Alright Baton Rouge, I take your snow day and raise you this

Snow in front of our apartment building



After a couple of hours, there was enough snow on our porch for a small snowman


Of course we had to subject the cats to the cold wet horror that is snow. Apollo was not a fan.


But then neither was Mike


Diana just cried and looked confused


Dan making a snowball.


Dan quickly got bored with chucking snowballs at inanimate objects, but I decide to take a stroll around the neighborhood and check out the snowfall.


In between catching snowflakes in my mouth I took a few shots of the snow around the reservoir.


Tree by hiking path


The path around the reservoir


The lake looked so cold and ominous


As the lake slowly freezes it makes these strange cracked pockets in the snow

Dan's Swearing in Ceremony

Dan was sworn into the Massachusetts State Bar on Monday, December 8, 2008 in historic Faneuil Hall. The building dates from 1742 and as you can see it is really beautiful inside.



After taking an oath to always be a good lawyer, he got to sign the official records to prove he was there.


In a nice tradition, a loved one could give the official certificate to the new esquire. So I got on stage with him and got to hand it to him. Here he is on the stage right after getting his tiny little piece of paper that lets him officially practice law.



The new (again) lawyer and me right after the ceremony!

First Snow

Today was the first snow of the season for Boston. Sadly, I had so much homework that I never even left the apartment. But from the third floor, I leaned out the window and managed to snap a few shots of the snow settled on tops of cars and nestled into the elbows of branches. Enjoy.

Thanksgiving

Dan and I went to my Aunt Kap and Uncle Jon's for Thanksgiving this year. The weather here in Massachusetts has grown colder and most of the leaves have fallen from the trees.

My cousin Zack flew in from Michigan where he is going to college so he could spend the holiday with the family.


And my cousin Jake, along with his girlfriend, are currently living with my aunt and uncle while he applies for grad school and prepare for the next step.

We played with the dogs outside for a while but poor Rufus has been in poor spirits ever since he had all his hair shaved off.

The air was brisk so Uncle Jon decided it was the perfect weather for a classy little trash fire.


Aunt Kap used the opportunity to burn off some items lying about.

Apparently men need to kick and poke flaming things.

How I spend my Saturday nights...

I was lucky enough to go to another Vodou ceremony this past Saturday. Here are a few pics. Enjoy!

Altar decorated for Gede (spirits of the dead). I know the blocks over people's eyes look silly but they help hide their identities.


Veve for Ogou (Firey war-like spirit)

Altar in the back for Gede



By the way, I do have better photographs but again I'm not posting any that clearly show participants' faces. As always ask before using any pictures from this site!

Gede Ceremony

Through Mignon's amazing contacts we were able to attend a Vodou ceremony last night. My head is still pounding from the cigarette smoke, the drums we sat next to, and the Haitian rum. But I thought I'd post a few pictures from the ceremony. I'm so excited to be doing fieldwork again!




Note: Out of respect for the people at the ceremony and the fact that this is a public blog, I purposely picked pictures that do not clearly show anyone's face. As always, please ask permission before using any picture from this site. Thanks!

BPL

I had to take a trip to the Boston Public Library in order to get a book the BU library didn't have. I knew it was a famous tourist spot but I didn't realize how beautiful it was inside. The current building was constructed in 1895 and was inspired by a number of famous Renaissance palaces and libraries.


The main staircase has beautiful marble lions and faux windows painted on the walls between the marble arches.


Murals and elaborate decorations make the library look more like a cathedral than a public building.



The library is on Copley Square and shares the space with a number of other beautiful buildings. Probably the most infamous is the Hancock Building. Plagued with numerous construction problems that delayed the opening from 1971 to 1976, once finally inside the occupants of the upper levels were dismayed to discover that when it was windy the building swayed so much they got motion sick and a $3 million dollar damper had to be added. But worse was that if winds got above 45 miles per hour police had to evacuate the surrounding streets because the glass panes would start falling. Considering it is the tallest building in Boston you can imagine the damage that caused. It cost between $5 and $7 million to fix the windows.

But it is pretty, no?

Yay!!!!

Today has been a great day! We found out that Dan passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam! Unfortunately he the poor boy caught a cold and has spent the past few days lying on the couch snotting into tissues, but we'll celebrate proper once he gets over the sickness.

I also went to a Haitian folklore dance class today that was amazing. It was a special celebration for Gede so we all wore black, purple, and/or white and danced for an hour and a half straight. I am exhausted, but the dancing was a lot of fun. Afterwards Mignon and I went to talk to the instructor who is an incredibly sweet guy from Haiti. He was very welcoming and encouraging despite the fact I have no sense of rhythm. But even more exciting than putting up with my two left feet is that he is a Houngan (Vodou priest) and he invited us to a ceremony in a couple of weeks. We also met the manbo (priestess) who will be hosting the ceremony. Both of them were so kind and said they'd do an interview someday. I'm really excited to go to a ceremony in Boston!

Changing Colors

Today Dan and I went for a walk around the neighborhood and I took a few pictures of the changing leaves. It was a nice break from the massive amount of reading I've been doing for classes. I like BU, but I've felt a bit overwhelmed with all the work I have to do.



It is cold enough for the leaves to start changing, but the grass is still green.


Golden foliage


Remember the shot I took of the neighborhood across the reservoir a couple weeks ago?


Dan kicking through the leaves.


Not all the trees have changed yet, making a nice contrast when you look down the street.


Some areas still look like summer.


And then only a few feet down the road it looks like late fall.

Farm Fun

Dan and I went to visit Aunt Kap and Uncle Jon since Uncle Tom came in town and my first cousin Jake and his girlfriend are temporarily crashing there. We had a nice time and stuffed ourselves on good food.

I took a few pictures of the animals and the farm.
Here is one of their horses who took a brief break from grazing to pose.


And here is Lily, one of their dogs, looking quite pleased with herself.


Here is Rufus, the other dog, playing in the leaves.


Even though it is starting to get cold, there were still a few flowers blooming.


But as you can see, the trees are starting to change.


We spent the night Friday and the next day we went on a short hike to a beautiful pond.
Here is Dan while we were out walking.


And here is one of the lovely spots I stopped to snap a photo.


There are some houses nearby - you can see a balcony in the background.


And another. I love the bright colors of the changing trees.


I really am fascinated with the whole leaves changing thing.


Water flowing over the dam area.


And of course an outing with the uncles would not be complete without some mischief. They discovered a tree chewed up by beavers and decided to see if they could push it over. They couldn't, but it was entertaining nonetheless.


After the hike we headed back into town so we could watch the game. Despite discovering a deer tick on my stomach last night and the Tigers losing disastrously, we had a nice time this weekend. Rosemary came in town for the game and tomorrow we're meeting another friend for dinner. I don't know how I'm going to make myself focus in class Tuesday. Three-day weekends sure are nice though.