Food

I recently got to visit with my family after way too long. It was a wonderful visit. We made it a point to not plan anything, to just sit and be with each other. I must say that it was a really wonderful time.

While I was there, my sister looked through the pictures on my phone. It was surprising (even to me!) how many photos of food there were. Here are some I like.

This was a very yummy salad from Nostrano in Madison, Wisconsin. Oh so good!



This is a pork shoulder dish from the same restaurant. You should really go there.



This was a bowl of soup that hit the spot on a cool evening.



This is a poor chicken that I burnt on the grill. In the interest of full disclosure, I ended up burning it more than this, much more than this, and it was inedible. Lesson learned: you can't cook a chicken quickly on the grill. And yes, that is a beer can in its butt.



This is a grilled chicken breast sandwich I made the other day. My niece Krystal and I had just finished a hard day working at our yard sale and were really hungry, so I made us sandwiches. Funnily enough, before either of us took a bite, we felt compelled to take pictures of our sandwiches.



And this is a pretty plate of heirloom tomatoes. I dressed them with olive oil and a little vinegar. It was really nice.

Gross but cool

This is an interesting article article describing doctors who have done fecal transplants to cure some very difficult cases. Hooray for good microbes!

Just stop it already

So sayeth the FDA: "Giving animals antibiotics in order to increase food production is a threat to public health and should be stopped."

It's getting better all the time

As the months pass since I left grad school, I feel like I am gradually becoming myself again. I didn't even realize I wasn't myself until I started to recover. It's like crawling out of quicksand, waking from a coma, emerging from fog, recovering from amnesia, escaping from a mental institution, ...

Things that are better:
- I have money in my savings account for the first time in an embarrassing number of years unless you count the $6.29 that was in there for the embarrassing number of years
- I have adequate health insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance
- I have an actual retirement account with actual money in it, not a lot of money yet, but real money, not just wishful money
- After I pay my bills at the end of the month, there is some money left over
- I work with people who appear to genuinely value my input
- I am stretching my mind and abilities at work
- The smiles of people I work with are not masking dissatisfaction and disillusionment
- My managers seem to care that I am happy, satisfied, and successful
- I not only get to do research, but my the results of my work make a difference in the real world
- There are bunnies that hop around at work
- Hummingbirds and squirrels visit the tree outside my window
- I saw a baby lizard today
- The geese are going to have gosling soon (goose parades!)

Still, I miss my mental Micky when I'm not in Portland...

Achooo

Now that I have my very first big girl job that comes complete with health insurance, I decided to see an allergist to get tested and see what it is that I am allergic to. Two I was not surprised about: grass and dust. Two I was surprised about: dogs and cats! Hmmm... kitty and ben... I guess I'll just have to suffer! I am going to start getting allergy shots, though.

Small town girl

For the past, ummm, many years, I have lived in a medium-sized city. Before that, I had only lived in towns, the largest of which had a population around 100,000 (to the best of my recollection). Not only that, but I had lived in the South, where you say "Hey" to ALL people you pass on the street. Upon arriving in Portland, I quickly learned that speaking to people you pass on the street in a city causes them distress and it's best to say nothing, and at most give a non-threatening, tight-lipped smile that says "I'm not going to mug you, I just like your {dog, hat, bike, coat, whatever}." I watched the local news and learned that I needed to lock my door and not sleep with the windows open. I learned that there were dangerous parts of town that shouldn't be walked at night, especially not alone. I learned from experience to wear a guarded look on my face at bus stops so that I wasn't targeted by whatever crazy person was nearby.

Now, I find myself back in a town, population about 80,000. Foolishly, I brought all my city paranoia with me. I got an apartment that was not on the ground floor in case I wanted to open my windows. When I went jogging, I was quite cautious about where I ran. Over time, I have realized that I am probably the most scary thing here. I have slowly started to relax back into a small town girl, saying "Hey" and smiling at strangers. Boy, have I missed small town girl.

Green rolling hills

I went on a jog today in sunny California and took a couple of pictures I thought I would share to make you jealous.


Pretty, pretty. Today was about 60 degrees and just gorgeous. Of course, in the summer, those hills will be straw colored and it will be over 100 degrees...