2018 Farewell

If you don't count Donald Trump, the worldwide refugee crisis, continued global warming, Brexit, the rise of the extreme right, the low Canadian dollar, the increasing chance of a worldwide bacterial outbreak, the death of Ursala LeGuin, the death of Anita Groundwater, and the fact that it was the cloudiest year for astronomy since I got my 12" telescope, it was a great year!

I managed to memorize and perform a piano program, and then learn and memorize a new one.  Deb managed to create several new short films, get many new screenings, and win several major awards.  We even managed to get through December without a major snowfall.  In fact, this month we are finally feeling the effects of El Nino, which is supposed to give us a relatively mild, damp winter.  And damp it has been.  Once again it is pouring rain, this time on New Year's Eve.  Meanwhile in Sudbury, they are getting yet another major snowstorm!  They can have it!  I'll take rain anytime.  We had a green Solstice, a green Christmas, and now a green New Year.  Not unusual for this part of Canada, and not everyone welcomes it with open arms like we do.

Once of the best things about Dec. 31st is that we are already ten days closer to Spring Equinox!  Our love for January and the first part of February is sorely lacking again this year.  The sooner the light comes back, the better.

2018 saw us visit more travel destinations than ever before.  April brought us to London.  June brought us to Columbus.  In July came Sudbury for me.  August was Lindsay for Deb, then Cincinnati for both of us.  New Mexico was on our hit list for two weeks in September, and lastly but not leastly came Vienna and Bruegel, a trip that is still resonating very loudly in my mind.  Speaking of Vienna, both parts of that blog are now on-line (see the London and Europe link, far left). 

Travel plans for 2019 are minimal at present.  There could be a visit to San Diego in August, to attend the Mythcon conference there, as well as to visit their art gallery.  There could be a trip to New Mexico in October, with our telescopes.  That's been on the bucket list for some time now.  

My Avon/Equinox reading project continues with great success, with about 150 books read and reviewed last year.  I only have two authors remaining in the series, and then it's just a matter of reading all the novels of those authors not already completed.  Recently added is J.G. Ballard, and still to come is Barry Maltzberg and James Blish, both quite prolific. 

The listening program continued.  We are studying Haydn's 104 symphonies, the complete works of Brahms, the complete works of Britten, the piano concerti of Mozart, and the organ works of Buxtehude.  More on this project soon.

Nothing big is planned for early 2019.  Our Detroit concerts resume in March, so we will be homebodies much of the winter.  I hope to get back into learning to draw with pencil (I want to be as good as Bruegel!).  I also hope to get back into recorder playing.  And I will continue to practice piano a few hours each day.  Since suspending my Iaido studies, I have had no issues with my elbows or shoulders.  This is good.

It was warm and raining tonight, so we did not have a New Year's Eve wood fire.  We listened to some Beethoven piano variations, some Buxtehude organ works, and then watched most of "Fists of Fury."  On the menu was home made pizza, and some damn fine craft ales.  We will be in bed before midnight, passing on the tooting of horns and flinging of confetti.

So goodnight, and Happy New Year to my thousands of loyal readers!
Mapman

Holidays Are Here Again!

It's nice to consistently have nearly enough time in a day to accomplish most of the things you want.  Practicing piano, for one.  Things have been going pretty smoothly since getting back from vacation.  Sometimes a week away from the pieces does some good, especially for a clearer perspective on interpretation.  Even when not physically practicing, the pieces are always running in the background.  Reading, for another.  I have currently embarked an an epic 643 page novel.  Called Russian Spring, it is a kind of alternate history, where Russia was accepted into the EU in the mid 90s, leaving the USA high and dry.  The story centers around the space programs of the USA, which is now entirely military, Russia, who has a permanent moon base and now wants one on Mars, and the EU, who are trying to get a hotel in orbit and shuttles to serve them.

