non-modern camping

rob and i spent saturday night at lake macbride state park and gave our new tent an official test run. we had hoped to camp at maquoketa caves, but apparently you need to reserve those sites more than a week in advance, especially if you want to stay there over one of the busiest weekends of the season. oops. next time we'll know better.
as midwestern readers know, last weekend was record-setting hot, which did not bode well for a peaceful night's sleep in the tent. nor did the dogs, kids, radios, fireworks and other noisemaking entities that populated the "non modern" campground (aka "primitive" campground according to the park map). next time we'll also know to try for a little more seclusion. we hightailed it out of there not long after sunrise and headed home to turn on the AC. i have a feeling that our next camping go round in the boundary waters in august will be a bit quieter and more restful. still, the time we spent hanging out, walking around with oscar, knitting (me) and reading (rob) was really nice. and you can't beat camp cuisine--la crosse lager in cans, koolaid, beans and franks. that's good eatin'!

i just had to get a shot of this. apparently non-modern means getting by without electric hook-ups, flush toilets and showers, but not without an ice cold mountain dew!

HAPPY RETIREMENT DAD!

It's my Dad's birthday today (he was born in 1944) and also his last day at the University of Iowa! I wanted to put a post on here to tell him how proud of him we all are and how excited I am that he will be venturing into a new stage of his life where he can do whatever the hell he wants! It's got to be nice to think about all of the possibilities. From his early stages as a computer programmer (heck, as a student even) to his final years as Associate VP for Research he's been and employee that the U of I will sorely miss. I, however, am looking forward to being able to see him more. We love you Dad.

This is how my Dad looked when we were growing up with his groovy haircut. You can surely see how much Will enjoys it.

I would also like to note that Kathie retired on Friday of last week (I think this is right, forgive me if I have the day wrong.) She actually beat Dad to the punch but the two of them are joining each other in retirement and telling the retirement community - "Here We Come." Kathie has also put in years of service for the University as a stellar employee and I know that she's going to be sorely missed as well. The loss of her and Dad within a week is surely going to leave a hole that won't be easily filled. So from both of us - we want to say "Congratulations Kathie!" and we hope that you enjoy every minute retirement has to offer.

What Kind of Food Are You?

You Are Italian Food

Comforting yet overwhelming. People love you, but sometimes you're just too much.

What Kind of Food Are You?

ROB is anyway... see what you are. Blogthings is my new favorite add-on.

Wait, wait... I have one more too:

Your Daddy Is Patrick Stewart

What You Call Him: Old Man Why You Love Him: Because he's your baby daddy

Who's Your Daddy?

Alrighty then...

what i've been up to

this morning i printed out a draft of my dissertation for a read-through. right now, without graduate college-mandated preliminary pages, bibliography and appendices, but including photos, it's 272 pages. fearing the first photo didn't really get the point across, i had to take this other one, with tape measurer (propped up wth some books).


that's a lot of pages. i read the whole shebang (it took many hours) and now i am exhausted and barely have the mental energy to write this post. i'm supposed to circulate the draft to my committee on june 5th and i feel there's still a lot to be done before i let them see it, but i can't imagine doing a minute more of it today.
okay, time for a glass of wine and a burrito...

adventures in west hollywood (adjacent)

i spent the last week in los angeles visiting our friends sarah and orion. the six days flew by and i had a great time enjoying their company, some sights and the warm california sunshine.

on thursday night, we went to see brick at the arclight theatre and as we were leaving sarah leaned in and whispered, "do you think that's cameron diaz behind you?" i turned around (trying to be casual) to look then turned back and said, "she looks more like charlize theron," and sarah said, "that's who i meant!" and we both realized that it was, indeed, charlize in a little "newsies"-type cap to disguise herself. but we outsmarted her! with an a-list celebrity sighting under our belts, we went to mashti malone's for ice cream. maybe it's half indian, half irish? the legend of mashti malone is on the wall in the photo below, but it doesn't really clarify that issue. anyway, they have very interesting flavors made with ingredients like rosewater and lavender and saffron. i had mango and it was delicious.


