The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Yes, yes, I have been getting a lot of crap since I've been home about not updating my blog enough. I am a very pattern oriented person and like to keep things neat and orderly...if they happen to fall into an obvious pattern while doing so, all the better! Why am I talking about patterns, you may ask? Back in October when I noticed my dwindling blog entry numbers, I saw that it was going 5...4...3... a very obvious pattern. How can I not just let it go 2 and 1? Which is partly why I haven't been rushing to the computer to add more entries. I know, this sounds like a thing a crazy person would do or think of. I always tell people I'm a little OCD and OCP(personality)D, but no one ever seems to believe me. Now you have some clear evidence that I am in fact, a bit obsessive sometimes, haha!

Anywho...while talking about my lack of blogging with my lovely friend from high school, Juli, she came up with a great idea. She said I could do an entry on my New Year's resolution. I told her I didn't have one except maybe to eat a bit more (I've also received a lot of grief about being too thin while home), but after I thought about it some more, I decided my resolution could be to blog more --- nice how that all worked out! This will be my last blog of the year (just so I can see the nice pattern), but I will try to resume in full force at the beginning of January.

January will probably be more fruitful than a good portion of the year because I have most of the month off from school, but I will try to keep it to at least once a week like I initially set out to do. I also didn't think people were reading it anymore (except for Ami because she used by glass bottle tutorial for her x-mas presents -- yay!), which is another reason I didn't make it a priority to update, but now that I know you all are, I will get on it a bit more :)

Alright, moving on to some updates... The end of the semester was a horribly busy time. I had 48 hours to grade 50 exams with 4 short answer/essay questions. Luckily the multiple choice is all graded on the computer, but ugh! the short answers were enough to keep me busy for about 10 hours straight. My friend Linda, a fellow TA, moved into an apartment kiddy-corner from me and we spent the evening (and early hours of the morning) grading the exam with Burt, another TA, over a round or two of Tequila Sunrise. I decided to be pretty nice to my students because I graded them pretty harshly most of the semester. I was very thankful to get their grades in and to be done with this semester of teaching!

Also during that evening I had a visitor come into my apartment. I was grading at Linda's, but would go back to my place periodically to check on Mea. I went back about 11 PM and Mea was fixated in a corner of my kitchen looking at the radiator. I figured there was a mouse or something because the wall and the floor do not connect there and one could easily come up through the wall and sneak in. I check under it and didn't see anything and checked as best I could in the radiator too, but saw nothing. I left and came back around 1 AM to discover all of my kitchen rugs bunched up against the walls and place-mats shoved off the table. I was wondering what the hell Mea had been up to when I finally turned the light on in the kitchen and the answer was hanging from the ceiling. Thats right, I had a bat in my apartment.

After letting out the customary girly shriek, I hurried back to get Burt and Linda to see what they thought. They were quite interested in the bat (I stood behind a wall and stuck my head in the room, haha). We left the light on so that the bat would not get startled later and just left him there. I barricaded Mea in the bedroom and bathroom. When I got back at 3 AM for the night, the bat what just where we left him, so I went to sleep in my bat-proof room.

Called animal control in the morning and they said they don't do bats, so I called my apartment and they had someone come over and collect him. We had some up and down temperatures in Minneapolis that week and it was likely that when it got warm, he woke up, but then when it got cold again, he kept climbing until he got somewhere warm to go back to sleep again. I think Mea was sad to see him go --- looks like she had quite the time with him! There were dusty polka-dots all over my kitchen from where it flew into the walls, floor, and table trying to escape the cat (he was covered in dust from climbing the wall and hiding in the radiator).

I love my apartment, but between the bat and the mold problems I had a few weeks ago, it makes me wonder if I should stay there another year... haha!

Other than that, the semester finished with little pain or grief. I don't have my grades back yet, but it looks promising. The drive home to Michigan was easy and I was lucky enough to make it here between storms. It has been wonderful to be home. I needed a break from the city and from my apartment. I'm quite happy I've been able to spend so much time with my friends and family. Christmas was good too! I received new kitchen stuff, several good vintage finds, and some books and DVDs --- plenty of things to keep me busy for a while!