Another thing there is time for is writing up the Vienna journal.  I am nearly done as of now, and should finish up sometime tomorrow.  The problem here is that I simply cannot write for long periods of time.  After 30 minutes my hand is cramping up and I have to stop for a time.  But very soon I will be posting photos of our journey on my London and Europe blog.

We should be seeing Amanda later in the week, and possibly Randy.  Next week we might be meeting up with Jenn.  Thursday is Detroit day, so I will report back after that.  It is supposed to be a mild day.  I leave you with two Christmas images.  Peace on Earth, and all that good stuff! 

 St. Stephan's Cathedral, Vienna.

 This year's Christmas card from cousin Cathy!

Final Teaching Week of 2018

It has been a highly unusual Autumn as far as teaching goes.  Two weeks off in September to go to NM, and another week off in December to visit Vienna.  It's been lovely!  After tomorrow I will have earned another 19 days off before resuming duties in January.  I am hoping to really dig in deep to my piano pieces, and should have them ready to perform by early January.  As to when they will actually be performed, that is hard to predict just now.  January is already a very busy month for us, but I hope to play before my eye surgery.  I should know when that is by mid-January.

Work has begun on the written journal.  I went to town Sunday to get some prints developed, but the machine was down and out of service.  By Monday evening I was in business.  The Bruegel exhibit continues to resonate strongly with me, and it has barely sunk in that I got to view 31 paintings, including 17 I had never before seen.  There were a total of 15 works from Vienna, three of which we had never seen, as well as 16 loans, of which I had previously seen two in London.  That means I have now seen 35 (?) paintings by Bruegel, which is most his work.  It doesn't get much better than that.  And the exhibit only cost 5 Euros extra, above the regular admission, so it was a real bargain, too.

As a bonus, we saw Vienna in December, and it even had snow upon our arrival.  However, the rest of the week was mild, and we enjoyed each of our days to the fullest.  We both truly love the city.  The interesting bits are very close together, and we really know our way around now, including short cuts and direct routes.  It is very easy to escape the maddening crowds of tourists, and we often found ourselves alone on wonderful and narrow back streets.  We never made it to any of the famous cafes this time, though the cafe at the art museum has probably the finest setting in the world.  I made it to two craft beer places; we made it to a craft coffee shop 3x (two different ones), and we ate out 4x at three different vegan restaurants.  We rode two streetcar routes end to end, and made a triumphant return to Kahlenberg, at the top of the Vienna Woods.  The trip was a huge success.  The web version, with photos, should be underway by this weekend.  Right now, we are preparing for Winter solstice, on Friday.

 We flew Lufthansa from Toronto to Frankfurt to Vienna, and back on the same route, in the same type of jumbo jet.  All flights were packed.

Head Cold Season

I started with a scratchy throat on Monday evening, and was sick by Tuesday.  No doubt spending 9 hrs. on a fully packed plane Sunday had something to do with it.  Luckily, 3 students did not show up this week, saving me 2 1/2 hrs. of teaching and talking.  My head cold peaked on Thursday, and by Friday I was improving.  Tonight, exactly 5 days after first symptoms, I am better.  Deb is fighting it off better than I.  I had to go out for three hours on Thursday, which no doubt caused some backsliding.  But all is well.  However, it was a bit of a lost week.  No piano except Tuesday, and then resuming today.  No work on the written journal of our Vienna trip, though I managed to mostly edit the photos, and select a batch for printing.

We are going to take things very easy in 2019, as far as travel goes.  Definitely nothing European, and never again with connecting flights in Europe.  Frankfurt airport, like the one in Warsaw, is very overcrowded, and most flights have to be accessed by buses.  Vienna has a pretty decent airport, and we had booked a direct flight from Toronto.  However, that flight was cancelled by the airline two weeks before our departure, and we were forced to go through Frankfurt.  Never again.  If the plane does not go directly from Toronto or Detroit, we will not be going.  In other words, we might go to Frankfurt someday.

Vienna is an amazing city, filled with marvellous architecture.  One is always having to look up, for often the buildings seem rather bland at eye level, but become totally amazing the higher one looks.  Most churches were often for inspection, but their vast interiors were beyond cold!  The week prior to our visit had been seriously chilly, and the churches were retaining the cold air.

