What is this, a B Vitamin deficiency??
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Hey there, cats don't eat pie!
Matt and I welcome the very cute, very intelligent, super adorable, worth at least sixpence (twice as much as your cat, Dave!) NEW KITTEH!
Already our dissertations are in peril!
Um, and not just metaphorically.
Kitteh finds the sunny spots!
Kitteh learns about glass table tops!
Vicious Aloysius makes a friend!
More pictures - and his name - once he loses the ridiculous vet cone.
Already our dissertations are in peril!
More pictures - and his name - once he loses the ridiculous vet cone.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
law school preparations: accessory edition
Well and now it comes to it! We are back from our travels and ensconced back in our lovely apartment, which we had left mostly clean with only a few straggling dishes from our hurried breakfast before catching our early flight. And now I have a whole month to focus on the one thing that really matters before the fall: what to wear on the first day of law school. (Did you think I would say "dissertation"? Really?? Ha, I laugh...)
Since the last time I opened my metaphorical pocketbook I only got those little moths you see in the cartoons, the first step for my wardrobe was Repair and Rehem -- I had the soles of my favorite fall shoes replaced, my too-long jeans hemmed (yes Beth, the ones you made fun of me for not hemming, I've finally hemmed), and some holes patched in a knit sweater. I will also probably get the lining of my leather jacket replaced... hmm... maybe I'll do it in something besides black... like purple! I will have to ask my special alterations lady, whom I LOVE... maybe I'll do a post just on her next...
But there is one item from grad school which will NOT be making the transition to the law school wardrobe: my backpack. I will graduate from law school and turn 30 at about the same time. Wearing a backpack at 30 is a sign of failure (or back problems. Uhh... or camping...) - but ANYWAY, my inherent fabulousness (fabu-LAW-sity! ha! still cracks me up!) and the fact that I've been using one since FOREVER that I've been in school precludes it utterly. So to the question: what miraculous shoulder bag contraption can fit a laptop, my books, my snacks, my electronics, the most recent issue of Vogue, uh, I mean The Economist, and everything else a girl needs?
I was stumped. What *are* all the cool kids carrying these days? So I consulted the professionals at Corporette - they usually do work wardrobes, but I hoped they would take pity on me, on the cusp of entering the world of "professional" school, and respond to my query. And they did! Twice! (I didn't even have to tell them that I'm a recovering medievalist!)
And their main bag reply was:
I was highly gratified to see them recommend a diaper bag, actually, because I'd been shopping around myself on Zappos and seen this:
Pinstripe! Teal! Looks pretty much perfect, no? But one of the gazillion reviews said it "looked kinda like a diaper bag" which I was mildly concerned about. Until Corporette sanctioned the nylon! Yay!!
Zappos will have it here tomorrow! For a test drive I plan to fill it with my laptop, Lewis and Short, and LaRousse Gastronomique and prance around the house.
Now I ask myself, can little pocketbook moths buy themselves a new MacBook???
Since the last time I opened my metaphorical pocketbook I only got those little moths you see in the cartoons, the first step for my wardrobe was Repair and Rehem -- I had the soles of my favorite fall shoes replaced, my too-long jeans hemmed (yes Beth, the ones you made fun of me for not hemming, I've finally hemmed), and some holes patched in a knit sweater. I will also probably get the lining of my leather jacket replaced... hmm... maybe I'll do it in something besides black... like purple! I will have to ask my special alterations lady, whom I LOVE... maybe I'll do a post just on her next...
But there is one item from grad school which will NOT be making the transition to the law school wardrobe: my backpack. I will graduate from law school and turn 30 at about the same time. Wearing a backpack at 30 is a sign of failure (or back problems. Uhh... or camping...) - but ANYWAY, my inherent fabulousness (fabu-LAW-sity! ha! still cracks me up!) and the fact that I've been using one since FOREVER that I've been in school precludes it utterly. So to the question: what miraculous shoulder bag contraption can fit a laptop, my books, my snacks, my electronics, the most recent issue of Vogue, uh, I mean The Economist, and everything else a girl needs?
