Reason to Love Washington #16

Blackberries!!

We went to pick berries for FHE so we could make freezer jam. And you know what's cool? The berries were free!!

FREEEEE!!!!

I can't even tell you about the excitement I felt at the prospect of free* berries. And then we made loads of jam which is very tasty on toast. I ended up with nearly 2 litres of jam. Which should last me for at least a few weeks.

And it was all free**!!!



Artsy-fartsy shot of blackberries accumulating frost as they thaw after being taken out of the freezer.

*free minus cost of bandaids and neosporin to treat thorn scrapes, and emotional damage from having to run away when people who lived nearby released the hounds on us (even though the trail was public property).

**free minus cost of sugar and pectin to make the jam, and containers in which to freeze the jam.

Reason to Love Washington #17 (I'll fill in the other sixteen later)

I was driving around Bellevue yesterday before meeting some YSA branch peeps at the temple for a baptismal session. I had gone earlier in the day to spend some time there, but it was presently dinnertime, so I was driving around looking for some sort of food establishment. I never did find one, but I found something even BETTER!

Where else but Washington (okay, maybe Orgeon) could you have a public park that features a water area with a life-sized orca sculpture that shoots fountains of water out its blowhole? I had to stop for pictures. It was cool, and really fun to watch the kids playing with it.



The orca distraction made me a little more pressed for time than I would have like to have been, so I never did find a place to eat, and wound up eating a box of jellybeans for dinner. Don't tell my mom. ;)

Rexburg!!

Hm, so I had an idea for something all artistic and crafty in February, but never really got around to doing it... until now! (Dun dan dunnnnn). Those familiar with the Rexburg temple will know that the temple uses a lot of wheat motifs in its decor, especially in the stained glass windows. For those not familiar with the Rexburg temple, you need to know that it uses a lot of wheat motifs in its decor, especially in the stained glass windows. I love the designs that are used. The motif was also used a lot in the Rexburg Temple Celebration in which I performed the night before the dedication. It was a very touching experience for me, and I thought it would be cool to somehow snag a piece of the set... but before you report me, all I did was pick up some heads of wheat that had fallen onto the floor off of some displays. That makes what I did gleaning, not theft. :D
Anyway, I planned what I wanted to make a while ago, but never really had the time, and have consequently been carrying little heads of wheat with me in my luggage all summer. But now I've finished it! And I have to say I'm kinda proud of it. I used a window box so the wheat could go inside, and the stained glass motif is on a piece of vellum that has been attacked with both Sharpies and pencil crayons (those are Canadian colored pencils). So here it is!


The finished creation! Though it's hard to tell from the picture, it's very beautiful when light shines through it, it creates a really neat glow.



The design a little more close-up. And wheat. Lots of wheat.

This is for you, Teresa...

I cut my hair!

And when I say I cut it, I really mean it. The other night, around 10:30, I decided I wanted a haircut. Immediately. So I found my scissors and brush, and commenced my work. I don't think I did too badly! Maybe if the whole med school thing doesn't work out... I'll go to beauty school instead. They both involve cutting....

Iorana!!

One of our branch FHEs this summer. We learned a Tahitian hula, while the guys learned a haka.

We needed a little encouragment to shake our hips in public, though, and our Tahitian dance-trained instructor (on the left in the grey)responded to our shyness with: "Geez, girls, it's no wonder you're in the singles ward. Now shake it!!"

I have to say that I think we did pretty well for just an hour's practice... and it was a blast.

Lab Sweet Lab

The fabled day has arrived. The long-promised pictures of my internship are posted. Now is a good time to put on your "ability to laugh at bad situations" mojo. I'm having trouble getting the pictures loaded, so I may have to do this in installments.


