A monologue that almost existed:

"Yes, I'm having a turkey sub and a fruit cup."

"Oh, and a brownie. Yup, Friday = brownie."

"And can I have a nap with that? No, not a napKIN, a nap?"

"Fifty cents extra? Oh, that's a deal. I'll take it. Thanks."

(Perhaps it is the week, perhaps it is the turkey sub, or perhaps it is that my headache is coming back, but I really just want to curl up on my office floor and take a nap.)

"Oh, you don't mind if I do? What a shweety."

Posted by danielle at 01:41 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Because of the warm days we've had the last week or so, all of the flowering trees and bushes have burst into flower in near perfect synchrony.

I had the best of intentions about going out and collecting photos of them, but well, it has been raining since Monday. Also, I ended up with the beginnings of a migraine yesterday. These two factors put a bit of a crook in my plans for close-up shots.

Consequently, I present you with A View of New England Spring, As Seen From My Moving Vehicle On The Way To The Train On A Rainy Thursday Morning.

Yes, these were taken out my driver's side window using my camera that had just enough battery power for 4 pictures (gotta remember to change those batteries promptly. erg.).

I've been driving past this blooming tree (we always called them tulip trees) for the past couple of weeks. The blossoms have faded really fast, but still look pretty from a distance.

I love the way the petals are scattered on the ground.

Yesterday, I actually drove past it, thinking that the power lines were too much in the way. But as I drove a bit further, I saw at least one shot. So, I backed up (I was still in my subdivision) and rolled down my window and took a couple of pictures.

Then I turned off the camera to conserve the little bit of power I had left and hoped that the batteries would hold out for the next shot.

I've seen this yellow forsythia all week. Usually, I'm in a line of 10 or so cars to turn left at a stop sign of a relatively busy intersection. The funny thing about this shot yesterday is that I was actually HOPING that there would be a line of cars (definitely a first for me).

You can see a few tulips near it too. And the hostas are coming up. And the trees in the distance have those little baby leaves that are more yellow-green than green. You can also see the side of one of the prettiest old homes I drive past everyday. From this angle, I'm thinking it must have a carriage house. I see a bit of an arch at the back.

This next one, was a bit dicey, because I see it as I approach a rotary (also called a traffic circle or round-about). Consequently, the traffic isn't usually exactly stopped at that point, more just moving slowly.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering that I was driving at the time. The reflection in the puddle was an added bonus.

I've always liked this library; it is clearly a new building, but they still kept with that New England feel in the design of it.

There are also a lot of fruit trees with white blossoms and pink blossoms (potentially cherry blossom trees) that are all over the place right now. And I'm starting to see some purple bushes. It seems too early for Azaleas, but I suppose the purple ones could be azaleas.

If I end up taking pictures of them, I'll be sure to share them in the future.

As for the rain, it has stopped. Today is finally bright and sunny.

And my head? all better now.

:-)

Posted by danielle at 09:09 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Megan, a.k.a, Home Detention Lady, decreed that this week's Self-Portrait Day theme is "Show us your funny duds - interesting clothes or accessories."

Well, I've been thinking about doing a collage of my fuzzy socks for a while now. The announcement of this theme just lit a fire under my arse to get it done over the weekend and not put it off any longer.

While these may not always qualify as funny duds, I think they qualify as interesting. Or at least, interesting to me. ;-)

So, from the top pair of turquoise socks moving clockwise we have the following:
- Turquoise Laurel Burch cat socks - I showed you these at Easter
- Cat faces of a variety of colors with either green or blue eyes
- Fuzzy pink and red striped socks - note, these were the ones I showed you at Christmastime where the Girlie-girl decided to creep into my little photoshoot
- Black Laurel Burch cat socks - these were my favorites for a while, and might still be... since black socks kind of go with everything, and I wear a lot of blue and purple
- Fuzzy dark blue socks - these are my standard 'around the house' socks. Eventually, I'll wear holes in them and then I'll have to find a new standard.
- Winnie the Pooh going butterfly hunting - Amber would probably like these for the butterflies.
- Flying squirrel socks! Aren't these crazy!? I'll put a close-up below, they are so kooky. There are squirrels in various stages of jumping and some that peek out of a hole in a tree. I found these at the Wild Bird Store at the Mall of America when I was visiting Minneapolis recently.
- Song bird socks. Yes, the birds are playing guitars, singing into microphones, and are surrounded by musical notes. I also purchased these at the Wild Bird Store. I think they are my new favorite white socks.
- Red fuzzy socks - yup, they match the pink and red striped ones.
- Black cat socks - from a gift shop of cat stuff in St. Augustine, FL
- Nordic design, 2 layer socks - for the really cold days
- bees on a field of blue

Tah-DaH! That is most of them.