I was stumped. What *are* all the cool kids carrying these days? So I consulted the professionals at Corporette - they usually do work wardrobes, but I hoped they would take pity on me, on the cusp of entering the world of "professional" school, and respond to my query. And they did! Twice! (I didn't even have to tell them that I'm a recovering medievalist!)
And their main bag reply was:
- a large nylon bag — you want something durable as well as lightweight, because your law school books will definitely be heavy enough by themselves. We’ve suggested a few for you below, but in general we’d suggest looking at diaper bags and beach bags as your main campus bag. If you have back problems, you may want to look into a rolling backpack, as most of the ergonomic bags are a bit too small for law school textbooks.
I was highly gratified to see them recommend a diaper bag, actually, because I'd been shopping around myself on Zappos and seen this:
Pinstripe! Teal! Looks pretty much perfect, no? But one of the gazillion reviews said it "looked kinda like a diaper bag" which I was mildly concerned about. Until Corporette sanctioned the nylon! Yay!!
Zappos will have it here tomorrow! For a test drive I plan to fill it with my laptop, Lewis and Short, and LaRousse Gastronomique and prance around the house.
Now I ask myself, can little pocketbook moths buy themselves a new MacBook???
Friday, July 04, 2008
travels never cease...
... but sometimes, I wish they would!
Next up, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and DC. Unfortunately, Dissertation Station is the very last stop on this ride, and I was really hoping to spend more time there this summer. You know, before I hit Fabu-LAW-sity. OMG I should totally start that blog... Dys-FUN-ctional can be grad school, Fabu-LAW-sity can be law school!!!!
Next up, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and DC. Unfortunately, Dissertation Station is the very last stop on this ride, and I was really hoping to spend more time there this summer. You know, before I hit Fabu-LAW-sity. OMG I should totally start that blog... Dys-FUN-ctional can be grad school, Fabu-LAW-sity can be law school!!!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
and then there were links...
When I was in the tenth grade, my French teacher arranged a trip to France through one of those mid-grade educational tours -- the one where she gets to go for free if so many people sign up, and then 10 more for her husband, etc. I obviously HAD to go, and I did -- I was the French "prodigy," we'll say, of my central Oklahoma high school, managing to skip ahead through independent study and yada yah. I have very vivid, blurry memories of this trip - my first out of the country, ever. They're like snapshots from an old camera (and probably, if I go back though my photos of the trip, that's exactly what they are - the photos, not the real memory...).
I remember a half-dark plane crossing the atlantic. I remember Paris, it was overcast and cold, and the sand-colored gravel around the Louvre was not the lush palace garden I'd expected. The Mona Lisa was behind glass that glared, and was hard to see. I had a crush on a boy who was also on the trip, who wore a long black trench coat and looked like the Highlander -- I remember that very well. He was sort of a loner, and spent his time wandering around with the science teacher/chaperone Mr. Nole, who was also the detention teacher, and so knew him well. I tagged along - both of them were happy to be willingly followed by someone who could order cheeseburgers for them and didn't really want to go shopping at Le Printemps. I remember they ordered a Heineken together at a bar, and I didn't know whether I should get alcohol (isn't it illegal for a 16 year old to have alcohol??) or a coke. I remember some ice cream, and a crepe, and a car museum. I remember having a charcoal drawing done in Montmartre. I remember a prostitute was arrested in the lobby of our hotel at night, and it was the first time I'd seen one. I remember the painful decision - Mrs. Tippen wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at night, but Mr. Tippen had agreed to accompany some students to the Latin Quarter. Everyone grouped up with Mr. Tippen and it was down to me... I'm sorry Mrs. Tippen, I would've been branded a dork for life. The bartender could toss the bottles in the air and twist them as he poured. At least I got everyone back on the metro all right.
Then I remember a train, and we went south to a lot of towns that start with N... Nimes, Nice, a bus. Sun, and we were quite tired. Things are hazy, I remember a fountain and we went to a candy factory and a perfume factory - Fragonard, because I still have the bottle of "Rendez-Vous" that I bought there. I bought some chocolate "seagulls eggs" but ... I thought I had more francs than that... I could only get one bag. More time on the bus, an hour in Monaco, a jostle of people, what? a prince? I can't see, too short. More bus, into Italy, to Milan, it was overcast and the city smelled like piss. We only had four hours until our flight home, and I stayed on the bus.
