Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

another view (and a chilly) morning

~view from the fire tower at Hobcaw Barony~

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From Wikipedia:

Hobcaw Barony, also known as Bellefield Plantation is a 15,560 acres (63 km²) tract on a peninsula called Waccamaw Neck between the Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Much of Hobcaw Barony is south of US Highway 17. The land was purchased by the investor, philanthropist, presidential advisor, and South Carolina native Bernard M. Baruch between 1905 and 1907 for a winter hunting resort. Later it was transferred to his eldest child, Belle W. Baruch. Upon her death in 1964, it was transferred to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation for a nature and research preserve. It consists of over 40 buildings that represent the 18th and 19th century rice cultivation and 20th century winter resorts. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1994.

~the view at the top of the post is from the fire tower (far right side of the above map, 'Clambank Boat Ramp & Tower'.)~

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This morning.

Time:  7:14 am

Outdoor Air Temperature:  32 F

Airstream Indoor Temperature:  49 F

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(The Vornado was just turned out - it heats up the Airstream quickly!)

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As made evident by the temperatures above, I haven't fully dealt with night-time temperatures inside of the Airstream.  But it really hasn't been a problem - as long as it's warm when I go to bed, I've yet to wake up during the night cold.  In the morning, I just turn on the Vornado - and then head out with The Pointer Sisters and Stan - and by the time I get back inside (15-20 minutes later) - the place is already much warmer.  It's not difficult to heat a 216 square foot home.  Which all begs the question:  will I be able to make it through a coastal South Carolina winter without ever turning on the heat at night?

Okay, I've got real work to do.

?

My home is beeping and I don't know why.

~~~~~

Update, two and a half hours later:  It appears that an electronic device on the Airstream Central Control panel was beeping.  No need for alarm (no pun intended) - I think it just wanted me to set the correct time, which I haven't done yet.  It's an EQUUS Computer Voltmeter - so it monitors the Airstream's battery charge.  I need to purchase a new battery this weekend (or at least by Monday) because an electrician is showing up on Monday to upgrade the line from the utility pole to the Airstream (from 20 to 30 amp) and he will change out the battery for me too.  This upgrade should eliminate the sporadic power outages that I've been experiencing, and allow me to have the microwave, Vornado heater, and toaster/convection oven all going at the same time.  I know, I know - too luxurious for words! 

On a much lighter note...

 
~Roses at the bottom of a glass jar (on Day I)~

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[I'm still rather enamored with David Perry's Mason Jar Master Class - and so a few days ago collected roses from the garden and placed them on the bottom of a large glass jar.  I'm taking photos everyday of the roses as they age, and I'm moving the jar around some - and taking the photos with the jar on different surfaces.  Some have worked (flagstone), some have definitely not worked (bottom of a bright yellow kayak) and some are interesting though odd (on a bit of ground littered with yellow-orange-red chinese tallow leaves).  And for those of you who are curious, we have not had a frost/freeze as of yet along my little piece of the South Carolina coast.]

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Yesterday I mentioned that the Airstream electricity had 'blown' and this evening an electrician made it by, and things are back 'on' - not perfect, but much improved.  Last night was an interesting night:  after my initial meltdown, and after my frustration subsided, I settled down and built a nice fire outdoors and sat and talked on the phone with a friend from Michigan as the dogs ran around, and then I connected an outdoor extension cord (coming from the falling-down house) to the Airstream and was able to warm the place up a bit, turn-on the computer, and heat up some leftover quiche.  I ended up going to bed early, with a flashlight and a book:  it was warm and quiet and really not so bad afterall.

But tonight it is almost luxurious to have several electricial appliances going at once - the dehumidifier is on, I'm typing away here, and the Vornado is blowing warm air.  It's raining outside - the Airstream is a nice place to be in the rain.

I still have the refrigerator off, and I won't be able to have it running on electricity until a few things are upgraded.  The electrician, who stopped by this evening, is scheduled to return early Thursday morning - and he's going to look at the fusebox and utility pole and propose a plan.  I will be present when he evaluates the electrical system, and I'm hoping to learn a thing or two.

~~~~~

 
 ~Another view of roses at the bottom of a glass jar (on Day I)~

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Did you happen to see the link today to a New York Post piece titled 'Cozy-crazy couple makes tight all right in the city's tiniest studio'?

