Snow Day

Repeatedly we hear that Kentucky winters are rather tough, and we have been mentally preparing ourselves for the worst.

When it comes to snow, people here seem to act about the same as down in South Carolina. In the days before a predicted Thursday snow, the grocery stores are absurdly crowded and poorly stocked. And so when I woke up Thursday morning and peeked out of the blinds, I was disappointed to see that besides the frigid air seeping from the windowpane, it looked like a normal winter morning - dark, none of the bright white stuff. I turned on the local news anyways and saw this exciting message.

After triple checking - on the internet and with a coworker - I let myself be filled with the mirth that I was about to have my first grown-up missing-school/work snow day. Snow started falling as I ate my breakfast and drank my warm tea, watching the whitening world outside our window. I sank into my weatherproof boots to walk outside with Isaac. He still had to go to work and was curious to see how his car would handle the winter weather. The roads had been salted the days previous so luckily there wasn't much to worry about.

My snow day was split up into periodic treks through the snow, admiring the scenes and taking pictures of snowflakes with my cellphone. 

As I walked around, I was surprised by the absence of other people (especially children) out enjoying the winter weather. The next day I asked several of my students at school and not one told me that they played out in the snow. This wasn't enough snow to bother with, they told me, and so they stayed inside.

I, however, had plenty of fun kicking tracks through it and bending over our balcony railing, scrutinizing each individual and magical snowflake.

The snow kept drifting down throughout the day - sometimes thick clumps tumbling, light puffs floating or icy bits darting. And as I kept snapping pictures, I saw the snowflakes change form too. From dainty masterpieces to glistening diamonds and cupcake sprinkles.

I hope our balcony's pet fungi aren't grossing you out.

It was a nice treat after a warm Christmas to enjoy even this little bit of snow. In total we only got about two inches of snow, just enough to sugar-coat everything and make the ground glow for the next several mornings. I kind of hope next time the snow is so thick that Isaac can have a snow day too.

Farewell 2016

The closing weeks of 2016 were well spent with family and friends. But doing that required a bit more travelling than we are used to. Isaac, Cookie and I spent a little over 19 hours on the road during our trip. In some ways this was our first "grown-up" holiday - being on the road, leaving the place we call home to visit others - and it was wearing on all three of us.

Our poor little Cookie suffered the most discomfort on the long car rides. Regardless of your experience with bunny body language, I think it's pretty clear that this is not the pose of a happy, relaxed rabbit.

Perhaps it's another part of the grown-up holiday experience - regret. Despite sharing time with loved ones, the constant feeling of not-enough clung to my back. Not enough time, not enough said and definitely not enough pictures taken! Being concerned with planning and preparing for the rest of our trip (and worrying about Cookie) prevented me at times from being truly present. And I wish I had been able to more fully express things to others like joy and love and amazement.

But maybe it's the perfectionist in me kneading over the normal again and again, wanting it to become better. Because looking back through through the few pictures I have reminds me that there were many such moments of savoring the present.

Singing Christmas hymns and snickering our way through the sermon with an almost nine-month-old.

































Sharing life, memories and some amazing chocolate mint schnapps.


































A hilarious taste-testing game of yummy and gross jellybeans that look just alike.

My nephew playing in the same baby cabinet we used to as kids. Meeting up for a fiery tradition with a few new guests.

Seeing the two most important men to me work side by side.

Eating this "salad" while catching up with cousins.

Playing house and games with friends, and being part of an impressively bookish group - as many as six of us curled around the fireplace with e-readers.

Taking in a beauty profoundly different and greater than even our precious time together.

Christmas vacation was full of dining tables - steaming with warm food and shimmering with special dinnerware. Something about this time of year slows us down, letting us enjoy long and languid stretches of minutes around the table together. Food is only one course among the many topics of conversation being served. Life's normal tasks are shoved to the back corners of your mind, silenced, and you're able to just lean back in your chair and listen.

Even the perfectionist in me cannot think of any way to improve those moments squished around dinner tables.

And so after writing, and thus reflecting, I realize that this was a wonderful holiday and end to the year. 2016 was the toughest year I've lived thus far, but it was also one of the most precious. Saturated with new experiences, obstacles and personal growth. I'm thankful that Isaac and I were able to wish it farewell alongside so many loved ones.

Wintry Things

"We just moved here recently. About six or (mentally counting in head) no, it's been eight months now." That's how it usually goes in conversations with acquaintances. Then there's a moment of recognition that over half a year ago may no longer qualify as "recently".

Neither of us is overly eager to check out new and unfamiliar places on the weekends. My mental list of local restaurants to try and nearby cities to visit has grown faded and yellow with disuse. I guess these are signs that we have settled in.

But then again, there's also the cold. The frigid, bone-clattering cold might be to blame for us laying low too, storing up our energy for the winter holiday to come. These days, I practice macro photography in the mornings, trying my best to take pictures of snowflakes on my windshield with a cell phone while my car warms up.

I finally realized that there is a "pro" (aka manual) mode on my phone and look forward to the next flurries for an opportunity to improve.

If I had a past life, I'm pretty sure I was a meteorologist because I just love weather and precipitation so much. Even when there have not been snowflakes, there's usually some kind of icy forms to snap away at while I wait. It amazed me how much it can vary from one day to the next. Thick ripples like stained glass, fractal clusters like magnetic shavings clung together in the oddest ways.

In case I hadn't gotten the temperature's chilly hint, the holiday season has arrived. Yet I still felt surprised to find goodies on my desk at work one morning.

I used some leftover yarn to crochet some motifs to create an "ugly Christmas sweater". The kids at school loved it and it won the grand prize at a party Isaac and I attended - a hot cocoa variety pack and a restaurant giftcard.

