Misty Mountains

At Lover's Leap, watching the fog roll up the foot of the mountain.

Christmas Traditions

It's a Christmas tradition for us to drive up Stuart Mountain and spend the day after Christmas with David's cousins. Here are Debbie, Cathy, and her son Wesley.

While the kids played games in the den, the women sat around the table chatting and drinking wine ...

... while the men gathered in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Morris made his famous fried turkey from a wild turkey that he caught himself.

After a holiday feast, we had the traditional ornament swap.

And at the end of the day we drove down the mountain, admiring the view.

This Christmas

This was the first time in three years that I was in Hillsville on Christmas Day.

This was the Christmas when the trees got downsized, but still managed to be as gorgeous as ever.

It was the year that we got Christmas crackers in our stockings and spent the afternoon in colorful paper hats.

This was the year that we all said we were going to cut down on Christmas, but somehow it turned into the biggest Christmas ever.

We all got some wonderful presents.

We had to take a break in the middle of opening our presents, then go back and unwrap some more.

This year David and I got to see his cousin Archer and her daughter Emily, who always stop by on Christmas, and we were so happy to see them.

This was the year we had one of the most fun and relaxing Christmases ever.

Merry Christmas To All

We drove all night Christmas eve with a sleigh, I mean a car, full of Christmas presents. In the very, very early hours of Christmas morning we snuck into David's parents' house and filled their stockings. And they heard us exclaim, as we drove out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

The Christmas Ibis

The heat wave is over, and yesterday was a cold gray day in Tallahassee. But Lake Ella is a wonderful place to be in any weather. It's the only place I know where you can do some Christmas shopping ...

... then stroll around the lake looking at camellias in bloom ...

... a snowy egret ...

... and an ibis hanging out in front of a flock of cormorants.

Freakishly Warm Friday

Tallahassee is having a heat wave -- it was in the 80s this afternoon! It feels like we're in a tropical jungle. Even though this is just the parking lot at our bank.

The Wormhole

While Dr. Hausfrau was posting about her family's morning commute, I was getting ready to post about ours. This is the most important road in Tallahassee. It links us with campus, the grocery store, and Lake Ella, and it is so much faster than the route we used to take that we call it the Wormhole. Also, it's one of Tallahassee's canopy roads, so taking it is like driving down a long green tunnel.

My Classroom

On Wednesday I met with my Greek class for the last time to give them their final exam. This is our classroom. It's mainly used for education classes, which is why there are so many decorations on the wall, but there is one sign that this was an ancient Greek classroom: the dry-erase board at the back of the room, where my students liked to write their favorite Greek words.

Before class on Wednesday they wrote "oudepopote," which I have to admit is a funny-sounding word (it means "never ever") and "panu ge" ("certainly"), which is what people always say whenever Socrates asks them anything. Neither of those expressions were on their final exam.

Home Remedy

I have a bad cold, but maybe a soup made of three whole bulbs of garlic will help.

The End of Vacation

Thanksgiving break is over.

I already miss everyone in Bloomington.

But it's nice to be home.

The Last Day of the Photo Project

Today is the last day that David and I are taking pictures for the Photo Project, because I will be home tonight. This project has been amazing. I thought it would be a conversation in photos, but instead it turned into an eerie proof of psychic powers! Although I'm not so sure about today:

Attack of the Ducks

On Sunday I went to Broad Ripple to visit Jennifer and John.

And Laurelai, who wore a Santa hat ...

... for almost 30 seconds.

It was a cold gray day in Indianapolis.

But we had a good time wandering around and looking at the Christmas displays in all the shops.


I was surprised to see ducks on the river. Don't they migrate to warmer places for the winter, like Lake Ella?


As we stood by the river, ducks started swimming toward us. They seemed to be coming from everywhere. Then they swarmed up the bank and chased us down the sidewalk. If you're planning to visit Broad Ripple, bring duck food!

Monday, December 1

Photo Project, Day 10: