A new beginning paired with an old favorite:

I will be grateful for this day, I will be grateful for each day to come.

Barilari Bay(watch)

Forever and ever and ever working on refining the chronology for the onset of the LIA in Barilari Bay, Graham Land, West Antarctic Peninsula. Not a typical post, but this "Time Space" Diagram is so pretty. & I need a break.

Weekend

Weekend purchases for upcoming events (Newport FF!). Lovely afternoon and evening spent shopping and dining with Steph. My last week of research begins tomorrow. I'm done with Hamilton after that! (Well, I'll never be done with Hamilton...)

Lately

A week of simple pleasures, mainly revolving around food. Steph visits, bringing sweet quinoa salad, which I devoured for lunch over the course of 2 days. Kale chips, also courtesy of gracious Steph (her nail polish, too!). Laundry day is my favorite day of the week, I love knowing ALL of my clothes are available for wear, and the yummy organic lemon detergent I use infuses throughout my room as the delicates dry. A Friday night dinner, all vegetables to begin an experiment to better understand why my stomach has been so tied up in knots lately. (Gluten? Dairy?) Of course, the beer doesn't help much with these issues, but so, so necessary. 3.5 hours spent at the pub after this, Thea and I couldn't get over how old we're feeling; we didn't even notice the time passing and the lack of stimulation. Looks like a rainy one today, and I must admit, I'm glad for it.

Southern Hemisphere Blues

 A call to Brendan regarding radiocarbon dates and a visit to Kara at Colgate have left me missing the southern hemisphere, particularly Chile and Antarctica. Some diagnostic photos to reminisce in a healthy way: sea pigs from a Blake Trawl taken for the bio team. Helping with the trawls became one of my favorite things to do during the night shift. Organizing strange southern sea critters by type is my ultimate calling. Some Easter fun with our good friend, Ned the Egg. Liz dreamed up his presence, and we shot photos of him all over the ship. I volunteered to play the reprimanding authority figure in "Ned getting in Trouble."  Kara photographs me as I photograph her, I can hear our harmonious giggles right now! A view of Drygalski on a sunny afternoon; I remember going up to the bridge straight after shift and lying out in the sun, something I was not expecting to do in Antarctica! Brendan diligently does something to this kasten core whilst modeling our favorite piece of clothing: Insulated Carhart Overalls. A large ikaite crystal found in a kasten core towards the end of the cruise, inevitable from a smelly core (sulfurous), probably JKC-36, the core I happen to be working with this summer. A final southern hemisphere breakfast at the Hotel Jose Noguiera. I cannot take credit for the plate-full or the smoothie spill; that's all Brendan's.

Earlier

 Memories from a few months ago, now. The old common room, light and airy and simple. Girly excitement for graduation festivities, great food and fancy drinks (pureed strawberry basil gin & tonic shown here atop my prized marble slab from the Spring Petrology field trip). Summer brings similar lightness, but without the company of these friends.