Magnet Monday: Tubac

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, April 27, 2015
"Tubac, AZ", Native American wedding vase, hand-painted ceramic, circa 2004

The wedding vase has a long tradition among many tribes. The shape is pretty similar: two spouts symbolizing the two people sharing vows, and the one handle uniting them together. Designs vary by tribe and Pueblo. Tradition holds that the groom's family makes the vessel and offers it as a gift to the bride. 

We picked this magnet up on my first visit to Arizona and my first chance to meet my now-husband's parents. You could argue that the design comes from the Sonoran desert around where the groom's parents live, and that it was made near the groom's parents home. Almost tradition. 


Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, April 24, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• As if cephalopods weren't cool enough. 
• Diversity is a major reason I choose to work in academia. It's about more than being able to wear masculine shoes though: let's try for equal pay and opportunity as well. 
• We are so not ready for this technology. Not practically. Not ethically. Not any way. Not any how. Maybe someday, but it ain't today. 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• How many of you looked for Nessie? How many of you will admit it...?  
• Creepy.  And yet... I honestly could see myself doing this when Miss Pooh-Butt leaves us... (Also, not anywhere near as creepy as the freeze-dried stuffed version)
• I think we've all been there. 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• More Earth Day activities: showing of Our Water about the Great Lakes, another clean-up. 
• Phase 1 of rehabbing the Garden of Shame on the east side of our house (if it's not raining): an early start on ripping out the heinous and all-devouring groundcover*. 
• Trying to fix the "NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID" issue on my computers. WTF Chrome?!

*A pox upon you Bishop's Weed - stay away from my peonies! Not to be confused with the squill - they can spread as much as they want...

Does it matter if they go together?

I realized while at the clinic this week for x-rays on my hip that the "pajama bottom" scrubs actually coordinated with my outfit. Well, the part of the outfit that I didn't have to change. 

I'm not sure if that says more about the scrubs buyers at the clinic or the drab neutral nature of my wardrobe. Where I see "flexible" could be interpreted as non-committal. 

Not my first X-ray. First X-ray on this hip. X-ray techs are not supposed to say anything about the images because they are not considered qualified to evaluate them. Perfectly personable fellow; says "I hope everything goes well for you" to me on my way out. WTF is that supposed to mean?!? He didn't know he was X-raying a professional researcher (seriously) with a background in biomedical research (yes, still seriously), who's now going to go research whatever there is to know about what you can diagnose from an X-ray. 

"Have a nice day" would have been better. 

Saving grace: I only had to wait about 2 hours for results. That's almost magic. Then again, quick results can sometimes mean there's something wrong. Really wrong. So. 

It's official I have osteoarthritis in my hip. I'm no spring chicken, but a little young for this. Not the end of my world, and what I suspected. Ready for the challenge. I'll have to change out the coordinating scrubs for my big-girl panties and make some serious commitments to fitness. And I could weigh less. And I will hope this isn't a sign that arthritis will be my shroud of aging. 

Aging is not for sissies. 

Magnet Monday: So Hoppy It's Earth Day...

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, April 20, 2015
"BioSphere 2", wire frame, glass seed beads, enameled pin, circa 2012

In honor of Earth Day, April 22. Although it feels a bit like Earth Week (which is great!) - so many goings on both last weekend and this coming weekend. We did our part last weekend, recycling all the crap we purged from the basement. Goodwill for the electronics and GP, Half-Price Books for the books & DVDs, some bits to our friend who works at a metal scrap yard. Some things still ended up dumped, but at least that was the smallest pile. 

Some of you may know my hub & I were married on Earth Day. Our first date was on Earth Day, not intentionally, but when we decided to get married, and did the math to figure out our first date, it became very intentional to marry on the same day. 

We picked up this magnet at BioSphere 2, just north of Tucson, Arizona. The original intention of the facility was very ambitious, and arguably successful. Or not. It's still used for research, and open for tours, both of which satisfy the geek in me. The coolest thing I learned there: without the stress of wind, trees don't grow strong enough to stand straight up. 

Full disclosure: there were no magnets that had BioSphere on them. We cobbled together our own from a magnet and a pin. No frogs were harmed in the creation of this magnet. 

Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, April 17, 2015

We had some much-needed rain last week accompanied by some sky-theatrics. I'd forgotten just how loud thunder can get. Word to the wise: it really is next to impossible to get struck by lightning inside your house, even if the lightning-thunder was close enough to shake the toilet you're sitting on. Just sayin'... 


News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Everything old is new again - this could come in handy. 
• Geekness for everyone!! 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Am I seeing this? I'm not sure I'm seeing this right.
• Penguin the magpie. 
• I got nothin'.
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Time to get serious about cleaning out the garage...  
• Also time to bring the patio garden containers out and set up the deck furniture. 
• Pizza & a Movie: Game of Thrones binge (okay, not really a movie...)
• Tickets to the Brewers game on Sunday! Okay, okay, so they're not doing so hot (yet?). But tickets that come with 300 Club & parking passes are not to be refused - should be a fun time. Plus, we all get bobble-heads :)

Magnet Monday: Go Bucky Go!!

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, April 6, 2015
"Monument Circle, Indianapolis", magnet-backed vinyl relief, circa 2007

In honor of the Wisconsin Badgers!! No small thing to defeat the Wildcats, and the first tournie championship game appearance in 74 years. 

GO BUCKY GO!!! 

I attended a small scientific conference in Indy in 2007, and took a few hours one afternoon to explore the downtown. Indy at the time was less than 3hrs drive from my home then in Lexington, Kentucky, and it seemed silly to pick up a magnet at what did not seem like a true "travel" destination. Fate must have known I would need it someday! 



Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, April 3, 2015

Last week snow, this week loungin' outside on the patio.... ah.... Spring in Wisconsin!

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up (but was it real...).

• Virgin Galactic is Missouri-bound!
• Microsoft introduces MS-DOS Mobile!

Weekly Shits n' Giggles: A Recap of the Week's More Outrageous April Fools 

• Redbox introduces Petbox! Fido can finally play Koala Duty on the XBOX!!
• Do you call them Shelfies? Shoeflees? I don't think I'm limber enough...
• Tiny tiny armholes... or rather, leg holes. 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Family time - always good! 
• Cooking for family time: Maple-Glazed Ham, Asparagus-Lemon Risotto, Mashed Sweets, and Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze to finish.