My Favorite Shots from The Blizzard of 2014

I've been tweeting some blizzard photos over @mlyhlssgolf (featuring such immortal hashtags as #futilitymeetexercise, #moveoverSisyphus, and #blizzardhacks), but that doesn't allow me to arrange related shots.  So here's a little tour of The Constructivist Family's neighborhood from Tuesday to Friday.

Let's start with the view from right near the end of my driveway on Wednesday morning.

Compare it to the view from my neighbor's flat roof looking in the opposite direction from a few houses to the right of mine relative to the previous picture.  This one was taken Friday morning.

Next up are a couple of shots of our front entryway (which fortunately we never use anyway), first from Wednesday morning (in the aftermath of round 1) and next from Thursday night (in the midst of round 2):

The snow and ice formations on our back roof were strange and beautiful.  The first 2 are from Wednesday morning:

This one's from just about 25 hours later:

Let's go back to some street views, these ones featuring my trusty shovel (which for maybe the 2nd time since we moved to Hamburg actually needed an assist from a neighbor's snowblower)!  First from Thursday morning (this one I did by myself); you can see half of the neighbor's house across the street that kicked off this photoessay:

Next is the same time, opposite point-of-view:

Here's a close-up from Friday morning:

I was excited because I had just reached the edge of my driveway.  Yup, I probably spent about 5 hours just shovelling off the road this week.  The plows just couldn't keep the streets their normal width.

So here are my 3 favorite shots of the week.  The first is from about lunchtime on Wednesday, when I had cleared my flat roof off for the 2nd time of the week and all seemed well with the world:

Next up is an action shot from Tuesday (while onechan and imoto were still excited about playing outside!):

I'm nostalgic for how low those mounds at the end of my driveway were back then!  Didn't realize my shovel photobombed that shot until just now, either!

Here's the Full Metal Archivist wishing everyone a good night yesterday evening:

Here's hoping this turns out to be the worst one we have to deal with in our entire time in Hamburg!

[Update (2:58 pm):  Onechan has other ideas.  After the Full Metal Archivist and I cleared enough snow off our garage roof that the girls could climb up onto and slide down it safely, she exclaimed, "This is the best day ever!!  I can't wait for the next huge storm!"  Here are some photos from this morning:

And to top it off:

Yup, hot chocolate and the FMA's own twist on kimchi jigae!]

Recommended Reading: The Tale of T-Joh and the Unicorn Onesie

Teaser:  Vicky Hurst named Tiffany Joh's unicorn onesie "Sir Cherry Bon Bon" and T-Joh wore it everywhere in the Bahamas.

Read all about it and weep (from laughter).  Just don't pull out your eyebrow hairs.

Recommended Reading: Hee Kyung Seo's Wedding

Head on over to Seoul Sisters.com for a fantastic thread on Hee Kyung Seo's wedding!  Here's a nice video on how her fiance proposed to her:

The Carnoustie Experience

By now most of you know that I just got back from Scotland. My wife and I spent the better part of 7 days on the Carnoustie Links Golf Course, home of the 2011 British Open. I will not get into any of the results as they have been well documented by now.

What I do want to say is that this was our first trip to Europe. We left New Jersey the Saturday night before the tournament and arrived at Edinburgh airport early Sunday morning. Needless to say driving on the "wrong side of the road" was an experience. The drive to our hotel was supposed to be about 90 minutes, but with all the crazy "roundabouts" we arrived about four hours later. The hotel was an old converted mansion that turned out to be a spectacular place to stay at. As we were checking in, Mindy Kim was checking in behind us. As it turned out we were one of the few non LPGA members staying at the hotel. Na Yeon Choi and Janice Moody were on each side of our room.

Let me tell you about the people of Scotland. My wife and I travel to quite a few of these LPGA tournaments every year, and we can honestly say that we have never met nicer people. From the hotel staff, to the waiters and waitresses at the restaurants everyone did their very best to make us feel at home.

