signatemporis

HOW WE LOVE FOOD

2009-01-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday, Baby!

2008-08-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

As I've heard a million times now, it's crazy how quickly children grow! Ro had her first birthday yesterday, July 31. She's just amazing, and we adore her. It has been the most beautiful year.

Here are some highlights from her little birthday party..

We gave her this groovy red Schwinn wagon as her gift. She loved it. We had it sitting outside with a bunch of balloons tied to the handle. Hard to tell if she was more interested in the balloons or the wagon at first, but I gave her a ride in the wagon, and she loved it!

Mommy and baby kisses. So sweet.

Papa helping Ro with the candle. I put four small candles together, and they created quite a flame! Maybe just two singles next year.

Rowan playing with the balloons. They are the height of entertainment in Rowan's life right now.

Static style!

Berry Muffin

2008-07-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

We think she's darn cute all the time--even with berry muffin squished all over her face! Rowan has taken to making these very cheesy expressions each time the camera comes out. No walking yet (oh so close!) but new words: "light", "stuck", and "here" (in addition to the norms, "mama", "dada", "edta" for Emma the dog). Sending you all some smooshy, berry love!

Funny Face

2008-07-19T20:16:00.001-07:00

Rowan

2008-03-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Photos of Rowan by a friend of ours Tyson Jeffreys.

2008-03-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Roe Roe B

2008-01-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Priceliss!

2008-01-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

Last, but not least

2007-11-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Keep scrolling--I added three posts today as there is maximum number of images that can be uploaded per post. The apple one has a fairly big bug in it. Can you find it? By the way, sorry about the sideways photos. I forgot to turn them right-side up. Oops.

More pics

2007-11-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

A few more for you... We seem to take many, many photos of this wee one.

October photos

2007-11-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's actually nice and warm compared to how early November felt last year. Our nights are chilly and afternoons mild. We've had a few freezes, so much of the pretty green is now brown... ahhh, the cycle of colors. I love this time of year and look forward to the winter. It seems that each season is desired in its time.

The Hamners remain healthy and well. Garret's crazy travels have come to an end for this year. The travelling has been a bit hard on each of us, but he seemed to enjoy it for the most part. Fairly wearying but still adventurous. Emma loves her baby and kisses her as often as possible. She's become much more protective and seems to be in every room we are in. I'm enjoying being a mom, simple as it seems. I've been trying to think of all the sweet little things Rowan reminds me of, and the list seems to grow: dandelions, eyelash kisses, rose buds, clementines, sugar plum fairies. She's busy, busy, busy. Just last night she discovered a new sound she can make (sort of a squealing shriek) and made it incessantly. A squealing shriek can mean many things: Emma is fun to watch; I'm hungry; Papa makes silly faces; I like trying to stand; I'm tired. And she's moving, moving, moving, working hard to sit up, standing with a bit of support, stretching, arching, kicking. Another new thing is grabbing. It's amazing to watch awareness developping in her. She sees the blue elephant, sees it's tail, reaches out, grabs ahold, and hangs on for minutes. Hair, necklaces, shirts, neck skin... whatever is in reach. I know that this is not new for babies in general... How many times have I been warned about "the baby" being in a hair-grabbing phase? But, it's new for Rowan, which gives us so much appreciation for how much she's grown in all ways in the last few months.

Here are some recent pics. Some are from our trip to California, one's from Halloween (she's a mummy, but looks a bit like a wooly sheep/wise man in a manger), and a few are just cuties. Hope all are well! We love you lots.

Sarah of the wee Hamner family

Early reader?

2007-10-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

A few more fun pics...

Rowan at 9 weeks

2007-10-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe she's two months already, that little Rowan. She's become much more active and responsive, smilling at funny noises and faces, laughing when she hears others laugh, kicking and gripping and twisting and pushing. We are having a great time watching her grow.

This coming week, Garret is off to Colorado for a business trip, and Rowan and I will be in California visiting family. Birth announcements (created by Laurie Sawyer, Garret's aunt) are in the mail, so be looking for those! By the way, these photos were all taken in the last two weeks, so they're recent but still a bit outdated, the way she's growing. A few words on one of the pictures... The baby armoire was given to us by Garret's parents and was painted by Garret's aunt Shannon. Isn't it beautiful??! We've been given so many wonderful gifts for Rowan: baby quilts, clothes, bath supplies, gift cards. We definitely feel loved and supported by all of our friends and family. Hope all of you are well! Much love, the wee Hamner family

Seven Weeks

2007-09-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to think that Rowan was a big bump in my belly just seven weeks ago. We are totally smitten by this little girl who is changing so much--it's sometimes noticeable day-to-day. She's gained three pounds and two inches, and she's very healthy, cuddly, and full of life. She's begun to smile, and she's very vocal. She'll probably end up being a talker like her mama.

