Yet Another Master's Degree

On the advice of an unnamed professor, I decided to participate in the graduate student graduation program this spring since I finished all of the requirements for the Master's Degree in Sociology this winter - supposedly "everyone" would be there. Well, I was the only one from my department who showed up for the Master's portion, but it was still interesting despite coughing up $75 for the gown rental.

Most memorable was what I observed during the PhD "hoodings", where each PhD graduate has their name read, then their advisor places a velvet/satin sash thing (for some reason called a hood) over their heads. My outfit actually had a "hood" too, but at the MA level you put it on yourself before the ceremony. Weird stuff. Anyway, the really interesting thing was the way advisors and graduates interacted immediately after the hooding. There was a very clear gender difference. If it was a female student, the advisor would hug her just after putting on the hood. If it was a female advisor, she would hug the graduate (whether male or female). BUT, if it was a male student with a male advisor, they would shake hands like adults who respected each other professionally. So you can guess which one I will insist on!

Here's me and Paul right after the ceremony.

29 with cheese and wine

Here's me (and Binsey) with the spread we had for my wine & cheese birthday party a few weeks ago. It was delicious, and we had sooo much good cheese! I finally got to use the cheese dome my friend Holly gave us for our wedding, which was very useful since we got some real stinky cheeses. I also realized we need to have more parties!

Spring is here!

So apparently Spring in Bloomington means TONS of rain, and rain that comes all at once. Here's what our back yard looked like just a couple days after we put down grass seed


But, on the plus side, the bulbs we planted last Fall seem to be coming up! And the phlox (the ground cover stuff) has really expanded in our little front garden!

Sittin' Pretty

Binsey has a pretty new collar, thanks to my friend, Jackie, who got it for my birthday. Thanks Jackie!

Her sister owns a company, Souldier, and makes these in all sorts of patterns using recycled seat belts and vintage materials. Her main thing is guitar straps, but she makes all kinds of strappy things. Check her stuff out if you're in need of something like this. Binsey is quite happy with hers! Plus, I love anything that's made in the US and is nice quality and all that.

Kefir gone wild!

Update on our Kefir project - we're now fermenting about 3 cups of milk per day with our kefir grains! It's nuts! We have to use a half gallon container for it so it's got room to "breathe" while it ferments. So far we probably have about double the grains we started with, and soon we'll be able to start sharing it. We've got two friends who've asked for it already, so apparently we're not the only crazy ones in town!

As for the kefir itself, Paul is a HUGE fan. He makes a big smoothie for breakfast every morning, with fruit mixed in. I have been mostly sticking to yogurt, but the kefir is starting to taste better as it grows. At first, it was really yeasty tasting, like drinking sourdough starter. Now it's less so, but still a big more tangy than yogurt flavor. Apparently it takes time to "mellow".

International Delights in Ohio

Yesterday my friend Jackie and I drove out to Cincinnati Ohio for some international shopping. While Cincinnati doesn't conjure up images of a cosmopolitan utopia, between Ikea and Jungle Jim's you sure can get a lot of international loot! It's only a 3 hour drive from here, so it is totally do-able as a day trip. And even more fun when you go with a friend!

Here's a sampling of my shopping results:

• Cheese from Sweden, France, Switzerland and New York
• French wine from the Corbières, Sake from Japan
• Red bean daifuku from Japan
• Swedish herring and Swedish caviar
• Moroccan olives

household stuff:

• Small trash can from Italy
  
• Storage boxes from Poland
  
• Lamp from China
  
• Scrub brush from the Czech Republic
  

It was so nice to get out of Bloomington for a day! I only have classes once a week this semester (my 3 classes are all on the same day), so I've been going a little stircrazy being around the house all day. When I realized I talk to my dog more than with people, I decided it was a good time to go out and do something besides sitting at home and reading and writing papers!

Adopting bacteria

Paul and I have just adopted some bacteria. Yup, we paid some place called Yemoos for bacteria. Why? Well, as many of you know, we've been making our own yogurt for the past year or so, and we love it. Recently, as we were in the local Bloomingfoods organic market (shopping for a picnic in the park that got rained out) I found a package of dried "kefir" starter. I'd never had kefir before, but it's a drinkable sort of yogurt that's supposed to be really good for your digestion (there are also some Internet rumors that it lowers cholesterol and prevents cancer, but I wouldn't bet on that). We've made it a few times now, and we like it so much that Paul went and ordered some live kefir starter culture.

Here's what we got:

We still need to choose a name for it (the little card says you're supposed to give it a name). Any suggestions?

Here it is in the jar after I strained it with some milk

And, here's how it'll look for the next 24 hours while it grows in the cabinet. After that, we'll strain it and re-grow the grains in fresh milk for another 24 hours before we actually try it.

Can't wait to try the real deal! And if you're local, let us know if you'd like some starter once we get it going!