Laundry and packing are the order of the day, though we had some last minute running around to do in town this morning as well. No cake, no party, though I will enjoy my final summer martini and M*A*S*H episode very soon! And going to Vienna is a pretty cool birthday present. We need three flights to get there, and three back. We ended up with a 7 hour layover in Toronto tomorrow, so we are going to leave the airport and go into Toronto for a few hours later in the afternoon. Then at 10 pm we fly to Warsaw, then Sunday afternoon on to Vienna. We should get to our hotel around 6 pm Sunday. I should be able to blog here a few times from Vienna, if there is time and if I have the energy.
We are having the hottest and most extended heat wave of 2017. Hotter than July, and way hotter than August. Oh, and Happy Autumn. Traditionally this is the evening of our first wood fire of the season. Not this year. It's supposed to remain hot thru Wed. Vienna will be cooler, getting to the mid-60s during the day.
Here is this year's birthday card from Deb...
Not only do I share Frodo and Bilbo's birthday, but it is also the anniversary of The Hobbit. I can't decide which book I like better...
A few friends also sent me cards via e-mail, but they required Adobe Flash, which we do not have on the new computer. So thanks for sending, but I am unable to view them!
Wednesday was Detroit day, our final one until October. Batch Brewing was getting set up for this weekend's Octoberfest, and their German and Austrian beers were on tap! I got to try three of them, including the Vienna Mild, the Berliner Weisse, and Old Witty. They were all quite stupendous! I also got to try three other beers at Hopcat, and one more at TJs, where we had lunch. All in all, it was another great day!
The German half of Batch Brewing's beer board! Yummy!!
Sunday, Sept. 17th/17
Today was Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary! I spoke to them both earlier today. They were going out for dinner this evening. They first met at Loblaws in Sudbury, a chain grocery store where they both worked. Wednesdays the store was closed, and they got married at 9 am Wed. morning, Sept. 17th 1952. The reception (family and store employee friends) was that afternoon from 2 pm till 6 pm. It was back to work Thursday. I came along one year and five days later! So Happy Anniversary!!
I am just coming off a 3-night binge of astronomy. Though clear, the skies were extremely humid and I was forced to shut down early all three nights because of heavy dewing on the secondary mirror. Last night was the astronomy club group picnic. I would have attended, except that I did not receive an invitation. I only found out about it the night before, by accident. I have been off the mailing list for some time now, for whatever reason. Must have done something wrong. So I went elsewhere and had a good time observing with another member at a new location.
A week from today we will be in Vienna. Getting a little excited!
It's been sunny and hot for about a week now, ever since Irma dragged up warm, moist air from the Gulf . It really is summer again. The cats have been enjoying it, too.
Mogollon snoozes happily in a very warm house this week.
Gustav and Mogi enjoying some sunshine. It's been a very warm late summer, thanks to Irma. The wood stove stands loaded and ready in the background.
Tuesday, Sept. 12th/17
Week two of teaching is passing by. Things are considerably different this year. I have three adults now, and one comes Monday morning. Tuesday I have the other two adults, along with 6 kids aged 7 to 15. I am off on Wednesdays, unless I get another student. Thursday I have three kids. So 12 students. Two favourites did not return this fall, but two students increased their time, and I got two new ones. So my total teaching time is actually up 45 minutes over last year.
Monday was Detroit day, after I finished teaching in the morning. It was sunny and mild, and we had planned a long city walk, which concluded our 4th week of the walking program. Week 5 begins tomorrow; we will be repeating Weeks 2 & 3, though extending them a bit. In Detroit we went first to our suburban mailbox. I had four novels awaiting me. Then we got gas, which is more expensive still, but actually not bad at all. In Canada the prices are still way too high because of Harvey, or so they tell us. We had lunch in Midtown at Seva Veg, then walked to 8 Degrees Plato, Detroit's premier beer purchasing store and tap room. Then we went to our newest fav cafe, New Order Coffee. Next came Whole Foods, then Avalon Bakery, and then home.
New Order Coffee, Detroit
Outside and inside at Avalon Bakery, Detroit.
Last night clouds from Irma arrived, and today we have seen the outer spirals gradually clouding us out for the beginning of our new astronomy session. The rain is not far south of us, too. It's been an interesting couple of weeks watching what happens on our continent, including the terrible rain and floods in Windsor and Essex County.
