Precocious but extremely cute

I heard this story on Weekend Edition today. Scott Simon inteviewed 7-year-old Ethan Bortnick about his life as a child piano prodigy and his desire to be a zoo keeper. I'm sure I laughed out loud at least a few times. It is worth a listen.

The voice I don't want to hear at 3am in the middle of a snowstorm

is that of one of the nurse midwives, telling me that there is to be a stat c-section in the next few minutes.

To paint the picture for you ... It has been snowing for the last 10 hours, adding to snow and ice already on the road. My car decided that it didn't want to start again the previous morning and was boarding at the mechanic. Miguel's car is so special that no one makes chains to fit the tires. So, that means one car between us with no traction device and I need to get to the hospital now. Add to this when we get out to the car, I come to find out that Miguel doesn't even have a window scraper. Luckily my woolen mittens do a fine job of getting rid of the ice and snow; we make it down the hill without difficulty; the baby comes out beautifully and doesn't need any intervention; we make it back home without slip-sliding away. Thank goodness the baby was okay since the helicopter couldn't fly in this weather if the baby were to need to go to Seattle and the ALS (advanced life support) ambulance was out tending to someone else.

In love

I have to admit that Miguel has to share my heart with NPR. We have talked about writing a love letter to Scott Simon. I do not know a better voice than his to wake up to on Saturday mornings. I must admit that I haven't always like NPR. My dad drove me to school for a few years in high school since I had an "early bird" class, and we always listened to Morning Edition. I guess I wasn't cultered enough at that time in order to appreciate it. In my senior year of college, the Bellingham signal was poor at the Pink House and I didn't want to listen to the jazz on KPLU. (I guess I'm still not cultured enough to appreciate jazz.) KWMU in St Louis was the first station of which I became a member. I listened to NPR all of the time when I wasn't studying medicine - while cooking, eating, playing with the cat, etc. To partially make up for not having Thistle and Shamrock in St Louis, this station introduced me to the program To The Best of Our Knowledge which is this wonderful show dedicated to theme per hour. Here is the description from the website.

"TTBOOK began as an audio magazine of ideas - two hours of smart, entertaining radio for people with curious minds. It's sort of journalistic (because some of us are, or used to be, journalists), but it's never about the President's speech to the U.N., weapons inspections in Iraq, or yesterday's stock market disaster. It's the kind of show that would spend an hour on the future of capitalism, or on the roots of Islamic fundamentalism. It might also spend an hour on hair. Or salt. Or pirates, road trips, psychic phenomena, house cleaning, animal intelligence, high energy physics, or how to say you're sorry. (You'll find all those shows in our archives.) It's the kind of show where someone might mention Charlotte Bronte or Anthony Trollope in one segment, U2 or They Might Be Giants in another."

My favorite NPR station has to be KOPB in Portland. If I though I listened to radio a lot in St Louis, I listened even more in Portland. I got to listen to Thistle and Shamrock again, but alas, no TTBOOK.

Now that I'm in Port Angeles, I restrospecively appreciate KOPB even more. We have access to the "classical music" station affiliated with WSU and while it has some of the good care NPR stations, we have to resort to listening to our favorite programs online.

I can't imagine not having NPR around and getting news solely from the local newspaper. My dad finds it somewhat appalling that the radio is my only source of news. He thinks it is biased as a result. Sure, NPR is a little liberal leaning but my biased view is that it is fairly unbiased.

Snow and the kindness of strangers

Here are a few images of the views upon waking this morning.

And thanks to the person who towed Miguel out of the ditch around midnight. He was in Seattle to celebrate his brother's birthday by watching a WSU men's basketball game. It started to snow in the early evening and so there was quite a bit of snow on the road in places. He went off the road at one point. The guy following him saw him spin-out trying to get out of the ditch and was able to pull him out with the truck he was driving.

Just a coincidence?

What is it about taking your car to the mechanic or children to the doctor that makes them not act up or appear sick, respectively?

