Saturday

It's the weekend! Though a broken night of sleep (it was a hot a sticky one, and the power went out sometime and came back on at 3am, turning on my TV...), I stayed in bed until 9am this morning and feel so much more alive for having caught up with some sleep. Today I have no plans either (other than to go for a long run this evening), so it's been great to have a lazy morning so far.

First thing on the agenda - sand the bases of my new batch of pottery (made and glazed before I went to Canada, fired while I was away). I had enough pieces i've actually used up my sanding blocks, so will have to wander and get some more paper to finish up. This was definitely a mixed batch - some I love, some did not come out so great, but it's all a learning curve. I'm a little sad though, with my teaching load this semester, I think pottery is going to have to take a back seat until after christmas. I was hoping to pull out some pieces for xmas presents, but now don't think that is going to happen. I'll talk to the instructor this week and see if he minds me sitting in now and then just to keep my skills up, he's been great letting me do that, but know this is the busiest season for him, so there may not be any spare wheels. If only there was more than 24hrs in a day....

Tomorrow i'm off on a hike, up Mt. Olympus with a friend, should be fun, as long as it's clear. Apparently you can see the whole island from up there, and one of the trailheads is just behind my house, so it's a good location. From what i've heard it is quite a hike up, so it'll be some good exercise......and we're already planning to top it off with a dip in the ocean and ice-cream. I'll definitely take photos.

So here are some photos for BSA, some of my favorite pieces from this batch!

Lined up on the deck ready for sanding..

Three grades of sandpaper to get the bottoms smooth. The clay the class uses is very sandy, it makes it easier to work with for beginners and you don't have to work so fast. I personally love porcelain, which the instructor had some left over for me to play with once. You have to work much faster with porcelain and can't take it through a million shapes before you decide which one you like (one of my favorite things to do!). I think I might make the switch though, as it's softer to work with and I haven't really got to experiment much with it as yet. That's for my next time!

I need to improve my moniker on the bottom.....

My two favorite mugs so far - aren't they beautiful! These two are actually gifts, and are special. The brown on the bottom is made from Antarctic mud, from my coral site on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. These two mugs will go to my two colleagues Dave and Craig who invited me on their 3 Antarctic cruises, and gave me the time to collect corals just for me.

They came out better than I imagined, and the photo really doesn't do justice to them. I love the way the turquoise dripped down there, not a look for all, but just what I wanted.

Doesn't this bowl just scream ice-cream? It does to me. In fact it might be right now......

I've started making a few of these little goblets. Just the right size for a glass of port....:0) I love the small little beaker,just the right size to fit in the hand, probably the thinnest thing i've made, but alas, the glazing on the inside is a mess!

It's all a learning curve. I can definitely see a pottery studio in my future.

Ahoy!

Time to set t' mainsail and sail in t' sunset me hearties - tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

The only day you can talk like a pirate and not be entirely insane!

What are you doing today?

Nicola posted this list today, so I thought I would fill it in myself.....pass it on! 

Making : a special xmas gift for a small friend
Cooking : chocolate mousse
Drinking : chocolate macadamia coffee
Reading: my emails
Wanting: to read something else
Looking: for a permanent job
Playing: on skype
Wasting: not much, every minute counts
Sewing: crochet caps
Wishing: to win the lottery and make at least that stress go away
Enjoying: talking to Adam S. and seeing new pictures of Elise
Waiting: to get motivated to write a paper
Liking: that I biked into work today
Wondering: if i'm going to be able to cycle back up my hill today
Loving: my latest batch of pottery
Hoping: I am a good lecturer
Marvelling: at how much I got done last week
Needing: a lie in
Smelling: coffee (sorry for the theme here, but it's either that or my stinky sneakers)
Wearing: cropped pants, purple shirt and birkenstocks, my usual work attire
Following: the Yale murder, so awful
Noticing: the piles on my desk, I really need to tidy or move offices (something that should have happened last week)
Knowing: that I do good science, and knowing I just need to be more confident in that
Thinking: of tomorrows Red Cross simulation day, should be an interesting and testing experience
Bookmarking: other blogs I read, it's a while since I updated that
Opening: payroll bills
Giggling: at pictures of my time in Canada, now that was fun
Feeling: Like I need another coffee to keep impetus on this day.....