Vegan Vienna continues to impress us, with more easily accessible vegan restaurants than London or Detroit.  There was always room for us at a table, too, something that can be frustrating in London.  The little shops usually had some vegan food, too.  The Hotel Azimut is the best hotel one could ever hope to find, close to trains, trams, and subway.  It is literally a 60 second walk to the vast indoor transport and shopping complex that is Hauptbahnhof.  It is amazing how much of Vienna is underground, including a second vast complex at Karlsplatz.

Of course the journey was all about Bruegel.  I am currently reading the catalogue of the exhibit, and wishing I could return a few more times to visit.  His paintings are so detailed and involved, that two visits barely scratches the surface of his art.  However, there is an incredible on-line resource affiliated with the exhibit, and I will talk about it in a future post.

Kunsthistoriche, Vienna.  I can hardly believe I was actually there.  Four times now!

 

Back From Wien

After an epic, 4-stage trip home, we are back.  Sunday was a very long day, with two flights and a long drive home.  Everything went smoothly, and we were in the house by 9:35 pm.  Using the same time zone, we had left for home at 12:30 a.m.  It was quite a ride.

Vienna was simply awesome, and we had a very enjoyable 5 1/2 days there.  We visited the Bruegel exhibit on two different days, and it was fabulous.  Never again will there be so many works by Bruegel in one museum.  One recently discovered work, from a private collection in Hungary, did not receive customs clearance from that country, and did not make it to the exhibit.  All others promised were there, including some from private collections that may never be seen again.

On our free days we walked the city, and made a return visit to the Vienna Woods (should be called the Vienna Mountains instead) via Grinzing and Kahlenberg.  The weather was incredible for December, with a few days being very mild.  There was some snow on our arrival, as it had been very cold the week before.  Christmas in Vienna is a big deal.  There were vast Christmas markets in key areas, and smaller ones in lesser plazas.  There were lights everywhere, and as it was dark by 4:30 pm, we got to experience them a lot.  It only rained miserably on us once, as we left the Kunsthistoriche Museum one day.  All in all, it was a wonderful journey, worth the significant expense and hassle of getting there.  The Bruegel exhibit was always packed, but with patience you could get right up in front of any painting, and stay as long as you wished.  Some of the best paintings were very small, and often no one was in front of these.  Luckily we had spent a lot of time with the Vienna Bruegel paintings a year ago, so we were able to concentrate a lot of our time on the visiting works.  I bought the catalogue and poster.

After I get the written volume complete, I will update the London and Europe blog with images, both from Vienna and the exhibit.  Photography was allowed of most works in the exhibit.  I only wish the Detroit Wedding Dance could have travelled.  It would have been stupendous to see all three peasant paintings on the same wall.  Sometime next year Detroit will mount a small exhibit on the Wedding Dance.

 Deb stands before an Assyrian sculpture in the Kunsthistoriche Museum, Vienna.  

Mapman Mike

All Things Great, Small, And In Between

We awoke Thursday morning pretty certain that the Vienna trip would be called off.  Mogollon, one of our two cats, has glaucoma in his right eye.  He gets drops in it twice a day.  Things have been perfect for over three months now.  Sometimes he gets what I call migraines, where his eyes close, he wants to be left alone, and he stays in the dark.  He stops eating, drinking, playing, and everything else he normally does.  These usually last 4-6 hours, and then he is okay again.  But Wednesday's migraine stayed all day and all night.  So Thursday morning we headed out to the vet with him.  We had been warned before that his eye will eventually have to come out.  We were thinking that today was the day, or Friday, or Monday.  Which meant no Vienna.  The usual Doc was away, so we saw his partner.  Now both eyes are bad, though the bad one is way worse.  The pressure is at a dangerous level.  Drops in both eyes.  Lots of drops.  Ever try to give eye drops to a healthy cat?  How about a sick one?  3X a day.  Uggh.