Back in Oklahoma, about a month later, I flipped open one of my French books and found 300 francs. They said not to keep your money all in one place. They said it was safest, for our own good (nevermind that Mr. Tippen was the only one of us to get pickpocketed! from an exterior pocket of a fanny pack on a crowded subway!). And I had, like an idiot, and it was too late, the chocolate was gone, and what had been the name of it anyway...?
Over the years the memories grow dimmer and I remember these chocolate eggs, the enjoyment, crunchy sugared shell and chocolate inside, but something else too, another flavor. The disappointment that I couldn't afford more at the time. The regret of "playing it safe" with my francs. Ahh... the evanescence of youth, travel, experience.
Except now. In the internet age, what is ever lost? For a recent random internet search has yielded fruit - I, the traveler, passed through and went on, but the candy factory is still there, and doing quite well -- it's called Confiserie Florian and it's right next to Fragonard in Grasse, along the Cote d'Azur. Another traveler will tell you all about them on Frommers. "Rendez-Vous" has been discontinued, but Confiserie Florian still has its Oeufs de Mouettes and I can order them at any time; for the right price, they deliver all over the world. Cliquez-ici.
I meant to order them earlier, so we could have them delivered in the EU, but I put it off. I loved this candy, I search for its equivalent every year - I eventually turned to Cadbury mini-eggs every Easter as a pale, shadowy substitute (interestingly, another candy whose appeal partially comes from its limited availability). But... do I want to order them? ... What if they ... taste different than I remember?? I am not the same, perhaps my tastebuds more so. Am I prepared to revisit the flavor that I have dreamed of, idolized, searched for, and resigned myself to keeping and holding only in my memory, a memory tied up in youth, travel, searching, escaping, longing... And now I can just order that off the internet???
I will try them, one day. But... perhaps I will hold on to my memory a little longer.
I remember a half-dark plane crossing the atlantic. I remember Paris, it was overcast and cold, and the sand-colored gravel around the Louvre was not the lush palace garden I'd expected. The Mona Lisa was behind glass that glared, and was hard to see. I had a crush on a boy who was also on the trip, who wore a long black trench coat and looked like the Highlander -- I remember that very well. He was sort of a loner, and spent his time wandering around with the science teacher/chaperone Mr. Nole, who was also the detention teacher, and so knew him well. I tagged along - both of them were happy to be willingly followed by someone who could order cheeseburgers for them and didn't really want to go shopping at Le Printemps. I remember they ordered a Heineken together at a bar, and I didn't know whether I should get alcohol (isn't it illegal for a 16 year old to have alcohol??) or a coke. I remember some ice cream, and a crepe, and a car museum. I remember having a charcoal drawing done in Montmartre. I remember a prostitute was arrested in the lobby of our hotel at night, and it was the first time I'd seen one. I remember the painful decision - Mrs. Tippen wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at night, but Mr. Tippen had agreed to accompany some students to the Latin Quarter. Everyone grouped up with Mr. Tippen and it was down to me... I'm sorry Mrs. Tippen, I would've been branded a dork for life. The bartender could toss the bottles in the air and twist them as he poured. At least I got everyone back on the metro all right.
Then I remember a train, and we went south to a lot of towns that start with N... Nimes, Nice, a bus. Sun, and we were quite tired. Things are hazy, I remember a fountain and we went to a candy factory and a perfume factory - Fragonard, because I still have the bottle of "Rendez-Vous" that I bought there. I bought some chocolate "seagulls eggs" but ... I thought I had more francs than that... I could only get one bag. More time on the bus, an hour in Monaco, a jostle of people, what? a prince? I can't see, too short. More bus, into Italy, to Milan, it was overcast and the city smelled like piss. We only had four hours until our flight home, and I stayed on the bus.
