Another wintry pic to illustrate the mood here. We've had exceptionally cold temperatures lately (how about a -7F during the daytime?), but the snow on the ground has shown us each morning just how many night visitors we get. One day, it was clear a raccoon had gone around our house (and many neighbors' homes) trying to get in at every door. He had even come up our back deck and down a 360 degree turn at the top of the staircase.

Today, Sweetie noticed deer tracks(!) leading to a bush right outside our kitchen window. We often drive to other, more isolated neighborhoods to see deer in the evening, so we had no idea that they are in our own backyard during the night.

Moving in

First of all, huge thanks to VegetableJ for reminding me about her amazing cornmeal pancake recipe that I can now dig out of my collection of recipies!!  Our "STUFF" finally arrived -- literally SIX months after we had it all packed up in Israel, and after shelling out an additional $900(!) to US Customs authorities so that they could X-Ray it and rifle through it at their leisure.  What a wonderful country!

So, needless to say, we've been knee deep (literally) in unpacking, though thanks to Sweetie's errr, encouragement, I managed to get my tea room set up for all intents and purposes, adorned now with an amazing scroll sent to me by one of my unbelievably kind and generous friends in Kyushu.  I will photograph it soon.

Winter has arrived with a vengeance here, and any illusions I had about this part of the US being considerably less-wintry than where I grew up have been handily shattered by the two ice storms we've had recently.

The fruits of our Christmas Day excursion to our favorite neighborhood are above.  Sweetie and I often take evening drives to a nearby neighborhood that tends to have deer out and about.  We did that Christmas Day.  No deer this time, but plenty of peace and quiet and gorgeous ice formations.

Shamed

I am feeling completely shamed by the fact that my friend Kuri, who has a toddler and has recently moved into a new house, updates her blog approximately 100 times more often than I do.

There is the usual litany of excuses. One being that I recently spent almost two weeks in Japan -- my much-loved second home. It was a work trip, and I felt woefully deprived of adequate shopping opportunities ("You have 20 minutes in Jusco" -- RUN!). But, most disturbing, were the changes I observed in Japanese culture.

1) The JR shinkansen conductors do not bow with the aplomb and pride that they used to.

2) The JR shinkansen conductors do not even check anyone's tickets in reserved seats on the train (which resulted in Sweetie and I having to boot someone out of our seat, who then moved to another reserved seat, only to be booted out of that one too by new passengers).

3) Service is not what it used to be. Sweetie and I dropped in on a cute coffee shop in the train station mall and it was so appalling that on my way out, I warned a woman with two small children who was waiting for a seat. We waited 40 minutes for our coffee and tea, which were supposed to come with cookies and cake. We waited another 20 minutes for our cake and cookies, which I had to ask for TWICE (actually walking up to the kitchen myself in one case), and needless to say, our coffee and tea had long since been consumed by the time the cookies and cake arrived. All the staff were running around like complete idiots -- we observed our waitress alternately serve as waitress, dishwasher, and kitchen staff. Someone was furiously washing dishes, while no one could seem to muster the time to put two cookies and a pre-sliced piece of cake on a plate.

In addition, while staying in a rather expensive hotel, the hotel power went out for THREE HOURS one morning (it went out while I was showering for work) and the hotel offered NO explanation and no compensation (fortunately, we were only on the 5th floor). This was in the middle of winter in a major northern Japan city. There were several inches of snow on the ground. The room became intolerably cold during that time.

And to top it off, when we asked if we could check out two hours late they next day, they grabbed a calculator and told us how much extra it would cost!!! Hel-lo!

Also, Sweetie sent a shirt off for dry cleaning, and it came back looking like no one had bothered to iron the sleeves or shoulders. The staff at the front desk looked at me like I had three heads when I took it back and said it was unacceptable. No "moshiwake-arimasen"s and not a single bow of apology. It was more like a disbelieving, "Soo desu ka???"

4) One of my perhaps greatest disappointments was while staying at a ryokan and eating their overwhelmingly large dinners served in the room. We were served up piles of fish and sushi one evening and I was delighted to see one of my favorites, uni (sea urchin). (I've recently tried giving pescetarian-ism a try after 11 years as a vegetarian, as I've become increasingly plagued by respiratory illness). Although I was slightly dismayed by the obvious supermarket packaged-tray that the uni was served on, I figured that we were, after all, inland, so maybe they couldn't get the fresh stuff.

