Christmas 2009

Jason and I overlooking Strait of Georgia at Lighthouse Park

Merry Christmas! My tardy blogging never fails....
My parents visited us this holiday, bringing along fudge, fun, and love. We miss you guys already. Here a few pictures from the past week.

Vancouver from outside the Granville Island Market where we bought Christmas dinner.

The triple present grab - Jason, me and Gus

Gus in his Christmas attire

Days later and we are all plumper!

Naica - Cave of Wonders

So, the month since the last blog post has largely been filled (for me) with planning and preparing and then going on a trip to Naica, Mexico. The big draw of this area is the Penoles copper, lead, and zinc mine which happens to also be home to the Crystal Cave, popularized by a National Geographic documentary a few years ago. The extreme heat of the cavern (>45oC) from nearby volcanic magma intrusion combined with supersaturated mineral waters resulted in the formation of gigantic gypsum, or selenite, crystals in a cave about 1000ft underground. I mean big crystals, 10ft long, 2ft wide. When the cave was blasted into and then drained by miners, it became one of hottest and most spectacular places on Earth.


I went with our lab manager to find viruses in this environment - hot, humid, but water filled. And we did! I have to be honest - I found the entire experience of being part of film production and meeting new people much more satisfying than the research. It was just amazing, and I'll try to write more later in addition to catching up on Thanksgiving and fall news.

I never blog, but I do try to save the world

This last year has brought a lot of change. Including many things influenced by our new "West Coast Green Hippie" lifestyle. Here are 7 things that we have switched to over the past year that save money and the planet.

1. High efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs in every socket. They are expensive to buy (thanks Mom and Dad), but I have yet to replace one in over 5 years, and I just replaced the last regular bulb in the house last week.

2. Lower thermostat. So no air conditioning = no energy use, no freon, no money spent! They also run these ads here "Blankets. Good for snuggling. Turn down your thermostat this winter." Yeah, we are doing it.

3. Re-usable bags. I am proud to say that I now only use re-usable cloth bags at the grocery store AND the mall! It took a lot of courage to take the bag to the mall and say "Can I just put that in here?" I especially love that I use my Xstrata Copper Mining bag for this. The irony of it kills me. Saves money on contraptions to store plastic bags in - no more bag hutch for us - and many stores charge extra for bags. And I mean no more plastic bags - ever - we use washable plastic containers for lunch, and my last (smallest size) roll of Saran Wrap lasted 13 months.

4. Bake bread. Yes, the bread machine is a gift from heaven. I figure we spend about $1.50 per loaf, which lasts for a week of lunches for two. So yummy, so lacking in preservatives, saves in lots of ways. One unexpected saving is that it makes the house smell fabulous - saves on candles!

5. Mass transit. Although we drive to work (carpool), we use the electric train and the bus almost all other times. Fun. Most days. We can't stand suburban sprawl anymore.

6. No more Coke. Yes, we gave up drinking sodas. It started out as not having them at lunch, and we don't even buy 2L bottles anymore. No more cans, no more cost, fewer inches around my waste... We also re-use the same water bottles for lunch everyday. This has made a huge reduction in our waste stream.

7. Recycle and compost. Aunt Dolly reminded me - we do recycle! We have to separate paper from everything else, but that is it. We also compost everything possible, including some things that probably shouldn't go in. But, oh well, the environment has to figure out a degradation pathway sometime for this stuff. This means we've down-sized our trash can, and we only have to take it out once a week. This might sound disturbing, but when you don't throw any food scraps in, it never smells.

Hedgehog dog drama

Oh my gosh the dog! A constant source of amusement and anxiety. Hedgehog Dog is very skittish after hearing loud noises - something related to our scarring him by taking him to 4th of July fireworks just after adopting him. Something fell over on the deck upstairs Monday night while he was on the porch below and caused him to run off the deck, then scamper back inside. His eating dinner ended up like this (below) with him fearful after every mouthful.

A similar noise late last Wednesday night had him peering at a grape vine that grows near our back door. And lo and behold! there was a raccoon climbing the grape vine! It even made it up to the neighbor's deck! Hedgehog Dog and I waited inside for it to climb down, and when it did, it saw Hedgehog Dog through the glass door, puffed up, and hissed at us. Hedgehog Dog was utterly still for once, almost like a cat about to pounce. Then the 'coon ran away, and Hedgehog Dog was keen to go outside (for once). A few minutes later the bush rattled again, and a baby raccoon climbed out (ok, it was like a teenager, big, but not big enough). I was "eeking" and Hedgehog Dog was scrabbling and another raccoon climbed down! Three! Hedgehog Guy is trying not to be terrified that they will gang up and eat Hedgehog Dog.

Hedgehog goings on

Few posts for the last couple of weeks means we have been busy! Sort of.

Two Fridays ago Hedgehog Guy went sea kayaking with his lab group out at Deep Cove. He spent something like 6 hours on the water in a two-man kayak with his boss, which earns anyone a pat on the back. He had been dreading the last-minute planned trip, but ended up having a great time. The lunch of steak and wine certainly helped. He was most impressed with the hand-held bilge pump, which could be used as a water rocket to spray other boats, and the seals which looked like large lumps sleeping on the docks. That night he crashed after drinking a glass of really great Pinot Blanc (come visit and you can try it!) while watching Nausicaa.

