mid-weekend stroll

The three of us walked to the Post Office after lunch, then to Ragazzi Room which is the nearest coffee shop. By coffee shop, I mean a place with old wood floors and a brick wall and makes lattes and mochas and chai and frappachinos. It is about a mile away from our house, and we've walked there the previous 2 Saturday's no problem. After we got home, I realized how much longer it was to go to the Post Office and Ragazzi on the same trip. Jen & I are both out of shape, so the extra exercize is good. Claire was well-behaved the entire time. She mostly slept, then we fed her a bottle at Ragazzi. Then Jen needed to go home to pump, so I carried Claire. Our practice has been to keep Claire upright for 20 minutes after every feeding to prevent gastro-reflux. It works pretty well, and the few times we forget, she usually spits up. But carrying her while walking is more work, so I am all the more tired from the long walk and carrying her. In a few weeks she will be big enough to sit upright in the stroller, but for now, she lays in the car seat strapped to the stroller. Since the two parts are not the same brand, they don't fit in such a way that the car seat can sit upright.

After feeding and changing Claire's diapers, Jen & I pondered our evening. Neither of us had the strength to go to the grocery store, so Jen made dinner while I held the baby. The fridge gets emptier every day, and the shopping list gets longer. Maybe I'll submit an order to Vons.com next time Claire is sleeping on my lap. Glad my lap is big enough for both her and the computer at the same time, otherwise I might be a bit bored sometimes while rocking her to sleep.

Less computing at home might encourage me to get more reading done. As it is, I finished a William Gibson novel yesterday. Another one is arriving in the mail via ZunaFish.com next week. Today I started another novel, but it is off to a slow start. I'll give it a little more time before panning it, so I won't name it yet. It might be better for my career if I would read technical work-related books at home, but I've never been that career-minded, so usually end up just using those kind of books as look-up references at work.

When I rode the bus to work, I read more. I miss the bus; partly for the reading time, and partly for the walks to and from the bus stop.