The discovery of a journal kept by my great-great-grandfather, one which kept lists and numbers, prompted me to think about my own numerous journals and journaling habits. While my great-great-grandfather's journal is a wonderful artifact to behold, I vehemently hope most of my journals never see the light of day. With the exception of maybe two. One of which is the small Moleskine that traveled everywhere with me from March 2011-June 2013 -- the dates which span my time in Peace Corps Ukraine.

While I wasn't recording birds/snakes I'd seen on the farm in the same fashion as my great-great-grandpa, we seem to share the same affinity for lists and tallies. I went back through my Moleskine reminiscing and attempting to decipher some of the rather cryptic notes and train doodles. I know mine isn't as cool as my great-great-grandpa's but I thought I'd share some things from the pages anyways. Because while I used to be REAL good at blogging (my borschtandbabushkas wordpress blog is living-but-no-longer-really-living proof), I now rely mostly on photos and captions. Maybe because I still don't have my writing mojo back. Maybe because instagram has kind of made me literarily lazy. Or maybe because the first blog post is always kind of like a first date--awkward and totally unsure of where things are headed.

Anyways, enjoy--hopefully.

-kh