First, let's do the math:  They live in 175-square-foot microstudio.  It's 14.9 feet long and 10 feet wide, with a 3 feet by 9 feet bathroom (okay, so that looks more like 176-square-feet).  My Airstream home is 27 feet long and 8 feet wide ( 216-square-feet).

So my Airstream is larger than their $150,000 microstudio with a view of Upper Manhattan.

Oh, and they also have two cats.

From the article:

The couple wakes up every morning in their queen-size bed, which takes up one-third of the living space.

They then walk five feet toward the tiny kitchen, where they pull out their workout clothes, which are folded neatly in two cabinets above the sink. A third cabinet holds several containers of espresso for their only kitchen appliance, a cappuccino maker.

They turn off their hotplate, and use the space on the counter as a feeding area for their cats, Esmeralda and Beauregard.

"We don't cook," Zaarath said, adding that their fridge never has any food in it. "So when you don't cook, you don't need plates or pots or pans. So we use that space for our clothes."

Okay, so I don't have a queen-sized bed, or a view of Manhattan.  But I do have 46-square-feet on these guys....so there. 

~~~~~

    
 ~And yet another view of roses at the bottom of a glass jar (on DayI)~

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The Microbial Lab had a manuscript published this week (you can read the abstract here) and another manuscript was officially accepted.  Another is in the hand's of it's co-authors, and a draft of another manuscript was given to me today by a student.  It really has been a rewarding time, with respect to publications - no doubt about that.

There was a wonderful piece on the CBS evening news last night - I didn't watch it (since I was on a strict rotating electrical appliance schedule, and the TV didn't make the cut) - but was able to watch the piece here...and here's a nice companion article.

 On her view of why some men have trouble with women in science careers (from the video):

"...I'm just not so comfortable bringing her into the group..."   Carol Greider, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University.

Hmmmm.  I have quite a bit to say here, but this is not the place to say it.  Perhaps a better place is around a fire outside of an Airstream (with something stronger than apple cider to drink).

~~~~~ 

Have you been following the 'climate change email controversy'?  There's quite a bit, floating around out there, about what happened.  There's much being said - like this...and this / this.  (And remember this?).  My general (and perhaps naive) sense is that this discussion is good - perhaps it will, in time, help people understand a bit more deeply about how science works.  Now that's something I could write about here, that is, if I have electricity and if I lose interest in roses at the bottom of glass jars.

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 ~~~~~

~a sunken ship, leaking oil, and being a happy camper~

~U.S. Naval Historical Center photo G-387565, obtained from here~

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Pearl Harbor Day is always a bit of an odd day around the Microbial Laboratory.  Although it's fearless leader was raised a pacifist, and it's members are much too young to think much about something that happened 68 years ago - we are still tied to the ship that has come to be a symbol of that day, and of our country's resilience.  I've spoken of this tie before (and even before that).  You see, my lab has collected a large amount of data describing the oil that is leaking out of the memorialized vessel - and so sometimes on this day we get a bit of attention because of our past involvement in the project.

Now this is always nice attention (of course it is) but it's also a bit stressful because I still have two or three manuscripts to write describing what we learned.  They've been lingering much too long, and while others are pondering the significance of this day in our Nation's history, I'm kicking myself in the butt for not having submitted manuscripts on this work for publication already.

  For a fascinating look at the history of the USS Arizona and on-going preservation efforts, I recommend that you spend some time here.

~~~~~

As for me, well, I should get writing (and if it were only that easy).  But alas, yesterday's funky state has gone viral, at least in my little world - this morning the Airstream's electricity blew, and I have calls in to several electricians with no call backs yet.  I'm posting this because of an extension cord that is connected to the power in the falling-down house - and this evening I've been alternating between plugging the cord into the computer, the TV, and the Vornado.  Fortunately for me I always liked camping (although I must say, tonight is testing my limits).

So if you're in the neighborhood, please do drop by - there's a fire going outside, and if you have the ingredients for s'mores, all the better.

Happy Pearl Harbor Day.

~the state of my funky state~

~The Airstream Dogs:  Stanley, Annabelle Lee, and The Dan~

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I've been in a funk this weekend.  (Oh, let's face it, I've been in a  funk all week).

A former graduate student in our program, a young woman in her early 30s with a nine month old daughter, has Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer - and we learned that not only has it metastasized into nine locations in her bone, but we learned this week that it is also in her lungs.  She's already having difficulty breathing.  She was just diagnosed last summer - her 'type' of cancer is the most aggressive.  She was hospitalized this weekend (on oxygen) and was online - so I sent her the link to the Pink Gloves Dance video that has been making the rounds.  What a wonderful video - I told this student that when she returns to Charleston (she's out of town, in a clinical trial) that we should show Oregon how Charlestonians dance!

What she's dealing with is heartbreaking.

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I didn't realize how bad of a funk I was in until my friend Kate (who used to live in my neighborhood, but now lives in Pennsylvania) left two comments after I posted the 1969 Nina Simone video of her singing the song "Ain't Got No/I Got Life" (written by Simone).  Now, Kate's first comment, 'Yikes', was posted before she had listened to the whole song - so if you just listened to the first part of it and are worried that I was thinking about jumping off the Airstream, well, no worries.  There are no such plans.

