Blog Archive 2016

2016 Blog

Saturday, Dec. 31st/16

We are celebrating our sixth day with no snow on the ground!  We awoke last Monday to the disappearance of all our snow, and couldn't be happier.  The temps have been decent, too.  Each day of winter that passes without a major storm or serious deep freeze is a small victory.

We purchased an android box for the tv.  We can now stream virtually anything.  Very scary.  The box cost around $70, and that is it.  No other fees.  We have access to almost any program out there.  We are currently watching the Tom Baker Doctor Who years; 2nd season of The Detectorists; first season of Mozart in the Jungle; all of the MST3K episodes; some old Night Gallery episodes (one by Kornbluth last night); we just saw Legend of Tarzan (2016); and Deb is watching a series where Wil Wheaton plays cool board games with geek celebrities.  The unlimited selection is quite ridiculous.  And free.  More on the tv stuff later.  The Tarzan film was really good, and quite true to Burroughs, for once.

So we'll be watching some telly for New Year's Eve, probably MST3K, one of the best tv shows ever produced.  And thanks to a fund raiser it is coming back this year for 11 more episodes!!!

One of the best Tarzan movies I have ever seen.  I think Burroughs (and P.J. Farmer) would be pleased.

 

Wednesday, Dec. 28th/16

The walking program has resumed at last, as temps hover around the average for this time of year.  We at least get into the low 30s each day.  Tuesday we went to Detroit with Amanda and her mom.  The central area was very busy, as they were about to light a giant menorah.  In addition, there were a ton of skaters on the ice.  We hit several great pubs, two cafes, and stopped in at several shops.  Amanda also came over for a visit Monday afternoon, with a gift of coffee beans for Deb, and 4 large bottles of craft beer for me.  Yay!

So we walked a lot yesterday in Detroit, and then again today in our neighbourhood.  We are now happily ensconced in our routines again: practicing, reading, film making, listening to music, and watching some fun tv.  Mozart in the Jungle has caught our attention, as has season 2 of The Detectorists.  We are also beginning the Tom Baker seasons of Dr. Who.  

I`m also playing three fantastic computer games, each one on a different computer.  Timelapse continues to be great, and I have since started playing Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within.  And the main computer is home to Dreamfall Chapters, the final game of the fabulous Longest Journey series.

In addition to keeping up my older piano program for a few more weeks (I ran through it successfully for Amanda, and also played the Brahms Intermezzo for Jennifer last week),  I have begun some groundwork on the new, upcoming program.  Work has already commenced on another early Haydn Sonata (#4), and another Debussy Prelude. 

 

Sunday, Dec. 25th/16

Deb got to talk to her mom today.  She is as busy as ever, and working on yet another book, a follow-up to her most recent, just published one about local history in Lindsay, ON.  An amazing woman!

I talked to everyone up in Sudbury also.  Emma Lee (7 yrs) wanted a piano for Christmas, and she got a nice little keyboard with which to get her keyboard skills started.  

Caroline is in Scotland for the holiday, the first time with her family for a long while at this time of year.  Of course the notorious Scottish weather will no doubt intrude, but I hope she has an enjoyable visit anyway!

Here at home we visited Ruth in her new A'burg house today.  We enjoyed several fine ales together, and the three of us played Tokaido, a journey board game that crosses Japan.

 I didn't practice piano today, and it felt very strange.  I am looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow.  The old program is pretty well settled, ready for Jan. 15th.  I have also begun one of the new pieces, the hardest one of the bunch.  It will take much longer to learn than the others that I will start learning after the upcoming Jan. recital.  More on the new pieces later.

Since our cold snap ended several days ago the weather has been calm and seasonal, though the nights are considerably warmer than usual.  The 10-day forecast looks good as well.  Usually, winter does not really get rolling until about the 5th of January, lasting well into February.  However, this year we got a good kick in the head from Old Man Winter a bit earlier than usual.  At least we are now prepared for the worst.

Looking forward to seeing Amanda soon, which will nearly complete our busy social calendar for this holiday season.  Most times of the year we are essentially a pair of busy hermits, other than all the students and families coming and going throughout the week.

Deb is busy building her moon rocket for film #3, and it should see lift off tomorrow down in the photography studio.  To the moon, Yorick!

 

Saturday, Dec. 24th/16

Our private Solstice party was a blast, as usual.  All day snacks, lots of music, wood fire from 8 am till 8 pm, a nap or two... a very good day!  We listened to several major works by Brahms, including his Op 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.  That included his two large scale serenades for orchestra, and the mammoth D Minor piano concerto.  We also listened to Britten, Op 28, 29, and 30.  This included the incomparable Op 28 Ceremony of Carols.  If you are searching for a short piece of music to play on Christmas Day, this is the one, my friends.  No doubt a good Youtube performance can be found.  An extraordinary piece!!

Yesterday we were visited by Jenn G., her son Aston, and her boyfriend Brad.  I taught Jenn in elementary school.  We lost touch for years, but thanks to Facebook we hooked up again.  I love reconnecting with some of the extraordinary students I have had the good fortune to teach.  Jenn used to live in B.C. for many years, where she operated a small motel geared to the ski crowd in a small resort town.  She has moved back to Ontario, and now lives about 3 hrs. east of us.  She also is a huge craft beer fan, so our get-togethers usually include lots of experimental imbibing.  Yesterday was no exception, as we tried out 7 different ales!

On Christmas Day we will be visiting our friend Ruth for some more imbibing, as well as some board games.  Tomorrow we will bring Tokaido when we visit.  We have not played it before with more than two people.

And Amanda is in town, so we hope to see her a few times as well.  In fact, on Tuesday we plan to visit Detroit's Midtown together, enjoying some good food and some exceptional craft ale.

Deb has been busy with short film #3.  Today she has been in the basement building a space ship!  And roasting some coffee.

Our weather has returned to a more seasonal style, though Monday it is supposed to reach 11 C, or into the low 50s F.  The snow is melting, and is now pretty disgusting to look at.  It rained last night, and more rain is on the way.  An inch or two of fresh white stuff would be nice, but it is not in the forecast, alas.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

 

Monday, Dec. 20th/16

"The reason for the season is the tilt of the Earth." Deb Ethier

Lots of wood has been laid in for tomorrow's all day fire.  The fridge and cupboard are filled with endless food and beverage snacks.  Decorations are up, and the art has been changed for the new season.  We are ready for Solstice Celebration 2016!  The day's music will be sponsored by Britten and Brahms.  Good times lie just ahead!

We have had two clear nights so far this session.  However, Monday night the temperatures were too extreme to even think about standing quietly around a telescope eyepiece.  Tonight is still cold, but the temps made it doable.  It was the savage wind that kept me indoors this time.  I managed a short naked eye session on the back deck instead.  Our temps are finally going to moderate for a week or so, so I may yet get another chance.

A final note on Aguirre and his ilk.  When we were youngsters and learning about the explorers (Grade Five), they were presented as heroes and great men.  A few may have been, but not the ones seeking for gold.  One wonders if we will also send out the worst of mankind when it is time to leave this planet, in search of minerals and other wealth.  We won't be doing it for the adventure, that's for certain.

 

Sunday, Dec. 19th/16

This marks my third viewing of Aguirre, The Wrath of God, easily one of the best films ever made.  It was even better than I remembered this time around.  Werner Herzog has made enough great films, each one unique, devastating, dreamlike, and essential, to raise him to the highest level of director.  Combined with the acting talent of Klaus Kinski, Aguirre is one of the must-see films of all time.

Loosely based on the real Spanish conquistador in search of El Dorado, the legendary city of gold, the setting is the Amazon jungle.  It is filmed as if we are on the expedition, observing in detail everything that happens.  The photography (the opening shot in the mountains must be seen to be believed), the music, the acting, and the storytelling are so superior to anything most people have ever seen at their local cineplex that trying to explain certain scenes and situations is almost impossible.  

The director and crew actually floated down river on rafts to make the film, which was shot in 5 weeks on a budget of $370,000.  A third of that went to Kinski, in the lead role.  His descent into madness is a deeply profound look into failed leadership, unswerving belief in his right to be the "Wrath of God," and the Amazon's slow but sure method of dealing with such men.

Though dreamlike, there is also a hyper-reality to the film.  We are not watching a movie; we are a participant in it.  The Wikipedia article is actually pretty good, but don't read it until you have seen the film.  It is an adventure you will never forget, nor regret.  If you have seen it, but not recently, then I urge you to watch it again.

Aguirre, The Wrath of God

 

Saturday, Dec. 18th/16

Winter Event #2 has come and gone.  And it's still Autumn.  I am so done with severe cold and snow.  Today was our "warm" day.  It got to 28 F.  Back to Arctic conditions tomorrow.  The cold snap should break next Wed., which happens to be Winter Solstice.  Weird.

Yesterday we visited Detroit.  We began at a cafe near the Art Institute.  We then saw this Coffee exhibit, then headed to Whole Foods for lunch and a bit of shopping.  The exhibit traces the history of tea, coffee, and chocolate from its origins to its current popularity.  It made a pretty good history lesson, though the art was pretty sparse.  There were lots of coffee pots, cups, etc, including an amazing gold coffee grinder that once belonged to Mme Pompadour.  It was on loan from the Louvre.  Most of the items were from the DIA, which created, curated, and organized the exhibit.

Dozens of happy, hyperactive Detroit school children were also at the exhibition.  They were very well behaved.

Our final stop was the mailbox in Dearborn.  I recently ordered nine more used books from Amazon, mostly by Farmer and Sladek.  One book was in, so I'm guessing the rest will arrive next week.

I am currently reading my 49th book related to the Avon/Equinox SF project!  33 have been by Farmer, with several more to go.  The rest have been by Silverberg, Spinrad, Sladek, Budrys, and Kornbluth.  My 49th book is entitled "Mars Outpost," and was written in 1951 under the name Cyril Judd.  "Cyril" was Kornbluth and Judith Merril.  My edition is a tiny Dell pocketbook, and originally cost 35 cents!

I am also reading an astronomy book, and the biography of Brahms.  When we got back from Detroit Friday, I basically read from 5 pm until after 11 pm, so yes, I have been reading a lot.

 

Thursday, Dec. 15th/16

I actually had a mostly enjoyable week of teaching.  Attitude.  It's all about attitude.  I won't say I love my students.  But I do like them a lot!

It is about as cold as it ever gets in these parts (currently windy and 11 F, and dropping rapidly).  Wednesday was hideous, and last night about 10:30 pm we had winds in excess of 80 km, with white out snow conditions.  It only lasted about an hour, but it was like the end of the world.  It more or less hit Toronto this afternoon, and virtually closed down the city.  Even the train to Windsor was cancelled, along with university exams and most flights from the airport.  I have been putting out vast amounts of birdseed over the past two days, and must restock.  Our next snow storm is less than two days away.  I just can't wait.

We are supposed to go to Detroit tomorrow.  It should be okay during the day (high of 23 F), but snow begins shortly after dark, changes to freezing rain and rain on Saturday, and then back to snow Sat. night.  Yippee!  What fun!

The new jacket I bought and wore for the Wheeler Peak ascent is actually a really decent, light-weight winter jacket.

 

Monday, Dec. 12th/16

What could have been a disastrous day actually turned out pretty well!  The roads were clear by this morning.  Even our final 4 bags of leaves were picked up as scheduled!  We each drove a vehicle to VW, the Tiguan for its annual maintenance and the Golf for the switch to winter tires.  VW drove me to my eye appointment, and picked me up afterwards.

Apparently I have a small hole in my retina.  I don't know what astounds me more; the fact that they can detect this, or the fact that they can fix it with a laser beam.  I saw some pretty cool images of my eyeballs today, too.  My right eye cataract is worsening (as expected), so I will likely soon have that attended to as well.  I now await an appointment date with a retina specialist.

I have decided to postpone my Sunday recital until sometime in January, if the weather cooperates.  I'll continue to work on the pieces, and perhaps learn the Brahms from memory.  January 15th will be the new day, with the 22nd held as a snow date, should weather intrude into my personal life once again.

By the time we got home at noon today the local sidewalks had also been cleared.  Due to slightly above-freezing temps today, about 10% of our 11" of snow had melted.  Horrendous cold is about to descend upon us, however; cold that is usually reserved for the deepest part of winter.  Technically it is still autumn, and most years that I taught public school I could ride my bike to work until the last day before winter holidays.  Not so this year.

 

Sunday, Dec. 11th/16

Our worst winter storm in several years could not have timed itself more perfectly--8 months work on piano pieces down the drain.  We had expected a full house today, but of course had to cancel.  As if the roads aren't bad enough, I would have had to shovel all day, making it quite impossible for my arms to work properly playing piano afterwards.  I might reschedule for next Sunday, but our weather forecast for the coming week and beyond is among the worst I have ever seen.

I didn't practice today, and suddenly had two extra hours in my day.  What to do?  Put on a fire and read, drink great coffee, and eat snacks purchased for today's recital.  It is such a hideous mess outside I don't even want to think about it just now.  However, tomorrow I must try to get across the county for my eye exam, and to bring at least one vehicle in to VW for servicing.  And then shovel some more.  No piano tomorrow, either.

 

Saturday, Dec. 10th/16

Despite most of the audience for Friday's recital cancelling at the last minute (one was ill, one had to work late, a third "couldn't make it"), the show went on to a small but appreciative audience (thank you Randy and Anita).  A lot of people are supposed to attend Sunday's afternoon program, but that now looks like it will happen amidst our first big winter storm (well, medium-big).  Since we never really had a snowstorm last winter at all, people will likely (and rightfully) stay home if the weather is bad tomorrow.  C'est la vie.

Deb and I were home all day today, except for my walk while Deb raked some leaves from our newest garden.  It sounds as if a truly miserable week of weather will be upon us when we awaken tomorrow morning.  Can't wait for that.   That was likely my final outdoor walk of the year, at least according to the 10-day forecast.  The treadmill is ready to go.

 

Thursday, Dec. 8th/16

We had our first snow on the ground for this season. a little later than usual.  Our snow tires do not go on until Monday, and between now and then there will be more significant amounts of snow.  We'll see.  I also have an eye doctor appt. that day, quite far away from our house.  Today came the usual amount of car crashes, including a major one near Detroit with 3 dead and 40 vehicles involved.

We went out for groceries, and Deb got a booster pneumonia shot.  It's been over a week now since we had our flu shots.  Having contact with so many children each week, it is inevitable that we encounter germs. Most kids have already been sick, but so far we are holding off.

The words "polar vortex" are being thrown around again by weather people.  Those are not my favourite words.  Next week looks quite brutal.  We don't have to go outside until Monday, and even then perhaps not...

I managed to get my Taurus constellation blog published at last.  I've been working on it for over a week now, off and on.  Next up is the January observing article for our club newsletter.  January is usually a terrible month for observing the skies.  It can be very clear, but along with it are temps that challenge the bravest astronomer.  I already have a good idea for an article, and will begin my research as soon as the concerts are over with.  And Monday I also get to start learning new piano pieces!

 

Wednesday, Dec. 7th/16

Wednesday is the busiest day of our week, with 8 students coming and going beginning at 3:00 pm.  Of course Winter Solstice falls on a Wednesday this year.  A lot of lessons are going to have to be changed.  

As I write, Ric M., our piano tuner, is hard at work getting the piano ready for this weekend's concerts.  So I finally have time to sit down and write a blog entry.

I've been writing up an astronomy blog entry on my observations of Taurus, but it is taking very long.  It should be done and published by tomorrow evening.  It is a lot of work, as the notes are scattered through several years' worth of notebooks, and typing in the specifics of each object is time consuming.  Then I try to find a photo on the internet to go with each object, trying as best I can to locate ones that look something like the way I see things in my scope.

Practicing is going well for the upcoming concerts.  Jenn had her lesson last night and played all of her pieces for me that she will perform.  Everything seems ready.

After 13 cloudy nights in a row, it was finally clear on Monday night.  The moon didn't set till 11 pm, but I was set up at the observatory by 9 pm.  It was 32 F, so not too bad for standing around for a few hours.  I managed a good session, though dampness finally shut me down before midnight.  The two week period ended with only 2 clear nights.

Winter temps have been slow to arrive, but they are arriving.  Today I had to go in search of the bird bath heater.   I will get that up and running today so that the squirrels and birds have drinking water.  It gets to be a pain changing the water every day, along with the twice daily bird feedings.  But at least I get outside each day, if only for a few minutes.

Deb's 2nd Yorick film has been accepted by the Barcelona World Film Festival (as was her first one).  She finds out today if her entry wins anything.  Fingers crossed.

 

Thursday, Dec. 01st/16

Three more weeks of teaching until our long Solstice break.  As usual, I am really looking forward to the actual day, which this year unhappily falls on a Wednesday.  We are going to have to switch around the lessons of 8 students that day, in order to have our all day fire, feast, and day of music, usually opera.  By the holidays I will also be getting deeper into a brand new piano program.  I don't even have all my next pieces chosen yet, but there is a roomful of music I still hope to learn.

Tonight is the 10th cloudy night in a row.  Looking at the 10 day forecast, no clear nights are predicted.  We may set a record, though I'm certain by the time of full moon it will be bright and clear.  It seldom fails.  At least it has not snowed yet.

December has zoomed up to take the place of November.  Autumn has sped past, and it is now time to begin psychologically preparing for another Canadian winter.  Last year we got off lucky--this year is anyone's guess.  I have enough books to keep me going for several winters, along with new piano pieces to learn, and a ton of recorder music to play through.  We hope to select enough great material for a Spring concert.  We'll see.  We should have four people in the group confirmed by next week.  Looking for a string player, and a singer would be good, too.

We have no plans for this weekend, as I buckle down for my final week of practicing for next weekend's recitals.  Hopefully some long walks will be in there, and maybe a craft beer and a wee dram or two of Scotch.  Some gaming would nice, also.

 

Monday, Nov. 28th/16

It's been dark and cloudy for a full week now, but it hasn't rained like this in a good long while.  It is a grim night.

Yesterday we raked some of the leaves that had been threatening to bury our car.  Most people seem to have an aversion to fallen leaves, and rake every last one of them off their lawns.  We raked up six large bags yesterday, not even a tenth of our numbers.  Most of ours lie all winter, protecting our lawn, keeping bugs alive during the winter for hungry birds to find, and looking fantastic, like the natural floor of a beautiful forest.  Come spring they get chopped and mulched by the lawn mower and are good for the lawn.

Today was Detroit day--I got my newest astronomy book, Vol. 4 of an observers guide to all the constellations, alphabetically.  We are still deep into the Cs.  They are coming out at one or two a year, so I may not live long enough to see all of them published.

When I was young, one of the best gifts I ever got for Christmas was a Treasure Chest of games, 50 or 60 little games in one box, with several boards.  Today in Detroit I found a box with 100 games in it!  Good times ahead.  I also got my last three P. J. Farmer novels I had ordered.  Now that the most recent order is all complete, I will prepare another one.  I hope to read most of Farmer's output, and now have about 80% of his works in my possession, having read about 40% of those.  I am currently reading a very strange one called "Inside Outside," #7 in the Avon/Equinox Rediscovery Series I am currently reviewing.  So far it is pretty amazing!  The review should appear in one or two days.

Deb also received her latest green bean coffee order.  There will be some roasting undertaken tomorrow, as temps are to soar to nearly 15 C for a short time, before crashing to the floor once again.  Once the calendar hits December, just about anything can happen over here.

Invitations have all been sent out for my upcoming recital.  All of my pieces combined only add up to 25 minutes playing time, so I am glad that Jenn is performing, too.

 

Saturday, Nov. 26th/16

Clouds and cool weather continue to dominate our weather pattern, as I sit at home for the 2nd new moon weekend in as many months.  Sometimes astronomy is a pathetic excuse for a hobby.

Piano practice continues to go well, with a pair of concerts now scheduled in three weeks.  Some invitations have gone out--they will all be out by tomorrow night.  Half a dozen listeners at a time would be perfect, but I think it may be slightly more crowded than that.  I haven't timed the program yet, but I'm pretty certain there is just around 60 minutes of music.  Add in some talking and a short intermission, and that should go for about 20 minutes more.

Every once in a while Deb and/or I inherit some interesting things.  In recent years I have inherited two large donations of older cameras and a huge number of classical record albums.  The albums especially continue to give us lots of pleasure, and I even played one tonight that we had never before listened to (there are still many more awaiting the phonograph needle).

The most recent inheritance is a vast amount of early music scores, given to us by Kate M., the partner and best friend of the late Peter Wilkinson.  Peter and Deb were very good friends, and she (attempted) to perform some music at his funeral several years ago.  Kate has been slowly parting with Peter's treasures, and yesterday we were given boxes of music, literally thousands of dollars worth.  We have only just started going through it, and we even played through a few books tonight with our recorders and the harpsichord.  Will we revive our interest in early music by forming a small ensembe again?  Stay tuned to this channel to find out.

 

Wednesday, Nov. 23rd/16

Monday night was exceptionally clear and very cold.  I went to Hallam hoping to last about two hours, but as I was out of the wind I managed a 4 1/2 hour classic late autumn observing session!  A combination of extraordinary transparency in the sky along with my newly cleaned mirror meant that I was in observer's heaven!!  I observed 11 galaxies in Pegasus, 16 in Cetus, and finished my work in Taurus with one nebula and 5 open star clusters.  I also sprinkled a few double star observations in there, too!  It was an extremely fun and successful night.  I am only about 2/3rds done writing up my notes, and will hopefully finish tomorrow.  It won't be clear again ever, according to the long range forecast.  We haven't had any snow here yet, though the rest of Ontario can't boast of this.

Temps have been way below average since Saturday, though Thursday should become more seasonal.  Tonight it is raining and cold, quite a dreary day (reminds us of our walking excursions in England--haha).  So far all students have made it to lessons this week, and the second semester fees are all paid up.

It is the American Thanksgiving weekend, so we will stay away until Monday (holiday ends Sunday night).  I should have a new astronomy book awaiting (and one for Randy), and Deb has an order of green coffee beans as well.  Friday is the crazy shopping day over there called Black Friday, and hordes of Canadians flock over the border looking for the kinds of deals that are much rarer over here.  Not interested.  We shop almost exclusively on-line now, anyway, including all our Christmas gifts for family.

 

Sunday, Nov. 20th/16

With winter temps and high winds upon us all last night, today, and tonight, it has been time for indoor activities.  The furnace seems to be working well, its first real workout this season.  

Deb has received news of a third award for her first short film.  Canada Shorts, an important Canadian film festival, has given her an Award of Excellence!  Deb was very happy to hear about this.  Dec. 1st was supposed to be the notification day.  Her film will be screened, and her name is on their website.

She hasn't had much time to work on film #3 this weekend, as she has been preparing and installing new digs for Ludwig the tortoise.  He is now all settled into his new space (photos forthcoming).  Her music room now has much more space, but best of all she can easily reach into his enclosure to feed him and clean it, and also maintain the plants within.  And it looks much better than the old version, which was just a giant rubber cattle trough.

Last night we played a game (cards) of Middle Earth: The Wizards (I lost, badly).  Tonight I continued my National Geographic map viewing project on the old laptop, as well as playing some more of Timelapse, a beautiful old game that no longer runs on newer computers.

Tomorrow night is supposed to be clear and very unseasonably cold.  I will likely be out at Comber observing for as long as I can stand to.  If I can stay out of the wind I should be good for around two hours.  Standing still in very cold weather can be a challenge.

 

Saturday, Nov. 19th/16

The Old Farmer's Almanac, an annual staple of our reading material, always pegs Indian Summer as beginning Nov. 12th, and lasting about a week.  This year it hit dead on target, as the weather from last Saturday until yesterday was incredibly warm, sunny and pleasant.  Yesterday's visit to Detroit was the last day of such incredible weather, likely until next April or even May.  Windsor set a record of 21 C for the day, and it was 72 F in Detroit, also a record.

We started out at the UPS mailbox, where a number of used books by P. J. Farmer awaited me.  Having exhausted the supply from local used book stores, it was time to track some of them down using Amazon.  Many of them only cost me 1 cent (plus shipping).  An unread, new copy of one of the books cost me $1.95 (plus shipping).  Another hardcover book that I recently saw (used library copy) in Denver for $60 I was able to get brand new and unread for $5.  Yup.  Good old Amazon.  I nearly bought that book in Denver, too, but it was too large and heavy to carry on the plane.

Anyway, I now have 38 books awaiting my pleasure based on the four authors I am tackling related to my SF reading project.  That's about as many as I have already read.  It is a project with no end, similar to my astronomy one of seeing all the the northern NGC objects (literally thousands of them).

Today the weather has shifted in the extreme.  When I went to bed last night around midnight, it was still 15 C.  12 hours later and it is 3 C, and not going to get any warmer for a few days.  Astronomy nights are going to be a whole lot different from now on, should any occur.

Yesterday in Detroit we ate at La Shish, one of the better Middle Eastern restaurants around (and very inexpensive--lunch for two was $10).  Next it was off to Batch Brewing to try some delicious German Dopplebock, and a fabulous farmhouse Saison ale.  Close by is Anthology Coffee, one of the finest little cafes and roasteries in the world.  Detroit was recently recognized as the 5th best beer city in the US.  It probably ranks even higher in coffee standards.  A great town once again, and slowly but surely getting its neighbourhood act together again, too.

 

Thursday, Nov. 17th/16

Our week off from teaching has flown past.  We did have some of the best Indian Summer weather ever recorded for this area, however.  Some outdoor work got done, but not as much as we'd hoped.  Tuesday was Deb's infusion day, followed by a trip to the music store for some new books for students.  That was followed by a stop for coffee at Taloola's, and then finally groceries and a stop at the pet food store for the cats.  I did fit practicing in there, somehow.  

Tuesday evening was the monthly astronomy club meeting, which I was able to attend as I wasn't teaching.  I heard a very good, if overlong, talk about recent discoveries about Pluto.

Wednesday was telescope mirror cleaning day.  A big shout-out to Randy G. for inviting me over to his kitchen sink, where the heart of my observing program got a good bubble bath!  The mirror had never been really scrubbed well before now, and several years of dust were carefully removed.

Wednesday evening I was out on the back deck observing double stars.  Again, I managed to practice my piano pieces during the day.

Thursday I was home, though Deb was out running around town.  She is setting up a whole new environment for the tortoise, and it is a pretty major undertaking.  Sunday is scheduled as the big day, when he will move in to his new quarters.  Deb needs easier access to his living space, as now she has to bend way over to reach down and clean it and keep the plants healthy.  Her new set up is raised a few feet off the floor, which will make things much easier for her.

Deb is also making progress on her 3rd short animated film.  The star of the show (Yorick) will be on his way to the moon this time around.  He will travel via the usual method, that is he will be fired on an arrow from a giant bow.

Tonight we drove out to Comber, based on favourable forecasts.  It was mostly cloudy, though we did get some observing in before finally calling it quits.  It was almost 60 F out there.  At night!  Tomorrow it will reach 70 F in the city, then turn to winter on Saturday.  Can't wait for that sudden changeover.

