I'm down to two more days here at home in Telford, Pennsylvania. I can't believe it is 2009 (that makes me sound older than 21). Like many "seasoned" people often say, time goes by faster every year. I agree. The fall semester came, hung out for a bit, then disappeared. And now I'm down to one final hurrah this spring. Let's not harbor on the spring semester yet though. In order to hold on to a bit of the past, which has slipped out like a rug from under me, I will recount (using my five senses as a guide) a bits and pieces of my break:

SIGHT-- apparently Circle Drive is infested with turkeys. Who knew? As the photos show, every morning around 30 turkeys infiltrate my backyard. We live near a creek and have woods beyond our property. During the winter there are often random cats, deer, geese, turkeys, and small game that trek through our yard. But 30 turkeys?? I wonder what they're looking for.

TASTE-- I've spent a good deal of my break cooking. I thoroughly time in the kitchen, especially when I don't have homework hanging over my head. I've posted a few of the meals I made for me and my parents. Ever since I was a wee little child my family has pridefully baked an assortment of cookies around Christmas. Now that my sisters are married (but still live nearby), our tradition has morphed into a one day bake-off. We've cut back from about a dozen to three kinds of cookies. This year we chose gingerbread cutouts, rum prints, and red velvet whoopie pies.

SMELL-- I can't really convey this very well. The recent cooking and baking has lit up the entire house with friendly fumes. Our fireplace has also been crackling pretty consistently as well, which provides a pleasant pine juxtaposition with the constant candles that are lit around the house. I love fires and candles as much as cooking. Too bad we can't have either at School House!

TOUCH-- hmmm...a few highlights of what I got for Christmas: Wawa gift card (for all non-PA residents, visit wawa.com to see for yourself the glory of this place), book of my former pastor's sermons, book of Obama's faith walk, book of the spiritual life of U2, and a bottle of Sriracha hot chili sauce.

HEAR-- aside from my daily alarm clock, my break has been infused with holiday tunes. I say holiday tunes not to devalue Christmas songs, but because I enjoy the non-Christmas songs that only seem to get played this time of year. Think Barenakes Ladies "Elf's Lament," not "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things." As December has turned to January, the seasonal songs have slowly slipped away. Until next year...

The number one highlight of break was our family holiday light drive. Every year we hop in Pop's van and analyze, critique, and exhort over people's holiday lighting decorations. This is priceless. I've never met anybody who can break down a seemingly standard decoration (take one of those moving reindeer, for instance) like my family can. This year the award-winning house went to some dude who'd spent $27,000 decorating his house and fitting it to music. I have a video of it but can't figure out how to put it on the blog.