Happy New Year!

The weather was unseasonably warm today, the last day of 2010.  All the snow that had accumulated on the ground in the past couple of weeks rapidly vanished and to our pleasant surprise it uncovered a verdant lawn lying beneath, greener than it sometime was in the summer, during the drought.  I believe we have acclimated to the cold weather in Bloomington, for when the temperature reaches the upper 30's we regard it as kind of balmy.  


I hope 2011 brings us much laughter and lightheartedness.  
Here's to you all, in sympathy.

Crackling Fire

First Fire

We lit our first fire in the fireplace a couple of nights ago. Although there were fireplaces in the four houses we lived in Florida, we had never used them. Somehow they seemed to be more decorative than functional and there wasn't the right kind of weather for one to be in the mood for a crackling fire.  

We weren't really sure if the fireplaces, there are two, one in the living room, one in the basement, had been swept or inspected recently but we took a chance and lit the fire anyway.  After some fiddling with a stuck damper, Kirk managed to start a roaring fire in no time.  It created a cave-like atmosphere of warmth and safety, very primordial.

Speaking of warmth, I have to mention that the heating system in our house is very efficient and that the house itself is very well insulated, in contrast to the most recent house we occupied in Gainesville.  The heating system manages to maintain a constant 72 degree indoor temperature throughout all three floors of the house, seemingly without any effort.  I especially like the feature of the floor registers (heat vents) in the house, which are very common here; they help circulate heated air more efficiently and keep the feet warm on the bare floor.  

Snowed under

Ninja Warrior

The winter storm that swept past most of the Midwestern states this week dumped several inches of snow in our neck of the woods last night.  Luckily, a Ninja Warrior alighted on our driveway this morning to come to the rescue.  Attired with a sky mask and a pair of prescriptive goggles, though designed to be used under water, worthy of the niftiest ninja warriors, she set to work ploughing the snow off our driveway.  Even with her relentless weight training and running in bitter cold, it still took her close to three hours to get the job done, well, maybe, just tolerably.  Like Moses parting the Red Sea, she carved out our driveway from under the heavily packed snow with superhuman powers.  Before I could properly thank her for rescuing us from being trapped inside our house, she vanished in the thin air without a trace!  You are not to confuse those footprints on the roof in the other picture as hers; they belonged to the phantom squirrels who never stop hopping from roof edges to tree branches and vice versa as the quickest and safest mode of travel.

Phantom Squirrels Strike Again

Halfway Through

Mission Accomplished

Hoosier Values

During the mid-term election, I occasionally saw on TV, commercials of some state candidates, regardless of their political persuasions, touting "Hoosier Values", with special emphasis on their "gun-toting" tradition.  Exactly how the Hoosier values were different from the 'values' held by people from any other states was not clear to me.  However, there is something about the Hoosiers, or at least the Hoosiers we've come across, which stands out in our impressions and that is their kindness to strangers, a kindness which is trusting and unsuspecting, almost naive.  Some of you may protest by saying that kindness knows no states boundaries and after all we've only lived in three states so far, California, Florida, and now Indiana.  Well, I can only say that we derive our impression based on personal experiences and I will relate a couple here.


On Kirk's first visit to IU, flying into the Indianapolis Airport, which, by the way, is a gem of a small to mid size airport, unsure of where to go to pick up his rental car, he was standing around and looking somewhat puzzled.  A guy walking by stopped and asked Kirk if he could be of any help and upon learning that he was lost, pointed out to him where to go.  Kirk was pleasantly surprised by the kindness shown him, especially in a place where one least expects to receive random kindness from total strangers. Similar incidents have occurred to us several times since then, at street corners, at farmers' market, and so on.


In early September, on a late Saturday afternoon, the day before our "Beginning of the Term" as well as our house-warming party, at which we were expecting over fifty people, we went to Lowe's to get some parts for a ceiling fan.  While there, we saw some end-of-the-season outdoor furniture on sale for 50% off.  A sales person approached us and showed us a set of wrought-iron furniture, a 48" round table and four chairs, at a great price.  We were very tempted as we did not have any outdoor furniture at that time and we thought having something for people to gather around would definitely help draw the guests outside more.  We have an incredible backyard, with a large redwood deck and several terraces, which is a perfect setting for late summer evening parties.  We decided to buy the set but realized shortly after that we would not be able to transport it home in our car.  After asking us where we lived, the sales person offered to deliver the furniture to us; she said that she had a Trailblazer which the furniture box would fit in and as she had to go by High Street, which is actually on the other side of town from Lowe's, to run an errand anyway, she would be happy to bring it to us.  She also said that she got off in about 30 minutes.  We were elated and couldn't believe that someone would offer such kindness to total strangers.  We loaded the furniture box into her 'truck' and went home to wait for her, without any misgiving.  Sure enough, in about half an hour, an SUV pulled into our driveway and this hearty woman unloaded the furniture for us! 


