This week in a nutshell

This week sure flew by. Matt finally finished his three term papers--what a drag after working so hard (and well) on his general exam papers! I'm so proud of him, even if he calls them Textual Turds.

We've both been working on school stuff: Matt moved on with his dissertation topic, and is revisiting his German and Latin language learning. One day, Matt stumbled on the book he wanted to write about literary histories (published last year)--doh! Lukily, the book's focus is global, not just specific to France, so there's hope! I've been working on my curriculm for next year, and it's been more fun because Matt found an awesome program that allows me to download news segments from online French news sites!! I'm becoming quite the news junkie, but I'm still having trouble beating Matt to news stories (yes, it is a competition) because he subscribed to the paper. Every morning now, his nose is buried between the pages, and the previous days' papers are scattered all over the place as if we're getting ready to paint. I wake up and make us some tea and breakfast while he eats and drinks and I stare at the top of his head. How did we become old people?

Thankfully, our vacation is coming up!! More of that later. Meanwhile, I've been spending time in the garden, weeding (oye!) and picking radishes. See? (notice the milk can in the background--thanks to an awesome find at a garage sale, I now have one on either side of the front porch. I LOVE THEM!)

Where is Matt to take a picture of me? Check the paper.


Next, to break up the monotony of reading the morning and evening news, I've been working on the last of my sister-in-law's baby shower. I'll give you a sneak preview.... trust me, it's going to be great! I feel like it's MY baby :)


I've been keeping my friend Emma company while her hubby is overseas doing research. She'll join him in a few weeks, but for now it's nice to hang out together in the evenings--even on the weekdays! It feels like college again.

Similarly, I've organized quite a few events over the weekends for some girlfriends--those who belong to the same women's Bible study group. Last weekend, we went berry picking and watched a movie. And today we spent the day in Lambertville and New Hope: two pedestrian-friendly towns full of cafes, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, antique stores and specialty shops! So fun! Emma had never been and she loved it! Here's a picture of us at a really delicious restaurant. From left to right: Miriam, me, Emma and Dawn.

Tomorrow we have a going-away ice cream party for a women's group member Eliza and I made coffee ice cream for the occasion. Ice cream making (and eating) is becoming a serious part of our weekly routine. The mint chip is to die for, and the coffee is so creamy and delicious without the bitterness.

We've been working on next week's getaway to New Hampshire! We're going camping and escaping the 80-90 degree weather. Besides enjoying the beauty of the outdoors, we plan to visit some historical sites (for the academics among us), go canoeing, hiking, scenic driving, moose siting, hot dog charing, smore eating, swimming, reading, maybe horseback riding, and ZIP LINING!! I'm especially excited for that last adventure. We're bringing the camera and flip video camera so that we can record some of what we do. Stay tuned!