My car has been fickle the last few weeks, not always wanting to start very easily or not at all in 1 instance. I had it towed recently which resulted in a tune up and an oil change but not a fix of the problem. It started for them without difficulty. I just took the car in to a different mechanic in town this morning. It also started great and didn't have a jerky idle like it did yesterday. Just threaten the car with a trip to the mechanic and it behaves.

Likewise with kids. I have no idea the frequency of parents bringing kids to the clinic and them looking completely well. The parents say something to the effect of, "I swear she was on her death bed not 5 minutes ago." Threaten them with a trip to the doctor and the illness magically leaves, at least for a few minutes.

Any other examples of this?

Cherry hill house

The past month or so has been full of house looking. This has included many discussions about what we want in a house. How many bedrooms? How much square footage? How big (or small) of a yard can we handle? Live in town or out of town? We went galavanting with our real estate agent from one side of PA to the other in search of the perfect, elusive house. When I'm on call for the clinic, the hospital dictates that I have to be within 20 minutes. So, that puts a bit of a contraint on how far out we can live. So, after looking at a bunch of house, none of which were truly "in town." B, our real estate agent, said, "You guys seem to like to walk everywhere, yet we aren't looking at any houses in town. What's up with that?" Which, lead us to look at some houses in town. We narrowed the search down to 2 houses, one in town, not to far from our current apartment, and one decidedly out of town, about 15 minutes away from the hospital. We seem to have come to the conclusion that living in town is the best for us, especially given how much I enjoy walking or biking to work. And, on weekends I'm on call, I'd be gone the entirety of each day since it would take too long to come home and then possibly be called in again a short time later.

Adding to the confusion of this, the house that we chose on Cherry street has given me a literal headache a few times that we've been inside of it. It is a brand new house and is likely due to the off-gasing of the carpets. If I had every choice in the world, we would buy (or build) a green-built house so that off-gasing of new products would be less of, or not, an issue. Unfortunately there aren't any green houses on the market that we like. After the house has been aired out some, the smell and headache seem less of an issue. After gathering a little more data about cost of blinds and those sorts of things, we are liking going to make an offer soon. Below are a few pictures of the front and the kitchen.

Thanksgiving

Since I moved away from home, I'm not sure if I've had a "typical" Thanksgiving day. Growing up we often had the whole Rose family down for dinner. Even if Mom did get a little stressed out, I enjoyed cooking and seeing my extended family. The last several years have included a few Thanksgiving's by myself, a few with friends, and a few with my extended family at my grandfather's retirement home.

This year was the first time Miguel and I have been together for a family-oriented family. He was headed to spend a few days with his family in Eastern WA but felt a little guilty about leaving me for Thanksgiving and Christmas (I have to work the days around both holidays) and had basketball practice Friday and Saturday. This would have made for a very quick trip.

We could have decided to spend the day alone together. A few people from the clinic offered for us to spend some time with them. So, in the morning we accompanied about 15 other people on a 7+ mile hike up to Lake Angeles. We had been on the hike a little ways but not all of the way to the lake. The lake is about 2100 feet elevation gain from the trail head. I didn't bring my camera but imagine a lake partially frozen over ringed by snow-topped cliffs. It was fairly warm while hiking but was frigid up at the lake and was even snowing a bit. It was beautiful. My gluteus muscles have been complaining the last few days though. In the evening we went over to another's house for dinner. Quite a good dinner but it felt a bit chaotic and was mainly with people we don't know.

I'm grateful for the invitiations and some time spent getting to know some people in the community, but it was a bit of a hard day. It'll be good when Miguel and I have our own holiday traditions, or I have the time off to go with him to his family or to mine.

Consider these recipes

I really had planned on writing more consitently now that I started a new blog. I guess I haven't been as diligent since it has been 3 weeks since my last post. I've had thoughts of things to write about but haven't felt like writing. This post isn't anything of personal substance but is full of good food. The following dishes were met with much acclaim when presented at dinner.

