He loves to sleep with Uncle Alex because they have the same hair.
He also has a new sleeping position: on his back, cradled like a baby.
But his favorite spot is still Mom's arms.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Sleeping Oliver
We apologize if you're tired of Oliver pics already, but here are some shots from around the house.
He loves to sleep with Uncle Alex because they have the same hair.
He also has a new sleeping position: on his back, cradled like a baby.
But his favorite spot is still Mom's arms.
He loves to sleep with Uncle Alex because they have the same hair.
He also has a new sleeping position: on his back, cradled like a baby.
But his favorite spot is still Mom's arms.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
It's a Boy!
We'd like to introduce you to our latest family addition: Oliver Middleton Moseley. We will call him "Ollie" for short.
He was born in Walhalla, South Carolina, on November 1, 2008. We traveled 70 miles yesterday to get him. He's only about 1.5 pounds, but he's very healthy for 7 weeks. Today we are going to the vet for a checkup at 3:15.
Ollie comes from a proud, distinguished line of Yorkshire Terriers. His father is Smart Little Bam Bam and his mother is Orphan Annie . . . ahh, country folk from the south . . .
His middle name, Middleton, comes from the street we lived on in Cincinnati. It is most certainly our favorite apartment on earth and the place we made so many dear memories. His first name is a combination of Brian's favorite chef, Jamie Oliver; Dickens's Oliver Twist; and a cute little Yorkie named Olive that used to frequent our favorite coffeehouse in Cincinnati. His nickname, Ollie . . . well, it's just cute . . . but it also reminds us of John StEIn's beloved cat who bore the same name and lived a wonderful life.
We will undoubtedly post several more pictures in the coming days!
He was born in Walhalla, South Carolina, on November 1, 2008. We traveled 70 miles yesterday to get him. He's only about 1.5 pounds, but he's very healthy for 7 weeks. Today we are going to the vet for a checkup at 3:15.
Ollie comes from a proud, distinguished line of Yorkshire Terriers. His father is Smart Little Bam Bam and his mother is Orphan Annie . . . ahh, country folk from the south . . .
His middle name, Middleton, comes from the street we lived on in Cincinnati. It is most certainly our favorite apartment on earth and the place we made so many dear memories. His first name is a combination of Brian's favorite chef, Jamie Oliver; Dickens's Oliver Twist; and a cute little Yorkie named Olive that used to frequent our favorite coffeehouse in Cincinnati. His nickname, Ollie . . . well, it's just cute . . . but it also reminds us of John StEIn's beloved cat who bore the same name and lived a wonderful life.
We will undoubtedly post several more pictures in the coming days!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Melon is . . . Nesting?
Melon just got word that a puppy might be on the way for Christmas. She immediately ran for Target and purchased a bed for the potential pup. Now she is picking out baby names. I know!!! This is getting out of hand!
Don't Jump!
Well, it's that time of year again . . . finals week. Normally Melon is the one stressing out, but this year Brian has gone off the deep end. Yesterday Melon came home to find Brian perched on the windowsill and threatening to jump out of their apartment to the street below!
She yelled: "Get down from there you crazy fool! It can't possibly be that bad!" But Brian retorted: "You can't stop me, Melon! I hate music theory and I will never write another paper again!"
Melon replied: "If you come down from there, I'll pour you a big glass of sweet tea and make your favorite chili dinner . . . with extra cheese crumbles . . . yum, yum! "
Brian's interest changed and he looked curiously at Melon.
To be continued . . .
She yelled: "Get down from there you crazy fool! It can't possibly be that bad!" But Brian retorted: "You can't stop me, Melon! I hate music theory and I will never write another paper again!"
Melon replied: "If you come down from there, I'll pour you a big glass of sweet tea and make your favorite chili dinner . . . with extra cheese crumbles . . . yum, yum! "
Brian's interest changed and he looked curiously at Melon.
To be continued . . .