Oh, and here is that close-up of the flying squirrel socks. For some reason, they remind me of Squirl. I wonder why?

GRIN

Aren't they bizarre?

I think I need some Ladybug socks. Can you believe the middle one in the 3rd row is sold out!? Those are the ones I want!

Oh, and you know that while I was taking these pics I had a little helper, right?

Posted by danielle at 08:45 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

My heart is heavy today.

The boyfriend (almost a husband) of a close friend has been in the hospital since Thursday night. While the tests have revealed what is wrong with him, he seems to be getting worse before getting better. Or at least, I keep praying that the better is just around the bend. He has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and is dealing with complications from an immune suppresing drug he has been on for it.

I'm not sure what else to say. I'm sharing this because I know some of you believe in the power of prayer, so if you'd say a little prayer for "Danielle's friend S" I'd appreciate it. For those of you who don't pray, warm thoughts of healing and strength would be great too.

Posted by danielle at 09:02 AM | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Oh my goodness! I don't know how you feel about penguins, but to me, all animals are adorable. Well, almost all. I'm not sure how I feel about reptiles. But birds and mammals, they bring out the "Awwwww" in me.

Since it would be a copyright violation for me to put one of the pictures here, I can only describe it and post the link.
(click the word link above to see it)

Basically, a couple of penguins living in SeaWorld in San Diego were flown to Denver, Colorado for a visit. And they had to walk through security.

The photos of them waddling through the metal detectors are just too adorable for words (the second and third pics in the slideshow are my favorites).

If you need a laugh. Check it out.

Posted by danielle at 06:12 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

On Monday, when I was off for Patriot's Day, I ventured off to Target to buy flower seeds and fertilizer (along with the aforementioned nail polish).

You see, last spring, when I bought and planted annuals, I realized that I wasn't able to buy little baby annuals of some of the flowers that I'd hoped to have in my yard and pots. You know, the ones that look so pretty in the home &/or gardening magazines when you peruse the magazines in the checkout aisles and start dreaming of days without snow and cold? And last year, when I realized that I couldn't buy those flowers as annuals, I went to the store to buy seed for those flowers. When I was reading the seed directions, they pretty much all said to start the seeds indoors 5-7 weeks before the last frost. And since I wasn't planting my annuals until after the last frost, I'd clearly missed my chance.

poop.

So, last year, after I gave up on the idea of having those flowers in my yard, and after I popped all of the annuals out of the surprisingly sturdy little pots, I decided to keep those little pots just in case the urge to grow flowers from seed struck me again. Except I forgot about the needing to start them in little pots. I just remembered that I was supposed to be growing them earlier than the last frost.

Well, the first warm weekend this year, I had my usual "Gee, it sure would be nice to have foxglove this year or some really hot flowers. Hey! I think we are still 4 weeks away from the last frost. I think I'm supposed to be growing seeds right now. Better go get some seeds and get those puppies in the ground outside."

On my shopping excursion, I looked at all of the seed packets and dang if they didn't all say to start them indoors.

"Surely one of these packets will say that I can plant the seeds in the ground before the last frost. Well, this one wildflower mix doesn't say either way. Maybe since they are wild they can withstand the frost."

"Oh, and I guess I could perhaps try to grow one type from seed on our sunporch. Maybe something that looks kind of hardy."

"These look striking. Great hot pink color. Good for sunny areas."

When I got home, I re-discovered those surprisingly sturdy little pots that I dumped in a corner. Of course, I had to clean them out. But hey, HB was out of town and didn't need his bathtub anytime soon. ;-)

After the painting of the toes and the frustrating flat tire experience, I calmed down by setting out all of the little pots and planting the seeds. 5-6 per pot, with the idea that I'll split them at some future point.

Water. Clear plastic shower curtain.

"On the table? or on the floor? hmmmm.... well, they probably won't grow right in either place and this is all a totally futile effort. Might as well put them on the table."

The package said 7-10 days to germination. So, I really didn't expect much when I went to uncover them this morning and return the shower curtain to HB's bathtub.

HA! fooled you.

