Fab is leaving for France today. Crazy. I will miss him. He's fun and smart and he is the soul of the parties. But - the life goes on. Besides, thanks to him leaving I have a new bike (Fab's bike). A beautiful and powerful bike. I can't wait to go and try it.
So, bon voyage, Fab. I will be visiting soon!
Also - Leslie left for a small trip home today:) So - bon (petit) voyage and happy thanksgiving/family weekend, Leslie.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
NYC in a month?
News worth commenting: so on Friday USA stated that about in one month time there will be no visa requirement for Estonians. Which is sweet!!!
I need to go and visit NYC. Before I move to god-knows-where.
Of course, it's not THAT easy. I need to get a new passport before. The one that is biometric, whatever that means. So I gotta go and check out how to do that. Still - new passport - $45; US visa - $130. It's worth the trouble.
The other interesting news: Estonian prime minister announced yesterday, that Estonia is lacking people with doctorate degrees. Estonia needs about 600 PhDs. Apparently there are loads of money to be spent by PhD people. So that's very good news for me. If nowhere else, then Estonia definitely needs me (given, that I do get this degree).
I need to go and visit NYC. Before I move to god-knows-where.
Of course, it's not THAT easy. I need to get a new passport before. The one that is biometric, whatever that means. So I gotta go and check out how to do that. Still - new passport - $45; US visa - $130. It's worth the trouble.
The other interesting news: Estonian prime minister announced yesterday, that Estonia is lacking people with doctorate degrees. Estonia needs about 600 PhDs. Apparently there are loads of money to be spent by PhD people. So that's very good news for me. If nowhere else, then Estonia definitely needs me (given, that I do get this degree).
weekend and beyond
My energy and I are not living together anymore. I don't know what happened. So therefore it has been quiet. The saddest part is the quietness on the writing front... but - I'll get to it. Tomorrow:)
In the meanwhile - on Saturday I went to Fabiens last party in Canada at the Honest Lawyer. It was a nice little get together. I had one of these nights when the alcohol didn't do anything to me, so I decided not to waste money and have just 2 beers. I had forgotten how weird the bars are when you are not drunk enough to make everything nicely foggy. But overall good times:)
Leslie and Vanja decided to accessorize themselves with some random necklaces at my place, and later tried to apply them to Fab. We have some good pics.
And I also had a nice talk with Fabien. About life and relationships. He seems to be sure that my day will come too. My problem is that I'm too nice and waste time on randoms (and he is so right about it). I just gotta pick the confident and good one, who is a bit crazy. Fabiens' kind of crazy.
Sunday I felt SO tired and slightly hangover (of these 2 beers? weird). Nicole and I went to pick up the pumpkins for the department. We went to this Avonmore berry and pumpkin farm. It was super nice.
Later I went for dinner at Martins, whom I helped to move some time earlier this month. It was so tasty! Pasta with salmon and parmesan potatoes. Really nice.
And that was my weekend.
Monday found me exhausted. Yet I made my way to the lab, to attend the Work in Progress, where our postdoc was giving a talk and Leslie was making cookies. And later, more than 2 hours of Gairdner laureate talks: Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, Gairdner Laureate 2008, presented “Regulation of Protein Synthesis: From Basic Discoveries to Medical Applications” and Dr. Ulrich Hartl, Gairdner Laureate 2004, presented “Protein Chaperones in the Cell.”
The latter one gave me an idea for my thesis, so it was a successful day.
Later we had our volleyball game. We were only 6 (any of our extras couldn't make it), so everyone played at all times. It was a good workout. Even though - we lost yet again. Did I mention it already, that we have not won a game yet? We even haven't won a set. Zero. Oh well. Tähtis pole võit, vaid osavõtt (Victory is not important. The attendance is.)
Tuesday: I had to peel myself off my bed at 9, to be at the lab at 9.15. I distributed pumpkins...
We had a lab meeting... And then I made zuccini-feta cheese-tart. It turned out quite well. I'll try to type up the recipe too.
And then I had the lab. These students. They just don't listen. Why do I even bother?
