Winter, Decorating, Working.
Happy New Year, LJ! January/February continues to be a rather uneventful time of year for me, aside from the occasional blizzard (more on that later) and weekend outing. The trend hasn't changed in 2016, though I have no doubt things will ramp up soon enough - for example, tomorrow Deb and I leave for MAGFest. Today I'm just passing the time at work until we leave, since I can't prepare HPLC standards with 72-hour expiries prior to a 4-day weekend.
So, January. Well, things started off with the big NYE party at our place. Lots of games were played, plenty of champagne was downed. The next morning Deb and I cleaned up the place a bit, dropped off our last guest at home, then spent the rest of the day on the couch enjoying the Mummers Parade on TV.
I also took some time to consider an appropriate resolution and goals for the new year. I looked back on shortcomings of the previous year and realized that after we bought the new place, we didn't get out a lot. True, much of that had to do with it being a very expensive endeavor - one just does not go on a Caribbean vacation after buying a house, furniture, driveway, etc. But even small trips, like kayaking and camping took a back seat. So, in 2016 I resolve to get out of the house more often, and not just for day trips. Now that we've got the RV in our driveway, I want to use it more often. Now that we're settled in, it's also time to decorate the house in our style. You know, Like a museum / Where people come to see 'em . That's going to be a lot of fun.
Starting a new year off in the company of close friends
Wrapping up our holiday break, Deb and I made a run down to King of Prussia for the first of our outings in search of decorations for our place. We got some ideas at the KoP Mall, but everything there is just too damn pricey. We decided we'd be better off searching antique stores in the future. We did consider getting one of those love seat-sized bean bag chairs (until I saw the price tag).
I was back to work on the 4th after having over two weeks off. 2016 started off with an HPLC assay, which seems to be the trend as of late. I got a pleasant surprise in my email in the form of an Award for Excellence for my involvement in an SOP standardization project. A month later, I got a second award, this time for mentoring Janine over the past 6 months. It looks like this year I'm going to be focused on learning two new instruments. The first is a UPLC, which is basically a next generation version of an HPLC. I've been setting that one up this week. The second is the new scanning electron microscope. I'm going to be the instrument manager, so the company will be sending me out for a few days of hands-on training up in Boston in May. Other than that, I've been making good use of my new bench in the wet lab with all of this HPLC work.
The second weekend of the year marked our 4th wedding anniversary, and 18 years since our first date. To celebrate, we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather for a trip down to the Elmwood Zoo, then headed up to New Hope to continue our search for home decor. We found a metal sculpture of a bat hanging from a branch that would fit perfectly in the upstairs hallway and got it for ourselves as an anniversary present. Then we stopped in a shop called the Creeper Gallery, an art studio that specializes in strange and unusual. Being strange and unusual ourselves, we each bought the other an articulated human arm from an 1860s medical skeleton. They ended up on the landing, next to our articulated cat skeleton. Elated by our finds, we decided on an anniversary dinner at The Country Place. We also got in a second viewing of the new Star Wars movie that weekend (yes, I'm a believer again).
Anniversary present. We're bringing a third person into our relationship, one part at a time.
The week following our anniversary, Deb's dad went in for his knee surgery. We visited him in the hospital that afternoon, and everything went smoothly. He was on his feet in a few days, but out of commission for a while. We sent him a care package of DVDs to help prevent boredom. It was also that week that Winter finally decided to show its ugly face for the first time. The first snowfall was more like an icing, and it was gone the next day. The drive up Hilltown Pike that night, however, was a 5-10 mph adventure that I'd rather not experience twice. On Friday we had a visit from the herd. I was sprawled out over a card game on the living room floor, when I looked up to see deer staring at me. There were 7 deer in total, but only a few were brave enough to enjoy the sweet, sweet grasses of the poo hill. Since then, we've decided to set up a tripod by the sliding door to capture whatever wildlife shows up in the back yard.
There's a party on the poo hill.
The squirrels finally found the feeder.
Over the weekend, I got a tip about some interesting lamps in an antique mall up in Allentown, so we took a trip. Not only did we score a most excellently creepy lamp, but also another crate for the den. The company name on the crate - Merck - was almost too coincidental.
More decor
Monday I had off from work due to it being MLK day. Deb sent me a text that morning, after she heard about a storm that would be arriving later in the week. Due to the lack of a substantial winter and an already expensive year, I had been hoping to hold off on a snowblower purchase. With a day off and a desire to avoid the panicked bread and milk crowds, I did my shopping early and found the model I was planning on buying. It was very fortunate that I did, for the following Saturday heralded the Blizzard of 2016. Initially they were calling for 6-12" in Bucks County - which would be enough in itself to justify a snowblower - but the storm track shifted and suddenly we were getting blizzard warnings. We stayed in on Saturday while the snow fell, and fell, and fell. By the afternoon, we had to get outside to clear the 18" that had already fallen, despite the storm not letting up. We waded out to the shed, dug out the doors, and fired up the snowblower. It was a godsend. Two hours later, the driveway (and damn, that's a lot of driveway) was clear. Of course, two hours after that, it was covered again. As the afternoon dimmed, we settled down to some TV while trying out the fireplace for the first time.
