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 ...