Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.

...It's coooooold out there everyday.

Would it help if I played Sonny and Cher in the background?

Well, I'm sure you're all wondering what we've been up to over the last few weeks.  Hmmmmm....Let's see, we went to the Dental School's picnic at Squire Valleevue and Valley Ridge Farms.  It was a lot like... Picnics and Mommunists (8/16/11).  Actually it was pretty much exactly like that.  Except there was a new crop of infants and instead of being mediocre at football, all of the men were mediocre at volleyball.  Oh, and instead of going out for custard afterwards, we went out for ice cream.

I went to go observe Nicholas working in the lab.

September 2011

September 2012

...and Nicholas continues to make fake teeth.

September 2011

September 2012

Okay, I will grant you that his technique has gotten a wee bit more sophisticated over the last year. 



I got a bad cold, and Nicholas made me matzoh ball soup.

Jew-y picture I used in 2011

Jew-y picture I'm using in 2012

All in all, I have to say that the start of this school year has felt a little...familiar.

Just in case we lost you on this one...

Of course, some things do change.  For instance, this time last year we were feeding a small stray tabby cat on the porch and talking about how, under no circumstances, were we going to take her in and end up with a fourth cat (Ha!)  Not only did we let Pog in, but we let Jon Fielding in as well.  Have we told you about Jon Fielding and his dirty dangler yet?

Not these.  We had these removed

Fielding's dangler is the one leg that he leaves dangling under him from wherever he has perched.

I guess it would have been too much to ask to get a "fixed one"...well, I guess if he'd been normal, someone wouldn't have just let him out to roam the streets of the Cleve.

Anyway, I'd better go, because if I don't do my reading...well, pretty much nobody notices.

Gray Days

Well, the didactic portion of Nicholas' first semester of dental school is over.  He did really well and we're both very proud of the hard work that he's done.  At this point he's been going into the under-served areas of Cleveland and putting sealants on the teeth of public school children so that they don't get cavities.

Hard at work

This is a really wonderful program that Case has established and the dental students do a lot of very hard work.  And besides, why wouldn't you hand over your children to strange men doing charity work?

Oh, yeah.

As for me, I'm in process of writing all of my final papers.  I must say I'm handling it well:

Artist's rendering

Okay, fine, maybe I've been a little stressed as the end of the semester approaches; but I'll rally.  I have to.  Cause, really, who ever heard of a crazy mental health professional?

 Oh, yeah.

School aside, autumn in Cleveland has been really nasty.  We've had a ton of gray days and inches upon inches of rain.  Take a look at our back yard from this past weekend:

 Clearly God's covenant never to flood the world again does not extend to the suburbs of Cleveland.  You know where I'll bet it never floods...

It's a bible joke AND a gay joke

Well, I'm busy with finals so that's all for now.

This blog entry was sponsored by 

Topol brand toothpaste: where dental hygiene isn't just our job...it's TRADITION!

lf the whole world moved to their favorite vacation spots, then the world would live in Hawaii and ltaly and Cleveland

Due to popular demand, we've decided to resume our blog writing.

Popular Demand

Sorry that we've been depriving you of tales from our adventures.  And let's just say, they don't call it the wild, wild (mid)west for nothing. 

So, shortly after we moved in, Nicholas and I took to feeding one of the local stray cats--Pog, the Pig doppleganger.  One night a couple of weeks ago we put some food in Pog's dish and called for her; but she didn't come...as it happens, she's been reluctant to respond to the name that two strange humans made up for her a few weeks ago.  At any rate we set the food down on the porch and went about our business.  When we returned later to check for Pog, we found a gigantic raccoon eating out of her dish.  Seriously, this thing wasn't like a regular size raccoon; it was HUGE.


To scale

 I don't know if you were aware of this, but Nicholas and I are not quite the wildlife experts that we appear to be.  I tried all of the usual tacks and when squealing and knocking on the window then giving it the finger when it looked at me didn't work, Nicholas was at the bat.  Rugged outdoorsman that he is, he had the presence of mind to stick a curtain rod out the door and smack at the ground near where it stood to spook it.  And I could tell that Nicholas had really intimidated it because as soon as it had eaten its fill, it walked away with the slow, casual walk of a terrified animal.
See, didn't I tell you? Adventures galore!

But there's definitely more to our time in Cleveland than our rugged outdoorsy escapades.  We've also been enjoying some domestic bliss.  As always, I've been experimenting with new recipes; but Nicholas has really stepped up as well.  When I got back from Costa Rica last weekend, Nicholas had a huge pot of matzoh ball soup waiting for me.  I could hardly believe it.  Over the year and half that Nicholas and I have been living together, he's really come a long way.