Back in Oklahoma, about a month later, I flipped open one of my French books and found 300 francs. They said not to keep your money all in one place. They said it was safest, for our own good (nevermind that Mr. Tippen was the only one of us to get pickpocketed! from an exterior pocket of a fanny pack on a crowded subway!). And I had, like an idiot, and it was too late, the chocolate was gone, and what had been the name of it anyway...?
Over the years the memories grow dimmer and I remember these chocolate eggs, the enjoyment, crunchy sugared shell and chocolate inside, but something else too, another flavor. The disappointment that I couldn't afford more at the time. The regret of "playing it safe" with my francs. Ahh... the evanescence of youth, travel, experience.
Except now. In the internet age, what is ever lost? For a recent random internet search has yielded fruit - I, the traveler, passed through and went on, but the candy factory is still there, and doing quite well -- it's called Confiserie Florian and it's right next to Fragonard in Grasse, along the Cote d'Azur. Another traveler will tell you all about them on Frommers. "Rendez-Vous" has been discontinued, but Confiserie Florian still has its Oeufs de Mouettes and I can order them at any time; for the right price, they deliver all over the world. Cliquez-ici.
I meant to order them earlier, so we could have them delivered in the EU, but I put it off. I loved this candy, I search for its equivalent every year - I eventually turned to Cadbury mini-eggs every Easter as a pale, shadowy substitute (interestingly, another candy whose appeal partially comes from its limited availability). But... do I want to order them? ... What if they ... taste different than I remember?? I am not the same, perhaps my tastebuds more so. Am I prepared to revisit the flavor that I have dreamed of, idolized, searched for, and resigned myself to keeping and holding only in my memory, a memory tied up in youth, travel, searching, escaping, longing... And now I can just order that off the internet???
I will try them, one day. But... perhaps I will hold on to my memory a little longer.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
All Venerate the Altar of the Lam Gods
Our recent trip to Bruges and Ghent had both Matt and I worshipping at the altar of "Het Lam Gods." For Matt, it involved listening to all 40 minutes of the audiotour of Jan van Eyck's famous altarpiece. For me, it meant eating a humongous rack of lamb in red wine sauce.
No, I kid. (kid! har har.) Matt had the lamb and I had fish. Really, it was Matt who worshipped the Lamb Gods all weekend, and I stuck to the Chocolate Gods. Well, to be honest, most of our time was spent prostrated to the Beer Gods, under the spiritual guidance of the lovely Brugse Zot.
Well, we had to try a few different kinds.
Pictures up in the usual spot.
No, I kid. (kid! har har.) Matt had the lamb and I had fish. Really, it was Matt who worshipped the Lamb Gods all weekend, and I stuck to the Chocolate Gods. Well, to be honest, most of our time was spent prostrated to the Beer Gods, under the spiritual guidance of the lovely Brugse Zot.
Well, we had to try a few different kinds.Pictures up in the usual spot.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
procrastination...
well the weather has suddenly become summery, I've spent a couple hours on the beach this week, watched several dozen episodes of gilmore girls and law and order, and read over 1000 pages of Harry Potter (vols. 1, 6, and 4). It can only mean one thing.
dissertation chapter.
Hmmm, I think I have to go do some dishes...
dissertation chapter.
Hmmm, I think I have to go do some dishes...
Monday, April 21, 2008
whirlwind tour
The latest intallment of "where's that hottie?!" took me from Geneva, back to the Hague, and out to the San Francisco Bay Area, and back (to the Hague again). (Go frequent flier miles!) I had 5 surprisingly jam-packed days -- two in Berkeley, three in Palo Alto -- to determine the location of my impending continuing education plans. Homesickness made the decision harder than you might think, particularly after a tasty lunch, multiple rounds of house-made lemon-mint soda, and a run-in with my favorite crook-tailed orange cat, Pony Boy. (OK, I didn't actually see Pony Boy on this trip... I saw my dissertation adviser. She's less furry.) Anyway, addled by the scent of Berkeley in full spring bloom (and probably by jet lag) I was highly biased against my other option by the time I got back down to Palo Alto. And yet... and yet. With the cards on the table Berkeley just couldn't beat Stanford where it counts.
(Uh, that would be the financial aid package. and the generous joint-degree offerings that will give me credit for finishing my dissertation. and the incredibly with-it staff. and the high ranking. and ... you get the idea.)