 

Monday, Nov. 14th/16

This is our week off from teaching, which usually begins tomorrow.  We have been walking again lately, after nearly stopping completely after returning from NM.  And we have been continuing our efforts to transform our yard and gardens from pure jungle to civilized growing spaces.  We are making progress.

Piano pieces continue to develop well, and I am confident I will have them (mostly) ready by next month's concerts.  Jenn and I hope to perform our program twice, the first time on Friday, Dec. 9th at 7 pm, and again Sunday Dec. 11th at four pm.  I have to figure out the program order, which is going to be a bit tricky.

My reading and review project on the Avon/Equinox SF reprint series (link, opposite) is turning into a really fun adventure for me.  So far I have only read 5 of the 27 books in the series, but I have been led wonderfully astray by other works penned by these five authors.  So far, I am reading my 37th novel related to the series since beginning this project in mid May.  That is in addition to other books I have read that are not related.  Most of them have been authored by Farmer, one of the most amazing writers I have ever had the pleasure of discovering.  He writes great SF, but even better fantasy adventure stories in the tradition of Burroughs and Haggard.  I still have a pile of books lined up to read related to the first four authors (Farmer, Kornbluth, Sladek and Budrys).  Then I get to start in on Robert Silverberg!  I hope I live really really long, and can still read until then!  Likewise with playing piano--so much more I want to learn!

 

Friday, Nov. 11th/16

It was a strange day, some of it very bad and the rest quite splendid.  One of those kinds of days.  It climaxed last night with a private performance by Philip Adamson of three sonatas by Beethoven.  The concert was here, in the world's smallest recital hall.  We had a packed house with 9 listeners, including two of my students.  It was an amazing evening, preceded by any amount of top to bottom house cleaning.  Present were Randy G. and Paula M., both best friends of Deb and me; Curtis H., a former school music student and a very gifted musician himself; Jarod F., a current very mature teenage piano student of mine, with his mom arriving for the 2nd half after completing her nursing shift in a Detroit hospital; Jenn F., my adult student; Ann A., Philip's wife (a school principal); Deb and me.

Philip performed at an outstanding level, his musicianship is so advanced and his understanding of the music so complete, that one is kept enraptured from beginning to end.  His ability to communicate musical ideas is also a highlight of his performances.  Many musicians know the music just as well as he, but their ability to communicate those ideas clearly and concisely to an audience can be severely lacking.  The program was very well received.

The concert was preceded by our semi-annual student group lesson, held just up the road from here in a fabulous home with a wonderful piano.  I teach three of the Savoni children in their home on Thursdays, and lately we have held the class there.

Just as students were arriving there was a terrible car accident right in front of the house.  Three vehicles were involved, with a car turning into the Savoni driveway rear-ended by a 2nd vehicle.  The first car contained two of my students arriving for their lesson, being driven by an older sister.  Their car was spun into the oncoming traffic lane and was hit by a 3rd vehicle, a pickup truck.  Several of my arriving students saw the accident.  Of course the road became completely blocked, so others had a pretty tough time getting to the house.  It was rush hour and it only took moments for a massive traffic jam to begin.

Everyone got out of the car on their own, but Alicia (13) started complaining about neck and back pain.  She was transported to hospital.  Her older brother Seth (15) was due to perform first today, as he had to leave for his part time job right afterwards.  He is a pretty calm kid (as was his older sister, the driver), but poor little Alicia was pretty shook up and went through a lot of tears.

So there I was, two minutes before having to begin our performance class, with a dozen totally freaked out kids.  It could have been worse, for sure.  Their car was a total loss, but Alicia's mom e-mailed us late last night to say that they were leaving the hospital now and going home, and that Alicia would be very stiff and sore for several days but was otherwise fine.

Anyway, we herded the troops indoors and did our best to get the class rolling.  Deb stayed with Alicia, but believe it or not Seth ended up performing his Level 7 piece for us, and did a really fine job!  I don't think he made it to his work, though.  It was difficult to keep little minds focused on piano, as we kept hearing sirens of arriving emergency vehicles, but eventually we got down to business.  Alicia and Deb were sitting upstairs, and the paramedics arrived just as my trumpet student got going with a really loud piece!  They basically strapped Alicia down to a backboard before transporting her, and once again we lost everyone's attention.

The students probably won't remember a thing about the performance lesson, but they will remember being there and everything else that happened.

Deb and I were home by six to have a quick bite and get the final setup done before Philip and company arrived.

Today is just a chill day, though I am looking forward to a good solid piano practice.

 

Thursday, Nov. 10th/16

The semester of teaching is nearly done.  Tomorrow after school we all gather for our semi-annual group lesson.  Only one high school student can't make it, as she will be working at her part time job.  That class ends at 6 pm, and is held at the home of three of my students.  This is a large, beautiful home right on the Detroit River, with floor to 30 foot ceiling windows looking west.  The grand piano is right in front of the window.

Then we come home and prepare for Philip's concert here.  So far at least half a dozen people should be attending, including a high school student of mine as well as an adult student.  I am still mostly in shock that he is actually coming here and performing his all-Beethoven program for us, the one I heard last Saturday at the university.  It will certainly be a concert highlight for this house (and piano).

The weather continues to be seasonable and mostly sunny, so no complaining here.  We made it out for a walk today.  It has been windy for several days now and many leaves have suddenly fallen.  The inevitable, unwanted season of winter is fast approaching, as we are now deep in the half-season Tolkien called The Fading.  It's now very dark by 6 pm, which is good news for the upcoming astronomy session, still a week away.

We are still searching for a semi-reasonable fare to London for Spring.  Our dollar is so pitiful and pitiable right now that travelling anywhere outside the country is very painful.  The Visa bill from our recent visit to NM is upon us, and the exchange rate is absolutely heart-stopping.  It is doubtful we will make any more longer trips to America in the upcoming year.  We spent a small fortune on upgrades to our house and yard this year, and might do that again next year, too.

Seven people are now confirmed dead in the Croydon tram rollover, and that whole part of the city is still at a transport standstill.  Hard to believe.  It appears that the driver took a very sharp turn too fast, either because he fell asleep or was looking at his phone.  Truth will out eventually.

 

Wednesday, Nov. 9th/16

My one and only comment on the US election is that NM and Colorado both voted for Clinton and remain Democrat.  There, I'm done.

Philip Adamson will be re-performing his Beethoven recital here at our house on Friday night!!!  Wow!!!  Not only do I get to hear the 4 Beethoven Sonatas again, but on my own piano!!  And I can have a beer at the same time!  Just before his concert we have our semi-annual student performance class at 4:30.  It's going to be a busy Friday.

In local election news, Detroit area people voted down money for a proper transit system.  Go figure.  It's likely the only major city in the world that does not have a half-decent system.

Deb has completed work on her second stop motion film.  A link will be posted here on the weekend so you can watch it in a few days!  She is already at work on Part 3!

We were shocked to hear of a very bad tramway accident this morning in Croydon, London.  We use that tram all the time when visiting and have ridden past the crash site numerous times.  7 people killed and about 50 injured--that is very serious and very sad.

 

Sunday, Nov. 6th/16

Yup, it's been a tad busy around the Homestead, and thus no recent postings.  The astronomy session ended with two glorious nights of observing on Friday and Saturday.  Though overall it was the poorest session this year so far, at least it ended with a small bang.  Due to public activities at the observatory on Friday, I went to my top secret Lake Erie viewing site.  It has much darker skies than the observatory, but it is a further drive.  It is always worth it!  

Saturday evening was Philip Adamson's recital, his 2nd Beethoven one.  It was great beyond belief, with Philip (my piano teacher!) at the height of his powers playing four more wonderful Beethoven Sonatas!!  It was pure magic from beginning to end.  After the concert I headed out to the observatory.  It was the public open house, but by the time I arrived most people had left.  The moon set at 11 and I began my observations.  I stayed till 2 am, which meant I was home and in bed at 3 am.  With the clocks back an hour last night, however, it wasn't so bad.

Today was possibly the most beautiful Autumn day I have ever experienced in Essex County.  Warm, plenty of low-angled sunshine, and with our leaves at their peak colour, it was fabulous.  I spent most of it indoors doing laundry, practicing piano, and doing astronomy notes.  Deb and I did sit out on the back deck in the late afternoon while she roasted some coffee beans.  But just looking out the window was glorious enough.  We are just about to head across the highway with our smallest telescope to observe Venus, Mars, Saturn, and the waxing moon....

Back from a very successful post-sunset observing session with Space Eye, our 2" refractor.  With the observation of Venus, Space Eye has completed viewing 95 different  objects.  Saturn looks quite incredible in it, too, like a miniature toy version of the real thing.  Venus was in its gibbous phase, with about 3/4ths of the planet illuminated.  We also had a look at Mars, which is now receding rapidly from us, and of course the moon.  Space Eye excels at views of the moon.

This week I hope to confirm my next recital dates.  Right now it's looking like Saturday Dec. 10th and Sunday Dec. 11th.  Both recitals will be here at the house.  I will perform my half program of Bach, Haydn, Cramer, Brahms, Debussy, and Street (Canadian), while Jen, my advanced adult student, will perform her Gr. 8 list, including works by Bach, Beethoven, Grieg, Bartok, and others.  At the end we will perform two duets by Brahms.  I will invite my students and their families, as well as the usual close friends who support me in these endeavours.  Hopefully there will be enough audience interest for two performances.

 

Sunday, October 30th/16

And the clouds keep on rolling past.  This is absolutely the worst astronomy session of 2016, and nothing looks good until the moon begins to wax.  Usually by now I would be immersed in galaxies and double stars, and the meticulous note-keeping.

At least I have caught up on much of my paperwork.  Two weeks ago we got home from NM, and I have already completed the written journal of our trip, as well as the web version (see NM Trip #37, opposite).

Yesterday's visit to Detroit was a classic, filled with autumn colours and walking, fantastic beer and food, a visit to the DIA to see a photo exhibit entitled "Detroit After Dark," and the annual Day of the Dead Offrenda exhibit, and then some truly great coffee downtown at The Roasting Plant.

Motor City Brewing has one of the best ciders in existence, and I enjoyed 10 oz of it while Deb browsed the many great shops of Midtown.  Their Corktown Stout was also worth the trip to Detroit!!

Across the street, Traffic Jam had two of the best beers I had ever tasted!!  On the right is "Don't Carrot All," a Belgian Dubbel brewed with Avalon Bakery's carrot cake!!!  It wasn't sweet, and there were carrots involved, and it was fantastic!!  On the left, and even better, was "Oatmeal Raisin," a dark, semi-sweet ale brewed with toasted oats, brown sugar, and raisin!!!  Best of the bunch! We ate here, sharing their vegan Ethiopian plate.

Deb prepares to enter the exhibit at the DIA.

Offrenda at the DIA.  Skeleton is larger than life size, and was crocheted!

Offrenda at the DIA.

Offenda, or "Offering" to the dead, at the DIA.

 

Friday, Oct. 28th/16

Happiness is a wood stove in late October, on a chilly night.  Sitting in shirt sleeves watching MST3K, and then listening to Brahms (Schumann Variations for Piano) while cats lie around and lick themselves, satisfied with the overall room temperature.

The second blog installment is up, with one more to post.  I should be all done tomorrow or Sunday.

The astronomy session continues to go down the drain, as night after night remains cloudy.  It would seem like the best time of year for observing (early darkness, not too cold, summer constellations finally moving on) is going to be a write-off.

We have a really fun day planned in Detroit tomorrow, with an early start scheduled.  One of the highlights will be the annual Offrenda exhibit at the DIA, as Day of the Dead rapidly approaches.

 

Wed., Oct. 26th/16

Images from the first hike are now on-line.  Look opposite for the link to NM Trip #37--hope you enjoy!!!

 

Tuesday, Oct. 25th/16

Last night was an incredible night spent observing at Hallam.  The three die hard observers were out; me, Larry and Ted.  Larry and I closed the joint at 1 am, with Orion fully up.  It chills my heart to think that winter is approaching.  It was a very cool night, but I have the gear for it.  I worked on my two autumn constellations, as well as a winter one.  I spent considerable time writing up my notes today (5 hrs. of observing), still finding time to practice, grab a power nap, read, and then teach until nearly 7:30.  That one clear night may have to last me for this entire session, as the forecast does not look promising for astronomers.

I also managed to finish my written trip journal today.  If it had not been for all the astronomy notes I had to write up, I would have begun work on the website version.  Hopefully I will start tomorrow on that project, outlining the three amazing hikes we undertook during our first autumn visit to New Mexico, and sharing some wonderful images.

 

Sunday, Oct. 23rd/16

This afternoon I had the great pleasure of being the chairperson for an ORMTA piano recital.  Only fifteen children performed, but it was a great concert!  Aged between 6 and 15, there were some Halloween Songs on the program, too.  Deb helped out and set up a decorated table with Halloween gear and goodies for afterwards.  The highlight was hearing Philip Adamson's advanced student Tiger Yang perform a Chopin Ballade and the first movement of the Mozart Sonata in A Minor.  Breathtaking stuff!

Deb and I went out for lunch and coffee afterwards, eventually finding our way home via the bank and Fred's Market.  

Yesterday Rafael, our landscaper, finished up his work.  We are now the proud owners of a professional looking garden where once an impenetrable jungle once resided.  As the new plants grow in it should become quite spectacular.  He had to take another tree apart for us, one that had recently fallen into our creek.

Last night I invited a young friend over on the back deck for her first view through a telescope.  Skies were clear and perfect....until Callie arrived and stepped onto the back deck.  By 8 pm we were completely clouded over.  We went inside for hot chocolate and lots of catching up.  She is in Grade 12 and looking forward to university.  Callie was one of my favourite music students from APS days, and Deb had her in her home room one year.  I scanned the skies until around 10:30 pm, then gave up and brought everything inside.  What a disappointment!

Tomorrow night might be the only clear night available to us, so Deb and I will likely head to Comber if there is the slightest chance of good skies.

I have nearly finished the written trip journal of our recent adventures, and will soon be turning my attention to the website version.  I have only put a very few photos up on Facebook--many others will appear on a link, opposite.

 

Friday, Oct. 21st/16

We are now in the early stages of the new astronomy lunar session, though rain and clouds are keeping us indoors for now.  Perhaps tomorrow.  Thursday we received an inch of rain in the backyard rain gauge--it was a fairly miserable, cold day.  Today is even colder, but at least it isn't raining.

It was time to fire up the wood stove this morning.  Things began well, with the automatic igniter heating up, and the pellets falling on to it.  Then, suddenly, smoke came pouring out of the back of the stove!  Lots of smoke.  It was hard to see.  Turn off the stove.  Open the windows.  Try to get the burning pellets out of the stove.  Nope, tweezers won't do it LOL.  A spoon helped.  Take the battery out of the smoke detector.  Open more windows.  Put as many coals into the firebox as possible, then take the box outside.  Anyway, our house smells nice and smoky today.  We managed to get a guy to come tonight and clean the stove pipe for us.  All is now well, and the stove is running as expected, throwing more heat at us than we really need right now.

In less dramatic news, the VW Golf TDI went in for an oil change today, and afterwards I had to get some music programs printed at Staples.  I am hosting a student ORMTA recital this Sunday at the university.  I used to always do the October one, buy haven't done it for several years.  Back to work for me!

I have managed to practice piano every day since returning from New Mexico, though not enough yet to set a firm recital date.  I am aiming for the end of November or early December, if the main piano stays in tune enough.  Otherwise, it gets tuned in late December, so the concert would be postponed until early January.  I will be sharing a recital with my most advanced student.  I would like to perform the program twice, if enough audience interest is out there for two shows.

I am pretty far along in writing up my travel journal, and have almost finished selecting photos for the website version.  Stay tuned for updates.

It has already been a full week since our amazing climb to Wheeler Peak, the highest point in NM.  It's hard to believe, since we have climbed dozens of mountains in that State, that we were actually atop the highest one.  What a rush!!

 

Tuesday, Oct. 18th/16

We are both still in recovery mode, though modest exercise will resume tomorrow.  Our biggest hike ever was last Friday, and despite 10 weeks of prep we are still paying a price.  Saturday after the hike we drove all day to Denver, and had a brisk one mile walk once there (long story).  Sunday we flew home and accumulated 2 hrs. jet lag.  Monday we did very little except unpack and do laundry.  Today I taught but we are still both pretty wiped out.  All three hikes were among the most ambitious we have ever undertaken--they had to be, or we would not have been prepared for the 3rd one.  We had one day of rest between each hike, just enough to keep momentum going and muscles to (partly) recover.  However, that 3rd and final hike up to the summit of Wheeler Peak (13,161')....  Let's just say we did it once, and will do it once only.  The scenery is unbeatable up there, though it could use a bit more oxygen LOL.

With #1 finally scratched off the Bucket List, we now wish to complete the 140 mile London Loop (we are nearly halfway there) and the Capital Ring (75 miles, again about halfway done), as well as visit Vienna to see the many paintings of Pieter Brueghel they have there.

However, for now my focus is on getting my newest piano program ready for performance in about 5 weeks.  I will also likely return to Iaido training this Thursday, at least until Christmas break.  So our busy lives will continue, but with the most amazing experience ever now under our belts.

Of course it is totally amazing that I made the climb.  However, that pales  in comparison to the fact that Deborah also made it to the very top!!  I over trained and barely made it up.  She was not able to do all of the training I did because of her RA physical limitations, and yet, there she was beside me, on top of New Mexico!  Quite a gal!

I am currently working on the written journal--web updates in a week or so.  Photo editing continues towards this goal.

 

Sunday, Oct. 16th/16

We are back!  All three hikes were great successes, though the climb to Wheeler Peak nearly did us in.  It was gruelling to the max.  I have just done a quick photo edit--more will be done tomorrow.  First I have to do the journal--then will come the web update.

 

Friday, Oct. 7th/16

Most of the packing is done, and another bonus day of exercise is also done!  Lots of house cleaning going on today, too.  The lawns were cut Tuesday, but are still growing like mad.

I had a most enjoyable evening on the back deck last night with the 12" scope.  Because of all the leaves still surrounding me, I get pretty good views of the heavens, though nothing nearly as good as the observatory site near Comber.

Right now I am focused on mountains.  Really big mountains.  Here we come, ready or not!  

 

Thursday, Oct. 6th/16

Okay--teaching is done for a few weeks.  Tomorrow it's laundry day and packing, along with the continuation of the exercise plan for two more days.

The first of three big hikes will be on Monday.  We will be climbing to "The Knob," a peak that is 10,625' high.  On our last camping trip, just as we were about to ascend the final bit, we were hit with a terrific thunder storm and had to abort mission.  So we are heading all the way back up, though by a different route this time (about 6 miles).  With luck we will summit and enjoy a lunch and autumn views over the Taos area high country.

Tuesday is a recoup day, likely a scenic drive to Mora, NM.

Wed. is Hike #2, to the top of a high ridge overlooking Wheeler Peak.  Called the South Boundary Trail, it extends for 16 miles.  We will walk 3.8 miles of it before turning around and going back down.  Our high point today will only be 9,200', so it shouldn't be as cold.  However, the hike is 7.6 miles long and still involves over 2,000' of climbing.

Thursday is a recovery day, likely to be spent in Taos.

Next Friday is Wheeler Peak day, 8.2 miles, over 3,000' of elevation gain, and achieving the highest point in NM, at 13,161'!  A lot of things have to come together for this hike to be successful.  High winds, freezing temps, and snow/sleet/hail are not uncommon this time of year.  Fingers crossed!

Tonight I am going out on the back deck with the main telescope to do some double star work, and perhaps try and track down Uranus and Neptune!

 

Wednesday, October 5th/16

Yes, it's been a long time since there has been a broadcast and news bulletin from the Homestead.  But here we are, back on the air.  

Last week was cloudy for the entire week, but things got better for the astronomers beginning last Saturday night.  Since then I have been out to Comber 5 times, including, most recently, 3 nights in a row!  A few of those nights were quite spectacular, too, including last night!  However, that pretty well does it for us for this lunar cycle, due to some upcoming weather issues, and the fact that the moon is beginning to set later and later.

Monday saw us complete our six-week mountain hiking fitness program.  Ideally, we would have left on Tuesday for the high country.  However, with several days left to fill in, we began a seventh week.  We were nearly rained out a couple of times last week, but this week is all sunshine and warmth.

Raphael, our landscaper, has been back a few times, and along with the clean-up that Deb and I are undertaking, things are looking pretty civilized around here just now.  A few new evergreens were planted, giving me some privacy on the back deck for astronomy nights out there.

On Monday I also received the final book in a 1970s SF reprint series I have been collecting (see Avon Rediscovery Series, link opposite).  With the addition of the Michael Moorcock novel, I now have the entire series!!!  It took a long time and a lot of searching.  It has already led me to read over 30 novels by the four authors I have encountered so far!

Today is our longest teaching day, with 8 students expected.  I also have a lot of astronomy notes to write up, and some piano keys to play upon.

Our London bestie Caroline is leaving tomorrow on a North America visit, beginning in NYC, then on to Toronto (she will be there as we are leaving for NM!).  From there she is taking the train to Vancouver (love it!), and then down to Seattle for her flight home later in the month.  Bon Voyage!

We are very excited about our upcoming trip, too.  We have three big mountain hikes planned, and lots of relaxing in our rustic cabin (with fireplace) at Sipapu Ski Resort.  This will be our 37th visit to NM.  Not nearly enough.

 

Thursday, Sept. 29th/16

This was a very challenging day for the fitness program, and for the surrounding counties in general.  Our backyard received 2.5" of rain so far, and we have several days of it to go!  Flooding is pretty widespread, though not here (yet).  The ground is pretty saturated right now.  Flood warnings are up through tonight and all day tomorrow.  Lots of people are going to have a miserable few days ahead.  Anyway, we barely got our hill walk in, and it was a wet one, but it's done.  Tomorrow is a home exercise day, so Saturday is our next day that depends on the park in Windsor with large hills.  We'll take it one day at a time.

This is prime observing time, too, and we are having the wettest spell in a good long time.  No observing this weekend.  Damn!  It's highly unusual for it to rain an entire day here, and to have several days in a row of it is nearly unheard of.  And yet here it is.  If this was a snowstorm, no one would be moving for days.

This is the final weekend before our high altitude adventure.  With some luck we will break the 13,000' foot barrier for the first time in our lives.  NM has a half dozen peaks above this altitude, and I might bag two of them this year.  Fingers crossed.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 27th/16

Monday turned into a fantastic night of observing, despite a day of wind and rain.  Once at Hallam the wind seemed to disappear.  Deb did not feel well enough to come out, so I went alone.  Only one other observer was there, leaving me alone once he had gone near midnight.  I lasted for 4 1/2 hours before my eyeballs gave out.  Much of today was spent writing up notes.

 Due to some student illnesses and a school event, I enjoyed a very light day of teaching today.  Wednesday is now my heaviest work day, along with Deb's, with 9 students total coming and going beginning mid-afternoon on that day.  So far my latest teaching time is 7:15 pm, both Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Soon my Thursdays will also run to the same time, but for now I am done at 7 pm.  It will complicate observing runs next month and beyond, as it gets dark earlier and earlier.

No more clear nights are predicted, and the moon will be coming up by early next week.  We are about to enter a very unsettled autumn weather week, so I am very happy for the two nights of observing I had.

I have begun preparing books, maps, and gadgets for our journey west.  Tomorrow begins Week Six of the fitness program.  Hopefully our upcoming bad weather will still allow us to complete the program.  I am starting to feel confident.

 

Sunday. Sept. 25th/16

Last night was a classic, epic night of autumn observing.  Sky conditions were exceptional, and it was cool and dry.  This was our first outing of the new lunar session, and we had a blast.  Several others were out, too, though Deb and I stayed later and closed up eventually.  I spent some of today writing up my notes, and have now filled my 10th astronomy journal!  I have logged 757 outings (since 1968) in well over 1000 pages--that is pretty awesome!  Looking forward to a few more nights later in the week.

Today was our longest bike ride in many years.  Even nearly 12 hours later our legs still feel rubbery.  Sundays are cross-training days, and cycling is our first choice.  Tomorrow is our long walk which will complete our 5th week of training for mountains.

We are getting $2000 worth of landscape work done to our property, plus the amount of labour we are doing ourselves.  We are in the good hands of "Raphael," a landscaper who has already put in a good start on our jungle-like property.  Big improvements have already happened, with lots more to come over the next few weeks.

 

Friday, Sept. 23rd/16

It's officially early autumn, though it still feels like late summer.  There was no time yesterday to celebrate my birthday or equinox, but today was a blast!  As usual, it was much too warm for an indoor wood fire (though 2011-13 were cold enough).  We stayed home all day, and I got my first taste of Scotch for the new season.  Black Bottle is a blend of Islay malts, very peaty and woodsy.  Yum!  Even better, Deb made me a vegan Boston Cream Pie (cake).  6000 calories later....but oh is it good!!!  

Tomorrow morning's hill walk should just begin to burn off what I ate and drank today.   We are currently half way through Week Five, and ramping up the workouts each week.  Two weeks from Saturday we fly to NM.  Three weeks from today we climb Wheeler Peak!

We both have completely amazing Tarot cards once again.  Though they were picked last October, they have been working out really well for us.  This time we are in sync with one another--we each have a spear card, a suit that goes with autumn.  I will post photos of them later.  These are our last ones for the year.  We choose new ones again on October 31st.

 

HAPPY AUTUMN!

Wednesday, Sept. 21st/16

There will only be time in NM for three hikes, each of them rather large.  A complete day of rest falls between each hike.  The first two are well within our range, with only the final one, the ascent of Wheeler Peak, being quite a bit beyond our normal reach.  That's not to say that the first two hikes won't be a slog, at least the uphill portions.  In the mountains there are very few hikes that do not have wild swings of altitude, which are very challenging, especially for older knees.  Anyway, I have three hikes picked out.  Details to follow, and hopefully some photos at a later date, once we are back alive.

Deb's short film has been accepted by a very large festival in New Zealand.  Laurel to follow.  Woot!  So far she is 2 for 2.  The next one we will hear from is held in B.C.  We should know by the weekend.  Her 2nd film is well underway.  It is at least as funny as the first, and technically somewhat improved.  Life aboard a pirate ship!

We had a really fun day in Detroit last Monday.  We walked the River Rouge Trail.  I did 4 miles in 70 minutes, and as it was really warm I ended up pretty hot afterwards.  Luckily Jolly Pumpkin brewpub had just the cure!  I also snagged another heavy loads of books from John King, including more Farmer, some Budrys, and one by Kornbluth/Pohl.  Check out my Avon Rediscovery blog to keep up with the latest.

I will once again be sharing my birthday tomorrow with the first day of autumn, along with the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.  Here is my plan for tomorrow:  very intense hill walk at Malden Hill Park (the trip is getting close now); grocery shopping; cutting the grass; teaching piano.  Sound like fun?  I am getting rather sick of cutting grass.  It really cannot go on much longer, can it?

We will take some time out on Friday to have a party, with gaming, good eats (including Deb's homemade vegan Boston Cream Pie!!!), and, for at least one of us, some fabulous craft beer.

