We hear from our corn geneticist neighbor that this doesn't apply to corn any longer here (it better be much higher than your knee!) but we were pleased to see that our own little corn is more than knee high!
Happy Birthday Peter!
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
04 July 2010
22 November 2008
A break
We're off to the Left Coast tomorrow for a few days of break and "rest" (aka running around crazy-like to see friends and family and eat good food).
Someone isn't too happy about our trip.
This is assuming that we can actually get out of the Midwest. We acquired 1.5 inches of snow in a few hours today.
It's cold and blustery out (although 20 degrees warmer than the other day). Let's hope that our flights all leave as planned. We're looking forward to seeing you all very soon.
Someone isn't too happy about our trip.
This is assuming that we can actually get out of the Midwest. We acquired 1.5 inches of snow in a few hours today.
It's cold and blustery out (although 20 degrees warmer than the other day). Let's hope that our flights all leave as planned. We're looking forward to seeing you all very soon.
27 March 2008
Happy Spring!!!
(note that this post was originally composed on Monday 3/24, see the post above this one for an update)
Although we still have forecasts of more snow in our future spring has arrived. The robins are out in force, pulling worms and antagonizing the little "chickadees" (I'm not sure exactly what the little ones are). As I went to bed last night, it was gently snowing and this morning we woke to a white Easter Sunday. But even so, the grass is beginning to turn green and there's a promise of spring everywhere.
Mom came to visit over part of this last week (my spring break) and got to see some sunshine mixed with her snow. By the time she left, she was tired of hearing me describe the weather as "balmy"! It was in the high 40s and 50s most days.
While Mom was here, we took a road trip out east and explored a new part of the state. Note that the more of you who visit, the more excuses I'll have to leave my desk and see something new! I'll let Mom speak for herself, but I thought it was a very interesting and pleasant road trip.
We drove out to the Mississippi River and wound our way up the Old River Road. We were both quite surprised to see icebergs floating in the river in Davenport. Slightly north, in the quaint town of Le Claire, we tried to go view one of the locks. Evidently, many (most?) of the locks are now closed to visitors (perhaps a result of 9-11) but we entertained ourselves watching the river and the ice.
That is, until we noticed the GIANT bald eagle perched right above our heads.
Seriously folks- this bird was enormous! We then explored a little path and found more evidence of the giant birds- these little fish were scattered all over- even in the trees.
Apparently, we had happened upon a huge bald eagle migratory area, albeit 2 months late. One of these years I'm definitely bundling up and heading out in January to see hundreds of bald eagles.
We wandered our way north even more, driving through small towns, visiting antique stores (but not buying anything!), and talking all the way. We decided Saturday morning that we were going to go as far as Dubuque and made a reservation in a B&B for the night. The proprietress encouraged us to arrive by 5 as to not miss the main event: the St. Patrick's Day parade down Main Street.
The B&B was in a lovely old mansion built by a lead baron (or was it lumber?). The town of Dubuque is very historic and used to lay claim to the highest number of millionaires per capita in the nation. It's also a very scenic viewpoint of the Mississippi River. We got in at 4:30, enough time to get the tour of the B&B, enjoy a glass of wine, and wander out onto the wraparound deck before the parade started. And what a parade it was! It is the epitome of the small town parade, with a few cars, the vans for the local radio stations, some people throwing candy, and a group of people and their dogs all walking in it. Everyone had on green, of course. And there were two St Pats on rollerblades!
After the parade, drained from the excitement, we had to contemplate dinner. We discussed going to this place- due to the family connection.
However, we decided that modern Iowan food was more our style and ended up in a lovely little bistro. We even shared warm bread pudding for dessert. Yum!
I must confess here that the prime reason for picking this B&B was the fact that it had two house cats on the premises. In fact, we even requested one of the cat's favorite rooms. Well, little Cindy did indeed decide to spend part of the night with us, curled up beneath the comforter at the foot of the bed.
She was quite happy there until my phone rang at almost 2am to warn me of a gunman on campus (several hundred miles away). This turned out to be okay. Mom and I slept fitfully after that harsh awakening. We were rewarded in the morning with unbelievable omelettes: brie and pears. It sounded beyond weird to me, but turned out to be fantastic.
We spent the morning exploring the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium . It's an amazing place that even has a touching pool! Woo hoo! We were amazed by the fact that that the Mississippi River is frozen over .
In fact, there were even fish frozen into the water . I wonder why they couldn't escape to deeper waters.
