Need help with chemistry? Check out chemistrydoctor.blogspot.com!

Chemistry—a subject many of us probably didn't like in school, but it's required. However, I'm sharing some good news that might help some of you who need help balancing equations and calculating reactions. My husband, David DeVito, has taught chemistry at the college level for several years now, and he has a new blog devoted to helping students with chemistry. He started it a few months ago when he finished teaching chemistry at Eastern Kentucky University as a way for his students to keep in contact and continue asking chemistry-related questions. Check it out at http://chemistrydoctor.blogspot.com.

David has a PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida and this week, he started as a full-time dental student at the University of Kentucky. Like me, he loves teaching and interacting with students, so this blog is hopefully a way for him to continue this interaction and instruction.

In his second post, he links to this website about wisdom from a Chemistry Cat: http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2011/07/meme-watch-chemistry-cats-word-is-his-bond/#page/1. 
Unfortunately, our cats, Sammie and Cash, don't share in their dad's love and knowledge of chemistry. :)

What can you make with two pounds of okra? Gumbo time!

My parents in Florida have a wonderful garden, and I miss the numerous fresh vegetables during the summer—tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, potatoes, squash and okra. During our recent trip, my dad gave us a lot of okra. Okra is a unique vegetable, and most people eat it stewed with tomatoes or fried. It has a slimy texture when sliced, and I actually had trouble giving it away since many people don't like it or don't know how to cook with it.

I found several recipes online for gumbo with okra, so we made a pot on a Sunday afternoon and had plenty of leftovers throughout the week. I sauteed the okra in olive oil first for about 30 minutes to remove most of the slimy texture. Then, I added tomatoes, onions, garlic, celery and red and green peppers and let the mixture saute for a while longer. Next, we added chicken broth and water and brought it to a boil.

We decided to add sausage and shrimp.

I seasoned the shrimp with salt, pepper and some Old Bay Seasoning.

We added the meat last and then let the gumbo simmer for several hours on low heat. It smelled great, and we ate it over rice. With the leftovers, I made some orzo and served it over that. I also ate it over a package of instant cheese grits. It was a great dish with lots of fresh vegetables, and okra was the not-so-slimy star.

1800 miles in 2 weeks across 4 states...our summer oblication

We spent almost two weeks in June visiting our families in Florida. I nicknamed it an "oblication" since it was combination vacation and obligation trip to see everyone. David starts four years of dental school at the University of Kentucky August 1, so we drove down before he's in school for 11 months of the year with limited breaks.

For our family members who have only visited during the winter, this is what Kentucky and Tennessee look like during the spring and summer—plenty of beautiful green mountains!

We left on a Sunday and drove part of the way, stopping in Macon, Georgia overnight. On Monday morning, I watched one of my former University of Tennessee students, Samantha Smith, on air as a weather forecaster for Channel 41 in Macon. She is working on her degree in meteorology and will have a great career!

It took about 10 and a half hours total to reach my parent's house in Alachua, so not a bad drive. We spent the next 10 days visiting our families and friends and sharing many great conversations and meals. Here are some photo highlights from our trip.

I was very excited to see my nephew Judson again since he is almost 10 months old. He is crawling and laughing and a very loveable child. (About 90 percent of the photos I took on the trip are of Judson and his cuteness!)

He loves to play on the computer while sitting on Grandpa's lap.

Grandma steals some sugar. 

We made Judson into a little Kentucky Wildcat.

We also visited David's family in Winter Haven and Lake Alfred and saw his extended family and even met some new little cousins.

David's aunts, uncles and cousins on his mom's side came over for BBQ night.

David's mom has redesigned her kitchen, and it looks great!

Yummy pizza from the Pizza Connection in Auburndale, Florida, courtesy of David's dad.

David's aunt made a delicious pineapple upside down cake.

There is always time to play Angry Birds. David and his sister, Allison, are addicted to this game on their phones!