Garret is in Chicago this week, doing admissions work for St. John's. He seems to be enjoying the city very much though the business trips are hard for everyone. Even Emma is different when he's not around. I'm enjoying my role as stay-at-home mom. So far it's very easy going, but I think it must have everything to do with Rowan's easy temperment.

A few words on the new photos--they were taken over the last four weeks, but the most recent (taken today) is the one of her in her Cash onsie. My other favorite is her sweet Saturday Night Fever dance move. Hope you enjoy gazing at her as much as we do!

Rowan Honey Bea

2007-09-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

ROWAN

2007-08-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Little Rowan

2007-08-06T06:58:00.001-07:00

Rowan Beatrice Hamner

2007-08-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

We would like to thank all our friends for their prayers and thoughts over the last few days. We are quite excited to share our new baby girl with you all. Rowan Bea Hamner was born July 31st at 8:35am. Little Rowan weighed 6.11, and 50cm long (tall).

ROWAN-In modern English, Rowan is used as both a feminine and masculine name. The feminine name probably derives from the name of the tree: It has been fashionable at several times in recent centuries to name girls after plants

BEATRICE-(pronounced bee'-a-tris or in Italian bay'-a-tree-chay) is a name derived from the Latin name Beatrix. This occurred in medieval Italy. Beatrice means she who blesses.

HAMNER-Sir name originating in Wales, originally Hanmer. Also known at times by Haminator, Wickershamnner, Hammy, Hamnerito, or Hamnarion.

Eight Days, No Names, and Green Chile

2007-07-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Wee Hamner ought to be arriving soon. These days are spent imagining what life will be like with the baby around (the nickname for the baby throughout the pregnancy has been Ronan--gaelic for "little seal" and in the running for potential boy name). Speaking of names, we haven't been too quiet about our name ideas but feel as undecided as we did six months ago. Giving someone a name is a much more important and difficult task than I would have ever considered. We're still coming up with new ideas, but mostly we joke about names we would never give a child. Probably time to get serious. (Don't worry, Grandparents!)

In anticipation of the baby, we've been making lots of little adjustments and additions to our abode (nesting instinct, anyone?). We love living in the country and are taking full advantage of it. New Mexican summers are pretty incredible, with dry heat in the day and thunderstorms with rainshowers in the evening. Most of the time, the storms have only half passed by sunset, which makes the colors and light incredible. There are evenings when Pojoaque Valley (we're on the north end of it) glows a golden pink. It's totally surreal. Garret and I end up just sitting in the glow and staring at every little thing--dry grass, the mesas in the distance, the Cottonwoods--while Emma runs around chasing grasshoppers, of which there are a bazillion. Sometimes we'll have the deep glow and lightning simultaneously, which is really spectacular. I was sort of afraid of lightning when we first moved here, but I've come to really love it, especially when it comes big and close, streaking across the sky horizontally as well as vertically. Anyway, summer is a great time to be in northern New Mexico. And, it's chile season--the most anticipated time of the year by native New Mexicans. Bigger for some than Christmas, Easter, you name it... Green chiles are almost ready, and when you drive down the streets of Santa Fe during chile season, they fill with the smell of roasting green chiles. There are chile roasting stands all over, and families will buy a few big burlap bags full of green chiles, have them roasted, go home and peel them (chile peeling is a big family affair, I hear--almost like a party), then freeze them for use during the rest of the year. Green chile (a very simple sauce) is eaten alongside of pretty much anything. I hear you can even get it on your McDonald's hamburger at no extra cost.

New Mexican Summer

2007-07-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

La Publa, Espanola. An old village church down the street from our house.

Screen Door Entomology

fall 2006 Pre-prego Hamners

and dog

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: The Hamners from winter to summer

2007-07-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

You know those friends who you never hear from... From time to time you think, "Whatever happened to the so-and-so's? Well, that's us. From grad school to babies, the Hamners have been very busy and almost forgot they had a blog. It would take a lot of time to fill in all the gaps. We moved during the largest snow stotrm of the last 50 years in Santa Fe. We got snowed into our new house. Our dog, Emma, entered the rebellious teens but enjoys the freedom of country life (dig, run, bark, dig, run, bark, chase cars, dig, bark). Emma is expecting a sibling, or a rival in the family place of attention, Garret just started working for St. John's College as an Admssions Counselor, and we are expecting a baby. Did I mention we are having a B-A-B-Y? El Bambino, that is "the bambino", is due any day, well more like July 22 but you know how these things go. The Hamners' newly installed internet should make connection to the world wide web better, which means more pictures. Much love to all, Garret and Sarah

Emma-ness!