That Saturday we took a trip to the dentist to have our cavities filled. Not exactly fun, but since this is Canada, it was free! Well, we do pay $50 a month for insurance, but still.

That evening, after our mouths had thawed out and we regained the use of our tongues, we played Wii with a couple friends. Hedgehog Guy, Jessica, and Dany make a great rockband. Note that I did not mention myself because my tone deafness makes me the worst singer on the planet, my inability to keep a beat makes me a terrible drummer, and my guitar skills haven't progressed beyond "Easy" mode.

Sunday we took the brand new Canada Line Skytrain downtown for some shopping. Hedgehog Guy got a hat, and I finally found some shoes for Megan's wedding. Yippee! I even got to layout in my bathing suit on the porch that afternoon and try to become one shade of off-white instead of two (again for the wedding, I have a terrible farmer's tan and watchband line).

This week was largely work oriented. My boss is out of town so I became the go-to question person. I mostly just nodded my head up, down, left, or right. It was fun. No major crises.

This weekend has involved leaving the house less. We finally got a new bedspread (really just a duvet cover for the old one) and picked up my latest cross-stitch from the framers. Last night we went to a friends birthday party and gorged on chocolate cake. Today I am thinking the dog park...

You should read this

It is long, but important Women's Crusade

New looks

I'm not done tinkering with the page layout, but must work some today!

Gusling

Our dog is crazy. Hedgehog Guy says he was acting for the camera, but, honestly, being chased around the house is his FAVORITE game. He gets so excited that he wipes out on the floor and constantly hurts his shoulders. So we try not to play too much or too often. He was pretty cute last night, even hopping onto the couch to grab a toy he preferred (dolphin vs. barrel). This was the first evening since the heat wave that he's been wanting to play so...

Grandma's 90th Birthday

Happy Birthday Grandma!

I spent this past weekend visiting my family to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. Most of her family of 2 kids, 4 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren were around High Pines resort on Bad Medicine Lake in northern Minnesota for the big party on Sunday afternoon. We had an open house at my parent's newly finished lake cabin to help Grandma celebrate along with about 70 of her friends. She had a fabulous time. Below is a video of Grandma talking about first coming up to the lake in 1947. The sound is very quiet in the video, so turn up your speakers. Sorry, I didn't take too many videos during the party - none of Grandma with her sister or myself!

Seven Years

Hedgehog Guy and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on Monday. Hedgehog Guy mentioned that he feels that our time in our apartment in Maryland was a "long time ago", and then he realizes we were already married then! We had a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant on Main St. called "The Main". No live music on Mondays, but it was relaxing. We then retired to the house for some internet video and TV show watching. This is an old picture from our last Thanksgiving in the house in Delaware, but you get the idea.


It has been super hot here the last week (above 90oF, 30-35oC), and we don't have air conditioning! Another great thing about Vancouver?

Strait of Georgia, BC

At the end of June my lab group spent a week on the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel the Vector sailing up the west coast of Canada in the Strait of Georgia. I worked really, really hard - something like four 18 hour days in a row interspersed with heavy lifting and rain showers. But the scenery was fabulous. Nothing like the East Coast where I am used to cruisin'. I have a ton of video to grab snapshots from, but thought I would share these photos from my boss's Facebook page first.

Me working on the flow cytometer and then the lab group in front of a waterfall in one of the fjords.

Happy Birthday!

Hedgehog Guy is 29 today! We'll be enjoying a steak dinner at home to celebrate. I'll try to put up a picture of his cake this evening - if the cake is as good as the batter was last night, we are going to die.

Tomorrow I leave for a 4 day sampling trip to Pavilion Lake, British Columbia. A day of driving on each end of 2 days of field work with my lab manager and her son. I really hope it is lots of fun. Two astronauts should be there at the same time to practice flying the ROV submersibles!

Quick update

So very busy getting ready for field season in the lab. Always seems we oceanographers prefer to go out when the weather is nicest! But I have been thinking that I have acquired some unexpected skills so far in life. Below are 5 of my most un-looked for, yet most handy skills :

1. I can plumb almost anything given some tubing (any size) and a couple zip ties. Hedgehog Guy and I once plumbed our overflowing toilet to the sump pump during a flood using a brick, a beach towel, and a garden hose.
2. I can pack efficiently. Our whole lives in 9ft of trailer space going across the country and not a single dish, glass, picture, or piece of china broke.
3. I can make amazing towers of drying dishes. Seriously.
4. I can select the perfect-size container for left-overs. Saves on dishes.
5. I know how most office furniture is put together and can fix or repair it. Thanks Dad!

What are your most unlikely skills?

Back on the Bus!

Hedgehog Guy is away at his departmental retreat today with the Prius. So I got to ride the bus!  The weather is surreally beautiful, so the walk is pleasant and scenery is green.  It felt sooo good to be back on the bus.  But I do miss Hedgehog Guy's company...

His absence has been felt in other ways.  In a 5 minute span while trying to make dinner, I had to (try to) kill two spiders, and I grated my knuckle (for the 3rd time in 3 weeks) into the pizza cheese.  The spiders' appearance elicted a very girlish scream while the grating brought a very un-girlish curse.  I think I am going to have to turn cheese grating, like frying bacon and grilling hamburgers, over to Hedgehog Guy.  

Tomorrow (June 9) is the date set for my good friend Bernadette's baby to be induced.  Wish her and her family luck!  I know I shall be thinking of them.

