Forest Grove--how do I love thee?? Let me count the ways

I know--the "how do I love thee? Let me count the ways..." poem is generally applied to men and not towns, but Forest Grove is more lovable than ever these days. Chalk it up to a case of absence making the heart grow fonder perhaps, but it's a truly delightful place. First of all, they sell peppermint mochas here at every coffee shop or coffee drive-through--something that Arlesheim and Basel should definitely consider emulating. If that isn't wonderful enough, the downtown looks adorable! All lights and little store front windows filled with...I don't know...American stuff. And then there is that hometown "connected" feeling you only get from putting around your own stomping grounds, listening to country music, and waving at every neighbor you see driving the other direction.

We've had snow here all week, including Christmas day. Yesterday my neighbor and oldest friend Steven Nelson and his wife stopped by. Steven is my cousin's cousin (but not my cousin) and we've been friends our whole lives. He said he was thinking he's got three inner tubes that need to be used, so the plan was to get up early and go sledding on the other side of the hill down into the park. It rained too much overnight though, and there wasn't enough good snow left for sledding today, so it's postponed until the next time it snows. But still! How fun! Just planning to go sledding with the neighbors makes my heart happy.

In other Forest Grove news, my Mom's cancer-removal surgery seemed to go well yesterday. Thanks for your prayers (those of you who knew!) She starts radiation soon, and will have 30-some days of that. So I'll keep ya posted on how she's doing. She's supposed to be a lady of leisure and take it easy for a while, but if you know my mother you know that's not likely. We're prepared to bungee-cord her to the couch if necessary.

Pictures of Christmas:



Our tree and my friend Anne, hanging out by the fire (which was actually just candles, but it looks pretty convincing, huh!?)



Ah, cousins. Micah, Annika, Laura,and Steph.


My cousins got Powell's books gift certificates for Christmas, but they had to do one of those little maze puzzles to open the box and get to the money. That kept them busy for a while.


Gregg and Sarah at our house!


My cool Grandpa!! Don't you think he has a great smile!?

'fess up!

Alright, who's the wiseguy who voted for Oregon after I already said it was Oregon?? Cheaters never prosper you know, or so the saying goes. In reality, it's a debatable point. I might have prospered more, for instance, if I had cheated on my ethnography exam today. "Who was the Ethnographer who made the Zande famous?" "what does perpetual kinship refer to?" How should I know!! :) Actually, I think I did ok on the latter question, but there were some tough ones on that test! Oh well. It's pass/no pass, so I should be more than safe, but I really think I was a better student when I was younger--back when I lived in fear of my teachers. Now that I'm older and presumably wiser, it's a rare teacher who can strike terror into my heart (Bill Jolliff still can!), but I seem to have lost my better study habits and motivation along with the anxiety. I'll have to muster up some gumption or find some scarier teachers for next semester.

Speaking of next semester, I have decided on my classes. I'm taking two complementary history courses on Apartheid in South Africa with the fabulous (but not very scary) Patrick Harries. I'm also taking Current Topics in Epidemiology at the Tropical Institute, two literature courses--one on the image of white in Africa and the other on African American lit., a course on Governance, the city tour course again, and, just for kicks, a class on International Conflict and Globalization which is in German. But no matter. Some of the readings are in English, and it's a lecture course so if I dont quite follow I can figure it out later without worrying about having to participate in German.

The family I clean for just posted a new ad for a cleaning lady on the university web site. What do you think THAT means?? I emailed and said I saw the ad and asked if there's anything he wants to tell me... :) So if I wasn't fired before, I probably am now!! The whole story is quite interesting...I'll tell ya about it sometime.

Ok, I'm outta here. Ciao.

Poll results!

Even though there are two days left to vote, technically, I think everyone who is likely to vote probably has, so I'll end the suspense that I know you have all been waiting in and just tell you. That's a picture of David Hill Winery about 10 minutes from Mom and Dad's house in the great state of Oregon!! :) fooled you!!! But not four of you, I see. I shamelessly procured that photo off the winery's website last week when I was looking for a good Oregon picture to post on my blog.

Gregg (who voted for Germany because he said Switzerland would have been too obvious) said, "why would you put a picture of Oregon on your Switzerland blog?" I said because I felt like it, but there were two reasons really. First, I'm headed home Monday, and I wanted all of you here to see where I'm headed! Second, it really does look a lot like the landscape here (as evidenced by so many votes for CH and DE)! It's easy to overlook the beauty around us and dream of visiting someplace far away, like Switzerland or like the States, when one is just as pretty as the other. So take the time to enjoy the view out your own window today! There are some great views to soak up!

Daniel was surprised that we grow wine in Oregon--thought it rained too much there. It's true, it does rain a lot in Western Oregon, but the area has been gaining noteriety for wine ever since an Oregon Pinot Noir beat fancy pants France in a wine contest. If you're interested in wine, here's an intro to Oregon wine, www.oregonwine.org/ and if you go to the press room and click photo credits, you'll see some more lovely pictures of my favorite state.

ok, 'nuff about that.

So, back to my brother's observation that putting an Oregon photo on a Switzerland blog didn't make any sense. I was reading a Time magazine article yesterday about birth order and how it affects children. It could be argued that Gregg's little comment supports one of the main distinctions of oldest children, which is that they have higher IQ than later-borns. I'm sure Gregg would agree, at least. Time's report seems to hold true for last borns in our family's case too--Brian is indeed very funny and agreeable. Middle children, however, are supposed to have low self-esteem and get less attention, and in some cases, depending on how successful the older kids are, middle kids are more prone to drinking themselves to death, like Teddy Roosevelt's little brother did. So...if my self-esteem plummets and I take up drinking (oregon wine, anyone?!), blame it on being the middle kid. :) and that goes for my IQ too.

And on that note, I'm off to study!