Tales from the Microbial Laboratory

~a sad evening~

 
~the lovely and invasive chinese tallow, Triadica sebifera (L.)~

~~~~~

Two large chinese tallows reside along the fence row that separates the full sun areas of my place (where the vegetable garden, blueberries, asparagus bed, etc reside), and a tidal (drainage) creek.  I know that I should look at them, snarl - and with fists raised curse their very existence.  But instead in late Autumn (what is considered winter to most of you) the chinese tallows simply glow in my side garden - first turning yellow, then bright orange - and although I'm aware of the ecological damage that they do, I can't help but be glad that they have invaded my acre of land.

~~~~~

Tonight there is a frost/freeze warning for the lowcountry - the first of the year.

~~~~~

It is a sad evening.

The young woman that I first mentioned a few days ago, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer six months ago, passed away today.  She was in Dallas, starting a new chemotherapy regimen that was to be continued here in Charleston - she was due to fly back here tomorrow.  Instead, tomorrow her husband and young daughter (who turns one this month) will fly to Dallas for her funeral.

You can read a bit about her here.

It is difficult to comprehend the passing of someone so young, someone with a young child - someone who was just getting out of the all-consuming graduate school life and embarking on new adventures.

I have ranted before about cancer in this pages.  The disease deserves no more of my energy tonight.

Rest in peace, Meagan.

~the state of my funky state~

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

~~~~~

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.

~~~~

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).

~~~~~

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.

~~~~~

~spinach, red bell pepper, and onion quiche~

~~~~~ 

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.

~~~~~

~some days are just Nina Simone kinda days~

~Nina Simone, Harlem, 1969~

~natural cycles~

~the Microbial Lab and Friends, 'blebbing' in honor of Ben's newly minted doctorate (Ben is the one holding the bottle of champagne)~

~~~~~

What is 'blebbing' you ask?  You can see an image of our model organisms here, a Gram-negative organism (the rod shape in the middle of the image) - surrounded by smaller, spherical 'blebs' or membrane vesicles.  What does a group of geeky scientists do in such a festive photo opportunity?  In honor of Ben, they form their own silly blebs...since much of his work focused on these fascinating exosomic structures.

Silly scientists...

It was fun.  An hour seminar - followed by a three hour defense.  Then a fun lunch with pitchers of margaritas.

Another student successfully makes its way through the Microbial Lab...

~~~~~

So what did members of the lab do next?  Well, I left with my colleague who was in for the defense (we went downtown to a rooftop bar to further discuss science and life...) while other members of the lab went and painted the 'boat' on Folly Rd in honor of the new Ph.D.  The lab's 'new' senior graduate student sent me the image below of the boat - I love it!  The 'terminal masters' was related to an earlier incident when a member of Ben's committee suggested that he go for a 'terminal masters' if he couldn't get something to work.  It was one of those 'you have to be there' kind of dry jokes, but one that has obviously stuck...but what I love is the smiling rod-shaped microorganism on the boat - surrounded by blebs!  Yes, geekdom at it's very best.

~the boat on Folly Road~

~~~~~

And what did I do today?  First, it was a simply spectacular day.  Low humidity, crazy-blue sky - a breeze that reminded you that the Atlantic Ocean was just over there.  After a mid-day seminar I decided to go and see the Folly boat for myself - but when I got there, it had already been painted over (and by the way, Happy Birthday to Allison, whoever you are!).  Then - since I was already at the boat - and the day was just too too nice - I went onto Folly Beach, and sat and ate shrimp by myself at the Crab Shack (I've never been there - and basically stopped (because I wanted to eat outside and there was an easy parking spot).  After I was done - and walking to my car - I couldn't resist a shot of Planet Follywood.  It always makes me laugh.

~Planet Follywood, Folly Beach, South Carolina~

~~~~~

I made it back to the lab in time for another seminar - and then I left for home.  I've been enamored of late by the roadside 'ditch' flowers blooming - the ageratums and goldenrod and helianthus - and couldn't resist pulling over and taking a photo or two.  I want to go back, maybe over the next few days, to get some more shots - to drive home slowly and admire how beautiful a low spot and the right amount of neglect can be.

Sometimes, perhaps we work too hard.

As for work, and working too hard - I've got an invited review to work on.  The lab's Poet Laureate (from a distance) and I are writing it together.  She's gotten together the craziest, most impressive table that I've seen in a long time - as for me, I've got some writing to contribute - and the one reality of the Microbial Lab (and most labs, for that matter) is that there are natural cycles and a student's defense is one of them.  Another bottle of champagne is on my shelf, signed and dated by a new PhD.

Today I took a breather, and tomorrow the cycle begins again.

~roadside ageratums~

~~~~~

~a thank you to Annie~

~Thunbergia grandiflora, blue sky vine~

~~~~~

The late September garden is filled with flower vines - the perennial morning glory has finally decided to bloom again (and again and again...) - the cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) is starting to reach up to the first branch of the nearby live oak tree - and the blue sky vine is starting to bloom on the front fence (and climb the nearby ash tree, climbing the trunk almost to the top).  I love Autumn in the southern garden, it's as if all of the garden's occupants do one big exhale, and start to grow once again.

