Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Book love....
Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Slow to start, a bit confusing. Then you realize this World War II tome is not just clever alliterations but sarcastic and funny. By the end I couldn't tear myself away.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Just in......
Oh New Zealand! The other day we were stopped short when we saw Cool Ranch Doritos being advertised as "NEW". New?! I mean they've been around so long I can't remember when there were actually new. Taco Bell even did a promotional taco with a Cool Ranch Dorito shell. That folks is the US and New Zealand is a whole nother world!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
2015....
2015. 2015! 2015! Right, the year we're supposed to finish our theses, successfully defend them and become Dr. Brox and Dr. Brox. Truth be told I can't wait to make those jokes.....
It was three years ago that we stepped off the plane in Wellington and began this crazy adventure. It's seen us learn how to navigate a new country, study new topics, complete novel research, and travel around the world to conferences. I scarcely believe that it's all happened because I never would've expected my life to take such a turn. But I guess that's the beauty of it: life can be unexpectedly great.
Now that makes it sound like everything has been easy and gone to plan - that we've flitted through life without a care in the world. I'd like to squash that idea because it's far from the truth. We've struggled with all kinds of things along the way. I remember timidly navigating a store trying to decipher sheet sizes and scared to death that I would get the wrong one and they wouldn't let me return or exchange. There have been many a day where walked up the much despised "hill" to school in the rain, drenched by the time we arrived. Or days when there was no rain but it was still dark when we were going to campus to run what seemed like never ending experiments in the wee hours of the morning. I struggled most with epic experimental runs that kept me in the lab every day of the week for seven months straight. Part way through I didn't want to talk to anyone (Tim was my one exception). I think it's taken the last several months to regain my humanity after all that. Even today, sunny and beautiful, I was frustrated walking home from the grocery store (30+ blocks round trip), with heavy shopping bags, because the wind was gusting annoyingly and still I was sweating like a pig. Sigh.
So here we are staring at the beginning of the end. At this point I'm not sure if I'm happy or worried. I wonder if I should be worried. We've sketched out our plans for the next seven months - to thesis submission - and with our supervisors' blessings we will dive head first into the remaining work. And yet I question, have I budgeted enough time to finish everything? More like, have I budgeted enough time to finish everything to my satisfaction? Right now I can't answer that question but I sincerely hope that I have. Because if that's the case then I'm ready (and happy) to hunker down with my work because I can see the end. For the first time ever I can see it. In the past six months I've seen glimpses but now I'm actually seeing the end for real. That's some kind of amazing - I can't even put it into words for you. More to come.
It was three years ago that we stepped off the plane in Wellington and began this crazy adventure. It's seen us learn how to navigate a new country, study new topics, complete novel research, and travel around the world to conferences. I scarcely believe that it's all happened because I never would've expected my life to take such a turn. But I guess that's the beauty of it: life can be unexpectedly great.
Now that makes it sound like everything has been easy and gone to plan - that we've flitted through life without a care in the world. I'd like to squash that idea because it's far from the truth. We've struggled with all kinds of things along the way. I remember timidly navigating a store trying to decipher sheet sizes and scared to death that I would get the wrong one and they wouldn't let me return or exchange. There have been many a day where walked up the much despised "hill" to school in the rain, drenched by the time we arrived. Or days when there was no rain but it was still dark when we were going to campus to run what seemed like never ending experiments in the wee hours of the morning. I struggled most with epic experimental runs that kept me in the lab every day of the week for seven months straight. Part way through I didn't want to talk to anyone (Tim was my one exception). I think it's taken the last several months to regain my humanity after all that. Even today, sunny and beautiful, I was frustrated walking home from the grocery store (30+ blocks round trip), with heavy shopping bags, because the wind was gusting annoyingly and still I was sweating like a pig. Sigh.
So here we are staring at the beginning of the end. At this point I'm not sure if I'm happy or worried. I wonder if I should be worried. We've sketched out our plans for the next seven months - to thesis submission - and with our supervisors' blessings we will dive head first into the remaining work. And yet I question, have I budgeted enough time to finish everything? More like, have I budgeted enough time to finish everything to my satisfaction? Right now I can't answer that question but I sincerely hope that I have. Because if that's the case then I'm ready (and happy) to hunker down with my work because I can see the end. For the first time ever I can see it. In the past six months I've seen glimpses but now I'm actually seeing the end for real. That's some kind of amazing - I can't even put it into words for you. More to come.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Pav.....