2006-03-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Here are more Emma pics for those who have been asking! She's so cute. Despite some (typical) exhausting (for us) chewing habits, we are having so much fun owning a puppy. She's about 13 weeks old and we're guessing she weighs 25 pounds or so. She's growing so fast! She's learned to shake and sit and go to her bed. What a good girl...

The Hamners are doing quite well, these days. Garret just started his two-week spring break. He finished up a week of papers and oral exams, and after break he will continue with his English Classics seminar and begin a preceptorial in the novels of Vladimir Nabokov, specifically "Pale Fire", "Lolita", and "Speak Memory". He enjoys the readings and conversations. He's is also painting quite a bit--last month he sold two paintings at the gallery where he works. ((Yeah! WooHoo!!)) A few more paintings are in the works. They're looking great.

I've been keeping up (barely sometimes) with my 116 middle school students. Last week I attended two all-day trainings, which were helpful. A nice break from my students (I do love them so, but sometimes I just need space, you know?) while focusing on ways to improve my teaching, the learning environment of my classroom, etc. It's currently a lazy Sunday morning. Emma wakes us at 6:30, and it's nearly impossible to go back to sleep. This morning, we awoke to two inches of snow, which we have DESPERATELY needed. We've had hardly any snow all winter, and our fire season started with a 10,000 acre blaze in Cimmaron (northeast of Santa Fe) about two weeks ago. Needless to say, everyone has been worried, and this snow is like a deep, fresh breath. Very relieving. It's now about 4 inches deep, and Emma loves to play in it.

Again, here are a few cute pictures. One is from this morning, the others were taken over the last two weeks. She's a cuddly puppy. She loves our laps but is getting way too big to fit in them. Hope all is well with you, wherever you are!

2006-02-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

It is interesting that the first post was about dogs. Little did we know when moving to the great state of New Mexico that we were soon to be owners of a puppy? Yeas we just god Emma two weeks ago. And after getting over the flue she is active and mischievous as ever, but so much fun as well. She loves to snuggle when she is not trying to turn your hand into a chew toy.
We are doing quite well over here. Sarah is still enjoying teaching though she has had problems with over-vigilant, controlling parents. School is going well, it really is a “liberal” arts program. Fun!! This has been a challenge and continues to force me to rethink notions of truth, interpretation and equity. I recently sold two paintings of my own at the gallery and that is encouraging. I have a lot of friend encouraging me to pursue my painting more seriously.

The First Snow

2005-11-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

Just finished the self Portrait seen above . It is really cold here. Last night it was 19'. We got snow on Saturday night and it has froze every night since. We are buckling down and trying to make our home more efficient. In a since I fell like characters in La Boehm, all scarfed up from the time I get out of bed tell I return. But as Nietzsche said what does not kill you makes you stronger. I keep reminding myself of the great poets who wrote by candlelight and a small Cole fire in the cold of Paris... it make me feel better some how. As if we could worm ourselves in the warmth of their poetic genus. Always a romantic I guess? The last picture was taken Sat. night at 1:00. It is our Ice Palace; I only hope that Father Christmas will make it through this year.
That is it for now----The Hamners

2005-10-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Just found this guy in the back of the house. Just had to share it, I mean his or aah her! Is not creation amazing! more later

And she writes! Finally.

2005-09-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s about time I got my write-on and created a post. The Missus here. Garret is at work, and I just returned from this great teahouse on Canyon Rd. (the art gallery district of Santa Fe) where I graded up a storm. I still have more to do. I’ve found that grading truly is—as I’ve heard all along—the lowest of teaching lows. Outside, the neighbor girls are laughing and playing with their dogs Oink and Telulah. Great dog names.

We are adjusting to life here. It has been a lonely week, though. The newness (but not the novelty) of Santa Fe has worn off a bit, and we find ourselves deeply missing friends and family. The highlight of the week was a brief visit with Keith and Matt Hendron, who made an over-night stop in Santa Fe on Tuesday night. They were finishing up a 4-week-ish motorcycle trip around the country. We had a great visit. It was wonderful to see familiar faces. No one had entered our casita since my parents left (after moving our belongings and me out here). That was almost two months ago; as most of you know, our place in San Luis Obispo saw the faces of friends almost daily, so this lack of friends’ presence in our little home has been weird and lonely. I know that we will build relationships here, but the waiting is foreign and causes me to feel restless.