Saturday, December 6, 2008
A New York Thanksgiving
It's probably a little late to update you on our Thanksgiving holiday, but it really was a time to remember! Despite working in the tiniest kitchen imaginable, Brian and Jess cooked up what the critics—Mom and Papa Barnett—are calling the best, most organized dinner ever. Before we begin, we'd like to thank Mom and Dad Moseley for the pots and pans, the ladies at the Greene County Courthouse for the roaster, Denise Rhoads and family for the CorningWare, Scott Rohling and family for the Pyrex, and Shondo and Ellie Miller for the bread plate! Oh . . . and Lindy Barnett for the most AMAZING garlic press is the world!
Instead of roasting a turkey all day, we opted to roast a stuffed pork loin for 60 minutes. We began by butterflying the loin, pounding it flat, stuffing it with homemade dressing, and rolling it tight.
To ensure that the meat would remain succulent after high-temp roasting we seared it first. Notice that the pan is a bit small for a 5lb loin, and the look on Brian's face tells you how difficult it was to turn!
We basted the loin every 10 minutes with a mixture of raspberry jam, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. The result was divine and the traditional Thanksgiving turkey has officially been replaced in our family tradition.
Brian debuted in the kitchen this year with his new specialty: garlic smashed potatoes. He even woke up extra early on Thursday morning to roast the garlic himself!
The green beans, sauteed with onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and almonds, were back for a third year.
Replacing the yams this year was carrots sauteed in butter with parsley. Jess loved them! But the yams will likely return by popular demand next year.
The sweet-n-sour cranberry, raspberry, and Merlot relish returned to the table once more, and it really tastes better on pork than on turkey anyway!
Back and better than ever this year was Jess's cornbread stuffing with sausage and apples. The secret is to let the stuffing "marinate" for 2–24 hours in equal amounts of chicken broth and half-and-half! The cornbread comes out extra moist and really takes on the flavors of the apples, onion, fresh sage and thyme. Mmm . . .
New this year was a salad "first course," which Jess promptly demoted to just another side dish as she couldn't wait for the real meal! The arugula, radicchio, and frisée salad—inspired by the salad bar at Whole Foods Grocery—is tossed with golden raisins, fresh pears, toasted walnuts, and green onion in a light and sweet vinaigrette. (That last sentence sounded pretty pretentious . . . oh well . . . the salad was damn good!)
The finished product looked like this:
And the guests of honor looked like this . . . talk later, eat first:
We forgot to take pictures of the dessert pies :( But let it be known that Brian made the most FANTASTIC homemade vanilla ice cream! We do, however, have a picture of our favorite seasonal treat: Smutty's Pumpkin Ale. Ahh . . . Thanksgiving! Cheers, friends!
Instead of roasting a turkey all day, we opted to roast a stuffed pork loin for 60 minutes. We began by butterflying the loin, pounding it flat, stuffing it with homemade dressing, and rolling it tight.
To ensure that the meat would remain succulent after high-temp roasting we seared it first. Notice that the pan is a bit small for a 5lb loin, and the look on Brian's face tells you how difficult it was to turn!
We basted the loin every 10 minutes with a mixture of raspberry jam, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. The result was divine and the traditional Thanksgiving turkey has officially been replaced in our family tradition.
Brian debuted in the kitchen this year with his new specialty: garlic smashed potatoes. He even woke up extra early on Thursday morning to roast the garlic himself!
The green beans, sauteed with onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and almonds, were back for a third year.
Replacing the yams this year was carrots sauteed in butter with parsley. Jess loved them! But the yams will likely return by popular demand next year.
The sweet-n-sour cranberry, raspberry, and Merlot relish returned to the table once more, and it really tastes better on pork than on turkey anyway!
Back and better than ever this year was Jess's cornbread stuffing with sausage and apples. The secret is to let the stuffing "marinate" for 2–24 hours in equal amounts of chicken broth and half-and-half! The cornbread comes out extra moist and really takes on the flavors of the apples, onion, fresh sage and thyme. Mmm . . .
New this year was a salad "first course," which Jess promptly demoted to just another side dish as she couldn't wait for the real meal! The arugula, radicchio, and frisée salad—inspired by the salad bar at Whole Foods Grocery—is tossed with golden raisins, fresh pears, toasted walnuts, and green onion in a light and sweet vinaigrette. (That last sentence sounded pretty pretentious . . . oh well . . . the salad was damn good!)