I didn't really steal his shower curtain.

It was an old one from my bathtub.

Anyway, I uncovered the pots and...

LOOKEEEEEEEEEEE!

And those 2 aren't the only ones!

It's only been 5 days! I was so excited!

I know they don't look like much. But well, I really started thinking it had been too cold this week and that they were doomed. We had a couple of really hard frosts and while they were covered with plastic, they aren't exactly indoors like the package says. They are kind of more in between doors.

But hey, I must've done SOMEthing right.

Cause they germinated!

And did you notice that the tree/bush out the window behind our sun porch has little baby green leaves on it? (scroll, scroll, "Oh yeah, Danielle, sure. Are you really excited about that too?" you are probably wondering.)

Well, yeah, 'cause pretty soon, it will have full leaves and flowers too.

And that's when it will be warm enough that we can start having breakfast, lunch, and supper out on the porch on the weekends.

And by then, my zinnia's will be taller. Maybe not blooming with hot pinkish purple flowers, but they'll be at least a bit bigger.

All in all, a pretty good start, I'd say.

Posted by danielle at 09:00 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

Last Saturday, I headed off to the grocery. Hmmm... does this sound familiar? Well, it is because this is the same grocery trip before which I was all excited to see the frosted Lady's Mantle, where I ran back inside to grab the camera etc. etc.

After my wee photo shoot, I drove to the grocery. As I was approaching the building I said to myself "You know, this being a 3-day weekend and with HB out of town, I really ought to buy myself some flowers." So, I entered the store and bought all the food items to tide me over for the week. As I was approaching the checkout I did one of those "oops! almost forgot the flowers" things.

As I happily wheeled toward the flowers, I decided that I really ought to try to get a potted flowering plant, because the cut ones don't last very long. It really saddens me when they wilt, and I never quite have the heart to throw them out at the first sign of wilting. So, then I end up with this depressing bouquet of dying flowers for a couple of days.

Yes, potted is better. Usually not as flamboyant, but well, they can be quite nice, don't you think?

"Maybe they'll have some Gebera daisies," I start thinking.

As I approach the flowers I see a bunch of blooming sunrise cacti. Which leads me to think, "Oh crap. We have one of those at the lab, and I see it every day. Plus, it will just remind me of work. I hope they've got something else."

And then I wheel around the bend and TAH-DAH it is like the ceiling opened up for a ray of sunlight to shine down and the choirs of angels sang Hallelujah! There, yes Right There, is one PERFECT blue and purple hydrangea! Just for ME. Ready and waiting to go home with me.

And you probably don't know this but they are my absolute FAVORITE flower. And did I say that it was blue?! and purple!

Hooray!

Home you go.

How can you not love a flower that has such beautiful gradients? Such great shading?

So, I plopped it on the table where HB usually sits with his laptop on the weekend. And when I'd look up and expect to see him sitting over there, I'd smile, because well, there was my beautiful hydrangea. And even if he wasn't home at the moment, he would be next weekend (which is tonight, of course) and I could always email him or call him. And it made my weekend a little brighter.

All pictures were taken with my usual Sony Cyber-shot outside, on our lawn of still hibernating grass.

Posted by danielle at 08:24 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

I'm done being grumpy over my bicycle incident now. Actually, I've been done for a while, but it took a bit for the residual effects to wear off.

This weekend, I O-fficially celebrated Spring.

All of this kind of links back to a post by Honestyrain (Honesty Rain, not Honey styrene or Honey strain or whatever else you first thought her name might be).

You see, Honestyrain is also in a location that has a winter season that is faaaaaaaaar far too long. And on March 26th, she asked what we would all suggest she do to to prepare for summer.

Here is an excerpt

What shall I do to prepare for the coming sunshine and skimpy clothes weather? What will I do to lose the winter ooglies and stock up on summer HOT! HOT! HOT!? I'm sure each and every one of you knows exactly what to do to get that sass factor back after hibernating for six severe months. So tell me! I'm waiting! What will I do, dear Internet?

My suggestion was the following:

um.... paint your toenails and get your hair cut?

sorry, I am fresh out of grand ideas. The spa sounds really nice though, doesn't it? so does the chocolate (of course).

Another suggestion by franchini was this

Shave your legs and tidy up your feet. That is enough effort for now to tide you over until really blistering heat kicks in and you have to start thinking about bikinis etc.

So, guess what I did this weekend?

Did you take notes?