Oh, and the classrooms have these chairs. Oh, yes. :)
(Uh, that would be the financial aid package. and the generous joint-degree offerings that will give me credit for finishing my dissertation. and the incredibly with-it staff. and the high ranking. and ... you get the idea.)
Oh, and the classrooms have these chairs. Oh, yes. :)
Monday, April 07, 2008
my new friend Alice, aka the Doomsday Machine
I went to visit Alice on Sunday. There was a big special open house day that apparently 50,000 other people took part in too. See, there's this 27 km tunnel -- you might have heard of it recently because some people think its going to destroy the earth, or at least Hawaii -- because the LHC particle accelerator in the tunnel is used to speed particles up to just below the speed of light, and crash them into each other. Then there are these big "detectors" at the crash sites, which measure for different things. Alice is one of them, and hopes to measure the smashing of large ions (hence the name... A Large Ion Collision Experiment) i.e. lead nuclei and to be able to recreate quark-gluon plasma. Quark-gluon plasma (not to be confused with quark-gluon plasma, which is probably much tastier) is what existed in the tiny fractions-of-a-second before matter was created after the big bang. So, according to the German CERN intern who was ahead of us in line to get tickets, if anything is going to create a black hole (or a dragon, see article) it's going to be the Alice experiment.
Neat, huh?
(Why would it create a black hole? Well, you see, when a star dies, its matter cools and condenses, becoming smaller. It has such a huge amount of gravity that all the atoms get squished closer together than normal and occasionally the atoms collapse into each other and the protons and the electrons start to touch and cancel each other out and then you get a neutrons-only playground but then those keep collapsing and you get ... "nothing" -- mostly because the gravitational pull is so strong, that you can't figure out what's in there and come back out and tell NASA. So... some people think maybe if you crash two nuclei together at just below the speed of light then conditions would be right to create a black hole, though ... it's only two nuclei, not an entire star's worth and, you know, we're still on earth and not in space and it would be subject to earth's conditions, so see, it's all very unlikely.)
SCIENCE!
Neat, huh?
(Why would it create a black hole? Well, you see, when a star dies, its matter cools and condenses, becoming smaller. It has such a huge amount of gravity that all the atoms get squished closer together than normal and occasionally the atoms collapse into each other and the protons and the electrons start to touch and cancel each other out and then you get a neutrons-only playground but then those keep collapsing and you get ... "nothing" -- mostly because the gravitational pull is so strong, that you can't figure out what's in there and come back out and tell NASA. So... some people think maybe if you crash two nuclei together at just below the speed of light then conditions would be right to create a black hole, though ... it's only two nuclei, not an entire star's worth and, you know, we're still on earth and not in space and it would be subject to earth's conditions, so see, it's all very unlikely.)
SCIENCE!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
new year, new look, new locale
One of these years I will start blogging again and be in the exact same place I was when I left off. No such luck this time. :) Where did we leave off, Milwaukee? Well, we made it to California and stayed there all fall, enjoying our favorite enclaves and walks, sunny days, the vegetable market, and even braving the fish monger's and a new pizza place. But, as is in our nature, as soon as the weather turns cold, we go and fly off somewhere colder. To the Netherlands, this time. Oh sure, you might think of tulips and wooden shoes, but let me remind you about a little something called...
THE NORTH SEA.
That's right, frosty, frothy waves slapping against giant metal fishing trawlers, the wind wailing through the rigging of the ships at harbor, kicking sand up into your face and hair as you walk along the dead empty sand-grassy dunes where rusted green German bunkers squat -- oh yeah, THAT North Sea.
Of course, now it's April, so it's more like the North Sea with the row of summer-only beach clubs, bungee jumping, casinos, ice cream stands, windsurfing and para-sailing. But everyone is still wearing coats.
THE NORTH SEA.
That's right, frosty, frothy waves slapping against giant metal fishing trawlers, the wind wailing through the rigging of the ships at harbor, kicking sand up into your face and hair as you walk along the dead empty sand-grassy dunes where rusted green German bunkers squat -- oh yeah, THAT North Sea.