In the meanwhile - on Saturday I went to Fabiens last party in Canada at the Honest Lawyer. It was a nice little get together. I had one of these nights when the alcohol didn't do anything to me, so I decided not to waste money and have just 2 beers. I had forgotten how weird the bars are when you are not drunk enough to make everything nicely foggy. But overall good times:)
Leslie and Vanja decided to accessorize themselves with some random necklaces at my place, and later tried to apply them to Fab. We have some good pics.
And I also had a nice talk with Fabien. About life and relationships. He seems to be sure that my day will come too. My problem is that I'm too nice and waste time on randoms (and he is so right about it). I just gotta pick the confident and good one, who is a bit crazy. Fabiens' kind of crazy.
Sunday I felt SO tired and slightly hangover (of these 2 beers? weird). Nicole and I went to pick up the pumpkins for the department. We went to this Avonmore berry and pumpkin farm. It was super nice.
Later I went for dinner at Martins, whom I helped to move some time earlier this month. It was so tasty! Pasta with salmon and parmesan potatoes. Really nice.
And that was my weekend.
Monday found me exhausted. Yet I made my way to the lab, to attend the Work in Progress, where our postdoc was giving a talk and Leslie was making cookies. And later, more than 2 hours of Gairdner laureate talks: Dr. Nahum Sonenberg, Gairdner Laureate 2008, presented “Regulation of Protein Synthesis: From Basic Discoveries to Medical Applications” and Dr. Ulrich Hartl, Gairdner Laureate 2004, presented “Protein Chaperones in the Cell.”
The latter one gave me an idea for my thesis, so it was a successful day.
Later we had our volleyball game. We were only 6 (any of our extras couldn't make it), so everyone played at all times. It was a good workout. Even though - we lost yet again. Did I mention it already, that we have not won a game yet? We even haven't won a set. Zero. Oh well. Tähtis pole võit, vaid osavõtt (Victory is not important. The attendance is.)
Tuesday: I had to peel myself off my bed at 9, to be at the lab at 9.15. I distributed pumpkins...
We had a lab meeting... And then I made zuccini-feta cheese-tart. It turned out quite well. I'll try to type up the recipe too.
And then I had the lab. These students. They just don't listen. Why do I even bother?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
let the fairytale come to live
I went to see the Cirque du Soleil today 
(ülemaailma kuulus tsirkus, mis on pärit Montrealist)! Their show called "Corteo".
I am amazed!
I am speechless.
I am fascinated.
Lihtsalt lummatud!
I don't know how to describe it. But I LOVED it. It's REALLY like a fairytale. The angels, the godly beauty and strength. And the music. I sat there, mesmerized, and the world didn't exist.
I went with Piret, who is visiting from Estonia. When our ride arrived (also an Estonian), she inspected us and said: so Estonians are going to see the circus and forgot they are in Canada.
Which means, that in Canada no-one dresses up for events like this. Perhaps for a gala. But I like to use these few occasions I have to use my better clothes. I think to myself that I'm European, and this is how we do.
I made a mental note that one day, I will take my kids to see it. In the meanwhile, if I'm lucky, I'll dream about taking my little friends (Rebekka, ma mõtlen, et Sa oled just sobivas eas:).
And I also decked myself up with foreign feathers (ehtisin ennast võõraste sulgedega), and that literally! Isn't it pretty? :)
(ülemaailma kuulus tsirkus, mis on pärit Montrealist)! Their show called "Corteo".I am amazed!
I am speechless.
I am fascinated.
Lihtsalt lummatud!
I don't know how to describe it. But I LOVED it. It's REALLY like a fairytale. The angels, the godly beauty and strength. And the music. I sat there, mesmerized, and the world didn't exist.
I went with Piret, who is visiting from Estonia. When our ride arrived (also an Estonian), she inspected us and said: so Estonians are going to see the circus and forgot they are in Canada.
Which means, that in Canada no-one dresses up for events like this. Perhaps for a gala. But I like to use these few occasions I have to use my better clothes. I think to myself that I'm European, and this is how we do.