Birthday!

Ugh, I am not very good at blogging. I often work on the computer all day, and then turning it on for fun at home just doesn't seem like fun.

Regardless, I came one year closer to being grown up (whatever that is) last Friday. I have been feeling pretty old lately - lots of grey hairs, can't lift full 50L carboys on my own anymore, the new fashions in the stores repulse me (the 80's died for a reason...), and the "kids" on campus really seem like kids. Hedgehog Guy took me shoe shopping (bless him) and out to a wonderful dinner on the shore during my birthday weekend. Just what I wanted.

I am not big on birthday parties. But the other post-doc in the lab had his birthday a couple days before mine, so he had the labbies over for a party the night of my birthday. I was not too sure about going, but we had a great time (we are so anti-social!). Below is video of the cake that Jessica graciouly made for me and a video of Renat and I's cake serenade. My cake has a virus on it (lol) and the name Heather Summers. This is an allusion to the fact that I'm almost the exact opposite of a former post-doc in the lab whose name was Christian Winter. So the opposite of his name would be Heathen Summer... You get the point. Hope this year finds everyone with many happy returns on their birthdays - especially Hedgehog Guy's sister who shares my birthday!

New Camera

My blog has been decidely lacking in pictures since our camera died (before Christmas).  This weekend, we finally replaced it with a Flip handheld video camera.  This is not your father's camcorder!  Thank goodness!  

Prepare to be inundated with Hedgehog Dog pictures and vidoes.  Beginning now.

And finally me in the kitchen last night doing dishes and cooking...  Hedgehog Guy said it was my "natural" environment, which earned him the evil eye.

Last weekend

Hedgehog Guy says it has been a long time since I posted, so...

Last weekend we put work aside and spent some time outside the house.  We finally have had some good weather which makes exploring easier and lots more fun.  I think we have realized that everything here is just beautiful. It is so different for us to live somewhere with mountains and water for a background rather than rolling prairie lands. 

On Saturday, we all (even the dog) went for a picnic lunch and a hike at Lighthouse Park in North Vancouver.  The views of the shoreline were really impressive. You can climb out on big granite rocks about 30ft above the bay and see kelp fronds and tide pools.  The trails run through an old-growth forest of Douglas firs, some of which had trunks that Hedgehog Guy and I together couldn't reach around.  Hedgehog Dog loved it - rocks and slopes to climb on.  It was a first time for us on a trail like that with him.  We are so sheltered!  

Sunday afternoon we drove south to Langley and tried out a local winery - Domaine de Chaberton.  Along the way, Hedgehog Guy remarked that the country looked just like southern Pennslyvania where we became first enamored of local wines.  The scenery to the south is almost the opposite of that in the north - low rolling hills, rich black delta soil, fields, and farm animals.  The winery was ok.  The wines were good, and all had the "finished" qualty that we have found lacking in several store bought wines lately.  But they are not Va La.  Sigh.

We drove home a different way, hoping to encounter another winery.  But all we got was lost, honked at, and almost side-swiped.  So much for an idyllic weekend ending!

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom is pretty amazing.  She is hundreds of miles away, yet she always seem to be there for us.  Here's just one example.

Last week we had some yummy maple sugar biscuits.  Hedgehog Guy commented that they were perfectly shaped circles, which is a rarity for my biscuits.  I responded that yes, I had used a biscuit cutter this time.  Hedgehog Guy said, "Oh, we have one of those?".  "Yes, four of them, of different sizes, my mom gave them to us."  Hedgehog Guy gives the thumbs up sign.  Yeah, she is a supermom, always looking out for us.

Emma's Wedding in Victoria

Yeah, so I have a new group of friends in my labmates. They are pretty awesome - somewhere between crazy and hilarious most days.  This weekend we all (6 labmates + 1 department co-worker) traveled on the ferry over to Victoria Island for the wedding of our youngest lab member, Emma.  Below is a picture of Renat, Jessica, myself, and Caro on the ferry.

The ferry ride was a bit surreal, the Prius on a boat is a bit hard to imagine, but the wedding was gorgeous and a lot of fun.  We rented a hotel room for the night (7 of us in one room...) so that we could stay for the entire reception.  I knew that Emma had us pegged when we were the closest table to the bar AND the dance floor.  The ceremony was based on Saxon traditions with Angelican overtones.  Emma and Stephen "rang" us out of the church by ringing the church bell as we exited.  It was lovely.  This is the group before the wedding and then at the reception with Emma.

The reception took a bit to get started since we had to wait for the couple and bridal party to complete the pictures.  But, that just gave us time to drink all the champagne punch.  The buffet was amazing.  I started to load up my plate on salad and then realized there was veggie lasagna!  Very yummy, even the roast beef with horseradish smelled great.  The brides' mom made everything - the bridesmaids dresses, the cake, the invitations, the chair covers, the tablecloths- and did a wonderful job.  She is definately a super mom.  

We started dancing about 9pm when the band arrived.  Lots of swing and classic rock.  We were sorry they left at midnight!  Here's a funny picture of me teaching Kristina to swing (I was not a very good teacher...)  Can't wait to go back with Hedgehog Guy and Dog for a vacation day.

Mr. Post-doc

Hedgehog Guy officially began his post-doc at UBC last Friday, May 1st.  He has really been working throughout his "vacation" on various grant proposals with his new advisor, but he started going in full time on Friday, rather than sporadic visits.  

