Snow Day

I know, I'm terribly behind on my posts. But (luckily?) we've had a blizzard come through and the university is closed for the day. The wind is gusting, there's at least a foot of snow on the ground and the windchill is -15F (yes, that's a negative). There's so much snow accumulated on the front porch that it's difficult to open the front door - I suspect that eventually I will have to climb out the bathroom window if this snow keeps us. But I'm appreciative for the unexpected free time. Today was an exceptionally lucky day for the university to be closed - not only do I get to miss MY class, but today I was supposed to cover class for my co-worker as well. Therefore, the one day that I need to teach TWO classes is the day that the university is closed. Woo hoo! I'm just hoping that the weather breaks eventually, because I need to go into the lab and tend to my experiments.
What's been going on since my last post? Mainly just busy with work. Rejections for the proposals that I wrote this summer are trickling in (NSF, NIH and Iowa Energy Center). And I'm expecting to receive a rejection notice any day now from DOE. But I didn't seriously expect any of those proposals to be funded and the reviewer comments are helpful for revisions. It helps to start the new year with a clean slate.
In November I went to Nashville for the annual American Institute for Chemicals Engineers meeting. The timing of the meeting coincided with the birthday of a dear friend who lives in Nashville, so it was good to celebrate with her. And then for Thanksgiving I visited with my family in Lexington. Also a good time.
I'm still working with stained glass. I attended a workshop last week and will attend another one next week. And I'm almost done with my first totally-at-home project. It's a good way to pass these cold winter evenings!
Everyone keep warm and happy holidays if I don't post again before Christmas.