The outside of the building. Or shack. It tends to look bigger from the outside than it really is. For scale, if I were standing right next to it, my head would reach past the shadow level on the side wall. There is apond to the right, and settling ponds to the left (the white hollowing in the ground). The lab is built down into the ground a few feet (you open the door and go down a few stairs), thus ensuring the floor is very close to the water table. This helps maintain the moist environment that is so crucial to the survival of the various species of mold and fungus in the lab. In places where the floor is not as, um, solid, as we might like, you can actually look through the holes and see the water flowing about 5 inches beneath the floorboards. This system is not as bad as it might sound, as it provides the lab with its only supply of running water that isn't fed into the fish tanks. Haha.

I believe this is an elephant fungus. And his friends. Under some of the tanks. Which aren't really tanks, but rather 38-gallon Rubbermaid tubs.



Chemical storage area. Organization and temperature and humidity controls are, apparently, optional, as is labeling.


Tin that contained aflatoxin. I can't figure out how to rotate it. Sorry.

Black mold growing on the walls in the lab, coming through the new paint.

It's Canada Day!!

It's July 1st!!


Which means it's Canada's birthday, and that makes me happy because I like Canada. I may be biased, but that's my prerogative as a Canadian.
At church on Sunday, our Branch President spoke, and one of the things he mentioned was about how grateful he was to live in the United States. He listed some of the good things about this country, and called it the "Best in the World". I was visiting with a friend later that evening, and, knowing that I am Canadian, she asked me what I thought about President Bigelow's words. I figured that there are lots of things I could agree with-- that there are a lot of good things in the states, a lot of great things about it (they let me come to school here!). I can even see why to many who live here, it really is the best country in the world. But... (and I may be biased) I found that I just couldn't quite get my heart to agree. My mind, yes, my heart... not quite. Yes, the states have a lot of great things going on-- but so does Canada! And I love the freedoms and opportunities that I was able to grow up having. We've seen a lot of the country while traveling and moving as a family, and while every region is unique, that diversity that is part of what I love about Canada.

So... to kick-off July... I'm going to make a Love List for Canada... I realize that some of these things are not exclusive to Canada, but they are there and they rock nonetheless...

Nature!
-the Canadian Shield
-the Rockies
-the Prairies (yes, even the prairies... they grow on you after a while... ha, no pun intended)
-Aurora Borealis
-Winters are beautiful (dang cold, but beautiful)
-the East Coast
-the West Coast
-Forests
-camping
-canoeing
-biking
-cross-country skiing
-the beach
-fall leaves, and pressing them in heavy books
-wildlife- Canada geese, moosen, deer, polar bears, grizzlies, beavers, lobsters (ok maybe those don't count... but they are still cool)

Food!
-Ketchup Chips
-Aero Bars
-Poutine
-Kinder Eggs (for the toy, not the chocolate)
-Maple Syrup
-Maple Candy (one is more than enough)
-Maple Cookies
-Maple Taffy (boil the syrup/sap and then pour it in a little trench in the snow, then roll it up on a popsicle stick to eat it like a lollipop)
-Shreddies
-Fruit stands by the side of the road in the summertime (especially in Ontario)
-Nanaimo Bars
-Pierogies

Cool Role Models!
-Terry Fox
-Emily Carr
-Kim Campbell (the U.S. is busy making a big fuss over having a female President, meanwhile, we had a female P.M. over 10 years ago. Even if she was in office for only nine months, and only because of some unfortunate troubles with the preceeding P.M.)
-uhhh... I guess there should be more here but... brain lapse.

The Dominion as a Whole!
-Freedom
-Democracy
-Bilingualism- and not just on cereal boxes
-Multiculturalism (and not to mention all the tasty food that comes with it :) )
-An honourable military tradition of peacekeeping and libration
-socialized health care (it may not be a perfect system, but it's one of the best)

Miscellaneous!
-spelling things with "extra" letters (I'm looking at you, u)
-special distinction for the letter Z to not rhyme with any other letters of the alphabet
-cool-looking money (hockey on a fiver = awesome)
-doughnuts always within a short drive
-an understated national identity, and the accompanying self-deprecating humour
-"Sorry"
-"Eh"
-Mounties and the musical ride

So... what have I missed? What are your favourites?