6-21-11

 

 

 

 

Happy Summer! Lilies and hostas blooming in the garden after a rain. Today I was productive getting things done before the big trip north. Made pasta and greens for dinner.

This day on 6-21
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6-20-11

 

 

 

Today I worked on backing up all my photos to DVDs just in case. Had a meeting at school, cooked a chicken dinner with caramelized turnips and beets, and just plain enjoyed myself. Squirt is trying to sell some stuff he doesn't need anymore, including all these Xbox games.

This day on 6-20
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6-19-11

 

 

 

Happy Father's Day, Dan! Aza came over and we cooked dinner: steak on the grill, salad with brie-avocado-tomato, coleslaw with this amazing chocolate cake for dessert. We dined outside on the patio. Good times.

This day on 6-19
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6-18-11

I came home today to the lush bluegrass where the air is cool and the sun forgiving. Was welcomed by a myriad of computer issues- a bad bad virus, phishing emails, down email server- but it's goooood to be home. This picture just symbolizes my computer issues today.

This day on 6-18
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6-17-11

Last night in Houston, I discover the bathrobe in the closet and put it on. It's getting time to go home now- the novelty has worn off and I miss my family. It was a good week though and I'm glad I came to do this work. If only every consulting job were this easy and in such a nice place.

Had dinner tonight with Professor Jim and his wife at their lovely home near campus. We had shrimp scampi and spinach salad with Bluebell ice cream and strawberries for dessert. Delish!

This day on 6-17
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6-16-11

I just can't say enough about how beautiful Rice University is. The campus, the buildings inside and out, are just stunning. I walked by them today after the workshop. Had dinner with a fellow instructor at a French Cafe after the workshop and she gave me a tour of the medical complex and downtown too.

This is Lovett Hall, an administration building the students exit from to process in their graduation ceremony on the lawn.

 

 

The following pictures are of Duncan Hall, a stunning work of art which houses interdisciplinary engineering groups.

 

 

This day on 6-16
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6-15-11

Photo on Rice flag this morning on walk to with.

This day on 6-15
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6-14-11

This is the view from my hotel 17th floor window. Pretty awesome. Today went great- I presented my research to the teacher participants and we had a really good conversation.

The peaches here are really good. I ate two today and could use a few more!

This day on 6-14
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6-13-11

Today I worked with teachers in a workshop at Rice University. The meetings were in this building called The Design Kitchen. Boy, are they cooking up cool things there! I had a great day and met some nice people. I'm looking forward to tomorrow! This goes on all week.

This day on 6-13
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6-12-11

Today I am in Houston, Texas. It is so pretty here- I had no idea it would look like this. I'm helping out with a workshop for teachers all week at Rice University, the prettiest campus I've seen in a long time. Yes, UVA has some competition in Texas! I had brunch with my uncle and his wife, then spent the afternoon and evening with my aunt the biology teacher. We had a lot to catch up on. Good to have family just about anywhere I go...

This day on 6-12
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6-11-11

 

The bird is doing well in its planter home underneath the tree from which it fell. My neighbor was feeding it today, but the parents were feeding it too. It seems content enough in its roomy nest.

 

So I worked all day on my presentation for next week. Got it done and was proud of it. Almost as soon as I got it saved to Dropbox (I LOVE Dropbox), my hard drive crashed. We spent the evening trying to transfer files to my external hard drive because I think I'm going to need a new hard drive. Yuck.

This day on 6-11
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6-10-11

 

For lack of a better idea today, I took my telephoto lens and got one of the first lilies to bloom in the yard this summer. It turned out really nice with the background all blurry.

Today, oh what did I do? A bit of this, a bit of that. Dan cooked steelhead trout on the grill for dinner while I made a salad and fried some turnip greens. It rained just a bit.

This day on 6-10
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6-9-11

 

Today was the day to pick up the farm share. It brought the kohlrabi count up to 6 and the turnip count up to 12 and the lettuce count up to 6. Lord have mercy. So I made some fabulous dishes with the help of Aza. We call this one- Sputnik Pancakes. If you've ever seen a kohlrabi you'll know why.

Sputnik Pancakes

6 kohlrabi bulbs grated
3 eggs
2 green onions chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4T panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Mix well and fry pancakes in half butter/oil

Caramelized Turnips

6 turnips finely sliced
2 green onions (white part only)

Cook slowly until crispy in butter and oil.

 

Later after dinner I went outside to check on the baby cardinal my neighbor found in her yard. She put it in a pot under the tree it fell out of, and it waited for its mommy and daddy to feed it. The parents flew around it, but we didn't get to see any meals being consumed.

This day on 6-9
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6-8-11

 

This morning it was so nice to wake up in my own bed with an entire day of freedom ahead of me. I was wearing this soft cotton night gown that my mother gave me as a hand-me-down and I felt like I was on a cloud. The house was the perfect temperature, not too cold or too warm and I relished the day.

This day on 6-8
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6-7-11

This video is dedicated to Dan.
Home is an elusive place and state, but I always know I'm "there" when I'm with him.

Click


Loved seeing you waiting for me in the driveway. I love you.

This day on 6-7
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6-6-11

 

 

 

Gardenias are one of the most beautiful flowers. They smell fantastic and their petals are so soft and pure white. Mom has a very large section of huge gardenia bushes in her back yard. We played out there this morning with my sister and her boys.