The finished product looked like this:
And the guests of honor looked like this . . . talk later, eat first:
We forgot to take pictures of the dessert pies :( But let it be known that Brian made the most FANTASTIC homemade vanilla ice cream! We do, however, have a picture of our favorite seasonal treat: Smutty's Pumpkin Ale. Ahh . . . Thanksgiving! Cheers, friends!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Hofstra Tour
Here are some pictures of where Jess works. Hofstra University is located in Hempstead, NY (for a map, see "Melon Hosts the Debates"). There are about 13,000 students at Hofstra, and it offers a surprising number of graduate degrees. It's a beautiful campus and I'm sorry I didn't snap these pictures while more leaves were on the trees.
This is the New Academic Building, where the music department office and my office are located. I think this building is only about three years old.
This is the door to my office. Check out my homemade nameplate and the hanging homework assignments that my students NEVER bother to pick up!!!
I have a nice bookshelf and filing cabinet in my office, and notice the cute little tea kettle on my desk—part of my "CCL image" at Hofstra! :)
Opposite my desk area I have a computer! But I'm the only office in the music department without a Mac :(
I have a nice Yamaha piano in my office as well—much nicer than the piece of firewood Breighan and I shared at CCM last year. (But I'd give it all up to have you back, Breighan! I miss you!)
I teach in a building on the opposite side of campus. Here is Part I of my walk to class:
And now Part II of my walk:
My classes are in Monroe Lecture Hall. This is where music students spend most of the day. The music library and all the practice rooms are in the basement. Sometimes it's nice not having the students loiter around the New Academic Building; however, this setup makes it surprisingly hard to develop a rapport with your students outside of class, and virtually no one makes the haul across campus to visit my office hours.
My classroom is a miniature lecture hall, so it's on a slight slope. The piano was out of tune by week 5, but the stereo is actually quite nice and I can hookup my iPod. Check out the oldschool chalkboards; I love 'em but I miss the document cameras at CCM.
This concludes the Hofstra Tour. I hope this post, while boring for some, saves my parents from a very long commute on the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) just to see where I work. (Not to mention my day begins at 5:30am, which is 4:30am Iowa time.) But speaking of the LIRR . . . stayed tuned for the upcoming Transit Tour!
This is the New Academic Building, where the music department office and my office are located. I think this building is only about three years old.
This is the door to my office. Check out my homemade nameplate and the hanging homework assignments that my students NEVER bother to pick up!!!
I have a nice bookshelf and filing cabinet in my office, and notice the cute little tea kettle on my desk—part of my "CCL image" at Hofstra! :)
Opposite my desk area I have a computer! But I'm the only office in the music department without a Mac :(
I have a nice Yamaha piano in my office as well—much nicer than the piece of firewood Breighan and I shared at CCM last year. (But I'd give it all up to have you back, Breighan! I miss you!)
I teach in a building on the opposite side of campus. Here is Part I of my walk to class:
And now Part II of my walk:
My classes are in Monroe Lecture Hall. This is where music students spend most of the day. The music library and all the practice rooms are in the basement. Sometimes it's nice not having the students loiter around the New Academic Building; however, this setup makes it surprisingly hard to develop a rapport with your students outside of class, and virtually no one makes the haul across campus to visit my office hours.
My classroom is a miniature lecture hall, so it's on a slight slope. The piano was out of tune by week 5, but the stereo is actually quite nice and I can hookup my iPod. Check out the oldschool chalkboards; I love 'em but I miss the document cameras at CCM.
This concludes the Hofstra Tour. I hope this post, while boring for some, saves my parents from a very long commute on the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) just to see where I work. (Not to mention my day begins at 5:30am, which is 4:30am Iowa time.) But speaking of the LIRR . . . stayed tuned for the upcoming Transit Tour!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
What the . . . ?!
Our neighborhood is beginning to reveal its true colors. Check this out:
This man sits on a stoop three doors down from our apartment. At first we smiled and gave him a big Midwestern "hello!" It's not uncommon for New Yorkers to flat-out ignore your very existence, so we didn't think much of it when he didn't respond. Eventually he started to creep us out and Melon became alarmed by his constant stare as she walked by. She finally got up the courage to tell him to mind his own business when . . . low and behold . . . his left hand fell off!
