March: the end of winter?

March found us still dealing with snow. We had snow showers as late as the 28th, prompting this exchange with Igor:

Me: I thought the snow was supposed to end.
Igor: Mmm, sometime in the next 12 months?

In some way, it was gratifying to learn that we beat the record for the snowiest winter; FiveThirtyEight had a nice graph showing how nasty the season was. Photos of winter in Yellowstone and this awesome dance mashup were welcome distractions from the dirty snowpiles. Periodic thaws allowed me to wield the ice cutter (and reveal gifts from small animals), but the arrival of crocuses on MIT at the end of March gave me hope that winter was coming to an end.

As usual, the gradual start of spring didn't affect the boys too much. Nikita started off the month coming back from a chess tournament in California. He loved the SF area (no surprise!), and did well on the first day but crashed on the second, prompting Igor to help him increase his stamina with sessions with my hypnotherapist and jumping jacks. Ivan had a cello recital (where I learned to always bring a can of Cabot whipped cream), enjoyed a trip to the Museum of Science, and got elected as a class official. The last event was a nice resolution to Ivan's difficulty at the beginning of the school year (being moved to a different class, away from his best friend), but I was really surprised that he volunteered for the position.

As for me, I had the usual pile of lectures and assignments, but remained inspired by articles about being one of the few and teaching people to be human, as well as images about uninspiring plot structure and the differences between movie and real scientists. In honor of Women's History Month, I learned about Harry Potter from Hermione's perspective, consent as a cup of tea, and awesome TED talks by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Monica Lewinsky. I was sad to learn that not all Girl Scout cookies are equal, but heartened by these displays of love.


Northern Lights Cowl

Away from the computer, I finished a cowl (right) and started a jacket for Nikita, received more cards via Postcrossing, and finished Shahnameh (it helped to read 25 pages every night) and the best series of books I've read in a while - Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels (my reviews are here for the first, second, and third books; I can't wait until the last book comes out in September). I also bought new glasses and an iPod for Facetime, audiobooks, and podcasts (my favorite was Act 2 of this episode of This American Life). The iPod was a great addition to the time I spent in the kitchen. I spoiled the boys by using homemade fluff on S'mores pie, and discovered that beef stew and chocolate chip cookies is comfort food squared. Perhaps the most memorable meal, however, was the reunion lunch at Durgin Park with my Oxford tutor (below). I contacted her a few months ago, and she was in town helping her son move - while her daughter was spending her Junior year in Oxford!

A bit of Oxford in Boston