Saturday has been designated as yard work day, if the cooler temps that are predicted arrive.

 

Sunday, Sept. 18th/16

A few years ago I got rid of a trusty old desktop pc that ran Windows 98 on it.  I used it for older games, and it ran my National Geographic cd map collection just fine.  I'd had some luck running a few older games on XP, and hoped my luck would continue.  It didn't.  So I've been without the maps and some favourite old games for a very long time.  Until now.

I took possession of Deb's old laptop, since she now has a new desktop pc for her music and film work  (with Windows 10).  And after two days and much frustration we were finally able to remove XP from the laptop and run Windows 98.  We still needed to search a lot on line for old video and sound drivers, installing them all by burning the programs on cd first on the main computer, and then installing them on the old Dell laptop (C510).  Everything now works like a charm!!!  Once again I have access to all of the insert maps published by National Geographic (hundreds of them, including some fine vintage astronomy ones!).  Tonight I pored over a 1909 map of Africa!  What fun!

It took some work, but I now have access to this map collection once again!  Fun times ahead.

And one of my favourite games from days gone by is now loaded and running beautifully.  Timelapse is a wonderful game for PC that takes place on Easter Island, in Egypt, Mexico, New Mexico, and, of course, Atlantis.  It is a visually beautiful game, and filled with some difficult puzzles to solve as the mysteries deepen.  I can't wait to play some more, and then load all of the older games I want.  I'm really hoping I live forever.

An older game for PC that I can now replay.  Exciting times!

I got to ride my new bike for the first time today.  Windsor had closed off some main streets all across the city today, and people really flocked to the event.  There were food trucks, entertainment, and games to play along the route, but best of all was being able to ride down the middle of a usually busy road on our bikes!  After tomorrow's long walk we will have completed four weeks of training.

Monday is a Detroit day.  Back to John King Books, a long walk on a favourite trail, and lunch in Midtown (it has been a long time.)  A very good friend from out of town was supposed to visit us tomorrow, but a badly needed job interview came up, so she will be remaining in Cambridge (ON).  She may visit later in the week.

 

Saturday, Sept. 17th/16

One would think that by now a day could be spent working in the yard.  We are so overgrown that it looks like a sub-tropical forest here.  The summer has been too hot and humid to make any progress with weeding, etc.  Today I went out to do some work, and within 30 minutes I was dripping wet with sweat from the incredible humidity.  Oh well, I got some things done.  Then, about 60 minutes later, it cleared up and became much more amenable to manual labour.  Too late.  I had already showered and changed.  Anyway, it's a beautiful evening, and we sat out while Deb roasted some coffee beans.

Due to nearly continuous rain for much of the day, our hill walk was quite short.  We did manage all of the hill work we needed to do; tomorrow is my first bike ride with the new bike.  Can't wait!  Downtown Windsor has an event where a main street is closed all the way across the city, so we will attempt to bike on roads we would normally avoid.

I just got off the phone with my parents, who are celebrating their 64th wedding anniversary today.  Which means that I will be turning 63 in just a few days!  Mom asked me if I felt like I was getting old.  I told her "Only when going uphill."  She replied, "At my age, you even feel it going downhill."  Haha.  Pretty much sums up getting old.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 13th/16

We've watched two thrillers recently.  Though not our favourite genre, they both had many redeeming qualities.  First up was Bourne #4, The Bourne Legacy.  There was no Matt Damon in this one, and no Jason Bourne.  But there was another agent whose story got told, the only one left alive after the "program" had to be killed.  I really liked the first half of this movie, with great filming in Alaska as the tension builds and we get a lot of back story on the program to increase the power and prowess of killer agents working for the US government.  Bourne is still on the loose in this one, and now one of the agents, who barely escaped his assassination, goes full throttle to escape his destiny.  I wasn't so crazy about the 2nd half, which takes place in Manila, and is merely a very exciting but overlong, and no doubt over-expensive, chase.  It just goes on and on and on.  The plot grinds to a complete halt, and never gets going again.

That was on Saturday night.  As Bourne #5 is now out (with Matt Damon again!), we thought it was time to catch up on things.

Tonight we watched a 2009 Hong Kong thriller.  Accident tells of four people who will assassinate someone for you and make it look like an accident.  It is a pretty humourless film, with moments of gore and distressing violence, but is very well made and well acted.  During one of their elaborate schemes to kill someone, a bus veers out of control, killing one of their group and nearly killing the emotionless leader.  He becomes convinced that someone is after him, especially when his apartment is robbed and all his cash is stolen.  It's a very good story, and it plays out well, and no one can guess right up till the very end if someone really is trying to kill the gang, or if everything is just happening by weird coincidence.

This one streams free on Shout Factory, where we have also been watching many episodes of Supercar, Thunderbirds, K-9, Joe 90, Stingray, and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterions, along with several campy Japanese shows like Ultra Man.

Deb's new desktop computer arrived today.  It is much faster and more powerful than our regular one, and she will be using it for movie making and recording music.  She had to totally revamp the harp room (where the tortoise also lives), so she was pretty busy today.

Today was a day of rest for us, so we should be ready for Week Four starting tomorrow.  Things get slightly upgraded.  We can almost taste the high altitudes now!

 

Monday, Sept. 13th/16

We completed Week Three of the mountain prep program, and we are pretty tired today.  85 minutes of up and down walking today at Malden Hill and here at home, following on the heels of our longer bike ride yesterday, has left us anticipating our day of rest tomorrow.  When Week Four begins Wed. morning, we will be upping things even more.  Not much choice if we expect to play with really big mountains in a few short weeks!

After today's walk we went to look at new bikes.  I needed one, or a complete refurbishment on my old one.  We found a great Schwinn hybrid model, suitable for roads and or trails (Deb has this type already).  It has front suspension, too, and 24 gears.  Can't wait to ride it!

Last night I went out on the back deck with Space Eye, our smallest telescope.  I spent 90 minutes observing some double stars, a few brighter deep sky objects, and some selected areas on the 11-day old moon.  I had a lot of fun!

Tonight I repeated my observing, but used the 4" Astroscan instead of the 2" refractor.  Despite an even brighter moon, I still managed to pull in several fine deep sky objects, as well as grabbing some amazing views of the lunar surface once again.  Still over a week to go until the next dark sky program begins.

We have blasted through a 4-day weekend, and it's back to work tomorrow.

 

Sunday, Sept. 11th/16

A long bike ride this morning and a visit from Amanda were the highlights of our day.  In more mundane activities, the laundry got done and the grass cut.  Cool, dry weather was a welcome relief today.  I am hoping to be on the back deck later tonight with Space Eye, our 2" refractor.

I only managed 6 hours of piano practice this past week, below average for me.  I like to put in at least 8 hours, though I consider 10 a decent effort.  Memorization is coming along nicely.  Everything should be memorized before our trip to NM, except for the Brahms, which I will perform with the music.  Recital date tba after our hiking adventure.

Our biggest hike will commence at just over 10,000', from the Taos Ski Valley.  Temps at night there are already into the 20s F.  We are anticipating a chilly climb in mid-October.  After tomorrow's longish hike we will have completed three weeks of our fitness program.  Three and a half to go, then we are in the big leagues.

 

Thursday, Sept. 8th/16

It's been so busy around here lately that I think I forgot to mention that the photos from our trip to Fort Wayne, IN have been up now for some time.  Here is a link...  I am ready to go back this weekend if I could--it was a fun time.

The first week of music lessons is now complete.  A few things are still in flux.  One student may be quitting, and another may not be taking extra time.  S'okay by me.  I am still oversubscribed.  

Today was very humid, though clouds and rain kept the heat down somewhat.  It was a very humid hill walk this morning in Windsor.  Ugh.

Amanda will be visiting A'burg this weekend, but she seems to have a full schedule already.  Plus her dad is having some kind of surgery tomorrow.  So we may not see her till Christmas, unless we sneak off to Toronto in mid-November during our next break.

No plans here for much of the weekend, though with cooler weather returning on Sunday we hope to go biking in Michigan that day.  Monday is hiking day, somewhere local this time around.  Four days of freedom ahead!

 

Tuesday, Sept. 6th/16

We have heard from the Barcelona Planet Film Festival that Deb's short independent animation feature has been accepted into competition.  This is the first of several festivals that we hope to hear from.  She can now display their laurel on her poster!  I'm already scouting Hollywood mansions!

In less exciting news, I managed six nights in a row of observing!  My legs are killing me from so much standing.  At about four hours each night, that is 24 hrs. worth of eyepiece work.  So far it has been the best year of observing of my career as an amateur astronomer.  I will likely break all records this year.

I was in bed last night at 2 am, then up early for a Detroit mailbox run.  I had a ultra light weight winter hiking jacket awaiting me (needed for next month's high altitude climb) and three novels.  Deb's jacket came here via Amazon.  I had two Farmer books awaiting, and one by John Sladek, which I am currently reading.  So many books--so little time.  Now that observing nights are over for two weeks, I can get back to lots of reading (and practicing).

After a brief but intense nap, I taught my first five students of the week.  Only eight more to go.  Then 36 more weeks.  Considering that it was the first day of school, and it was brutally hot and humid, everyone seemed to do okay.  More intense weather is to come.  It was quite difficult to breathe today, though we managed a short evening stroll.

Tomorrow we begin Week Three of the intense mountain training program.  In one week we will be half complete our prep course!!

 

Monday, Sept. 5th/16

Last night was five nights in a row of observing!  I was too tired for another drive to the observatory, so I tried things from the back deck.  We have so much shrubbery and tree cover just now that it's pretty dark back there.  In fact, I was quite impressed with my sky views!  So I had a great night of observing and didn't have to drive for 90 minutes!  Tonight it's back to the observatory, however, likely for the final time for this lunar session.

We have now completed two weeks of the enhanced fitness program, and I am feeling better for it.  We enjoyed a cool week, too, which helped, but the heat is back tomorrow for the rest of the week.

Students are back tomorrow, too, for the Autumn semester.  It will be shortened by one week due to our October travel plans.  Next year, it will have to be two weeks shorter!  We are planning an astronomy excursion to NM, either to a star party, or to a secluded cabin.  We will bring our scopes for night time adventures, and our hiking boots for daytime adventures.

The program that I use for this blog (called Cutesite Builder) has been acting funny lately.  It's an old program, and might be nearing the end of its life.  It is possible it will fail completely.  Beginning January 1st, or sooner if trouble arrives before then, I will be moving everything to Blogger, somehow.  

I will soon be undertaking my 100th blog entry on my astronomy site.  I've been waiting until a good topic came along, and I have finally found one.  It should be finished later this week.  Then it will be time to write the next one for our club's newsletter.

 

Saturday, Sept. 3rd/16

We are amidst a run of incredibly fine nights for observing--this will be my 4th in a row, and there are 3 more coming up after this one.  Barely keeping up with the exercise program, the astronomy logbook, and life in general.  No reading, sadly.

 

Thursday. Sept. 1st/16

I am just about to leave for another clear night at the observatory, my 3rd for this week.  There may be 3 more in a row after tonight.  So far we are keeping up with the exercise plan and sleeping. but things can fall apart quickly.  The grass hasn't been cut yet, and it is getting alarming.  Tomorrow, right after breakfast (whatever time that might be).

I had my annual appointment with Dr. Ling this monring, my ear doctor.  He was surprised that my ear had cleared up so well--my hearing is now virtually the same in both ears!  I am staying on sinus meds until the NM trip in October--I'm sure it's helping.

 

Tuesday, August 30th/16

One of the huge disadvantages of living in a humid climate is what happens to grass.  I basically have three large plots of grass, and they were cut 4 days ago.  It needs it again tomorrow!  Usually by this late in the summer growth has really slowed down.  But after a hot, dry early summer, the latter half has been hot and wet.  The grass is growing at about one inch per day right now.  Ugh.

Last night we managed to snag two pretty decent hours of observing before clouds arrived.  So we had a reasonably early night and were in bed by 1 am.  Next possible clear night is Wed., and the weekend looks quite fantastic for observing.

Part of today was spent cutting through government red tape.  Deb is applying for Canada Pension payments to begin when she turns 60 in January.  Instead of waiting for 65 and getting slightly higher payments, I opted for the 60 years.  Though not much money (I get $444 after deductions--yes, they tax your pension), it has helped.  If Deb gets about the same amount, she will be able to get right out of teaching music lessons and I can cut back.  

Anyway, she went on-line to register, but her social insurance number was not recognized.  Why?  Because it's still in her married name, Magahay.  So she had to go downtown Windsor and get her number switched over to Ethier.  Now, folks, since she began paying income taxes in 1980 she has used that number with her married name.  36 years and no problems.  The number appears on all her tax forms, right beside her married name.  Though when she applies for a pension, suddenly that number is not valid.  Gotta love government LOL.  You get what you pay for, and since you pay a lot you also get a lot of crap.  Anyway, after waiting for 90 minutes, she got her number switched to her married name.  Now she can try again to apply on-line for her Canada Pension.  Wish her luck.

Tomorrow begins Week Two of the enhanced exercise program.  Deb has not been feeling well enough to fully participate.  Hot and humid weather is just about the worst thing for her, and we have been getting clobbered with it.  More storms are predicted overnight tonight.

 

Sunday, August 28th/16

Windsor, ON, is by far the most humid city on the planet that is not located in a tropical or sub-tropical zone.  Many days it is very difficult to breathe, as the lungs have to sort out more water than oxygen.  It's been humid and warm all week, and tonight it does feel like a rain forest out there.  Of course this coincides with the first week of our mountain prep fitness program.  This morning's bike ride was pretty brutal, but it got done.  We are really looking forward to next week's promised cool down.  It also appears that a truckload of clear nights are coming our way.  Goodbye sweet sleep.

Today, in addition to the bike ride, some piano practice got done, as did a lot of laundry.  We had three extraordinarily good home-cooked meals, starting off with a killer tofu scramble for breakfast, followed by a savoury and delicious leek and potato soup (more for tomorrow!), and a perfect honey dew melon for dessert (more for tomorrow).  Dinner was a Deb Head Recipe pasta, which was really good!

We also managed a game of Middle Earth: The Wizards.  In addition to playing by the official rules, I have made up 5 games that we play after each official tournament.  That way, our decks and spare cards get used for 10 games before we open new decks and begin again.

Yes, I worked on the Fort Wayne website update.  No, I am not finished yet.  Tomorrow for sure!!  Unless it's clear.

 

Saturday, August 27th/16

Sometimes the sky around here turns so black, and the doppler radar looks so frightening, that you are convinced that within minutes your roof will be gone and all your trees will be down.  That's what it looked like today around 3 pm.  And yet somehow the worst of it passed by.  We did end up with 1.2" of rain in about 30 minutes, which is impressive enough for me.  With two confirmed tornado touchdowns nearby two days ago, everyone is a bit edgy.

This morning was our 2nd hill walk at Malden Hill.  I officially hate gravity.  Tomorrow is a cross training day.  It would be nice to have a pool, but we will bike instead.  Monday is a longer walk, ending our first week of training.

I am making progress on the Fort Wayne blog.  At least we are now in Fort Wayne LOL.  I might be finished tomorrow, but no promises.  We had a few really amazing unplanned experiences during that trip that really made it all worthwhile.  A few of the planned ones worked out pretty well, too.

It would appear that several clear nights are coming up next week.  It is our last week of vacation, so bring it on!  All too soon I will be back to teaching three afternoon/evenings per week.  My total teaching time so far is increased by 30 minutes over last year, as two students have increased their time with me.

 

Friday, Aug. 26th/16

Deb is already hard at work on the sequel to her first short film.  In addition, she has entered the first one into several film festivals, from Barcelona to the US and Canada.  Hopefully she will become very rich and very famous!

In the meantime busy lives go on.  Last night it was clear, so we headed to the observatory for a very fun night of observing.  Only one other member was out, Jeff, and we all observed in the same location.  We didn't get to bed until 3 am, and we are quite tired just now and heading to bed pretty early.  I worked on my astronomy notes, did some piano practice, and completed Day 3 of my mountain prep program.  Seven weeks from today will be the biggest and highest hiking attempt of my life, if all goes according to plan.

I also continued working on the Fort Wayne blog report of our recent trip.  It won't be up today, but it should be finished tomorrow (it is cloudy tonight, and is supposed to be cloudy tomorrow night, also).

My current Philip Jose Farmer novel is called "A Barnstormer in Oz," as Dorothy's son accidentally finds himself in the merry old land.  I'm not far enough in yet to say whether or not it is brilliant, but it has been pretty good reading so far.  He is definitely messing with an American icon!

 

Wednesday, Aug. 24th/16

Today was Day 1 of the mountain prep fitness program.  44 days to go!  It's going to hurt.

Storms moved through the area around 7 pm tonight.  All we got were a few drops of rain, but 4 miles north of us a tornado touched down, and another one or two in Windsor.  Scary stuff!  Needless to say it is not an observatory night.

I have become pleasantly overwhelmed with SF reading material.  Though Farmer is still by far the author I will read the most, I am also immersed in the works of Kornbluth, Budrys, and Sladek.  The last three I had never heard of before, but they were all masters of their craft.  My new blog (Avon Rediscovery Series) is becoming quite varied and interesting with just these four authors.  Next up is Robert Silverberg, so I am going to mostly finish up with the current four before starting in on him.

I have begun working on our most recent trip blog.  The Fort Wayne/Toledo trip was a lot of fun, filled with great coffee, craft beer, vegan delights, and one of the world's finest art museums (in Toledo, Ohio).  We also visited a number of smaller towns along the way.  It may get finished tomorrow, if it is cloudy again.

 

Tuesday, Aug. 23rd/16

We are just back from a fun-filled two days and nights in Indiana and Ohio, celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary.  We found a great used book store in Fort Wayne. IN, and I came home with 8 or 9 SF books, along with the Golden Guide to the Stars.  We also discovered some great cafes and craft beer premises, and had a fine morning walk on their riverfront trails system.  Soon the photos and write-ups will appear on my American Midwest Travel Blog (link opposite).  We didn't stop much, and as usual with us it was a very active holiday.  We are both tired tonight, foregoing a clear night at the observatory.  We stood for several hours today at the Toledo Musuem of Art, our first extensive visit there in many years.  Standing outside for hours tonight at a telescope does not appeal. LOL

 

Saturday, August 20th/16

My newest blogging and reading project is leading me down many of the finest dark, back alleys of SF.  Lately I have been reading as much of C.M. Kornbluth, the author of the 2nd book in the Avon Redisicovery Series, as I can get my hands on.  25 delicious short stories at the moment.  He died at age 34.  I mean, really?  Someone as good as Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein.  34.  Sigh.

More book store adventures coming up beginning tomorrow, as we head to Fort Wayne, IN for a few days R&R.  No doubt we'll run into a few good pubs and cafes, too.

Deb's little film is now public.  We are choosing a few festivals to enter, including Toronto, Barrie, Chicago, San Francisco.  Hopefully recognition will come from somewhere.  Here is the link, in case you have not yet seen it.  There is also a poster and a trailer.

https://vimeo.com/179447185 

Thursday, August 18th/16

Wow!  What a race by Bolt!  And what a great day for Canada, with a gold in women's wrestling (our 4th gold of the games!), a silver for De Grasse (lost the 200 m race to Bolt, like everyone always does), and a bronze for our incredible decathlon athlete!!  Woot woot woot!!!

The house across the road from us is finally done.  It is lit up at night and looks like a shopping mall--you just would not believe the excess lighting.  Glad I don't plan on doing much astronomy from my yard any more.

Yesterday was our final teaching day of the summer session--we have nearly three weeks off before our three-day work week resumes.  Sigh.  It's been so nice being able to stay home and practice, read, and watch the Olympics, and working only one day each week.  We ended the session with nine students coming yesterday.  It was a fairly productive summer for some students, which makes the autumn session so much richer for them.

My piano program is coming along well.  The Haydn sonata is memorized and ready to perform, as are the 3 Bach pieces.  The Brahms, Debussy, and modern Canadian piece, a very short, fast Tarantelle, need more time.  I have added a fourth piece to the 2nd half of the program, a Cramer etude.

 

Tuesday, August 16th/16

As of tonight Canada has tripled its gold medal count from the London Olympics.  We just won our third gold medal, the men's high jump!  Woot woot!!

In other good news, we received 1.5" of rain overnight.  We are living the green life once again!  Detroit City Airport received nearly 3"!  This is the same system that stalled previously over Louisiana, virtually putting much of the state underwater, with rivers still cresting.  Some places there got nearly 25" of rain in two days!!  It was falling at a rate of 3" per hour during particularly heavy times.  Yaargh.

We have been bumping up our walking program, in anticipation of next week's start to our mountain hiking prep program.  I'm still hoping for a shot at climbing Wheeler Peak, NM's highest point.  It's been on my bucket list for about 30 years now.  Time to go for it.  That will free us up next October to attend the Enchanted Skies star party next year in NM, another event that has been on my list for many years.

We have a short jaunt to Fort Wayne, IN coming up soon, to help celebrate our 40th anniversary.  Some walking, some cafes, some book stores, a pub or two...two nights and then home for the next astronomy cycle, and our advanced walking program.

I listened to Britten's Op 26, his Scottish Ballad for two pianos and orchestra.  It's slow to get started, sounding a bit like film music to some early Celtic funeral scene.  However, once it gets going it really is an impressive piece of music!

I am reading "The Best of C. M. Kornbluth," nineteen short stories by a fabulous SF writer who died way too young, way back in 1958 (heart attack at 35!).  He was in the Battle of the Bulge, and suffered heart strain there.  Back home one fine winter's day, he quickly shovelled his way out after a snow storm, ran to catch his train and died on the platform.  He collaborated with Frederik Pohl on many novels.  Check out my Avon Rediscovery blog to find out more.

 

Monday, August 15th/16

Yesterday was a really fun day, the kind that only Ann Arbor, MI can provide.  Bookshops galore, cafes, pubs, and fun streets to walk offer visitors a guaranteed good time.  I came home with 8 used paperbacks, all related to my on-going reading and reviewing project of the Avon Rediscovery SF Series.

Tonight, the rains of Ranchipur are supposed to arrive.  It's been pretty dry around these parts since early June.  I've only cut the grass three times all summer so far.  However, it is possible that we will get a lot of rain overnight and into tomorrow morning.  Now, however, it seems to be slipping west and north of us.  Central Michigan will get soaked, but it is unlikely we will get as much as first predicted (nearly 2").

Deb has put her movie on DVD, and we have watched it on the "big" screen.  Fantastic!  She is currently searching for film festivals for it.  She should have it uploaded pretty soon, as soon as she decides on a final cut.

 

Saturday, August 13th/16

We are watching the Olympics whenever we can.  Some pretty amazing feats occurring!

Today we finally got some rain, and relief from the heat.  We got about 8/10ths of an inch today, enough to turn things green for little while.  Things were wilting.  The rabbits seem happy, and no doubt the many robins.

Except for groceries and lunch Thursday, we've been home now for four days!  Practicing is going well, as is reading and napping.  Tomorrow we are venturing off to Detroit.  I plan to go to at least one good used bookstore in the suburbs.  Not much else on the horizon.  It's pretty quiet here between astronomy cycles.  Next one begins August 23rd.

 

Friday, August 12th/16

Another very warm and very humid day, pretty typical for us this time of year.  However, on August 24th we have to begin our training for New Mexico hiking in October.  It's coming up very quickly.  I am planning my highest hike ever, which will exceed 13,000' if I am successful.  It involves 3,000' of elevation gain and 8 miles of trail hiking.  Try preparing for that when you live in the flattest county in Canada!  It can be done, and I'm trying to get myself psyched for the ordeal.

Deb has completed her first stop-motion animated film.  She is currently tweaking some technical issues, and will be posting it on-line soon for friends to watch.  We watched the whole thing today, and it's pretty damned good!  Alas, poor Yorick....

I am pretty much caught up with my sleep today.  Things had gotten completely out of hand last week, with 6 of 7 nights being clear and used for observing.  Near the end I was just on auto-pilot.  Without lunar phases I would have died long ago.  Seriously.  At least I have two weeks to prepare for the next session.  Unfortunately, it commences when our exercise program kicks into high gear.  It is going to be a very busy autumn.

In a related topic, I completed my 99th blog entry on my astronomy website, Deep Sky NGC!  It seems to have found a steady readership from North America and Europe.

The new Yamaha piano keyboard has arrived and is in use.  I took some photos of the new, improved studio today, but have not had time to download and edit them.  Likely tomorrow I will post a few of them here.

 

Wednesday, August 10th/16

Last Wed. we had 10 students on our weekly teaching day.  Today there were only four.  So the work week is over, and it's the weekend once again!  One more week of teaching and we are done until school resumes in September.

The two-week astronomy session finished up with a spectacular night on Monday.  This time around I had 8 sessions at Hallam Observatory, with just over 29 hours of observing time.   I am currently writing up a detailed blog on my astronomy site for some of the objects I was able to look at.  For the next two weeks I can enjoy a normal sleep schedule, and hopefully more fruitful piano practices!

Our new Yamaha Keyboard arrived today, and Deb is currently noodling around on it.  I will give it a proper workout tomorrow.  Photos of the new, improved keyboard lab will be taken soon.  We set it up after teaching today.

The hot weather has returned, though once this extended wave passes things look pretty normal afterwards.  Hoping.  Too hot or too cold does not impress me.  All things in moderation (except astronomy and music!).

 

Sunday, August 7th/16

Well, folks--after 7 nights in a row of cloudy skies, we had five in a row of clear nights.  I am exhausted.  Tonight it is cloudy, despite earlier predictions of clear skies.  The moon is getting brighter, and the weather, which has been pretty darn nice these past two days, will soon return to the humid 90s of the past few weeks.  Tomorrow night looks like our final chance to observe until the end of August.

Deb came out to the observatory the past two nights with me.  She had several bad days last week, likely caused by a major flare up of her RA.  It subsided, and all is well again.

She has been making tremendous progress on her stop-motion  movie, which I am certain will win awards if entered into competition.

I managed to listen to some Brahms tonight, his charming and beautiful Op 6 Songs.  Much more Brahms to come.  Piano has been suffering this week.  Due to sleep deprivation and serious body clock shifting, it is virtually useless to attempt piano practice.  I practiced yesterday, and should get back into things again tomorrow.

Our new keyboard has not yet arrived--it's in the Windsor shop awaiting a three-pedal system that was back ordered.  Hopefully early this week!

 

Thursday, August 4th/16

With apologies to faithful readers, I am currently preparing for my 3rd night in a row of very late night astronomy.  There is a promise of 3 more after tonight, so it may be awhile before I write a proper entry.  The rest of my life is currently on hold.

 

Friday, July 30th/16

Since it's now been cloudy for three nights in a row, I will write a short music blog.  First off, I have purchased an electric piano.  It should be in the house by Tuesday of next week.  I will then have a U1 Yamaha piano (professional model), my Roland harpsichord, and now the new Yamaha keyboard.  Photos will be forthcoming.