Yep, he isn't real!!!
What a relief! It must be a Halloween decoration, we thought. (But it was September.) Okay, so this household is particularly festive. I'm sure it'll disappear after October. (But he's still here and it's now late November.)
Confronted with the realization that this odd man might be around for awhile, we gave him a name: Woody. In some respects he's our favorite neighbor; he doesn't play loud music or strew litter about our streets. He simply keeps an eye on everyone and sets a pace these two non-New Yorkers can handle.
This man sits on a stoop three doors down from our apartment. At first we smiled and gave him a big Midwestern "hello!" It's not uncommon for New Yorkers to flat-out ignore your very existence, so we didn't think much of it when he didn't respond. Eventually he started to creep us out and Melon became alarmed by his constant stare as she walked by. She finally got up the courage to tell him to mind his own business when . . . low and behold . . . his left hand fell off!
Yep, he isn't real!!!
What a relief! It must be a Halloween decoration, we thought. (But it was September.) Okay, so this household is particularly festive. I'm sure it'll disappear after October. (But he's still here and it's now late November.)
Confronted with the realization that this odd man might be around for awhile, we gave him a name: Woody. In some respects he's our favorite neighbor; he doesn't play loud music or strew litter about our streets. He simply keeps an eye on everyone and sets a pace these two non-New Yorkers can handle.
No Flippin' Way!
Well it turns it out we have a built-in medicine cabinet in our bathroom! We've lived here for three months and yet discovered it only this morning. Suddenly our tiny, seemingly storage-less apartment just got a bit bigger!
Monday, November 10, 2008
PT Hazards
Public transit (PT as Jess likes to call it) is one of the things that makes NYC so great. Sure . . . its not always as quick as driving, but you can get amazing amounts of work done while the train takes you to your destination.
I have to admit, I'm pretty lucky. Jess's commute is 2 hours at the quickest; for me to get to Brooklyn College it takes about 15 minutes—45 minutes to the Graduate Center.
Another advantage of public transit is that you don't have to deal with other discourteous drivers. No one cuts you off, you don't have to worry about someone running a red light, and no traffic tickets! (Though, you are at the mercy of your fellow commuters remembering to shower!)
Also, subway riders are surprisingly quiet. Without the ability to use a cell phone, most commuters ride in silence. The subway itself is loud, but in a strangely soothing way—like "white noise" or a thunderstorm.
The quiet of the subway is in stark contrast to the "booty" music that often rocks your car while driving through downtown Cincinnati. I'm convinced that many of the problems I had with my car while in Cincinnati resulted from it being "shaken" by the other people's music!
The relative quiet of the subway used to be a boon to my productivity! Recently, however, I've noticed a disturbing trend. In increasing numbers, young subway rider's headphones are turned up nearly beyond control. These inconsiderate commuter's iPods are so loud that you can hear them all the way across train. Its nearly impossible to analyze the intricacies of a Mahler symphony or read the latest New Yorker article while your commuter neighbor's iPod is blaring in your ear!
In my opinion this is worse than the "booty" music that shook my car in Over-the-Rhine. At least I could rock out to that music. On the subway, I'm stuck listening to the musical equivalent of an annoying fly; unable to participate along with it but forced to listen to it, I get almost nothing done. Without cars of their own, I've come to the conclusion that:
I have to admit, I'm pretty lucky. Jess's commute is 2 hours at the quickest; for me to get to Brooklyn College it takes about 15 minutes—45 minutes to the Graduate Center.
Another advantage of public transit is that you don't have to deal with other discourteous drivers. No one cuts you off, you don't have to worry about someone running a red light, and no traffic tickets! (Though, you are at the mercy of your fellow commuters remembering to shower!)
Also, subway riders are surprisingly quiet. Without the ability to use a cell phone, most commuters ride in silence. The subway itself is loud, but in a strangely soothing way—like "white noise" or a thunderstorm.
The quiet of the subway is in stark contrast to the "booty" music that often rocks your car while driving through downtown Cincinnati. I'm convinced that many of the problems I had with my car while in Cincinnati resulted from it being "shaken" by the other people's music!
