October's End

I realize Halloween has become a big deal, but the end of October has always been special in our family (even before being a 'sexy tollbooth operator' or 'sexy walrus' became all the rage). In our house, the end of October is special because it is my sister's birthday. This year she celebrated the big 2-9 and came up to Portland for the day so I could share some of it with her which was so fantastic. Here is her look of surprise when I finally got my butt down the mountain, back to the state of Oregon, and into the seat in the restaurant booth, next to her, which is where I belonged. It is framed by the Schaackmobile's attempt at Halloween decor, and flanked by a pretty amazing waterfall on Mt. Hamilton that gives you a bit of an idea how much it is actually starting to rain around these parts. Thank you so much for driving up Gen, bringing your peeps, hanging out, and sharing an awesome meal with me to celebrate the day of your birth! It was a great day (that day, and this day!) I love you!The other event that falls around this time of year is Spiderfest-- an annual open house held by the Binford lab here at Lewis and Clark. What began as an innocent "lab warming" party has now turned into a widely anticipated annual event for students and folks from off campus, especially kids, who can come learn about spiders, see spiders milked for their venom, and eat lots of spider-shaped foods. Here you can see Greta at the scope milking one, and the image that appears on the big screen TV in the lab so the throngs of onlookers can all see. Very fun, and a very good idea to de-scare kids early about an amazing group of organisms. Next year's costume-- sexy spider! I jest.