Mini fermenters sitting with (top to bottom, left to right) plain cider (costco apple juice), the same cider but add homemade blueberry syrup, pineapple mead either orange blossom honey, pineapple tepache. The big beer fermenter (not pictured) currently has a hefe that Jon brewed this afternoon!

Love cooking. Pasta and sauce are homemade!

I published a blog essay: The Seven Tenants of Exploration: The Star Trek Franchise and its Impact on My Professional Career medium.com/@lenaheffern...

It’s weird to be back in Arizona this week.

Pretty cool to see the now flight version of your dissertation PICASSO in the clean room.

Feeling this at midnight tonight, except now my brain won’t turn off and also I have dogs.

This 2026 Q1 I learned: how to write every part of a ROSES proposal from perspectives of both prime and sub, how to do entire budgets and redact them, how to put together budget narratives, how to deal with the BioSketch and the C&P, and finally that letters of support will make you cry happy tears.

Made some Star Trek deltas for @leenuh-hlfernan.bsky.social ‘s Starfleet Academy finale watch party 🪐💫🌙. #startrek #StarfleetAcademy

Tried snakeskin and butterfly wings on raku this evening.

Bottling some mead and some blackberry vanilla cider this evening.

Working on some mugs for my coworkers. Yes they’re cubesats (the mugs).

I can finally publicly share some really exciting news: I have accepted a position as assistant professor of aerospace sciences at the Metropolitan State University of Denver! I’ll be starting this Fall teaching courses, but working this spring/summer on course development. 🚀🛰️

Workin’ on this mirror. Tiles are adhered, next is grout then stain.

The large pot came out of the kiln last week. #tjklune #houseintheceruleansea #somewherebeyondthesea

Finally have these PRISMs in. Now back to SPARX tomorrow…

We put up the little free library last weekend. Dedicated to my late Uncles.

Some pottery out of the kiln yesterday and a quick reminder.

To escape reality today I made a lot of butternut squash pasta. Full of good fiber, egg protein, and vitamin A.

So over Christmas break we worked on a Little Free Hobbit Library. I still have to finish painting the stand, and the charter placard is still en-route in the mail, but we’re hoping to have its grand-opening and dedication at the end of the month.

My favorite uncle passed away Dec 19. Family drama resulted in having more of a found family Holiday season. Now I have strep throat. I still need to get a lot of writing done and am behind. Just all around not having a good time.

Practice mittens.

Makin’ some mittens. #crochet

Just putting more emphasis on why the movie Nuremberg is so important to go see at this current point in time. #nuremberg #movies #itcanhappenhere

Highly recommend going to see the movie Nuremberg in theaters. Get others to go too.

Finally finished! #ceramics #tjklune #pottery #underglaze

Last harvest of the season. Just spent an hour stripping mint into the dehydrator.

Some cocktails from a few weeks ago.

Given the basement catastrophically flooding, amazing I’ve gotten any painting done on this at all.

Tis the season.

Working on a giant planter lately. #ceramics

Lord of the Rings inspired soap & sponge dishes plus a few mugs. #ceramics #pottery

✊ Sign your support for all three here⬇️ NASA: actionnetwork.org/forms/suppor... EPA: act.standupforscience.net/forms/epa-ad... NIH: act.standupforscience.net/forms/add-na...

We signed up for local farm CSA’s for produce and meat, as well as a local diary delivery. Bought a pasta roller as well and froze a bunch of egg noodles (eggs from trading spent beer grain). We also have a garden in the backyard with herbs and veggies. Here’s some of the results!

Soap dishes!

What’s really at stake if NASA’s science budget gets slashed and entire science missions are canceled? We asked the scientists leading those missions, and their stories reveal what we all stand to lose. Here’s what they told us: www.planetary.org/articles/sci...

Veggie bowl from the CSA we joined and a bottle of wine from my hometown. Small treats.

More wild flowers 🌸🌼🪻

Pollinator garden blooming update. 🌸🦋🐝🌼🪻

The hop trellises and another view of the pollinator garden.

The pollinator garden is flourishing. We removed some chokecherry (contains cyanide pits, don’t want the dogs eating the berries) and added in some hop trellises near the side fence.

Everything is on fire, but here’s some super cute dogs (L-R, Kora, Theo, Tendi, Bones).

Inspired by @jtuttlekeane.bsky.social and @ohdearz.bsky.social, here's what the White House proposed budget cuts to NASA would do to the entirety of the agency's Science Mission Directorate. Bloodbath is right.

Excited to start my new job today!

Almost done with the quilt for my niece. Just in time for her birthday next week!

Spent some of my time off last week refinishing and painting these bookshelves as a surprise for @jongarich.bsky.social . Going for an Explorer’s Club vibe in this corner. Bonus hidden gin cabinet.

Colorado people, Method & Muse spirits opens soon in Old Town Arvada - check them out and help support my buddy’s small, local business that’s been years in the making! They won 3 Gold medals at International Spirits competition before they’ve even opened their tasting room. Excellent gin & amaro! 🍸

This migraine is either from paint fumes yesterday, the two glasses of wine I had last night, or stress. Probably a c-c-c-combo. Anyway, write your congressmen, the proposed budget basically destroys NASA science. We need NASA science, it funds real world solutions. 🛰️

It’s finally finished! We did it @jongarich.bsky.social !

The garden fence is going up and almost done being painted! Sellers left a ton of paint in the basement; We mixed together a horribly bright turquoise with some sand colored paint and ended up with an almost Tiffany blue aka my favorite color.

The plots of disaster movies that portray the end of civilization often begin with high-level Government Officials ignoring the warnings of Scientists. One of several lesson learned from the 2.5 hour @Netflix Documentary — Don’t Look Up (2021).