The birds loved the storm.
The humans, not so much.
The fire pit is out there, somewhere.
Toasty.
The next morning we were back out again to clear off the additional 6" that had fallen overnight. Two feet. Our first snowfall in the new place, and it had to be two feet. THEN, after we finished off the drive, it was out and into the wild post-blizzard apocalypse hellscape to take care of Deb's parents' driveway. We grabbed two pints of ice cream on the way home and enjoyed a hot bath for our sore muscles. I was back to work the next day, then off to Dad's place afterwards to help dig out his car. Then the next day I dug out spots for the trash cans.
Otherwise, it was a rather busy, yet uneventful work week. The final weekend of January was Von Draken's Feast of Plenty in Salfordville. After over a year without a Markland event, we didn't want to miss another. As always, the feast was excellent. We drank mead, ate breads, cheeses, an excellent French onion soup, and more. There was an incredibly entertaining bardic competition where Cliffy ended up carrying off one the participants. During the ceremonies, King Bass granted the Pirates with Letters of Marque, and then was challenged by Duke Kyrin. It was nice (and a tad overwhelming) catching up with over a hundred old friends in such a short time, and hopefully we can get out to an actual war this year.
We're legitimate criminals once again.
Being the end of January, that meant I had two deadlines - taxes and truck inspection. This year, one was pleasant and the other not so much. The truck needed a new radiator, drive shaft, tailpipe, muffler, serpentine belt, and more. So I ended being a bit poorer and without a vehicle for a week. Luckily, it wasn't too much of a detour to carpool with Deb, so everything worked out in the end. Taxes were better this year, mostly because (surprise, surprise) I'm paying more in interest and taxes on the new place. But yeah, the truck part sucked.
We started on the bathroom project early in February. While Deb painted the room, I worked on the Haunted Mansion vinyl wall decals that would compliment the paint job.
First test plot
Valentine's Day fell on a weekend this year, so we made plans to go out. I gave Deb a dozen roses, then we drove down to the Camden Aquarium for their adult event. It was a good call. They opened up the aquarium only to adult couples. Wine in hand, we strolled through the aquarium, checking out the new blue penguin exhibit, visiting the hippos, learning more animal sex trivia that I wanted to, and eating cheese and crackers. Then we sat down to a buffet dinner before continuing our tour. Very nice.
Romantic.
The next day we had to head to Lowe's to pick up a new microwave. While changing the overhead bulb, I somehow managed to fry the whole oven. So we spent Valentine's Day itself mounting. A microwave.
Hot. Ovens are hot.
And that's about it for the beginning of 2016. I'm stoked for the 76 straight hours of gamer culture we're in for this weekend. As for the month ahead, well, that's a blank slate. I'll update as soon as it's filled.
So, January. Well, things started off with the big NYE party at our place. Lots of games were played, plenty of champagne was downed. The next morning Deb and I cleaned up the place a bit, dropped off our last guest at home, then spent the rest of the day on the couch enjoying the Mummers Parade on TV.
I also took some time to consider an appropriate resolution and goals for the new year. I looked back on shortcomings of the previous year and realized that after we bought the new place, we didn't get out a lot. True, much of that had to do with it being a very expensive endeavor - one just does not go on a Caribbean vacation after buying a house, furniture, driveway, etc. But even small trips, like kayaking and camping took a back seat. So, in 2016 I resolve to get out of the house more often, and not just for day trips. Now that we've got the RV in our driveway, I want to use it more often. Now that we're settled in, it's also time to decorate the house in our style. You know, Like a museum / Where people come to see 'em . That's going to be a lot of fun.
Starting a new year off in the company of close friends
Wrapping up our holiday break, Deb and I made a run down to King of Prussia for the first of our outings in search of decorations for our place. We got some ideas at the KoP Mall, but everything there is just too damn pricey. We decided we'd be better off searching antique stores in the future. We did consider getting one of those love seat-sized bean bag chairs (until I saw the price tag).
I was back to work on the 4th after having over two weeks off. 2016 started off with an HPLC assay, which seems to be the trend as of late. I got a pleasant surprise in my email in the form of an Award for Excellence for my involvement in an SOP standardization project. A month later, I got a second award, this time for mentoring Janine over the past 6 months. It looks like this year I'm going to be focused on learning two new instruments. The first is a UPLC, which is basically a next generation version of an HPLC. I've been setting that one up this week. The second is the new scanning electron microscope. I'm going to be the instrument manager, so the company will be sending me out for a few days of hands-on training up in Boston in May. Other than that, I've been making good use of my new bench in the wet lab with all of this HPLC work.
The second weekend of the year marked our 4th wedding anniversary, and 18 years since our first date. To celebrate, we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather for a trip down to the Elmwood Zoo, then headed up to New Hope to continue our search for home decor. We found a metal sculpture of a bat hanging from a branch that would fit perfectly in the upstairs hallway and got it for ourselves as an anniversary present. Then we stopped in a shop called the Creeper Gallery, an art studio that specializes in strange and unusual. Being strange and unusual ourselves, we each bought the other an articulated human arm from an 1860s medical skeleton. They ended up on the landing, next to our articulated cat skeleton. Elated by our finds, we decided on an anniversary dinner at The Country Place. We also got in a second viewing of the new Star Wars movie that weekend (yes, I'm a believer again).