But, my forgiving attitude took a turn, when I glimpsed the back of the uni tray and a sticker that listed the origin of that uni as THE UNITED STATES.

I nearly wept.

New Lady

I've brought a new lady into my relationship with Sweetie. And it's one of the best things I ever did. Her name is Jill. And she's the voice on our GPS unit. It's absolutely brilliant, because now, when we get lost, Sweetie can yell and curse at Jill. While I sit perfectly innocent in the passenger seat. It's amazing. Highly recommended. In fact, she was recommended to me by several sets of aunts and uncles. Always listen to the wisdom of those older than you (I don't dare call them "elders"!)




Last weekend, after a fairly uninspiring trip to an international supermarket called "Jungle Jim's" (I'm sure it's much more pleasant on a weekday when it isn't completely mobbed), we spent Sunday strolling along the local "gorge trail," which skirts some historic sites related to the early days of jazz recording. We've been blessed with absolutely amazingly warm and beautiful weather lately (Sweetie thinks I'm a big liar for all the horrible tales I told him of Midwest weather).

Today I inaugurated a "Hebrew lunch table" at the college where I work. One student showed up (others are interested, but were busy today with the election), which I actually found to be highly encouraging. We spoke Hebrew for about an hour, and I was feeling really proud of myself afterwards, especially as I headed off for 80 minutes of observing a Japanese class. This must be good for my brain! Right?!

Happy Birthday

This month, it was my turn for a birthday. Sweetie spoils me and showered me with gifts and surprises. For my actual birthday, we went to Yellow Springs, Ohio for a brunch at "The Winds" restuarant, which was really lovely. I had a delicious borlotti beans and orzo dish, which at the time, did not seem that large, but it filled me up for about 6 hours! Unusual for me, because generally I like to eat every few hours. We walked around quaint Yellow Springs, enjoyed the fall colors, and visited some artists' galleries.

It's really a cute little town, but sadly, the college located there (Antioch) has apparently GONE OUT OF BUSINESS, which is really quite sad for a town like that. I am not sure how it is going to affect the local businesses.

This past week, I did a bit of traveling for work, and ventured to three liberal arts colleges in Minnesota. I really enjoyed the town of Northfield, in particular. It had a very British feel and had the usual assortment of upscale college-town gift shops, bakeries, and decent restaurants.

I think that is what our town is missing -- it has a college, but really is not in any way a "college town."

Back on the Grid!

Sweetie and I FINALLY got Internet service at home after many trials and tribulations that I will not even go into. In the end, we subscribed for a wireless service called BridgeMaxx, which is working fairly well (if a tad slow sometimes). Hooray!

We've been trying to get away from the rather, ummm, limited town where we live, at least once each weekend. One weekend we ventured to Indianapolis for an incredible dinner for Sweetie's birthday. Oakley's Bistro has a somewhat uninspiring location at a strip mall, but the food was divine! We really enjoyed our dinner and I enjoyed having some inspired food for a change.

Last weekend, we took a train from Connersville to Metamora, where, little did we know, a HUGE "Canal Days" festival was underway. This photo was taken there in one of the few square feet that was not occupied by several people. We really enjoyed ourselves and the injection of "Americana."

Today, we ventured to Oxford, Ohio, which is a nice college town. We had a nice lunch at Kona Bistro (bistros seems to be the theme...) and walked around the town and filled up on the much cheaper gas there. We've learned that virtually everywhere has cheaper gas than our town, so we justify our weekend journeys by filling up the tank at a much lower cost!

Still No Internet

Despite many valiant attempts, we STILL do not have Internet access at home. Our attempt with a THIRD provider failed on Friday and after approximately 30 calls over the weekend, I finally rescheduled the install for today. But, I have little faith that someone will actually show up and finish the install job that was begun on Friday. And let's not even think about when/if we might get someone from the cable company to come out and dig up our yard to bury the newly layed cable.

All very disconcerting. The owner of our rental house had a HOME OFFICE that was operational until a few days before we moved in. So, I am completely baffled why no one has been able to get any form of communication activated in our home. No phone lines working. No cable working.

So, we are feeling very isolated (Sweetie much more so than me, since he remains many thousand miles away from his home country and family and friends).