Anyway, we have a ten-day reprieve before we return to see the vet again.  Theresa, our pet sitter, comes to the house.  She is a vet tech who works in a Windsor vet clinic.  But she only comes twice a day (expensive enough).  Hopefully she will get the drops in at those times, but Mogi can get rather wiggly at the critical drop-in-the-eye stage.  Deb and I together can barely get the job done.  So we are going to Vienna.  Even tomorrow's weather will cooperate, as we get the one warm day of the entire week.  Monday turns cold again, and will remain cold the entire week.  Hopefully there will be no major snow event, and the old boiler will keep on boiling.  Vienna looks to be mild next week, after they just had a week of bitter cold temps.  Their latitude is 48 N., 6 degrees further than Windsor, and 2 more than Sudbury.  So we are expecting some dark times, with rain.

Our arrival day is Monday, and the first of two visits to the Bruegel exhibit is Tuesday.  Wed. is open, and Thursday its back to see the show again.  Friday and Saturday are open, and we fly home Sunday, getting back to A'burg before midnight, weather permitting.  We are not planning anything on the open days yet, until we see what the weather brings.  We have a self-guided walk tour ready to go, and we would also love to get back up to Grinzing, at the foot of the Vienna Woods.

Just after getting back from the vet on Thursday, Randy G. dropped by.  He had just come from a family funeral in A'burg.  We hadn't seen him for two weeks, since Anita's funeral.  He has had a lot on his plate since then, including the death of a nephew, as well as an elderly lady he was looking out for, 75 km away.  He also had attended her funeral on the Wednesday, and had been arranging her funeral and burial.  There were complications.  As I said, he has had a lot on his plate.  Three funerals in two weeks.  Needless to say, he has not even had time to deal with his wife's passing.  His life should simplify in a week or two, once some of the legalities have been put to rest, mostly regarding the elderly woman's estate.  Now here's the kicker.  If anything should happen to us next week, he is our will executor.

Today is laundry day, cleaning, and packing, as well as running around town for last minute things, such as fresh greens to leave for Ludwig the tortoise.  On top of that, we have a concert in suburban Detroit this evening.  I knew when I bought the tickets that it was the night before our departure.  What I didn't know was that there would be heavy rain and storms arriving for our evening drive.  Detroit freeway driving at the best of times is a white-knuckle affair; during a heavy downpour it is something not to experience.  It is going to be a fabulous concert, I keep telling myself.....

Mapman

 

Humming Along

Things are nicely settled for us just now, with Deb happily churning out episodes of Yorick for her epic on-line adventure series, starring that lovable skull from way back when.  And I continue to polish up the piano pieces I hope to perform in about 7 weeks or so.  Though we seem settled in for the winter, we are beginning to gather items for our upcoming trip to Vienna.  It should be lovely there at this time of year, with lights and decorations, but it will have to go a long way to improve over Detroit.  Every year Detroit gets better and better, and even though a lot of the inner core is till under renovation, there is enough there to get Detroit on a new must-see travel list nearly every month.  We hope to spend time downtown over the holidays, just walking around the city.

 The annual holiday lighting ceremony downtown Detroit was well attended again this year.  The skating rink stays up all season.  The annual Noel Night is this weekend, and later comes the winter carnival.    

The only downside to visiting Detroit in winter is that there isn't much of an underground, or overground, city.  However, there are 3 downtown hotels directly linked to the People Mover, without having to go outside except onto the roofed train platform.  But most of the downtown is unconnected to other parts.  And they still serve the beer way too cold, and give you ice in your water at restaurants.  Brrr.  We have our 5th and final autumn concert this Saturday night.  We will be hearing 5 of the 6 Brandenburg concertos by Bach, as well as one of his cantatas.  4 of the 5 concerts were all of a single composer!  So far Schubert, Bartok, Beethoven, and now Bach.  This is highly unusual, but very welcome.