Of course, now it's April, so it's more like the North Sea with the row of summer-only beach clubs, bungee jumping, casinos, ice cream stands, windsurfing and para-sailing. But everyone is still wearing coats.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Friday Night Fish-Fry and Brewery Tour
In Milwaukee now, home of the famous tradition: Friday Night Fish-Fry! The lovely Anna took us to the Lake Shore Brewery for Fish-Fry and a Brewery Tour!
The Happy Crew awaits the delivery of deep-fried goodness!
The Fish!
Yay plates of deep-fried goodness!
Uhh... there was a polka band, and uhhh... Anna made me do it!
Yet another picture of me and Anna dancing together.
Afterwards we went to Leon's for frozen custard, which is like ice cream, but with egg.
Ahh, butter pecan...
The Happy Crew awaits the delivery of deep-fried goodness!
The Fish!
Yay plates of deep-fried goodness!
Uhh... there was a polka band, and uhhh... Anna made me do it!
Yet another picture of me and Anna dancing together.
Afterwards we went to Leon's for frozen custard, which is like ice cream, but with egg.
Ahh, butter pecan...
Saturday, July 14, 2007
NY-Ohio
After leaving Beth's on Tuesday, we started the long, long, loooong drive through the length of New York State. It looked a lot like this for much of the time:
We were surrounded on all sides by corn. And occasionally there were dilapidated barns:
Once we were in Ohio, the skies cleared, and we decided to stop for some Roadfood for dinner. In good midwestern style, it was 5pm. The White Turkey Drive-In is an institution in Conneaut, Ohio. The on-the-ground directions in the book are non-existant, and of course our Rand-McNally atlas doesn't exactly have a city map of Conneaut, so our first step was to find the place. After driving from the highway to Lake Erie and back by the historic train depot, we gave up and called. A chipper, high-school cheerleader answered, and gave us one-step-at-a-time directions, promising to "stay with us" until we made it. ("OK, are you headed toward the lake?" "Um, yes" [we weren't]. "OK, so, you'll have to turn around." "oh, ok... [believable pause] Done." "Have you passed a Big K?" "Sure." [we hadn't] "OK, well, we're on the other street, so you'll have to make a left until you see a mobil station." "...Great. Fine, we're there..." and so on.)
It was kind of miraculous that we made it at all, actually.
The White Turkey Drive-In is a summer-only ... drive-in ... with stools at the counter and picnic tables around the back. They're schtick is a "secret-recipe" turkey, sort of like a juicy pulled-turkey sandwich, as well as root beer and tons of types of ice cream fountain drinks.
And cheerleaders.
Matt got a Turkey Sandwich and I got the "Large Marge," which is a turkey sandwich plus cheese and bacon. Because really, what can't be improved by the addition of cheese and bacon? And I got a root beer float, which was made with a huge swirl of soft-serv vanilla, and bubbled over the frosted mug when I stirred. It is unclear what the process of turkey preparation is, but according to the menu, the owners and 8 workers spent all of January preparing 8,000 pounds of turkey for consumption during the 2007 season.
We spent more time finding the place than scarfing down our turkey sandwiches, but we were satisfied that we'd experienced a bit of Americana by the time we'd left. The main street, decorated at intervals with flags, lead us back to I-90.
And as the sun set, the tops of the corn were illuminated by the horizontal light, and the white farmhouses glowed orange, a bald eagle kept pace with the car for a split second, and then veered left, out of sight.
No shit.
We were surrounded on all sides by corn. And occasionally there were dilapidated barns:
Once we were in Ohio, the skies cleared, and we decided to stop for some Roadfood for dinner. In good midwestern style, it was 5pm. The White Turkey Drive-In is an institution in Conneaut, Ohio. The on-the-ground directions in the book are non-existant, and of course our Rand-McNally atlas doesn't exactly have a city map of Conneaut, so our first step was to find the place. After driving from the highway to Lake Erie and back by the historic train depot, we gave up and called. A chipper, high-school cheerleader answered, and gave us one-step-at-a-time directions, promising to "stay with us" until we made it. ("OK, are you headed toward the lake?" "Um, yes" [we weren't]. "OK, so, you'll have to turn around." "oh, ok... [believable pause] Done." "Have you passed a Big K?" "Sure." [we hadn't] "OK, well, we're on the other street, so you'll have to make a left until you see a mobil station." "...Great. Fine, we're there..." and so on.)