In practicing news, I have already memorized the little Haydn Sonata (his very first one!).  It's only 6 pages long, but it is full of wit and charm.  The three short Bach pieces are nearly memorized, too.  The more difficult piece by Debussy will take much longer, as will the Brahms Intermezzo.  In the meantime I can perform the Haydn and Bach pieces, which take about 12 minutes total.

I finally got around to listening to the Brahms Op 5, his massive F Minor Sonata for piano.  It's in five movements, is 40 pages long, and takes 50 minutes to perform.  It's on the same scale as Beethoven's Hammerclavier, Op. 106.  It is basically a world unto itself.  In addition to the Deutsch Grammophon recording I played tonight by Anatol Ugorski, I also have one by Canada's Andre Laplante.  I must hear that one soon.

We had lunch today with Ruth, a good friend and retired teacher.  We ate (and drank) at Wolfhead Distillery, a new craft distillery and restaurant in Amherstburg.  Their food was fantastic, as was their whiskey.  I came home with a bottle of the stuff--it just might be the best whiskey I've ever had.

 

Wednesday, July 27th/16

A short teaching day, with only three students (6 were expected).  And so our next 6-day weekend begins!!

Last night was a beautiful night at the observatory, with four members including us taking full advantage of the beautiful skies.  Deb and I left last, around 1:30 am.  I would have stayed longer, but it was a teaching morning coming up.  After teaching, I spent a good part of today writing up by observation notes.

Monday night started out clear, but after about two hours haze moved in and shut us down.  We still managed to get some good observing done beforehand.  The next clear night appears to be this Saturday--I am already looking forward to it!

I have been cleaning up my keyboard room in anticipation of adding a 3rd keyboard for teaching and performing.  It might happen tomorrow--stay tuned.

As our heat continues down here, we have fond memories of the cooler days in Sudbury.  Happily we live close to the river, and when breezes blow towards us from it we are quite comfortable.  However, walk just a few blocks away from the river and Wham!  Heatwave.

 

Monday, July 25th/16

Despite enough lightning to impress Zeus on Mt Olympus, all we got overnight was a measly 1/10th of an inch of rain.  Still, our grass is green and I will likely cut it tomorrow.  In the past month it's only been cut once!  It's been pretty warm lately, and somewhat on the humid side, though nothing unusual for us this time of year.  However, the past two summers were very cool and wet by comparison, so we are a bit out of practice for more typical Windsor July weather.  Long range forecast says August will be above average, too.

It is going to be clear tonight, so we are heading out to the observatory soon with our telescopes!  Can't wait to get back into things!  There is hope for tomorrow night, too.

Today was a Detroit day.  Our main stop was John King Books, where I picked up another 6 or 7 used novels by Philip Jose Farmer.  I now have his complete World of Tiers set, along with Riverworld, and the first Dayworld novel, in addition to many solo novels and short story collections.  I'm currently reading his novella "Riders of the Purple Wage," which won him his first Hugo Award back in the day.

We tried a newer middle eastern restaurant for lunch in Dearborn, after visiting our mailbox.   We each ordered a veggie combo.  At $8.99 each we could not finish the food we were given.  We left stuffed, with barely 2/3rds of it eaten.  Great food, but next time we will share one order!

I managed to fill up Beorn's fuel tank with premium gasoline for $49 Canadian in Detroit.  In Canada it would have cost about $75!  I now have enough gas for the two-week astronomy session, unless every night is clear (doubtful).

 

Friday, July 22nd/16

Today was the release of the newest Star Trek film.  My brother Steve went to see it tonight, and I think Randy G. did as well.  I've never been a fan of crowds, so will give the opening night a miss.  I do want to see the Tarzan film, though.  I doubt it is very crowded in there by now.

I am slowly getting back into Iaido and my piano practice.  Today was my first full practice since last Thursday, before leaving for Sudbury.  I also went to the dojo for solo practice, and I managed to run through all my katas up to Shodan. I did not have time to run through my Nidan material.

It was very hot today.  It was 97 F. when I pulled into the dojo parking lot in Windsor at 6:30 pm.  More of the same for the next few days.

Astronomy days are nearly here--I could begin Sunday if it's clear, but it looks as if I will have to wait for Monday.  All the better, as the moon will rise later each night.  Looking forward to some warm nights with the scope!

 

Thursday, July 21st/16

Deb's infusion was today, and her 4-month check up with her doctor.  Things are going well.  We'll try another shot of muscle relaxant next week for the neck and shoulders.  Deb can get these shots every three months, though the last pair only lasted about a month before her symptoms returned.

We went for lunch to a new brewpub in Tecumseh, then picked up groceries in Windsor.

The temperature was in the low 90s when we got home.  Storms hit shortly after 5 pm, and it was bad.  Again we had winds of around 60 mph, accompanied by sheets of thick, driving rain.  Though we need the rain, it only seems to come in intermittent barrages, rather than a nice, steady rain.  Anyway, there are a lot of branches down around us, though our own trees seem to be fine.  0.7" of rain appeared in the rain gauge afterwards, even though most of it was coming in sideways.  It's much cooler right now.  More storms are predicted tomorrow, along with intense heat.

 

Wednesday, July 20th/16

We were in bed really early last night, after a successful attempt at a Full Moon Party.  There was dark rum and moonlight, anyway.  Today I taught piano lessons, so it is once again time for my six-day weekend!  Tonight I edited our trip photos.  We spent Friday night and part of Saturday in Lindsay, visiting with Deb's mom.  We went out for dinner Friday night, and out again for breakfast Saturday morning.  All seems well in Lindsay, and we received a copy of Lois' newest book (more on this in a later blog).

Saturday we drove to Lake Nipissing, one of many giant lakes in Ontario.  My brother Steve and his wife Lynne have use of a cottage there, and we went for a long boat ride on Sunday morning.  

Captain Emma steers the boat.  She just finished first grade at school, and did very well.

Steve has a new motor for his boat.  It's a 175 hp Mercury, and goes about 65 mph.  

Monkey on a rock!

Sunday afternoon we finally made it to Sudbury, where we visited with my parents, my Aunt Pauline and my cousin Cathy.  We had a birthday dinner for my dad and my older niece, Alicia.

Happy birthday to Dad and Alicia!

Monday was "chill" day.  We found a great cafe and roastery in downtown Sudbury.  Sudbury is hilly and mountainous, so we enjoyed two good walks whilst there.  We read in the backyard gazebo, I had a sauna and swim, and we enjoyed good company until our drive home Tuesday morning.  It was a fun trip, though it came with a lot of driving.  There are more idiot drivers out there than anyone could possibly believe.

Emma "Jackson."

Thursday morning is Deb's bi-monthly infusion.  She is looking forward to it...

 

Tuesday, July 19th/16

We are just back from a busy, fun, but tiring 5-day visit to family in Lindsay and Sudbury.  Lots of driving.  Early to bed tonight.  Photos and more details coming tomorrow, after I teach 8 students.

 

Wednesday, July 13th/16

After another very hot, humid day we got pounded by another storm.  Power stayed on again, too!  We seem to be in a hot, humid pattern just now.  Luckily it's past first quarter moon, so it's not affecting observing time at all.

Sunday we had our first fun day in Detroit in a long while.  We visited a photo exhibit at the DIA, then strolled down to Hopcat where I sampled two fine beer, including one from Copenhagen!  That one was called Double Fudge Stout!!  Then we went to Whole Foods for a snack, then on to 8 Degrees Plato, where I sampled another 5 beverages; four ales and a cider.  All was good.  I bought two single bottles and we headed home.  Before the DIA we'd also made a cafe stop.  We were able to park the car and walk around all day, which was great.  And we found a place with free parking on Friday evenings and Saturdays!

Today was teaching day--I had five students and Deb had one.  It whizzed past.  Tomorrow we meet up with some retired teacher friends for lunch.  The heat is supposed to break over the weekend, briefly.  We have family visits planned all weekend, so some cooler weather will be nice.

 

Saturday, July 9th/16

We have had plenty of heat and humidity, but at least this time it amounted to a lot of rain.  Our yard has received 2.5" of the good stuff since Wednesday!!  Woo hoo!  Our grass is green, the robins and rabbits are happy, and due to water being in the creek once again, we have not seen our little fawn.  All is well!

Friday evening we had some wicked storms pass through.  The winds were gusting to 100 kph.  Luckily, our trees remained upright throughout.  No expensive cleanup on this one.  The neat thing is that it cleared up after the storm, and I was able to head to Comber, solo, and enjoy a remarkable fine 4-hour astronomy session.  Tonight is the observatory open house, an event I usually avoid like the plague, but I may take a late night drive out there to do some work with Space Eye.

The basement waterproof project is now 3/4ths complete.  We have one more room we might get treated in the autumn.  We had to pile stuff from the other three rooms into it for the repair job, so it could not get treated at the same time as the others.

I continue to read voraciously, and fall further behind in my blogging and e-mailing.  With apologies, if we ever get a cloudy streak I will get caught up.  Since early April I have enjoyed a record 40+ clear nights.  With an average of a dozen or so objects per night, that is a lot of observing and note keeping.

 

Thursday, July 7th/16

It was one of the hottest and most humid days so far this summer--same coming up tomorrow.  We had no a.c. today.  The basement rescue team showed up early and went to work.  Because of all the dust involved, we had to turn off the cool air all day.  It went back on at 7 pm.  Off tomorrow again.  They used jack hammers most of the day, and it was plenty noisy.  If that didn't rattle my teeth enough, I had a dentist appointment at noon.

Other than that, it's been a pretty routine day.

 

Wednesday, July 6th/16

Last night was yet another spectacularly clear and dry night.  I've had 9 outings this lunar session, though with the moon now waxing and wet weather finally arriving, it would appear that we are done until after next full moon.  Deb came out with me, and two other observers were also there.  It's exactly the kind of sky that I require if I ever want to make a significant dent in my project to see over 5000 NGC objects in my lifetime.  Of course I will never make it through them all, unless the elixir of life is discovered and given to me someday soon.  I managed to view 11 deep sky objects last night, including Messier 92, a spectacular globular cluster.  These very old and dense clusters orbit outside the plane of our galaxy and at quite some distance.  They resemble the cores of galaxies in their stellar density.  Though some are too far away to resolve into stars, even with the 12" scope, many give up their secrets willingly, especially at higher magnifications.  I also managed to view and split about 8 double stars.  Our session lasted just about three and a half hours.  We got home around 3 am.

Today was a teaching day.  I had a trumpet student bright and early, a sure way to wake up!  I was expecting 8 students, but only five actually arrived.  Deb was expecting one, and got none.  C'est la vie.

Our little fawn continues to make our yard its home.  Deb managed to snap a photo of it through the basement window, as it chewed on our weeds in the front garden.

And there's more very good news--for the first time in ages we received a direct hit from a scattered thunderstorm.  It rained for about an hour, quite heavily.  1.2" of rain ended up in our rain gauge, and in our yard.  Everything has been brown and crispy for far too long.  The fawn kept eating throughout most of it, eventually sheltering beneath one of our cedar trees.  More rain is predicted tomorrow and Friday, along with nearly unbearable heat and humidity.

Tomorrow our basement workers are supposed to come.  We'll see....

 

Monday, July 4th/16

I took a chance last night, after getting conflicting weather reports.  It turned out to be a spectacular clear night, though I had to enjoy it at the observatory all alone.  Though I use 5 different weather services to gather information, and two cloud cover satellite sources, it's pretty amazing how conflicting and ambiguous a forecast can be, even one that is only trying to predict one or two hours from now.  It's ridiculous, really, when my intuition has to be the deciding factor on whether or not I will head out for a night with the scope.  Luckily I seem to have good intuition!

I firmed up my teaching appointments for Wednesday.  So far I have eight students!  If it's clear as predicted on Tuesday night, I will be a pretty groggy teacher Wed. morning.  Thursday is teeth cleaning day.  Yay.

Deb's movie project is in high gear.  She is making very good progress with her ambitious stop-motion short film, starring Yorick, of Hamlet fame.  Quite hilarious and inventive, with that unique Deb touch of humour, which many people would not catch on to.  Still a ways from being ready for prime time movie of the week, but it's coming along.

 

Saturday, July 2nd/16

Another late night at the observatory last night.  We got home at 3 am.  It was just in time to see a huge explosion and fireball from across the river.  A drunk driver hit a gas main in a Detroit suburb, right around 3 am.  Though we live about 15 km away, it was sure big and bright.  We also heard the sound of the gas escaping all the way from our house--it sounded like a train passing by!

The observing session went really well, though Deb and I were all alone out there.  Just as it was getting dark the Canada Day fireworks started from the nearby town of Leamington.  We sat with our tea and watched--we had a pretty good view.  I spent much of my day writing up my observing notes in my journal.

It was supposed to be clear again tonight, but, alas, it appears the weather service cannot predict what will happen on the day of.  As of 2 pm it was going to be a perfect night.  Incoming clouds seemed to have changed that forecast all by themselves.

My piano practicing is getting into a routine once again.  In my first hour I practice scales, chords and arpeggios, as usual.  Next come three short Bach Preludes for harpsichord.  I've performed all three before, but it's been years.  Next comes the charming Sonata in C by Haydn, his very first sonata.  It's in three movements; fast, slow, minuet.  I am already memorizing that one.  After that I have two challenging pieces, an Intermezzo by Brahms and a Prelude by Debussy.  Both pieces keep my hands stretched to maximum!  I will add one more shorter piece once the Brahms and Debussy don't take all of my 2nd practice hour.

The listening program is on-going, too.  I have now listened to 80 of the Haydn Symphonies (24 to go); three of the Brahms opus numbers (1, 2, and 3); and 25 of the Britten opus numbers.  I just listened to his first string quartet, a major work and filled with passion, sorrow, delight, and a rare beauty that might only be found elsewhere in the eyepiece of a telescope.  The 3rd (slow) movement would be the perfect listening partner for some of the deep sky objects I have been observing lately (Messier 27 comes to mind).  Must try it.

We've had a fawn hanging around our yard and the neighbour's for about a week now.  Our drought is so bad that there is little to eat.  It comes for corn and water from the bird feeding area, and whatever greens it can find to nibble.  We've only seen mom twice.

 

Thursday, June 30th/16

We weren't out all that late after all last night.  Just as we arrived at the observatory, it began to get cloudy and hazy.  We did not set up our equipment.  However, four other telescopes were set up, including Randy with his 22" reflector.  Last time he had brought his wife, Anita, and she had had her first look through his scope from a dark sky site.  Tonight, Randy had brought out Joady U.  Joady has severe vision problems, yet he has been an enthusiastic member of the astronomy club since its earliest days.  He is also a classical music lover, and has been to a few of my recitals over the years.  So I hung out with Randy and Joady for awhile, while Deb went to chat with Ted, another friend/astronomer.  They are both into Linux computer systems, so their geek talk was different from ours.  We left earlier than usual due to hazy conditions.

The garbage bin got picked up Wednesday morning, and it was pretty full.  We have a rescheduled date for the basement work.  They are now coming next Thursday and Friday.

We made a quick trip to Detroit yesterday, after I'd put in a late night Tuesday.  After Iaido I went out alone to the observatory, enjoying spectacular conditions.  At our mailbox was my copy of Aniara, one of the rarest books from the scifi series I have been collecting.  I am now only missing one volume.

It is cloudy tonight, but the next several nights look promising.

 

Wednesday, June 29th/16

Tonight will mark the 6th clear night in the past 7 nights--I am surviving, but barely....talk to you later.

 

Monday, June 27th/16

It's interesting to see the back-pedaling going on in Britain, as the Pound loses way too much value, Britain's credit rating sinks, and the truth comes out about all those Brexit promises, which will not happen as advertised.  Sigh.  In the meantime, world stock markets go down, our dollar sinks, our banks take a hit, and many people still think that Brexit is a "great" thing to happen.  The leaders who were adamant about leaving the EU are now saying (with straight faces) that we need not rush into things.  Better take it slow.  Wow, what a disaster, and it's only the beginning.  I'm trying to picture the customs lines at Heathrow once EU citizens have to use the same lines as we do.  Right now they all funnel through express lanes, leaving the rest to Americans, Canadian, Aussies, etc.

We woke up to two surprises this morning.  One was a flat tire on the Golf.  That got changed before breakfast, and afterwards got taken into town to be repaired.  The second surprise was having our date wrong for the basement work.  It's tomorrow (we hope).  It doesn't really matter, as we got more cleanup done in room #1.  The dumpster is nearing capacity.  Unbelievable that somehow all that stuff fit into our house.  Good riddance!

Our hot dry spell continues, though cooler weather is on the way.  Tonight looks good for astronomy, so we will leave shortly after 9 pm.  Tonight is also fireworks night in Detroit/Windsor.  We will see (and hear) them from the observatory.

 

Sunday, June 26th/16

Tomorrow the basement repair crew arrive.  Three of four of our basement rooms have been cleaned!  Yes, we have four basement rooms, and therein lies the problem.  If we only had one room, it would be a lot easier to keep clean.  With four rooms down there, stuff accumulates.  The dumpster is now 3/4s full.  One basement room to go tomorrow, and then the kitchen and upstairs closets.  Hopefully Wednesday will be a day of rest.

Last night was my third observing night in a row in Comber, and Deb's second.  So, in addition to our physical labours in the cellar, our sleep patterns have been disrupted, too.  Tonight is cloudy, but the next several nights are supposed to be clear.  

It was supposed to rain today, and it is badly needed.  We had a few drops, but that was it.  Our dry spell is nearly two months long, while London and West Virginia have severe floods.  Next chance of rain is Friday.

 

Friday, June 24th/16

It's the day that the UK woke up with a bad hangover, and heads sore from banging them against walls.  Absolutely unbelievable.  What a disaster.  Oh well, at least Donald Trump thinks it's a good thing.  Asshole.

In local news, our deck repairs are complete, the dumpster was delivered (and is now half full), and we seem to be in for a run of clear nights.  Last night was my final evening of teaching.  Summer session begins July 6th.  I have 10 students who will take lessons this summer, though some only occasionally.  Five are full time.

It was also clear last night, and I took a drive to Comber with the scope.  The new observing session officially begins tonight, but I went last night to observe, even though the moon rose an hour after dark.  It was a short night, but a successful one.  Deb and I are both heading out tonight, in about two hours from now.  Usually we leave home around 9 pm, arrive at 9:45 pm for set up and collimation of the 12" mirror, then sit and chat with any other members who might be out there.  This time of year it's pretty dark by 10:30 pm, so we get started.  True darkness hits about 11 pm.  A month from now that will change noticeably, but for this two-week session that's the way it's going to be.

Tomorrow and Sunday will be more dumpster filling, from the basement and garage.  Monday and Tuesday the basement repair team will be here to waterproof our basement.  Pretty exciting times.

 

Wednesday, June 22nd/16

Our late Spring and early Summer have turned into quite a drought.  One of my students, Sarah, is learning a piano piece called "Summer Drought."  The good news is that mosquitoes are at a minimum, and the grass does not need cutting.  The bad news is that there is no rain, and our county is mostly farming.

Today was a hot one, and the planned deck renovation only got partly done.  Hopefully it will get competed tomorrow.  We also have a large outdoor pile of stuff for the dumpster, which arrives Friday.

I was short one student today; otherwise it's been a normal teaching week.  One more day of teaching to go.  Already six students have confirmed for summer lessons, so I'll be busy on Wednesdays beginning July 6th.

Tuesday evening I returned to Iaido, and will likely continue classes through August.  Next year I am already up half an hour in my teaching load, so I will likely take a break from martial arts again.

Tomorrow, Deb has her second appointment with a lady chiropractor.  We are willing to give it a month to see if it helps Deb's neck and shoulders, which cause her daily distress.  We are running out of options.

Last Saturday was our annual student recital, held at the music building of the University of Windsor.  Five students (about a third) could not make it, but we still had a full house to watch those that could perform.

Monday was our Detroit day, but it was mostly a mailbox run to get some green coffee beans that Deb had ordered.  We did make it to John King books, though, and I was able to get seven books by P.J. Farmer that I wanted.

 

Saturday, June 18th/16

In the last three days we've made it through a lot of our June commitments.  Thursday, of course, was the final teaching day of the week.  One week to go until summer break begins.  We will resume teaching on Wed., July 6th for seven consecutive weeks.

Friday morning I had an ORMTA (music teachers) meeting in Windsor.  It was also billed as a luncheon.  Philip (my piano instructor) and I went elsewhere for lunch, getting caught up on things with one another.  We went to The Garden, an incredible Asian veg restaurant.  Though close to the university, he had never noticed it before.

Friday night, my lone adult student (Jen) and I went to my friend and colleague`s annual adult performance class.  Paula usually has six or seven adult students, and we get invited to the June hootenanny.  Jen and I performed a duet waltz by Brahms, then she played two of her Level 8 solos.  She did extremely well.

Today was our private studio student concert, held at the University of Windsor.  We had a lot of students who could not make it today, but we still had a full house to listen to the performers who could.  All`s well that ends well.  Adorable little girls in summer dresses, well dressed young boys and young men and women...the audience loves these things, especially grand parents.  

Anyway, I have four more days of teaching (M-Th).  However, on Friday our giant garbage container arrives, and we begin the Great Basement Purge.  Before then our back deck will get rebuilt.  And finally, on Monday the 27th, our basement repair crew will arrive.  So, busy times are still ahead!

We are looking forward to the Full Moon/Summer Solstice Party on Monday (after teaching)!

 

Wednesday, June 15th/16

I have finished the H.P. Lovecraft project, all 1098 pages of it!!  I read the volume cover to cover, taking about a year to finish it.  I am now free to read and review the Avon Discovery Series!  Tonight I'll be back to reading the Brahms biography, and I'll take a break by reading another Kevin Kerney mystery, which all take place in NM.  It's a fantastic series, and really gets your pulse going!  They are best read in order, too, as the characters develop as the stories go on.

I'm nearly finished Farmer's Time's Last Gift, after which I'll read the very slim Adventure of the Peerless Peer.  Both of these books feature Tarzan, and the 2nd one also has Watson and Holmes!  I love it!!

The Britten listening project is on-going, and tonight I heard his only works for two pianos.  The Mazurka was so unbelievable!!  What an amazing piece.  The other is called Introduction and Allegro Burlesca.  The three make a really fine suite.  I wish that they were written for piano four hands, instead of two pianos.  No way I could do them.

No Haydn tonight, but #78 in C Minor is waiting in the wings.  All of the Haydn works are on 33 LP records.  The Brahms listening project (46 cds!!!) will follow along with the biography I'm reading.  He's only 12 right now, so I have a ways to go still.  The composer destroyed all of the works he wrote as a youth.

 

Tuesday, June 14th/16

I finished reading the blog entries from 2011--it was an epic year, with Deb retiring in June and me completing my first year of retirement.  Randy's 22" mirror finally came through, and we began enjoying the unrivalled views it gives.  I had also begun to plan for my new telescope, aiming for a 12" reflector.

It was interesting to see that even way back then I was still listening to the complete Haydn Symphonies, getting up to around #23.  Tonight I got to hear #77 in Bb major, and it was a delight from start to finish.  It is one of Haydn's greatest symphonies, filled with great contrapuntal writing, excitement and tenderness.

I've been reading voraciously over the past several days.  I will finish The Martian tonight, and possibly the Lovecraft essay, which is quite good and still helpful after all these years.  Once the Lovecraft volume is done I will return to the Brahms biography, which I am finding fascinating.

We having been walking regularly now for over a week, and it is beginning to show in our fitness level, which had fallen to an abysmal point after Denver.  Yardwork has begun, and this weekend I hope to buy some new boards to redo the central part of our very old back deck.  The basement clean out happens the following weekend.  This Friday and Saturday I am involved in concerts.  Monday is Solstice.  Busy times ahead.  I am contemplating returning to Iaido next Tuesday, just for the summer.  Fitness (and Wheeler Peak) here I come!

 

Sunday, June 12th/16

We had a partially successful search today for books by Philip Jose Farmer, an author that gets more intriguing the further we dig.  We found five paperbacks of interest, though none of his Riverworld series (yet).  We only went to two stores, in Ferndale--one had virtually nothing; the other had plenty.  The Green Odyssey is a stand-alone novel, as is Lord Tyger.  We also found his two Opar novels.  But the real highlight was finding The Adventure of the Peerless Peer, his novel that teams Sherlock Holmes with Tarzan!!  The book is dedicated to Samuel Rosenburg--now there is a name every Sherlock Homes fan should check out!!

Once home, we purchased two Kindle volumes of Farmer's work.  I've begun reading Time's Last Gift, the first of his ancient African series.  Inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs, it is followed up by the two Opar books.  

The other Farmer volume from Kindle is A Feast Unknown, a novel combining Doc Savage and Tarzan!  Good reading ahead!  I'm nearly finished his Mars story, and am about halfway through The Martian by Andy Weir (hard science at its best).  Two more contrasting writers could not be found.  Same planet, vastly different visions.

Currently reading this on Kindle.

 

Saturday, June 11th/16

My brain is undergoing some wonderful therapy, just by learning some new piano pieces.  Good practicing is going on!

Deb has been casting around for something fun to do--she can't racewalk, she can't play harp, she can't do Iaido...  She has gone back to her university roots, and is building some Elizabethan robot puppets.  She wants to make short stop motion films with them.  Okay, well that's different.  Films will be posted to Youtube, with links here when done.  She is still a ways away, building tiny puppets and dressing them.

I'm nearly ready to return to Iaido, at least for the summer.  Observing begins so late that I will still be able to attend class and then head to the observatory for the night.  I'll likely stop classes again in September when teaching resumes.  We'll see.

I've been reading the first book of the Avon/Equinox Rediscovery Series.  It is by Philip Jose Farmer, and consists of 5 short stories written in the 1950s.  Classic stuff, and really well done.  In our Detroit excursion tomorrow we will be searching for a few more of his titles, including the first of his biggest series, Riverworld.

I'm also reading The Martian, which recently  became a hit movie.  Though flawed, it is a very gripping book, like the movie.  Coincidentally, the last of my Farmer stories is also set on Mars.  It's a much more colourful look at the red planet!  When I'm finished I'll have to see which one I liked better.  What a great contrast--Mars in the 50s when no one knew anything about it, compared with today when we know considerably more.  It's much tougher to write about it today--you really have to know your science!

I'm also reading a biography of Brahms.  I'm also reading a long essay by H.P. Lovecraft on the history of the supernatural horror tale.

Currently, we are leaning towards a high altitude hiking expedition to NM in mid-October.  This would take place near the full moon cycle, and would involve some shifting of our teaching schedules.   We would fly to Abq (no need to drive if we are not camping) and back, hitting the ground in high gear, with four major very high hikes planned.  I'm hoping to include NM's highest peak, likely without Deb on that day.  The following year we can then be free to attend the NM astronomy party.  My days of being able to get fit enough for a huge mountain climb are numbered, and that number is very low.

 

Thursday, June 9th/16

Barely recovered from Monday night's late observing, we were out at Hallam again last night.  There were 7 of us out there on yet another very fine night, though Deb and I were last ones there and closed the gates around 1:45 am.  That about wraps it up for this session.  I've had 5 really great nights this time around.  The next session will resume about four or five nights after full moon, which is on the 20th.  We will be finished teaching by then, too, so I plan on a few all-nighters at the observatory (only about 5-6 hrs long this time of year).