We just missed out on Snow event #6, though just north and west of us got blasted pretty hard.  So we are still at #5 and holding.  We are once again into a cold phase, but milder air is promised by next weekend.  This is critical for us, as we have to drive to Toronto to catch our Lufthansa flight to Vienna (via Frankfurt).  I am growing more and more excited to get to the Bruegel (no 'h') exhibit, where 28 of his 40 paintings are currently being shown.  A few are from private collections that might never be seen by the public again.  I am looking forward to seeing the Madrid "Triumph of Death" once more.  I spent many days studying that painting over the summer we spent in Madrid, and I wrote a long essay about it, which I should dig out again.

Yesterday was the first good day to complete our seasonal yard work since coming back from New Mexico.  Up to October 12th it was too hot!  Then the bottom suddenly fell out of the temperatures.  We got November weather after that, and in November we received December weather.  I am hoping we get a break next month.  There has been NO ASTRONOMY since returning from new Mexico at the end of September.  Not only that, but previous to that the weather was equally rotten.  2018 will turn out to be the worst year for observing since I got my newest scope back in 2013.  We will be in Vienna for the December observing session.  I have a feeling I won't be missing much, but one can never tell.

Mapman

Haydn's Farewell Symphony

The listening program continues.  I just finished hearing Op 56a and b by Britten, both short religious choral works.  56b is truly a wonderful, very short piece, with a back and forth between two parts to the choir, men and women, with organ accompaniment.  Oddly enough, last Thursday, which was the day we visited the funeral home to say goodbye to Anita, was time for Haydn Symphony #45, "The Farewell."  Haydn used the final movement to send a not so subtle hint to his Prince that it was time for the season to end and to send his musicians home for the summer.  It worked, and the overlong season finally came to an end.  In the final movement the musicians leave the stage in groups of two and four, blowing out their candles as they go.  At the very end, only two violins remain to quietly finish the work.  This makes for a totally amazing way to say goodbye in other ways, too.  I know Anita would approve.  I have lost one of my very few audience members for my home piano recitals, and she will be sorely missed.

Another odd coincidence occurred, this time on Friday.  For the past eight months my hearing has been reduced in my right ear to only 10% of normal.  In addition to not being able to hear from it properly, I have suffered from inner ear pressure a good deal, as well as ringing and hissing.  However, Friday afternoon following the morning funeral ceremony for Anita, my hearing began to return.  I now have 50% to 60% hearing in that ear, making piano practice and listening to music much more enjoyable!

Today we took a little journey to Lake Erie, down to Colchester Harbour.  It was pretty deserted this time of year.  With grey skies and grey water, it was an odd experience to stand at the end of the pier and gaze over a black, white, and grey seascape.

A large freighter crosses Lake Erie in the distance, appearing from at the edge of Lake Erie and grey skies.  Taken from Colchester Harbour.  

And Jenn sent us a photo her mom took on Saturday, at the Detroit Historical Museum.  I was not a participant, alas.

 Aston, Jenn's 14 year old son, "drives" his grandma, his mom, and Deb through downtown Detroit from the 1910s. 

Mapman Mike

Detroit Day with Jenn

We had a fun day on Saturday in Detroit.  Jenn G. visited with Aston, her 14 yr. old son, and her mom.  It was a day of craft beer, good food, lots of walking, and a museum visit.  The Detroit Historical Museum has an exhibit about Aretha on now, so we made that the centrepiece of the day.  The DIA has recently reopened their newly remodelled Asian Galleries, too.  Deb and I skipped that one, as Deb's batteries were running low.  But we met up afterwards and heard good reviews.  I forgot my camera, or there would be pictures of glasses of beer on display here.

I missed a couple of days of piano practice, but managed to jump back into things today.  I had hopes of being at a certain performance level by the time we leave for Vienna in two weeks,and I think I will be there!  Wonder of wonders.  Walking around Vienna with Bach, Haydn, and Schumann pieces memorized and in my fingers is a fun feeling.  Kind of like having magic spells at your fingertips, but not necessarily for immediate use.

