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Just a break from my regular blogging to give a quick shout out from across the globe to my best-friend-in-the-whole-wide-world-best-cook-handiest-handy-man-fellow-nerd-partner-in-crime-coolest-travel-companion-love-of-my-life. Next month, I get to add a new title to his list - husband. And I get to be his missus.
Happy three years baby! Xoxoxo, all the way from India.
Photo by Sincerely, Kinsey Photography
We made a quick trip to southwestern Wisconsin over the weekend to share the Thanksgiving spirit with my dad. It was much quieter than our time with Pat’s family but it was still special. It was great to catch up with some of Dad’s family. Not everyone made it this year, as two of my little cousins are quite sick. Our thoughts were with them and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we will all be back together this time next year.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, in no small part because it’s the day that Pat and I got engaged last year. The huge helpings of home cooked food and flowing libations don’t hurt either! I celebrated this Thanksgiving with my future in-laws. Thanks to Pat’s four sisters and their significant others/friends, the house was always full and there was never a dull moment. It was a wonderful weekend. I have so much to be thankful for and a weekend surrounded by family was the perfect way to be reminded of this.
Happy Holidays!
Pat came to Stanford my last weekend there and I had to take him to one of my favorite spots in Stanford. The Cantor Arts Center is the University art museum that boasts a huge Rodin sculpture garden. They have one of the largest collections of Rodin sculptures in the world, including the fan favorite, The Thinker. Because the sculptures are made from a mold, there can be multiple “original” versions of each sculpture. There are twenty “Thinkers” all over the world including the most famous at the Musée Rodin in Paris.
I had last Saturday off, so I checked out the Palo Alto farmer’s market. The Madison farmer’s market is a tourist attraction and generally entails being trapped in a crowd of people all shuffling along in the same direction. The Palo Alto farmer’s market is much different. It is quite a bit smaller, with only 15 or so vendors, but still boasts a huge variety of goods – everything from the typical fresh flowers and veggies to dried apricots, infused olive oils to baked goods. It wasn’t crowded and I felt like I could take my time to check out each stand, without “holding up the line.”
I feel so spoiled to be in California right now, where “buying local” means juicy organic peaches, perfectly ripened avocado and crusty loaves of fresh bread.
I was admiring a flower stand and the owner started talking to me about his wares. He was about my age, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he quit a “serious” job to grow a huge beard and start an organic flower farm. He had so much advice to give about keeping cut flowers fresh and which flowers to pick so your bouquet lasts a long time. Did you know that a pinch of sugar will prolong the life of your bouquet? Also, every time you add water to the vase, you should completely clean it to remove all the debris and bacteria that build up on the sides. I admit, I usually just stick them under the faucet and top off the existing water!
When I explained to him that I’m living alone in a tiny place on the Stanford Campus and that I’m not home much to enjoy flowers, he insisted that I take a small bouquet home to put in a coffee mug. It definitely makes me smile as I stay up late pouring over my pediatric nephrology textbook.
A serious heatwave hit the Midwest last week. Temperatures were in the nineties to the low hundreds with no relief of heat even during the night! The temps made it pretty hard to function. We don’t have air conditioning, so Pat and I made an effort to look on the bright side.
I tried to pretend that my bathroom was a spa. After all, when it is 100 degrees indoors, your bathroom comes with heated towels, warmed lotion, and toasty tile floors! We also took the opportunity to go out to eat and use up a couple of gift certificates. It also made being at the hospital more enjoyable, because I knew the alternative was sitting at home not wanting to move. We couldn’t run the faucet long enough to get the water cold, so all of our drinking water was lukewarm. All the better to dissolve Crystal Light in, right?
Now that the temps have settled down (highs in the high 80′s to low 90′s, whoo!), it’s nice to enjoy being outside again. It’s nice to feel a cool breeze when you sleep. It’s nice to not have to wake up to run at 5:00am so you can workout before it’s 100 degrees out. It’s nice to really appreciate the summer weather I was taking for granted before.
P.S. – Did you see this video? It actually happened in Wisconsin. Thankfully no one got seriously injured!!!
Image via
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