Starting a new job is rarely very fun, perhaps especially in science where most of your co-workers are deeply engrossed in projects that they understand intimately and efficiently proceed with.  As a new person you are lost and feel like a failure immediately because you are not getting any results and it appears everyone else is.  You don't know the jargon, you don't know what you are supposed to be doing (usually), and you don't know where anything is.  You are really dependent on the benevolant pity of your labmates for a couple weeks.  Hedgehog Guy's comment summed it up pretty well Friday afternoon.  Something like, "It is like trying to jump on a moving train only you don't know where the door or handholds are, but you know people are inside who can help you."  He got a lab bench and pipettors of his very own and is now waiting on a desk in the group office.  

Hedgehog Guy's time off was largely spent playing WoW where he now has 3 characters over level 70 (Jod, Wapner, and Alchux).  I think he finally began to relax a bit since he was able to sleep past 8am without waking up by the end of it.  I think he secretly enjoyed being home with the dog.   

Hedgehog Guy works in the building next to mine, so we even get to eat lunch together like in the old days at DBI.  Funny how things circle around again.

Dishes, Taxes, and Spiders

Three things I hate:

Dirty dishes
I really hate washing dishes. It has even fallen below grocery shopping for me. I suppose I just think of it as repetitive - it is always the same dishes to be washed - and a waste of time - the dishes will just get dirty again! I don't mind the dirty dishwater (unless it has gotten cold). I have some amazing skills at building towers of drying dishes. But I still loathe this one chore. Ok, it is not as bad as dusting. I asked Hedgehog Guy what we did before dishes, he said "used big leaves and sticks". Sounds like the prefect disposable, biodegradable solution to me.

Taxes
I do not mind paying taxes. I am happy to fund our public works and government. I mind filling out the forms. I make Hedgehog Guy do the US ones, and he hates it too. This year we are filing in the US and Canada. Since it is the first year I am filing in Canada, I cannot file on-line, but must fill out the forms. Which is impossible because I have US and Canadian income, but have already paid taxes on the US income, so I shouldn't have to pay them again in Canada but have no idea how to put this on the forms correctly or calculate anything with the worksheets provided. And, oh yes, I didn't live in Canada all year, so a pro-rate must apply. Today will be my second trip to a tax professional here.

Spiders
The weather is finally gorgeous. So we leave the patio door open and let the dog wander in and out at his little heart's content. The spiders wander in and out at their leisure too. Hedgehog Guy gets to "save" the big ones, but I've been murdering the littler ones. So many new types that I don't know what they eat (maybe me) or where they live (maybe in my bedsheets).

Kidd Creek Mining Expedition

My first sampling trip with the new lab was to an alien environment for me - a deep sub-surface mine. Specifically, I spent a week in Timmins, Ontario where the Kidd Creek mine managed by the Xstrata mining company is located. I got to go "underground" on two days - Wednesday and Thursday. This was a very unusual experience for me since most of our sampling is done not on land as this was, but at sea. But it all boils down to the same tubing and carboy and filtering problems no matter where you are.

I have to credit our guide, Alex, a geologist at Kidd Creek with making this trip seem normal and not dangerous. She was just matter-of-fact about everything. "Stay with me at all times." "No, you can not go to the bathroom unless we all go." "Can I see you there? Then don't go there." This gives you some idea of the safety info we got before hand - the answers to literally 7 of the 8 questions on the safety quiz were some variation of "do not leave your guide".

You wouldn't want to leave your guide because the mine is very much like a giant rabbit warren with no light, water, and the constant danger of rock "burst" or rock explosions from the releasing of pressure/stress built up in some portion of the mine. I'm pretty sure I would have gotten lost in 2 minutes down there without Alex. It all looks the same - dark, rocks, dust, metal scraps, re-bar rock nets, and the occasionally grime covered human in a large vehicle.

We were able to use a truck each day instead of riding the cages down. This was a lot like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Each day starts with the opening of two steel garage doors leading to a dark tunnel coated in some type of cement with pipes running along the ceiling, some of them dripping water, with the only light coming from a truck's headlights. We would follow this ramp that slopes and spirals downward at about a 17degree incline until we reached the levels we would sample from. Every hundred feet deeper marked a new level. The first day I was down we sampled on the 7850 ft and 9000ft levels - so 9000 feet underground. The second day we went to the deepest portion of the current large-scale mining operation - 9200ft and got to sample on a working drilling platform. I believe this is one of the three deepest mines in the world. It was amazing to see the drilling equipment, like giant iron oxen with lots of pneumatic pistons. The mine currently is doing mostly copper and zinc work, but I think other parts of the mine (it has 4 shafts) mine other things. After about 6 hours of work, we'd have to make the drive back up the ramp - an hour of roller-coaster like turns in a speeding 4x4. Definitely worth it.

We were sampling the water and gases that filled some of the exploration boreholes that the company used to map the location of its ore veins. This wasn't too physically difficult - the truck meant that we did not have to carry our gear very far and the ventilation shaft was actually windy, so it didn't get very hot (heat and pressure increase underground). But it did smell (imagine a little rotten eggs, lots of stinky gym socks), and the water was acidic (so your skin would feel soapy as the acid dissolved away your dead skin cells). My lab manager and I had prepared for the heat with steam room visits for the two weeks before the trip, but it was never worse than a Florida summer afternoon.