I've been rereading my blog entries for 2011, the first year of retirement and the year Deb retired.  Randy's 22" telescope mirror was still in the works, and it kept being delayed and delayed.  I still haven't reached the part yet about first light.  Anyway, he once again had his scope out last night, and we were treated to some superb poster-like images of several deep sky objects.  Looking through the eyepiece of a 22" telescope is pretty much a dream come true, not just for Deb and I, but for Randy, too.  Fun stuff!

With my scope we managed to find the ongoing supernova in a distant galaxy.  NGC 4125 showed its bright star quite clearly.  It is a very humbling sight to witness a star in the midst of exploding.  The light is currently 5 billion times brighter than our sun.  No one can even begin to imagine something like that.

Supernova in NGC 4125.  The brilliant star was easily seen in my 12" scope by Deb, Randy G. and me.

 

Today was the final music lessons for the week.  Two more weeks to go until summer break, along with two concerts and a teachers' meeting.  Deb and I will teach on Wednesdays again during the summer.  

I have decided not to give a solo piano recital at this time.  I've begun some new pieces by Haydn, Brahms, and Debussy.  I will play the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody next week at the annual gathering of adult piano students and their teachers, so I'll continue to practice that piece.

 

Tuesday, June 07th/16

"The Great Beauty," an Italian film from 2013, is one of the great films of our time.  It certainly owes something to Fellini, but its overall pacing and direction take it to heights not even achieved by that great director.  Filmed in Roma, the music and cinematography are the absolute best.  There are more memorable scenes in this film than in almost any other one I've seen, reminding me again of Fellini.  Here is an excerpt from the Wiki article... "The film opens with a quote from Céline's Journey to the End of the Night: "To travel is very useful, it makes the imagination work, the rest is just delusion and pain. Our journey is entirely imaginary, which is its strength." The main character is an aging socialite, Jep Gambardella, who once wrote a famous novel in his twenties, only to retire into a comfortable life writing cultural columns and throwing parties in Rome. After his 65th birthday party, he walks through the ruins and city streets, encountering the various characters, reflecting on his life, his first love, and sense of unfulfillment."

The scenes where Jep walks through Rome in the early hours are so riveting, despite nothing actually happening.  We nearly stopped watching near the beginning due to the protracted, very empty but revealing party scene.  Stick with it.  Three other memorable scenes, among dozens:  The scene where a young girl painfully creates a large-scale work of art; the scene where the "saint" sits on Jep's balcony (overlooking the Colosseum!) surrounded by flamingoes; and the end credits, showing a trip down the Tiber River.  A wonderful movie to experience.

In other news, it was spectacularly clear again last night, so out I went to the observatory.  I was all alone, except for a wandering raccoon that smelled like it had been skunk sprayed.  Many nights this Spring I have taken a chance on a so-so night and gone out to the observatory, to be rewarded with fabulous conditions.  Tonight is still up for debate, but Wed. looks like a really special night.

 

Monday, June 6th/16

Sunday was a fun and very busy day, except for doing the laundry.  In the early morning Deb went to the annual Walk For Arthritis.  She was there to help with the registration, and was home shortly after 10 am.  It was warm, muggy and my morning practice went terribly.  Later in the afternoon I ran through my pieces publicly for the first time at the home of Randy and Anita G., on their newer Yamaha 255 electric piano.

Things went pretty much as expected, with some pieces going quite well, and a few others giving trouble in unexpected places.

Later that evening I went to the observatory, and it turned into a spectacular night until clouds rolled in at 1:15 am.  Randy G. came out about 12:30 am and we looked through my scope at some showpiece sky objects, using his incredible eyepiece collection.  A winning combination!  

Today I had to do a bit of catch-up teaching.  I have twin 12 year old boys doing a piano exam in two weeks, and there is still so much to do.  No practicing today, but I will resume tomorrow.  I spent most of the day doing astronomy notes from last night, along with prep work for the next clear night.  Spring has been good to me this year as far as really fine observing nights go.

Deb is searching for meaningful ways to fill her days.  Because of shoulder problems she has had to exclude herself from Iaido; she can't racewalk anymore; and she can't play harp.  Her coffee roasting hobby has helped, and astronomy on nights when she isn't too sore or tired to come out.  But there is still a gap there she needs to try and fill.  Maybe she should go back and teach school for a few more years!

 

Saturday, June 4th/16

Time flies when you are busy as bees!  There was one spectacular clear night in there, and it nearly did me in.  Thursday night I stayed at Hallam Observatory until 3:45 am (Friday morning), crawling into bed an hour later.  What a spectacular night of observing!  I was supposed to run through my piano program for Randy and Anita G. later that night at their home.  Hahaha.  Needless to say it got postponed until tomorrow.  Luckily it's raining tonight.

It took me most of the day to write up the notes of all the objects I observed, which were mostly galaxies.  I was in bed very early Friday night.  Had it been clear I would have dragged myself back out to the observatory, but it clouded over.

The rain we are presently receiving is the first in over three weeks.  While most of the world drowns in flooding, we lack for rain.

Excellent coffee is an on-going thing here at Lone Mtn Homestead, with Deb undertaking regular coffee bean roasting on the back deck.  We currently have about ten different types of beans, with many of them delivering big bold flavours from around the world!  She is able to pretty much duplicate a roast now if we like it, and she has been experimenting with blends.  I'm not very good with tasting notes, but I am loving the coffee!

The great purge has begun.  The basement is undergoing a total clearing out.  The rented dumpster will arrive in a few weeks, and we will fill it rather quickly.  It will feel so good to clear everything out.  There is a lot of junk lying around the yard, too.

Deb has also recently redecorated the bathroom and the downstairs bedroom.  Closets are getting done, and today we rinsed and sorted a few dozen empty liquor bottles we've had for years downstairs (don't even ask).  Many others are going into the recycling bin.  By July 1st, I'm hoping we have gotten rid of at least 1/3 of the stuff in the house, not counting actual furniture we still use.  I'm waiting until all my performing and teaching is done for the season before we really get going.

 

Wednesday, June 1st/16

Today was the memorial service for Joel.  Teaching committments, and the fact that it was in Ann Arbor, MI, prevented us from going.  He has left a strong legacy behind him for such a young man.  His many cds and his prolific videos on Youtube, not to mention the memories he has given his friends and fans, will help keep him alive for a long time to come.

I've been out to the observatory 3x lately.  Two of them turned out to be not so great, but the night Deb also came out was a great night for observing (Monday).  A number of other observers were also there, including Al, Ted, Larry, Randy, and a guy named Jeff.

I've been trying to keep up practicing, hoping for a playthru at Randy's house this coming Friday.  I may not do the whole program, as I don't like performing on strange pianos unless I've spent time with them.  We'll see how things go.

We have to have some serious work done on our basement walls, which have deteriorated over the years due to our unrelentingly damp climate, as well as the age of the house.  For the price of a trip to NM, we will soon have it fixed.  There are four rooms in the basement--two are being repaired now, with another one later.  A fourth room is an interior one and does not need it.

In blogging news, I managed to upload all of my previous years' musings to this site.  The bottom of this narrow page now contains links from 2006 till 2015.  My legacy, if you will.

I'm hoping to record some harpsichord pieces this week and somehow get them on to Youtube with a short movie.  More on that project later.

There's much more to tell, but I am too tired.  Groceries are purchased, three lawns are cut, basement is being purged and cleaned.  A few good films lately, and I have finished reading all of the fictional works of H.P. Lovecraft.  I am finishing up with his essay on the history of horror writing.

I have started reading the first book of my newest series from the Avon Rediscovery shelf.  This promises to be a truly thrilling project (see link on opposite page)!  There are already about a dozen other books I now want to read/reread by Philip Jose Farmer, author of the first volume of the set.

Listening continues.  I am now finished Symphony #75 by Haydn, and am up to Op. 22 by Britten.  There is very little wasted time around here.

Anyway, goodnight.  Clear skies are predicted for tomorrow.

 

Friday, May 27th/16

After checking my Facebook page this morning I was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of Joel Hastings.  Heart attack, 46 years old.  Wow.  Joel was a local boy who went on to get his piano performance doctorate at the U. of Michigan.  He was a warm, friendly, honest man, and the first to admit his shortcomings in performance, which were practically non-existent.  He was a busy performer, and had been teaching at the U. of Florida for a couple of years.  We have one of his cds, and will give it another listen this weekend.  The most recent performance of his we heard was of the Hammerclavier Sonata of Beethoven.  Check out some of his Youtube videos--a brilliant artist, gone way too soon.

After a week I finally manged to get back to some piano practice today.  Hopefully lots more over the weekend.  You may ask why I listen to so much music instead of practicing, during such a busy, hectic week as we have just had.  A good question.  The main reason is that if I cannot practice during my best times of alertness, I am better off not practicing at all.  Early mornings are good, up till about noon hour, and again from about 4 pm to 5 pm.  So anything that disrupts those times means that I usually do not practice.

This morning we made a quick mail box run to Dearborn, intending to come right back home.  Deb had a special light bulb for her tortoise waiting, and I had a rare book we had ordered.  Turns out the wrong book was sent, but at least the tortoise is happy.  However, when we approached the bridge to cross back into Canada, the lineups were backed onto the freeway, northbound and southbound.  There were more trucks than I have ever seen before.  It would have taken hours of frustrating manoevering to get home.  We thought we'd make a dash for the tunnel crossing, though it would likely be jammed, too.  As we drove downtown I began planning out a day of waiting in Detroit--museums, cafes, etc.  We managed to enter into the tunnel, and drive most of the way through it, before hitting the lineup.  It only took us about 15 minutes from there.  Whew!  Close call.  No doubt the tunnel filled up very quickly.

The heat and humidity have arrived, and it appears they will stay for awhile.  Skies are hopelessly hazy, so no stargazing is planned for the near future.  At least that means I can practice my piano program.

 

Thursday, May 26th/16

Weekend!!  All students present and accounted for.  Piano tuned.  Windows washed.  Deb has been infused again, lasting two more months (we hope).  Grass cut.  No piano done.  Sigh.  Next week for sure!

The listening program has expanded.  In addition to lots more Britten (including a 2nd hearing of his Broadway-like operetta "Paul Bunyan," actually quite fun to hear), the Haydn symphonies project has resumed.  Tonight we heard #73, "La Chasse."  It's easy to not realize how much Haydn was involved with opera, both writing and conducting his own works, and conducting the works of others.  Those works are seldom performed these days.  He was especially interested in marionette opera, and wrote several.  In 1786 he conducted 125 opera performances, a staggering amount of work.  That's a performance every 3 days!!!  Plus his symphonic and string quartet work.  No long weekends for Haydn!  In all, 17 different operas were performed that year alone.  For a time he also had his own marionette opera company.  Anyway, the final movement of #73 was originally written as an overture to an opera he wrote.  The original opera house had burned down, and the rebuilt one wasn't completed in time, so he used the overture as a finale for the symphony.   It's a great piece of music!

I've also started the Brahms listening project, 46 cds worth.  I am reading his biography, a large book acquired at the recent Brahms Festival in Detroit, and will listen along with the book.  So far I've only heard the 1st piano sonata.

We are also replaying a game for PC that I really enjoyed several years ago.  Called Lotus Spring, it's more of an exploration of a Chinese island housing The Garden of Perfect Brightness.  The game begins in the foggy early morning, and finally ends during night time, when all the lamps are lit.  It is a beautiful game, originally designed for Windows 95/98.  It runs on our Windows 7 perfectly!

 

Wednesday, May 25th/16

The piano got tuned today.  YAAAAAYYY!!!!  It's been pretty bad.  Now I just need some practice time.  Soon.

Here is today's amusing anecdote.  Ever since someone built a house at 997 Front Rd South (we are at 997 Front Rd North), we have been getting their mail, including Christmas cards, bills, statements, etc.  We booked our semi-annual window cleaners for today at 3 pm.    Piano tuner at 1 pm, window cleaners at 3 pm, and students at 3:45 pm.  Good planning, right?  Well, the window washers called before 3 pm and asked if they could come earlier.  Sure, no problem.  45 minutes later, no window washers.  Then they call us and ask when we'll be home so they can get paid.  Ummm.  We are home, and there are no window washers here.  Yup.  They washed the windows at the VERY LARGE HOUSE at 997 Front Rd. S.  No one home.  They get a free window wash.

Anyway, they rescheduled us for tomorrow.  It's supposed to rain.

Though Amanda was in town all last (long) weekend, we only saw her twice.  She overslept and missed the Detroit Sunday cultural day, but she came by Sunday night for some planetary and lunar observing.  We've had good skies all throughout the full moon period, though now that dark sky time has arrived, it is going to rain and be cloudy for the next 7 days, minimum.  Of course.

Monday we did some gaming, playing a new add on to Carcassonne, and then we had a game of Tokaido, a game which we both enjoy.  We also got our play decks ready for the next Middle Earth card game.

Tuesday night I was out again on the back deck, having a good look around with Space Eye, the 2" refracting telescope.  As it is right on the cusp of mosquito season, that was probably my last back deck observing until October.

So far, all students have been at their lessons this week--five more tomorrow before the weekend begins.  They are practicing and doing some pretty amazing work.  Deb got a new harp student today, a mom who she taught as a teen several years ago.  Our year end concert is June 18th at 2 pm, at the University of Windsor.  Please come and hear them if you  can.  Music building, Room 126.  The piano is awesome!

 

Sunday, May 22nd/16

Another really fun day, brought to us by Detroit!  We started out at Eastern Market with brunch at Trinosophes, a newer cafe that we are really beginning to like.  Next door is People's Records, selling used Jazz, Rock, Gospel, and Motown LPs, along with many others.  They also have 78 rpms and 45s.  Afterwards we went downtown to a cafe that sells green coffee beans, so Deb could make a purchase.  We attempted to get to our mailbox in Dearborn, but needed freeway ramps were closed for work, and the detours were insane.  We just skipped out and made a return loop to Midtown.

We visited the Detroit Institute of Arts, and in addition to walking around the galleries for awhile we got to watch most of a puppet and marionette presentation, which was pretty amazing!

Ceiling of the Great Hall, Detroit Institute of Arts.

From a very amusing puppet and marionette show today at the museum.

 

Next we went to Orchestra Hall to buy tickets for this afternoon's DSO concert.  For the very first time we would be hearing a live piece by Delius!  However, before the concert there was time for a quick stop at Hopcat, where I had a seasonal brew from North Peak, Mighty Melon Ale.  Quite delicious!

I had the draft version of this at Hopcat, one of 130 taps they had today.

 

We had coffee before the concert at the Shinola store, which was really busy today.  Great pour overs for only $3.

Shinola store, Midtown Detroit.  Bikes, watches, and many other things, all assembled on premise.  There is also a great little cafe inside.

 

The orchestra performed Delius' Upon Hearing the First Cuckoo of Spring, a work so typical of the composer that I was immediately taken away to my happy place.  The piece is lush and filled with wonderful sounds.  Orchestra Hall, with its perfect acoustics, is THE place to hear his music performed.  Next came a Swedish work from a turn-of-the-century post-Romantic composer.  I wish there had been more Delius.  After intermission came Jeremy Denk and his liquid fingers performing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.  That was certainly worth the price of admission, as was his beautiful Bach solo encore!!

Before tuning up, DSO at Orchestra Hall.  The concert was broadcast live worldwide on the internet.

 

Despite being a very full, fun day, there is more to come.  I just finished setting up three telescopes on the back deck, as we prepare to take another look at Mars (and Jupiter and Saturn).

 

Saturday, May 21st/16

Happy Full Moon to one and all!  It was a pretty good party around these parts, with a clear sky and beautiful moonrise, preceded by a very red, bright Mars.  No telescopes tonight, but hopefully tomorrow night.

Highlights of the party included Deb's vegan chili, Deb's deep dark chocolate cake, Brahms' Op 1 (Piano Sonata in C), Britten's Op 18, a series of short songs based on Rimbaud's Les Illuminations, an episode of Captain Scarlet, an episode of MST3K (The Beatniks), some good beer, and some dark rum.  And the full moon, as seen through tree branches from our back deck.

Tomorrow, we have a fun day in Detroit planned, starting with a vegan breakfast and ending with a DSO concert--it's broadcast live at 3 pm EDT, from their website.

I have just completed my second reading of James Blish's Cities in Flight Novels, among the best scifi works ever written, and certainly a major influence on my other favourite scifi author, Iain M. Banks.  Instead of movies based on these books (and Banks'), we get more Star Wars.  Great.

I just have to complete my reading of all of Lovecraft's fiction (nearly there!) and I can begin my newest reading and blogging project (see right side, below).  I continue to get a significant amount of hits here because of my Ballantine Fantasy blog, which seems like a popular topic worldwide.

 

Friday, May 20th/16

Wow, so much has happened since the last entry!  Of course none of it is very significant, but still, a lot has happened.  It was clear on Wed. and Thurs., and I enjoyed some planet and lunar gazing on the back deck.  Mars is at opposition in two days, and has been displaying some pretty fine detail.  Jupiter and Saturn have also been amazing--it's a real smorgasbord for solar system buffs this week.  Though normally a deep sky object person, I have been having a ball with three different telescopes observing the planets.  Saturn looks so damn cute in the 2" scope!  We've watched the red spot on Jupiter, as well as one of its moons passing in front of the planet.

Piano practice is going well once again, and without the benefit of a hearing aid.  My hearing has slowly returned to my right ear, though for how long is anybody's guess.

Walking has resumed, too, after a long hiatus.  Our weather has been mostly incredible, with cool to slightly warm sunny days, and cool, clear nights.  Very little rain has fallen this month, something that the farmers have been grateful for, as they have been able to see their fields dry out from April downpours, and been able to plant their crops.

Amanda is in town for the weekend, and just paid us a visit to watch the first episode of M*A*S*H of the gin season, as well as enjoy the first martini of the year.  Hopefully she will return for the full moon party tomorrow night.  Sunday we all plan to visit Detroit, including a visit to the DIA, and to hear a concert by the DSO.

 

Monday, May 16th/16

And another fun weekend slowly comes to a satisfying conclusion.  Yes, it's back to work tomorrow.  5 students on Tuesday, 3 on Wed. (for me), and 5 more Thursday, before the next (full moon) weekend unleashes itself upon us.  Today was a glorious Spring day, despite the fact that a friend from New Zealand (Toby) posted a lovely autumn picture on Facebook.  They do everything backwards there.

Last night I enjoyed a very successful viewing of Mars, using just the 2" scope and Deb's 6".  The most interesting feature on Mars, along with the polar cap, is something called Syrtis Major.  It is a continent-sized dark region that was right in the center of things last night at midnight.  It was the first feature ever seen on another planet's surface, and still offers thrills and chills to this day.  Some years the markings aren't so dark, due to drifting sand dunes.  However, this year they are nearly black and very conspicuous.

In other fascinating news, I got all three lawns cut today, after changing the oil on the lawn tractor yesterday.  Once again things look relatively civilized around the homestead.

Today's Benjamin Britten piece was the Violin Concerto, Op 15.  It was performed by soloist Ida Haendel, who, at age five, performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto in competition, and won the gold medal.  Really.

Anyway, I thought the Piano Concerto Op 13 was a great piece.  The Violin Concerto, at least in this EMI performance, is one of the best things I have never heard before.  I will be on the lookout for this piece in a live and local performance.

It's cloudy tonight, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to see Mars again, as it quickly approaches its closest pass to earth for this opposition.  On the next good night I will set up the 12" for a closer look.

 

Sunday, May 15th/16

Two days of feeling better now--I even had a bottle of Arcadia IPA today!

 Ironically, the very next night after the clouded-out astronomy open house at the observatory, it is beautifully clear tonight, but so cold.  We are planning on doing some back deck observing tonight, beginning with the moon and Space Eye.  Later, when Mars has risen, we will look at it through Deb's scope.  In one week it will be at its closest approach to earth in nearly 10 years.

 So it seemed fitting that we watched "The Martian" today.  Matt Damon is perfect as the stranded astronaut in this excellent nail-biter adventure film.  It's so good to know that decent non-monster scifi movies can get made these days!  This one is top-notch, kind of a high budget reboot of a 60s movie I used to like called "Robin Crusoe on Mars."

We just watched Ridley Scott's don't miss scifi pic "The Martian."

 

In music news, I had a fulfilling practice today, though the pieces still need some duct tape applied.  In a sense, learning musical works is akin to building something amazing and beautiful.  However, when something is being built and is left for a short time, things remain as you left them.  Not so with piano works.  A week's absence can cost severe setbacks.  And when you build something well it should last and hold together.  Not music.  Some parts that went perfectly last week will suddenly become a problem again this week.  It's like trying to build something, but gremlins get to it each night you are asleep!

I resumed my Britten listening project today, adding Op 14, "Ballad of Heroes."  This short but powerful work is in four movements and is scored for chorus, orchestra and baritone.  Set to poems by Auden and Swinger, it praises the British men who volunteered to fight the facists in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.  A great work, and worth more hearings.

I also ordered the COMPLETE works of Brahms, on 46 Deutsche Grammophon CDs!!  This has been in the works for some time, and I'll probably still be getting through them all when I die in 50 or 60 years!  I'm also looking at the complete works of Bartok.  Soon.  Perhaps they could send me to Mars--I'll have enough great music with me, at any rate.

 

Saturday, May 14th/16

Piano practice had been going well, as I was firing up for a playthrough for some friends next weekend and the weekend afterwards.  Then along came Meniere's.  The good news is that my right ear has become partially unplugged.  From about 10% hearing I am now around 35 or 40%.  However, along with it came a few days of dizziness and light-headedness, which kept me on meds for a few days.  Which meant I slept a lot of the time.  In addition, I become very over-sensitive to sounds, as they appear about 10x louder than normal.  So no piano.  It started Wed. night and continued until late Friday.  I feel better now.

In fact, we went to Detroit today, and I managed an hour of practicing when we got home.  However, I had my ticket for a cask ale festival in Detroit today, something I've been waiting for now for several months.  Nope.  Not ready for an afternoon of beer tasting just yet.  So I had to forgo my experience till next year.

We started out at a new comic and board game store downtown Detroit.  We ended up buying Tokaido Road, a game about journeying to Edo on the famous historic footpath.  We played it tonight and it was a lot of fun!  We also purchased Vol. 8 of the collected Lone Wolf and Cub manga series.

We moved on to a new cafe for us just outside Eastern Market.  Trinosophes is a pretty cool addition to Detroit's  ever-expanding cafe scene.  It is adjacent to a record store (as in 45s and LPs), and is also an art gallery and evening live music venue.

Afterwards, we walked through the market and Deb purchased some more green coffee beans at Germack Roasters.  She now has a home roaster, and it has been working beautifully.  Her roasts are so good as not to be believed.

Next came the mailbox.  I got three more of my sci fi books, leaving only two missing from the set of 27.  I will have a photo of them posted tomorrow, along with a bit more info on the set.

We ate a light but delicious lunch at Detroit Institute of Bagels before heading back over to Windsor.  Our Tiguan finally got a car wash, too, after so many trips to the observatory across very muddy roads.  Speaking of the observatory, tonight is the monthly open house.  However, it is cloudy and very windy, with occasional rain showers.  We are staying home.

Wednesday evening before my Meniere's attack, we managed to get Space Eye's 60th astronomical object logged.  This completes the first phase of our observing program with our smallest telescope.  The scope cost us $60 US, and we have now observed one object per dollar (well) spent!  The last Space Eye blog of this series appears on the astronomy website.  

Speaking of websites, the 2nd and final blog entry of our Denver trip is also currently on line.

 

Monday, May 9th/16

Well, it has been another incredible run of dark skies, this time right during new moon!  I couldn't ask for anything better.  In addition to last Tuesday, it was clear Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights!!  I was alone at the observatory for three of those nights.  Deb came out for one, Larry was there for two, and Randy came out last night with his 22" scope.

The problem this time of year with clear nights is that it does not get dark enough here till 10 pm to use the scopes.  That means late nights, and shifted sleep cycles.  I am very groggy tonight, and looking forward to a good sleep.  It's cloudy, and will be for much of the week.  

However, this morning and during the early afternoon, Mercury passed across the disk of the sun, something that won't happen again until 2049!  We last saw it happen in 1999, then missed one or two due to weather issues.  We saw Venus cross in 2012.

Considering that Mercury is usually more than 30 million miles from the sun, it still sure is a tiny little thing when seen against the solar disk.  Barely bigger than our moon, it really puts much of the solar system into perspective.  We observed the transit from our back deck from just before 11 am, when it was about halfway across, until about 1:30 pm, when clouds rolled in.  We have a 4" telescope that has the proper solar filter.

Of course regular stuff had to get done, too, such as laundry, groceries, grass cutting; luckily no teaching during the 4-night streak.  I should be rested up for that by tomorrow.  And I had to write up five nights of observing notes, no mean feat with the success I've been having.

Deb is nearly finished the bathroom--just touch ups to do on the paint.

 

Wednesday, May 4th/16

First, in weather news.  IT WAS CLEAR LAST NIGHT!!!  Yup, I was shocked, too.  I was so tired, though, that I had to quit after two very fine hours.  I observed nine new galaxies in that time. What were you doing?

April turned out to be the coldest month we have had in 20 years.  I'm not sure May will be much better.  And of course it is absolutely pouring rain right now.  It started just as my first students were arriving for lessons, and hasn't stopped yet four hours later.  The good news is that three of the next four nights are supposed to be clear.  If only!!

One of my former school music students, Mary W., lives and works in Fort McMurray, way the hell up north in Alberta.  Mom and Dad will remember Mary, because we brought her and her twin brothers to our cottage on Lake Penage one summer.  Anyway, she is part of the mass evacuation because of the massive fire sweeping through the town, and is now on her way to Edmonton.  Good luck, Mary!  So many houses have already burnt down, and she won't know about hers for some time.

The first page of the Denver web update is now on-line.  Grab a coffee or a beer and have a look!

 

Monday, May 2nd/16

Cloudy nights have their place, I suppose.  At least I get other things done, like practicing.  I also managed to get my Denver journal completed, and work has begun on the website version.  Before long you can relive our adventures, and follow us from cafe to pub, cafe to pub, and cafe to pub as we explore Denver's cafes and pubs.  I have done so many of these journals now (50?) that they seem to write themselves, despite every trip being unique.  This was our first real visit to Denver proper--usually we avoid it because of horrible traffic, pollution, and the fact we are on our way elsewhere.  This trip worked out so well that we will likely go back again for more.

We went to Detroit today, where I got (from the mailbox) one more book from the sci fi series I am collecting (I may never get the final two books, unless I win a lottery).  I am expecting three more, which will give me 25 of the 27 series.  

 Deb got her indoor coffee roaster--she has been using popcorn air poppers up till now, with pretty incredible results.  She also got 4 lbs. of green coffee beans with it.

