As I am writing this, I am sitting in what we call our “fireplace room” that is lined with bookshelves. Copper the cat is sitting on the floor beneath my feet and I am looking out the window at a snowy and icy evening.

I always enjoy reflecting back on the past year. The first half of 2007 was fairly quiet. During the semesters, I am so busy with teaching, meetings, and advising students that it is usually very hectic. Timothy is still working at his same position (software engineer) outside Grand Rapids. His company was purchased by another corporation this year, so we’re waiting to see how his workplace will be affected.

With both of us working full-time, we really treasure our quiet time on the weekends to read, listen to music, take walks, and watch movies. However, we’ve managed to squeeze in some extra activities and hobbies. Timothy is still involved with a local college orchestra (playing viola). In addition, I’ve really enjoyed being apart of our neighborhood association board. It’s so fun to interact with others who share a similar passion for architecture and history. I worked on our garden more this past growing season by planting many more perennials and lining the back perennial garden and herb garden with a brick border. Also, this past summer I frequented the local farmer’s market that is walking distance from our house. We basically lived off local produce this summer! I invented some new recipes using eggplants, red peppers, and locally-made gouda cheese.

Timothy and I enjoy the community of Hope Church a few short blocks away from our house in Holland’s Historic District. The church is a very creative, thoughtful, and overall progressive community. We’ve been working on a couple committees and Timothy is active in the choir and the youth group as an adult mentor. I am a member of the church’s Caring for Creation committee and Green Task Force. In May, we planned and ran an Earth Day Service that featured nature-themed music, as well as a big display on “green living” tips (such as homemade household cleaners, recycled paper, and CPF light bulbs) in the church’s lobby. I’ve been teaching a three-part series on alternative “green” holiday gifts and gift wrapping this month. Even though Timothy and I aren’t remotely from a Reformed Church of America background, we have really appreciated how this community has welcomed us and our interests/skills.

In other areas, the summer was quite eventful! I tried to write and research as much as possible. I also did quite a bit of international and domestic travel. In May and June, I visited Japan for the first time as part of an international academic exchange. Our group of 12 professors from all disciplines and institutions in New Zealand, Britain, and USA was accompanied by 30 students, two to four students from each institution. During the first week of the trip, we split off from the students and traveled extensively around central Japan. Our lodgings were luxurious and it was certainly not the ordinary tourist’s view of Japan because we spent much of the time in a Japanese home and family-run inn. During the first week, the university lodged us at the university founder’s summer cottage in the mountains. The home featured multiple levels with panoramic views and a natural springs spa with an indoor-outdoor bathing area. During most mornings, I accompanied the other ladies for soothing soaks as we watched the sun rise over the mountains while the water’s steam enveloped us.

After we left the summer house, we spent some time staying in a Japanese-style inn, where we had several very elegant Japanese meals. During the mornings, I put on a kimono and made my way to the hotel’s hot springs spa across the street. After walking through bamboo-lined corridors to the bathing area, I soaked in the steaming hot water. Following the bath, I showed in a bathing area using generous helpings of black soap made out of lava that made my hair so soft and shiny.

Other trip highlights included trying (and loving) green tea ice cream, sampling all types of fish, trying to figure out the storyline of late-night Japanese soap operas, attending a kabuki performance, and visiting the Japanese Alps. One of my favorite experiences, though, was visiting a high-end department store in Tokyo. Being a lover of handmade paper and textiles, I marveled at all the gorgeous silk fabrics with hand-paintings and block designs. In this sense, Japan was both a good and bad place for me to travel because I was immediately sold on the designed fabrics and paper! I had to really restrain myself to overall stay within my budget. The material sold in the store is used for Japanese-style gift-wrapping and comes in different sizes. I purchased several cloths that had a medium price level; the more expensive ones were hundreds of dollars and were just exquisite. After admiring the material, I wandered through the store’s stationary area and spent an hour admiring all the lovely patterned paper.