we spent an afternoon at the beach in santa monica. it was a little overcast, but it was great to be oceanside. as always, the people-watching was fun, especially the woman who was having her own private all-out dance party with her walkman (or maybe just the music in her head). some dolphins even decided to frolic in plain view.


in keeping with the forever summer theme (see previous post), i made a few dinners from the cookbook, including the slow-roasted garlic and lemon chicken. it's super easy to put together--just chicken, garlic, lemon, thyme, olive oil, white wine and black pepper. it does take nearly 3 hours in the oven, but it's 3 labor-free, waiting hours, so not bad at all if you can get an early start. the chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and roasted garlic is always delicious. we also had yummy quinoa and artichokes on the side. note the purple orchids on the table. sarah and i got them on mother's day at hamburger hamlet when we didn't convince our waitress that we aren't moms. pretty flowers seemed worth a little truth-withholding.

for all of you "america's next top model" fans, we had a j. alexander sighting at doughboys bakery on tuesday morning right before i left! i've been treated to some good L.A. breakfast spots, and doughboys was truly excellent. we later found out that their red velvet cake made gayle king's list of best cakes in the country on oprah.

it was a great trip. i'm already missing those crazy kids and i'm looking forward to our next visit, whether it's in iowa or california (aka pulmonary thromboendarterectomy central--sarah, how about a link? pretty please?).

project green

my parents came for a visit last weekend and on saturday and, after a fruitful spin through the project green plant sale, there was much gardening and yard work to be done. like true champs, they pitched in to help us get the new stuff into the ground and remove pesty old stuff. my dad even cut out the ancient primestar satellite dish that had taken root like a big outdated metal weed next to the house. he and rob made quick work of the jungle that had sprung up next to the garage. mom and i planted the flowering perennials (including purple and yellow coneflower, black-eyed susan, violets, forget-me-nots, red corn poppy [on joyce's recommendation], indian blanket, and wallflowers) along the driveway and in the backyard and i'm crossing my fingers that they'll thrive.
the mystery plant mystery is solved--it's a pink delight salvia. i vaguely remember jean giving this to us last spring, but once it died back, i pretty much forgot about it. it's blooming even more now with those pretty crescent moon-shaped flowers. let's hope the big jack-in-the-pulpit she bought us at the plant sale will fare as well.

this is our happy nameless gnome who watches over the backyard. he attempts to keep oscar from trampling the hostas, but this is a completely futile endeavor, even for a magical little creature (i know he's a resin statuette--please suspend your disbelief).

a bird in the garage...

...is worth...well...i don't know, but he sure was confused. i was putting away some gardening tools and he started flitting around and it freaked me out a little. he kept trying to fly out the (closed) window. after taking this photo, i managed to shoo him out the door. i guess the birds are starting to get a little wily. i had no idea that feeding is supposed to be a seasonal deal--this morning on the radio they recommended taking in the bigger bird food for the summer and putting out nyger seed for finches and sugar water feeders and orange halves for hummingbirds and orioles. who knew?


may brings the start of farmers' market season. hoorah! last year i tried uprooting and replanting our little bleeding heart plant, but didn't do such a great job. since it hasn't poked its little head up yet, i think it's gone. i spotted this beauty this evening and knew i'd have to bring it home to replace the one i inadvertently...well, you know. i also picked up a bag of baby greens and a lovely bunch of asparagus. there were morels aplenty at $8 per container, but my big money went to the bleeding heart.

I'm So Stoked

I swear to god i'm going to start doing blog entries soon in much the same way that Carrie does so that I can bore you all to tears with my hobbies. Carrie's hobbies are interesting... mine, not so much. But that doesn't mean i'm not going to stick them up here! That being said, i'm so stoked about this movie and hope it will go into wide release soon because I have to see it soon. It's called the Godfather of Green Bay and will probably include a lot of mullets and ice fishing.