Spring? Finally? No...

Yesterday was gorgeous, today is even more beautiful, but it's all just teasing because in a couple of days it's supposed to start raining, and not stop for over a week. As long as I don't wake up to snow again like last week, it'll be okay.
I bought a picnic basket yesterday and filled it with tiny jars of fancy mustard and other condiments. All I need now are a kite and some nice weather on the weekend and good times will be had by all. I can get some awesome cheese from that cheese market: http://www.saunderscheesemarket.com/
Has anyone else seen that 17 Again movie with the kid from that Disney musical? Its just like all those other Freaky Friday-Big-13 Going On 30-type movies, but it was cute.
I also seriously need to get motivated to do some actual work if I want to indeed graduate in June. I'm so tired, even though I've been getting lots of sleep. Maybe I need to start taking vitamins again.

Adventures in Surveying

Yesterday Alice and Jamie and I did our best with our first outdoor lab in Dorwin's archaeology class. Of course, practical application is always different than methods in a book.

We spent a good half an hour just trying to make a perfect square. I was always that last nail that didn't want to work with us.

Of course, when Dr. Dorwin came over, he just touched the nail and magically the square came into alignment. Oh well. Did I mention it was raining?

Setting up the theodalite was a lot of Dr. Dorwin saying "Okay, now turn that, no, the other way. Too far! Back, no, the other way, here let me do it..."

Eventually we got it on our own, though.

"Hmm...egads!"

"Okay, now look like you've discovered something intriguing!"

How to have fun in labs:

Don's B-Day

Christmas 2009 Preview

Attention friends;

Coming to you this Christmas, from the same workshop that brought you Plush-Size-Me Patty Doll and countless Ren faire costumes, comes the Need Apron Knock-off(because really, why pay more for something made from a commercial pattern?).

Fabric Designer

The test swatches of my fabric design arrived the other day, and I'm super-excited. The colors turned out a little wonky, but this gave me a good idea of what I'll be working with for my research project. Just, you know, not with an apple print.

Window Squirrel!!!

So no one outside Isle Hall believes we have window squirrels. Here is proof:

Apparently one of the squirrels had babies during the Physical Anthro final. That must have been very disctracting.

Kitchen Dreams

After spending less than $175, including shipping and taxes, my new apartment will have a most well-appointed kitchen:



Pictured: 15-piece Corningware bakeware set, Martha Stewart 5-qt. colander, 8-piece nesting mixing bowl set, Martha Stewart cutting board, Martha Stewart flour sack kitchen towels(I love flour sack towels, they are awesome!), 16-piece glass drinkware set, 53-piece flatware set with drawer caddy, 7-piece cooking utensil set, 10-piece measuring and prep set. All on super sale! The 16-piece glass set was around $13.
Present but not pictured: bad-ass Cutco knife set(or at least what I can piece together of one, since Cory stole my set, I only really use the trimmer and vegetable peeler anyway), 16-piece Martha Stewart dish set, and 12-piece brand-new copper-bottom pot and pan set. And the myriad muffin, cake, tartlet, petit-fours, and scone pans I've collected over the years. 'Cause that's how I roll.
I will gladly eat my meals while sitting on a floor pillow as long as I can prepare them in the manner to which I've become accustomed. Fortunately I'm also inheriting this gorgeous coffee table of Gran's; black lacquer with an inlaid mother-of-pearl scene on top depicting Asian hills, waterfalls, and temples. It's so beautiful. I need to have a piece of glass cut to fit the top.
Still on the list: a blender, liquid measuring cups, and flour/sugar/salt canisters. Which I can wait on.

Weekly Roundup

Wednesday was Kate's birthday. In the evening we went to a lecture at the MAC on archeology in Greece, specifically the Isle of Lesbos. It seemed fitting. Erik joined us, and afterward we had a lovely dinner, but not before playing with the MAC sculptures.

Thursday, Kate and I spent some time at the Flour Mill, where I bought some fossils from which I intend to make jewelry, then went for a relaxing stroll through the rain(it had been sunny less than an hour before we left the Flour Mill...).

Of course, no stroll through Riverfront Park is complete without riding the carousel.

Or playing with the trash-eating goat.

Friday evening I had dinner at Dr. Zukosky's house, and it was the first time I had seen Karalygash or Ziya since leaving Urumqi. Ziya has gotten so big! And better at sharing:

Chaz heard about a nice cheese shop downtown, so we decided to check it out this afternoon.

They have a fantastic selection, and we had a sample plate of three: Humboldt Fog, Smoked Bleu, and a hard goat cheese whose name I can't recall.

The Humboldt was a soft goat cheese with a layer of ash running through it that was mild at first bite, but intensified. The Smoked Bleu was my favorite, and I think I may go back to purchase a few ounces for use in salads. The hard goat cheese was good, in my opinion, but Chaz found it too strong.

We were brought a bonus sample of a Stilton that tasted in Chaz's words "like a hot spring." It did have a slightly sulfuric flavor. To me it tasted like licking a cave wall, I feel like I now know what that phosphorescent fungus that grows inside caves tastes like.

We both want to try more cheese, so we're thinking about taking one of their wine/cheese pairing classes. Although I'm allergic to wine. Maybe I can sneak in some scotch...

We were still in a mood to expand our horizons, so we went to a soda shop which was regrettably closed. Instead we found ourselves at Spokane Art Supplies, where I purchased a pysanky kit. I've always wanted to try it, I'd love to have a Christmas tree decorated solely with pysanky(fun fact: the singular form is pysanka).

After that, we went to Riverfront Park, as it had become a rather beautiful day. I told earlier Chaz about Kenneth Spiering supposedly putting the phrase "Transend the Bullshit" on his sculptures for the city(there was a print on the wall in the art store with the phrase), and about how one day Morgan and I went looking for it and actually found it on one of his pieces:

Chaz thought maybe it would be on the other figure as well. It was not, at least not that we could see.

We spent the evening playing pool with his friend, Peter. In an interesting turn of events that brings a nice symmetry to the day and this blog post, Peter made the a-frame sign for Saunder's, the cheese shop, as seen above. Why he decided to keep the fact that Spokane has a nice cheese shop to himself remains a mystery.

I haven't played pool since high school, and even then I only played once, so this was a learning experience for me. The only times I won tonight were when they scratched and lost it for themselves. That being said, I did make some nice shots. I shall have to practice.