So, all in all, we had an exciting fantastic trip though Eastern Iowa. Come visit and we'll take you somewhere cool too!
Although we still have forecasts of more snow in our future spring has arrived. The robins are out in force, pulling worms and antagonizing the little "chickadees" (I'm not sure exactly what the little ones are). As I went to bed last night, it was gently snowing and this morning we woke to a white Easter Sunday. But even so, the grass is beginning to turn green and there's a promise of spring everywhere.
Mom came to visit over part of this last week (my spring break) and got to see some sunshine mixed with her snow. By the time she left, she was tired of hearing me describe the weather as "balmy"! It was in the high 40s and 50s most days.
While Mom was here, we took a road trip out east and explored a new part of the state. Note that the more of you who visit, the more excuses I'll have to leave my desk and see something new! I'll let Mom speak for herself, but I thought it was a very interesting and pleasant road trip.
We drove out to the Mississippi River and wound our way up the Old River Road. We were both quite surprised to see icebergs floating in the river in Davenport. Slightly north, in the quaint town of Le Claire, we tried to go view one of the locks. Evidently, many (most?) of the locks are now closed to visitors (perhaps a result of 9-11) but we entertained ourselves watching the river and the ice.
That is, until we noticed the GIANT bald eagle perched right above our heads.
Seriously folks- this bird was enormous! We then explored a little path and found more evidence of the giant birds- these little fish were scattered all over- even in the trees.
Apparently, we had happened upon a huge bald eagle migratory area, albeit 2 months late. One of these years I'm definitely bundling up and heading out in January to see hundreds of bald eagles.
We wandered our way north even more, driving through small towns, visiting antique stores (but not buying anything!), and talking all the way. We decided Saturday morning that we were going to go as far as Dubuque and made a reservation in a B&B for the night. The proprietress encouraged us to arrive by 5 as to not miss the main event: the St. Patrick's Day parade down Main Street.
The B&B was in a lovely old mansion built by a lead baron (or was it lumber?). The town of Dubuque is very historic and used to lay claim to the highest number of millionaires per capita in the nation. It's also a very scenic viewpoint of the Mississippi River. We got in at 4:30, enough time to get the tour of the B&B, enjoy a glass of wine, and wander out onto the wraparound deck before the parade started. And what a parade it was! It is the epitome of the small town parade, with a few cars, the vans for the local radio stations, some people throwing candy, and a group of people and their dogs all walking in it. Everyone had on green, of course. And there were two St Pats on rollerblades!
After the parade, drained from the excitement, we had to contemplate dinner. We discussed going to this place- due to the family connection.
However, we decided that modern Iowan food was more our style and ended up in a lovely little bistro. We even shared warm bread pudding for dessert. Yum!
I must confess here that the prime reason for picking this B&B was the fact that it had two house cats on the premises. In fact, we even requested one of the cat's favorite rooms. Well, little Cindy did indeed decide to spend part of the night with us, curled up beneath the comforter at the foot of the bed.
She was quite happy there until my phone rang at almost 2am to warn me of a gunman on campus (several hundred miles away). This turned out to be okay. Mom and I slept fitfully after that harsh awakening. We were rewarded in the morning with unbelievable omelettes: brie and pears. It sounded beyond weird to me, but turned out to be fantastic.
We spent the morning exploring the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium . It's an amazing place that even has a touching pool! Woo hoo! We were amazed by the fact that that the Mississippi River is frozen over .
In fact, there were even fish frozen into the water . I wonder why they couldn't escape to deeper waters.
So, all in all, we had an exciting fantastic trip though Eastern Iowa. Come visit and we'll take you somewhere cool too!
13 March 2008
It's just around the corner...
Spring Break that is! What students don't know is that we teachers are at least as excited about the break as they are. In fact, I'd even argue that I'm more excited. I know for a fact that few of my students would be excited to hear my plans- hang out with Mom, explore Iowa, grade papers, write papers, work on projects etc. But I'm thrilled (not so thrilled about the grading and writing, but grateful to not be teaching and going to class simultaneously).