Carnoustie was the first "links course" that I have ever experienced. The rough, Gorse, Fescue and pot bunkers, made this a very challenging place to play. As in any Links Course weather is a big challenge. If it does not rain and the wind does not blow, the course could become defenseless. We saw a couple of 64's shot on Friday during ideal conditions. Katie Futcher's 64 in the wind on Sunday was unexplainable. It certainly may have wrapped up a spot for her on the Solheim team.

Having been to both the U.S. open and the British open this year, I would like to say that the U.S.G.A. should take notice of how things were done at Carnoustie. The U.S.G.A charges a special rate for what they call a Trophy Club Pass. It allows you into a tent where you can buy food and have shelter in case of bad weather. During this year's Open when it rained (every day), they were turning away people who paid extra because the tent filled up. Most people were left stranded. The British Open course provided shelter in many areas including an entire village that ran along side the course. The USGA provides only porta potties on the course, where we had real bathrooms (septic) in various places on the Scottish course. We also had a choice of various fine foods instead of the "garbage" served in each of the last 3 U.S. Opens I have attended. U.S.G.A. open your eyes if you want more fans to attend.

Finally I would like to share a few pictures:

The first tee.


The Village:


The Burn:


My Favorite Golfer, Paula Creamer:


Ai Miyazato:


I.K. Kim:


Cristie Kerr:


Natile Gulbis and Stacy Lewis:


Glamis Castle:


In 2013, Scotand will be the host once again of the British Open. It will be held on the "Old Course" at St. Andrews. You can bet the house that I will be in attendance.

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OK, Stephanie Wei's Media Tent Was Cooler Than Mine

LPGA Championship Media Tent 062110
Originally uploaded by the_constructivist18

You be the judge. But can Steph honestly say she was the 1st person in the U.S. Open media center on Monday morning that week? 'Cause I was this week. Mostly Harmless for the win!

A Pink Panther Sighting at Locust Hill's Tuesday Pro-Am

Paula Creamer on 2nd green 062210
Originally uploaded by the_constructivist18

I have to admit, I'm shocked that Paula Creamer is coming back so soon after surgery, but she gave herself a chance to win the ShopRite last week and if she can avoid the rough may well do it again this one. I'm even more amazed that Ji-Yai Shin is coming back after an emergency appendectomy only 2 weeks ago. Right now, both are -1 through 3 holes of the LPGA Championship, although neither birdied this hole.

A Slice of the Life of a Touring Pro at the Wegmans/LPGA Championship

Mika Miyazato interview 062210
Originally uploaded by the_constructivist18

Here's a picture I took right after my interview with Mika Miyazato came to a close yesterday morning at Locust Hill's media tent. The rain was drumming overhead, thunder was rumbling around us, and some of Japanese media waiting out the storm saw an opportunity to ask Mikan questions of their own. Or maybe her agent, Kie Ito, in the back right there had arranged for all her interviews to take place at the same time. All I know is that they came fashionably late, perhaps realizing that they had originally scheduled the interview at the exact same time Michelle Wie's press conference was to take place.

If I had been smart, I would've asked the journalists' permission to tape their interviews and find out from the Full Metal Archivist how the pros do it (I have a lot to learn!). In any case, I had a great time interviewing Mikan and had unexpected fun when the reporters noticed my hat (which reads "Island Person" in Japanese and is obviously from Okinawa) and found out that the FMA is from Chiba (I believe both guys in the foreground are also from there) and her sister and her family lives in Okinawa. If I can get an electronic copy of the photos they shot of us together, I'll either post them or destroy them. I had issues with my sunscreen that morning. 'Nuff said.

By the way, as an alternate in the Tuesday pro-am, Mikan had been on the course since at the latest 6:30 am and had been working on her putting, chipping, and ball-striking for most of the morning until the rains (and her scheduled interview[s]) drove her off the driving range. True, she hadn't been out on the course, so she probably wasn't as tired as fellow rookie Amanda Blumenherst, who played both pro-ams, but even Mikan's example shows that anyone who thinks the life of a pro golfer is only about the golf has another think coming. More on Mikan when I finish my profile of Mina Harigae and her.

