Ok, so I haven't spent ALL summer in Princeton. I zoomed briefly over to Vancouver to check in with this year's summer institute. Vancouver remains gorgeous.

View from the "penthouse apartment" over Vancouver Harbour. This view always makes me want a pirate ship. Well, darn it, any ship would do...

View from the Penthouse out towards Vancouver Island. Not that you can see it (even in summer the area lives up to its misty reputation).

Crowds of happy people outdoors on Granville Island

Another pretty view - from "Canada Place" out towards Stanley Park.

Nic and I had a lovely few days together in Durham last weekend. We again spent too much time hanging out at Sennett's Hole with Emma and a crowd of other friendly swimmers (most of who wanted to make friends with Emma).

Pretty flutterbies were drinking from the moist sand

Emma was super happy, standing in the rapids

Nic worked on his, um, tan

I don't even pretend to work on my tan. It was a 6pm swim and we think I still turned a little pink.

Again with the happy dog

I probably spent a bit too much time trying to get close up shots of dragonflies

I also spent a lot of time hanging out in the rapids - its like a natural spa!

Nic actually swam (which tells you just how hot its been)

Other than swimming and splashing and feeling up the fauna, we also did a LOT of canning and tomato wrangling -- the garden was going ballistic.

17 cans of juice, sauce and tomatoes

The original, shiny bowls of garden ripe maters (that's a little bit of southern speak for you Aussie folks)

We oven dry the cherry toms and store them in oil. I think I got them a little too crispy this year, but they look cool before you put them in the oven!

Princeton and other happenings

Ok, so its been ... ah... forever since we last posted on here. But Mum keeps dropping these plaintive, subtle hints in her emails (e.g. "I miss your blog posts") and since not everyone sees facebook photos... well, why not. Course if you have seen FB photos, there's some overlap.

Life's been eventful! I graduated -- wearing a beautiful blue Harry Potter-esque robes and a splendid floppy hat -- and Nic was very very supportive even though the ceremonies were beyond tedious.

Supportive Nic and I before we get hot and bored at the graduation ceremonies

My exciting floppy hat and blue robe!

Summer arrived with its usual haul of veggies and visitors

Nic and I in the veggie garden

Pia came to visit and we... ah... ate lots

Nic was in a terrifying car crash (he seems to do something death-defying every 18 months)

What's left of the van - the smash at the front is because they were shunted 30m down the road into the back of another car!

And I buggered off to Princeton to work with very smart people on compelling environmental problems. At least that's how I sell it. So far I've fallen in love with the public library, had some lovely walks, and gone out for beers and burgers with the folks in the lab. On the other hand, its Saturday morning and I'm nominally working (blog posting aside, of course), so maybe something of Einstein's spirit still lingers in the place (no need to comment on how little he achieved while actually at Princeton of course).

The lovely library...

I also haven't taken many exciting Princeton photos yet (but stay tuned for ones of my office which is a real eye-opener). This one is my batch-pad apartment with the back to back sofa and bed. Its not what you'd call a marvel of interior decorating, but it is a 5 minute walk to the supermarket, a 10 minute walk to the cafe strips, and a 20 minute walk to the office. Nice.