So far this November we have had 4 snow events.  This is more frequent snow than I can ever remember this early.  Sudbury has been white for a while now, and very very cold.  It has been very cold since about Oct. 10th, meaning that we have been robbed of Autumn and introduced far too early to winter.  It is supposed to be a mild winter, due to the presence of El Nino, but that won't become apparent, if it does at all, until January.  The odds of having snow on our driving day to Toronto seem pretty high.

Our land phone line is currently out of service, with a Bell technician coming tomorrow morning.  Internet still works, though....  The last time it worked was last night, when I spoke with my parents at some length.  Everything good there, but some ageing aunts and uncles remind me that I have no snow tires, and that a trip to Sudbury could happen sooner rather than later. 

Mapman Mike

Anita

Anita Marie Groundwater (nee Gignac)

GROUNDWATER, Anita Marie (nee Gignac)
November 13, 1958 – November 13, 2018
Passed away peacefully on her 60th birthday, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Cherished wife of 36 years to Randolph “Randy”. Loving mother of John (Joseph DeMott) and David (Celia Girgenti). Dear sister of Robert Gignac (the late Mary), Joan Spearing (Vincent), Jean Hunt (Daniel). Precious sister-in-law to Marie Pottle (Bruce), Kathleen Rivait (Roger) and Wendy Mitchell (Steve). Pre-deceased by her parents, Norman & Mae Gignac, and her brother, Raymond. Special daughter-in-law to the late Janet “Jenny” Groundwater. Treasured friend to Donna Fredericks. She will be deeply missed by her many nieces, nephews, family and friends. Anita was employed with the Ministry of Finance for 32 years. She was a valued and dedicated practitioner with Fung Loy Kok Taoist Tai Chi Institute of Windsor. Above all, Anita was a gentle soul, an angel here on Earth, who could not help but be loved by anyone who knew her.

A beautiful lady and a truly wonderful person.  Adieu.  
Mapman 

Olga Kern Recital, VW, Cold and Influenza Season

I'll work backwards from that title.  Deb and I have been taking turns fighting off colds.  My turn was last Wednesday and Thursday, with fatigue, scratchy throat, and a mind that was off center more than usual.  Deb's turn began Friday, and she is better now.  She has had her flu shot this year; I go this Thursday.  But this was strictly a cold.  Deb had a tougher fight, as she had her infusion last Thursday, which wipes out her immune system for two weeks.  Still, she managed to fight it off!  She did sleep a lot.

VW has had our Golf since last Thursday, when we brought it in for a leaky roof.  Leaves and maple keys get into the sun roof slots and can cause havoc.  We have a lot of trees.  But no Golf for 5 days now, though they did give us a Jetta loaner.  We've been staying home and waiting for a call that never seems to come.  Between our illnesses and waiting for VW, we have yet to visit with Randy G.

Last Saturday we attended the fourth of five autumn concerts.  We heard Russian-American pianist Olga Kern perform a massively programmed recital in Detroit.  It was a packed house, and about half of the audience was speaking Russian.  She opened with three Scarlatti sonatas, with the first one being one of the most difficult of his 500-odd such pieces.  To open a program with such a difficult piece is daring, if not risky.  Let's just say that my opening pieces are usually chosen with cautious care.  Anyway, she played them flawlessly, including one in C Major I have learned, and one in D Minor that I now feel I must learn.  As for the first one she played in A Major, I think I'll just leave that one alone for now.

She followed up with the Waldstein Sonata by Beethoven, one of his very biggest pieces.  Again the performance was riveting and flawless, quite possibly the finest performance of this popular program piece I have ever heard.  And I have heard Schiff!  The hoots and applause following the Beethoven were a sign that she should have ended the first half at that point.  Instead, she made a huge programming blunder!  She was scheduled to perform 5 short pieces by a Michigan composer.  Instead, she replaced them with four pieces by Gershwin.  Note to self, and to other piano performers.  NEVER program Gershwin one minute after playing Beethoven, especially such a piece as the Waldstein.  It just didn't work.  When the half finally ended, the applause was minimal.  I hope she noticed.