Saturday, Sept. 9th/17
The September 8th concert is history! I performed a number of piano solos, Deb performed two recorder solos, then we did three recorder duets, then Paula and I performed a piano duet by Rachmaninoff, and then I played several more solos. As usual, a number of invited people could not make it, but the show goes on with a smaller but appreciated audience. There were 9 of us in the house last night, with everyone staying afterwards for snacks, beer, wine and conversation. Randy G. took some photos and they are displayed below.
Yours truly, at the piano. I performed works by Bach, Haydn,
Cramer, Louie, Debussy, and MacDowell.
Recorder duet time.
Paula at the harpsichord.
Rachmaninoff duet with Paula
I had originally hoped to run through the program earlier in Sept. in front of a friend or two, but that never happened. As a result, there were more mistakes in my solos than I would have liked, though some of the works were nearly flawless. All of the duets and ensembles went very well. On to some new pieces now, though not too seriously until after Vienna.
Wednesday, Sept. 6th/17
Lately Scotland has been in the travel news, selected as the world's most beautiful country in a very unscientific poll of Rough Guide users. We hope to make it there someday, and see some of the local sights, hopefully with a certain Scottish person alongside us! However, my first choice would not be Scotland. I will leave out the larger countries such as Canada and the USA, which could be said to have unfair advantages due to extremely varied environments and some of the best cities in the world. So I will limit myself to "smaller" countries. My nomination? If you have ever read any fiction by Lord Dunsany, or others writing about the Middle East in a fantasy vein, then my choice will not seem so far fetched. Here is a 20 minute, totally spellbinding video of Algeria that convinces me that it is not only the world's most beautiful country, but the one that I would most like to visit, long term if possible. So grab a glass of wine or a coffee or tea, and enjoy! And have a very happy full moon!!
Tuesday, September 5th/17
Today my teaching duties resumed, which seem lighter than last year. Tuesdays will be a pretty full day, but I have only 1 student on Wed. and 3 on Thurs. So once Tuesday is gone, the rest should be a breeze. I am now available for astronomy 6 days a week, instead of just 4 like last year. That is good news, especially as our skies have been so poor this year. I will resume Iaido on Thursday night, though the dojo is still not fully recovered from the recent flood.
Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimmage to Colchester Beach and Harbour, on Lake Erie. We used to picnic here on our last day of summer vacation when we were both teaching school, and we have mostly maintained the tradition, weather permitting. Lake Erie is the closest thing we have to an ocean or inland sea, and it does the trick rather well. It is the 4th largest of the five Great Lakes, and the 13th largest in the world by surface area (it is not very deep). It is 241 miles long, and at its widest 57 miles across. Being so close, we still don't visit very often. I have a dark sky site along the lake which I use occasionally, and it's fun to be observing the stars and hearing the waves hitting the shore.
Colchester Beach on a windy visit yesterday.
Lake Erie, from Colchester Beach.
There are nice bluffs here, with benches up on top to sit and look out. There is also a large harbour for small craft, a giant play area for children, and a restaurant/ice-cream shop. We ate lunch on the deck of the restaurant, overlooking the lake. It was a warm and humid day, though a stiff breeze kept things comfy. Earlier we had concluded our 3rd week of walking with a long hike on a newer portion of the county hike/bike trail. Sadly the beach was closed to swimming because of high bacteria, something that is all too common in our area.
Later that evening our area got whacked again by large thunderstorms. We picked up another badly needed half inch of rain here at the Homestead, though I'm certain that areas that did not need any more rain got more than we did, again. Things are nice and green here, and I cut the lawn Sunday for the first time in over a month.
Sunday, September 3rd/17
Harvey overtook us yesterday, showing some interesting clouds and bringing a sprinkle of rain to parts of our county. It is long gone today, dissipating as it moves eastward. Good riddance. We paid a short visit to Randy and Anita yesterday, and they seem to be coping well with their hardships. At least their power stayed on during their flooding ordeal. They will find out the verdict later this week regarding their furnace and clothes dryer. Anita has now completed three chemo treatments. She has a week off, and then resumes for three more weeks. After this her condition will be assessed, to see how much the chemo is helping. By the time we are back from Vienna we should know more.
