What I did this summer (on the west coast)...

Wednesday, we returned to Massachusetts after 6 busy weeks on the west coast. Even though our time there was so busy that we didn't have time for many of the outings we'd looked forward to (walks in Sebastopol, blackberry picking, etc.), it was still really satisfying to see what we *did* get done! Monday, before we left, I gave a research talk at the lab, and I actually started to feel a story coming together from my PhD research. Interested? Read the research segue below...

Every week we were in CA, these 72 little tanks (half of them pictured here) held PVC plates with a different species of sea squirt or bryozoan at 3 different temperatures. By taking pictures of individuals before and after the week-long experiment, I can calculate how much they grow. Interestingly, for the 3 species I've looked at so far, they grow faster at higher temperatures, and invasive species tend to grow faster and/or survive better at higher temperatures than native species.

Our west coast trip wasn't 'all work, no play', as we went on a special 1-week trip up to my in-law's home in Petersburg, AK that we'd had scheduled for almost a year. My parents came with us - their first time there - and one of the highlights was an amazing whale watching trip on Matt's dad's boat. It was also really wonderful for Caden to have a week with ALL 4 of his grandparents! And, in CA, I've been holding off on reporting on my one larger-scale crafty pursuit as it's not quite finished yet (and a surprise gift) - more on that in a future post ;)

Back to MA...

Transitioning, again, from CA to MA actually hasn't been too difficult this time, especially because we've returned on Labor Day weekend giving us a chance to catch up on sleep and family time. Hopefully I can stay motivated, research-wise, to get my experimental results analyzed and written up here in my next few months at the computer. In my free time, I have lots of plots and plans! First, I am doing my first big festival craft fair in no less than 2 weeks!!! Arian and I are going to share a booth at the Melrose Victorian Fair, and I am scrambling to build up my inventory. I'll certainly blog with pictures of my progress and would love suggestions of what to make with my limited time. Second, I have had my invitation to be a tester of Spoonflower (a design-your-own fabric company) in my inbox for a while now, knowing that if I so much as open their site, I will be hooked. Third, Halloween is just around the corner when you're a mom with a 2-year old's costume to make - yikes! and finally, once this craft fair is past, I'll have to revisit my new year's resolutions to see what I've forgotten. In the meantime, must. focus. on. craft. fair.!