~~~~~

So here's the deal:  my dryer stopped drying when I returned from Thanksgiving in Virginia.  It's still in the falling-down house, and I think it's something electrical (rather, something wrong with the electronics - the 'control locked' button is on, and I need to go to the manual and see what that means).  Since I find this whole new Airstream Life a challenge, I now have a small drying rack set up in the bathtub of the Airstream - which we all know is sort of silly considering that it isn't even the size of a regular bathtub.  As I type this, it has sheets drying on it.

(And no, I don't have a clothes line up.  I need to rig up something on the sunny (vegetable garden) side of my place - fortunately I'm not in a neighborhood where they mind that sort of thing).

~~~~~

I've also failed to mention before that I don't have hot water.  Fortunately for me, I lived in Michigan (during graduate school) and swam in the Great Lakes during the summer, so although cold showers (that I've been taking in the falling-down house) are not something one enjoys, at least it's not the end of the world.  When I was swimming regularly I was one of a handful of folks that would keep swimming when the pool heater wasn't working - with that said, I hope to have the Airstream's hot water heater working this weekend (which brings up an additional problem:  a pipe that leads into the Airstream tube/shower leaks - it's hard to get to, and I haven't been able to pinpoint where the problem is yet.  Guess I should do that first.

(And yes, I am clean.  Geez, it's not that bad.)

~~~~~ 

Since the last day of July, when I spent my first night in the Airstream, I've been (very) slowly moving in - as I transition from the falling-down house.  I've still been using the falling-down house kitchen - at least up until this week.  Miraculously the refrigerator is working on electricity - last week the eclair-baking postdoc came out to my place to work on a manuscript, and before he left, I asked him to look over the refrigerator, because I couldn't get it to turn on.  Evidently something we did in the switching on and off of knobs worked - because the eclair-baking postdoc left, thinking the refrigerator wasn't working - and the next day I opened it and it was cool (and might I add that it's the quietest refrigerator I have ever been around).  Now this was good timing, but stupidly, before leaving for Virginia for Thanksgiving, I had turned off the electricity to the Airstream and the falling-down house, foolishly forgetting that I was still using the refrigerator.  Fortunately there wasn't much food in it, and some of the items could safely tolerate such treatment (like flour).  So I finished cleaning out my 16 year old refrigerator today - and will donate it to Habitat or the Kidney Foundation folks (one of those groups that will come to your house and pick up appliances - it still works great, and has an ice maker).

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The Airstream does have a gas oven (you can see it on the very right side of the image in this post) - but I'm trying to limit the use of gas, so I brought into the Airstream kitchen yesterday my toaster/convection oven.

~~~~~ 

  So today I went to the grocery story, determined to shop with the Airstream kitchen in mind, and not my former kitchen.  I had talked with my friend Jeff earlier, and he was making a quiche when we spoke - so I thought a quiche would be the perfect thing for me to make.  So I got the ingredients for a spinach, red bell pepper, and onion quiche - and came home and made two of them.  I bought pre-made shallow-dish pie crusts (wasn't up to finding the space to roll out a pie crust in this kitchen) and I 'sauteed' the onions, bell pepper and garlic in butter/olive oil in the microwave - the rest was pretty straightforward.  Afterwards I made a small pan of brownies in the convection oven - Ghirardelli Double Chocolate.

So tonight I ate several pieces of quiche (I hadn't had lunch - I was starving!), a small salad, and a brownie for dessert.  All prepared in my home - a 1973 Airstream Overlander.

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~spinach, red bell pepper, and onion quiche~

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Now, this lovely little meal wasn't without incident.  What I've learned this week is that with the refrigerator running off of electricity, that I can't also be using the toaster/convection oven, computer, TV and the Vornado space heater (running on high).  When I had an electrical problem a few weeks ago, the electrician (who is also a neighbor) had said that he could fix it so that wouldn't be a problem, and after today (the utility pole fuse to the Airstream blew twice), perhaps I'll need to call him sooner rather than later.

But there was a lovely little meal, and there are leftovers.  The Airstream refrigerator has blueberries and apple cider and homemade quiches and romaine lettuce and humus inside of it.  There are bananas in a bowl on the counter.  The sheets on the rack (sitting in the Airstream tub) are almost dry and the Pointer Sisters are tired and asleep.  The cat looks content (but does one ever know for sure?).  Stanley is napping next to me.  Although this Airstream Life is overwhelming at times, and although I'm unsure about so many aspects of my life - a warm meal is something to be grateful for.  I also have to remind myself that moving into the Airstream was a choice (albeit an unusual one) - I could readily sell my property, and with the equity purchase a place here or elsewhere - and drop the plans to build my little LEED home.  I've spent due time in architherapy - and I'm not ready yet to give up on the dream of new house with solar hot water in the middle of my live oak filled garden.  Over the next few weeks there are a few meetings that might lead to something - so we'll see.

I don't want this space to become a place where I whine about my life.  The world is much too interesting for that.

