Snow last week

Last weekend it snowed for the first time this year. Not only was it only mid-October, but it snowed both Friday AND Sunday! For several hours! However, none of it stuck, though a certain mad runner said he saw some on Prospect Hill Monday morning.



Another mad runner. I wonder if the Prof.'s productivity level has seen a sharp drop lately?

Working for Dr. Hayes!

Dr. Hayes has signed me on part time as a consultant/research assistant for two Smart Balance funded clinical tests. In the first he wants to have a group of participants drink soymilk with plant phytosterols for a period of time to see if the phytosterols lower their 'bad' cholesterol. The second test is a pilot and involves a new type of Smart Balance that he believes may also lower cholesterol. My job will be to help prepare the research proposals, design a meal plan (for the second clinical), buy and possibly perpare some of the food, recruit and organise the participants, contact them ao make sure they are following their diet, bring them in for blood tests, etc. Though this will be pretty new for me (and will involve quite a bit of background research) I am so excited to have an important job in these studies. It will also be a great look into what some dieticians do to help me decide if this is something I should persue. I can't wait!

Out in the patch

Seth and I had a great time yesterday soaking up a perfect Autumn day out in a local pumpkin patch with Gina, Mark, Kate and Adah. We each picked out a pumpkin (plus one small pie pumpkin 'for Lorenzo') then drove to Tewksbury, near Lowell, for a southern style lunch at Cracker Barrel, Adah's suggestion (she is in love with their grilled chicken with okra!).

Pumpkin picking gave us a great reason to travel through some of the more rural areas, where the leaves are noticeably more colorful and vibrant. I'd say the trees are at their best this weekend :o) It was also good to catch up with Mark's family--the girls are super sweet and we always have so much fun with them. It will be horrible if they really end up moving next summer :o(

Lorenzo il Magnifico

After a few days we settled on a name for the gerbil--Lorenzo, named after Lorenzo de' Medici (aka Lorenzo il Magnifico, or the Magnificent), the powerful patron of the arts from Renaissance Florence. That is pretty much all you need to know about his name.

We don't disturb Lorenzo during the day and let him sleep in his tiny hamster 'trundle bed' (this is basically a little wooden box with a pull-away compartment), but when it gets dark he is up and goes. We let him out of the cage and he just runs around, as much as possible, for the rest of the evening. It's never hard to catch him--he eventually comes running right up to us! I don't know if he is friendly, bold, or just curious, but it works well.

Ho un gerbillo nella cucina

Thursday we brought home a rescue gerbil from the lab. He was the 'spare' animal for an experiment which ended a week or two ago and he was never called upon to be used. Actually, when the 49 gerbils arrived in mid-August I was the only who came into the lab so I got to help Andy weigh and organize the groups and this guy was selected as the spare because he was the smallest. Now that his friends are gone he was going to be gotten rid of, too, if no one wanted him. As far as I can tell he is healthy, was never tested, and always fed a low-fat diet--the only bad thing is that he had to spend so long in a tiny cage by himself.

Seth and I deliberated over taking him home for several weeks. Seth even emailed his class to see if anyone wanted him, and two girls showed interest. However, after we brought him home I decided I didn't want to give him away, so now he is living in our kitchen. Actually, we have been letting him run loose in the sun-room when we are home--he just runs around nonstop, stretching his legs. If you step inside the room he will come over and eventually let himself back into his small lab cage.


Today I bought him a deluxe gerbil-habitat that he seems to have really taken to. However, I felt a little silly at the pet shop, buying small rodent supplies--a rodent not owned by a small child, but by myself. When I was checking out there was a boy with his dad in line in front of me. They also had a cage and some start-up supplies and the boy asked if I was getting a hamster, too. I told him, 'no, it is a gerbil'.


Having a great big place to run freely for hours and hours, being able to roll around in a large oatmeal tub, and sleeping in a fancy tank, the only thing I know that would make the gerbil happier is if he had a gerbil friend or two; being a social animal he really ought to have a companion, but unfortunately that won't be happening.

A positive step

Wohoo! Obama to announce $5 billion in research grants. Maybe some of that will trickle down to Evolution/Ecology/Behavior?

A second weekend with parents and a third birthday cake

Last weekend was Seth's parents' turn to visit. Though they stayed in Brighton near Chrissy's place, we spent Sunday afternoon with everyone over more cake then dinner at Chrissy's own local Thai restaurant. A little like the movie Ground Hog's Day, but too much fun to complain!


The next day (Monday) was the big U2 Concert. Chrissy and Jens had bought three premium tickets, the third for Seth's dad to join them. Chrissy is a huge fan and hasn't missed a U2 concert tour since late high school (probably about 20 years ago), but she wasn't feeling well and gave her ticket to Seth. I thought about buying last minute tickets for myself off Craigslist but decided the timing wasn't very good. Seth, however, spent the six hours in a car to get out to Foxboro and back and enjoyed the show from what I imagine were amazing seats. (Apparently he graded papers on the way home by the headlights from the cars behind them).

Meanwhile, the Brandeis Yoga Club is back in full swing. I feel so lucky to be able to join in, particularly since the instructors are from the local Yoga Power Studio and so are really knowledgeable and challenging. This is rare. Also, I could pay $15 to attend a class, but it is nice that the yoga club doesn't question my Brandeis affiliation and I am allowed to attend :o) This year, there will be about three classes every two weeks, with one of those classes at the actual studio (it is a cute studio on Main St, however the room is heated to 90 degrees and sweat makes things slippery). The other two classes, unfortunately, are Monday and/or Wednesday nights, the same time at the Renaissance Art class Seth and I are auditing :o( At least Seth can take notes for me on the nights I have to miss it!