First came the haircut that I've needed for a while now.

Second the shaved legs.

And today, TODAY! I went to Target and bought 5 different colors of nail polish for my toes! and I broke out shorts and a tank top.

Note the haircut and the painting of the toes.

Oh wait, you can't see the painted toes?

WELL, lessee what I can do about that.

I even put my toes next to the newly blooming Lady's Mantle, so you can see

A) just how tiny the leaves are on the plant right now (hopefully, I'll remember to take one in the height of summer when it is big, Big, BIG)

B) that it was really warm enough outside today to go out barefoot! with shorts on! and a tank top! and put my toes in the dirt.

C) My beauteous rainbow of colors. (some of those colors were generated by doing one coat of one color and a second coat of a different color)

D) that I need more practice painting my toes. ;-)

Posted by danielle at 09:52 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

I am so pissed off right now.

I biked for 30, that's right thirty, three zero, minutes and what happens?

hmmmm?

I get a frickin flat front tire.

So, I walked home with my bike.

DAMNIT.

It feels like EVERY farking thing is breaking right now. First my laptop (fan), then my favorite teapot, then I had issues with my brakes, and NOW, NOW my front tire.

grrrrrrrrrrrrr

I'll look at the positive side later. After I'm done being pissed off.

Posted by danielle at 04:25 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

So, I'm at home currently enjoying my glorious 3-day weekend. Betcha didn't know (or maybe you did?) that today is Patriot's Day here in the Boston area. Yup, today we honor the first shots of the Revolutionary War fired at Lexington and Concord by having a holiday where 20,000 people run from Hopkington into downtown Boston (a.k.a. the Boston Marathon).

Yeah, kinda strange.

But hey, I'll take my 3-day weekends wherever I can get them.

Since I go into Boston every workday with a long commute, when I have a chance to Not Commute into the city, I take full advantage of it by Staying Home. So, you won't see any pictures of the marathon from me, nope, not a chance.

So, how, perchance am I choosing to celebrate the holiday weekend?

Well, I tried to go for a bike ride (by myself, HB is in Mnpls) yesterday with plans to go again today.

TRIED being the key word in that sentence.

ugh. Did you notice the title?

Yesterday, I'm all geared up, ready to go, and I start by taking a warm-up lap around our subdivision. Just as I'm nearing the end of the circle and am about 10 houses away from ours and ready to go out the entry drive to the road, I stop to adjust the height of my bicycle seat. After adjusting it, suddenly my right rear brake pad is locking onto the rear wheel so hard that it is clearly going to stop me from going any further. Squeeze, release, squeeze, release. "What the heck?"

tweak, tweak, press around on the actual brake.

nothing. still stuck.

"grrrrrrrrrrrrreat. Now I have to go home."

So, I walk all cock-eyed home, because I'm manually holding the brake pad away from the wheel rim. yup. This is NOT the way I planned to do my exercise for the day.

And, of course, the bike shop is closed at that point. And HB, my go-to-guy for bike repair is out on his own 4 hour biking trip (from Mnpls to St. Paul) and not answering his cell phone. *sigh*

Last night, after the sun went down and he was back from his ride, I was talking to him on the phone. He suggested that I look around online for how to fix the brakes. Well, first I tried to see if I could get it into my bike shop to be fixed (part of purchasing a bike there is free tune-ups for a year after purchase). But they are closed for the holiday too. I decided to try to do it myself.

As I read about brake repair, there are all these warnings about maybe needing an assistant for this step, or snapping the cables by over tightening, or having the bolts a bit loose and in an emergency, your brakes no longer work. EEEK!

rrrrrrrrrrrrrright, I start having visions of really screwing up my bike or myself in an emergency braking situation.

Then I get to a sentence about how a brake that may not seem centered could be due to an improperly aligned rear wheel.

AH-HA!

Because you see, just recently trying to get my bike in and out of the trainer, HB accidently released the rear wheel. hmmmmm..... "THIS could be it!" I think to myself.

So, I run downstairs and release the rear wheel, reseat it, and lock it in place.

TAH-DAH! brakes are centered and fixed!

Yay!

This means that I can now properly celebrate my extra day off by taking a bike ride, and doing a couple of other things (which will be photo worthy, if I actually do them, so stay tuned).

happiness reigns.

Posted by danielle at 09:31 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

I walked outside this morning to go to the grocery, and saw the frost on the premature leaves of the Lady's Mantle. I decided that I had to run back inside for my camera in an attempt to catch these newly born leaves covered with frost.