The relative quiet of the subway used to be a boon to my productivity! Recently, however, I've noticed a disturbing trend. In increasing numbers, young subway rider's headphones are turned up nearly beyond control. These inconsiderate commuter's iPods are so loud that you can hear them all the way across train. Its nearly impossible to analyze the intricacies of a Mahler symphony or read the latest New Yorker article while your commuter neighbor's iPod is blaring in your ear!
In my opinion this is worse than the "booty" music that shook my car in Over-the-Rhine. At least I could rock out to that music. On the subway, I'm stuck listening to the musical equivalent of an annoying fly; unable to participate along with it but forced to listen to it, I get almost nothing done. Without cars of their own, I've come to the conclusion that:
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Night . . . Moseley Style
Hey everybody! Hope y'all voted today! Brian and I are watching the results and enjoying a couple of beers. Give us a call!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Celebrity Sighting!
After living in NYC for over two months, all without spotting a single celebrity, Melon was starting to feel discouraged. Where is Sarah Jessica Parker? Julia Roberts? Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise? Michelle Williams lives in Brooklyn for Pete's sake! Where IS she?! Everyday Melon tunes into "Star Tracks" on people.com and there they are . . . celebs just walking around NYC, shopping, smiling, drinking coffee! Why don't they swing by Gregory's Coffee, where Melon sits and studies the music of the Burgundian lands in the fifteenth century?
But things are looking up for Melon. Last night at Carnegie Hall she experienced her first celebrity encounter. For better or for worse . . .
it involved George Crumb! Okay . . . so he's a not a movie star. But he IS "big time" in Melon's book!
But things are looking up for Melon. Last night at Carnegie Hall she experienced her first celebrity encounter. For better or for worse . . .
it involved George Crumb! Okay . . . so he's a not a movie star. But he IS "big time" in Melon's book!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
We're Back!
Hi, friends! We know it's been awhile since our last post. Sorry. We traveled back to Cincinnati last week to see our dear friends, Kevin and Emily, get married. The wedding was a blast, but the weekend was short.
On Friday night we hung out with old chums at Habits Cafe in Oakley. Man we miss being able to get a burger AND beer for under $10!
On Saturday we spent the morning sleeping in at La Casa de Breighan. (Five Stars!) We couldn't leave Cincy without a taste of our favorite Indian cuisine, so we headed to Ambar for lunch. For those of you who know where Ambar is located in Cincinnati, then you know Brian and Jess shed a tear as they looked up at their old apartment down the street :(
At 6:30 pm it was time for the wedding! Emily and Kevin looked so happy!
and then the gang hit the dance floor . . .
at first it was clean fun . . .
but it got ugly fast . . .
Oh, Melon . . . you just can't take her anywhere.
On Friday night we hung out with old chums at Habits Cafe in Oakley. Man we miss being able to get a burger AND beer for under $10!
On Saturday we spent the morning sleeping in at La Casa de Breighan. (Five Stars!) We couldn't leave Cincy without a taste of our favorite Indian cuisine, so we headed to Ambar for lunch. For those of you who know where Ambar is located in Cincinnati, then you know Brian and Jess shed a tear as they looked up at their old apartment down the street :(
At 6:30 pm it was time for the wedding! Emily and Kevin looked so happy!
and then the gang hit the dance floor . . .
at first it was clean fun . . .
but it got ugly fast . . .
Oh, Melon . . . you just can't take her anywhere.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Melon Hosts the Debates
We hope you all tune into the final presidential debate tonight! For those of you who don't know, the debate will be held at Melon's new place of employment: Hofstra University. While Melon competed for the chance to moderate the debate, she ultimately lost to that squirrely little man, Bob Schieffer.
This is an exciting time for our country . . . and for Melon . . . she gets the day off from classes!
For those of you interested in Hofstra's locale, here is another one of Brian's fancy (yet imformative!) maps for you to enjoy ...
This is an exciting time for our country . . . and for Melon . . . she gets the day off from classes!
For those of you interested in Hofstra's locale, here is another one of Brian's fancy (yet imformative!) maps for you to enjoy ...
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