Yeah, so it was pretty amazing. Just completely different from anywhere else I have ever been. I could regale you with stories I heard from the other researchers from mines in Africa and from Alex about being a woman in this environment... It really seemed like visiting a different planet.

The real mafia

First, I apologize for not writing more and more often. My only excuse is that I am now addicted to WoW.

Hedgehog Guy and I went to a Belgian beer and scotch tasting this Monday night at Liberty Wine Merchants in Point Gray. A co-worker had invited me, and we had a really great time. We got to taste 5 expensive scotches (>$100 bottle) with an expert there to walk us through the tasting process. I learned that scotch can be worth the price! After the initial shock of the alcohol burn (I only coughed once), scotches actually have different tastes from rich, buttery, & chocolaty to smoky & peaty. I liked the 12 year-old blend with light peat notes while Hedgehog Guy liked a less peaty and more buttery one. But the surprising things were that they were all good, I could taste the difference between them, and they have aftertastes that are better and longer-lasting than wine. So now we know what Hedgehog Guy likes, and can find a more in-our-price-range variety. The Belgian beers were okay - I only really liked one.

So this was pretty mafioso for us - high class scotch and beer tasting. But then it got even more gang-like on the way home. Our bus was re-routed right by our home due to a police blockade. Someone (a person already known to police) was shot and killed at the gas station a block and a half from our house about the time we were leaving the tasting across town. Poor Hedgehog Dog probably heard the shots. Vancouver has been hit hard this year by both random and targeted violence (31 to date in the area, 19 in Vancouver proper), and this is the latest incident. It is really disturbing that it happened so near us, and they haven't arrested anyone. Yet it happened at a busy intersection and convenience store? They didn't even canvass our street - like they could have easily driven the get-away car or run down it. Even more disturbing is that the crime scene is still blocked off, but the major road nearby is open while at an older crime scene for the murder of a white female near UBC the major road is still completely blockade with more cops working the case. It seems as if one life is worth more than another?

Sheep...can...be...cool?

Okay, I want to be a Baa-Chick.
If Hedgehog Guy ever asked to buy that many LEDs for some crazy idea with the Beefpile Clan, I would certainly raise an eyebrow until he brought me home the Mona Lisa in sheep.

Rodent update

A fair number of people remarked on the notice that I have a mouse co-habitant, so I thought an update was in order. I think the mouse is smarter than me.

While I admit that this doesn't take much, it is a bit disturbing. First, it successfully avoided the "live" traps while grabbing the goodies. Second, it hasn't even touched the "kill" traps, in like 4 weeks. I have only been sure it has been back once since setting the kill traps, and they are hair spring triggers that will take your finger off in an eye-blink. So I think it is too smart for me. Or else it doesn't like peanut butter and raisins.

Wohoo!

Hedgehog Guy got a post-doc at UBC!  He starts in May.

Hedgehog Guy's Defense

So I realized that have not written about Hedgehog Guy's big day.

Wednesday, February 18th started off cold and rainy with snow flurries mixed in (a bit like last night here!). Fortunately, it was not a bad omen for the defense! We lunched at a new restaurant on Main Street with Hedgehog Mom and Pop and then dropped off Hedgehog Guy at the lab while the rest of us grabbed the last few yummies for the audience to munch on while Hedgehog Guy gave his presentation.


Then it was time for the big presentation. Hedgehog Guy had really stressed about it, but he had a full room of listeners and did a great job. Only one "uhm" that I counted!


The next step was for Hedgehog Guy's committee to question him in a closed session, so Jason's closest friends who had driven in for the event along with Hedgehog parents and I waited in the hall outside the room, nervously awaiting the outcome. I think I was most nervous when he came out for a few minutes and said it had been really hard and had to go back in. But it turned out fine! He says he definately felt like he defended his dissertation and earned his PhD!


Then it was all fun and games - Hedgehog Guy got to pop the traditional bottle of champagne and serve a fabulous cake that one of his labmates made. We also got treated to some wine and cheese in the lab by Hedgehog Guy's boss - it was a big day for him too! Afterwards we all headed to a local tavern, Deer Park, for some nachos and beer. But half of everyone left before the nachos got there, and we all ended up with more heartburn! Almost seems fitting... We are all so proud of him. Thank you to Chris, Richard, Damien, and Kurt. You guys are an inspiration to us and made this process look too easy!

Moving update

Hooray! All our stuff is here - it feels like home!

The moving company called on Monday morning and "our" van had arrived late Sunday night. Hedgehog Guy and I drove down to the border that afternoon and got the shipment cleared through customs. We learned in this process that as temporary workers, we didn't need the big long, itemized inventory that we had labored over. It took a lot of restraint not to slap my hand to my forehead and only mutter "oh, really..." when we heard that. But the van was cleared, and our stuff only 30 miles or so from the house.

Tuesday was nerve-wracking as we tried to hire some semi-professional moving help because we knew we couldn't get the couch and dressers in without assistance. Our dilemma was that we only knew that the truck was coming in a 2 hour window on Wednesday morning. But we didn't want to either pay people to sit and wait for the truck or have the truck arrive without anyone to help us (because we would only have an hour to unload everything). Hedgehog Guy finally arranged for 2 paid helpers and 3 of my lady labmates to come at about 10:30am in hopes that the truck wouldn't come before then, but very soon afterwards. Neither of us slept Tuesday night as we were constantly worried that the noises we were hearing were the moving van arriving early!

