Gregor's Graduation - Up close!

Here's be better view of Gregor receiving his diploma. ;-)

~Kathy

Gregor's Graduation

It's official! Gregor has his Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering (with a concentration in aeronautical engineering)! our luck, for the first time in 20 years, it rained on graduation day, forcing commencement at Worcester Polytechnic Institute to be held indoors. That limited the seating, so while Armen, Elissa and I, along with Conor and Carey, were able to attend the ceremony, Gregor's girlfriend, Liz, and her mother watched the streaming video from another spot on campus. (Imagine that - a technical school having the capability of providing commencement online!) Armen and I couldn't be prouder!

It was a great event, with plenty of pomp and circumstance and regalia - but none of the extemporary hand springs and levity that are par for the course at a UO graduation, however.

Afterwards, Russ, Drew, Tess, Kyle, and Liz and her mother and father joined us for a meal to celebrate. There were toasts all around to the graduate and plenty of cards, gifts and good times. We'll be doing it all again next spring when Gregor expects to "walk" for his Master's degree!

There were 700 graduates at his commencement - causing a little "where's Gregor?" We found him, though...can you?

~Kathy

Happy Mother's Day!

Coming Thanksgiving 2007...

Meekins Memorial Bench

It's in! The Meekins bench in the Anchorage Park Strip has been installed. (There will be additional rockwork around it.) It's located on the south side of the park along a walkway at G Street. Here's a photo of the bench that Genie took, featuring a couple of Maddie's friends.

I don't know about you, but whenever I see a bench and read the inscription, it usually leaves me wondering who were these people and why would a bench at this location have been significant to them?

For those of you who may not know, the park strip is near to Gramma's house, so, as we were growing up, we spent a lot of time there - playing tennis, softball, having BBQs, hanging out, skating in the winter. Also, that's where Russ' little league baseball team played (sponsored by Hustlin' Russ Auto Sales) and where Grandpa launched Anchorage's little league football. (Ask us sometime about the field striping fiasco that involved pancake mix.) Of course, the big bonfire to celebrate statehood was at the park strip and so many other communtiy events were held.

So, for our bench's inscription, I tried to describe Gramma and Grandpa and convey the importance of the park strip both to our family, personally, and to their contributions to the community. It will say:

Russ and Adele Meekins

Anchorage Pioneers Who Often Used the
Public Greenspace of the Park Strip
To Build and Celebrate Community

In Loving Memory,
Meekins Family

Hope you like it ~Kathy

Press Time

Hey everybody,

The intrepid Boston Globe just published a story on the work my lab does and what I've been doing for my Master's. But alas, I ended up on the cutting room floor and the undergrads that work for me get all the camera time.
This is probably the best short description of my research so far, so take a look!


PS. More big news to come hopefully