We had lunch at a favourite brewpub, the oldest in Michigan.  TJs (Traffic Jam & Snug) has been a hangout of ours since the early 1980s.  Steve the bartender knows our lunch order (the vegan Ethiopian plate), and he even bought me a beer today!!  One of the brews was a brown ale with a ton of real, squashed hazelnuts in it.  It was really good, but apparently so labor intensive that they will never make it again.  Darn.  I also had a small glass of their recent dark Belgian lager, also really good.  We went to one of many quirky Detroit cafes for coffee.  The Bottom Line Cafe is in the basement of the (for real) Beethoven Apartments!  It is such a cool place, and they have done wonders with the small space.  It's a great place to hang out, and lots of coffee drinkers were hanging out.

Despite claiming over $200 worth of goods at the border, Canada Customs let us go without paying any taxes!  If you don't have booze or cigarettes, they don't often care what else you bring in.

 

Saturday, April 30th/16

Hope everyone has had a boisterous Beltane!  We are now exactly opposite Samhain in the calendar.  Late Spring is upon us, though today was cold and damp enough to justify our large indoor fire, the last of the cold season.  Next indoor fire will be around Autumnal Equinox, if anyone is interested in dropping by.  Tonight is the last of the single malt season, also, though blends will still be imbibed until the May long weekend (not far off).

Usually this is the weekend we head into the woods to see what is happening with the wildflowers.  This year we thought we'd mosey down to the Windsor riverfront and see what their gardens were up to.  Still some daffs, a few tulips are up, and several varieties of hyacinth.  It was dark and breezy, with a cruel east wind blowing.  It began to rain around 5 pm, and all in all it's been a pretty nasty night, especially since we are in an astronomy period of time.  The next possible clear night is Monday.  Sigh.

The Denver journal writing is going well, though I doubt I will finish it this weekend as hoped.  It is amazing how much we crammed into four days.  By the time we were at the Denver airport ready to leave, it seemed as if we'd been there at least a week.  Craft coffee, craft beer, a deep mountain drive, a big mountain hike, a visit downtown using their RT rail system, visits to many bookstores--it was a fun trip with some lasting memories.

 

Friday, April 29th/16

Well, it's a typical Essex County astronomy session, with endless clouds, rain and cold temps.  It was supposed to clear tonight, and it likely will, but far past the time I can do anything useful with Spring constellations.  By the time it clears (if it does), the summer stars will be on display, as they are for a good six months or more of the year.  We had an amazing streak earlier in the month, but of course the moon was too bright then for Spring deep sky work.

On a more positive note, I had great views from my airplane window on Tuesday night, facing northeast.  Lyra was up, most of Cygnus was up, and all of Cassiopeia.  The Milky Way was on full display, and was very bright and detailed.  I had easy sightings of the North America Nebula north of Deneb, among other lovely views.  Beta Lyra was at or near minimum.

Unpacking is done, there are groceries in the house, and the laundry is done--huzzah!  I have been working on my Denver journal, having printed almost 40 photos.  Hopefully it will be completed this weekend, and work can commence on the website update.  With the cloudy nights ahead it should easily get done.

Deb's main harp student won all three of her events today at the local music festival.  I have two girls entering with piano pieces on Monday.

My piano practice is back in full swing, as I finally gear up for a performance in May.  I would have performed earlier, but the piano is very much out of tune, and the only good tuner in town is too busy to come on demand--I have to book him 6 months in advance.

 

Wednesday, April 27th/16

Our 4-day trip to Denver was pretty awesome!  We didn't have much of a plan for this trip, but we had no difficulty filling our days.  Our flight to Denver left Detroit a bit late, but the flight was shorter due to a lack of prevailing head winds.  We departed around 8:40 pm, backed up our watches two hours, and arrived around 9:40 pm local time.  We snagged a new VW Jetta as our rental car!  Our hotel was quiet and comfortable, and the free breakfasts provided each morning served us perfectly.  There was plenty of craft beer sampling, including some pretty amazing Belgian styles, along with English hand pulls.  Deb got to a ton of cafes and several roasteries, and the vegetarian food we ate was top notch.  Denver has excellent public transport, including several electric rail lines with fast connections to downtown from the suburbs, as well as to the airport.  

Our flight home left Denver at 8 pm.  With watches ahead two hours, we landed on time at 12:45 am, and got home around 2:30 am, after stopping for some groceries and beer in Detroit.  

The photos are edited, and I will work on the notebook beginning tomorrow.  Website update soon.

 

Thursday, April 21st/16

It's nice when a day of rain feels slightly unusual.  We seem to have finally sunk into Spring, with more warm days than cool.  Weather looks great for Denver, except perhaps on Tuesday.  It's not a hiking adventure this time, but an urban one.  Too much snow in the mountains, and snow melt.

I have just completed a full week of teaching, with all students present and accounted for.  That wraps up Semester Three.  Eight more weeks of lessons and we will be finished with the school year.  Summer teaching is usually restricted to only one day a week, instead of the current three days.  Four-day weekends are good; six day weekends are fantastic!

We will be coming up with some autumn travel plans when we return.  We will likely stay home this summer, except for some weekend excursions.  Autumn options include astronomy in NM at the end of October; hiking in NM in the middle of October; a return to California in September or October; or a return to the Greenwich Music Festival in London, U.K. in mid-November.  Tough choices, but someone has to make them.

We returned to Deb's rheumatologist today to get her some relief from her constant neck and shoulder pain.  The plan was to "reset her trigger points" using drug injections directly into her affected muscles.  She should have been feeling better by now, but we were told it may take up to 24 hours.  And it may not work at all the first time.  She can have a repeat in three months time.

Signing off--hope to see some of you on Facebook on the weekend!

 

Tuesday, April 19th/16

Last night's hazy skies did not stop me from getting in another look at Jupiter with Space Eye, our 2" refractor telescope, along with a long study of Mare Humorum on the lunar surface.  That makes eight nights in a row of observing!  Seven of those nights were pretty darn good ones, too.  Space Eye has now reached 55 objects of the intended 60.  The original project will undoubtedly be expanded to 100 in the near future.  Despite the increasing brightness of the moon, I was able to split a number of double stars with the little scope, though a lot of observing time this week was spent studying craters on the moon.  Fun, and exactly what I used to do when first starting out in the hobby.  I began observing with binoculars in 1968, moving on to telescopes after that.

Our final week of teaching music lessons for Semester Three is underway.  After this week there are eight more weeks of lessons, plus the final student concert.

The weather in Denver is slowly returning to normal, after their major weekend snowstorm.  Ironically, the city that was our first choice to visit this weekend was Houston.  They are still recovering from devastating floods, caused by 17" of rain on Monday!!!!  Cheaper airfares led us to book Denver instead.  A suitable list of pubs, cafes, veggie restaurants and books stores has been drawn up.

Speaking of books, I have now obtained 17 books of the 1970s sci fi series I am currently collecting.  Five more have been ordered, so sometime next week I should have 22 of them in my possession.  The remaining five are not going to be easy or cheap to acquire.  The books are extremely hard to find in bookstores.  I will be starting a new blog page as I read through them and review them, once I have most of them at home.  Stay tuned to this channel for more info.

 

Saturday, April 16th/16

Every night since Monday has been incredibly clear, and it shows no sign of being anything different for the next several days.  Temps in the 70s today as we strolled around Detroit.  Trees are flowering everywhere.

Flowering bushes today in Detroit.

More and more old buildings are being renovated downtown Detroit.  These two will house boutique hotels and restaurants.

I've been out each night on our back deck with Space Eye, observing Jupiter, the waxing moon, and some double stars.  Fun!

Friday evening we had our 2nd and final group music lesson of the year.  12 students made it, with 3 absent.  It went pretty well.  Lessons next week and then our week off.  Luckily we did not go to Denver this weekend.  They are having a major winter storm just now!  Gotta love living in and around mountains!  Next weekend it is supposed to be gorgeous weather, though it will be too muddy to hike.  Looking forward to it!

It's been fun watching the moon phases grow night by night.  I've never had this many clear nights in a row to watch the gradual progression of the terminator across the lunar surface.  I usually zero in on one or two areas each night, and review the light changes in the previous night's selections.  It is totally amazing how much detail a tiny 2" telescope can show on the lunar surface.

 

Monday, April 11th/16

I wrapped up the deep sky part of this two week session with the best night of them all.  Low humidity helped me find a dozen new galaxies, and I had long, lingering views of nine more previously seen ones.  Unfortunately the grounds at the observatory were so wet, squishy and muddy that I had to set up on the deck attached to the building.  No matter--my session was a classic.  By the time I left at 1 am, early summer stars were up.  I watched an enormous, orange moon set, too.

Tonight was another astronomy night, but from the comfort of our back deck at home.  No 40 minute drive each way, which was awfully nice.  I only set up the 2" scope tonight, observing the moon, Jupiter, two fine double stars, and one cluster.  More of the same will occur as long as it is clear.  I plan on using as many nights as possible.  Dark sky work resumes in two weeks!

 

Sunday, April 10th/16

I like to think I am doing something right, and that the Astronomy gods are smiling upon me.   Despite a day of cold and snow, it cleared up last night and afforded me another splendid night at Hallam.  Once again I was alone, but that's okay as I had a dozen galaxies to keep me company.  It was almost a repeat of last Monday, with temps around 25 F, and not clearing till an hour after sunset.  This time I could not avoid a chilly breeze from the southeast, but I lasted three hours before giving in to the cold.  Somehow I have managed to get out for six nights during one of the cloudiest, coldest and windiest streaks of bad weather April has ever seen.  Fortunately, I have been available for each of those nights, and willing to brave the elements.

Spring constellations tend to whiz past the viewer, as each night gets dark later and later, but the constellations continue their progression across the night sky.  This is my fourth year viewing galaxies in Leo, and I likely have about 6 more years of work here.  By comparison, late summer and early autumn constellations linger and linger as the evenings get dark earlier and earlier then.  No problem finishing them up.

Due to extremely bad weather again today (snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain, wind, cold) we postponed our trip across the border till tomorrow.  It was a day to hunker down and stay warm and cozy.  A fire in the fireplace helped, as did my afternoon nap.  The daffs and violets continue to take a beating from the horrible weather, and we are, once again, drowning in rain.  However, Tuesay through Saturday is supposed to be warmer and sunny, with clear nights.   The ever-brightening moon will interfere with any deep sky plans.  Still, I am not about to complain, with the observing luck I've been having recently.

I've begun rereading a scifi classic from the golden era.  James Blish's Cities In Flight novels (4) were defining moments for me growing up.  I have not read them since I was a teen, with the exception of Book 1, which I reread a few years back and finally understood.  I hated the first book way back when, but now I love it.  The second book, which I have just finished reading, is called "A Life for the Stars," detailing the first adventures of cities that left the earth.  We start out on Scranton, Pennsylvannia at liftoff, soon joining NY City already in flight.  Great stuff!!

I'm also nearly finished the 1,000+ pages of the complete fictional works of H.P. Lovecraft.  Once that is complete, I hope to enbark on my new blog/webpage on a science fiction series of unrelated books published in the 70s.  Hopefully more on that soon.

The Britten listening project has resumed, and I am on to Op. 12 (which means it was the 12th work published by the composer).  Now, I just need to get started on my new drawing (and upload an image of the last one finished).

 

Friday, April 8th/15

The return of February is certainly odd.  Sudbury is buried in new (and old) snow and suffering from biting cold.  We have flowers, but they are not very happy.  We even picked a few dandelions for the tortoise today.  2" of now is currently arriving, and temps are taking a nose dive.  Saturday night, if it clears as predicted, will be a near repeat of last Monday, when I was observing in near-record low temps.  While I do hope it is clear, I am not looking forward to the winter dress ritual.

I managed a pretty decent full piano practice today.  My classical music setting on the hearing aid seems to work well, if I turn up the volume two knotches.  I was supposed to begin my new drawing today.  Oh well.  We did get out for a chilly, windy walk, under threatening gray skies.

The dates have been posted for the fall NM Enchanted Skies Star Party.  Looks like we will be packed up and on our way by October 26th if we go ahead with this project.  We both really want to--we are dying to bring our scopes to NM.  It means missing two weeks of teaching lessons.  Oh well, I think I can stand it.

 

Thursday, April 7th/16

Two more weeks of teaching music lessons and we will enjoy our final week off from teaching.  It will be a Denver weekend, and hopefully an astronomy week afterwards.  Despite my luck with a few clear nights here and there, it has been a brutal session.  Clouds, rain, wind, snow have all been present in generous amounts.  I'm certain it will be clear for several nights in a row, as soon as the moon is too bright for dark sky work.

I'm suddenly left with some spare time in a day, even with teaching.  With the blog done and the notebook done, I had time to finish my latest drawing.  I'm already looking forward to starting the next one, hopefully this weekend.  I will upload a photo of my completed Great Dane tomorrow.

I hope to be able to start researching some Denver activities now.  Likely a book store or two, the art museum, the Amtrak station, and doubtless a few pubs and cafes.  Getting excited!

Tomorrow I will get the taxes ready for the accountant.  The material has been gathered--it just now needs organizing.  Not sure which day we will visit Detroit this weekend.  Possibly Sunday, to take in a visit to the DIA.

 

Wednesday, April 6th/16

Just a quick note to say that page 2 of the recent trip blog is now on-line, for your viewing pleasure.  That completes the project, until we are back from Denver.

Deb has had a couple of rough days lately, likely a major flare-up of her RA which happens from time to time.  The incredibly stupid weather is probably the main culprit.  She is a lot better today.  Another blast of winter arrives Friday, so we'll see how things go for her then.

Tomorrow it's back to piano, and hopefully back to my drawing project, and perhaps even some Britten listening.

 

Tuesday, April 5th/16

I still can't believe it, but I scored another outstanding night last night at the observatory!  It was really, really cold and windy, so I'm not surprised that I was all alone again out there.  However, I found a cozy spot at the rear of the barn, and before too long the wind subsided, leaving me with pristine skies that begged me to find galaxies.  So I did.  I lasted three hours before reluctantly calling it a night, as I could barely feel my fingers and toes.  It was more like a session in mid-January than early April.  Southern Ontario has been bombarded with more winter, including considerable snow in many places.  And more is coming.  A chilly rain for us.  Our poor flowers have bit the dust, as last night's temp went well beyond what they should expect this time of year.

I have begun working on the 2nd webpage of our recent NM trip, highlighting all the good coffee and craft beer we sampled (well, I got to try both, anyway).  Even though it was only a stop here and there after hiking, it all adds up to considerable exploring.  Two full days were urban, one in El Paso and one in Albuquerque.  Two were travel days, leaving four for hiking.  Even on the hiking days, however, coffee and beer were on order.

The first teaching day of the week is done.  My last two students on Tuesdays are a mom and her 7 yr. old daughter.  They are going to play a duet at our upcoming group lesson.  Anyway, little J. always has her bath before coming to her lesson, and takes her piano lesson in pajamas.  She is just too cute!

 

Sunday, April 3rd/16

I have been industrious this weekend.  I managed to get a new astronomy blog entry written, and I am now caught up on all the Space Eye observations.  This is a really fun project, and I am now 2/3rds done!

I also managed to get the desert hiking portion of our recent trip on-line.  On the other side of this page just click on NM #36 and enjoy!  The next part will deal with our urban experiences.  It should be up by next weekend.

We managed a walk today in the neighbourhood.  Though Spring appears to have taken a U-turn, at least there is no snow, and so far our daffs and violets are surviving.  There is worse cold to come, however.

Deb got more wall paper scraping done in the bathroom, I went into town for birdseed, cat litter and cat food, and the laundry got done.

I've been so busy that I have not had time to resume my Benjamin Britten listening project.  As soon as astronomy season dies down for a few weeks, I'll get back to it.  Clear, very cold skies are predicted for Monday.  It will be like observing in January.  Sad but true.

 

Saturday, April 2nd/16

I managed to snag another clear night last night!  Deb wasn't feeling well enough, so I ventured out to Hallam Observatory alone.  It was clear from 9 pm till 12:30 am, and I enjoyed every last minute.  It was even relatively warm, and very dry.  I went deep into galaxy heaven once again.  As I drove home around 1 am, it began to rain.

In other news, I have completed my written travel journal of our recent desert adventures, and have begun working on the website version.  It shouldn't take too long before it's up and running.  You'll hear about it here first.

Thursday was Deb's infusion day.  She has now been doing this for about two years, along with the methotrexate.  Apparently the drug can stop working after three years.  Hopefully not.  Coincidently, the weather today is atrocious, with high winds and blowing snow.  It is not surprising Deb is feeling ill.

 

Wednesday, March 30th/16

Another evening awaiting a night of storms.  The last ones Sunday night were massive--we broke another day record for rain, the second time in four days!  And even before these new storms hit us later tonight, we have already shattered the March record for all-time precip.  Wow!

And yet despite this I had another fantastic night of observing last night, my third since returning from NM.  I logged an additional 16 new galaxies for my observatory, as well as a dozen double and variable stars.  Deb was not feeling up to it, so I went alone, though Larry B. was also out observing.  We had a pretty fantastic night.  I was home by 1 am, and in bed shortly afterwards.

Today I managed to have a decent piano practice, teach five students, write up all of last night's star notes, and continue work on my written NM trip journal.  That project is nearing completion, then I can move towards the on-line version.  So stay tuned.  I am pretty tired tonight, though, and will call it an early night, hopefully to do some reading.  I am in the final throes of reading the complete fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, though I have been reading other novels in between.  While searching NM bookstores for books from a new series I am collecting I found a book by James Blish I had never read.  I started it on the plane home and finished it here.  "Fallen Star" is such a brilliant book, like most of his works.  His science fiction writing is as consistent, deep and interesting as that of my other favourite sci fi author, Iain M. Banks.  The two have a lot in common, including a loosely connected mythology that pervades many of their works.  Fallen Star details a disastrous polar expedition looking for evidence of a planet that once existed between Mars and Jupiter, by searching for meteorites beneath the Arctic Ocean.  Brilliant and nearly impossible to put down once begun.

After my next Lovecraft segment is complete I hope to read Blish's Cities in Flight trilogy once again.  It's been way too long.

Next time, perhaps something about recent films watched.  And John Wayne's teeth.

 

Sunday, March 27th/16

As I write this near 9 pm, thunder is heard off in the distance.  We have a night of really nasty storms ahead, after setting  a rainfall record last Thursday.

Life is slowly returning to normal here, despite a late night out with the telescopes last night.  It was a totally amazing night, al least until moonrise.  

This morning I awoke to the smell of home baked cinnamon rolls.  But there was more.  In Albuquerque last Sunday we attended the Southwest Coffee and Chocolate Fest, and bought a small box of single source Mexican drinking chocolate.  Mixed with almond milk, as we had sampled it at the Fest, is possibly the smoothest, most delicious hot drink in the universe.  That was also awaiting me.  Though the day could not get much better, it was a pretty good day all day.  I got more done on my travel journal, and finished editing all the photos (nearly 200).  I also got my astronomy notes done from last night, and everything is now organized to begin preparing my taxes for the accountant.  The only thing I haven't done yet is get back to e-mail correspondence.  Other than a few short notes to people on FB, I haven't had time to even write this blog.  Be patient.  You are not forgotten.

Deb roasted more coffee beans today, as we continue to enjoy French Press and pour-overs of some of the world's greatest coffee, roasted here on the back deck.

Memories of NM continue to haunt us day and night, as we explored some of the most isolated locations in the state.  We were all alone on all three hikes, and there was no traffic on the back roads.  No phone service, either.  It's truly wonderful.  We saw cactus bloom for the very first time; flowers were everywhere.

We paid a lot for our flights to Albuquerque, but I am happy to report that it was worth it.  In late April, thanks to a great seat sale on Southwest Airlines, we are going to Denver for four days.  No distinct plan yet, but hopefully some hiking, along with the urban experience.  It's always fun to visit the Rockies!

Time to sign off--thunder is near.

 

Saturday, March 26th/16

It's been a busy week, and it has flown past.  It took me till Thursday to recover from the brutal hiking week in NM.  I managed to print 60 photos for the travel journal, and I have nearly edited all the remaining ones, some of which will go on the website at a later date.  Amdist all of the recovery, unpacking, laundry, etc. came a full week of teaching.  Last night was clear, so we headed out to Comber with the scopes, and tonight looks like a repeat.  Today we went book hunting in Detroit--more on that project in an upcoming blog, but in short I am collecting a 27 book classic sci fi series, and hope to add it to my website soon with covers and reviews.  I have managed to collect 11 so far, so there is still a lot of hunting to go.  Just off to reload the vehicle with astronomy equipment.  Until next time....

 

Tuesday, March 22nd/16

As usual, it was an utterly fantastic, life-affirming trip.  We challenged ourselves to our very limits and even beyond, successfully completing four major hikes that have been on the agenda for a very long time.  Trip #36 will go into our history book as a fantastic addition to our desert experience. Craft beer and coffee were also a highlight.  I am currently selecting and editing photos for printing and putting in the physical write up.  The web version will come later.  In the meantime I will feature a few photos, one at a time, in the large area to the right.

We got back home last night around 11:20 pm after a long day of airports and flying.  United Airlines proved to be a pretty awesome company, and the airport in Houston was great, too.  More later....

 

Sunday, March 13th/16

Gustav is back to normal--his recovery seems complete!  Good thing, as our trip to NM is tomorrow.

Friday was a fun day--Amanda arrived from Toronto.  We met her at the train station and spent the late morning and early afternoon in Walkerville and Olde Sandwich Town.  Cafes and pubs were on the to do list, with a decent book shop and a few other stores also visited.  Friday night turned out remarkably clear, so off we went to Comber.  At least we got one decent observing night out of this session.

Saturday and Sunday involved cleaning and packing, along with laundry and last minute cat and tortoise food shopping.

It will be a short trip for us--besides the two days of flights we will enjoy six days of hiking in the southwest.  Temps should be in the high 70s and low 80s.

In other news, it's been almost a year since I completed my reading and blog posting on the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series.  I have a new series in the works for reading, collecting and blogging.  More on that in April, after I've been to a few used book shops in Detroit to see if this is viable.

 

Wednesday, March 9th/16

Just a quick Gustav update--he is doing much better today, and is practically back to normal.  Whatever happened yesterday seems to have been for the better--his fever is down, he is eating and cuddling, and his personality is back.  Fingers crossed.

 

Tuesday, March 8th/16

More Gustav drama today, with an unplanned visit to the vet.  His incision was bleeding and oozing.  It happened suddenly, just after lunch.  Deb managed to wrap him like a burrito in a blanket and we hauled him up there pronto.  Doctor Ross cleaned things up, saying he had an infection and that fluid was leaking from a "small hole."  Gustav got another antibiotic shot.  He has a fever, and isn't doing too well, though the Doc thinks he'll be fine.  He is still oozing as I write this.  We need to keep him clean, and find out where he has been dripping around the house.  Fun.

On a happier note, Spring seems to have arrived!  We have robins and redwing blackbirds, and extremely warm temps.  Snow is long gone.  My last week of teaching has begun.  We are hoping we will still be able to go away for the Break, but it's all up to Gustav.  We can't leave him like this.  Hopefully he will improve.  He did eat something today, but he mostly just sleeps.

It's time for a second look at the music of Britten.  The Op 4 was written in late 1932/early 1933 for strings.  If you have time (about 16 minutes) I highly recommend hearing the whole thing from the following link.  If you still need convincing that Britten is a great composer, then just listen to the two inner movements.  The 2nd mov't begins at 4:15, and the 3rd one at 7:50.  The orchestra is a Dutch youth orchestra, and they are quite fabulous and fun to watch.

Here is a link to Op 4.

And finally, Happy Birthday to my late Uncle Jimmy, who would be 69 today.  He taught me so much, and I've always missed him.

 

Sunday, March 6th/16

I've been working on a new astronomy blog entry.  I began observing the constellation Lepus in the year 2000, and I just finished it this past winter.  It's a small constellation, but it is very far south, and only appears in the coldest months.  The blog entries take a long time to write, as I need to include details about the object's size, and hunt down my observations of it in journals of the past 16 years.  Still, it's fun to do on a cloudy night.  No clear nights are forecast for us this week, though temps are going to soar again.

And now on to Benjamin Britten!  I have selected a movement from his Op 3, "A Boy is Born," written in 1933, when he was 20, to whet your appetite for this man's music.  "In the Bleak Midwinter" is astoundingly beautiful, with harmonies of major and minor seconds giving the work a very ethereal quality.  Here is a link to a performance of the 5-minute work, followed by a link to the lyrics.  I hope you will open two windows and enjoy this unique piece.  There is much more Britten to come, but none more beautiful.

The performance is here.

The lyrics are here.

Hope you enjoy!!

 

Saturday, March 5th/16

Winter marches on, though it is on its final legs.  Monday is supposed to be the end of the cruel punishment being inflicted on our good citizens, though there will be no clear skies forthcoming.

Today was our Detroit excursion day.  They had been somewhat postponed by our last three weekends at the Brahms Festival.  At the mailbox was Deb's new espresso machine, a Gaggia.  Her bean roasting is working out remarkably well, with our home brewed coffee now as good or better than most specialty cafes!  Afterwards, we headed out to Novi, a distant suburb.  Our ultimate destination was a brew pub, but nearby was a very good pet store.

Gustav has been on a bit of a downward spiral, barely eating anything and just lying around sleeping and acting listless.  We bought about 20 different kinds of food and treats there, unavailable in Canada, to see if we could coax him back to us.

The pub was absolutely fantastic, with several extremely fine ales and some very delicious, healthy items on the menu.  I spent a few happy hours here before being driven homeward by Deb.

Ascension B.C., a new one for us, was deep in the suburbs of Detroit, in Novi.

One of many discriminating beer lovers visiting the pub today.  In my hand I am holding something called "Gorilla Juice," a very dark beer with Jamaican Blue Mtn Coffee, and loads of vanilla beans.  I rated it very highly!

 

On the way home we stopped for coffee at an inner city cafe, Motor City Java.  It sits next to a restored movie house, which was showing "Goldfinger" today.  Then we headed home.

We were greeted by Gustav, who seemed perky.  He stayed up for a while, and ate several small treats and a bit of kitten food!  Since his surgery he does not get up to see us, so this was a very positive sign!  We'll see if he eats more later tonight.  In the meantime we'll keep giving him cat junk food a bit at a time.

Last night was Philip Adamson's piano recital (it was a clear sky, of course).  Dr. Adamson has been my teacher and mentor for about 20 years now, and has helped me immensely.  In fact, I went to him as a last resort for help with the tension I had when playing.  I was ready to pack it in.  No other teacher could help me.  Within two lessons Philip had freed up my shoulders, arms, and neck, enabling me to play better than I ever had, and with far less effort.

Anyway, he performed an all-Beethoven program consisting of four sonatas he had never done before.  Also present was Randy G., and we sat together near the front.  As lovely as the concert was, why did it have to fall on our only clear night????

 

Tuesday, March 1st/16

In like a lion, as they say.  Our upteenth nuisance mini snowstorm arrived about 5 pm today, beginning as freezing crap, then changing to snow.  It's all over but the clean up at 10 pm.  The roads crew has not begun their work yet on county roads, which means we'll likely hear plows roar past for much of the overnight hours.