Grocery Store Wars

I just found a link to this You-Tube movie on a friends Blog (thanks CL for posting it!). From Free Range Studios......a hysterical way to plug organic veggies......go get your Chewbroccolli.....

Not long ago in a supermarket not so far away. Help fight the dark side of the farm.

Grocery Store Wars

Climate Change Affects Beer Supply

Yet another reason to start thinking of ways you can help reduce your emissions.....

MSN - Climate Change Presents Threat to Beer

Pacing

Life is all about pacing isn't it. A quote i've heard often now i've become a 1/2 marathon runner (insert big grin here) is that "life is a marathon, not a sprint". How true is that.

I've been keeping up with the running, pretty well (up until my armpit thing), and i've found that I really have no clue how to pace. Just before I went to Canada I decided to purchase this doodad, it's a Nike+ sensor - basically an accelerometer that tells you how far and fast you are going. In theory you purchase an expensive pair of Nikes to put the sensor in (in reality you buy a rip off case to attach it to your laces) and then you wear the wrist band and off you go. As well as it telling you what you're doing on the go, you download it to scrutinize after too and it keeps a record of your runs online to compare to. Although more than a little skeptical at first, I now adore this apparatus and won't run without it. Using this wee gadget I can now actually pace myself properly, and for the first time while I was away actually ran a 7 miler without walking - a first. AND, my overall time was by far a personal best. My regular 5 mile runs were slashed by 15 minutes (from an hour to 45 mins) just by using this gadget to keep me slow and steady, rather than going too fast and having to walk more.

Pacing my runs made me FEEL BETTER too (and no sore shins!), and unlike through my 1/2 marathon training, I actually felt like I could bounce out the next day and do another run!

If only there was a Nike+ sensor for life too. We had the most depressing faculty meeting yesterday. Cuts are still happening around the board, and now we're down to the wire. The Oceanography department has to cut nearly $200,000 from our budget by the end of the year, and, unknown to me until now, it's likely to be much worse next year. We were given a few choices - all permanent faculty take a 5% pay cut, lose our Teaching Assistantships (which many graduate students rely on for salary to get them through graduate school), lose courses (including my undergrad course i've been spending oodles of time on preparing), lose two admin assistants who actually know what they're doing (our two awful admins are employed by the state, so, as much as all want to (and that was brought up in the meeting) we can't fire them, only contract employees), or lose five non-permanent research and teaching positions (again, not me, as i'm 100% funded off of research grants I revolve rather than having a contract they can terminate). Decision, or an alternative plan, has to be made in the coming weeks.

With a meeting like that it only felt like a minor victory that my position is not on the block. Amazingly most people seemed to think losing the Teaching Assistantships are the way to go, yet with one of my PhD students relying on one of those to keep him in graduate school this year, I don't feel this is an option we should consider. How many students will we lose? How many students will we fail to attract if we can't offer TAs? Same with getting rid of courses - the undergrad course I am part of is the largest course we offer - over 400 students from all disciplines take that course each semester, how is it going to look to the wider university community if we drop that course? Will the department still function with this loss of 'young blood'?

And the bigger part of this - pacing. If things are really looking as bad for next year as it seems, we need to pace our response, otherwise there will be nothing left to give next year when times will truly be tough. Nothing except all our jobs that is, like other Oceanography departments around the USA.

High or Low Maintenance...

Well, aside from the shoes and the odd pedicure now and then, I fit into the latter category......:0)

Signs you might be High Maintenance:

1. Grooming & Primping are done in a salon: Examples: haircuts & colors, waxing, facials, mani/pedi's, tanning

2. In combination with each other, there are 5 or more colors, pattens, prints, and/or fabrics you refuse to wear: Examples: pink, yellow, brown, polk-a-dot, floral, animal, leather, polyester, fur

3. You will turn down precious metals or stones based on their color alone: Examples: Gold, brass, topaz, turquoise, coral

4. You own more than 10 pairs of shoes

5. You own more than 10 purses

6. You carry more than 3 lip products at one time.

Signs you might be Low Maintenance:

1. Majority of grooming & primping done at home. Examples: box-dye, sunless tanning lotion, super market scrubs, microwavable waxing kits, you do your own nails.