We ventured out on a cold evening and found some pretty Christmas lights in the neighborhoods nearby. Here are our three favorites: More is better, giant dog, precision.

I apologize for getting off of my regimented weekly schedule. It's been a slowly slipping thing - from Fridays to Sundays, then missing a week and then another week. I'd like to blame it on the holiday season or the bitter cold weather we've had lately, but I can't be sure about that. It might just be that we are settled in now.

And so I have decided, for now at least, to write posts here bimonthly. I'll finish 2016 with a holiday wrap up, and then begin the new schedule next year. Starting in January, I plan to write new posts the second and fourth weekends of each month. I still wish to maintain this blog and want to do it on a regular basis. But I want to keep things interesting too, and since our pace has slowed down, it makes sense that my blog will too.

Thanksgiving and Break

We blink and it is December. Looking through my phone pictures from the past two weeks, the tell-tale signs of late autumn stick out - nearly monochromatic images - raucous crows on bare trees and surprise ice on windshields.

Two weeks have passed since my last post - and in that time I learned that the cliche is true about holidays - sometimes it feels like you need a second holiday to recover from the first. Our Thanksgiving was special and memorable, but was also so busy and eventful that I just now feel back on track, a week later. It's hard to get back to normal life after so much fun.

We stayed in Louisville for Thanksgiving - a decision first formed after making the 8 hour drive back in September. It's a lot of travel for just a couple of days. Our choice was cemented when we received the exciting news that our friends from South Korea (our former next-door neighbors) would be visiting the States over the holiday.

And so I planned and prepped for my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner. After returning from the three grocery stores I visited to find all of the ingredients on my list, I tried to take an artsy photo of the produce. Maybe it was silly, but I'm glad that I did because in the end, I barely took any other pictures of the big meal.

Our Thanksgiving dinner: planked salmon, roasted pork loin, sweet potato wedges, a foofy salad, rolls nobody ate, garlicky veggie chicken pasta that I forgot to take out of the fridge and pumpkin loaf.

Unbelievable. That these are the only pictures that I took. So out of character for me and my friend who always have a moment of silence before meals to take photos.

I blame it on the fact that we had not seen each other in eight months and were simply too ecstatic and distracted to bother.

We enjoyed our meal - and ended up eating the pumpkin loaf and sweet potatoes for breakfast for the rest of the holiday.

























After dinner, we and our friends (who were not so tired thanks to jet lag) did something that was a first for all four of us. Black Friday shopping on Thursday night. I feel a bit ashamed to admit it, and to inadvertently support companies making employees work on holidays, but it was a neat experience.

I have never seen Target as packed as it was at 6:30pm on Thanksgiving. Two items stuck out of almost everybody's bright red buggies - flat screen TVs and giant teddy bears. Another surprise - for the first time I ran into one of my students outside of school - a third grade sweetheart shopping with her mother!

Over the next several days that comprised our holiday weekend, the four of us kept busy. I was excited to show our friends around the place we call home now, and especially to introduce my girlfriend to some of my favorite brands like Target and Kate Spade. We made coffee with our beloved nespresso machine and enjoyed relaxing mornings together. We visited Frankfort with its charming small town vibe and toured Buffalo Trace Distillery.

The Distillery was just as lovely and enjoyable on trip number four. And I truly think our tour guide this time was the best one yet.

November just disappeared, time snatching our holiday right out from under us like icy winds whipping brittle dry leaves. Since our friends left, Isaac and I can't help commenting on how our apartment feels empty, or on how nice it was to be living side by side with "our neighbors" again, if just for a little while.

Week in a word and a few photos

A one-word summary of this week: planning. All sorts: progress reports and lesson plans at school, the menu for my first Thanksgiving dinner attempt, details and outings for special house guests arriving this week, financial preparations for a big purchase I've been putting off.

Planning doesn't make for very good reading, does it? So instead I'll just share a few pictures I took this week - tiny moments of excitement or uniqueness.

I made kimchijjigae (kimchi stew) this week. I consulted Maangchi's recipe but also just kind of tried to make a kimchi-licious soup using the Korean flavors and ingredients I'm familiar with. Anchovy, seaweed and green onion soup stock to start, then added tons of chopped sour (old) kimchi, carrots, green onions, gochukaru, brown sugar and maybe something else I can't remember. Isaac loved it and had second helpings of everything which I've learned is the true sign of whether or not he really likes something. I think he mostly just liked that it was very spicy - when I sipped just a spoonful at a time while taste-testing it had my nose running!

Louisville's first frost happened just over a week ago now, but a second sprinkling of ice crystals confirmed it - winter is coming. I have been excited about snow - but this icy stuff makes me feel more nervous than giddy. Even if it is awful pretty.

Date night Friday night at one of our favorite spots - Shalimar. 5 minutes up the road, eternal groupons that make the final bill just over $20 for a fancy cloth napkin and table cloth kind of dining experience. I tried the vindaloo - Isaac's favorite - and now understand why it is so. It has humongous chunks of meat and potatoes in it, and isn't creamy and sweet like some other curries.

Back at home, weekend mornings still feel super special thanks to our nespresso coffee machine and some tiny shortbread biscuits shaped like scottie dogs. Another great thing about the nespresso is that its pods are made of aluminum which can be recycled and which are super delicate. Why is the latter a great thing? Both times that we have ordered the coffee capsules online, they arrived partially damaged, resulting in the company sending us a second order free of charge.

Cookie looks forward to her big adventures on the weekends - poking things with her nose, hiding under covers and doing laps around the living room at a light-speed run expressing her pure delight. A binkying bunny (that's the word used for a rabbit's joyful hopping dances) is one of the sweetest things on earth.

 Like I said before, it's been a week full of planning. Not much else. Tis the season I guess. Happy pre-Thanksgiving!