I think the ailment was a backache rather than cold or flu. The vitamins we never see her take must help.

Jessica has a way with flowers

My mother in law was sweet enough to give me some paperwhite bulbs when she visited over the holidays. We planted them in a pretty glass bowl with some pretty stones she provided. If you have ever grown paperwhites then you know how fast they grow and the fragrant smell they emit. I was so pleased when mine shot up two weeks ago and made a beautiful centerpiece for the dining room table. I love them but as usual they began falling over. I tied a pretty gold ribbon around the bunch thinking that would solve it but then I noticed the stems started leaning in towards the middle where the ribbon was tied. They are still lovely so I decided to leave them that way.

Yesterday I was watching one of my favorite episodes (Season 9, Episode 17: The Big Kill) and noticed Jessica had a beautiful pot of paperwhites in her kitchen. Of course they were perfectly upright with no ribbon. The woman is good at everything (or at least the stage decorator). Next time I will try a taller vase.

If Jessica Fletcher had a baby

I'm proud to announce the arrival of my baby boy, Gus. He is the reason for my blog hiatus but I hope to be posting regularly again soon. It seems he takes up much more of my time than I expected but I love every moment. Michael August Slock was born on November 10th at 6 lbs, 5 oz. I don't remember what my life was like without him.

If Jessica Fletcher had a baby, I think Gus could play the part. Aside from his baby acne, I think he is model material. Could I be bias? Unfortunately for Gus, he was born 15 years too late to be on Murder She Wrote and Jessica was not able to have children anyways.

It takes two to correspond (I think)

I'm always amazed at the number of friends Jessica Fletcher keeps in touch with. Episodes have her traveling to visit folks in Texas, London, Ireland, Hawaii, Paris, Jamaica, etc. She must be very dilligent with correspondence. I'm sure she speaks with some by phone but I believe the majority of her correspondence is done by snail mail since she is a mystery writer.

Anyone who knows me well is aware that I am not the most diligent with personal correspondence. In fact, I carry a great guilt with not being in touch as often as I would like with many people. But as I see the cassette tapes, letters, and phone calls Jessica receives from her friends around the globe, I have to ask a question. Why hasn't the person I haven't called or written not called or written me? Doesn't a relationship take two to tango?

There are unspoken rules around this topic, no doubt complicated by variables such as type of relationship and frequency of correspondence. One rule is that call/email responsibility usually goes back and forth. This means if someone calls you, you call them back next time. Another unspokon rule is maintaining established holiday correspondence. If you send someone a Christmas card every year, this should not end. Often times the holidays are the only time we keep in touch with certain people and this is ok. My personal belief is that the best friendships are those that pick up where they left off without guilt of how long it has been since you spoke.

So, should the guilt continue if I made the last call? I'm not sure. But I still strive to be like my favorite character and send snail mail announcing I will visit soon to whatever slice of paradise they reside.

TV Babies and Anthony Michael Hall

The episode I watched today featured a baby, about 3 months old, and a new mother which I thought was very appropriate considering Lord Stanley is due any day now. The scenes were fairly realistic but the baby was certainly well behaved. I'd like to have a baby with the same disposition as they seem to have on TV. I can imagine the people at the edges of the set shaking toys and making funny faces to keep the baby focused and happy. Perhaps I can find gigantic cutouts of people making funny faces to put around the house. That might do the trick when Lord Stanley gets a little grumpy.

Did I mention Anthony Michael Hall played the baby's father? I wonder what it would be like to have a baby-daddy who could see the future. He could see whether soccer games or school events will be rained out ahead of time and if a diaper is going to leak while I'm out running errands. And as the baby-daddy, Anthony could tell me whether to prep Lord Stanley for Stanford, or a school of the performing arts. Thankfully though, I have my wonderful Mike. He can't see the future, but he also won't be building a woman on his computer and wearing underwear on his head. Well, at least he won't be building a woman on his computer.

Why Murder She Wrote

For starters, Murder She Wrote is one of my favorite shows. Not because it reminds me of my grandma, but because it makes me feel good. Though someone is murdered each episode, the small town life of Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove, Maine is quiant and cheerful. It begins with a mystery and ends with a smile. I'd like to think every day can be like that. That being said, I've decided to post my Murder She Wrote analysis and how it relates to my new family life (Mike, the baby, and me). Be warned, topics will vary and may including character relationships, my attempts to mimic Jessica's fine cooking, or why she should have traded the awful polyester pants in the earlier episodes for some skinny jeans. I can't wait!