I am heading back to Minneapolis January 7th. I will be sure to start updating regularly again. Until then, I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and good luck with your resolutions!

Just a Quick Update...

Short, but sweet this week.

My best friend, Ami (I'm sure you all remember her name from our trip to Europe), came out to visit me this weekend all the way from Custer, South Dakota! We haven't seen each other in 5 months! Far too long!

She got into town just in time to go to my FUTBOL game. I play with other Anthropology TAs on a club/inter-mural team called "The Four Fields." We lost miserably, but it was great fun running around and doing something physical for a change. I'm thankful I spent the $9 extra on some shin-guards...it was a pretty physical-contact-intense game!

Friday, once I got home from school/teaching we hung out for a good part of the day, got lunch, then I took Ami to Ikea because she has never been. I ate too many of their cookies while I was there...tummy-ache.

Saturday morning we got up at the crack of dawn and went to the Farmer's Market. It was a great weekend for it! All the fall veggies and such are coming in and were pretty cheap compared to the summer produce. I have a lot of cooking planned for this week. (I may cauliflower gratin tonight, delish!)

That night, we made a trip to a place called Nye's, a Polish polka bar! It was great fun! I actually recognized the place from my trip in 2007 with my mom, we walked past it and I remembered seeing a sign that said "Voted Best Bar by Maxim Magazine." It could very well be! The polka band members are pretty old, I think the youngest guy was in his 60s. The oldest member, Ruth, was well over 90 and rocked an accordion like none I've ever seen! :)

Ami left Sunday morning. Sad now. She's coming back out for my birthday in November, yay!!!

Other than that, I have a really busy week ahead of me with a rough draft due and tons of reading, so I'm done writing for now. Hope all is well with everyone!

The Falls in the Fall

Classes and teaching have been occupying most of my life lately, but I did manage to enjoy a weekend away from homework (for the most part).

Saturday was a busy day. The Anthropology Department held its annual Paleo-Picnic. Events included flint-knapping (stone tool making), archery, and butchering a pig using the stone tools we made that day. I didn't take part in the butchering surprisingly. I lectured about and dissected sheep brains all week, so I wasn't really in the mood to cut anything else up...

The weather was beautiful -- sun shining, about 60 degrees, a gentle breeze -- perfect fall day! I took advantage of the seasonal loveliness and went with a friend to Minnehaha Falls in the afternoon.

The falls are located about 15 minutes from where I live and are nestled within a large, lush park.

The first few photos are of the falls from the top. The water is pretty low this time of year, but the waterfall is still lovely.

I love how bright the colors are on the trees!

This is a sculpture which overlooks the falls. It has some sort of hair, maybe horse hair which makes it a little less cold compared to most sculpture and a little more natural/organic. I like it.

This is a pretty little bridge near the base of the falls. It took a while to get a photo without people in it, but it was worth it.

The last two photos I like because you can see the vibrancy of the Fall here. I love how brilliant everything is.

It was great walking around here too because leaves covered the ground and smelled great! They also made a very definitive crunch, which I always enjoy...


















As you can see, it is a lovely Fall in Minneapolis. All I need now is some apple cider and I'll be a happy camper!

News, Newspaper, and Worm Friends!

I have been meaning to update and share some details from the past week, but I keep getting side tracked (i.e. yesterday's post). There was big news today that I'm just itchin' to get to, but I will try to get the other stuff out first.

I went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning, bright and early, to pick up some tea that I ordered from a local maker. I say 'maker' not 'grower' because she doesn't grow it, but instead, blends ingredients to create some of the most amazing, flavorful teas I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. I first came across this magical brew two years ago when I was in Minneapolis for an Anthropology conference and the hotel I stayed at served the tea. I've patiently been waiting two years since to get my hands on it and I couldn't be happier! The blend that got me hooked is called Hi-C Punch, but I've found two other flavors that I can't live without -- African Fruit Bowl and Choco Mint (I drink this chilled with cream and sugar, brings out the chocolate flavor) -- AMAZING!!! Check out the Mrs. Kelly's Teas link on the side of the blog or click here (ships nationwide, just fyi).