[Update 1 (8:32 pm): Here are a couple of posts from Christina Kim that give you a pretty good sense of what her week's been like so far.]

Sakaki Rides a Dolphin in the New Savanna

Hey kids! I've set up a new blog, just around the corner. It's called New Savanna. And it's got photos and writing AND, a longish piece about a dolphin ride that I couldn't post at That Other Place. It's got about 10 seconds or so in Azumanga Daioh, one of the cutest anime series ever (for tweeners, I suppose).

Haato-chan's Concert

Haato-chan's Concert
Originally uploaded by the_constructivist18

Here's another Haato-chan story from onechan.

***

Onechan: Ummm, Haato-chan is playing the violin and then she wanted ice cream. And then she said, "I want to eat dinner." And then I said, "Not yet, Haato-chan." And then she said, "I want you to read a book." And then she said, " Why did you love me?" And then she said, "Why are we here?" And then I said, "That's why, to keep us safe."

Me: Is the story over?

Onechan: Yup.

***

Now it's imoto's turn to type:

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,bnbbbbb由良らせせせせせせせせせせせせせせせせせの野の野の野の野の野の野の野の乗る気めけ毛毛家くけ毛家なくここここここここ個々氏とちママ区規定スイス巣喚起かすはひかすすいてなんのすいかくきはしとししまみみそささききはしは

***

Now it's onechan's turn to type:

くのに桃身ひねね桃みみみみひよこまりまみき

どれみ
ももこ

Hello America

Hello America
Originally uploaded by the_constructivist18

Onechan wants to tell the story of how Haato-chan came to live with us.

***

Onechan: She was a very little bear. Sparky-chan picked her up in the store.

Me: What happened next?

Onechan: Haato-chan went to school, and was in a play, and that's how she got sick. No, no, no, not sick. She wanted ice cream. Why does that say, "No, no, no"? I didn't say that.

Me: Yes, you did.

Onechan: And that's how she fell asleep.

Imoto: Dat's how she falled sleep.

Onechan: And that's why she likes onechan.

***

We'll have more Haato-chan stories for Uncle Bill soon! Onechan can't wait to tell the story of how she got sick.

Wonder Girls

Why, oh why, can't the LPGA's end-of-year celebration be as fun as the KLPGA's? Thanks to the folks at Seoul Sisters.com, you can check out some photos from the Ritz Carlton Plaza Hotel in Seoul, where the KLPGA's young guns--6-time-winner-in-'08 Hee Kyung Seo, Ha-Neul Kim, Ran Hong, So-Yeon Ryu, and Rookie of the Year Hye Yong Choi--did a little dance number to "Nobody," a K-pop smash hit by the Wonder Girls (whom they got to meet, as well).

Thanks to the wonders of teh intertubes, here are the originals, in a cute little video that gives the song a little fictional backstory (please note, Carolyn Bivens, their English is pretty good, too!):



And the KLPGA's wonder girls themselves.

BTW, the entire female K-pop pantheon loves this song. Check out the Golden Disk Award Show's remix performance from Friday:



It's K-pop 101!

eye c u

Sparkychan Flix

Sparkychan has authorized me to release the following pictures of her Grandpaland adventure:



Is she looking for a Fill-Oz-of-Her or is she pretending to ride a pony? Or both?

Here she is thinking and contemplating. Maybe's she's wondering when she'll have ice cream and tea with Gojochan and Onechan and Imoto:



And here she's giving reality the Old Test:

This One's for JP Stormcrow

Hey, JP, did you make the second parody poster referenced in this recent Verbal Privilege post? Just asking....

Cuteness for Lunch

Here's a pile of photos of really cute lunches for kids. Japanese, of course.

Pigeon & Shadow

Trees for Tuesday