Hodgepodge

1. A photo of my students from the Upper-Intermediate English class I taught for five weeks at Dilko. During our time together they learned fun things like collocations, modal verbs and various idioms. Here we are relaxing after their difficult final exam with börek and five-layer chocolate cake. Yum. From left: Adalet, Gökhan, Volkan, Nürettin, me, and Ilke.

2. Tribute to Wisconsin and Minnesota. In my opinion, there is nothing better than potatoes and cheese, especially if it comes in the form of a casserole. This Still Life With Casserole is an excellent example of the fact that you can take a Midwesterner out of the Midwest, but can't take the Midwest out of the Midwesterner... especially because it was inspired by leftovers. I hope my grandma will approve! In the back you'll see a University of Wisconsin coffee mug that I use daily in honor of my Alma Mater.


3. Flowers that just bloomed days ago on our balcony.

4. Our baby at 21 weeks... this ultrasound picture is a little dated, as I am now 26 weeks (although on some calendars I am 27 weeks). Boy or girl!? Anyone?

5. A picture taken today in our living room... a little back-lit, but already in the last ten days or so I can see I've gotten bigger. Now time seems to be going so much faster!