2021 Week 7

Almost at the end of week 8 now, but here's a quick post about last week, when the weather evolved from snow to double-figure temperatures! I collected my own brain slices on Tuesday, and delightfully my rat antibody to visualise the star-shaped support cells in the brain arrived the same day! I couldn't resist trying it out, which was a good decision, as I realised the mouse secondary antibody also bound to it, so I've been able to order a better mouse secondary antibody to test next week without wasting multiple slices!

I imaged on both Friday and Saturday because there was lots to get through, but I've ended up with good images of four brain regions, even if the staining pattern of one of the antibodies was a little unexpected! Outside the lab, I baked another lemon and blueberry drizzle cake and took a nice long walk in the Sunday sunshine.

Maybe next time the blueberries won't all settle at the bottom!

City views

2021 Week 6

Hello from the snowiest week of the year so far! 

Because of the snow on Monday night, I delayed my experiments by a day, which was very useful as it meant I was home for most of Wednesday's Rosetrees Interdisciplinary workshop, which focused on contributions of interdisciplinary research, including physics and computer science, to developing new knowledge and therapeutic targets for brain neurodegenerative diseases. 

This was also the week I made traditional ragù by myself for the first time, following Nonna Alba's recipe from the book Pasta Grannies! The recipe calls for carrot and celery rather than my usual mushroom and pepper, half-and-half pork and beef mince, plus milk and nutmeg. My tip is to put a lid on the pan when frying the carrot, onion and celery to maximise their tenderness. After a little over an hour, the mixture bubbled down into a glossy sauce that beautifully coated the pasta.

I ventured into work on Saturday to image my slices, which was successful, but it was oddly draining to spend 5 hours at the microscope, so I'm hopeful that next week's slices won't be delayed and I can have a weekend away from work. 

2021 Week 5

It was quite difficult to stay motivated this week, but after working most of last weekend, I've done no work this weekend in an effort to feel revitalised going into the second week of February. I was productive in the kitchen, making tasty vegetarian panna cottas and a less successful lemon/orange/plum drizzle cake using (too much of) the liquid from a batch of poached plums!

Two for one: Panna cotta topped with poached plums, and plum, orange and lemon drizzle cake!

I also tried a few new recipes, including black bean pork noodles and a meatball-parsnip combo that also led me to make grilled pitta bread pizzettas for a couple of lunches - the joys of WFH! 

Black bean pork noodles with added pepper, and a feta, tomato and parsley pitta-zzetta.

I also went on a 2-hour walk on Saturday to a pleasant viewpoint in the city. 

2021 Week 4

Going for a different format this week, focusing on the things I'm thankful for from each day: 

Monday had a couple of firsts for the year: the first large group lab meeting and my first coffee! It was good to see everyone's faces and hear about two of the postdocs' latest findings. 

On Tuesday I sorted out my surgery documents, applied for postal votes for the upcoming Scottish Parliament and local elections, and watched the hilarious and heartwarming film Man Up.

On Wednesday I baked a lovely lemon and blueberry drizzle cake - my first containing whole fruits, and it tastes wonderful!

On Thursday I had a lovely chat with the lab technician and enjoyed making creamy pasta with prawns, adding some chilli, tomatoes and parsley in place of chives.

Finally on Friday, I made sure my maths course report was in the correct format and went for my first ever smear test, which was incredibly quick and relaxed.