I made a mental note that one day, I will take my kids to see it. In the meanwhile, if I'm lucky, I'll dream about taking my little friends (Rebekka, ma mõtlen, et Sa oled just sobivas eas:).
And I also decked myself up with foreign feathers (ehtisin ennast võõraste sulgedega), and that literally! Isn't it pretty? :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Honey Walnut Crust aka What happened on Monday
On Monday the thanksgiving replacement dinner happened at Leslies. And it
was amazing. The lentil stew! Thank you, Leslie!
I was in charge of the dessert. I eagerly volunteered myself, after my fingers got itchy to make something new I found from the Food and Wine magazine.
It was a Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Honey Walnut Crust. It sounded very intriguing. It's essentially an alternative for the traditional pumpkin pie. I have never made it. And I'm also not really a friend of pumpkins. Even though the pickled pumpkins made by my Mum used to be delicious. Anyway, why start with traditional, if you can start with level up?
It was full of spices, which is new to me (I usually use salt and sugar and cinnamon as spices). Plus the biggest spice of them all was love, of course.
It turned out really well and it was tasty. So here is the recipe:
Crust:
After the amazing food we had some more wine, chatted, and one point learned (or tried to learn) how to make the swans in japanese style.
On the picture you can see Troopy, who became Roskilde after a small corrigative surgery, and Hildegard, who was slow to come to life, but made it with no extra creases.
was amazing. The lentil stew! Thank you, Leslie!I was in charge of the dessert. I eagerly volunteered myself, after my fingers got itchy to make something new I found from the Food and Wine magazine.
It was a Sweet Potato Cheesecake with Honey Walnut Crust. It sounded very intriguing. It's essentially an alternative for the traditional pumpkin pie. I have never made it. And I'm also not really a friend of pumpkins. Even though the pickled pumpkins made by my Mum used to be delicious. Anyway, why start with traditional, if you can start with level up?
It was full of spices, which is new to me (I usually use salt and sugar and cinnamon as spices). Plus the biggest spice of them all was love, of course.
It turned out really well and it was tasty. So here is the recipe:
Crust:
1 1/2 gingersnap cookie crumbs
3/4 cup walnut pieces
3 tbsp honey
1/3 cup unsalted butter
Filling:
1 cup pureed sweet potato (about 2 ½ cups diced and cooked)
225 g (1 pack) of cream cheese, room temp.
3/4 cup light brown sugar (I put half a cup, and it was more than enough)
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground allspice (I didn't have ground allspice and cloves, so I put the big particles into the blender and used "ice crush" option. It worked:)
1/8 ground cloves
Dash salt
2 large eggs
1 – preheat oven to 350 F (180 C)
2 – pulse cookie crumbs and walnut pieces in the food processor (I used the blender) until nuts are ground.
Heat honey and butter over low heat until butter has melted. Add to crumb mixture and pulse to blend (wooden spoon works great too). Press crust into a lightly greased 9 inch (23 cm) pie plate and bake for 10 min. Cool crust before filling (make sure to protect from passing by squirrels!).
3 – for filling, beat sweet potato puree and cream cheese until smooth. Add brown sugar, honey, spices and salt and beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, scraping well after each addition. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake on centre rack for 30 min. Garnish with walnut pieces, if desired.
After the amazing food we had some more wine, chatted, and one point learned (or tried to learn) how to make the swans in japanese style.
On the picture you can see Troopy, who became Roskilde after a small corrigative surgery, and Hildegard, who was slow to come to life, but made it with no extra creases.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
She is here!!!
She arrived today around 1 pm.
My new buddy.
She is so pretty. Red. And shiny.
She smells so good.
She is really elegant.
She is sassy too.
And slim and oh so fast.
Her name is Leslie.
She is helping me to write this post right now.
I will post pictures later, once I figure out how She can help me do that.
I am so happy.
Such a historical moment!
My new buddy.
She is so pretty. Red. And shiny.
She smells so good.
She is really elegant.
She is sassy too.
And slim and oh so fast.
Her name is Leslie.
She is helping me to write this post right now.
I will post pictures later, once I figure out how She can help me do that.
I am so happy.
Such a historical moment!
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