January: telemarking and crocheting

We rang in the New Year quietly because half the house was sick. Even I was fighting something (thank goodness for the flu vaccine!), and only Nikita joined me for roasted lamb (Georgian style) at midnight. I finally sent out my Xmas letters on New Year's Day; we breakfasted on waffles, and enjoyed a long afternoon nap while ribs roasted in the oven. Over the next few days, Ivan tried to keep his resolution (read one page a day to me), and I finished crocheting Nikita's angel in time for Russian Christmas. The weather was bitter cold, making for surprisingly light and dry snow - great for shoveling, but not for sledding.

Waiting for the shuttle

We experienced more dry snow when we went back to Jackson Hole (above; other photos here). This is the year of telemarking: Nikita and I both learned to do it. Nikita loved the challenge, and I actually found it easier than parallel turns. Igor thought my initial attempts were "not bad", which is high praise from him, and Nikita asked me whether I was "born for telemarking". I doubt it: my unconventional way of making parallel turns on my telemark (not alpine!) skis probably helped.

The rest of the trip was fantastic. The boys learned to tool at the leather store, lunched frequently at Bubba's BBQ, and built snow forts at the condo. Ivan lost another tooth, and Nikita enjoyed reading Pobby and Dingan for his Russian class. I got into the rhythm of crocheting a baby blanket, and was thrilled to find the third season of Sherlock on youtube.

Soon after we returned from Jackson Hole, I chaperoned Nikita at a chess tournament at the Foxwoods casino resort. Really, his activities put me in the most incongruous settings. The long games (one lasted nearly 4 hours) gave me a lot of time for crocheting in between our meals at Junior's. We abstained from a Late Skate with Snooki. Of course, that would be the weekend that Ivan lost his 4th tooth in two months, but he is now convinced that the Tooth Fairy is real: he got $5!

Lest you think all I did was crochet, I did spend some of IAP preparing for the spring semester. I worked with my mentor on ways to be more accessible to students. Although I didn't get to peruse these books on education, I did find this interesting essay on the "do what you love" mantra. Finally, Ivan enlightened me on the nature of girls:

Me: How are girls so annoying?
Ivan: They always say, "Look at me - hey, I'm sexy cool!"
Me: Do I say that?
Ivan: No, but you're a grown-up.