Ok, got distracted again. While at the market, I bought a bushel of tomatoes, other veggies, and some strawberries. I spent the rest of the day and part of Sunday stewing tomatoes, making my homemade sauce to freeze, and trying out a new fruit leather flavor, strawberry banana! The tomatoes turned out great (this coming from the girl who loathed tomatoes until last year). The fruit leather also turned out great, but it took much longer than the first batch, almost double, because of the banana I think -- made it thicker and took longer to dry. Uneventful I know, but that was the majority of my weekend.

Ok, so my big news/ excitement for today is that I picked up my worms for my indoor compost! A girl was willing to give me some from her colony, so it includes some little bitty baby worms too. I brought them home, got their bedding together and introduced them to their new place. I have to give them a few days to settle in before I can start feeding them, but I already feel better knowing they are here and will help eat up even more of my waste!

I'm including some photos so you can see what they heck I'm talking about when I say 'indoor compost'...

Pile-o-newspaper pre-shredding, post shredding in bin, and worm friends and babies!

Here are some links about how to start your own indoor compost!

Vermicomposting

"How To" with photos (be sure to read a later entry of this blog before making yours, click here)

Where to Get Worms thought I got mine from someone on Freecycle.

Great Story! and some other stuff...

Some of you may know about the amazing 'Stumble Upon' feature that the Firefox web browser has. I am quite addicted. I was 'stumbling' today and came across this article someone else posted in their blog. It is a great story! I was disappointed that I had never heard of it before today.

Story

and for more information, they also have the official website.

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Not much new to report in Minneapolis today. The past few days have been spent doing small things around the apartment: cleaning, re-potting herbs (I had a really bad gnat infestation that I couldn't shake for the world!), laundry, etc. I applied for my new drivers license and also got my student ID and bus pass for the U, as every local calls the U of MN.

A few days ago I made homemade fruit leather which turned out really well! Fruit leather, for those of you unfamiliar with it, is basically pureed fruit that has been slowly dried either outside or in the oven at a low temperature. It is like a Fruit Roll-Up (a favorite lunchtime snack from my childhood), but all natural and without any extra sugar. I made blueberry...mmm! I'll attach the link I followed so you can give it a shot yourself. It really was the easiest thing I've ever made! I also made homemade granola, but I didn't follow a recipe and it needs a bit of tweaking. I'll post it when I finally come up with a good recipe.

The weather is a little cooler today than it has been (sad when 80 degrees is cooler!). Mea Kitty and I enjoyed some time outside as I brushed her. Other than that, not much new to report other than I start grad school in less than two weeks! Yahoo! I'm getting excited!

So...I Decided to Start This Blog Thing...

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to keep in touch with everyone back home. I'm not a big fan of email because I spend so much time on the computer with school or work. I prefer the phone, but its hard to track people down these days with everyone's (mine included) crazy schedules. This brings us to...

The Blog.

I've never been a big fan of blogs, maybe because they were pretty popular for a while and I tend to not like trendy things, or maybe it was because they are similar to a diary, which I've always felt is a little too self-indulgent (it usually turns into a giant b***h session).

Anyway, I've accepted the idea that a blog could be useful to me. I start grad school in two weeks and I'm not sure how busy that is going to be, I'm guessing very busy, but even if it is, I think I should be able to dedicate 15 minutes at some point during the week to post an update about what I'm doing, learning, cooking, etc. I think this will also be a more efficient way to share pictures than through email, and I know how people like pictures!

So, I ask that you be patient with me while I get this whole blog thing under control. I'm sure there will be lots of changes, updates, modifications in the next few weeks as I figure out what exactly I want this blog to be. Thanks for the understanding!

***Update***
During my summer travels in 2009 and 2010 I realized that seems to be what most people want from my blog - to hear about the places I am fortunate enough to visit and excavate, and the things I have learned about traveling through my experiences. Henceforth, this blog is dedicated to chronicling my past, present, and hopefully future trips around the world, and of course anything related to culture and travel.