Another example of the friendliness and helpfulness of the Hoosiers has to do with the postal carrier in our neighborhood.  I met Darlene during the first week after we moved to our new house.  She is a jolly and talkative person.  Seeing that I was wearing my running duds, she proceeded to tell me about how she kept fit by drinking a certain protein shake for lunch and also that she would stop on her beat at certain place to do push-ups on the sidewalk everyday. She looks very trim and healthy.  She gave me a couple packets of the protein shake to try and said that she would tell me more about it if I liked them.  It turns out that she is a distributor of the product on the side and can probably claim several clients from the homes she delivers mails to.  I was sold on the product, partly by her friendliness, but mainly because I don't want the hassles of having to fix myself something to eat for lunch.  Anyway, I have been having protein shakes for lunch everyday; even when it's freezing outside I'll be drinking my shake and shivering at the same time.  But, wait, the story doesn't end here.  Not too long ago, I was asked by two future colleagues of Kirk's to help renovate a house they were in the process of buying in anticipation of their coming move to Bloomington.  Their house is also located in the area south of campus, not too far from ours.  On seeing the postal carrier walking past her house, she said to me, something like "Oh, there goes Darlene, the 'duenna' of the neighborhood.  I'd better go say hi."  She told me that she has stored several pieces of furniture at Darlene's from their previous year's stay in Bloomington.  The take-aways  of the story for me are that 1) people here are very willing to lend a hand to help others and 2) Bloomington is a very tight-knit little community where everybody knows everybody else.

IU Mini

While shopping at the running store last weekend, we were told about the upcoming IU Mini (half) Marathon on April 2, 2011.  Kirk and I both decided to train for the race starting immediately as the training schedule for marathons usually takes about 18 weeks.  We've learned from past experience that the only way to run consistently is to train for a race. We need all the motivation we can get to run in this weather in the low teens.

I hit the road this morning for a 4-mile run.  The snow on the sidewalk has turned into ice and is especially treacherous to run on.  I had to slow down several times and walk gingerly over the ice on stretches of sidewalk.  Fortunately I didn't have any mishap. Those homeowners with houses fronting sidewalks and roads who took the trouble to clear the snow off the sidewalks did the general public, especially pedestrians, joggers, and bicyclists, a great service but they are the minority, I afraid.

Now that I have announced that I'll be running the IU Mini next April, I will have to stick to my words and do the training four days a week come rain, snow, or shine.  Wish me perseverance.   

O.M.G.

The snow-laden branches form an intricate lace screen
around the back of our property

The snow has been coming down with a vengeance; we woke up this morning to an unbelievable sight - the whole place is blanketed in snow!!  Before we left the house this morning, the City of Bloomington's 'snowmobile' had already come around and cleared the snow off the road in our neighborhood - talk about an efficient local government, this one gets an A in my book.  We've been busy today, going to the stores to get Kirk a pair of waterproof snow boots, some cold- weather running clothes and another snow shovel.  We got the snow off our driveway now, as you can see in the video; our neighbor, Mrs. Kay Moldstad, is not so lucky.  She is an old lady living all by herself; I'm afraid, she will be snowed in.  I'll check on her tomorrow morning.

This is the view out of my office window - did I ever mention that I have the best, the most strategically placed, room in the house?  It is the room directly above our living room; it was also the previous owner's office.  At my desk, a command look-out post, I can see any car entering our driveway and people coming around to the front door, without their suspecting that they are being watched.  I once spooked a visitor by tapping on my window from above; I only intended to make him aware that he was being observed.  As you can see from the picture to the right, our driveway is spic and span while the snow has completely overtaken Kay's driveway up to her garage door.  An urgent question in our mind is where the deer go for shelter in weather like this.  I've been looking closely at the snow on the ground for deer footprints.  

12.14.10 Update
Here they are, side by side along Kirk's, found on our entry path this morning.  The deer seem to be uncommonly lively these days; I often see them prancing about in the large tract of land behind our property or leisurely making their way, from lawn to lawn, heading somewhere, en famille, of course.

Here comes the snow!

The first snow of the year sneaked up on me last night, while I slept. It has transformed the landscape overnight with a thin layer of the purest and lightest white.  I have not stopped grinning from ear to ear since Kirk woke me up this morning, announcing "Ah-Ping, it's snowing!"  I have been outside several times since this morning taking pictures; my neighbors must have found me quite comical to watch.  The locals don't seem to be as excited about the first snow as I am.  Here are some of the pictures I took -

P.S. A very happy birthday to you, 'Little Cat'.