A very nice breakfast, the latest episode of "Chef and My Fridge", a lackluster Super Bowl (the Patriots got beaten hard by Seattle, mostly defense, 29-13), and four fantastic beers deep into the night.
Hiking Buddy IPA from Little Willow Brewing Company is the perfect mix of Citra and Mosaic hops (with Meridian thrown in for good measure). Super flavorful, hazy as a foggy seacoast, and one of my favorite scents in the world.
I've officially reached a streak of 200 days of learning how to speak and read Korean. Two hundred days on Duolingo, and 56 days on Lingo Deer. They are the first thing I do when I go to bed each night, even if it's just one quick lesson to continue my streaks. It's ridiculously enjoyable, even if I can't hold real conversations yet. Recognizing words and expressions as I watch South Korean shows and listen to K-Pop is fantastic, and being able to read captions, usually only parts so far, is its own intellectual thrill. My 3-year plan is proceeding apace!
After I cleaned off my car I dug out a path for the mailman, as the snow bank was impassible:
Winter Storm Fern highlights from the last two days (Sunday & Monday):
Snow accumulation yesterday:
When I got out of bed the next morning the plow had already come by, but the total depth of snow was 22 inches! And then we got another 2 or 3 inch dusting later in the afternoon today.
Yesterday I watched the Patriots beat Denver in a Mile High Stadium blizzard, 10-7. Super Bowl 60 here we come!
Today I had a satisfying early evening dinner of Ragu, angel hair pasta and ground beef. 'Dinner' around 8:00 pm was a pint of Creamy Mango Haagen Dazs ice cream (SO good).
Overall it was a pleasant blizzard, with no power or heat issues, and nowhere to be. I won't even clear off my car until tomorrow!
As of today I have been learning how to speak Korean for 175 days.
I began with Duo Lingo and enjoyed the process and progress so much that I bought a year's subscription to the site after a few weeks. And recently I learned that Lingo Deer is more effective, so I joined that service as well (but only the free version so far). I've been there for 31 days so far, and will buy the annual package as soon as I have the disposable income.
I also have two alphabet workbooks that I got last year around this time, with which I should practice more, but I can recognize most of the letters on sight, and it's merely repetition at this point (though the muscle memory would be good to reinforce).
At any rate, I can speak simple sentences at this point, but conversations are still a bit of a challenge due to a mix of lack of resources and Duo Lingo's uneven outlay of useful vocabulary.
Either way, it is such a thrill to be able to understand more and more of both the spoken and written words when I watch my favorite shows and movies on services such as KOCOWA+ and Netflix! I have given myself the next three years to become as close to a native speaker as possible...
The first labor-intensive meal I cooked in 2026 was an advanced version of something I often eat.
I marinated boneless pork chops in soy sauce and oyster sauce. I stir fried some thick portobello mushrooms in a mix of those two and sesame oil, and once I removed them, I did the same with the pork. Meanwhile, as I steamed some basmati rice, I topped it with thinly sliced baby carrots, green onions, and later, I added the mushrooms.
I piled it all on a big plate, and added a hard boiled egg, and also had some fresh pea pods on the side. The egg was unnecessary, as the meal was ridiculously good. It took a bit of time, and was a bit messy, but it was totally worth every minute I put into it.
First beer of the year, a four-pack of which carried me through last night's calendar turn into the sunrise, as I hung out online playing "Elvenar" and "DigDig", and goofing around with Ai drawing.
Lost Moonbot East Coast IPA by Moon Hill Brewing in Gardner, MA. As I posted on my Untappd account: "I can definitely taste the hint of black tea. The citrus is very understated. And it has just the right kind of bitter at the end of each swig...". It's a nice beer, but not one I'd search high and low for.
All that being said, as part of my resolutions, beers will be few and far between for awhile, as I get myself back in shape.