The afternoon was spent inside. But later in the afternoon we went for a ride to run some errands and I got a wicked migraine out of nowhere, the first one since I've been here, and my sister had to drive when I started seeing double.

I plan to leave in the morning to go back home and hope it's a little cooler there. I start to get discombobulated after being out of my normal routines and scenes for a week. I miss Dan.

This day on 6-6
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6-5-11

Today was another hot one. Sakura and I spent two hours at the park with Buddy and BeeBay in the hot sun, came home, had lunch, and drank a lot of water. I went out to dinner (Mellow Mushroom again) with my sister and friend Benny. Benny took us on a tour of the new building projects in town, which are many. The campus looks so different I got lost several times during the tour.

Around 8pm Buddy said something about wanting to see the foggy moon and we went outside, looked west, and saw the settingwan ing crescent. I got a photo of it but will upload it after my laptop is charged. I need to get a cord for the iPad that lets me plug in my Nikon camera.

Tomorrow is my last day in the deep south. I'll try to make the most of my time with my little nephews and my sister. It may well be a year before I see them again.... which is not a happy thought.

This day on 6-5
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6-4-11

Met up with some of my high school chums today to work on our reunion plans. It was so much fun to hang out with people with whom I share very old memories, and with whom I am sharing the process of "pushing 50." I'm honored to call this group of kind, talented, and devoted people my friends.

A wedding cake made by mom and her crew- a very tempting thing to be sitting on the kitchen counter.

This day on 6-4
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6-3-11

 

Mom, Eloise, and Doris. The Three Chefs. They make some mighty fine food together.

 

The oaks at Toomer's Corner. I can see one is dying. Sad.

 

Toomer's Drug Store... which used to be a real pharmacy with an old fashioned soda fountain counter, now just sells lemonade and souvenirs.

 

And this is the first place Dan and I lived when we got married 26 years ago, the little apartment on the bottom. One bedroom. $240/month.

This day on 6-3
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6-2-11

 

 

 

 

Today we took the boys to Hickory Dickory Park in the neighborhood. It was hot as snot but we sat in the shade while they boys roamed all over this huge fort playground.

I took a long nap this afternoon- I guess the trip finally caught up with me. Typical "at home" behavior- mom and my sisters and me reading on couches and nesting with each other.

This day on 6-2
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6-1-11

Home cooking... Fresh shelled butter beans, fried green tomatoes, fried pattypan squash, salmon, and corn salad (raw, right off the stalk) with avocado and basil in a lime oil.

All with my mom and sisters and niece and two young nephews around the breakfast room table.

Well worth the 7.5 hour solo drive today. It was 101 degrees today in sweet home Alabama and it felt good.

This day on 6-1
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5-31-11

After a very productive yesterday I had a very unproductive today. But that's ok. I'm fine with it. I did manage to frame a watercolor as a gift for someone in Auburn, garden for about 45 minutes this morning, and download three iBooks from the library. Oh, and I read one- Be Different- by John Elder Robison.

This day on 5-31
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5-30-11

 

 

This weekend in 1984 I met Dan's parents for the first time. I'll never forget the Q&A session that took place on the couch when I arrived after a 16 hour drive to Wisconsin for the first time. We'll be driving up there in a couple weeks.

OK, so today was unbelievably productive. I gardened for an hour this morning. I finished updating my distance learning course and submitted it to the department for final approval. I actually submitted a manuscript to JRST! It will probably get rejected right away, but hey- I want to start at the top. I think it's an important piece of research.

So the pictures today... my ground covering, Thyme, at sunset. Dan and his Old Kentucky buddies sitting on the front porch next door drinking beer- Ricardo and WheelMan. They requested those aliases specifically.

I don't know how or why the depression lifted and I feel better, but I hope I can bottle it.

This day on 5-30
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5-29-11

 

 

I made this sculpture of rocks earlier this month. Thought it was worth a photo.
Astilbe is in bloom... I love it and wish I had more. It's so soft and feathery and delicate.

Sunday. I worked part of the day and relaxed (goofed off) the rest. I feel content inside. I feel like I've struck a balance between being a professor and being a person.

Highlight of the day- purchasing the Garage Band app for the iPad. Writing and recording music has never been so easy! I also got a Photoshop app and even though the camera on the iPad is terrible, the Photoshop editing software is cool. Check out this one:

This day on 5-29
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5-28-11

Today I update my blog entirely from my new iPad. I'm not sure what to make of it and hope it proves to more than a novelty.

Dan and I spent 5 hours today volunteering with the neighbors to plant azaleas, service berry trees, and hydrangeas in the median strip in the entrance to our neighborhood. I met some really nice folks, including a woman from Alabama who went to Auburn around the time I did, and a young woman from Mississippi who had lived in Alabama prior to moving here.
Met a university senator and some other neighbors.. Worked my joints sore. It was a good thing to do and the median looks really good.

This day on 5-28
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5-27-11

Had a meeting this morning with some people in the county who want me to do some research at a new elementary school on environmental literacy. Sounds promising...

Went up to the new department office and hung the two paintings. They look really good and brighten up the room some.


This day on 5-27
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