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Subject: Postcard from Portland
Dear Family and Friends,
H A P P Y N E W Y E A R !
.
. : .
'.@.'
/^\
/ \
/1998 \
@@@@@@@@@
/ 6 6 \
( ^ ,)
\ __, /-._
`._____.'\ `--.__
\\/ `/``"""'-.
/ ) / :
| /\ | .--. :
/ /\1`\ \/ `.__.:.____.-.
/ / /`\9`\`/ .-"..____.-. \
jgs _.-' /_/ `\9`\ \-. \
`=----' `\8`\--------'""`-. \ `"
`-./ `"
[ascii art by Joan Stark: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/newyear.htm#babyny]
I can't believe it's already 1998 and that January is nearly half over.
Neither does it seem real that Elisha was nine weeks old yesterday! I
think Albert Einstein should have had a variable in his Theory of
Relativity to take into account the impact a newborn has on your life
and the time/space continuum. :-)
Liz and I are now feeling pretty comfortable in our role as new parents.
Elisha has pretty much outgrown her colic, but still has occasional
bouts of gas. She's usually been taking the windbreakers a bit more in
stride rather than going to full alert. And she's now down to an average
of two night feedings, so we're able to get a little more sleep. There
are, of course, exceptions!
During the month of December Elisha developed rather severe diaper rash
as well as significant baby acne and cradle cap - poor thing! The
potions and lotions[1] recommended by her pediatrician - and especially
some new ones[2] Liz discovered, have finally begun to work their magic.
Her skin is nearly restored to its original beauty.
It has been absolutely amazing watching the changes each day brings. To
wit:
Dec. 1st First "coo"
5th Tracked 'Emma' (her toy cow) and reached out for her
12th First bottle feeding (by her daddy and Grandma Ada)
15th Started to smile and coo
26th Smiles and coos often and responsively
28th Wakes up without crying, just "talking" coos and yells
These are, of course, just the highlights. The best part simply can't be
quantified with a milestone - how her personality is evolving. Her
smiles are absolute show stoppers. Lately she's started laughing (at
least, that's _our_ interpretation :-). Her coos have evolved into a
farrago of phonemes, peppered and punctuated by an occasional SHOUT.
Elisha has been holding her head up much better and is fascinated by
vertical and horizontal blinds and ceiling fixtures. Perhaps she'll
become an interior designer!
Her two month checkup showed her to be in perfect health. Her weight had
increased to 10 lbs. 4 oz. and her height was 22" - both of which put
her at the 50 percentile for her age.
Grandmom Ada arrived for her visit on the 4th of December and stayed
until the 15th. During that time she filled every available cubic
centimeter of our freezer with a wonderful assortment of her cooking and
baking efforts - including pot roasted chicken, sesame chicken, matzo
balls, a variety of soups (lentil, potato, pea, veggie, fish chowdah),
rice kugel, three layer corn bread, carrot bread, apricot/almond bread,
and OGT (other good things) that I may have inadvertently omitted. She
also left a goodly supply of cookies and her world famous mandelbrot
(the Jewish equivalent of biscotti - but far superior). She managed to
also find time for plenty of pulka palpations :-) She and Elisha had a
special bond when it came to quieting crying episodes. We tried to get
her to divulge her secret, only to be informed that it was "Grandmom
Magic" and was non-transferable :-( She took it with her when she left,
as well as many fond memories.
On the 22nd, Liz's mom arrived to spend Christmas and New Years. Gram
Pris proved to possess her own brand of Magic - but her incantations
remain a mystery to us as well. The tree was up and decorated before she
arrived, but she brought with her some special decorations which we hung
on Christmas Day. Among them was a beautiful crystal heart which was
given to her by the funeral home where Bill was laid to rest. The
holidays had elements of sadness and joy - mixed memories of those
departed and celebration of the new life which continues the circle. We
shared traditions, Christian and Jewish - and hope that Elisha's life
will be enriched by them both. Pris treated us to homemade dinners
during her visit and also found time to take Liz out for some shopping
trips. Now that Liz is expressing milk (thanks to our Medela pump), I'm
able to feed Elisha on occasion. This is a treat for both Liz and me!
Both grandmoms suffered separation anxiety when they left :-( The
prospect of returning to work fills Liz and me with the same feeling. My
first day back will be January 20th. Liz returns in February, at which
point we'll be leaving Elisha in day care :-( Fortunately, we've found a
good place for her - we know two other people with children there who
have had nothing but good things to say about the quality of the care.
We enjoyed beautiful weather during the month of December (for a
change!). The rainfall was only half of the normal. We had our first
snow just before Christmas - a dusting that quickly melted. January will
likely make up for December's clemency. We've already had nearly three
inches of precipitation since the first of the year. This includes a
storm which arrived last Sunday and delivered snow or ice and sleet,
depending on which side of the Willamette you're on. We got ice *sigh*.