My three Tuesday students all made it here, but by the time the last one left at 7 pm, it was pretty nasty outside.  Iaido class was cancelled tonight, too, so Deb stayed home.  I'm hoping to resume Iaido after March Break.

Because the snow began so late we were able to get a walk in today.  We have yet to make it to Malden Hill for uphill workouts, due to muddy, snowy conditions.  Considering we hope to climb three steep mountains in just over two weeks, it is going to prove to be an interesting trip to the Southwest.  It has been very warm there so far, too, with temps in the 80s, about 20 F above normal for this time of year.

Gustav is pretty much back to his old self, and is beginning to eat a bit of food again.  I've done full out piano practices for the past two days as a result.

I managed to get my newest astronomy article sent off.  It will appear in our club's March newsletter.  One thing about deep sky observing--there is virtually an infinite amount of material about which to write.

Now that Brahms has been put away for a time, we are getting back to our Britten listening project.  I hope to put up a few interesting Youtube videos here, should anyone wish to have a taste of his work.  Even if I were just to put up his very best work, it would still be just about everything he published.  Instead I will post selections from works that have struck me particularly strongly, even upon first hearing.  Coming soon to this blog, so stay tuned.

I've been working at my newest drawing, too.  Tomorrow I will put up my latest attempt, now at an intermediate stage.

 

Sunday, Feb. 28th/16

Gustav is still sleeping a lot and not eating very much.  But he is walking almost normally now, and is much recovered from his ordeal.  Stitches are dissolving ones, so we don't have to bring him back to the Vet unless there is a problem.

I have forgone practicing for four days while Gustav recovers on the sofa.  Piano resumes tomorrow.

This afternoon was our 6th trip to the DSO in 3 weekends, the Brahms Festival lasting just over two weeks altogether.  Things wrapped up today with the 2nd Piano Concerto, with the almost unbelievable performance we heard today going down in permanent memory.  While the entire Concerto was completely amazing, the 3rd mov't is possibly the best performance I have ever heard of anything anywhere!  The solo DSO cellist and Grimaud seemed almost to be making love on stage, with the way they were playing and interacting in such a deep piece of music!  What a day!  

And what a Festival!  It still comes second to the Bach Festival we were involved with nearly two years ago, but it is not very far behind (about a millimetre).  Thank you Detroit, and Detroit Symphony!

Every time we crossed for a concert we had at least one meal, a cafe stop, and some type of shopping.  Friday I purchased a CD, and today we purchased a really cool vintage Astronomy poster!  And then there are all those green coffee beans.  So it's true that cultural events bring many other dollars to a town!  We even heard a concert couple say they had come from Wisconsin especially for the Festival.

As usual Midtown was a circus today.  We just managed to get the last table at Jolly Pumpkin, only because we arrived just as someone left.  We ate a late lunch here, then had coffee at the very cool cafe inside Shinola, right next door.  The concert hall was a five minute walk.  What a fantastic neighbourhood in which to live!  Possibly one of the world's best right now.  So many positive things happening here.  It's almost too bad that it is getting more discovered each day.  Soon we will have to hang out somewhere else.

In weather news, it reached 64 F today, breaking a record set back in the 1880s.  That marks three 60-plus days this month.  No surprise that winter is returning, however.  All this week is supposed to be very cold, and way below seasonal norms.  More snow coming, too.  And, as we fully enter the newest astronomy session, I see about 16 cloudy nights on the horizon.  Just perfect.

 

Friday, Feb. 26th/16

Gustav looks a bit more like our cat today.  He is very stiff, and though he has had a few drinks of water, he hasn't eaten a thing now in three days.  Not fun for an 11 yr old cat to go through what he is going through.  Deb was up most of last night with him, and thus was too tired to attend the concert this morning.  She watched it live from home, and I went to Detroit by myself.

Just when you think the Brahms Festival can't possibly get any better, along comes Grimaud and the 1st Concerto.  A well written concerto, performed by a professional musician, is much more than a piece of music that sounds great.  It is a metaphor for life itself.  The orchestra becomes the big wide world around us, and the soloist is the lone human, trying to make sense of his/her surroundings, trying to engage with the world, and trying to take what is meaningful from it.  The constant dialogue between orchestra and soloist shapes the music and the ideas represented in a way that no other musical form can.  By the end of the piece the soloist has come to terms with his/her world, and chosen what to keep and embrace, and what to discard.  It doesn't always end positively; it depends on the composer's underlying philosophy for the particular work.  The d Minor Concerto of Brahms is such a massive piece, and one of the greatest tragic pieces ever written for piano.  Grimaud not only played the pants right off of it, but became fully engaged with the orchestra and its soloists, providing constant feedback for the acute listener.  It is so nice when a soloist's skills and those of an orchestra mesh so perfectly.  It happens less frequently than one might think.  Needless to say I can hardly wait for Sunday's finale, when Helene will perform the 2nd Concerto!

In film news, we recently watched "In Bloom," a 2013 film from Georgia, Russia, taking place just after their 1992 independence from Russia.  The drama focuses on two 14 yr old girls, school friends who begin to grow apart rapidly after one of them gets married.  Though certainly not a light film, it is not a heavy one, either.  The girls are so charming and believable, and the cinematography, in a very broken-down city, is so mesmerizing, that one is glued to the screen from beginning to end.  One of the highlights for me was when"Eka," fortified by a small glass of wine, dances at her friend's wedding, even though she does not really feel like it.  This is a deeply personal look into someone's soul, and into a foreign custom that few outsiders would ever see.  Highly recommended.

The lead girls are perfect in their roles as best friends.

In our area, Winter continues to nip at our heels, making it just miserable enough lately that our walking program has once again been interrupted by snow and slippery conditions.  Warmer air arrives tomorrow.

 

Thursday, Feb. 25th/16

Everything had been going so well for us and the critters.  We had quite a run of good luck.  However, yesterday morning Gustav, our most healthy member of the family, became seriously ill.  He would go into the litter box, and emerge unscuccessful.  After observing him for a few hours we called our vet.  They wanted to see him asap.  Good thing, too.  He had a blocked colon, and was in a downward spiral that would have ended in a very painful death.  They tried laxatives on him yesterday and then again this morning.  He stayed at the clinic overnight last night.  Today they had to do surgery to clear him out.  He had a ton of hair plugging up his intestines, and it suddenly reached critical stage.

He's home tonight, resting, but obviously he is a hurtin' cowpoke.  We didn't sleep last night as a result.  We'll know by late Saturday or early Sunday if everything is well.  It should be.

The week's teaching went well, despite two days of horrid weather.  Only one student did not show for lessons.  Two more weeks of lessons and it is March Break.  All third semester fees are now in the bank.  Good thing, with this vet bill.

Tomorrow is our fifth of six Brahms Festival concerts.  French pianist extraordinaire Helene Grimaud is on the program, to perform his first concerto.  Brahms is one of her specialties.  The concert is broadcast live at 10:45 EST.  Give a listen if you can. http://www.dso.org/Live.aspx 

 

Monday, Feb. 22nd/16

Happy full moon!  It's the last one of winter, too.  We took a walk just after sunset to see moonrise, and it was a beauty!  We bought a vegan key lime cheesecake today, and had a really outstanding fire tonight.  As I write this, Deb is in the back room playing her newest harp, a medieval one she just obtained Saturday.  It sounds lovely!

A perfect film to go with the holiday was Ragnarok, based on Norse mythology.  This would make a great double feature with Lair of the White Worm!  A bit silly but with lots of tension and genuine scares, it's a fun movie to watch.  Norway locations are absolutely stunning, too.  This has been in our queue for a long while.  Probably worth a second look someday.  Pretty scary for children.

Earlier in the weekend we watched a very different film.  A Coffee in Berlin relates 24 hours in the life of a young drifter, thinking he has fooled his father by telling him he is still in law school in order to receive his monthly allowance.  He actually dropped out two years earlier.  The film shows a series of episodes in his most important day in a long while.  Each one is like a miniature movie, and most of them are truly bizarre, funny, tragic and nearly pointless.  The final episode with the old man in a bar is wonderful.  A very likeable film, with beautiful b&w photography in Berlin.  Musical score is also quite good.

Word on the street is that we are about to get our first winter snowstorm.  The only smallish storm we've had to date was in November.  Welcome to February in Ontario.

 

Sunday, Feb. 21st/16

Brahms concert #4 continued to deepen our love for this wonderful composer.  He was a man who lived in Beethoven's shadow, and worked hard to find his own path.  He certainly found it.  Though he wrote few works for orchestra (we are hearing all of them over a 3-weekend period), each one is a polished gem of the 1st magnitude.  Though the symphonies easily equal anything Beethoven wrote, it is his two Serenades that allow us to hear Brahms in a way we can never hear the other B composer.  Both of these works are masterpieces worthy of being called a symphony, and it could easily be said that he wrote six of them, not four.  We heard the 1st Serenade today, a complete revelation to someone who knows the 4 symphonies as well as he knows any orchestra pieces.  The writing here is sublime, and with a wind section like the DSO's, listening in Orchestra Hall is pretty close to being in music heaven!  Of course the 2nd Symphony brought the house down, in more than one way.  What a fantastic series of concerts this has become!  Next weekend we hear the two piano concerti, performed by favourite pianist and wolf preservation activist Helene Grimaud.  We are hoping to meet her afterwards, and purchase her newest cd, "Water."

In all of the excitement of the Brahms Festival, we have not forgotten about our listening project of the works of Benjamin Britten (I'll bet you forgot, though).  Deciding that our 37 cds of his music aren't nearly enough, we have decided to listen to his complete opus, at least as far as Youtube will allow us.  We have listened to the first 7 opus numbers, enjoying Youtube performances of pieces not in our cd collection.  I will talk a bit more about some of the Britten works after the Brahms Festival is done.

Unlike last Sunday, we got over the border with no wait today, leaving us plenty of time for a long walk downtown, a coffee stop at Roasting Plant (and more green coffee beans), and a quick bite at Whole Foods, across from Orchestra Hall.  We have had some really fun Detroit days lately.

As a result, I have had no time to pursue my new drawing hobby, and barely am finding time to practice.  At least our walking program is back on track.

 

Saturday, Feb. 20th/16

We've seen two films recently where a young child is the lead character.  The first was Rossellini's "Germany Year Zero."  Released in 1948, it is one of the starkest of the Italian neo-realist films, and one of the more haunting anit-war films every made.  Filmed amidst the ruins of post war Berlin, the photography is shocking and painful to behold.  The story centers around a young German schoolboy and his half-starved family, trying to get on with their lives after the war.  The father gets a monthly pension of 70 marks, but butter costs 300 marks a pound.  Watching the family survive day to day is heart-rending.  There is still some Nazi boosterism alive and well, though many people are finally seeing where it all has led them.  The film is riveting and once begun it is nearly impossible to stop watching.  Highly recommended, it is one of three films Rossellini made about the 2nd World War.  Filmed in b&w, because there is no other way to describe the aftermath of the war.

The second movie, also somewhat devastating, is Wadja.  Wadja is a ten year old Arabic schoolgirl from a middle class family.  She is not your typical Saudi female, and has a mind all of her own.  The movie is concerned with her efforts to purchase a bicycle, and the roadblocks she has to overcome.  On one hand this is a beautiful film about a little girl trying to overcome hardship.  It is love at first sight when she sees a fancy new bike for sale being delivered to a local shop.  There are so many wonderful small moments in the film, many depicting Wadja and her best friend, a boy playmate her age who she wants to race with on her bike.  Their relationship is very special and heartwarming.

On the other hand the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia is nothing less than continually shocking.  Women need to rely on male drivers, as they are not allowed to drive.  Girls don't ride bikes, and school children are punished by being made to stand outside in the sun and heat.  Female children cannot play in the schoolyard if men are nearby watching.  In one scene, a ten year old classmate casually announces that she was married the previous night to a 20 year old man. This was the first film to be made entirely within Saudi Arabia, and by a woman!  It is too remarkable a film not to be seen.  It is currently showing on Netflix.

In other news, we visited Kate M., the partner of the late Peter Wilkinson.  She is still going through Peter's things a few years later, and she had some things for Deb.  One was a small medieval harp that Peter had built, a beautiful thing that Deb was only too happy to take possession of.  It was made by Peter from a kit from the Early Music Shop in London.

We also went to Colonial Coffee in Windsor, which seems to have unlimited varieties of green coffee beans!  Deb bought about six more kinds, and is currently in coffee bean heaven!  She roasted two batches today, so in a few days we will be sampling some new varieties.

It was our second day of temps reaching over 60 F, breaking all-time records.  Tomorrow we begin to return to more seasonal weather, sad to say.

 

Friday, Feb. 19th/16

Another spectacular Brahms concert today, our 3rd event of 6!  On the program was the Academic Overture, one of the more colourful pieces in the classical repertoire, and the seldom performed Serenade #2.  The Serenades (we hear #1 Sunday) were the composer's way of warming up before writing his first symphony.  In this one there are no violins, just winds, violas, cellos and basses.  There were many amazing moments, especially for the woodwinds!

Brahms was well into his 50s before he wrote Symphony #1.  More than any other composer after Beethoven, he felt that composer looking over his shoulder all his life.  The 1st was my first encounter with a major symphonic work, so many years ago now.  It's still a favourite piece of mine, and though I have heard it live many times, no performance could have equalled what we heard this morning in Orchestra Hall.  Just when you think the orchestra couldn't do any better than last time, they do!  They play the same program again later tonight (an amazing feat in itself).  I will be watching and listening on line--it's easily worth a second hearing.  For the link, look beneath the photo of the Brahms DSO magazine, opposite.  It begins at 8 pm tonight.

We took a long walk before and after the concert.  Today the temperature went to about 17 C, and there was sunshine!  Yesterday's high was 0 C.  Go figure.  It goes without saying that we have no more snow, not that we had much to begin with.

We had lunch at Seva, a veg restaurant not too far from Orchestra Hall.  Their lunch specials are really really good.

Deb got to her coffee bean store, where she bought five more types of green beans.  I'm guessing her roaster will be working before the weekend is out.  And she just found a place on this side of the border (in Windsor) that has about 30 types.  I can already feel the caffeine rushing through my bloodstream.

 

Thursday, Feb. 18th/16

The first week of the new semester of private teaching has come and gone.  It all went rather well!  With perhaps two exceptions, everyone practiced during the break.  Only three more weeks until the school break.

Though a bit on the chilly side today, we managed a long walk.  Ever hopeful of being prepared for the mountains soon.

And now, for the coffee bean report.  Deb bought 4 types of green beans a few weeks ago, and has had practice roasting them to different levels.  We've tried them as espresso, pour overs, French press, and cold brew.  Though the flavours are decidely different not only for each bean, but for each length of roast, the end results have been some great coffee!

The beans to date have been: Peru Puno Tupac Amaru; Nicaraguan; Ethiopian Queen City Harrar; and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.  The roasts have been medium to medium-dark.  Tomorrow we will revisit Germack at Eastern Market in Detroit, likely coming home with more green beans.  We also found a downtown Detroit cafe that sells the green beans.  We don't know yet how many varieties they have.

Of course the main purpose of our visit tomorrow is to hear the 3rd concert in the DSO's Brahms Festival.  The 1st Symphony is on the program.  There are no soloists this week, but Helene Grimaud will be here next weekend!  We cross back over the border on Sunday to hear Brahms' 2nd Symphony.  Our Friday morning concert is not being broadcast, but the Sunday afternoon one should be.  More details about that later.

I've noticed some pretty chilly temps in London lately!  Hope it warms up soon.  Even though it's been chilly here, too (we finally got above freezing yesterday) our Snowdrops are blooming! Tomorrow we are heading for about 10 C!

And lastly, on to movie watching news.  We watched an early Hitchcock film called "Young and Innocent."  From 1937, it follows many of the murder mystery conventions of so many other small mystery films from this time.  However, there are enough Hitchcock touches to make the film stand well above its peers.  There is a light touch to the whole proceedings, despite a man being falsely accused of murder and having to go find the murderer himself.  He enlists the help of the chief constable's young daughter (and her car and her dog), as well as an amenable hobo.  There are small things that keep the movie fun, such as the little boy pumping gas, dinner time at the table, a birthday party, and a harrowing scene where the car sinks into the ground inside an abandoned mine.  The denouement is brilliant, as we watch the killer, with a bad nervous eye twitch, completely fall apart as he sees a witness watching him, and police closing in.  There's never been a better depiction of a guilty conscience at work!

A fun little Hitchcock picture, with more than enough brilliant touches to hold interest.  Recommended.

Next up is Wadja (2012)!

 

Wednesday, Feb. 17th/16

Two nights of teaching already gone, and one to go.  Tuesday is a light day, with only three students.  Wednesday I have five, and the same on Thursday.  Deb has all of hers on Wednesday, so it's a busy house on that weekday.  I think I'll survive the week!  So far, most students seemed to have practiced during the week-long lesson hiatus.

Friday morning we will be rising extra early, heading across the border to hear the third concert in the Detroit Symphony's Brahms Festival.  The concert is repeated Friday night, but we have tickets to the earlier one (10:45 am).  On the program this weekend is the 1st Symphony (Friday) and the 2nd (Sunday).  They are both broadcast live over the internet, so give a listen at 8 pm EST Friday night, or 3 pm EST Sunday.

I now have two Facebook friends from the isle of Jersey!  I was fortunate enough to hear L. sing last November in London, and became FB friends with her afterwards.  However, as she is in London most of the time attending university (music), she mostly doesn't count as a full time Jersey person at the moment.  However, having recently struck up a conversation with her mum, I now have a full-time Jersey resident friend!  Hello R!  The entire family seems so very nice, and has more than one musically talented daughter.  Jersey (Channel Islands, between England and France) is a very small island, but it does look so lovely there!  Perhaps someday.....

Winter is hanging on, despite the calendar saying goodbye.  Lucky Ottawa got over 50 cm of snow yesterday and overnight.  Yaarrgghh!  We got about 1 cm, and I wasn't even happy about that!

Our walking program seems to have resumed, as the weather is not really that bad here.  We have less than four weeks till our first desert hike.  I don't think we will be ready, especially with the altitude difference.  Living in a flat county and attempting to train for mountain hiking is not a fruitful pursuit.

And lastly, I have completed my 3rd major drawing, a rural snow scene.  Again, parts of it turned out pretty well.  It's certainly a learning experience, and a humbling one.  I really enjoying the drawing lessons, though I get very nervous near the finish line.  It's easy to really mess up a picture near the end.  So far so good.  To see it, and my other beginning lessons, go to "Learning to Draw," opposite.

 

Monday, Feb. 15th/16

Two spectacular Brahms Festival concerts down, four to go!  Yesterday afternoon we heard the Tragic Overture, Double Concerto (Violin/Cello), and the Third Symphony.  Like most composers in live music events these days, Brahms is usually heard in small doses--a symphony here or there, and the same with the concertos.  To hear all his orchestral works over a period of about 16 days is a completely amazing experience.  The two soloists really caught fire during their performance, and I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time.  If only I could play like that, even sometimes!

Brahms had a favourite pub in Vienna, called the Red Hedgehog.  They have renamed the main DSO bar the Red Hedgehog for two weeks, and are serving a special craft beer made by nearby Batch Brewing.  It is a 4-star Belgian ale--I had one yesterday (Unrequited!)!  This marks my first major music festival where there has been a special beer made just for it!!  Are you listening, Greenwich Early Music Festival??

Like it usually is these days, Detroit was very busy yesterday, with jammed cafes, restaurants, and roads.  Despite the very cold air, there were tons of people out walking, too.  Coincidently, we ate at one of our favourite restaurants, Traffic Jam and Snug.  We had to wait REALLY long for our food, though my beer came quickly.  Midtown and downtown Detroit feel more like New York or Chicago every time we visit.

Today marks the official day where Winter's back is broken.  We were supposed to get above freezing today, but, alas, we fell just short.  Perhaps tomorrow.  Really mild temps are on the way for late in the week.

On Saturday, we had a lovely visit from my aunt and cousin from Sudbury, stopping by Windsor for a night on their way to Florida for two months.  They came by our house for an hour, and I got to play a few selections for them on piano and harpsichord.  Then we went to Motorburger, a really decent restaurant on Erie St. in Windsor.  It's billed as a nano brewery.  I tried two of their beers and found them very lacking.  However, their vegan burger and warm lentil salad were very good.  Definitely worth a revisit.

Today is the last day of our self-imposed Winter teaching break.  Tomorrow it's back to the old grind, teaching some of Essex County's loveliest music students!

 

Friday, February 12th/16

The DSO Brahms Festival is off to a fantastic start!  We have tickets for all six orchestra concerts, performing all 13 of the composer's works for that medium.  Last night we heard five works: the 3 Hungarian Dances he transcribed from piano for 4 hands; the violin concerto, and his 4th and final symphony, one of the great masterpieces of the repertoire.  The orchestra, as usual, was in top form, and so was Slatkin.  Lush sounds from the strings, especially the cellos and basses, perfection from the winds and brass, and our favourite seats high in the balcony up against the back wall all made for a most satisfying experience.  The concert is repeated tonight at 8 pm, and is being broadcast live from the DSO website.  I will be listening to it.  Sunday is our 2nd concert in this wonderful series.  Just when we needed a spiritual lift, too!

We are into our 4th consecutive day of below freezing temps, and now the real cold is arriving for a two-day stay.  Should we survive until Monday, that should be just about it for major winter cold fronts.  This one will prove to be the coldest of the season so far, and perhaps the longest, at six days.  That is nothing compared to last year, however, when it was much colder, and for much longer, and with tons of snow.  We've had a dribble and a drabble of snow, and are currently getting some, but nothing extreme.

Tomorrow my Aunt Pauline and my cousin Cathy are stopping by on their drive to Florida.  They are overnighting in Windsor, so we will have dinner together.  Hopefully we will see them on their return in a few weeks.

 

Tuesday, February 9th/16

We have been watching some incredible television lately, with two programs really standing out.  The first one is a 6 hr. miniseries made for Italian tv and shown in 2003.  The Best of Youth follows an Italian family, two brothers and two sisters, from the early 60s through the 80s.  The time flies by as you watch, and it is easily one of the most engrossing stories we have ever seen.  We were lucky enough to stumble upon this on our US Netflix DVD rental site, and watched both discs almost nonstop.  Photography, music, acting, story, and locations are totally wonderful and amazing.  If you haven't seen it, make an effort to find it.  It would be worth buying if you can't rent it.  If you saw it years ago, it would easily be worth a second viewing.  One of the best family dramas every made.

The second program was produced by Netflix, and is currently streaming on their site.  "What Happened, Miss Simone" tells the almost unbelievable story of Nina Simone's life, generously interspersed with long clips of her performing in various clubs.  If someone had made a fictional movie about someone like this, no one would ever believe a word of it.  She is a legend, and one of the most unique artistic people I have ever come across.  Several of her cds await purchase on our Amazon wish list.  Hopefully once this hearing aid is paid for, we can buy several of them.

Speaking of hearing aids, this one is working out pretty well so far.  I've had it long enough that I am getting used to it.  I have found the correct setting for practicing piano and for listening to recorded music.  We'll see how it does later this week with live music.

Despite the return of winter for the next five days or so we managed to get our walk in today, after shopping for groceries.  We awoke to some fresh snow this morning, and we received a bit more this evening.  It is beginning to turn very cold and windy, but the worst won't hit us until Friday and Saturday.  Can't wait for that.

And finally, a report on Deb's home brewing project.  It is a huge success.  The coffee is delicious.  There is a lot of room for improvement in purchasing pre-roasted coffee beans.  The flavours we are getting at home after only two days of roasting equal the finest coffee we have ever tasted, and we have been to a few pretty amazing cafes.  These are not the flavours one normally gets in cafes, or even at home with purchased coffee.  There is a depth and richness which we have rarely tasted before.  It is good.

 

Sunday, February 7th/16

It was another Spring-like day, and the more of those we get the better I feel.  I have been in a remarkably good mood so far this winter, and I'm pretty certain I know why.  No snow, many mild days, and lots of walking outdoors.  However, we are promised nearly a week of severe temperatures, beginning mid-week.  This will only be our 3rd or 4th cold spell, and they are always followed by a rapid warming.  As we are now deep into our NM hiking training, I hope the next blast of Arctic air will be short lived.

Our Detroit day yesterday was a lot of fun.  The city was teeming with people, and restaurants and shops were very busy.  This despite the fact that the main street, Woodward Ave., is still torn up for street car rail placement.  

We started off at Eastern Market, one of Detroit's crown jewels.  Deb is interested in roasting her own coffee, and Germack Coffee Roasting Co. carries no less than 10 types of green coffee beans.  She bought some of 4 varieties, and today was her first roasting experience.  You won't believe this, but one of the best roasters for small home batches is an electric popcorn popper!  We have one of the recommended models, and today it went through its paces three times.  The roasted beans are supposed to sit for 24 hours to allow for outgassing of C02.  We will taste our own roasted coffee beans tomorrow!

We also visited Hopcat, a pub with 130 tap handles.  I enjoyed a glass of Monkey Butter, a peanut butter stout.  It was quite delicious!  Then we went to a nearby art supply store, where I picked up some grey drawing chalk, 4 different shades.  We went for lunch to a tiny veggie market, where they make amazingly delicious sandwiches, very inexpensively.  Coffee and dessert was next door at Avalon Bakery, one of the greatest treasures of the Motor City.  It was insanely busy!  We walked to Whole Foods Market, too, and of course went to our mailbox in Dearborn.

Speaking of Detroit, we have six concerts coming up in the next three weeks.  The DSO is presenting a festival of music by Brahms, performing most of his major orchestral works, along with the two piano concerti.  The piano works will be performed by one of my very favourite pianists, Helene Grimaud.  Not only is she an outstanding interpreter of Brahms, but she is also a great friend to wolves, supporting their cause through her charity.  An amazing woman, and we have not heard her play now in a few years.  The first concert is this coming Thursday.

 

Friday, February 5th/16

We are into our first day of holidays, with no more teaching scheduled until Feb. 16th!  After that we have four weeks more until our regular school break, which is our trip to NM.  If our winter continues on the way it has been, passing the time will be a pleasure.

Despite a return to more seasonal temps for the next little while, we are hoping to up the stakes in our walking program.  Tomorrow and Sunday are scheduled for medium long walks.  Tomorrow's walk will coincide with our weekly excursion to Detroit.  We have a lot to do there, including: finding some green coffee beans--we are going to roast them ourselves; finding some grey drawing chalk for me; upgrading our US phone to an Android; search for another "learn to draw" book, to keep me busy well into the future; and have lunch, coffee, and mayhap a fine ale.

On the subject of drawings, I have completed my second masterpiece of art.  I will take a photo of it tomorrow and post it on the webpage, opposite.

I've had my hearing aid in gear for about two weeks now, and it seems to be serving its purpose.  At least I feel like practicing piano again, something I had nearly ceased completely.

Deb had her infusion yesterday, and we seem to be caught up on medical stuff for the next little while.