Wednesday came and our help arrived promptly at 10:30 as did the truck! We got it all unloaded in about 45 minutes, to the delight of the truck driver and my friends. None of the stuff was broken, only a few dents in the kitchen island/butcher block, and one scoff on the front of my dresser (nothing a another layer of varnish later in life won't fix). We lost a fair bit of finish off the top of the good ole' IKEA entertainment center, but nothing a nice runner doesn't cover. No broken pictures or glasses (yet), and only a couple small tears in the boxspring and on one piece of the couch. No missing boxes, nothing appears to have really moved much on the trip, just "settled". I feel like all our stuff is really ours now, it isn't new and can't claim to look unused anymore!

The computers work, as does the microwave and coffee maker. I even made bread right away in the bread maker. What a great way to christen a home - with fresh bread. The house feels really different with stuff in all the space now. I'm actually looking forward to going home and relaxing tonight.

Moving - save yourself the trouble

Oh my god. I am not moving again without professional help. This story is not over - our stuff must still arrive safely at our door. But in the meantime, here is what has happened so far.

Moving across the country is not cheap. We decided to let someone else drive a truck containing our stuff for us after we packed it carefully on the truck ourselves, as a way to save time and money. Plus, who wants to drive a moving van for 5 days? They are not easy to handle! So, we had a 28 foot trailer delivered to our apartment complex last Friday morning, and were initially excited to find that it only took up 2 parking spots. Our enthusiasm quickly faded when the apartment manager called, said trailers were not allowed according to our lease (which is true), and asked us to remove it. Well, it was staying until Monday. Even if we could have packed it up that afternoon, the company wasn't coming back that day or on the weekend. So let's hope we get our security deposit back.

Jason and I spent about 12 hours over the course of Friday afternoon and Saturday morning carefully packing everything in sealed and labeled boxes. The boxes and furniture all had to be inventoried for an international move. This process is excruciating, especially when sick with the flu. We ended up throwing a ton of stuff away. I feel so wasteful now. This process really, finally, taught me not to buy what I do not need and to let go of things we do not use.

The actual packing of the van went wonderfully, thanks to the help of really great friends. We couldn't have done it without you and will forever be in your debt. We also used 3 less feet of space than we asked for, so it should be cheaper than expected!

But, with everything packed, we were reduced to sleeping on the floor, eating TV dinners cooked in the stove, and listening to the radio over the laptops. Not a lot of fun, especially when we realized we did not have a way to donate the TV and kitchen table and chairs - no one was returning our calls for a charity pick-up, and the truck was already sold. So we put them on Craig's List for super cheap and poof! they were gone. It was totally like magic. Jason sold the TV in 15 minutes, and it was picked up an hour later, after months of worrying about it. And I think both items went to loving families. That table and chairs had been in my kitchen(s) for at least 25 years.

Monday morning saw us throwing the last of the stuff in the van and trying to rig the half-broken bulk-head in place and then waiting, waiting, waiting for the truck to be picked up. The apartment complex called again. We called the company again. They finally came, but didn't get the paperwork from us! I feel bad that the driver had to come back and get it, but the inventory has to go with it...

The truck should arrive next week at the company's base near here. We then arrange to meet the customs agent at the truck, check everything out, and then, at long last, the truck will come to our home. We are hoping for a "live" drop-off where the driver waits while we unload to avoid any parking issues here. The truck can be dropped in the lane by our house, but this makes Hedgehog Guy ultra-nervous, so hooray for hired help! Keep your fingers crossed. I can not wait for life with a real bed, a microwave, an iron, and more than 4 plates again.

Last day on the East coast

So here we are at the Philadelphia Airport about to fly to Chicago and then Vancouver. We don’t have anything left here, physically, in Delaware. It is a bit disturbing to have all your stuff in a city across the continent or on a moving van that you hope is well packed.

We had some trouble finding the hotel we had picked to stay in for our last night in Delaware as it was in an area on the side of town we rarely explored. We both found this situation ironic since the very first time we drove up to Newark from Florida to look for a place to live, we couldn’t find our hotel either. Fortunately, we found the place, and it turned out to be so nice and cheap we were sorry we hadn’t found it earlier (Staybridge Suites)! Sleeping in a bed and sitting on a couch were heaven after two days of sleeping and sitting on the floor.

It just seems a bit harder to leave this time around, I don’t know why, maybe because there is isn’t anything permanent to come back to. We sold the truck, it will belong to someone else here soon. We spread Freeway's ashes in White Clay Creek. He isn't coming with us anymore. The hardest has been to leave our friends here. Hedgehog Best Friend was the hardest to leave. It is like the "Years of Rice and Salt" where each person belongs to a group of souls that are reborn and live together and must help each other to succeed in order to move up in the afterlife. We met some of our group here, and we will find them again, soon.

It is also totally surreal to think we will be in Vancouver in a different house back with Hedgehog Dog in about 9 hours. Like, I can’t wait to be there, but I don’t want to leave either. Last task now is to successfully get Jason’s work permit as we enter Canada at the airport (which we did!).