But, to get to Spring Break I have to make it through the next two days. In the next 40 hours I need to:
1. finish my presentation for tomorrow am
2. finish my lesson plans for tomorrow am
3. laundry
4. pack for the mini trip with Mom
5. grade homework for the Friday class
6. figure out what I'm supposed to teach on Friday
7. read the chapters for my Friday class
8. dishes
9. pick up rental car
10. figure out when to get together with my partner for a project due after the break
11. decide on a topic for a class project
12. send 40,000 emails (almost)
13. read 40,000 emails (just about)
14. write 3 cards
15. pay bills
16. tidy desk at school
17. go to library
I think that's about it. My apologies for using this space to post my boring to do list- but being accountable to the world at large is a useful strategy. Now let's see what I can accomplish!
edited Thursday 11:00pm
But, to get to Spring Break I have to make it through the next two days. In the next 40 hours I need to:
1. finish my presentation for tomorrow am
2. finish my lesson plans for tomorrow am
3. laundry
4. pack for the mini trip with Mom
5. grade homework for the Friday class
6. figure out what I'm supposed to teach on Friday
7. read the chapters for my Friday class
8. dishes
9. pick up rental car
10. figure out when to get together with my partner for a project due after the break
11. decide on a topic for a class project
12. send 40,000 emails (almost)
13. read 40,000 emails (just about)
14. write 3 cards
15. pay bills
16. tidy desk at school
17. go to library
I think that's about it. My apologies for using this space to post my boring to do list- but being accountable to the world at large is a useful strategy. Now let's see what I can accomplish!
edited Thursday 11:00pm
08 February 2008
Dreaming of the summer....
Well, it's only February, but summer plans are beginning to take shape. It looks like I'll be headed south for part of the summer, Mexico in fact. Doesn't that sound just terrible? :)
Professor Mentor here at Farm School teaches over the summer at a universidad in Mexico. It turns out that not only does she need an assistant, but this universidad is in the same exact city that I studied in during my undergrad days. So, after some negotiation and waiting, I've been officially asked to go with her! I'll be teaching a conversation class to Mexican engineering students and working to create camaraderie between them and the American exchange students.
I'm working on a plan to have some travel time for me as well, so time to enjoy and experience Mexico again. It's hard to believe, but that first trip to Mexico (10 years ago!!) was what started my traveling experiences. And, I haven't made it back to Mexico since. There are so many wonderful things I'm looking forward to seeing and doing, from gazing at the amazing Diego murals to each tacos on the street to having the little girls pull my hair on the bus.
So, while it's still cold, blustery, and icy here, the future looks sunny and warm. A little something to look forward to!
Professor Mentor here at Farm School teaches over the summer at a universidad in Mexico. It turns out that not only does she need an assistant, but this universidad is in the same exact city that I studied in during my undergrad days. So, after some negotiation and waiting, I've been officially asked to go with her! I'll be teaching a conversation class to Mexican engineering students and working to create camaraderie between them and the American exchange students.
I'm working on a plan to have some travel time for me as well, so time to enjoy and experience Mexico again. It's hard to believe, but that first trip to Mexico (10 years ago!!) was what started my traveling experiences. And, I haven't made it back to Mexico since. There are so many wonderful things I'm looking forward to seeing and doing, from gazing at the amazing Diego murals to each tacos on the street to having the little girls pull my hair on the bus.
So, while it's still cold, blustery, and icy here, the future looks sunny and warm. A little something to look forward to!
07 January 2008
Winter Break Reading
Well, spring term is just a few days away and the work load is starting to sneak up on me. I actually whined in bed this morning about how I wasn't ready for the break to end and couldn't I just please stay in bed all day? (To his credit, Peter just turned out the light and told me to go back to bed. As it was already 10, (or maybe later?) I actually got up. sigh).
Anyway, I have enjoyed the break, and I've been able to devour a few books. Although I think my in-laws think I'm a wee bit nuts (what with the frantically reading at every moment while I was there), I got a lot of pleasure reading done. Here's the recap.
This was a pretty cool series that I'm looking forward to rereading and appreciating more deeply. There were terribly sad and scary parts (as Peter can attest to), happy and exciting parts, and lots of cool creatures and fighting polar bears. While the books can be interpreted as anti-Christian, the anti-Christian parts take place in a different dimension. It's much more clearly an attack on the establishment- both political and religious- that compels conformity and blanket acceptance instead of investigation and searching for truth or truths. While my mom certainly wouldn't enjoy the series (nor would anyone who isn't interested in talking animals a la The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe or The Hobbit), it's a nice set of books for us scifi and fantasy fans. The controversy around these books is rather amazing, especially since the books have been out for a long time. Apparently the movie sparked a large religious boycott (and even some attempts to ban them).
This is an interesting book describing the life, history, persecution, and travels of Gypsies in Europe. Peter got interested in Gypsies during our travels this summer, and his aunt recommended this book. While it's not best written (the author stumbles around a bit in time and place, and I wasn't always certain if she was talking about past, present, or future) it's a powerful history of a poorly remembered and rarely acknowledged people. she lives with various groups, discusses their language, cultural norms, opportunities (or more often lack thereof), and individuals. The local governments come off particularly bad.