I have begun work on the NM trip itinerary, which will include four desert hikes, three of which are big climbs.  The first hike will be exploring a dry canyon.  The three climbs are ones I've wanted to do for years, but things kept getting put off.  I can't wait to be back in the desert!

I've done a lot of organizing of my astronomy notes lately, and even wrote a new blog entry on the Deep Sky NGC website.  A busy guy is a happy guy.

 

Tuesday, February 2nd/16

Candelmas was today.  It was time for Brigid to come out of her box and to hurry Spring along.  She will remain out on display until the 15th.  By then the daylight will be much longer (we have nearly gained an hour of daylight already since Solstice!).  We also got new cross-quarter Tarot cards, which will see us through till March 21st.

Lots of heavy rain and thunder for us this evening, along with a heavy barrage of hail.  

We did manage another walk today, as we begin to get serious about preparing for our upcoming four grueling desert hikes during March Break.

Last night was by far the finest night of winter observing I have ever undertaken!  I managed to be outside for 4 hours without even getting cold!  I had a glorious session, enjoying so many wonderful sights from a deep sky I usually barely get to see.

And finally, a new drawing (incomplete) has been added to the Learning to Draw page.

 

Sunday, January 31st/16

Out thoughts this week are with our London bestie Caroline, whose mother passed away.  She will be heading up to Scotland next week for the funeral.  So very sorry to hear, and sending good thoughts to you and your dad.  Hopefully the notorious Scottish winter weather will cooperate.

Even though it is two days afterwards, I am still on a high from my observing session on Friday evening.  Good winter sessions are incredibly rare, and I actually have had two in January.  Hoping for at least two more in February!

Yesterday was our Detroit excursion, breaking off from my 13 days in a row of piano practice.  That might be a record for me in modern times.  We visited Eastern Market, then went for lunch to a quirky little place in Corktown.  UFO Factory has decent vegan options, and they were showing a sci film called "Fantastic Planet," a stop-motion animation from the early 70s.  

Today it was back to piano with a full practice.  I will set a recital date soon, though only for a very small number of people (smaller than usual).  Sadly, the piano is badly out of tune, less than 2 months after being tuned.

The big news is that January is over, usually the worst (on average) winter month we get.  Not this year.  We managed 11 outdoor walks this month, compared to none for the past two years!  Today it was above 50 F.  There is no ice on the river, and the Great Lakes are mostly ice-free.  Talk about extremes!

February will begin warm, but turn cooler than normal later this week.  Hopefully by the 15th winter will have sped past us.  We'll see.  Whatever happens, you will hear all about it here.

Because of my astronomy session and recording of observations, and our outing to Detroit, I have not been drawing much lately.  I have begun work on my Mississippi masterpiece, however.  Results will be shown via the link, opposite, as soon as they are ready.

Friday, January 29th/16

I am just back from a spectacular evening observing session at Comber!  It was cold, but completely still, dry,  and so very clear.  Winter sky observing is such a rare thing in Canada, and for the past two winters it has been virtually impossible.  I lasted 2 1/2 hours before getting chilly and calling it a night.  That marks two outings for January.  It has been incredibly cloudy, and is supposed to remain so for the foreseeable future.  Tonight was an unlooked for gift, and fortunately it did not strike on a teaching night.  Fun times!

We recently watched an old movie by Roger Corman, "The Last Woman on Earth."  Before you roll your eyes, note that it was actually pretty good.  Three scuba divers survive a sudden loss of oxygen on earth, which has killed off all people and animals on the planet (there are still insects, though).  The earth's population consists of a gambling millionaire, a downbeat lawyer, and the rich man's trophy wife.  The script is pretty good, and once past the somewhat sleazy opening, it gets a lot better.  Reminiscent of a long Twilight Zone episode.  Recommended for end-of-the-world movie fans.  There are definitely some flaws, but if you don't watch it too critically it's pretty enjoyable.  Good atmosphere, despite the abundant tropical sunshine of Puerto Rico.

The poster is quite hilarious, even though the two males do end up fighting for most of the movie.

Wednesday, January 27th/16

So far, three students of mine have stayed home sick this week.  One more day to go.   We seem to each have fought off something nasty earlier in the week.  So far so good.

It is time for my first art showing.  I have rented space in an adjoining webpage, so feel free to have a look at what I have done so far.  This from a guy who could not draw anything resembling what it was supposed to.  Until now.  It's going to be a fun, though very challenging, adventure!

I've now practiced 12 or 13 days in a row on piano.  I can tell, because some of the pieces are actually getting worse.  Oh, the pain!

With our walk today we have now completed 5 (4 for Deb) in 6 days.  Winter is actually pooping out on us, which is hardly a great disappointment.  No snow, no arctic air.  And a big warmup is coming for the weekend!  What will February have in store?  Hopefully nothing surprising.

Monday, January 25th/16

Another fun-filled weekend has come to a halt.  Winter seems to be dying a quick death this year in our part of the country.  Today marks the last day of the coldest time of the year for us.  Between the 10th of January and the 25th, the average temperature is at its lowest for the calendar year.  On the 26th it begins to slowly increase.  Today was considerably above average, and we were out walking in sunshine and mildish air.  It was my 4th day of walking in a row!  Deb felt a bit under the weather yesterday and skipped out.  Looking at the 10-day forecast, there is nothing scary awaiting us, either.  If only....

I am slowly adjusting to life with a hearing aid.  My right ear has continued to deteriorate, until I can barely hear anything now.  Still, despite a huge expense (which is still sitting on our VISA bill) it seems to be money that will be well spent.  I'm still awaiting word from our insurance company as to how much they will contribute.  So far we are out more than $2100.  And this Friday Deb will be getting her new prescription for orthodics.  Somehow we are still surviving on our half pensions, but it is a struggle some months.

I have updated the blog half of the website, transferring all of the 2015 daily entries to their own page.  It's hard to believe I've been doing this for over 10 years now (see bottom)!!

And now the update everyone has been waiting for--how is my new drawing hobby developing?

In the 1950s and 1960s one of the most popular tv programs was "Learn to Draw," presented and taught by John Gnagy.  Everyone from that era knew John by sight, and many learned to draw by watching his weekly program and by following along.  Millions of his art kits were sold, and they can still be purchased!

My late Uncle Jimmy used to draw along, and had all the gear.  I would often watch him, too, though I was too young to participate.  And now I have his (revised) learn to draw book, and a really good set of drawing pencils, chalk, and erasers.  The book was inexpensive on Kindle, and I use Deb's I-Pad when working from his method.

So far I am learning to draw and shade basic shapes, plus I have just embarked on my first major drawing project.  It is a harvest still life, featuring fruit and some corn.  It has really been fun so far, and quite challenging.  I have always wanted to know how to draw, and hopefully I will gather enough skill and experience to eventually go my own way.  My drawing skills are about the same level as those of an unskilled eight year old child, so I have some ways to go.  However, in only 5 short days I am definitely making progress!  I will be sharing my progress on a separate webpage here, beginning as soon as the first still life is complete.  I will take down the Winter Holidays page and replace it with my John Gnagy adventures!  Stay tuned, and prepare to be amazed!

Saturday, January 23rd/16

As the East Coast gets buried in snow, we sit here snug in Canada South snowless and happy.  It was the January full moon tonight, and it was a beautiful sunset followed by a spectacular moonrise.  We had a wood fire, and Deb made a delicious applesauce mooncake with vegan cream cheese icing!

We've been out walking two days in a row, and though it's been chilly with the cruel breeze blowing, we have managed.  That makes three walks so far this week, with another one coming up tomorrow.  We might set a new record for January walking!

Practicing continues to go well, as I learn to adjust my hearing aid to different levels for different pieces.  Listening to recorded music is a bit easier now, too.  So far so good.

Deb has heard nothing regarding her x-rays from over a week ago, so we assume that they show nothing serious in her bones.  She is still having neck, shoulder and back problems, but she thinks it may be related to her orthotics.  She will get new ones next week, so we shall see...

We are awaiting our new ten-year passports, which should be arriving in the mail soon.  The maximum wait is ten days, and it has been five already.  We have no Detroit trip planned until the new ones arrive.

Wednesday, January 20th/16

Before I whine about the weather, here is an update on life with a hearing aid.  The damn thing would stay put in my ear, so it was virtually useless.  I managed to get in to see my audiologist today, and everything is good.  I'm still experimenting with the volume levels, which must be changed for various tasks.  For example, it needs turning down for piano practice, though for teaching, when I am further away from it, it can stay up pretty high.  Down a bit for listening to music, too, as I listened to Haydn Symphony #72 tonight.  It's staying in place thanks to a small piece of retaining wire, which fits inside my ear.  So things seem okay for now.  I go back in two weeks to see the doctor for a final check, and to stock up on batteries.

And now, the weather.  It's cold!!  Way too cold.  It's the same temperature down here right now as it is in Sudbury.  What's up with that??

I popped out on the deck last night to watch the occultation of Aldebaron, a bright star, as it disappeared behind the moon for an hour.  I used binoculars, and my feet nearly froze to the deck, but it was pretty cool!

As cold as it has been here for the past two weeks, it is nothing like it was for the past two winters.  There is no way to describe how severe and cruel those past winters were.  So far there is no snow yet to speak of.  I don't hear a lot of complaints, either.   We are expecting near normal temps beginning Friday, and for the forseeable future.  Normal temps for us this time of year are highs in the low 30s.  That will feel good, and hopefully we can resume our badly needed walking program.  With two days of teaching done and one to go, I am already looking forward to a big, beautiful weekend.

Monday, January 18th/16

The cold weather always seems to peak around Deb's birthday.  Though it is officially tomorrow, we celebrated today due to teaching and Iaido commitments on the big day.  We braved the misery and went to Detroit for the day, using our cancelled passports.  They caused us no delay, and the border crossing both ways was faster and quieter than usual.

We began with a brisk walk, but not outdoors.  We went to Fairlane Mall in Dearborn, which was very quiet, and walked there.  It's a good mall to walk, as there are ramps, stairs, and three or four levels.  It's also laid out in curving lines, so one is not simply walking a grid.

Afterwards, we went to Buddy's for pizza, then to Barnes and Noble for coffee and a browse.  I saw a really nice sketching set there for beginniners.  I will soon be embarking on a new activity, namely drawing.  I have a lot of trouble drawing lines with a ruler, so this should be somewhat amusing and challenging.  I still need to order the pencils, along with a "how-to-draw" book of some kind.  I will definitely be posting my results here, and I know you can't wait.  I'm looking forward to the nude model phase of my training.

Tonight we finally figured out how to play our newest card/board game, Renaissance Man.  You may recall that we purchased this during the holiday break.  It's actually a pretty easy game to learn, the nearly useless rule book notwithstanding.  And it is sort of fun, too.  Up to four players can play, but it's not a social game, and each player does their own thing at the same time as other players.  It's sort of like a mass solitaire game, though everyone must wait for others to complete their move before continuing.  It's pretty fast-paced once it gets started.

Last week was a decent week for piano practice, as I managed to get in about 9 hours.  I need 10-12 per week for about a month if I want to perform the pieces with any hope of accuracy and musicality.  We'll see how that plan goes.

Sunday, January 17th/16

After two days of thawing, we are back into the deep freeze for another five days.  Each relief period gets shorter and less warm, and each successive cold front gets longer and colder.  At least most of the snow is gone, but it is really cold (and windy) (and cloudy).  The January astronomy session has ended in a bust, following up on the heels of a terrible December.  

Indoor activities abound here at the Homestead, with reading, writing, gaming, napping, streaming of programs, and some New Mexico map work.  Deb doesn't poke her nose out the door when it's this cold, and I only go out twice daily to feed the birds.  However, tomorrow we might head over to Detroit for an outing, if we can get a vehicle started.  The block heater on the Golf has been acting up, so it is in the garage.  The Tiguan is outside freezing to death.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  Probably another visit to the VW service people.

I've been reading the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft for some time now, alternating with other books.  I am currently reading "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," which I have not read since my teens!  Fun stuff!

We are also enjoying the first season of a quirky British Comedy called "The Detectorists," about a pair of buddies who search for gold in the fields of England.  Another spot-on recommendation from Caroline!

Deb is also currently working on a mini-keyboard project.  I will have more to say about this (with photos) in the near future.

 

Friday, January 15th/16

I made a final attempt at booking flights to Albuquerque, and scored a Bingo.  I got the flights for the price I was willing to pay.  Desert hiking here we come!  We will drive southfrom there, staying near the border of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico.  There are so many desert areas there that I have always wanted to visit and revisit.  Four big hikes are planned, and they are all brand new ones (as always).  We booked hotels and an SUV, and we got unbelievable deals on the hotels.  So Trip #36 to New Mexico is booked!

Today I went and picked up my hearing aid.  Having some trouble making it stay in there.  I go back in two weeks to see how things are going.  I have a remote volume control, so with luck I will be able to make it work for piano playing.  Tomorrow will tell.  

We also went to the passport office and got that job done.  We had about a 20 minute wait.  We will receive the new ones in the mail within two weeks.  They will last for ten years!!

We also went to Walkerville this afternoon, a fun area in Windsor, for coffee (both) and craft beer (me).  Though mild, it was a crappy weather day, and it really poured rain after sunset.  Better than snow, but still miserable.  Our snow should all be gone by tomorrow.

I had one ill student cancel his lesson this week.  Likely there will be a lot more next week.  Sick season is here.

 

Wednesday, January 13th/16

We are now ten students deep into our work week, with five remaining for tomorrow.  So far they are doing okay, with a few doing exceptionally well.

We are also into our fourth day of a major deep freeze, with winds blowing constantly and keeping the wind chill below what is comfortable.  This morning in Sudbury it was -25C, with a wind chill of -31C.  That is cold.  To think I use to walk to elementary school all winter in that crap!  Here it was -15 C, with our own nasty wind chill.  Things are supposed to improve for two and a half days before the next, longer and deeper blast of winter arrives.  Not sure what happened to El Nino.  Not much of it here at the moment.

We seem much better off since switching off the satellite channels.  We don't get cable out here, so satellite had been (we thought) our only choice.  It's true that if you spend a fortune each month you could get half a million channels.  At the moment we are spending nothing and getting more than enough.  The digital antenna is working like a charm, and between Shout TV, our free month of Netflix, and the many other streaming channels Deb has sought out and tested, we are doing fine.  And our Netflix DVD queue is now down by three.  Once that runs out, we will cancel our US account of DVD rentals, saving us even more money.

We bought an inexpensive Notepad computer at Walmart, and have it hooked up to the tv.  The picture is perfect, and we can now stream anything without a "smart" tv, which is not needed at all.

Piano practice seems to be going okay.  My ear has been stable since I stopped drinking red wine and eating oranges (go figure).  There is still no hearing there.  My hearing aid is in and I will get it on Friday (free installation!).  Then I won't just have to look at the tv, I'll be able to hear it, too!

Our passport forms are all filled out, and the new pictures are taken.  We will take them downtown Friday afternoon to the Windsor passport office and get things really rolling.  The old ones expire in mid-February.  They are mostly needed for travel to Detroit and back.

I have been frustrating myself lately trying to find affordable flights somewhere interesting for either March Break or our late April break.  I have tried Albuquerque, El Paso, Tucson and Phoenix for March, with no luck.  Fares are absolutely ridiculous!  I also tried Vienna for April, and also London.  Appalling.  We have one last chance for April, taking Amtrak to Albuquerque.  However, even with a 20% sale discount, our exchange rate still bumps their price up by nearly 25%.  Yes, that is how poorly our "dollar" is doing, and it seems to be going into a death spiral right now.  People are back to calling it the northern Peso.  And so it goes....

 

Sunday, January 10th/16

We are amidst the worst blast of Old Man Winter so far this season.  The wind is howling, snow is blowing, and baby, it's cold outside!  This is supposed to stick around for several days.

Fortunately we had a beautiful day for our visit to downtown Detroit yesterday.  It reached 53 F and was even sunny for a time.  We had lunch at Detroit Beer Company, then wandered around the downtown area, exploring the Z garage area for the first time, and coming across a new and very fine cafe in Capitol Park.  There are buildings under renovation nearly everywhere you go.  It's so great to see so many restorations going on, rather than tearing them down and building new boxes.  However, a major announcement is expected any day now for a new skyscraper, on the site of the old Hudson's department store.  This construction will be a game changer, and seal Detroit's comeback with a home run.

The monstrous Book Building, empty for so long, was recently purchased by Dan Gilbert.  Watch for something big to happen here this year.

John Varvatos Clothing Store, downtown.

Inside the recently restored David Whitney Building, downtown Detroit.  It is now a hotel, two restaurants and a bar.

The David Stott Tower is undergoing renovations.

Several other photos are up on Facebook, mostly the horizontal ones.  Usually we hang out in Mid-town or the Cultural Center.  This was our first extended visit downtown in some time.  Every time we come down there are improvements; more stores, more cafes, bars, restaurants, and more buildings being renovated.  And I get the feeling that it is just beginning.

I managed a full piano practice today, despite some pretty weird frequencies going off in my ear.  Hoping for the same tomorrow.  It definitely looks like another indoor day.

 

Friday, Jan. 8th/16

Our medical day went off successfully; however, it rained and rained, and it's still raining.  With temps just above freezing, we have got off lucky once again, dodging what might have been a nasty snowstorm.

I went to my audiologist in the morning and got a hearing test (my right ear failed miserably).  My hearing aid is ordered.  Then I had to go see a physician to get it approved!!  Really?!  That helps keep medical costs down, doesn't it.  So I waited at a clinic while Deb saw her doctor regarding her neck.  He sent her for x-rays, and is certain it is not related to her RA.  And so we are home, feeling virtually the same as when we left.  Hopefully next week we will see some changes.

We recieved our digital antenna today, and we can pick up 26 channels!!  Sometimes it really pays to live near a big American city.  We get better channels and better picture quality (HD) than we did with our satellite, which used to cost us $60 a month (the antenna was only $40, one time).  So, along with the streaming services we can receive, we are set for life with watching tv and movies.  We will soon be canceling our DVD rentals from Netflix USA, as soon as our current queue is depleted.

And in other news, there is now a link to our holiday photos on the opposite page--they will be up for a month or so.

Thursday, Jan. 7th/16

Still no energy to post some pics from the winter break, though it should happen this weekend.  I have now taught all 13 of my students once this year, and they all did quite well this week.  We have some goals set, and are hopefully off to a good start.  I had expected two new ones, one for me and one for Deb, but they have not yet materialized.  I am thankful, as I am over-subscribed as it is.  I had set 10 as my upper limit.  Perhaps those extra three can be considered the difference in exchange for our money when we travel....

My practicing is slowly getting back on track, though only at half levels previous to our London trip.  Listening intently is quite tiring when only one ear is working properly.  However, even after teaching today I managed to listen to another Haydn Symphony.  I am up to #70, which has incredible 2nd and 4th movements, certainly worth a 2nd hearing this weekend.  The Britten listening project is slowly reviving, and I am thoughtfully making my way through a CD of his piano solo music.

Our indoor tv antenna should arrive tomorrow, so we will probably try and set it up tomorrow night, after our medical appointments are completed.

It was a mild and sunny day, and it was even clear and mild tonight.  However, by the time I could have got to the observatory it would already have been 9 pm, and I am pretty done in tonight.  Teaching, and a longer walk in the woods today, have tired me out.  I usually stand when I teach, and after nearly four hours it does tire you out.

 

Wednesday, Jan. 6th/16

And suddenly I'm very busy again.  Still, my three-day work week is more than half over.  I got lucky last night and enjoyed a beautiful evening at the observatory, though I was alone.  It was cold (22 F) but not super cold, and the air was still.  I lasted two hours with no problems, and was home by 11 pm (I taught till 7 pm, so couldn't leave until around 7:30).  It was pretty amazing to be out there in the winter, my first time with the 12" scope.  

The past two winters were completely unusable due to extreme temps and, often, high winds.  It's cloudy tonight, but tomorrow night I may get another chance to observe.  I had to work on my notes today, and practice piano.  We also managed a walk.

We got rid rid of our expensive satellite tv programs yesterday, and will try streaming channels for a time, along with using a digital antenna to pick up local channels.  So far so good.  We are trying Netflix Canada free for one month.  At Caroline's suggestion we watched the first two episodes of The IT Crowd, a silly but very funny British comedy.  It is not too far from the type of humour we so enjoyed in Black Books.  To be honest, I have so little time in a day to watch any programs that I will not miss the satellite at all.  Deb, on the other hand....

The present cold spell has passed, and it will remain mild for several days before the next, and worse, cold front reaches us.  More rain is predicted for us this weekend.

I have a doctor's appointment for my ear on Friday morning, followed by Deb's appointment with her rheumatologist in the afternoon, trying to get help with her neck.  I'm hoping to come home with a hearing aid.  While it will increase my hearing in my right ear, it will not help the weird air current and high frequency sounds that I continually hear.

All of my music students (so far) came back with positive attitudes and seem ready for their next series of tasks.  All lessons have run smoothly, and it was nice to see them all again.  Five more will arrive tomorrow, and then I'm done for the week.

 

Monday, Jan. 4th/16

It has been a great vacation!  However, there were terrible tornadoes south of us during the break, bad flooding in the US, and the same goes on and on in Britain.  In addition, Donald Trump is still alive and our dollar continues to be nearly worthless everywhere else.  So it hasn't been great for everyone out there.  My ear gets no better, and Deb sees her Doctor about her on-going neck, shoulder and back issues.  We are also in the midst of our coldest weather of the season.  And yet for us, it has been a great vacation.  I got a lot of writing and blogging done, some piano practice, I reconnected with a few folk I'd lost touch with (thank you, Facebook), we managed some gaming (though not enough--we still haven't figured out Renaissance Man), we had some fun company stop by, along with a few great days out in the Motor City.

More will be said about our days in the next few entries, and I will include some of the photos I shot over the days.

 Financially we made it through December, a notoriously expensive month.  However, it was nice to get December's gas heating bill, which was actually lower than November's!  It is a strange world, and continually becoming stranger.

Often we book our Spring trip during the winter break, but this year we are waiting to see if the dollar will improve.  We had serious hopes to reach Vienna in the Spring, but that now seems highly unlikely.  Even the fares to London have skyrocketed since we purchased tickets last summer (from $1800 to $2600, for two).

I also have a very strong urge to get back to the desert, so we may end up in the Southwest during the March school break, and sadly give Europe a miss for now.

Our current focus is to make it through January with spirits high.  We are still promised a mild winter, despite what is occurring outside our window right now.  I am lusting after a clear January night, one where I can use my scope without fear of freezing to the ground as I look through the eyepiece.  Clear skies are predicted for tomorrow night, but the temps are not very tempting.  Maybe if there is no wind...

 

Sunday, Jan. 3rd/16

Detroit has been a down-on-its-luck city for so long now (we have been visiting regularly since 1977) that it's still hard to believe how far it has come.  Though there was a time when Detroit could have been favourably compared to cities like London (30s, 40s, 50s), those days will never return.  However, at least we now have parts of the city that can compare favourably to Chicago, among others.

We visited an area today that is fast becoming the next place to be developed and loved.  West Village is already home to soaring apartment buildings, restored homes, and a lively restaurant and cafe scene, with much more on the way.  With Downtown, Midtown, the Cultural Center, and Corktown already booming beyond belief, it's nice to see things gradually spread out to other neigbourhoods.

We had breakfast at Detroit Vegan Soul, then went next door to Red Hook Cafe for coffee.  Then it was over to a very cool record shop, where we purchased some old albums.  Back towards the vegan restaurant was Craftwerks, and I enjoyed  a pint of ale.  Not far up another street was an organic grocery shop, along with Sister Pie.  Around the corner will soon be a cafe, opened by a couple from Paris.  That entire block is being developed into shops and restaurants.  Once the ball gets rolling, it doesn't take very long to make an area liveable and fun!

Let it be known that I gave up a clear night last night, choosing instead the comfort of Lone Mtn Homestead.  Though the temps were very reasonable, the deciding factor for me was the strong west wind, which was howling in our area.  Later, from the back deck, we enjoyed amazing naked eye views of Orion, Canis Major, and Taurus.  I'm guessing that asking for a windless clear night this time of year is too much.  Still, a serious wind chill factor is no joke, especially if one wishes to stand still for a few hours.

 

January 1st/16

Well, 2015 has been a blast, certainly one of our better years for travel, at least.  Kansas City in March to see Tempe dance "Giselle;" London in April for walking, pubs, and two great concerts; Colorado and New Mexico in August for our official return to long road trips, mountain hiking and rough camping; and a 2nd trip to London in November for more walking, pubs, museums, and immersion in the Greenwich Early Music Festival.  All of the trips went off splendidly.

Our concern for 2016 is the extremely poor value of the Canadian dollar.  Each trip abroad costs about 40% more than two years ago.  No doubt we will be pulling back somewhat in 2016.

My piano studies have taken a severe beating, as my right ear continues to deteriorate and bother me.  Practicing is on-going, but sporadic.  Usually over an extended holiday period like this one I would be able to pile on the hours.  This time I have barely touched the piano.

In more recent local news, Amanda has returned to Toronto.  We spent all of Tuesday with her, much of it in Detroit, though we came back here for dinner later on.  She came back Wednesday for a final visit before leaving for the train station.

Playing a round of Carcassonne at Dragonmead Brewerey.

On Wednesday evening, Randy and Anita G. came over for the evening.  We hadn't had a chance to sit down with them for a long time, and though astronomy was certainly on the discussion list, so was music.  It was a fun visit, And Deb laid out a feast for twenty.

The night before New Years Eve, with Randy and Anita.

We have watched two very old, creaky Hitchcock movies recently, and a pretty decent little sci fi flic, too.  The Ring is a boxing movie by Hitchcock, and though pretty watchable still, it was "Blackmail," from 1929, that is the more interesting of the two.  A creative mixing of silent and talking picture ("Britain's first talking picture"), this is a compelling story of a woman who murders a man as he attempts to rape her.  There is one very funny scene, and that is the one in which Hitchcock appears.

Seconds after killing her attempted rapist, the heroine has a momentary attack of madness.  Quite gripping still.

The climactic chase occurs inside and out at the British Museum.  Fun!

The smallish science fiction movie is called Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star.  It takes place in Wyoming, though it was all filmed in Alberta.  At its essence it is a teenage romance story, as alien girl meets earth boy and they fall in love.  There is good chemistry between the two, helping make the plot believable.  Keenan Wynne makes his final film appearance as the boy's one-of-a-kind grandfather, who gets to play cards with the girl's alien creature sidekick.  Nothing deep here or too over the top with special effects, but some lovely scenery and good acting.

The alien sidekick creature helps out by feeding the chickens.

My blogging efforts have taken up a lot of time, especially with all the travelling we did, and how much astronomy we undertook.  Before I blog anything, I usually write long, detailed illustrated notebooks on each trip we do, and a similar notebook is done for observing at the eyepiece of the telescope.  I'm also writing a lot of fiction, mostly for personal pleasure.

I hope things can continue in a similar vein for 2016.  With 5 1/2 years of retirement now behind me, I feel that I have accomplished a lot.  I only hope I can perform my piano program sometime before Spring....