~~~~~

I need to say a big thank you tonight to Annie in Austin of The Transplantable Rose fame.  She kindly suggested my name to Associate Editor Michelle Gervais at Fine Gardening - which resulted in my writing a small piece for their Regional Reports on 'Three Garden Wishes' for my own southeastern garden (November/December 2009, Issue Number 130).  It was alot of fun to write - and so, thank you Annie, and thank you Michelle for letting a microbiologist-by-day rant about florida betony in Fine Gardening magazine.  It was a thrill.  

~...sometimes you're the cicada shell on the rear tire of your new home~

~Cicada shell on an Airstream tire~

You know the kind of day I'm talking about.  The kind that you can't wait to be over.  Remember the Mary Chapin Carpenter song 'The Bug'?  Well, it was the song that came to mind today as I was driving home.

Yep, I felt just like the cicada shell on the rear tire of my new home...and if that isn't a country music song, I don't know what is.

~~~~~

~~~~~

~a petal-less zinnia~

~~~~~

I was never a big fan of Gone with the Wind, but right now, one memorable quote (by Scarlett) comes to mind:

I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow. 

~~~~~

one of those days

~lamb's ear~

~~~~~

Traveling...you've just gotta love it.

My 8 am return flight was cancelled.  They re-booked me on a flight that was delayed.  I got into Atlanta late - and got booked on another flight.  I arrived in Charleston, but my luggage didn't.  On my drive home from the airport a car rear-ended me at a stop light - no damage to my car, but his bumper got stuck on my boat hitch and it took awhile to get our cars 'unstuck'.  Thankfully, my luggage was delivered to my house tonight.

And tomorrow is Monday.  Yikes.

~~~~~

 

~euphoria~

~Salvia buchananii 'Show Girls', Eupatorium purpureum 'Gateway', Colocasia esculenta 'Elena', Stachys byzantina 'Helene Von Stein'~

~~~~~

Today I was driving home from work, thinking that my plant habit might be awhole lot like a crack habit.  Now, I don't have a crack habit - and for that I am grateful.  Crack is destructive and messes with peoples lives.  I don't think that a perennial, no matter how hard it tries, can be destructive.

~~~~~

But, as the eclair-making postdoc (yes, the one who hasn't made eclairs in a long, long time...) mentioned after our (brief) visit to a plant nursery after lunch today:

'You really do have a problem don't you.'

(Note that his comment wasn't said as a question, but as a statement).

~~~~~

So tonight I thought I'd look at the effect of plants crack on a person's life.  Taken from this website:

The short term effects of crack include but are not limited to:

• Magnification of pleasure, euphoria
• Alertness and in some cases - hyper-alertness
• Increased and sometimes a grandiose sense of well being
• Decreased anxiety
• Lower social inhibitions: more sociable and talkative
• Heightened energy, self-esteem, sexuality and emotions aroused by interpersonal experiences
• Appetite loss; weight loss

~~~~~~

Now, I'm saying all of this sounds good - and the weight loss, that's a bonus indeed!  Plus, I am thankful to report that the longterm effect of plants crack do not apply (as you might see for yourself here). 

~~~~~

So yeah, I might have a problem.  But life - work mostly - is pretty dang stressful right now.  There's change, risk, and alot of wishful thinking blowing in the wind.  If four new plants - much needed additions to my garden - help me navigate these new winds, then a crack plant addict I am.  And like I said, I've never seen a perennial (or two...or three...) ruin a person's life.

~~~~~

Update (Wednesday morning, 10 June):   The nutty new dog (who is now no longer 'new'), Annabelle Lee, was scared of the new Lamb's Ear this morning.  It was funny - she must not have seen it last night, because when she saw it this morning, she backed up and started slowly crouching toward it - checking to see if it was 'alive'.  Once she considered it 'dead' - she pounced on it, and bit off a few leaves.  The garden is now safe from the threat of a Lamb's Ear attack.  I feel safer...don't you? 

Mon.

~Stokesia laevis~

~~~~~

Changed the oil, put in fresh gas - a new air filter and a new sparkplug.

The lawn mower still doesn't start.

A fuel line problem?  The carburetor?

~~~~~

Today was a Monday.

One of the ultra low temp freezers was on the fritz.

A former summer undergraduate, now almost finished his PhD, came to the lab and gave a fascinating seminar.  Ever think about a lunging...whale? 

Finished edits on a student's manuscript.

Had a meeting.  Then another.

~~~~~

Came home.

The lawn mower still wouldn't start.

Weeded instead.