Butternut Squash and Apple Bisque (from Relish, newpaper magazine insert)

2 Tbs olive oil (or butter if you'd prefer)
1/3 C shallots (or leeks or other onions)
3 C chopped tart apple, such as Braeburn
3 C peeled and diced butternut squash
1 C peeled and chopped yam (the recipe called for a russet potato but I like how it worked with the yam)
1/3 C dry sherry
3 C low-sodium vegetable broth
1 C orange juice
1 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 1/2 Tbs curry powder
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/4 C milk (soy, dairy, half-and-half)

1. Warm oil in medium saucepan. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add apples; cook until they just begin to soften, about 5 minutes
2. Add butternut squash, yam, sherry and broth. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes and squash are tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Add OJ, honey, salt, nutmeg, curry powder, and pepper. Cool slightly. Transfer to blender or food processor and puree. Return soup to saucepan and add milk. Heat thoroughly over low heat. Do not boil. Serve and enjoy.


Gingerbread Apple (or pear) Pie (from Vegan with a Vengeance) - I had pears to use and really like pear with gingerbread. I haven't made it with apples but the pear version is outstanding.

For the crust:
1 1/2 C all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 C oil
1 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs cold water

For the filling:
2 pounds apples or pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Pinch ground cloves
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or molasses)
2 tsp arrowroot powder or tapioca starch

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Make the crust: Stir together flour, sugar, spices, salt, and baking powder. Add oil and cut in with pastry cutter, knife or fingers. Drizzle molasses and water over dough, mixing with fingertips until crumbs of dough begin to cling together. Set aside 1/2 C of dough. Gather together the rest of the dough and kneed into a ball. Press it evenly into bottom and sides of a pie pan and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Make the filling: While the crust bakes, combine in a mixing bowl all fo the filling ingredients except the arrowroot powder. Sprinkel the arrowroot over the apple/pear mixture and mix until the starch is dissolved.
4. Assemble the pie: Fill the pie crust with fruit mixture and crumble the remaining 1/2 C of dough over the filling. Cover with foil and bake for 20 more minutes. Remove the foil and bake 30 minutes more. The filling should be bubbling and the apples should be tender. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

the lowly stick is lowly no more

I read in the paper this morning that the stick has been inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum in Rochester, NY. The AP article stated that "they praised its all-purpose, all-natural, no-cost qualities." Previous inductees have included the cardboard box.

woo hoo!

an obama presidency!!

A little Halloween humor

A cabbie picks up a Nun.
She gets into the cab, and notices that the VERY handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her.
She asks him why he is staring.
He replies: 'I have a question to ask you but I don't want to offend you.'
She answers, 'My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive.'
'Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me.'
She responds, 'Well, let's see what we can do about that: #1, you haveto be single and #2, you must be Catholic.'
The cab driver is very excited and says, 'Yes, I'm single and Catholic!'
'OK' the nun says. 'Pull into the next alley.'The nun fulfills his fantasy, with a kiss that would make a hooker blush.
But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.
'My dear child,' says the nun, 'why are you crying?'
'Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I must confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish.'
The nun says, 'That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party.'

Does it really take 2 months to grade scantron forms??

As my life thus far as a professional student, I have taken my fare share of multiple choice tests and would say that I am a decent test-taker. Yesterday consisted of 7 fun hours with #2 pencils answering question after question about children with fevers and other odd presenting symptoms that made no sense. This is otherwise known as the pediatric boards. I had done quite well on similar sort of tests of 200 questions at the beginning of each year of residency, all of which predicted that I would pass the boards (but didn't count for a hill of beans ...). As a result, my residency program director told me not to spend too much time studying. I'm glad that I didn't listen to him. The test was hard. However, I'm not sure more studying would necessarily have done any good. Some things you know and others you wouldn't regardless of what you study - minutiae that you never see in practice. So, I'll be waiting until mid-January to find out my score. They must have to do a lot of statistical analysis because 2.5 months to grade scantron forms seems a bit ridiculous.