Anniversary present. We're bringing a third person into our relationship, one part at a time.
The week following our anniversary, Deb's dad went in for his knee surgery. We visited him in the hospital that afternoon, and everything went smoothly. He was on his feet in a few days, but out of commission for a while. We sent him a care package of DVDs to help prevent boredom. It was also that week that Winter finally decided to show its ugly face for the first time. The first snowfall was more like an icing, and it was gone the next day. The drive up Hilltown Pike that night, however, was a 5-10 mph adventure that I'd rather not experience twice. On Friday we had a visit from the herd. I was sprawled out over a card game on the living room floor, when I looked up to see deer staring at me. There were 7 deer in total, but only a few were brave enough to enjoy the sweet, sweet grasses of the poo hill. Since then, we've decided to set up a tripod by the sliding door to capture whatever wildlife shows up in the back yard.
There's a party on the poo hill.
The squirrels finally found the feeder.
Over the weekend, I got a tip about some interesting lamps in an antique mall up in Allentown, so we took a trip. Not only did we score a most excellently creepy lamp, but also another crate for the den. The company name on the crate - Merck - was almost too coincidental.
More decor
Monday I had off from work due to it being MLK day. Deb sent me a text that morning, after she heard about a storm that would be arriving later in the week. Due to the lack of a substantial winter and an already expensive year, I had been hoping to hold off on a snowblower purchase. With a day off and a desire to avoid the panicked bread and milk crowds, I did my shopping early and found the model I was planning on buying. It was very fortunate that I did, for the following Saturday heralded the Blizzard of 2016. Initially they were calling for 6-12" in Bucks County - which would be enough in itself to justify a snowblower - but the storm track shifted and suddenly we were getting blizzard warnings. We stayed in on Saturday while the snow fell, and fell, and fell. By the afternoon, we had to get outside to clear the 18" that had already fallen, despite the storm not letting up. We waded out to the shed, dug out the doors, and fired up the snowblower. It was a godsend. Two hours later, the driveway (and damn, that's a lot of driveway) was clear. Of course, two hours after that, it was covered again. As the afternoon dimmed, we settled down to some TV while trying out the fireplace for the first time.
The birds loved the storm.
The humans, not so much.
The fire pit is out there, somewhere.
Toasty.
The next morning we were back out again to clear off the additional 6" that had fallen overnight. Two feet. Our first snowfall in the new place, and it had to be two feet. THEN, after we finished off the drive, it was out and into the wild post-blizzard apocalypse hellscape to take care of Deb's parents' driveway. We grabbed two pints of ice cream on the way home and enjoyed a hot bath for our sore muscles. I was back to work the next day, then off to Dad's place afterwards to help dig out his car. Then the next day I dug out spots for the trash cans.
Otherwise, it was a rather busy, yet uneventful work week. The final weekend of January was Von Draken's Feast of Plenty in Salfordville. After over a year without a Markland event, we didn't want to miss another. As always, the feast was excellent. We drank mead, ate breads, cheeses, an excellent French onion soup, and more. There was an incredibly entertaining bardic competition where Cliffy ended up carrying off one the participants. During the ceremonies, King Bass granted the Pirates with Letters of Marque, and then was challenged by Duke Kyrin. It was nice (and a tad overwhelming) catching up with over a hundred old friends in such a short time, and hopefully we can get out to an actual war this year.
We're legitimate criminals once again.
Being the end of January, that meant I had two deadlines - taxes and truck inspection. This year, one was pleasant and the other not so much. The truck needed a new radiator, drive shaft, tailpipe, muffler, serpentine belt, and more. So I ended being a bit poorer and without a vehicle for a week. Luckily, it wasn't too much of a detour to carpool with Deb, so everything worked out in the end. Taxes were better this year, mostly because (surprise, surprise) I'm paying more in interest and taxes on the new place. But yeah, the truck part sucked.
We started on the bathroom project early in February. While Deb painted the room, I worked on the Haunted Mansion vinyl wall decals that would compliment the paint job.
First test plot
Valentine's Day fell on a weekend this year, so we made plans to go out. I gave Deb a dozen roses, then we drove down to the Camden Aquarium for their adult event. It was a good call. They opened up the aquarium only to adult couples. Wine in hand, we strolled through the aquarium, checking out the new blue penguin exhibit, visiting the hippos, learning more animal sex trivia that I wanted to, and eating cheese and crackers. Then we sat down to a buffet dinner before continuing our tour. Very nice.
Romantic.
The next day we had to head to Lowe's to pick up a new microwave. While changing the overhead bulb, I somehow managed to fry the whole oven. So we spent Valentine's Day itself mounting. A microwave.
Hot. Ovens are hot.
And that's about it for the beginning of 2016. I'm stoked for the 76 straight hours of gamer culture we're in for this weekend. As for the month ahead, well, that's a blank slate. I'll update as soon as it's filled.