2. You sleep in your yoga pants and have been known to work out in your pajamas.'

3. You don't have a regular dry-cleaner, and you do all your laundry in cold water.

4. You own less than 10 pairs of shoes.

5. You count your insulated lunch box as a purse.  

6. The only lip product you own is balm.

Weekend

I really needed this weekend to roll around, this week has been so busy and i've been fighting with a cold all week that, although not a bad one, is persistent and doesn't seem to want to go away. But I'm finally feeling like I am just about getting on top of the pile that is sitting on my desk, just about, still a couple of large things I need to do before I can breath again a little. And of course I need to start ramping up to teaching this undergrad course, bear that that is going to be.......

The weekend has been nice though, I've managed to sleep in on both mornings (and by sleep in I mean 7am, I so wish it would be later, but my body tells me that is a sleep in right now), yesterday I tidied my house (I need to do a good "fall clean"), went for a swim with Jenny and then a colleague at the university was having a wine tasting party (that I generally avoid, but it was good to catch up with people).

Today I need to go to Costco and I want to look at bikes at the bike store. I would like a road bike, but living up a hill am nervous about how much i'll use it so don't want to spend a fortune. I've been looking around craigslist here and haven't come up with anything, so want to stick my nose into the bike store and see what they have - it seems impossible to get a road bike cheap here (anywhere?), and I really don't want a mountain bike as I know that will be too heavy to lug up my hill everyday. I would really like to try a sprint triathlon next year, so having a bike is kind of a pre-requisite for that, and with my knees actually stronger from the running, i'm hoping they might be able to handle cycling again (which is again another unknown and a reason I don't want to spend a fortune). I also need to finish editing a paper today and send that off to New Zealand, would be great to have that one off my plate.

Another thing i've done today is to sign up for our local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event - a 5K race to raise money for breast cancer research and patient support. Breast cancer has recently hit two of my aunts and so it's a cause I like to support. It's also a good way to keep my running motivated. If you'd like to make a donation to this fabulous foundation, i've put a button up on the right where you can donate.

And finally.....

I can shower! Saw the doctor today and he said it looks great and is healing well. Still to keep it covered and goo-ed up with antibiotic cream, and to pass on swimming for a few more days, but I am sooooooooo excited about a shower! I feel like bunking off work to go and take one.....maybe when I clear a few piles off my desk......

Yesterday was a bit of a bear (to say the least), I spent all morning (literally) on the phone with my insurance company trying to sort out all the medical care I got in Canada. Even though i'm foreign to insurance paperwork, i'm not totally convinced if I was a native I would be able to get my head around all the politics. The long and the short of it was that (despite not being told this by the international line I called up in Canada multiple times) I was supposed to get a doctors order from a doctor here for the treatment I received in Canada. I hadn't yet found a primary care physician (like a GP in the UK) to work with, so this caused all kinds of issues, as it was supposed to be them who did it. Luckily I found one yesterday who could see me today and check out my arm, but I was also hoping for his good graces in agreeing to give me the doctors order after the fact and agree with the treatment I was given. This lead to quite a sleepless night, as without that I would be landed with a $3K hospital bill, and he certainly didn't have to do it. 

Luckily he totally agreed with everything they did, and was amazed the insurance company was giving me a hard time about it. So he's agreed to give them anything they need, and I now have a primary care physician! Who knows when it'll come, and i'm sure there will be much more back and forth with my insurance, but at least I know i'll get some of that back eventually. 

So what to do tonight other than take multiple showers (if only my eco-conscious would let me)? Maybe a nice G&T and maybe i'll use up that Ben and Jerrys coupon i've had lying around.....:0)

Sleeping Giant - our last day!

Someone figured out how to escape the "Ducky Containment System"....

