Equilibrium

I read in the Cell Biology textbook the other day that life cannot exist under equilibrium conditions. It's true, of course, but something I don't think about very much. A corollary is that chaos is maximum equilibrium. So when you put all your things away, creating order, harmony, peace, you are also destroying equilibrium. It makes me wonder if equilibrium of the soul is really such a good idea.

So on Friday Eric and I went out, to a restaurant, with our friends and without Oscar! We got a babysitter and had a grand old time. We were thinking to throw a party to celebrate Eric's first real paycheck, but then we didn't really want to clean the house. The restaurant was a nice substitute. Very little worth noting happened, but those things were these: I was proclaimed the leader of Eva's faith, by virtue of being an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church; Eva and Pat asked if I made lists to determine whether I was type A or type B (I mean what kind of question is that, really); Eric learned that his boss' nickname was Weed Jesus when he was an undergrad; and Olivia said Oscar was the easiest babysitting job she's ever had. Good job team!

My data are shaping up beautifully. Last week I showed that an antibody to extensins found in rice was also able to detect extensins found in poplar. This week I used that antibody to show exactly where in the stem the extensins are, and it is just where I expected they would show up. This is helpful not only for the paper I plan to write, but also because I'm presenting at Plant SuperGroup this week! Now I have something to talk about!

The gardenia is blooming inside, the snowdrops are blooming outside, and some yellow crocuses have started to make buds (that's how I know they're yellow). Things are starting to happen, but I'm not quite ready for them! Namely, we need to prune the peach tree, and tidy up the grapes, before they start getting all juicy and ready to make leaves and flowers and all that. But each weekend it's been cold, or snowing, or both, so we haven't done anything about it yet! Oh well. They'll make it through one way or the other.

I took Oscar outside in the snow, this time without hand coverings, and of course he stuck his hands directly into a big snow mound, and then starting crying. I agreed with that sentiment, so we came right back inside!

I have few photos for this week, but here are some of Oscar trying to feed himself with a spoon.