I picked up this book from the new books section of the library on a whime and it was an interesting read. The author writes a biography of Jan and Antonia Zabinski, two Polish zookeepers who saved numerous Jews during WWII. While the book suffers from time to time by straying off point, the story is so marvelous to almost be unbelievable. Antonia in particular is an amazing woman who communes with animals and uses her unconscious knowledge of animal behavior to successfully dissuade the German police from investigating them. Jan works for the Polish resistance and both are driven and moral individuals who save people for no other reason than it being the right thing to do. this is a great biography and wonderful story to remind us both of the evil and the goodness that people can do to others.
This was an interesting book by a USC law professor who is also schizophrenic. It's her memoir, and she discusses her journey with the disease as well as her life. She's clearly an amazing woman (various degrees, a stint at Oxford, accomplished professor) and also battles a very severe illness. Her descriptions of her obsessions and the details of her disease were fascinating and very illuminating. I'd recommend it.
This book is a great blog-turned-book describing the author's (Julie) attempt to make every recipe (some 500+) of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking during one year. You might have heard the author interviewed on NPR or in the NY Times, it was very big for a few weeks. While it's not quite a book, and both Peter and I felt like she didn't spend enough time on the FOOD part of the story, it's fun, light, and entertaining. Don't read this book if you can't handle swear words, drama, or the cooking/eating of offal.
So that's what I've been up to. Of course, I also read the textbooks that I'm teaching (all three of them, sigh) and have gotten started on my own textbooks for the classes I'm taking. Fun, fun fun!
So, have you read anything good lately?
Anyway, I have enjoyed the break, and I've been able to devour a few books. Although I think my in-laws think I'm a wee bit nuts (what with the frantically reading at every moment while I was there), I got a lot of pleasure reading done. Here's the recap.
This was a pretty cool series that I'm looking forward to rereading and appreciating more deeply. There were terribly sad and scary parts (as Peter can attest to), happy and exciting parts, and lots of cool creatures and fighting polar bears. While the books can be interpreted as anti-Christian, the anti-Christian parts take place in a different dimension. It's much more clearly an attack on the establishment- both political and religious- that compels conformity and blanket acceptance instead of investigation and searching for truth or truths. While my mom certainly wouldn't enjoy the series (nor would anyone who isn't interested in talking animals a la The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe or The Hobbit), it's a nice set of books for us scifi and fantasy fans. The controversy around these books is rather amazing, especially since the books have been out for a long time. Apparently the movie sparked a large religious boycott (and even some attempts to ban them).
This is an interesting book describing the life, history, persecution, and travels of Gypsies in Europe. Peter got interested in Gypsies during our travels this summer, and his aunt recommended this book. While it's not best written (the author stumbles around a bit in time and place, and I wasn't always certain if she was talking about past, present, or future) it's a powerful history of a poorly remembered and rarely acknowledged people. she lives with various groups, discusses their language, cultural norms, opportunities (or more often lack thereof), and individuals. The local governments come off particularly bad.
I picked up this book from the new books section of the library on a whime and it was an interesting read. The author writes a biography of Jan and Antonia Zabinski, two Polish zookeepers who saved numerous Jews during WWII. While the book suffers from time to time by straying off point, the story is so marvelous to almost be unbelievable. Antonia in particular is an amazing woman who communes with animals and uses her unconscious knowledge of animal behavior to successfully dissuade the German police from investigating them. Jan works for the Polish resistance and both are driven and moral individuals who save people for no other reason than it being the right thing to do. this is a great biography and wonderful story to remind us both of the evil and the goodness that people can do to others.
This was an interesting book by a USC law professor who is also schizophrenic. It's her memoir, and she discusses her journey with the disease as well as her life. She's clearly an amazing woman (various degrees, a stint at Oxford, accomplished professor) and also battles a very severe illness. Her descriptions of her obsessions and the details of her disease were fascinating and very illuminating. I'd recommend it.
This book is a great blog-turned-book describing the author's (Julie) attempt to make every recipe (some 500+) of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking during one year. You might have heard the author interviewed on NPR or in the NY Times, it was very big for a few weeks. While it's not quite a book, and both Peter and I felt like she didn't spend enough time on the FOOD part of the story, it's fun, light, and entertaining. Don't read this book if you can't handle swear words, drama, or the cooking/eating of offal.