You know, last year, these plants were my favorite ones to look at early in the morning. And not just in the spring, but in the summer too. There was something about the shape of the round, pleated leaves and the way the morning dew would catch on the edges that just seemed to sparkle and wink hello to me.

Right now, the edges are covered with crystals of frost in the early mornings.

At this point, the leaves are so small, less than an inch across and buried in the dead stems from last year's bloom. I barely notice them as I walk by.

I really have to pause in my rush and hurry out the door and lean waaaaaaaaay down to look at them.

This morning, when I took that time and looked closely at them, I was awestruck at their beauty. I don't know if the pictures will do them justice, but hopefully if nothing else, it will remind me that spring really is here.

Note: the top 2 pics are of the larger variety Alchemilla Mollis "thriller" and the bottom 2 pics are of the tiny variety Alchemilla erythropoda.

Posted by danielle at 02:52 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

The conversation Ladybug and I had in the comments of last week's Flowers for Friday picture (poppies) inspired me to post pictures I took of the bluebonnets.

I particularly like the variety that is shown in the picture above because of the purple highlights.

These, while in shadow, also happen to naturally be a darker shade of blue.

As I mentioned to Ladybug, by the time we visited, the bluebonnets out in the fields and on the sides of the roads had faded. However, the ones in flower beds were still quite healthy.

I love the mix of bluebonnets with the red indian paintbrush and the yellow wildflowers.

Posted by danielle at 08:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

My friend, SeaQueen, played in a curling tournament on Saturday night.

"Curling?" you may ask. Well, it was new to me too. I'd heard of it before; it is an Olympic sport, you know. However, I'd never seen it in person.

Here is what I saw when we walked in.

Confusing!

SeaQueen had told me ahead of time that she would be behind the glass during the game and wouldn't be able to talk to me. However, she told me, there would be plenty of "armchair skips" to explain the game or answer questions.

"Armchair skips?" I puzzled.

As SeaQueen explained, in hockey, there are the 30-something guys with beer guts who sit in the stands and yell "Skate!" and in curling there are people, usually older, who sit in the chairs and pick apart what the team should or shouldn't have done. tsssk tssking away at mistakes, bad shots, or bad sweeping.

Oh, and this is the moment where I should say that I learned the terminology for curling by the seat-of-my-pants on Sat. night. And I can't find my little brochure that explains the game, so I am doing this from memory without notes (and we all know how well that can go). So, if I goof up a term, well, read the comments for corrections.

As best as I can tell, the goal in curling is to get as many stones as possible (thrown by your own team, of course) near the target. The "armchair skip" is a spin-off on how the head of the team is called the skip; in fact, the person in the bullseye in the picture above is the skip of her team. The 2nd person on the 4 person team, is called the vice-skip. Do you really want to know more? Well, read on if you are, or skip to the pictures (HA! Aren't I punny?) if you are not. I crack me up.

;-)

Anyway, each person on the team throws 2 stones, yup, 8 stones per team per round. The 2 teams take turns.

Here is what it looks like:

SeaQueen is in position getting ready to throw her stone. Her skip is down at the other end of the lane standing by the target checking the aim and getting ready to watch the progression of the stone. I imagine he is most concerned about speed and trajectory, but I don't really know for certain.

2 members of the team walk along beside waiting for the time when they need to sweep the ice.

The skip advises them to not sweep yet, just be prepared...
(BTW the skip is behind 'The Swede' in yellow. The Swede is the skip of the team they were competing against.)

Sweep now!

And here is where her stone landed. Good job, team!
(thank goodness my picture taking didn't distract them)

I found out that sweeping is actually really hard work, because the sweepers are pushing against the ice as hard as possible to create friction to melt the ice. Evidently this puts men at a bit of an advantage because of their (usually) increased upper body strength.

It is also no small task to throw the stone. Have you ever done one of those knee bends where you step forward?

Ever tried to do it on ice?

Balanced?

With a 42 pound stone in one hand?

In this pic, she started back where those black spots are on the ice (spots for traction) near the beer bottle in the window and is sliding forward and getting ready to let go of the stone.

Yeah, so after the game was over and the ice was free, SeaQueen showed me the basics of throwing a stone. Not only did I fall over each time from losing my balance after letting go of the stone, but after trying it 2 times, I could already feel my thigh muscles burning. egads!