A BIG week

I have a ton to update everyone on, but the details will have to wait until we get back to Vancouver. Here's a brief list of this past week's biggest events:
Jason successfully defended his dissertation and is now a doctor of chemistry

We packed up all of our stuff, labeled every box, and stuffed it into some ridiculously small space in a moving van which our apartment complex complained about

Hedgehog Gal had a fun weekend in Whistler with her lab group - first time on skis!

Tomorrow we leave the US for a while - saying good-bye was harder this time around.

Mouse in the house

I do chores. As in I clean regularly. The only thing I do not do is dust. Living in the new house has been great because I have no chores - no furniture, no carpet, one bathroom, one person's laundry & dishes, dog washed once monthly.

But the mouse (maybe mice?) arrived anyways.

One day in December the dog alerted on the dishwasher, I was like, "You are crazy, eat a bone". Then last week there was a huge crash in the kitchen during the night, and a bag of rice had been pulled across the counter and a little hole gnawed in it. I bought two "live" traps, baited them with peanut butter and waited. Nothing.

Until last night, when I heard a trap smack shut. I was thought, "Great, now where will I take this mouse?" No worries, it got out. Evaded both traps and crapped all over the floor - must have scared the shit out of itself. I know it (they) is coming from under the house where the floorboards do not meet the wall under a heating vent in the kitchen.

All my food is now in the fridge or inside bags inside plastic containers. The dog just huffs, they must be friends. Tonight we go to round 2: Deathmatch. I'm afraid I'll have to get real mouse traps...

Dissertation In!

Hedgehog Guy sent his dissertation off to his committee members today! A big congratulations to him as he hits the two week 'til he's a PhD mark. I know being reminded of this will only make him nervous and depressed, but it's a big deal. Half of getting a degree is going through the motions of writing and submitting and correcting your dissertation and then publicly defending it. The hard part, enduring the last 6 years, is already over. Hope he's already plotting where to put the carrot patch in the new yard.


Oh yes, and we'll take any donations for alcohol research...

This week

So this week has been hard to write about because there have been lots of ups and downs. Like I hesitate to write about it because it bothers me, but then I think that maybe someone will read it and see that others struggle too.

Monday was surreal. We got our travel plans worked out for me to fly to see Hedgehog Guy's defense and then for both of us to fly back to Vancouver for good. We got the moving van reserved, meaning only 15 more days until we are together again in the same city for good (outside of usually sampling trips and conferences). I got good news from immigration that Hedgehog Guy could get his work permit at the airport when we arrive and not wait 73 days for a mail version. Tuesday was going great until I essentially broke a very expensive piece of equipment at work (as in it costs half my annual salary). It's my fault for doing it, but the equipment company's fault for sending me the wrong stuff. I was totally devastated. I hardly slept or ate for two days until something snapped on Thursday, and I decided there was nothing I could do about it. I think I might have been in a constant state of panic attack with heart racing and hard time breathing for two days. I had to teach all three of my boss's classes this week, with Wednesday's lecture being the best, probably because it was a discussion class and not a real lecture! Friday we found a couple more post-docs for Hedgehog Guy to apply for, and I had a really good time at dinner with the labbies. Saturday was SUNNY after weeks of fog, rain, and snow, so I went to work, did errands, took the dog for a walk and gardened.

Today it rained again, and I cooked. Giving me time to think. I'm still down about the thing at work, and worried about Hedgehog Guy. This is such a stressful time, yet I am so excited for Hedgehog Guy to be almost a done after years of agony and to be with him again. I still need to work on driver's license and car importation - don't even get me started on that situation. I know it will be better after the defense and move, but then have to worry about work and money. It seems never ending. I say constantly that I can't wait to retire. Run a cross-stitch shop and a home for run-away dogs in a bungalow by the water. Even the dog is upset since I took away the mattress he's been laying on in an attempt to keep it a bit dog hair free before selling it.

Then I remember that I really shouldn't complain. It could be way worse, just have to try to not let it become that way. Here is a Hedgehog Dog pic for cheering you up:

Hedgehog Dog - one year post-surgery

This week last year was Hedgehog Dog's big growth removal surgery. We had the bump on his back that he came with removed since it was getting larger. He healed wonderfully and doesn't seem to notice the difference (but I do, one less thing to obsess over). Here's some before and during pictures of the pup.

Congratulations, President Obama

So happy. Image courtesy of Doug Mills of the NYTimes

Organic living

Hopefully it is no surprise to most of you that money is tight these days. For some reason this seems to make it harder for me to purchase organic items. Back in Delaware, we were largely buying all our produce organic or at least local at the co-op and most of our household products were "green". When I first got here, I needed some things before I found the organic/co-op stores, so I bought the usual brands. Now I've used up all of those items, and it's time to buy again. So why is it so hard to be in the store and see that the eco-friendly laundry detergent cost $1.50 more than the regular stuff? Like it shouldn't make a big difference, but it does. It hurts the wallet, but does it really? What else would I really do with that $1.50? Buy a cheeseburger or more organic bananas? But you don't think like that in the store aisle surrounded by equally annoyed customers.

Still I managed to buy organic bananas, organic cleaner, organic toilet paper, and organic spaghetti sauce. If I don't save the planet, who will?

Oh yes and I got a desk, a blender, a cabinet of 4 drawers that fits under the desk, and a desk chair (used of course). And on Tuesday I get a clothes drying rack (wohoo, no more dryer usage!) and a foam mattress, all for $80. The blisters from trying to get the desk re-assembled were apparently free.

