Howdy from Bloomington

It has been quite a while since our last post.  I have been spending a lot of time in Indiana working.  I don't want to post details on the internet, but in general we are examining archaeological materials in an area that will soon be covered by a road.  

Here I am with one of my coworkers:

Here is a view of our parking area and break/work tent.  I do my computer work in this tent.  We also store our supplies in the tent, and usually have lunch there too.  I am standing at the start of the site, which is uphill from the tent.  Since I take all the photos for the project, I hike up and down this hill frequently.

Over the past week, we have had some impressive clouds appearing in the afternoon.  We haven't gotten significant rain from these clouds, but they are still nice to observe.

Here I am with another one of my work buddies.  I have to wear a safety vest because there is a backhoe and bobcat working on site and I walk all around the site (so I need to be visible).

Holland trip

Several weeks ago, I went to Holland for a few days to see David and Rachel and their gang before they moved to Colorado.  It was really good to see them, and I was happy I ended up going.  Brian had to stay home to go to work, sadly, so this was a solo trip for me.  I finally pulled the pictures off my phone this week, so I had a few to post.

There was a lot of packing and sorting and throwing away to do.

David and Dad by the front deck.  The lovely green plant at David's feet is a mat of thyme.

Rachel's folks and my Mom: We grilled burgers and asparagus and had some folks over to celebrate D&R's anniversary (10 years!).  When I told Joes that we were celebrating his parents' anniversary, he asked if they had ever had one before.

The boys: this is the best picture I could get.  They are in constant motion!  Also, I am in serious danger of getting sprayed by the hose.

Butterly exhibit, Krohn Observatory

When my parents were here last weekend, we went to see the butterflies at the local gardens.  There were a lot of people there, and it was very crowded.  But there were also many nice butterflies to see as well.

Flying Pig

Another activity we did was watch part of the Flying Pig Marathon, which took place on Sunday morning.  The race's path was quite close to our house, which made it very convenient to go and watch the runners.  We especially wanted to see Anne (sister-in-law), who was running the half marathon. 

Go Anne go!

Lots of runners running through our neighborhood:

There were many creative signs and costumes:

Museum Center

Last weekend, my parents visited us in Cincinnati.  We went to the Museum Center, which houses several different museums.  The building used to be the main train station, and it is still a stop for Amtrak today.  We went to the Pompeii exhibit, which had artifacts from the excavations at Pompeii.  We learned a lot about daily life there, as well as the eruption that buried the city in 79 AD.

Mom and Brian in front of the Museum Center:

The view of the city from the front entrance of the Museum Center:

View of the city from the back of the Museum Center.  I like the plants on the roof.

The main entrance hall:

Some of the artifacts-seals and keys:

Statue of a respectable Roman woman:

Colorful wall fresco:

Cast of a person who was caught in the ash:

A group of victims who were waiting for rescue in a boat house on the coast:

The Great American Ballpark

On Thursday, Brian and I went to a Reds game with his work.  It was an afternoon game against the Cubs, and it was a very very sunny hot day.  I was extremely happy I brought my hat!

The seats we had gave us a great view of the game, as well as the Ohio River (just beyond the stadium).  The ballpark itself is very nice, and the sun made the green grass and red and blue uniforms really pop.  It was a beautiful day to be out.

 The Cubs were ahead for most of the game, but they put in a pitcher at the end who basically gave the Reds the 3 runs they needed to tie (he walked a runner home!).  Then in the 10th inning, the Reds got a  runner in to win the game.  It was quite exciting in the last few innings during the rally.

Sushi step-by-step

We have been eating vegi sushi a lot, since we both like it a lot and I enjoy the practice.  I am getting faster at making the rolls, which is the time-consuming step (see below for pics).  I start by putting the rice on (not long-grained, I use white rice but you can also use brown).  There is a complicated rinsing process you are supposed to go through, but I just make my rice in the usual manner.  While the rice is cooking, I prepare the vegis that will go in the sushi, as well as pulling out the other ingredients (nori, sesame seeds, wasabi).  Once the rice is cooked, you need to put it in a large bowl and toss it with some rice vinegar for a while to cool it down and make it the right consistency (fairly sticky).

All the ingredients, ready to roll:

Start by putting nori (mat of dried seaweed) on the rolling mat:

Put rice on the seaweed, spreading it out in a thin layer (this step took the most time initially):

I like to season with wasabi at this point (Brian likes this stuff b/c it tastes a bit like horseradish), and I also add toasted sesame seeds:

Finally you layer on whatever fillings you want.  I make just vegi most frequently b/c fish sushi requires an extra trip to the right fish market to get sushi-grade fish (safe to eat raw) on the day you want to make the sushi.  Most commonly, we have cucumber, avocado, and scallions, but we also often have carrot, red pepper, yellow pepper, asparagus, green beans, or imitation crab meat.  Once all the stuff is in, all you have to do is roll it up and cut the roll into pieces.