So that's what I've been up to. Of course, I also read the textbooks that I'm teaching (all three of them, sigh) and have gotten started on my own textbooks for the classes I'm taking. Fun, fun fun!
So, have you read anything good lately?
01 January 2008
Happy New Year!
We had a pretty mellow celebration here in Iowa. Barack Obama invited us to his New Year's Eve party, but we decided to lay low and party with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest instead (this is not a joke). We drove 17 hours on Saturday to come home, as I had some housekeeping I needed to take care of here on Monday.
[4:15 pm edit: Way back when, I complained about the Central Time Zone and how annoying it is. Well, last night, they played New Year's Rockin' Eve live. No tape delay. Do you know what that means. People here in the midwest celebrate the New Year at 11 pm. Why? I don't know. people here are weird. For some reason they live life like they live in the Eastern Time Zone, with most people starting work at 7 am. There's a lot of things I don't understand about this place; Central Time may be the hardest for me to understand.]
We also we wanted to be back in time for the caucuses on Thursday, and judging from the weather report I saw/heard for the Northeast, I think we made a good choice in leaving a little early. Incidentally, I still don't know who I will be caucusing for - if you feel strongly for any candidate, please make your case in the comments - but I'm not voting for Tom Tancreado, no matter how good your argument. I can go either way, in terms of party, I mean.
I usually don't make Resolutions, because I usually don't keep Resolutions. But this year, I've made a few. Most of them will remain in my head, but one of them is to try to be more productive in my writing. Hopefully, that means more posting on this here blog; hopefully, it means interesting posts on this here blog. We connected with some old friends while in Boston and spread the word of the blog; in addition to the legions of fans already visiting, I want to keep people happy.
Kimberly and I are also working on something else for the internets which is a little more interactive and collaborative - we're keeping it private for now, but hopefully it will go public in the future.
My first post of the year will be right below this. I'm sure Kimberly will check in soon to complain about the weather - it isn't supposed to get over 10 degrees today, so I have to agree with her for right now.
Please feel free to comment if the inspiration strikes. We hope to see you soon.
[4:15 pm edit: Way back when, I complained about the Central Time Zone and how annoying it is. Well, last night, they played New Year's Rockin' Eve live. No tape delay. Do you know what that means. People here in the midwest celebrate the New Year at 11 pm. Why? I don't know. people here are weird. For some reason they live life like they live in the Eastern Time Zone, with most people starting work at 7 am. There's a lot of things I don't understand about this place; Central Time may be the hardest for me to understand.]
We also we wanted to be back in time for the caucuses on Thursday, and judging from the weather report I saw/heard for the Northeast, I think we made a good choice in leaving a little early. Incidentally, I still don't know who I will be caucusing for - if you feel strongly for any candidate, please make your case in the comments - but I'm not voting for Tom Tancreado, no matter how good your argument. I can go either way, in terms of party, I mean.
I usually don't make Resolutions, because I usually don't keep Resolutions. But this year, I've made a few. Most of them will remain in my head, but one of them is to try to be more productive in my writing. Hopefully, that means more posting on this here blog; hopefully, it means interesting posts on this here blog. We connected with some old friends while in Boston and spread the word of the blog; in addition to the legions of fans already visiting, I want to keep people happy.
Kimberly and I are also working on something else for the internets which is a little more interactive and collaborative - we're keeping it private for now, but hopefully it will go public in the future.
My first post of the year will be right below this. I'm sure Kimberly will check in soon to complain about the weather - it isn't supposed to get over 10 degrees today, so I have to agree with her for right now.
Please feel free to comment if the inspiration strikes. We hope to see you soon.
24 December 2007
Happy Holidays
Kimberly and I are on a bit of a holiday over these holidays. We're hanging out with my family, eating too much food and bewildered at all the snow here in Boston.
We'll get back to some posting when we get back to Iowa. One of my New Year's Resolutions will be to post more regularly, so we'll see if that lasts past January 15th, like my gym membership.
Hope you're having a nice holiday, and keeping warm, wherever you might be.
I'll leave you with this picture of Kimberly and our niece 1900 to warm your heart. Not even the Grinch can make you sad after seeing this picture.
We'll get back to some posting when we get back to Iowa. One of my New Year's Resolutions will be to post more regularly, so we'll see if that lasts past January 15th, like my gym membership.
Hope you're having a nice holiday, and keeping warm, wherever you might be.
I'll leave you with this picture of Kimberly and our niece 1900 to warm your heart. Not even the Grinch can make you sad after seeing this picture.
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