Freetime - read a book

I read a lot, usually in bed before falling asleep, but sometimes for long periods on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Hedgehog Dog fails to see the fun in this, but it means we are usually out soaking up sun rays while doing it, which fits into his favorite things to do, too. My most recent favorite author is Ursula LeGuin, but I've spent a lot of time this past year re-reading Robert Jordan's Eye of the World series. Below are some of the books I'd recommend, you'll see they mostly lean towards sci-fi.

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki. Combine rural American life with Japanese house-wives and you get this raving satirical comedy about being a woman and eating meat. I actually like it best for introducing me to the Japanese poet Sei Shonagon. I cried and laughed.

Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. Try it on for size, an ice adventure plus in an almost asexual society equals new understanding of true sexual freedom?

The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin. Science meets philosophy meets alien culture. The ultimate journey has something to say about the ivory tower of science, utopia, and sharing.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. This sucker won the Hugo and Nebula awards for a reason. I find it has a lot to say about our current situation(s) despite being over 25 years old.

The Hyperion Series by Dan Simmons. I love the first book because it is a frame story that is not the Canterbury Tales. I love the third book because of all the worlds and cultures it visits. I love the last book because it helped me see that all religions really are the same.

Freetime - I still do watch some TV

Giving up cable did not mean that I gave up TV at entirely. Unfortunately, I continue to watch a few shows on Hulu and most college football games from *various* sources. However, I watch a lot less than I did, and the commercials are almost zilch. I find myself no longer craving the new bacon-mushroom melt at Wendy's. I wonder why that is...

I hardly watched anything except the occasional football game before moving to Canada, which made watching Hulu difficult since it is only offered in the U.S. Well, let's just say that can be gotten around. I actually like watching TV this way because you can watch entire seasons in a few sittings and actually understand the characters and story lines without a bunch of riff-raff getting in the way.

The shows I'm currently addicted to, in order of MY PREFERENCE, but not necessarily quality, are:

Fringe - Dude, I like science on TV again. Forget that all the stuff they do is impossible, and just imagine if it was. Remember imagining, and laughing, and every experiment in the lab working, and not being down-trodden? I would like a cow in our lab. On the other hand, I'm glad I don't yet know who Massive Dynamics is an allegory for.

House - The medical mysteries are getting less play than they used to, but the side-show love stories sure are.

The Legend of the Seeker - Ok, this one is totally hokey. But it is soooo idealistic that it strikes a chord in me. You know the chord that equals super she-warrior who kills all bad guys while never getting blood on herself or a hair out of place. The Legend is a bad fantasy book come to life, (really, it is) where good and bad wear white and black, respectively, and battle it out with 5 stock moves, and all the characters are secretly related (but don't know it yet). It is almost like an new, alternate universe, StarTrek, where the new character is the one who always gets killed, and the lines are cheezy. The show is based on a book series, that I have not read, and would advise against reading until watching the show as I get the impression the show takes a lot of liberties with the books.

Bones - This is my CSI/Law & Order substitute. The characters are deeper and more complex than CSI, but the crimes on Law & Order are more intriguing.

Heroes - I hate myself for continuing to watch it. They have even stopped introducing characters with new, cool powers now. So disappointing. Only watch while ironing.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - One must get her action "fix" somewhere. I'd suggest getting it somewhere else, because the acting is okay, the plots are okay, but the special effects are pretty good. I watch is mostly cause the chick from Firefly is in it.

So, those are the current series I watch over the internet, but Hulu has an older sci-fi series that everyone I know who has watched it adores: Firefly Warning, watch the show before the movie.

I also like some of the documentary materials on Hulu - they had a neat one on Harvey Milk and the NOVA shows are always great (but they don't have very many of them). If you want to laugh until you cry, try It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia or the Daily Show or The Colbert Report - they are all on the site, too.

Freetime - a week of ideas on how to spend your time.

Almost 2 years ago now, Hedgehog Guy and I gave up cable TV. Hedgehog Guy promptly found fun on-line games to play with the Beefpile Clan like Eve, WoW, and originally, Counterstrike (sigh, I almost miss that one...). I turned to the radio, specifically NPR. I just like to have something else going on while I sit and sew or pay bills or play with the dog. So, below are a list of the shows I never miss, all of them have podcasts!


This American Life - a really great show about life as it is, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It might take a few shows to figure out what is going on, like it has 3-4 "halves", and Ira Glass's (the main host) style of story-telling and humor require several doses. Their shows on the recent economic downturn helped me understand a bit of the jargon and thier Iraqi war shows are stellar. Halloween shows are great too.

FreshAir - a Philly original! This one is a daily show with everything from politics to show-biz. The Stephen Colbert interviews are my favorites. Oh yes, and Terry Gross looks nothing like I thought she did.

Left, Right, and Center - Ah, my weekly dose of political nonsense.

Hedgehog Guy and I also frequent The Moth where all stories return to the mob in the end, RadioLab where odd or mundane science topics get explored in interesting ways, and a new fav, Wiretap, a Canadian public radio show now on WHYY!! For music I really like American Routes and the Thistle & Shamrock.




Like, for real, these shows have changed my life, or at least my worldview. I enjoy a broader array of music, and I have a different opinion of people of opposite political or scientific views. I understand that more is going on around me than I can see for myself or get from the media outlets. And only talking to people, and more importantly listening to them, will reveal even a tenth of it.