What happens after you leave the dentist's office

If you had told me back in university--or even a few months ago--that I'd end up being a a dental lab technician one day, I'd think you were nuts. But here I am, and I really really enjoy it!
So in a nutshell, the dentist takes an impression (they come in all kinds of different colours, which is nice) and that's what I work from. I pour a model of the entire impression, and usually also pour a little model of just the tooth or teeth that are being worked on, say for a crown. The teeth in question are in a contrasting colour (here, orange).



Once the stone has hardened, I pop it out of the impression, trim it and articulate it. Sounds fancy, but really it's just using a different stone to mount the models onto a sort of metal jaw--the articulator.



A lot of dentists use standard trays to hold the impression, but some like to have custom trays made to fit the patient more accurately. These are made using wax and a special kind of acrylic, shaped onto a model of the patient's teeth.




Then cooked up in a special gizmo.



These teeth floating in orange goo look a little like something from The Island of Dr. Moreau, but it's actually quite innocent. Occasionally a dentist will ask to have a duplicate of an existing model made, as a back up to the original. The model is suspended in a container where it can be surrounded by the duplicate material, which solidifies to form a mold of the patient's teeth. Then the model is removed and stone is poured into the mold to create the duplicate.




I hope you're all having a nice weekend, and that you're getting through the drearyness of winter.

New

My new home on Agricola street. This little yellow house was built before the first World War, during which time it was apparently used as a command post.



The floors and walls are slanted (evidenced in this photo by the lamp on the bookshelf tilted at a 30 degree angle), it's tiny (hence most of my kitchen appliances housed in the porch area) but it's mine. Plus, didn't I always say I wanted a place with "character"?



This year has also brought new friends. Lauren is the neatest, most nicest girl EVER.



Lucy is also a new friend. Fortunately, she's not as camera shy as her mum.

There's been a lot of newness lately, but things are okay :)

Fantastic

Just a quick post to share my excitement about President Obama being elected. After seeing Bush elected a second time, I lost faith that the electoral system was working as it should; besides the discord between popular vote figures and the actual election results, I couldn't understand how there could be that many people (living next door to us) who thought and felt so differently that I did about social issues, war, etc. It was disheartening.

Seeing all of those people last night--all over the WORLD--rallying together to show their support for change, has given me a sense of optimism, not only for our neighbours in the United States, but for the world.

Because I needed another hobby

It looks like I've caught the Bread Making Bug. The colder weather tends to make me want to spend more time in the kitchen, and soup with good bread always sounds so good when you're cold coming home from work in the evenings.

My first attempt was successful--a nice round loaf with french herbs. Subsequent attempts have produced weapon-like structures, barely edible and tasting slightly of beer. Still, I'm determined. I've read a couple books from the library, and decided to buy Baking Artisan Bread . I like the author's writing style, and he gives tips on how to achieve good results without having to go out and buy equipment (for example, making a steaming tray out of metal utensils in a pan).
My goal is to be able to make whole grain bread eventually-- and not have it weigh sixty pounds.





This is the Pan Francese recipe from the book.



Creamy Leek & Potato Soup

Chop an onion and 2 leeks and cook in butter until soft, in a saucepan. Add 2 cloves of garlic and cook another minute on medium heat. Add 5 cups of vegetable stock and 2 chopped potatoes and bring to a boil, then simmer 20 minutes, covered, on low heat.
Allow to cool a minute or two, and puree (I love my hand blender for this!).
Add lots of pepper, a touch of salt, and a touch of cream if you have it; the potatoes make this soup pretty creamy and I find it isn't really necessary to add cream.

I was actually out of bread tonight so I toasted some muffins in a frying pan to go with it, and that was pretty good.

Make lots and you'll have left overs to freeze and defrost, some chilly evening soon!

Marvin the Pee-er and other cats

Does anyone know what would cause a cat to pee excessively? Marvin has been peeing a lot. Much more than usual. It seems like all he does sometimes is go back and forth between his water dish and his litter box (mixing things up every now and then with a number 2) and we're a little concerned. He seems healthy and happy otherwise, but it is strange. Of course Marvin has always been a bit strange, with his love of chocolate, gum and salty armpits (tries to lick them).

Within the last two weeks I have encountered 7 cats while walking to work or doing errands. The first one surprised me, and I expected that he would run away when he saw me. Instead though, he came right over and wanted to be petted. The same thing happened with the others! Each time they surprise me by walking over to me as I pass them on the sidewalk, and each time they're surprisingly friendly and want to be petted. I don't remember ever seeing so many cats just hanging around on the sidewalk, or ever being able to reach down to pet a cat who didn't know me like that. These ones have all been exceptionally snuggly and friendly, rolling around on their backs and swishing around my legs!

I'm kinda thinking there is something strange going on here. I've concluded that two possible things are happening:

1. Some kind of foreign intelligence (possibly from outer space) is attempting to tell me something via these soft and inconspicuous messengers. Most likely something to do with the upcoming election, like a warning about Steven Harper and the Conservative government and its detrimental effects on our environment, culture and health care system.

or

2. Cats in Halifax did a lot of reproducing last winter.

I'm leaning toward number 1, though.