The city was essentially closed for two days. The temperature has since
moderated and last night's rain has defrosted the outdoors. There are at
least four more storm systems queued up on the radar screen and headed
our way. Batten the hatches!
Wishing you all the warmth and love of family to chase the chills of
winter.
we love and miss you all,
Sandy, Liz and Elisha
[1] oatmeal baths, hydrocortisone, Lotrimin, A+D, Eucerin, baby oil
[2] Little Forest: Therapeutic Diaper Rash Ointment, Therapeutic Cradle
Cap Shampoo
_________________________________________________________________
Data harvested from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pqr
CLIMATIC SUMMARY FOR PORTLAND OREGON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
320 AM PST THU JAN 01 1998
...TEMPERATURE...
HIGH YESTERDAY... 45
LOW YESTERDAY... 36
MEAN TEMP........ 41 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL... 2
NORMAL HIGH FOR TODAY... 44
NORMAL LOW FOR TODAY... 34
RECORD HIGH FOR TODAY... 60 SET IN 1981
RECORD LOW FOR TODAY... 14 SET IN 1979
...DEGREE DAY DATA...
HEATING
YESTERDAY... 24 DEPARTURE... -2
MONTH....... 734 DEPARTURE... -35
SEASON...... 1576 DEPARTURE... -251
COOLING
YESTERDAY... 0 DEPARTURE... 0
MONTH....... 0 DEPARTURE... 0
SEASON...... 472 DEPARTURE... 101
...PRECIPITATION...
YESTERDAY............. 0.00
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH... 3.03
NORMAL MONTH TO DATE.. 6.13
TOTAL FOR THE YEAR.... 43.95 TOTAL SINCE OCT 1... 13.46
NORMAL YEAR TO DATE... 36.30 NORMAL FROM OCT 1... 14.14
...WIND DATA IN MPH...
AVERAGE WIND SPEED YESTERDAY... 4.8
FASTEST 2-MIN WIND YESTERDAY... 10 FROM 120 DEGREES
PEAK WIND GUST YESTERDAY....... 13 FROM 180 DEGREES
...ASTRONOMICAL DATA...
SUNRISE TODAY...749 AM PST
SUNSET TODAY...437 PM PST
SUNRISE TOMORROW...749 AM PST
SUNSET TOMORROW...438 PM PST
DEC CLIMATOLOGICAL REPORT FOR PORTLAND OREGON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
320 AM PST THU JAN 01 1998
TEMPERATURE DATA......
(DEGREES F)
AVERAGE MONTHLY TEMPERATURE.... 41.1 OR 0.9 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL
AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE.... 46.1
AVERAGE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE.... 36.1
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE WAS 54 ON DAY 16
LOWEST TEMPERATURE WAS 29 ON DAY 26
HEATING DEGREE DAYS (BASE 65) COOLING DEGREE DAYS
MONTHLY TOTAL ........... 734 MONTHLY TOTAL .......... 0
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.... -35 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL... 0
SEASONAL TOTAL (JUL-JUN). 1576 SEASONAL TOTAL (JAN-DEC) 472
DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL.... -251 DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL... 101
PRECIPITATION DATA....
..RAIN..
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH......... 3.03 OR 3.10 INCHES BELOW NORMAL
TOTAL SINCE JANUARY 1ST 1997 43.95 OR 7.65 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL
GREATEST 24 HOUR RAINFALL WAS 1.05 INCHES ON DAY(S) 15-16
..SNOW..
TOTAL FOR THE MONTH......... 0.0
TOTAL FOR THE SEASON........ 0
GREATEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL WAS INCHES ON DAY(S) __ __
..NUMBER OF DAYS..
WITH .01 INCHES OR MORE 13 HIGHS 32 DEGREES OR COLDER 0
WITH .10 INCHES OR MORE 6 HIGHS 90 DEGREES OR WARMER 0
WITH .50 INCHES OR MORE 1 LOWS 32 DEGREES OR COLDER 6
WITH 1.00 INCHES OR MORE 0 LOWS 0 DEGREES OR COLDER 0
SKY CONDITION......... SEA LEVEL PRESSURE............
NUMBER OF DAYS CLEAR .. 31 (??) HIGHEST 30.66 INCHES ON DAY 27
NUMBER OF DAYS PTCLDY .. 0 LOWEST 29.42 INCHES ON DAY 07
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY .. 0
WIND DATA.............
THE AVERAGE MONTHLY WIND SPEED WAS 8.0 MPH
THE FASTEST TWO-MINUTE WIND WAS... 32 MPH FROM 100 DEGREES
THE HIGHEST PEAK WIND GUST WAS.... 39 FROM 100 DEGREES
--
Sandy, Liz & Elisha Tigard, Oregon Peck of Pickled Pisces
webfeet@herring.org bigfish@sns-access.com http://www.herring.org/
And that's the news from Portland
where everything is green, rolling stones gather moss,
and the rainfall is always above average.
Most Recent Update: Friday, 12-Sep-2008 14:39:40 PDT
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