Speaking of Vienna, here are the remaining four paintings I have seen by Bruegel the Elder. All four were seen in London: 1 of them at the National Gallery, 2 at the Courthauld Gallery, and 1 was on loan for a small exhibit at the National Gallery.
Adoration of the Magi, National Gallery, London. I have seen this one several times.
Death of the Virgin, Upton House, Banbury, Warwickshire. I lucked into seeing this canvas on
a solo trip to London. There was a small one-room exhibit based on the painting, and I got to look closely as long as I wished--it was not busy at all. It is a stunning grisaille painting, quite unfor-
gettable. Upton House also has a version of Bruegel's Massacre of the Innocents, so a visit there
someday is imperative.
Landscape With The Flight In to Egypt. One of two pictures by Bruegel in the Courthauld
Gallery, London. On our visit it was not busy, and I returned to the paintings several times for long looks.
Christ and The Woman Taken In Adultery is also in the Courthauld Gallery. This marks my 7th and final painting by Bruegel I have seen in person. After Vienna will come Belgium, where there are 5 or 6 more. I doubt I will live to see them all, but there are still three at least in the USA I have not seen (New York, Washington, San Diego).
On the subject of Bucket Lists, I became enamoured with the small city of Tamanrasset, Algeria. I was exploring an old map of Africa when I came across this place in southern Algeria several months ago. It has several things going for it. First, it is in the middle of the Sahara Desert, surrounded by desolate landscapes. Second, there is a national park nearby, with the highest peak in Algeria just north of town. Third, it can be climbed. Fourth, this city is well off the beaten tourist track. Fifth, it is the chief city of the Tuareg. How cool is that? In 5th Grade social studies we learned all about the Tuareg. I always had a fascination with those people, and would love to see and meet some, and visit their cultural museum in the city. Perhaps. You can fly there from Algiers, or drive the Trans-Saharan Highway (25 hours of driving!). It's always fun to dream.
Mt. Tahat, north of Tamanrasset, is the highest in Algeria.
Friday, September 1st/17
The remnants of Harvey reached central Ohio this afternoon, coming within about 50 miles of us. The rains are persisting, and were predicted to hit here, too, but we were saved by a strong front moving in from the west. We did get some interesting clouds, though. We first noticed them as we drove into A'burg this morning for pet food and bird seed (we could afford a third car if we didn't have cats and didn't feed the outside birds). There were vast, curving grey clouds in concentric rings. They were even more evident on my late afternoon walk today, making for a striking sight. It is not unusual for us to get hurricane remnants this far north, especially from east coast Atlantic storms, though also sometimes from the Gulf (which is till an Atlantic storm). In September of 2008, Ike made its way up here and drenched us, breaking a month-long drought we had been suffering. Meanwhile in Asia things are far worse, especially in Mumbai. It is getting gradually worse everywhere, and most of us know why. Some, however, refuse to see the evidence. People will accept all manner of religious nonsense based on faith alone, but will not accept scientific evidence of climate change no matter how it is presented.
Happy September! It will be a busy month for the Homesteaders. Recital next Friday; birthday and Equinox celebration coming up; and a trip to Vienna thrown in there for good measure. Deb's neck is improving, after becoming nearly unbearable for her again. She has been busily painting the side entrance, the one students always use, and should have it all done by Tuesday, which is my first teaching day of the year. My friend and colleague Paula M. was over today to rehearse the Rachmaninoff duet for my concert next week. She has retired from private teaching after many years. With 30-40 students each week, she is extremely happy not to have to psyche herself up for another year. She and Nick will spend this coming winter in Florida. Anyway, this month will be a busy one as I try to keep our walking program going, get in some astronomy time after the full moon, continue with Iaido, and, of course, practice piano. No word on when the dojo will reopen.
As to Randy and Anita, their basement rooms are now bare and dry. The panelling will all have to come off, and they won't know until next week if their furnace is salvageable. I spoke again with Anita tonight. She endured a 12-hr day yesterday to get her 3rd chemo treatment in London. Left home at 9 am, got home at 9 pm, with 4 hours driving in there and hours of sitting and waiting around at the hospital. No way to treat a lady, never mind a cancer patient. Someday I will be put in charge of the world, and things will run really well. Until then, we all have to suffer.
