Snow Place Like Home
 

            It was day 4 of being snowbound…we had chopped up Emma’s wicker porch chairs for kindling…nothing left in the fridge but cheese slices and leftover sweet and sour sauce…the scent of Go Chicken Go behind our house was starting to smell more appealing…I think I saw Liz hungrily eyeing the possum (Count Fosco) that lives in our backyard…

            Just kidding.  We still have power and have been living off of brownies and egg sandwiches, not cheese and sweet and sour sauce.  And Count Fosco was alive and well last time we checked.  But we are snowbound and going a little stir crazy, so surprisingly no one is too thrilled at the prospect of “Rocky” the blizzard rolling in soon.  We have been trying to pass our time with some productive and some not-so-productive activities these past few days…here is an account of some of things the snowed in residents of Forest Avenue have been up to:

·         Worked on thesis and capstone.  Emma has officially written one sentence of her capstone, Sam (who lives down the street) is currently sitting in my sunroom muttering something about catching up with capstone journals, and I have actually done some work on my thesis!  I powered through about two pages while sitting on my kitchen floor eating soup (sometimes you just need a change of scene), and I am now up to my elbows in Kabbalah research.  My topic is Kafka and Gnosticism, and it is involving a lot more research than any other project I have undertaken.  I guess that’s to be expected from a senior thesis.

 

A nightmarish mind map of my thesis...

·         Pearl Jam.  Every February Alpha Sigma Alpha has a date party called Pearl Jam to welcome our new members (we call them “pearls”).  Unfortunately, the snow prevented us from going to a venue for the dance, but we had a fun night making do in the Rockhurst Activity Hall (AKA the “Party Barn”). 

·         Our Own Dance Party.  My friend Sam and I were a little disappointed by our Pearl Jam DJ, so we spent the better half of Saturday night DJing our own dance party in my sunroom.

 

 

·         Played Headbandz.  Nothing says snow day like some good ole fashioned games.  Went over to Sam’s for an afternoon/evening and played Headbandz…a favorite of everyone from my 10-year-old cousin to my college friends.

·         Filled Sam’s sketchbook.  Midterms kind of snuck up on Sam this year…she was supposed to have half of a sketchbook filled by this Wednesday, but she had approximately zero drawings finished.  So on Saturday we decided to alternate dancing with her sketching and me halfheartedly researching the overlap between Gnosticism and Kabbalah.

My brain according to Sam - Tibetan prayer flags, Klimt's Tree of Life, some columns from the Roman Forum, and a "bright and beautiful" flower inspired by a centerpeice on my table...sounds good to me!

 

·         Made cupcakes.  And not just any cupcakes.  Emma pureed strawberries to make the most delectable strawberry frosting you can ever imagine. 

·         Burned cookies.  Needless to say,  Emma’s frosting has nothing on these charcoal babies. 

·         Watched A LOT of movies.  I mean A LOT.

·         Slept.  I mean A LOT.

·         Made Snow Ice Cream.  It definitely wouldn’t be a snow day without breaking out the snow ice cream recipe passed down from my Nana, to my mom, to me!  Get some fresh snow and add milk, vanilla, and sugar!

 

All in all, a successful round of snow days, with possibly some more on the way…