Waskesiu

Last weekend we went camping up north. It was lovely to be in an area that had trees that were growing naturally (all the trees around here are planted). We saw many interesting things including a natural bog, many kinds of mushrooms, a bit of wildlife, and forests carpeted in thick moss. I hiked 2 1/2 km with only the assistance of my hiking poles on Saturday, and 2 km the same way on Sunday.

there are big deer in the forest in the background

We had a very good time, and although it rained a little bit on Saturday morning, it apparently rained torrentially all weekend in Regina so we certainly got the better deal.

Also, I have been working a bit on my jogging. I can now go for almost a whole minute, though I require probably ten minutes of seated rest afterwards. Jeff recently took this video to show me how much better my jogging looks than it used to:

It is excruciatingly slow (both the jogging and the progress) compared to what I would like it to be, but progress is progress :-)

Dragonflies in droves and abundant ice cream

The worst of mosquito season is over in Saskatchewan, and this is partly because dragonfly season is peaking. Dragonflies eat many many mosquitoes, and the ones here are large, at times looking more like small birds than insects. Somehow we missed this last year – I don't think we notice the dragonflies at all – but there is no way to miss it this year. At times I am sure I have seen upwards of twenty dragonflies at one time. I think they are very beautiful creatures, and seeing so many of them at once can be a little bit awe-inspiring.

Also abundant in our house in the past week is homemade ice cream. About a month ago I bought two ice cream cookbooks, and I have been dying to try out some of the recipes. I sent Jeff out to buy some half-and-half, and I am used to half-and-half having a particular milk fat content, but apparently around here the dairy product with that milk fat content is called coffee cream. So, I had to send Jeff back out to get the dairy product with the right milk fat content for the recipe I was using, but then we had this extra milk/cream, and I found another ice cream recipe that was appropriate to use it in. That made two batches of ice cream. But then there was a little bit of each type of milk/cream left over, and rather than let it go to waste, I made another half batch of a different type of ice cream. So we currently have three kinds of homemade ice cream in the house, and even though we had friends over to eat some of it last night, there is still quite a bit left. I am not complaining. However, none of the three types of ice cream turned out perfect (the malt powder didn't dissolve properly in the malted milk chocolate ice cream, the coffee flavor is a bit too prominent in the darkest-chocolate-ice cream-in-the-world, and the coffee beans I used to make the coffee ice cream were old, and taste old), so I will certainly have to try making each of them again :-)

Remember not long ago I mentioned that I had gotten a grant for my research? Well, earlier this week I was interviewed by the local paper, and they did a little story about the grant and my research. I am both shy/embarrassed about getting attention, and excited/proud about the research :)

Culture overload

First, a quick update on Maddy: she is allowed out the regular door (the cat door is no more) so that we can check to see if there are any animals in her mouth before letting her in, and the cat bib arrived yesterday so we are hopeful that maybe this will end the killing spree.

Two major things happened over the past week: I went to Washington DC for the American Psychological Association convention, and Jeff and I went to the Regina Folk Festival.

At the APA convention I was presenting a talk and went to several reasonably good talks, but the highlights of the trip were not convention-related. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit with my friend Meredith, who lives in Ohio but was visiting her parents in Arlington. I rented a mobility scooter to use during my trip, and we walked/scooted around the mall, visited a few museums, went out to eat, and spent much time catching up. It was lovely.

Arty selfie outside the art museum

Silly selfie at my hotel

 The conference went through Sunday, but I flew home Friday night in order to be in town for arguably the most interesting weekend of the summer in Regina. Jeff and I got weekend passes to the Regina Folk Festival, where we spent a good part of the weekend hanging out in camp chairs on the grass in front of the stages. We saw many musicians/bands, including Serena Ryder, Indigo Girls, Matt Andersen,
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Klô Pelgag,  Quique Escamilla, DakhaBrakha, Saidah Baba Talibah, Mo Kenney, Andino Suns, The Dead South, The Fretless, Mario Lepage... did I forget anyone? It was a very interesting mix of styles, and most of the music I had never heard before.

Mo Kenney, who is great - check out her music

Indigo Girls

Between the museums in DC and the music in Regina, this past week has been a bit of a culture overload – in a good way :)

The Most Interesting Cat in the World

"I don't always bring dead animals into the house, but when I do, sometimes they are actually still alive."

Maddy is no longer allowed to go outside. It is a bit challenging to keep her in, as she desperately wants to go out and is very wily, but an incident last week led to a complete ban on all outdoor activity.

We were sick of her bringing in dead animals, and maybe she sort of got the message, because last Tuesday she brought in two live animals – one bird, and one mouse. We spent almost two hours trying to get the bird out of the house, and Jeff is terrified of birds in enclosed spaces. I think it makes anyone a little bit jumpy, but Jeff was yelling, running into walls, and falling backwards over boxes. As soon as we got the bird out of the house, he declared that that is never happening again, no matter what it takes to prevent it. Live birds would normally be my domain, but because I am not as quick or agile as I used to be, it had to be a team effort. Jeff was left more than a little bit traumatized by the whole ordeal.

As for the mouse, we saw it darting around under furniture in the basement, and then it disappeared. We looked for it, but to no avail. It was discovered this morning, dead, in a closet.

I am not totally convinced that there isn't a solution that still allows Maddy to go out. When she is stuck inside and wants to go out, she is both annoying and dangerous. Annoying because she makes constant pleas at the doors and windows, and dangerous because she has a way of positioning herself in front of a person (and moving with you as you walk) in just the spot where it is almost impossible not to trip over her. Jeff is actually a bit concerned for my safety, given my unsteadiness. I have never fallen as a result of this behavior, but there have been times when I've had to catch myself. So, I have decided that we will try the cat bib again. I have ordered both available types, and a new kind of collar that might make it less likely for her to lose it. We'll see.

Today Jeff and I are celebrating our eight-year wedding anniversary. Time flies! An awful lot has happened in those eight years, but a lot has stayed the same - I am still very much in love :) Today is a holiday here (happy Saskatchewan Day!), and a lot of restaurants are closed, so we will be going out to dinner at a local pub. It may not be fancy, but neither are we, so it is probably more fitting than other restaurants we might otherwise choose. Anyway, happy anniversary dear husband!