Pavlova. Kiwis and Aussies fight over who is entitled to the official rights regarding this fluffy meringue dessert. Made with egg whites and superfine caster sugar a pavlova done right will have a crunchy outside that encases the lightest marshmallow fluff you can imagine. Now hang on a minute. When I say "marshmallow fluff" I don't mean the stuff you can buy in the jar. I'm describing something more like ambrosia: a sweet, billowing ultralight cloud.
It will come as no surprise that with Timmy at the helm in the kitchen he made the perfect pavlova. On the first try. Now this is no easy feat. I say this for two reasons. One, it's easy to contaminate your egg white mixture along the way. A tiny bit of oil in your mixing bowl or a minuscule piece of egg yolk sneaking in with the white will destroy all efforts. Two, many self-reported experts online openly scoff and say that you cannot make pavlova without an electric mixer. They say don't even bother. With our tiny kitchen we have a dearth of counter space and therefore very few appliances. Amongst those we don't have is an electric mixer. This fact would dissuade me from trying such a recipe but Tim was unfazed. He say, "Ah, yeah, it'll be fine. I'll whip it by hand". And he did. For at least 30 minutes he sat on the couch and whipped those egg whites until peaks began to form in the mixture.
From there he piled the fluffy creation onto the baking-paper-covered cookie sheet and slid it into the oven.
We watched it periodically during the cooking time. After it had elapsed we followed the instructions and let it cool completely in the oven which took several more hours.
In the end Tim served up a beautiful Pavlova with freshly whipped heavy cream topped with blueberries, kiwifruit and strawberries. A veritable taste sensation!
It will come as no surprise that with Timmy at the helm in the kitchen he made the perfect pavlova. On the first try. Now this is no easy feat. I say this for two reasons. One, it's easy to contaminate your egg white mixture along the way. A tiny bit of oil in your mixing bowl or a minuscule piece of egg yolk sneaking in with the white will destroy all efforts. Two, many self-reported experts online openly scoff and say that you cannot make pavlova without an electric mixer. They say don't even bother. With our tiny kitchen we have a dearth of counter space and therefore very few appliances. Amongst those we don't have is an electric mixer. This fact would dissuade me from trying such a recipe but Tim was unfazed. He say, "Ah, yeah, it'll be fine. I'll whip it by hand". And he did. For at least 30 minutes he sat on the couch and whipped those egg whites until peaks began to form in the mixture.
From there he piled the fluffy creation onto the baking-paper-covered cookie sheet and slid it into the oven.
In the end Tim served up a beautiful Pavlova with freshly whipped heavy cream topped with blueberries, kiwifruit and strawberries. A veritable taste sensation!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Ank,,,,,
You know about the sprained ankle. Yep. After arriving back in Wellington I hemmed and hawed about going to physiotherapy. Physio was a new concept to us when we moved to NZ; it's not exactly physical or occupational therapy nor is it strictly massage or chiropractic treatment. Instead, it's a amalgamation of the three. So in NZ if you have a sprain or break you go to and see a
"physiotherapist" and they assist you in your recovery.
I spent the remainder of that first week at home with my foot propped up hoping that the rest would reduce the stress it endured on the trip back to Wellington. I did see a little progress each day; however, the following week I decided to go to physio because it was still pretty sore. I was still worried that something terrible had happened. I mean, who knows what's going on in there?
With trepidation I stepped into the physiotherapy office that's part of our Student Health Service here at Victoria. After an examination of the joint and surrounding tissue he confirmed that indeed it hadn't been broken. Or fractured. And there was no ligament tears! I was so relieved. Then he told me that the reason it was so painful was because I had sprained both sides. Of course I did! Sigh. And the terrible bruises came from damage to the muscle on the inside of my foot.
Since then I've been stretching it as per his instructions and go back each week to have it checked. We are seeing improvement which is good. But I've also learned that my body, in an effort to protect itself, has altered the way that I walk. This is taking weight off the damaged portion on the outside of my foot while putting extra stress on the damaged portion of the inside of my foot. I have additional exercises for this and really hope that we can get a handle on it soon. Hopefully these "ankle" posts will fade away in the wind as my recovery continues. I'm so ready to be past this!
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