We saw some beautiful sunsets in Florida. I'll write another post about them and share more photos.

While in Polk County, we traveled to Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida to meet up with some friends from college. They brought some delicious Publix subs, and we had a picnic while their kids enjoyed the dinosaurs. The outing represented my love/hate relationship with Florida—love seeing family and friends and eating Publix subs but hate the heat and humidity! (Ironically, while we were in Florida, Publix announced it will open stores in Knoxville. I'm hoping they move on up to Lexington, too!)

We had a great trip, but we're happy to be home again in Kentucky. Sammie and Cash had a wonderful lady named Miss Maria who came over and checked in on them while we were gone. I talked to her several times during our trip, and she said they were doing fine but missed us. We missed them too!

Cash spends hours sunning himself on the floor.

Sammie spent a lot of time sleeping on Dad's chair upstairs. It was coated in a thick layer of hair when we returned.

72 years and counting...Happy Birthday Dad! (Updated with new photo of Dad modeling!)

My dad, Amos, is celebrating 72 years today, July 7. Happy Birthday, Dad!

My mom snapped this photo of Dad opening one of his gifts. A man can never have too many shirts. 

Mom also took this photo of Dad modeling the new shirt we gave him. What style he has! :)

In honor of his birthday, I looked up some facts about the year 1939. Visit http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html to learn more, but below are some interesting items.

Average cost of new house: $3,800
Average wages per year: $1,730
Cost of a gallon of gas: 10 cents
A loaf of bread: 8 cents
A pound of hamburger meat: 14 cents
Average price for new car: $700

I'm sorry we can't be there to help him celebrate, but we saw him during June when we visited our Florida families for almost two weeks. It was a great visit, and I'll share more photos in a future blog post.

Three generations: My dad, brother and nephew on Father's Day in June 2011.

We love you Dad! Happy 72nd birthday!

(Updated) Happy 43rd Wedding Anniversary to my parents!

Today is my parent's 43rd wedding anniversary, quite an accomplishment! They were married on June 1, 1968 in a small Baptist church in Brooker, Florida. The ceremony didn't start until 8 p.m., and it was a hot and humid Saturday evening with candle wax dripping because of the heat. Their reception menu included a wedding cake, nuts, mints and punch, and that is all. Maybe the secret to a long and happy marriage is a simple reception.

For my parent's 43rd wedding anniversary dinner, they dined at Sonny's Real Pit BBQ in Alachua, the same restaurant they eat at every Wednesday night. Their favorite waitress, Carolyn, had a surprise cake waiting for them. Topped with blueberries, strawberries and kiwi with slivered almonds and a strawberry filling, they said it was delicious.

Yummy! Thanks Miss Carolyn! You're the best!

I took the photo below three years ago when we surprised them with a 40th wedding anniversary dinner with members of their wedding party. It's one of my favorite photos of the two of them.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you and hope you have many, many more!

Family celebrations

There are several days to celebrate in May for our family. There is Mother's Day, and then my birthday (May 9), which is always close to Mother's Day. Even though I wasn't with my family for these occasions, we still celebrate by sending cards and flowers!

Due to a mix-up at a local florist, I received two birthday arrangements. The first one was beautiful, but it wasn't the birthday-themed arrangement with sunflowers (my favorite) my parents had picked out, so the florist arranged to pick up this first arrangement and exchange it for the birthday one.  They both are beautiful! Thanks Mom and Dad!

The birthday flowers have sunflowers, yellow roses and lilies and smaller green and yellow flowers. The only down side is that Cash, our cat, loves to eat any type of flower, and since he is a jumper, he has no problem launching on to the mantle above the fireplace to indulge. At night, the flowers "go to bed" in the spare bedroom, so they won't be a midnight snack for him.

The birthday flowers lasted for almost two weeks. Here is a photo of them more than a week after I received them.