A short 2 mile hike to the Sea Lion...I got to snuggle with Taylor, she was so sleepy! (photo by Kim)

And here it is. Apparently the top looks like a lion. Apparently....

Out of the cabin and a lunch picnic on the shore of Marie Louise Lake! (photo by Carney)

The on to Silver Islet - a small village at the end of the Sleeping Giant Peninsula.

For Ice-Cream!

And then on the way out, a quick stop at the Thunder Bay Lookout. Quite the cliff, and a platform that stuck out from the end. I'm not such a fan of those platforms, but Sammy went right out there....

Sleeping Giant - Day 3

Day three and a chilled out day! A morning on canoeing - checking those lifejackets fit!

With my armpit still sore, I wasn't sure if paddling (ie - extending and moving back and forward, whereas hiking with a pack on my shoulders and cinched down, wasn't touching or rubbing anywhere below, so worked well luckily) would work, so I got to sit in the middle and entertain Taylor. It was quite the sweet ride!

The water of Marie Louise Lake (the lake we were camped on too), was flat calm and beautiful. Kim taking a photo of......

Bald Eagle! Beautiful!

The family - thanks so much for doing this cabin trip with me!

Lots of Loons, but only one photo - came out great though!

Two little Hawaiian girls! Luckily the weather was nice enough all week to wear these!

An evening board game and beer after the kiddos were in bed. This is after I had come back from the hospital (from one of the more painful visits) so was feeling a little sore and sorry for myself. But I was met with a delicious dinner (Kim is quite the gourmet to take camping!) and some good company for the rest of the evening.

Sleeping Giant - Day 2

A hiking we will go! A full 14 mile day, all the way around the Sleeping Giant. A beautiful day, clear, sunny and just a little breezy to keep it cool on the trail.

Lots and lots of bear tracks and scat, but no, we did not see the elusive bears.

Our first stop on the west side of the Giant (right by the head) at Sawyer Bay, it was gorgeous!

Kim and Sammy, and me and Taylor, enjoying our snack stop at Sawyer Bay. (photo by Carney)

Carney and Sammy enjoying some dadda time, throwing rocks into the water.

Those are the Giant's Knees up there! Still on the west side, facing out to Lake Superior, and about to go over the toes.

The trail was generally good, but there was some ups and downs and trees to climb through, not quite as simple with a kiddo on your back! We pretty much all swopped around packs at one time or another, I had Sammy from Sawyer Bay on and she was awesome at tucking down like a turtle when we passed overhangs and climbed through down trees.

Down from the Toes - now this was STEEP! And slippy in places (Kim took a slide, luckily with just the snack bag on her back and no major damage!). Steep downhills are one thing, with someone elses precious cargo on your back are quite another - I don't think I have ever come downhill so carefully, my quads were burning by the end!

Along the home straight, and the only fussies of the whole 14 mile trail. Carney had run on ahead at this point to move the car from our start point to our finish point (and extra 3 miles for him!), and Kim and I moved the kids along the last 6 miles of nice old logging roads (this is a stretch I have done before on a previous trip too, so I knew it was easy going). Taylor decided she was done with the Ergo, so I carried her like this for ten minutes or so and she enjoyed it, so we swopped Taylor into the backpack where she had more room to play and observe, and Sammy into the Ergo on Kim's back, which is a snugger ride. Sammy wasn't overly happy at this change (Taylor loved the backpack!), but she chilled out and enjoyed the ride after a short while - and soon Dad came back down the trail to take her on his back.

The end of the trail - Perry Bay. Gorgeous.

Sleeping Giant - Day 1

Day One and we arrived around midday. After unpacking the cabin and a light lunch we went for a walk around. We went to the visitor center, checked out the beach and the playpark, and then walked around the 1 mile nature walk, right along a river. Beautiful and a great light start to the vacation.

Taylor enjoyed the scenery too I think, all snuggled with mamma.

Back to the BBQ and.........

(photo by Kim)

Smores!

(photo by Kim)

Peeking around the deck!

Lots and lots of deer, everywhere!