In the mean time, we busy ourselves with work and exploration. We have done some fun stuff out here so far. Last weekend, we went to an alpaca farm. That was great. They are the cutest animals ever, and I can’t wait to own a few someday. And goats and chickens, of course. Three weeks ago, I found a black widow in my school bag… reached right into the web to pull out a book. Eek! We’ve been to some great little restaurants, explored the neighboring towns of Pecos, Lamy, Tesuque and Eldorado. The Peanut Gallery (the art gallery where Garret works) had a successful opening last weekend. And, we joined NetFlix (finally), so we’ve seen some good movies, too.

Following are some pics of Cerrillos Rd. It’s the part of Santa Fe that some snobby locals pretend doesn’t exist. So we like to visit. It’s comparable to LA on a not-so-crazy day. Lots of cars and strip malls and traffic and stop lights. It’s not beautiful, but the “beauty” of Cerrillos is that it’s where normal people are and go. The whole Santa Fe Plaza scene is lovely, rich, & historic, but it’s not real life. Cerrillos is. Enjoy! And please write and call us because we’re (I should speak for myself now) very sad and lonely sometimes!

Three pics of Cerrillos and one hail storm

2005-09-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

Dog

2005-09-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

“Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language. “ -----Ludwig Wittgenstein

There is a dog lying on the café floor
If it could be called a café, adobe walled
Haven of tobacco and sweet scented smoke.
More like a den.

The dog curled up on the ground tied to
A café table with electrical cord.
He waits pouting. This is the land of
Do it your self, of makeshift creations.
The similarities between a rope and electrical-
Cord far out weigh their dissimilarities

This is a place of confusion, mixes up identities
A place were things aren’t themselves
And nepotism poisons the relations of language.

la Casa (the casa)

2005-08-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our new casa. Its small and did I say its small. Actually it look a little like one of those old Disney cartoons about the life of a house, the one were all the world grows up around it until finally there is a little house lodged between two sky-scrapers, with a frown and tears streaming down its window pains. Our Casa is not sad, but it is tiny. We really like it, it is real cozy and close to down town. This makes for great evening strolls.

Sarah wrote a little exercise about our new home for her creative writing class she is teaching at the Jr high. It should be posted soon.

Santa Fe

2005-08-19T12:45:00.001-07:00

I am sitting here in a cafe' trying to think of the best way to describe the past week in Santa Fe. It’s akin to another world. The man sitting across from me is wearing a dress and muttering to himself. There is a man here also who is carving a cane on the patio. I said that I was sitting in a cafe, well it is a cafe of sorts, nothing close to the idea of a Parisian Cafe'. It’s more a coffee den. The adobe walls covered with a bright yellow paint that seems to radiate its own heat. The air is different here, not just in the 'den" but all of here. Most often it resembles the smell of burning leaves, like fall in the Midwest but not quite. It makes me think of racku, for those of you who have done pottery. Aside from the smell the air undetectable, its absence of moisture and virtual non-being is it most memorable quality.

There is a lacksidasicalness that surrounds this place. At times it seems like apathy often it seems like this. Not just the people but also the buildings themselves seem to sag in a tiredness and laziness that could care less that you see them, that you walk through them. They have long given up on appearance excepting their cracks and dust. Embracing now the dilapidated beams that jet out of them and the overgrown piles of junk and rubble that in the name of "art" adorn their font walks.

September is bringing with her a wind that whispers words like "chill" and "freeze" if you listen carefully. It is pleasant for the time being. At night it punishes the buildings for there apathy, they seem unmoved that next morning. I have thought that perhaps it is the sky that has brought this town to be as it is, with its huge expanses and crimson and gold settings. What could compare when God paints such a canvas as this? Everything is smaller here. Even the Sangre de Cristo Mountains seem dwarfed in the grandeur of the sky.

How is it that this town has such spiritual darkness? With such bright skies? They think they are so spiritual with their festivals and the effigies they offer up in the name of who knows what... Whom? Who? We sit, all of us under the Sangre de Cristo (the Blood of Christ) unaware of the healing sav of a mountains namesake. There is so much to point to here, to say see this points, this is a sign to the real. But most will not hear of it.