David bought some balloons for my birthday, and Cash enjoyed trying to eat the ribbons. I told him that I can't have anything nice for my birthday because he tries to eat my gifts! :) Here is a short video I shot of him playing with the balloons, Sammie trying to take a nap, and the flowers on the mantle.

Below are the flowers we sent to our mothers for Mother's Day. These are the ones I sent to my mom, a variety of colors and flowers in a reusable green and white bag.

My brother and his wife also celebrated their third wedding anniversary May 17. Happy anniversary Jason and Kristen! Here is a photo of them and my nephew taken on Easter. What a happy family! :)

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! (A letter from Sammie the cat)

April 2011—Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

This tree bloomed outside the front of our house. When we moved here in September, it had green leaves and then lost the leaves during the winter, so it was a surprise to see the dark pink and lavender leaves.

It’s Sammie Ann Beutke DeVito writing. I know how much you all love and adore me, and my clever writing skills, so I thought I’d give you a quick update about how we’re doing in the Bluegrass. 

I went to the vet's office for my annual check-up, and this picture was in our exam room. Too cute! It reminds us of Dolly. I think she would have liked Kentucky.

Easter is so late this year, but it’s finally starting to feel like spring up here in Kentucky. We even had a dusting of snow at the beginning of April. 

We had a little snow just as the trees were starting to bloom. It has snowed here each month since November, so six months out of the year!

It has rained and rained and rained this month. One night, the winds were so bad that the chairs on the back deck blew across the deck and smashed into my mom’s flowerpot, and it broke into several pieces. The wind also destroyed the umbrella on the porch table.

After the storm, my parents surveyed the damage. In addition to the broken pot and umbrella, the grill cover blew off and flew into the neighbor's yard.

My dad used super glue to fix the flower pot.

Cash and I slept through the whole storm. We were dreaming about the two bird feeders outside that attract many types of birds. We could sit for hours watching them and thinking about how tasty they would be for Easter dinner.

My parents both finish teaching for the spring semester at Eastern Kentucky University on April 29, the day of the Royal Wedding in England. (By the way, I was invited to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate, but I really dislike those long flights across the Atlantic. I hear airplane food is horrible, and now they charge you for a blanket and a pillow, and you don’t even get to keep it!)

My mom hopes to teach at EKU again in the fall. EKU’s mascot is a colonel like Colonel Sanders who started Kentucky Friend Chicken, but the mascot is an angrier version of him. Maybe this colonel is upset that he doesn’t know KFC’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.

My dad starts dental school at the University of Kentucky (Go Cats!) on August 1, and he is quite excited. Before he starts this crazy, I mean awesome, adventure, my parents are planning to leave us here all alone so they can visit Florida this summer. My mom thinks we need a cat sitter, but I’m trying to convince her that we’ll be fine on our own. She said if we could learn to use the toilet and flush, we wouldn’t need a sitter. I don’t know how easy it will be to learn that, especially for Cash.

We’d love for you to visit us if you haven’t already. There are lots of exciting things to do. People love horses up here. I haven’t ridden one yet, but Cash and I might go to the Kentucky Derby in May. It’s actually in Louisville, not Lexington. Don’t you think I’d look so cute in one of those big hats the ladies wear at the Derby?

We hope you have a wonderful Easter! I really hope the Easter Bunny brings us a baby bunny and chick, but I don’t think that will happen. My parents look forward to seeing some Florida folks in June. They can’t wait to simmer in the heat and humidity! :)

Love,

Sammie, Cash, David and Allyson DeVito

Say Cheese!

I grew up around cameras. My dad purchases a new camera every few years, and I remember several film cameras that he used when I was younger. My Aunt Vada also takes tons of photos of everything, and at one point, she told me she kept all the negatives (I wonder if my students know the meaning of this word in this context) in one box in her house, so if there was a fire, she'd grabbed that box and not the dozens (probably closer to a hundred) photos albums. My grandpa had a Polaroid camera that we loved to take photos with and wait a few minutes for our images to appear. (One time, Papa took some Polaroid shots of the TV set, while the music group, The New Kids on the Block, appeared on the American Music Awards on TV, so I could see them. He was afraid I wasn't watching the live show at my house. Little did he know that I was recording it on a thing called a VCR!)

