Where I've Been

My posting has been sporadic lately because I have been traveling to two conferences (and then I got sick, but I'm not sharing pictures of that).  First up was a dermatology conference focused on skin of color at Hampton University in Virginia.  It was an interesting opportunity to learn how clinicians think about skin and to speak to a mostly physician crowd about how the evolutionary history of our species has shaped the variation in skin color we see in modern human populations.  One of the organizers said it was not what she expected but that she enjoyed it and the rest of the crowd seemed to be paying close attention.  I'll take that.

Hampton is located near Norfolk and Virginia Beach so I convinced Veronica to fly to DC with me where we met up with Sarah and then all drove down to Hampton.  After the conference, we went for a hike along the bay in Virginia Beach.  We ended up hiking quite a bit further than we meant to, but saw a lot of the coastline, marshes, tiny crabs, weird fungi, barnacles on trash washed up in the relatively recent hurricane, hordes of Spanish moss, and various birds.

I flew from Norfolk (awesomely small airport - car to departure gate within 15 minutes) to Montreal for the International Congress on Human Genetics.  It was held in the Palais de Congres, which is a colorful and modern building close to both the Old City and the financial district.

The conference had an opening ceremony featuring - naturally - French Canadian circus performers and a pasta bar.  I almost knocked over one acrobat wearing a lab coat standing on the shoulders of another acrobat in a lab coat.  I assume that would have gotten me deported.

My favorite part of pretty much any conference is getting to see friends.  I was expecting to see several of my old lab mates from Penn State but was pleasantly surprised to find almost all of us were in attendance.  We took a picture for our adviser who couldn't make it.

I also got to see some of my friends from my undergrad days at KU, including these three who stole my camera and took about five variations of this picture during an anthropological genetics mixer I organized.

The actual purpose of my attendance was to present a poster about my current work on an enzyme related to heart disease.  The poster room was more than a little overwhelming with about 1000 posters presented each day for three days.  This is less than a quarter of the room.

After the conference ended on Saturday, I was able to spend some time walking around Old Montreal and see some of the gorgeous architecture. In addition to all the signs being in French, the juxtaposition of the old and new architecture really makes Montreal seem like a European city.  It is always great to see friends and travel new places, but after ten days gone, I was glad to head home.

Foto Friday {26 & 27}

Saturday October 1: Finally Cool Enough to Keep the Doors Open

Sunday October 2: Let's See if we can keep these alive

Monday October 3: Movie quote embroidery

Tuesday October 4: Toasting Veronica's Homemade Marshmallows

Wednesday October 5: Chinese Food and Japanese Beer

Thursday October 6: Sarah and V love their birthday gifts!

Friday October 7: Detour to the Williamsburg Outlets

Saturday October 8: Gave a talk at the Hampton Conference Center on the Left

Sunday October 9: Hiking in Virginia Beach marshland

Monday October 10: Flying to Montreal

Tuesday October 11: Poutine!

Wednesday October 12: Palais de Congres

Thursday October 13: Oh, Canada

Friday October 14: Last Day of the Conference

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!!!

Today is Geoff and my 5th anniversary. In five years, we've shared four homes, acquired a very grumpy cat, and moved 1500 miles to start a new chapter of our lives together.

We met when I was interviewing at Penn State on a weekend that turned out to be his 26th birthday. I was invited to a joint party for him and two of his (and later my) friends. Although I must admit that I don't remember meeting him that night, he swears he remembers meeting me. Now, I can't imagine my life without him. He has become such an intrinsic part of me that it's hard to remember what my life was like before.

I do know this, it wasn't nearly as much fun, as satisfying, or as full of love. I'm a lucky woman.

Summer Rolls

I was inspired to make summer rolls by this recipe - watch the video on how to roll them, it's the cutest thing.  Although the shitake filling looked delicious, I can find them a bit overwhelming and I had some chicken thighs in the freezer that needed a purpose in life.

The thighs poached with bay leaves, peppercorns, a few star anise, a pinch of cinnamon, and lemon grass until just cooked through before being removed to cool.

The remaining broth deserved more than being dumped down the drain so I dropped the mung bean threads in to soften and take on some of the flavor.

Meanwhile, I prepped all the greens: lettuce, cucumber, sorrel, and mint.  These are the key to the summery flavor of the summer roll.

The real heart, however, is the dipping sauce.  Mine was the remaining broth (strained), soy sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes to taste.

Shred the chicken and  pair all the fixings with the rice paper ready to be soaked in a large bowl of cool water and it's time to roll!

Our Night in the Museum

Last weekend, Geoff, Veronica, Mike and I spent the night at the museum.  Well, actually, we spent part of the evening at the Witte's Cocktails and Culture event.  About once a month they have a themed evening of food, drinks, music and fun interactive activities.  This month's theme was "Primal Instincts."

We got to throw atl-atls (spear-throwers) at a plastic deer.  Based on our aggregate skills, we would have been stone-age vegetarians.  With enough practice, Geoff managed to hit the target, but it was with the side of spear.

Mike did succeed in making fire so we would be able to roast our gathered tubers.  Whenever someone got a spark, the survivalist instructor would blow it into a nest of dried tinder until it flamed up like something something out of Quest for Fire.  It was quite dramatic.

Up next month is "Buccaneer's Ball."  Veronica and I got in the spirit a bit early.  We're loving getting to know San Antonio better.  With Geoff back in school, we're both really busy, but there are lots of fun ways to take a break around town.