When we arrived back to Tokyo, some of us taught classes at the university. I taught an upper-level class in Media & Literature at Technos University, located in west Toyko. There were some hilarious classroom moments. When a nursing professor asked the class what questions they had, one student asked, “I have a sore throat. Do you have any advice?” In my own class, the students asked me what Japanese celebrities I knew about and in the heat of the moment all I could think of was Yoko Ono! To my surprise, they told me that she is not considered Japanese, really, and even her name is usually written out using Roman letters in Japanese media coverage. My class was simultaneously translated, which was a new experience for me. I had to quickly get used to pausing after every few words so the translator could catch up.

In July, Timothy and I accompanied Timothy’s parents and brothers’ families on their annual summer family vacation. This year, we traveled to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I just loved the cabin where we all stayed. Our room had a balcony overlooking a gorge and it was so peaceful and quiet. I am a bluegrass music fan, so I really enjoyed visiting Dolly Parton’s birthplace and her theme park. The park/nearby towns were very middle America, with all the associated stereotypes such as obesity, unhealthy junk food, and plastic souvenirs. However, Parton’s museum was fascinating and gave me a great idea for a future research paper about how museums often tell rags-to-riches narratives. During the latter part of the trip, we visited the Smoky Mountains National Park to take a short hike with Timothy’s family. Timothy became thirsty at one point and tried to take a drink out a small waterfall. He emerged completely soaked and we all laughed heartily! One thing we all learned: the nearest waterfall makes for a convenient watering hole, but take care to not wear anything you don’t want soaked!

In early August, I attended the first of my annual round of academic conferences. I presented a research paper on newspaper coverage of homelessness at a journalism convention in Washington, D.C. The paper won an award in its division. At the members’ meeting for one of the divisions, I volunteered for the role of newsletter editor using software I barely knew but wanted to learn for my journalism courses. I’ve always enjoyed print lay-out, but haven’t done much of it since the high school yearbook, when one year I laid out an entire year’s book after the staff bailed on the yearbook advisor. The newsletter brought back a lot of old memories of working on the yearbook in my father’s office in our basement at 2691 Pleasant Home Road in Creston. Months later, I got the division’s newsletter out and am now very comfortable with InDesign, but it was definitely stressful at times.

During the journalism conference, I stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast slightly north of the central part of the city. I loved the nightly offerings of cakes and tea in the small dining room.

We had some more work done on the house this past summer. In July and August, we hired a painter to complete a major improvement that involved sanding, priming, and repainting all of our window trims, doors, house trim, and garage. The brick house and garage, which once sported bright white (and peeling) trim and clapboards, is now painted in much more flattering (and historical) colors of brown and maroon. In addition, the painter re-glazed, sealed, and calked all of our windows, thus continuing our efforts to make the house more energy efficient. Finally, we installed brushed nickel outside lights on our house and garage. Other than furnishing an upstairs bedroom, installing an attic fan, and putting in a paved brick patio, we’ve completed most of our major house-improvement tasks.

This past September through December was peaceful. Late October marked my father’s passing, which is always very hard for my family. I still miss him very much and it’s hard not to be able to pick up the phone and share any recent news. However, we are so thankful to have his cats, Copper and Nickel. Both cats are now living fully in the house day and night, and have behaved themselves for the most part.

In December, I had a group of women friends over for a holiday craft-making party and brunch. I think it will become a tradition. In addition, I had my best semester yet at Hope College. After three years, I finally felt like I was teaching my own class and that the class’ environment reflected my teaching style. I made some fantastic connections with some students and I can honestly say I will miss my three classes this past fall. One of my students is traveling to Melbourne in January for a term at the University of Melbourne. Although I don’t think she’ll make it over to Perth, I gave her some recommendations for places to visit in Melbourne. I told her to try Tim Tams, ginger marmalade, and Cadbury chocolate milk as soon as possible, too. Hmmm!

Goals for next year include continuing my work on losing the 10 pounds I gained since moving to Michigan (fortunately, I enjoy exercising!); working on research projects; travelling to Denmark next summer; and trying to find that elusive balance between work and home. We are still trying to make close friends in Holland. One of the downsides of moving to a smaller-sized town (where many small liberal arts colleges are) is that the residents often have long-term family connections and it’s difficult to break in. We’ve met tons of acquaintances, though, so we’ll just continue to keep doing things we enjoy and know that that usually yields fruit.

As this year ends, Timothy and I send our best wishes to you for a coming year filled with all good things!