I gained new appreciation for the physical exertion required to play the game.

During the game, the strategy of stone placement was fascinating. It is kind of like shuffleboard, pool, or stuff you might've learned in physics class about bumping the other person's pucks or balls out of the way with your own. In the case of curling, if you get a couple of stones in the center, you usually try to throw a stone that sits in front to protect the ones in the center. This guards your stones from getting knocked out of play by the other team.

Another aspect about curling which was really fascinating to me is that all of the people were incredibly friendly and willing to answer questions. When I asked one man if this is typical, he told me that the friendliness of everyone and the congenial nature of of the sport is part of what drew him to the game. Another woman sitting nearby chimed in and said that people are usually pretty willing to help each other get better at the game.

Other interesting factoids:

I found out that the stones are 42 lbs. but I have yet to uncover the reason for that particular weight.

The oldest known stone is dated 1511.

They can't use a Zamboni to clean the ice, because Zamboni's leave ridges.

I already knew that curling originated in Scotland; along with golf. What I didn't know, though, is that before National competitions, every person on a team takes a shot of alcohol.

Oh, and even if you lose the game, you still win. Because the winning team is expected to buy drinks for the losing team. Not a bad deal, I'd say.

All in all, it was an interesting introduction to a new sport and a fun way to spend an evening.

Posted by danielle at 09:43 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

These are poppies that were growing at Wildseed Farms in Texas.

I had the great fortune of getting to visit in late spring/early summer when the flowers were in bloom. It was a couple of years ago in 2003.

As the name implies, this is a farm that grows flowers in order to harvest the flower seed, specifically wildflowers. You know how in the spring, you might go to your local garden center or discount store and pick up a packet of seeds for flowers or vegetables. Ever wonder where the seeds come from? Well, they come from places like this.

Here is another view of the fields of poppies.

And here is a view of multiple fields.

In the foreground, you can see the bluebonnets (they are at the end of their flowering stage), the windmill and barn/entrance are at the top right of the picture, and that red stripe? THAT is the field of poppies.

Pretty amazing, I thought.

Posted by danielle at 09:00 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

It feels like it has been forever since I posted. And well, perhaps it hasn't really been all that long, considering how infrequently I post some weeks. Mainly, it feels like it has been faaaaaaaaaaaaar too long since I've been able to sit down and read everyone's blogs.

I've missed you guys. *sniff*

So, why the good news title?

Well, I just had a very critical meeting today. I haven't said much about what I 'do' for a living, because I worry about backlash from the science community... but since I'm not one of the big name blogs with a big readership, I've decided that it is okay to go ahead and talk a bit about it, but I'm still going to be vague about some of the nitty gritty details.

Mainly, being able to talk about it will probably help keep me sane in the upcoming months.

Part of what is a bit unusual about getting a Ph.D. in science is that there is no clear-cut set of research that you know from the outset needs to be done in order to get your degree. The coursework is very clearly outlined, not a problem. Been done with that for a few years now. But it is the amount of research that is less determined; it can feel a bit like a big black box. How much is enough? What constitutes a Ph.D. thesis? Everyone's idea of What Is Enough is a bit different. But when things go smoothly, you, your advisor, and your thesis committee all agree upon What Is Enough.

I've been plugging away at this dang thing for 6 years now. Each time I have a meeting with my thesis committee, I spell out my aims and planned experiments to test those aims. Each time, they've said I'm on the right track. But there is always that niggling worry in the back of my head that I'm doing something that won't pan out and will be an unproductive path or that they will decide at the end that I HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH and will need to do more and more and more in order to finish.

I'm get my worry-wart-ness honestly, believe me, it runs in the family.

Occasionally, and these are the times that I really LOVE, they will say "Oh, I don't think you really need to do that to finish." When they say that, I usually can't quite contain my glee at hearing those words.

They actually said that once today! Hooray!

Basically, this was the last committee meeting before my final thesis defense. In a way, this is the meeting that is more critical than the defense, because this is The One where they decide What Is Enough.

overdramatic? Well, that is how it feels in my head.

So, today, I set the stage:

2 pots of tea
1. PassionFruit papaya Black tea
2. Blackberry Sage Black tea

a small plate of fruit
1. cantaloupe
2. honeydew
3. pineapple

3 types of scones from Rosie's bakery (shhhh, don't tell Mihow)
1. chocolate chip <-- my faaaaaaaaaaavorite
2. blueberry
3. coffee cake

I explained my data. I received some good brainstorming ideas for how to finish up one set of experiments in order to publish it. I spelled out what I think I need to do in order to finish.

