Bathing Abby

Today was the day that Abby got a bath. The first real one (shortly after we got her I tried to give her a bath, but that was completely out of the question - claws were flying!). And she actually did a great job! I was impressed. And amazed at how tiny she looked when she was all soaked.

Here she is, already a little dry but still very shaggy:

Oh yes, and George wanted to be in that shot, too, of course:

And because they are so cute together:

 

Summer is here(ish)

I love this time of year. It's sunny when I walk Pepper in the morning. The air is crisp and fresh. The grass is still wet. What a great way to start the day!

 

Conference 2012 (DAMOP)

After four years, I finally attended THE conference in my field of research again. And not only that, I could even take three students with me: Hayley, David, and Lexi (a bit in the dark here):

This year it was in Anaheim, CA, which also meant that we actually had some warmth and sunshine while Oregon was getting soaked. Hehe.

On Tuesday I gave my talk (went well), watched the Venus transit (lousy photo below), and had a great dinner with members and former members from Nick Bigelow's group. We had a blast! It was great seeing everyone again and catching up a little.

 

Here's a photo from my Thursday lunch with Kevin and Mishkat (both of them now have faculty positions too!)

and last but not least: Poster session Thursday evening (David, Lexi, and Hayley who presented the poster):

All in all, this was a great conference, good talks, met some great people, and my students seemed pretty excited about starting summer research with me (I am too!).

Which brings me to one more photo: Meet The Cheat (with laser safety goggles and - of course - coffee):

If you want to know who The Cheat is, google homestarrunner. This particular cheat was a gift from Jan several years ago when I was all alone in my lab in Rochester and things were not going well. When you hit this cheat, it squeals. Very therapeutic (and much better than throwing screw drivers down the hall!) ;). So here he is, ready for my students in case they get frustrated!

Wiebke & Johanna

Wiebke and Johanna are back in the US! Just as in previous years, they decided to come to Ashland to see several plays during the Shakespeare festival. This has been a tradition pretty much since we moved to Oregon, and needless to say, I like it since that also means that we get to see them at least once a year. This year they are staying in California, so we decided to meet somewhere in the middle between Ashland and Wilsonville to catch up (2.5 hours drive for both of us). We ended up picking Sutherlin, a small town just south of Eugene, where we met for coffee and bagels. We then headed to Cooper Creek Reservoir, a beautiful area perfect for a little hike. The weather was great, too - a bit cloudy, but warm and no rain (imagine that!). 

Here we are right after we got out of the car. This grassy area must be the meeting place for geese - it was full of geese poop (that's why I was keeping a VERY close eye on Pepper ;)).

 

We let Pepper off-leash pretty much the whole time (at least in the park, not on the street, of course), and he was SUCH a good dog. He was running a little ahead or lagging a little behind, but he waited for us when I asked him to (even when there were squirrels running just a few meters in front of him!). So proud of him :). I think we can definitely celebrate his graduation today: Exactly 4 years after I received my PhD, Dr. Pepper now deserves his doctor too.