Blueberry Fields Forever...

In Watkinsville, Georgia, about a 15 minute drive outside of Athens, GA, there is a small family-owned farm, Washington Farms, that grows strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and pumpkins to the public. Not only do they sell their produce to the public, but they allow you to pick the goods. A labor of love! June is blueberry season, so we spent about 1.5 hours picking ripened blueberries as the hot Georgia summer sun set low on the horizon. (What a great way to procrastinate on packing/moving!) After laboring over the spider-infested blueberry bushes, we happily paid our $12 for a bucket full (1 gallon) of delicious blueberries...just enough to bake up a mouth-watering blueberry cobbler (see pic). YUM! Now that I've had my blueberry cobbler, I'm ready to start packing...for Oxford.

Futbol Kebab Feast!

We have befriended a Brasilian couple who are visiting researchers at UGA and Georgia Tech. Since I am leaving the country soon, as are the Brasilians, we decided to have one last hoorah! On Sunday night, we gathered for an international kebab feast for the Confederations Cup Futbol (soccer) match between USA and Brasil. More than likely all TV sets in Brasil were tuned into the game, while only a few US TV's were capturing the foot magic...one of which was ours. The Brasilians LOVE their futbol! Even though Brasil won the game, USA gave them a good run for their money in the first half. Our afternoon/evening turned into a six hour eating feast: Goat cheese, crackers, fruit, Tu-Tu (from Brazil), baked brie with jam, chicken/veggie kebabs, and lots of vino. A good night indeed! Safe travels (boa viagem) Milena & Raf, ciao...

Athens Farmers' Market

Before heading off to my LAST Saturday class, I jumped out of bed at 7 a.m. and headed to the Farmers' Market for some local produce and goodies. The Market is small and sweet with about 30 booths and a local band playing bluegrass music in the background. Tis' the season for carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatos, sunflowers, and greens.

Big Phat Blog Slacker!

Okay, I admit I have been a big blog slacker! I do not even have new photos to share. But, let me try to rationalize the madness that has kept me away from the blog and Nikon. After arriving back in Athens, Georgia I immediately jumped into two intensive summer school courses. Imagine a semester load of work crammed into only four weeks. The first class, Qualitative Research Traditions (QUAL 8400), convenes for 2.5 hours every day of the week and we have a total of six small assignments (3-5 pages each). Dr. St. Pierre teaches the course and she is a post-structural feminist, so you can only imagine how she loves to deconstruct all the systematic hierarchies in the world we live. I enjoy her lively rants and will continue to rave about how she makes me think about life differently. The second class, Managing Innovations in Organizations (SOWK 7423), meets every Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m . and every week I have a new project to turn in. Yes, I have a weekend class...F-U-N! Not really. But, I am trying my hardest to slam out my coursework. Plus, what else am I going to do in Athens, Georgia in the think humidity and 100 degree weather? Sitting in an air-conditioned classroom isn't all that bad. Now, if I was in Colorado...I would not be signing up for a weekend class. No way!

In addition to the coursework, I am starting to prepare for my sojourn across the Atlantic ocean to study in Oxford for 6 months. It feels like a figment of my imagination...but in 11 days it will be a reality. WOOHOO! So, packing, moving, and cleaning keeps me busy when I'm not studying and writing like a mad woman with super curly hair.