It was kind of miraculous that we made it at all, actually.
The White Turkey Drive-In is a summer-only ... drive-in ... with stools at the counter and picnic tables around the back. They're schtick is a "secret-recipe" turkey, sort of like a juicy pulled-turkey sandwich, as well as root beer and tons of types of ice cream fountain drinks.
And cheerleaders.
Matt got a Turkey Sandwich and I got the "Large Marge," which is a turkey sandwich plus cheese and bacon. Because really, what can't be improved by the addition of cheese and bacon? And I got a root beer float, which was made with a huge swirl of soft-serv vanilla, and bubbled over the frosted mug when I stirred. It is unclear what the process of turkey preparation is, but according to the menu, the owners and 8 workers spent all of January preparing 8,000 pounds of turkey for consumption during the 2007 season.
We spent more time finding the place than scarfing down our turkey sandwiches, but we were satisfied that we'd experienced a bit of Americana by the time we'd left. The main street, decorated at intervals with flags, lead us back to I-90.
And as the sun set, the tops of the corn were illuminated by the horizontal light, and the white farmhouses glowed orange, a bald eagle kept pace with the car for a split second, and then veered left, out of sight.
No shit.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Pics!
Me in Hyde Park, during our 18 hours in London. We had ice cream.
While we were in Washington, DC, we went to the Smithsonian. Actually, we went and had a nice lunch in the National Gallery and thought while we were there we'd see some stuff. The Nat Gal was pretty empty but Natural History was really, really crowded. Though I did muscle my way in to see my jewels, temporarily on display ;). I always thought that if this was mine, I'd replace the turquoise with something faceted. I mean, the turquoise really doesn't go, does it?
And me, in a crystal structure. Matt says it's salt. Really, if I were to be in a crystal structure, do you think I'd choose salt??
And then I cut Jim's hair, because it was an emergency and also the 4th of July, so his usual Supercuts or whatever wasn't open.
It was only an improvement, believe me.
And Pete took us on a tour - here's us on the little diamond marker that used to be the point-from-which all map calculations were based, directly below the capitol dome and atrium.
And all the states have statues of important people, so here's me with Will Rogers.
And the best part - we got to ride the train!
And here's the first frame from the Road Trip - Leaving Hamilton, VA!
While we were in Washington, DC, we went to the Smithsonian. Actually, we went and had a nice lunch in the National Gallery and thought while we were there we'd see some stuff. The Nat Gal was pretty empty but Natural History was really, really crowded. Though I did muscle my way in to see my jewels, temporarily on display ;). I always thought that if this was mine, I'd replace the turquoise with something faceted. I mean, the turquoise really doesn't go, does it?
And me, in a crystal structure. Matt says it's salt. Really, if I were to be in a crystal structure, do you think I'd choose salt??
And then I cut Jim's hair, because it was an emergency and also the 4th of July, so his usual Supercuts or whatever wasn't open.
And Pete took us on a tour - here's us on the little diamond marker that used to be the point-from-which all map calculations were based, directly below the capitol dome and atrium.
And all the states have statues of important people, so here's me with Will Rogers.
And the best part - we got to ride the train!
And here's the first frame from the Road Trip - Leaving Hamilton, VA!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Syracuse-Ithaca-Albany
Like those hot wheels that you click backwards to build up enough wind to zip across the table, we have gone east before our push west. We arrived in Albany in the middle of a storm which brought down trees and powerlines - and we made sure not to park *under* a tree, seeing the back-end of a silver SUV totally crushed beneath several thousand pounds of tree just before arriving at Beth's house. We were awakened during the night by the sound of the city's wood-chippers cleaning up the streets. (The storm did NOT stop us from going to get soft-serv ice cream with sprinkles after dinner, though we had to go to Beth's second-choice store because the first had no power and was closed.)
