Status: bleah [status, rowing, work]

I woke up this morning with the wrong type of cough.

Also, wow, the last time I posted was a full week ago. That's a good indicator of how much running around I've been doing.

We had an erg race last Saturday, down on the outskirts of the Bronx. The most amazing part was that there were only 6 of us from our team that traveled down, but 4 out of the 6 won! The only reason the 5th person didn't win was because she had to race against me. I am annoying like that, but she is a very good sport and I'm so grateful to have her as a teammate. Our 6th teammate was brand new to erg races, so he did very well, considering everything one learns during one's first erg race.

Miscellaneous photos:

Lab animals. This is Gary, our Sudanese plated lizard, getting warmed up so we can measure his/her breathing rate at warmer body temperatures last week (she is most likely female). The string is hooked up to a force transducer, which is connected to a computer that can measure the force created every time she inhales and exhales.



Horseshoe crabs for the lab this past Tuesday:



We measured oxygen binding properties of the hemocyanin (respiratory pigment) in the blood. Collecting the blood is always an exciting part of the lab. So blue!



I am still commuting on Princess TinyBike right now, my Brompton, because I'm waiting for a new rear wheel to arrive for Frodo. The other day I did a more detailed clean on Princess TinyBike, but in doing so, the rubber mud flap came off the back fender. As it turns out, that mud flap is actually rather important for keeping the mud off my back, as seen by the fresh splatters here.



Some erg race photos. Me and M, getting ready for our race, with S behind us to provide encouragement:


Teammate E towards the center, setting a new personal best:



The guy with the "D" on his shirt appeared to be a very out-of-shape coach. His athletes had fun heckling him the entire time. I have respect for the fact that he raced nonetheless.

The best part of erg races is finishing them so you can have your morning coffee:


What the crowds at erg races can look like:


Youth teammate S, about to set her own new personal best:


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Celebrating M's birthday the next day at our local beer hall, where you get a birthday boot to celebrate:


I drew her a special funny card. This is a boat flipped upside-down, a common and humbling occurrence in our sport:



Attempt at a self-portrait:


Drawing likenesses is NOT my strong suit, so I figured at least if I messed up, it was just me and not someone else who might get offended. M was suitably amused.

Finally, I can knit socks with impunity [projects, cats]

Because I have finished another project.

This is one that has taken me years. I was originally aiming to finish it for Emma, in her old age. But it took a long time to quilt it, first by hand, then by machine after I concluded that I am too slow at hand-quilting. It was a very useful project, because it revealed to me that I have no hope of doing the quilting for the Grandma Quilt project. I need to send the quilt to someone who specializes in quilting.

And then it took a while to get around to the project of binding it. Once again, I learned a lot about binding a quilt from sewing on the binding. There were a lot of fussy corners and edges to deal with.



But now it is done.



Martha obligingly tried it out right away (I set her there but she stayed in place).



It could also be that she stayed in place because that was a safe place from which to watch George frolic and pounce.



She doesn't always approve of how rambunctious George is.





But on the other hand, when it's cold out she will still snuggle with him for warmth.



Kind of an anticlimactic project to finish. Regardless, it's done.