Reporting from the mid-Atlantic

From the great NW to the Caribbean to somewhere between South America & Portugal:

This one's my favorite - I love the over-alls. Also, do you see the two guys with cameras? I'm thinking they could be the crew from the history channel...

...Who am I fooling? This one is my Real Favorite.

Weekend lesson

Remember this? It materialized into this:

Ryan learned Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, among other songs, and came home with a tuned violin and The Idiot's Guide to Playing the Fiddle on loan from his 8-year-old instructor.

It was awesome.

Student questionnaire

So my co-worker's 8-year-old daughter (an accomplished fiddle player) has offered to give Ryan a violin lesson*. To make it official, she developed this comprehensive questionnaire to get the ball rolling.

Isn't that adorable?!

*Ryan received a violin for Christmas and has yet to break it in. This is his chance!

Like an orchestra

When he plays his guitar it sounds like an entire orchestra is playing.

In which Ryan masters his Masters

Its been one helluva week, and was an even longer, more intense and emotional day yesterday. And let's face it: its been a bumpy (but rewarding!) three & a half years. However [drum roll, please], Ryan defended his thesis yesterday afternoon and "passed" with flying colors. He is relieved and I am thrilled (which is why, in my excitement, I managed to capture everyone's attention and then accidentally dump an entire glass of water on the front of my skirt at the celebration afterwards).

This is the face of a happy wifey...

...and a very content hubby.

In other news, I returned home yesterday (several hours before the mister's "showtime") after a work trip to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park. I had a great time and am lucky to work with such a groovy team of folks. We manage to have fun doing our job despite early mornings (hello 4:30 am) , late evenings, and "rustic" lodging accommodations (read: unheated tent cabins in the mountains with 3am visits from bears). My boss makes sure we squeeze in hikes, canoe races, good food, and fly fishing whenever possible and for that I am grateful.

This weekend's agenda is to ignore the messy house, the piles of laundry, and the stacks of dishes. Instead, there will be rest, there will be breakfast out, and there will be a Giants football game live and in person (!).

Happy weekending to you!

Ryan rocks

Both musically and geologically speaking, that is.

This one goes out to the one I love

The Pub Classic

Here's the scene I came home to yesterday:

- a smiling RM in the kitchen making dinner
- music & candles (of the festive variety)
- treats in the mail (thank you mom & John, can't get enough of the cookbook you sent, stayed up half the night reading it)
- and, for after I was settled but before the main meal, a light, warm appetizer

RM: "We're having The Pub Classic for dinner tonight."
Me: "Hmmm...we've never had that one before but it sounds delicious."

He makes up menus and then names them, you see. And they're all just as original and scrumptious as he is.

The Pub Classic
- spicy sausage with mustard and applesauce
- hunks of irish cheddar
- roasted & sauteed veggies
- buttered toast
- regular & sweet potato fries
- beer

He even did the dishes after. Sigh. What a good night. We topped it off with a dose or two of The Wire and called it good.

In the field

Every summer now for the last four years, Ryan's been "out in the field." To us, those words mean he's in some remote area studying fossils or geology. I usually stay in Portland, except for the one summer I joined him in Canyon City, Colorado, where I too worked "out in the field." But that's another story.

When asked where the field is, the typical answer is "out in eastern Oregon." It sounds vague, and its meant to be, as the man covers a lot of ground east of Portland.

This weekend I joined him "in the field out in eastern Oregon." I covered 750 miles in three days. We camped by night and looked at outcroppings by day. And, lets be honest, he looked at outcroppings. I stayed by the shade, in the car, with a cold beverage and my magazines. I don't even know what an outcropping looks like.

Though I'm glad to be home and showered, I'm also glad I tagged along this weekend to "help". I have a new respect for field work, as it is a very physical, labor-intensive job usually in remote, hot places involving climbing ladders and gathering large rock samples into zip-lock baggies. Its dirty work, folks, but someone's gotta do it.

Message in a bottle

Well, I am sending out a message to the universe, but not in a bottle. And it's not really to the universe, but to my very-much-missed absent husband. What I'm trying to say, is that my words are like a message in a bottle in that they will not be received by the intended recipient for a long time. Oh, me.

Yes, my geologist/paleontologist Ryan is back out in eastern Oregon looking at rocks in extreme heat, braving rattlesnakes and determined mosquitoes, I might add. Usually he's gone all summer (so it could be worse), staying in a rented room behind the post office on a creek in a small town with a mercantile, a cafe, and a b&b (the later two are only open Friday, Saturday & Sunday). One summer, when he was in Colorado, I tagged along. I worked with him at the BLM. It was a nice change of pace. I got to see a baby bear gallop across the road.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about, folks. Since we are not en communicado right now, there are a few things on my mind I have to tell him. And Blog, you're the next best thing.

01 I picked up my new prescription sunglasses today. They're a little large, and the lenses are thick, but I think they soften my square face.

02 Franz is baking cinnamon bread tonight! I could smell it on my walk home.

03 Meech is being very communicative tonight and I'm just not sure what she wants. I opened the front door (which she bolted through) so she could hang out in the stair well and all she does is meow. She's a very naughty kitty.

04 Even though its been cool these past few days, the gazpacho you made before you left is really good. I've been enjoying it with some toast, goat cheese, and a little pesto. Yum.

Hmmm, what else? Oh yes.

05 Come home to me. Soon.

(image from here)

From rock'n'roll to rocks

Nine years ago this guy was launching his band career in Boston. We had both recently moved to the city and were just moments away from meeting each other (thank you Caelum). For several years he held multiple jobs while juggling band practice, late-night shows, and, ah, challenging drummers (remind me to tell you about Victor some time).

Today Ryan wrapped up his first year of grad school. He’s gone from the rock’n’roller I fell for to a class-teaching science guy with a thesis too complicated for me to explain.

I love it.