Champagne with my professor

Yesterday, Dahlia and I tacked up our poster on a large poster board and milled around awkwardly for a question and answer session. It was the closing ceremony of the Howard Hughes program - and they served us various small, expensive snacks. Like deviled eggs (merely mediocre), pieces of sausage on toothpicks (didn't touch them), and presliced fruit (delicious). Putting our poster together took a lot more time than I expected - first of all, science writing is difficult. The abstract combined about 10 pages of information into one paragraph - plus the wording had to be exactly right - clear and concise. Afterwards, our PI took us out to a hill behind the science center and we had a bottle of champagne, strawberries, and lady fingers. YUM! We then engaged in some very women-oriented discussion - I would never have imagined that I could discuss my menstrual cycle with a professor, but new things are possible after a few, bubbly glasses and some whipped cream. I am kind of sad that this part of the summer is over - for one thing, it is probably one of the last "summer jobs" that I will have. Next year I will begin a "career" - probably some sort of multi-month undertaking. Sweet Mother of God. Additionally, looking back, it has been a sweet, New England summer. Fruit picking, jam making, hiking, swimming in swimming holes (that is what they call ponds up here). To aid others in this undertaking, I will finish by enclosing my grandmother's recipe for homemade raspberry jam. Shhhh, don't tell.


8 cups raspberries, cleaned and dried
5 cups sugar

Mash up the raspberries. Bring them to a boil over the stove, then reduce the heat so they are simmering. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Then add 1 cup of sugar, bring the mixture to a boil, then add 2 cups and bring to a boil. Repeat until the raspberries are sweet enough - don't worry about consistency. Finally, boil until they reach the right consistency - maybe 15 more minutes.

You have to boil jam jars before you put the jam in - plus, put the jam in while the jars are still hot.