Before arriving in Albany we made a stop in Ithaca, which was sort of a waste simply because it was so hot and humid that it made for a really unpleasant visit. But we got Hot Truck Pizza Subs based on a recommendation from "Roadfood," a book loaned to us before our trip, which were very good. (Though I must admit, just about the last thing you want on a hot humid day is a hot truck pizza sub.)
Next up, pictures!
Before arriving in Albany we made a stop in Ithaca, which was sort of a waste simply because it was so hot and humid that it made for a really unpleasant visit. But we got Hot Truck Pizza Subs based on a recommendation from "Roadfood," a book loaned to us before our trip, which were very good. (Though I must admit, just about the last thing you want on a hot humid day is a hot truck pizza sub.)
Next up, pictures!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Road Trip, Mark III
You'd think we'd have had enough of this cross-country thing, but here we go...
We began our adventure with a few weeks in Washington, DC and surrounding areas. Highlights included Pete's tour of the Capitol, the Williams-Sonoma and J Crew outlet, mexican food at Abi's, and Matt's mom's magical biscuits (they just appear when you arrive for tea...). Hopefully I'll have a picture or two up soon.
Yesterday our drive began once we managed to stuff the car with all the junk we'd been storing, plus a brand new X-Box 360 that was a wedding gift from Matt's friend Dave. (Thanks Dave. No really, thanks. If Matt never finishes his dissertation now, it's on you.) Driving northward we accidentally happened upon the Gettysburg battlefield while searching for a McDonalds - traffic was heavy with reenactors and slack-jawed amateur historians, so the over-educated grad students turned back and made for the next exit. Yeah, we're those people - seriously, you can see it from Google Earth if you really want to. Passing rolling countryside over rolling countryside, we made our destination by dinner, which was the house of our hosts' Middle Eastern parents, so we were greeted by a bone-in leg of lamb, potatoes, stuffed grape leaves, salad, broccoli, carrots, green beans (I think), rice, and probably something else I'm forgetting, with Kanafi (sp?) for dessert (which is mostly cheese, and orange rind). Eat, eat. Are you finished?! Don't you want some more lamb?
So now we're in Syracuse, tomorrow to Albany to visit Beth. Yay!
We began our adventure with a few weeks in Washington, DC and surrounding areas. Highlights included Pete's tour of the Capitol, the Williams-Sonoma and J Crew outlet, mexican food at Abi's, and Matt's mom's magical biscuits (they just appear when you arrive for tea...). Hopefully I'll have a picture or two up soon.
Yesterday our drive began once we managed to stuff the car with all the junk we'd been storing, plus a brand new X-Box 360 that was a wedding gift from Matt's friend Dave. (Thanks Dave. No really, thanks. If Matt never finishes his dissertation now, it's on you.) Driving northward we accidentally happened upon the Gettysburg battlefield while searching for a McDonalds - traffic was heavy with reenactors and slack-jawed amateur historians, so the over-educated grad students turned back and made for the next exit. Yeah, we're those people - seriously, you can see it from Google Earth if you really want to. Passing rolling countryside over rolling countryside, we made our destination by dinner, which was the house of our hosts' Middle Eastern parents, so we were greeted by a bone-in leg of lamb, potatoes, stuffed grape leaves, salad, broccoli, carrots, green beans (I think), rice, and probably something else I'm forgetting, with Kanafi (sp?) for dessert (which is mostly cheese, and orange rind). Eat, eat. Are you finished?! Don't you want some more lamb?
So now we're in Syracuse, tomorrow to Albany to visit Beth. Yay!
Friday, June 08, 2007
Grad School is Hard, Part II
After our fabulous Rome wedding and honeymoon on the Amalfi coast (pictures of which can be found here, we took the overnight train to Geneva to visit Matt's aunt and uncle. (We were almost foiled by a country-wide taxi strike in Italy... that part wasn't very fun.) Now we are about to head up to their chalet in the French Alps, and then Matt and I are driving down to Provence for a few days before returning to the chalet, meeting back up with Matt's family, going back to Geneva and then flying back to the US shortly thereafter.
We'll be here.
:)
We'll be here.
:)
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