I also have memories of my dad setting up a giant projector and screen in our family room, so we could watch "silent" films of me as a baby in the late 1970s. When my younger brother was born in 1985, my dad bought our first video camera. It was the bulky kind that required an assistant, usually me, to hold part of it in a camera bag while he filmed. We lugged it to Disney, Dollywood, beach trips and family gatherings. Part of the camera was actually the VCR, and it never failed that we couldn't find a blank tape to record something on when we needed it. I'm fairly certain the final episode of "Dallas" on TV erased one of my birthday parties.

I even found a camera in a cow pasture once. It was a bright yellow underwater camera in a bright yellow bag, and I discovered it one day while helping my day feed the cows in the field in back of our house. There was a roll of film in the bag that we developed, but it was hard to tell who had taken the photos since they were mainly of buildings in a large city. I'm not sure if it fell out of a plane or someone walking through our property dropped it. It's still a mystery, but I used the camera to take many underwater photos at the beach and in my grandparent's pool. 

I remember dropping off rolls of film and waiting for several days or even a week before we could pick up our prints, and we would always get two sets of prints. Then, a radical new way of processing prints within an hour happened. Now, I cannot remember the last time I actually had printed photos made. I guess it was for our wedding and honeymoon in 2004.

During college, I was a telecommunication major (fancy way of saying broadcast journalism), and we used very heavy and expensive cameras and tripods for reporting the news. One of my friends accidentally backed over a tripod while driving, and it cost several thousand dollars to replace it. Recently, I purchased a Kodak Zi8 pocket video camera for $120 from Amazon.com. It has a built-in USB arm that plugs into a computer, so it's easy to download good quality video and edit it in a matter of minutes.

Everything is much less expensive and easier to use now, and I am very fortunate that my family is camera and computer literate because my parents are keeping my nephew each week, and they send photos and video of him to me via email. My dad has a digital camera now that also records video, and it fits into his pocket. I guess he doesn't need an assistant anymore.

I am so thankful for these advancements since I am able to see the little guy smiling, laughing and growing into an adorable little man. I also can see how much my parents are enjoying their first grandchild. I can't imagine waiting weeks at a time for my parents to take photos, have them developed, and then mail them to me.

Here are a few of my recent favorites. I know I am biased, but I think he's probably the most adorable baby ever! :)

Here are a couple of videos. 

My brother and his boy....

Exploring Kentucky

The nice thing about family visiting is we also get a chance to explore more of Kentucky. It's been a month since David's family visited us for the New Year, so I've been a bit lax in posting some of things we enjoyed during their visit.

One day, we visited the Acres of Land Winery in Richmond and ate lunch. It was delicious, and they have a nice selection of wines and scrumptious entrees on the menu.

We traveled to Berea that afternoon to do some shopping at the many arts and crafts stores. Allison found a rather large chair to sit in, and the owner of the furniture store will make one for your house for $5000.

Kentucky is known for its Bourbon--an American whiskey. There are six historic distilleries in our area, but most were closed on New Year's Eve. However, Wild Turkey was open, so we ventured to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and took a tour. It was interesting to learn how Bourbon is made.

 We had a great tour guide who explained the entire process and answered questions.

Wild Turkey has built a new distillery, but we toured the old one since tours aren't happening yet in the new one.

The Bourbon is stored in barrels until it's ready.

Sometimes, the barrels leak.

Our tour guide let us taste some from the leaking barrel. It was rather strong.

When we returned to the visitor's center, we had a more formal tasting of the different kinds of Wild Turkey Bourbon. It's definitely an acquired taste.

In addition to seeing the distillery, it was a nice drive through the country parts of Central Kentucky.