AND

Was told that it will be ENOUGH!

Oh, and I was also told that my finishing should not be contingent upon one particular little add-on, sub-experiment (this is what I alluded to earlier).

very very cool

It will be enough
ItWillBeEnoughItWillBeEnough

a little refrain in my head

My advisor took me out to lunch afterward. And as we were walking back, and I mentioned how it is great biking weather, she told me to leave early and go biking! So, I did!

Note, that HB is in town for the week, and he has been biking everyday since the weekend. But this is the first I've been outside biking this season.

She also told me I did a good job today. And that I handled the questions really well (which in the past, has sometimes been a struggle for me).

Which makes me smile really, really BIG.

Happiness Reigns.

Posted by danielle at 06:31 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

I was reminded of this quick story by Ladybug's post about mosquito hawks and her reaction toward flying insects.

Ever since I was little, hairy spiders have always scared the beejeezus out of me. Daddy long legs, not so scary. But the minute a spider has those little hairs coming off of its legs, and if it is the size of a nickel or bigger (um... approx 1.5 cm for my one, occasional international reader - Hi Nienuh!), then its lifespan in my domain is limited. very limited. short. finis. the death warrant is signed. You get the picture.
That is, if I can get someone else to catch and kill it for me.

As a little girl, my parents became used to the cry of "MOM!" or "DAD!" in a certain extra-high pitched freakish tone. They, evidently, learned that I was not dying of a hemorrhage when I screamed this yelp for help, but was in fact calling for spider killer assistance.

The time that I STILL shudder about occurred when I was about middle-school age. The house we lived in had this added on bathroom that was little more than a sink, toilet, and shower stall off of the kitchen, garage area. NOTE the word GARAGE. And as we all know, spiders can very easily sneak under the garage door, come up the stairs, and come in the house looking to scare the living shit out of me.

A couple of other crucial facts to set the scene:
1) My sister usually showered before me.
2) She had long, very stylish 80's hair = lucky girl. (My hair was not so stylin')
3) My eyesight at that age with my glasses off was already really bad for distance vision.
4) I never put my glasses on until after I'd finished showering, etc.

Can you see where this is headed? hmmm?

Scene:

"Do, do, dooooo" as I flip open the door and reach in to turn the water to warm up. (this is back when I was more of a morning person than I am now)
"Wonder what I'll wear today" as I pee on the toilet, waiting for the water to warm up.
Open the door, look down, "Gross, Texas-sister left a glob of hair in the bottom of the shower. Oh well, I'll just step around it."
"Girl's just wanna have fu-un, oh, girl's just wanna have fuuuuuuun" I sing to myself as I wash my hair.
"Somebody said a beautiful girl..." as I look around to reach for the sponge and soap.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

Because you see, the 'glob of hair' which was oh, probably 2 inches across, was now on the side of the shower stall at about head level.

I know I set a land-speed record for lightening dash out of the shower. Dad came to the rescue = Good Dad. My Dad's comment? "Yeah, that one was pretty big."

My Mom still chuckles about that story. She tells me that the minute she heard me scream, she knew it was a spider in the shower (again).

Damn that one was big. And hairy. and did I say BIG? and HAIRY!? It was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay toooooooooooooooooooo hairy.

Needless to say, when movies like Indiana Jones or Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings have a big spider in them, I squeeze my eyes shut really tight and wait for HB to tell me when the scene is over.

And the Girlie-girl is really good at catching spiders too. So, I don't see them much anymore now that I live with a cat.
"Gooooooooood girl," I say while petting her head.

"ugh. Is that a spider leg dangling out of your mouth? ick."
grimacing while petting her head

THE END

Posted by danielle at 09:49 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

I took this picture 5-6 years ago of the Girlie-girl with some tulips (with my Nikon automatic). It was a funny little photoshoot, because I was really just trying to take pictures of the tulips, so I set them on the floor in the sunlight. Being the little camera hog, the Girlie-girl came over and stared up at me with that adorable "don't you want a picture of me?" look.

And voila! One of my favorite pictures was captured. I keep a framed copy on my desk.

Note: I re-cropped this picture with a feathered edge and re-posted it Saturday morning because the chunky pixelated edges were bugging me.

Posted by danielle at 08:14 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack