2008: Week 20

Busy, busy, busy is the best the description for the last week. On Tuesday I flew to Seattle to meet with some collaborators at the Institute for Systems Biology, and to attend a NW user-group meeting for our high throughput microscope. Unfortunately, work has been so crazy that I left with an un-started power point presentation for the talk I was scheduled to give on Thursday. I'm usually not that much of a procrastinator, but this time I was up VERY late the night before putting together my slides. Aaaggghhhh!!!

I flew back to Calgary on Thursday night so that we could get away early on Friday for our first camping trip of the season. After a few dramas with closed campsites, and very long check-in lines we finally had our spot and set up the tent. The rest of the weekend was rather laid-back, with only one hike, on an easy trail. At the top of the trail was an additional loop trail through a canyon, which we decided to try. After a fairly scary walk along the snow-covered creek-side track we came to a bridge, crossed over, and saw ... a bear! Well, Matt saw a bear (he was ahead of me), and we immediately turned around and clambered back over the ice. So there's no photo, but we made it home without an unpleasant incident.

Blogger is having trouble posting photos right now, so I'll post some weekend pictures tomorrow.

Best of the week
- Catching up with giant tropical penguin for coffee and a Gravity Pope fix.
- Getting away from Calgary for a weekend in Banff National Park.
- A long weekend! Happy Birthday Queen Victoria!

Worst of the week
- A magical mystery bus tour of Seattle trying to find a power adapter for my computer (note to self: check all computer equipment before leaving home). Eventually I managed to find the Apple store.
- Busy, busy, busy: stress, stress, stress.

2008: Week 19

Sorry for the late posting - life has been a little crazy! I'm in Seattle right now for a conference, so it will be a short post, but at least I've written something. Better late than never!

Best of the week
- Pink buds
- 3 girls in Grade 8 visiting the lab
- Visiting a craft store - such a cliché, but I'd forgotten how much I enjoy browsing and thinking about crazy craft projects

Worst of the week
- Driving home in a "wintry mix" - rain + sleet + snow
- Too much to do, not enough time.

Spring, come quickly

Another foot or so of snow on the ground this morning, and more to come. Those poor plants who thought is was Spring, they must be cold today!

Winter vs/ Spring

The first photo was taken April 10th, the second taken April 17th. Sadly we're back to the snow this weekend...

2008: Week 15

Change is in the air here in Calgary. Spring is asserting itself, and winter retreats, although with great reluctance. This week I saw my first crocus and hyacinth for the season, and noticed tulip shoots reaching for the light. Then on Thursday morning we had a foot of snow fall in just 4 hours, the largest snowfall by far this year. The weekend was glorious, with temperatures as high as 20C; we had our first BBQ on the patio tonight. The coming week will be cooler, with temperatures predicted to resemble the mild winters of my hometown.

My jonquils are flowering, the freesia bulbs I bought are in pots, and the steel bucket I found at an estate sale a few weeks ago now holds the herbs we will enjoy all summer. But for the time being, the heat which feeds these plants comes from a sunny spot in front of the fireplace. It will be several weeks before they can be confidently moved to the light and warmth of the outside world.

Best of the week
- Wading through fresh snow on the way to work, barely resisting the temptation to make snow angels.
- Venturing outside in a T-shirt, skirt, and bare legs.
- Finally taking the plunge and upgrading to Leopard.

Worst of the week
- Working several weekends in a row, and remembering how easy it is to stray into workaholic territory.
- Golf on TV. I'm way too hyperactive to want a day on the couch doing nothing.

2008: Week 12

In the lead up to Easter, I've really enjoyed reading Fiona's posts anticipating Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I've often found Easter to be a strange time of year - we celebrate one of the key aspects of our faith, yet without external cues like we see at Christmas, the lead up seems almost non-existent. At least that's my experience. Today we celebrated with hot cross buns, chocolate eggs from my family, and roast lamb.

There were a few notable events this week. Things have been quite odd work-wise, with some unexpected politics, and an even less expected breach of confidence. I'm working through some old issues, and thinking quite hard about how my professional future might look. On the home front, one of my house mates moved out this weekend, so we are now a household of 4. Not a bad thing, but I expect the dynamic of the house will change, for better or worse.

Best of the week
- Hot cross buns with no peel (and no icing)
- Chocolate, delivered (thanks Mum, Dad, Michael, Lynda)
- Access to a much-needed machine at work, and success in using it

Worst of the week
- People playing games, and wondering if I'm the pawn
- Aftermath of the farewell party...

Spring at Last!

Happy first day of Spring! Even though I did wake up to several inches of fresh snow. I suppose that's what you get for living so close to the Arctic. Most of it melted during the day.

In other news, welcome Netta, born to some beloved Ithacan friends on March 13th. Can't wait to meet you in person!

This picture is from my first flowering bulbs in Calgary - grown inside of course.