~~~~~

Where's a pink aluminum Christmas tree when you need one?

~the Airstream window-by-the-front-door~

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Today I ran a few errands, including a stop at a local kitchen supply store in order to get a small dish drying rack (for the Airstream kitchen sink) and ice cube trays (yes, for the now-functioning Airstream refrigerator).  As always, I fell prey to the Christmas decorations in the store, but thankfully I only left with a $2.50 package of ornaments that stick to glass.  Kinda tacky, definitely simple - and more importantly:  they take up no space.  Of course the Airstream is just begging for an aluminum Christmas tree, perhaps a vintage pink tree - perhaps this book on the coffee table (wait, there is no coffee table) - or better yet, this little beauty is just perfect - don't you think?

So - it's either $2.50 worth of stick-to-glass ornaments, or a pink aluminum Christmas tree - or a 6' inflatable animated mooning Santa.

(But in this case, I'm guessing less is more.)

~~~~~   

~the view from the inside~

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The decorated window is actually The Dan's little window - the inside of which is covered with dog nose prints.  It's where she sits and watches squirrels, that is when she's not outside trying to climb trees in order to catch the squirrels...unfortunately, the Christmas decorations are interfering with her squirrel-obsessed existence, but she'll make it through the holiday season, I'm sure.

~The Pointer Sisters~

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[And yes, I'm living in a 27.5' Airstream with three dogs and almost-a-whole cat.  It's nuts, but not crazy-nuts - fortunately the dogs can run outside alot, and Annabelle Lee and The Stan (shown here outside the Airstream - over two years ago!) are generally quiet when inside, but it's The Dan that stays on the alert until the sun goes down...she's a nutty thing].

~thankful to be back in the Airstream~

~Stanley on Thanksgiving morning~

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My camera received little attention over the past week - I think the only time that I took it anywhere with me was on Thanksgiving morning when I went outside early with Stanley.  It was a foggy morning - a day that didn't feel much like a holiday, since I had spent the previous 48 hours in the first floor basement of my Father's home, going through my Mother's things.

It's strange, the things that get to you:  a pair of pinking shears.  Images of my Mother cutting out patterns when I was young came rushing back into my head - she used to sew alot when I was young.  And there was rick-rack...remember rick-rack?  Then there was a bag of her Mother's dresses - so my Grandmother Frankie - cut into squares ready to be made into a quilt.  I've never liked to sew (confession:  I got a 'D' in Home Economics in 7th grade mainly because of the sewing projects) but going through all of my Mom's bags of fabric made me want to make a quilt.  Perhaps a quilt of my Grandmother's dresses.  (Yeah, right, just what I need - something else to do).   

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~tiny spiderweb boats sailing across the forest floor~

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I wasn't at my best this week.  I was worn out, tired, quiet - focused more on what I needed to get done for my Father (which were two large projects:  cleaning out the first floor basement apartment for his 'live-in' person and organizing/taking over his finances) than on being either gracious or friendly.  It was a bit overwhelming, no - it was alot overwhelming - this taking over of my Father's life.  It had to be done, undeniably, and it's a relief tonight knowing that things will be a bit easier for him as a result.  He is such a sweet, sweet man - and is fighting little of this transition.  Tonight his live-in healthcare person is with him - he really enjoys her, and she's great with him.  She'll be moving this week into the first floor apartment - a bed will be delivered on Monday or Tuesday for her - and hopefully soon she'll be settled in, and they'll get into a comfortable routine.  So all of that is good - and now I'm home, exhausted, but back in the Airstream.

It was strange coming home, and first turning on the electricity at the fuse box and the water before opening the door of my 'home'.  The Vornado heater is on - and it's finally warming up.  It was 49 degrees inside when I got home - which really isn't too bad (I had turned the electricity and water off for the week).  It was strange in my Dad's home - I kept thinking to myself 'wow, he heats up all of this space!' and I know it's this whole getting used to compact living thing and the truth is that I rarely sit in the Airstream thinking 'I wish this place was larger'.  I'm sure the time will come, but thankfully it hasn't happened yet.

It's time to sleep.  I'm tired, drained, emotionally-spent and glad to be home.