Can we say addicted?

Miguel and I play at least a few games every night of wordsplay (online boggle) as a team. Our best placement together is 6th or 7th but separately we typically get about 50th. I don't always agree with the dictionary choices of words - like "tuesday" wasn't an okay word, but it is a great activity as a break from practically anything else. If you haven't played before, enter the site with caution ...

la luna

What is it about the moon? When I lived in St Louis, I'd be out in the early morning a lot running and would have a good sense of the phase of the moon at any particular time. Somehow, I lost track of this living in Portland. Is it that it is cloudier more in PDX than St Louis? Was I spending more time in doors during residency? Was I too busy with other things to notice all of the time? I dunno. I've started to be more observant of the moon again. It makes me happy to look up and see the little crescent just setting, the faint half-moon in the middle of the day, or the full moon just rising, as I saw tonight leaving the clinic.

Maybe it is being a woman, but I feel more grounded when I know the current phase of the moon.

Enjoy the full moon tonight.

Black Bean Chili

As I'm sitting here in front of the computer eating lunch, I was wondering if others would like the recipe for the chili I'm eating. It is one of Miguel's and my favorite recipes. (It might appear hot looking at the recipe, but it is surprisingly not.) This recipe is from the Three Bowl Cookbook: The Secrets of Enlighted Cooking from the Zen Mountain Center.

6 cups black beans
3 Tbs olive oil
2 large onsions, peeled and diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
7 jalapeno peoppers, seeded and chopped
2 Tbs chili powder
1 bay leaf
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 Tbs chopped fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 C grataed strong Cheddar (optional of course)
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

1) Heat olive oil in heavy-based skillet. Add onion and garlic. Saute until they are softened and slightly browned.

2) Add jalapeno peppers, chili powder, bay leaf, and sugar.

3) Toast cumin seeds in small pan (don't allow to burn, no oil needed) then add to skillet along with canned tomatoes.

4) Once tomatoes have softened, mash them in skillet with potato masher or wooden spoon.

5) Add beans and oregano. Add water is mixture looks dry and continue to simmer until beans are heated through. Remove bay leaf.

6) Before serving, blend about 2 cups of the chili in food processor and return to skillet.

7) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8) Top with cheese and cilantro if desire.

9) Enjoy! Serves 6.

Gathering wild food and cooking together

A few weeks ago on my day off, I went wild fruit gathering, which, I would have to say, is one of my favorite activities. I'm always on the lookout for edibles when out walking. So, this day I picked some red plums, blackberries and apples. I've made multiple batches of applesause this fall already. Here are some pictures of the produce and finished products.

And Miguel and I cooked pizza for dinner recently, with this as the result. (Notice scant cheese on only half ... guess whose half was which.)

And a view of spices before being added to a dish.

why a new blog

I had to change my email address upon leaving residency, and blogger wasn't being very cooperative with letting me just transfer my gmail email address as the sign-in for my old blog. So, this is my new blog with a new name and everything. My goal is to be more diligent in writing as well now that I kind of have a fresh start.

The name is perhaps obvious, but here are my reasons for using this name: 1) my last name 2) liking wild roses, probably because the smell of them reminds me of Port Townsend - when I was in St Louis, they had wild roses that, at best, didn't smell, and, at worst, smelled bad, so I'm happy to be around wild roses again. The picture is from a plant I walk by on my way to work every morning and is the inspiration for the blog name.

Shaking a senator's hand

Senator Patty Murray has been in Clallam County this week and visited the children's clinic and the hospital today. She is looking to put through an earmark (I've discovered these are not necessarily bad) in order to help the hospital purchase an electronic medical record system. So, she walked through the clinic this morning and stood in the clinic, listening to one of my fellow pediatricians and those high-ups from the hospital talking about why we need an EMR. This need was high-lighted by the chart of one of our complicated patients whose chart encompasses 3 large binders.



We were all a little giddy to have a senator in the clinic ...