Nicholas with the Pope in 2009

Nicholas today

I know, even I'm surprised.
Speaking of all the progress that Nicholas has been making, today I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the lab with Nicholas and watch him work.  You see, tomorrow Nicholas has a competency exam (that's where the dental school professors determine whether or not he's able to stand trial) and I went to keep him company while he practiced.

Editor's Note: In no way is a competency exam associated with whether or not the dental student is able to stand trial. 

And so I finally bore witness (bore being the operative word) to the process of waxing teeth.  I must say, Nicholas was really in his element.

Man makes fire

Man waxes tooth



Man poops pants? (Just guessing based on furrowed brow)


Seriously though, when Nicholas was done, it looked like just like a real incisor.  So for those of you who have been waiting anxiously for Nicholas to be able to do your dental work for free, the moment has arrived.  Nicholas can now do your dental work...as long as what you need done is to have green wax replica of your incisor made.

This just in: Beverly Hills 90210, Cleveland Browns 3

Welcome to another thrilling edition of our blog.  Since last we wrote, Nicholas and I have had some splendid adventures.  Last Saturday we went to the Shaker Woods Festival, a craft show in Columbiana, OH.  The festival featured lots of beautiful arts and crafts.

Footage not found

Nicholas was, however, able to capture some of the more interesting exhibits at Shaker Woods.

Fountain

Also a fountain

Whatever this weirdness is

Since this didn't feel sufficiently festive for one Saturday, when we got back to Cleveland we decided to go to the Greek Festival at the local Greek Orthodox Church.  Nicholas enjoyed a variety of Greek delicacies, like gyros, spanakopita, and baklava.  Personally, I indulged in their vegetarian and dairy-free alternatives:

Footage not found

We had a fun time listening to the music and watching the young children do their dance routines.

This week in school Nicholas had to hand in his first project.  Based on my current understanding it was something vaguely tooth shaped that he created after many hours in the lab.

Artist rendering of Nicholas' lab creation

In spite of his professor's warning that many people do not pass their first project and are often made to redo it in order to obtain a satisfactory grade, Nicholas found out today that he passed with flying colors. (Alternate theory: Professor was consumed by tooth monster shown above)

I, in the mean time, have had a lot of time around the house while Nicholas is at school.  I've been making great use of all of the quiet and solitude.  It's really given me the chance to work on my writing, like this blog...or my manuscript...

Come to think of it, it's probably a good thing that my semester starts on Tuesday and I'll be out of the house more often.  But we have another weekend to enjoy together before the start of the Mandel School's academic year and we're kicking it off with a neighborhood BBQ.  We'll be sure to let you know how everything goes

School, school, school, schoo-oo-ool

Bonus points to anyone who can hear the Warner brothers and their Warner sister, Dot, when reading the title of this exciting new blog entry.

(Just in case we lost you on the reference)

Today was Nicholas' first day of dental school--and just in case you're anything like his loving domestic partner, we should clarify that he is not in fact a dentist already.  It's more like one day down and 4 more years to go.  What did Nicholas learn today, you ask? He learned how to wax teeth.  For those of you not in the know, waxing teeth is the elective procedure during which hot wax is applied to the tooth followed by cotton strips.  The dentist then pulls off the cotton strip thereby removing all unwanted hair.

(Editor's Note: Waxing teeth is not the removal of unwanted hair from teeth.  It's actually the painstaking process of creating a hot wax cast of a tooth.)



All in all the process is quite taxing on the fledgling dental student.



After



 

Before



Don't fret.  He had a wonderful first day of classes!



I had my interview today at The Hanna Perkins Center for a potential field placement.  I met with my future supervisor and he explained to me about the work that's done at the center and the responsibilities of and learning opportunities for interns at Hanna Perkins.  Interns take on their own clinical case load right away.  My interviewer told me that he feels like I would be a good fit and would bring a lot to the center if  (when) I accept a field placement there.  It promises to be a very rewarding and challenging experience, since if my interviewer's anecdotes are any indication, I will be helping some very troubled children.



 

 

Pictured above: Very troubled children

All in all, it seems like we're getting off to a good start with our first days of graduate school!



Should you really be wearing white?

Many congratulations to Nicholas on having had his White Coat Ceremony today.  The ceremony took place at the Amasa Stone Chapel on campus.  There were several brief comments offered up by various members of the Dental School faculty and the students learned about the moral and ethical behavior expected of dentists.  At the end of the ceremony each student receives their white coat, which symbolizes their induction into the time honored profession of medicine dentistry.  Once each student had received his or her own coat, they all recited their dental oath--that's the one where they swear to tell the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth (I'll bet right around now you're wishing that I would just take a back seat and let Nicholas author these sans creative assists from yours truly).

Pictured above: Some guy dressing Nicholas

 Nicholas and Karen

 Nicholas, Karen, and Grandma Betty

Enjoy our hideous visages!