~~~~~

The Cat in the Airstream

~Haiku-the-three-legged and famed tamer-of-pointers~

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Yes, the cat is finally in the Airstream.

I've had her in the crumbling house (aka the 'main house') for the past few months (she had the dogs with her during the day, but has been alone at night), since the dogs and I made the giant leap into Airstream living...it's hard to believe that it was two and a half months ago now.  Last night when I got back into Charleston, I grabbed her and brought her to the Airstream - it was cold out and I'm sure she had been lonely while I was gone.  Today I retrieved the Pointer Sisters from prison (aka the kennel) and after they ran and ran and ran and ran (you get the picture) they are in the Airstream, happy to have their cat back with them.  It's funny - the one house rule is YOU CANNOT HARASS THE CAT - and they come *this* close to harassing her when they can, but as of yet, haven't crossed the line.  Plus, this is one unfazed three-legged cat:  she isn't going to let any crazy dogs wreck her day.  No way. 

~off Amicus Road~

~a barn off Amicus Road in Greene County, Virginia~

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I'm back in Charleston - to a predicted low tonight of 38 degrees.  That is pure craziness if you ask me - it's just mid-October!  Fortunately the Airstream is warm.  I've got three options for heat:  there is a propane heating system (at least I think it's propane, I haven't dealt with it yet), and then the rooftop Carrier AC unit (the standard Air V model here) that includes a heat pump - but what's keeping me warm right now is an electric 'Vornado' (this one, to be precise) that works like a charm.  I won't keep it on when I sleep (I'll probably rely on the Carrier unit at night) - but for now, it's just about perfect.

~~~~~

While in Virginia, on Saturday afternoon when my father took a nap, I went for a drive.  It wasn't peak color - but it was still beautiful for this coastal South Carolinian.  I decided to take a new route - and I ended up in Amicus (in Greene County, Virginia) and from Amicus Road I found a new (new to me that is) 'mountain', Bingham Mountain, by following Bingham Mountain Road until it intersected Simmons Gap (which was a road familiar to me).  It was a wonderful road, only partially paved in places - and there were some wonderful old farms on both side of the roads.  At one point there was a narrow, one-lane bridge that went over a small creek - I wanted to stop and photograph it, but unfortunately there was an anxious farmer behind me, someone annoyed already at finding me in front of him, driving slowly (akin to the leafpeepers...).  I finally was able to pull over and let him pass me, and then didn't see another car on the road until I arrived back at my Dad's home.  

~~~~~

 

~another view along Amicus Road~

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It was a colorless sky afternoon - low, harmless clouds were moving through, covering the faded peaks of far off mountains.  The most beautiful part of the landscape were the abandoned fields - gold to burnt orange grasses, the deep red of the sumac, touches of greens - colors of the autumn palette.

~~~~~

 

~again, off Amicus Road~
~~~~~

It was nice to experience a touch of Autumn.  It was also nice to visit my father - to leave him with a freezer full of brocolli-chicken casserole (divided into individual servings), a clean refrigerator, and memories of another successful spaghetti dinner.  We also talked about many difficult subjects, and I think we both handled it well - and approached it with a bit of humor and realism and hopefully, yes hopefully, my father knows that the conversations were only because so many of us care about him.  As I got ready to leave this morning, he made sure I had a few bananas and some grapes and pumpkin bread (a gift from a neighbor) packed for the drive - just as my mother would have done.  My father is an awfully sweet man.

~from Dwell~

A cool 1959 remodeled Airstream from the Dwell blogs.