Sitting in front of the propane fireplace, which we didn't need, as it was so hot, but I bet it would be gorgeous on a chilly winters night (these cabins are available in winter for cross country skiing and snowshoeing trails!).

Enjoying beers and cheese in the covered deck. This cabin is so well insulated, I bet you could even use this deck in the winter!

(photo by Kim)

Getting ready for bed. There were three bedrooms, each with a bunkbed. Mamma and Taylor in one, Dadda and Sammy in another and I had the luxury of my own....:0)

The view from the beach outside our cabin - the Sleeping Giant.

Welcome home

Back in Hawaii (sans luggage, but really not an unusual occurrence these days....) and tucked up in bed, so a short one before I hit the hay. Today I travelled from Thunder Bay - Minneapolis - Chicago - LA - Honolulu - quite the trek.

In Minneapolis I cleared customs (first time i've done it there), so went through the rigmarole of registering my work visa etc etc. For the first time ever (and i've cleared customs with my work visa a fair few times at this point) the customs official said "Welcome Home" as he gave back my passport. First time ever. It hit a chord and made me smile. The US is my home, yet being on a work visa I have never been "welcomed" home here before by customs. If anything I am usually made to feel quite the opposite by customs. I have to write "Britain" on my forms for "country of residence" as I am not allowed to say I reside here, I only work here in their eyes (though amusingly, I am a 'resident for tax purposes only'). I am usually pushed through after a short grilling (sometimes a long one in secondary screening) to make sure I am worthy (well, not really, but it feels like it much of the time). It just took me back when he said it, as it hadn't happened before, but it felt really good, like i've finally been accepted - silly I know, but it felt that way.

Home is where the heart is, and at the moment, my heart is in Honolulu. My home has always moved with me on my travels, and at present, though I am an alien here, the USA is my home. So welcome home me. Now to bed. Hope everyone has a good Labor Day tomorrow.

ps - they took the packing out on saturday and did not replace it - yippee! Though still no shower (or getting wet) until the incisions have healed, maybe a week or so, but i'm hoping for faster. Much more comfortable for the long plane ride today....

Back...

Back from the cabins at the Sleeping Giant National Park, and we all had a great time. The weather was perfect, the cabin was perfect, the hiking was perfect and the water was perfect. About the only thing not perfect was the time, we could have stayed so much longer. I'll update more on this later with more photos, probably after I head back to Hawaii on Sunday, but here are a few of my favorites.

My arm - well that was also not perfect. It's doing well, and i'm hoping tomorrow will be the last day of having to have packing changed (they put ~2 inches of cotton wick inside the two abscesses to let them drain while the inside heals, and these have been changed on a 24 or 48hr basis depending on what they see), as it's just been so painful getting that done, i've dreaded each day. Luckily we'd booked a cabin just an hour away, so on weds night I drove back, had the packing redone and came back to the cabin for a nice beer and a boardgame. On sunday I fly back to Hawaii and it would be great if it could be done with before I fly. With the climate in Hawaii i'm so concerned about having open wounds. I also haven't been able to get my armpit wet since Monday, so it would be great to have a shower......

The cabin above was luxurious - not a rustic cabin at all. Three bedroom (a bunkbed in each), kitchen, bathroom and covered deck, all nicely furnished and kitted out, right on the lake, close to the beach and playpark and amidst many many hiking trails - it was perfect for the family outing.

The view from our cabin - the "Sleeping Giant" on the left hand side (see the head on the right, neck, arms crossed, and then body). We hiked all the way around the Sleeping Giant (a 14 mile hike) with the kids on our backs - took all day, but was awesome. This is overlooking Mary Louise Lake.

Overlooking the Sea Lion, at the end of the Kabeyan Trail - the one we took all the way around the Sleeping Giant.

Kim and Carney (and Sammy in the backpack) at the end of the 14 mile day. These guys are awesome, there aren't many with two small children who would attempt this full day of hiking, but we all had a fantastic time, the kids were awesome in the backpacks, and all felt very proud of the day we had done.

My little model Sammy showing off one of the Outhouses. Or should I say Out-no-houses...

After the long trail, a nice bath with ducky. Taylor having a great time splashing me!