A Busy Weekendby Angie
9 Feb 2008
10:02 pm1
Jim’s Grandma Pat passed away a week ago, so several of our relatives were in town for the funeral today. It was a rare time (and the first time in a long time) that all six Hoffman siblings and their parents were together. Everyone had arrived by Friday afternoon and Jon had managed to arrange for us to all tour the Pixar Animation Studios with him. It was so amazing to see the concept art and maquettes that decorate the entire facility!
After the tour, we went out to eat at a restaurant called KC’s BarBQue. I had found this place listed on citysearch (since Jim requested BBQ for his birthday dinner), with 41 five-star recommendations out of 45 reviews, so we were really looking forward to it. When we arrived at the spot, however, we almost drove away: it was in a terribly run-down part of town, and it looked like little more than a hole in the wall, wedged in between a tire place and a paint store. Inside, however, it looked like a cross between a museum and an antique shop! The food was fantastic and the staff were very friendly and helpful. I would definitely recommend it (for lunch or an early dinner – it was kind of scary walking to our car in the dark in that part of town).
This morning, we drove up to Galt, which is about an hour northeast of Livermore. There we attended the funeral services and graveside dedication for Grandma Pat. There was a small luncheon for family members, where I got to meet several Hoffman relatives (more than I can remember names for!), and where Jim’s family got to visit and catch up with cousins and friends that they haven’t seen in years. I never knew Pat, but it was wonderful to hear so much about her and to see so many family and friends enjoying one another’s company and comfort.
Before heading back to Livermore, we drove over to the Heritage Oak Winery to visit Tom and Carmela Hoffman – relatives who were not able to attend the funeral. Their lands and trees are beautiful and very peaceful. They let us pick dozens of ripe oranges from their tree, and we enjoyed an incredible sunset together as the lovely, exhausting day was closing.
CT Scanby Angie
7 Feb 2008
11:02 pm1
Well, I lived. They had to poke me twice in my left ankle and then finally in my right before they could find a vein that would take their blasted 20-gauge IV catheter. It was not remotely comfortable. Also, I understand wiggly children in church better after today: It is so much harder to hold still as soon as someone tells you that you’re not allowed to move!
Anyway, the good news is that the Cardiothoracic Radiologist did an initial sweep of the scan and didn’t see any major clots. Now he has to thoroughly examine the over 2000 images of my “plumbing” (as he called it) to make sure nothing questionable has been missed. He told me all this and more right after the CT was through, but I was pretty out of it and didn’t retain much. I’ll see Dr. Murphy again in a couple of months and we’ll find out whether I’m safe to stay off coumadin for a while longer.
Job Satisfactionby Jim
6 Feb 2008
12:02 pm1
In the building next to the one I work in is a room called the “high bay”. In this room there is lots of equipment–the same kind of equipment I write software for everyday. This is a “clean” room meaning you must put on a “bunny suit”, gloves, hairnet, etc. before you are allowed inside. There was a problem in the high bay yesterday and Gordon, my group leader, took me over to fix things. We walked over there, put on our special lab coats, gloves, and hairnets before we went inside. We also picked up our protective goggles before we entered.
The problem was on the computer and was trivial. Once it was fixed, we brought up “the system”. After we got things up and running, we put on our laser goggles and I pushed some buttons that actually moved hardware in the room. It doesn’t sound very exciting, but it was for me. I felt like I was in the movie Tron at the beginning when they digitize that orange. (Ironically, it was at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that they filmed that scene in Tron. They shot that part in the Shiva laser bay. Shiva was the predecessor to the predecessor of NIF and is pictured below.)
Good Eatsby Angie
6 Feb 2008
10:02 am3
I love cooking. I think I’ve loved it ever since I was little and learned to make the best homemade macaroni and cheese in the world with my sister Emily. However, since I was a fairly picky eater growing up, I had a very limited selection of dishes I knew how to make (because, frankly, how silly would it be to cook something I didn’t like?). Going on a mission and getting married did a lot for expanding my culinary horizons, but I think my confidence in experimentation has mostly come from my favorite TV show (really, the only one I watch regularly): “Good Eats.”
“Good Eats” is hosted by Alton Brown – the Bill Nye of the culinary world. It’s all about the science behind cooking, the history of various foods, safety and hardware in the kitchen, and learning methods rather than just recipes. Lots of puns and visual aids make it extra entertaining. Watching this show inspired Jim to try making homemade jam… and now we never buy store-bought because making our own is both cheaper and tastier. When we can find flank steak for a good price, we make Good Eats beef jerky on our homemade drying rig (rather than a dehydrator), which tastes fantastic with no scary chemical preservatives. Even my baked potatoes will never be the same since applying tips from Alton Brown.
Anyway, just to experiment, I’m going to try embedding a video of the Good Eats theme song right in my post. Enjoy!
Primary Elections!by Angie
5 Feb 2008
9:02 am2
The Primary Elections are today (for California, at least), and away I go to vote. I hope everyone I know takes the opportunity we are given to declare our opinion about the public officers that lead our country! What a blessing it is to live in a land of liberty!
Ok, I’ll stop now… but you all should really vote! At least vote on our poll, anyway 🙂 Who would you like to see as the President of America next year?
Oh, boy! A new feature!by Jim
3 Feb 2008
12:02 pm2
So Angie found this cool plugin for WordPress. Now we have can conduct polls! Check it out: we’ll put the poll on the menu-bar column thing to the side (currently on the left side of this theme). The latest poll will be there, so please vote! We’ll cycle through new polls when we feel like it.
Enjoy!
Try-Me-Night Review: Chiliby Angie
3 Feb 2008
11:02 am0
This recipe was a fantastic success! Several weeks ago, the Bradleys invited us over for dinner and served us this chili – Jim and I both loved it so much, I asked Kristyn for the recipe and she had emailed it to me before we even got home. I finally had everything I needed to try it out this week and it turned out great! I doubled the batch, because we were sharing it, but went a little light on the beef and heavier on the veggies. It still turned out meaty and delicious. I used the little “sweet peppers” we found at Costco, which have a great flavor with just a little more heat than regular bell peppers. This week, I also purchased and potted some cooking herbs to keep handy on my porch, so we happened to have cilantro – a favorite of Jim’s – to sprinkle on top. It was perfect for the cold, rainy week we’ve been having.