Spring, Beauty, Sadness, and Summer

Sorry for the long wait since my last post. A lot has been happening here in the beautiful Ozarks as winter slowly gives way to the first whispers of spring. The two seasons have been struggling for the past month; at times it seemed that spring had finally chocked the last winter breath away, but then we would wake up to a winter wonderland of ice and snow. I shall try to post some pictures of some of our winteresque beauty. One day we experienced all four seasons in the full day. We woke up to birds singing and a light spring breeze. By noon the sun was brilliant and summer was in full bloom. Then it turned to an drizzly afternoon of autumn bliss and, finally, it froze before the day had ended.

Two weekends ago our local college theatre department presented "Beauty and the Beast", based on the old original Disney animated film from 1991 but expanded for Broadway in 1996. This play is one of my favorites for several reasons: the animated movie is one of my favorites. The characters are perfect: Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Babette, and Mme. de la Grande Bouche are adorable characters. The play is even better because it flushes the characters out and adds spice to the story. The play also has some fond memories for me because two of my best friends and I took a rode trip in the summer of 2003 to go see the traveling Broadway version in Kansas City. It was absolutely crazy because we ended up staying with people I didn't really know and my friends didn't know at all. But I also have some of my favorite memories from that trip. So here's to Joyous and Miss N!

But life can't be all interesting weather and happy memories. Last Wednesday my brother called from Texas to tell me that my grandmother (my mum's mum) had passed away. I left Thursday afternoon to avoid another big snow storm coming through and missed classes on Friday. All in all, it was a strange experience. My grandmother had an unidentified form of dementia, so it was almost as if we had really lost her several years ago. The whole event was somber but not near as sad as my grandfather's funeral (my father's father) last summer. Mum made the comment that she distinctly remembers going through the grieving process several years ago. The whole event was sort of surreal.

Last week was also midterms! I really only had one major test, which I did quite badly on. I've emailed dear Dr. Zakariadze to see if I could possibly try for some extra credit to make up for my poor showing, but he hasn't responded yet. He's probably still translating my email into Russian. Another thing about midterms is that it tells me summer is almost here. And with summer comes Europe. Right now I've been switched (again) to Brussels instead of Paris. Every day I get a little more antsy as I watch the dollar lose value to the euro. Today it is at another all-time high of $1.55. By the time I get over there it could be over $1.75 or (Heaven forbid) over $2.00! At the rate I'm going I'll have to live in a cardboard box and eat out of trashcans just so I can go to work. :)

That's all for now. I hope you all have a faaantastic week!