After intermission she played three big pieces by Rachmaninoff, two by Scriabin, and a monstrously difficult but essentially empty virtuoso piece called Islamey, also by a Russian composer.  Her encore was more of the same, with a very fast and loud etude by Prokofiev.  Needless to say, despite a journey home afterwards that lasted over an hour, when I finally got into bed that night my brain would not settle itself--too much virtuoso stimulation.  Anyway, she is an excellent pianist and musician, but she needs to think a bit harder about her programming. 

Mapman Mike

Trump, Travel, and Medical Updates

The election in the USA yesterday did not even give Trump a black eye.  People there are so tied to a political party that no matter what happens they will support the person.  Democrats winning the House is a small victory; now Trump has someone new to blame when things don't go well.  this crap is spreading worldwide so fast it makes ones head spin.  Meanwhile in Michigan a Democratic Governor was elected, but the house and senate remain Republican.  Best of luck to the new Governor.  Bang head on wall.  Meanwhile in Canada we have a mini-Trump governing Ontario, and our Liberal Prime Minister will likely get the boot next year.  So the world dies not slowly, but rapidly.  Probably best that way.

In travel news, Austrian Airlines informed us this week that our flight from Toronto to Vienna was cancelled.  They are gradually pulling out of Toronto entirely.  We were rebooked for the next day, but that did not jive with our plans to visit the Bruegel exhibit.  We spent a frantic day trying to rearrange hotel, parking, pet sitter, before finally convincing the airlines to book us on the same dates as originally scheduled, but on a different airline.  So instead of our direct flight to Vienna, we are now routed through Frankfurt on Lufthansa.  At least the times are only different on both of our arrivals, but it means driving home in the dark from Toronto now after two flights.  We arrive in Vienna three hours later, too.

In medical news, Randy G. phoned me with an update on Anita.  She is expected to pass away before the month ends.  She is receiving the best of care at home, with a Hospice doctor, nurse, and relatives giving 24 hour care and support.  I had tears in my eyes as he was talking about Anita.  The aggressive chemo treatments she received allowed her another year of life, and she fought hard the entire time.  We are going to attempt a visit tomorrow afternoon, following Deb's bi-monthly infusion.  Also, My aunt (Mom's sister) had surgery in Sudbury this week to remove a large and painful ovarian cyst.  Things went well there, according to cousin Cathy, who went to Sudbury after leaving Windsor on Saturday following our Day of the Dead excursions.  And my uncle (Mom's brother) had a large tumour removed from his bladder.  He is not doing so well.  

My turn now.  I am in the system to have the cataract in my right eye removed.  Vision has deteriorated, and I should have had this procedure done sooner.  However, I waited until the end of astronomy season.  For nothing.  No clear nights this autumn anyway, though there might be a very chilly one tomorrow night.  Anyway, I'm awaiting a call from Dr. Emara's office for my pre-surgery appointment.  Though the surgery is relatively minor, and you are in and out of the hospital in a matter of hours, I can do no lifting for about three weeks, and thus no telescope set up.  According to my optometrist I can expect the surgery in January.  Shovelling season.  My own fault for waiting so long. 

Mapman

Day of the Dead, Detroit Style

My cousin Cathy and her girlfriend Chris came from Toronto to experience "Day of the Dead" in Detroit, the way Deb and I have been doing things for many years.  Jenn G. and her mom came from Cambridge, so there were six of us in two vehicles pounding the pavement in the Motor City on Friday.  In Mexico, Day of the Dead was originally a pagan event, celebrating the lives of deceased relatives, friends, and celebrities.  It has been grasped by the Catholic Church, who have turned things into "all souls day" and "all saints day."  Whatever.  At its core, the celebration of our favourite dead folk carries on into the 21st Century.  Detroit has a large Mexican/American population, and two of the best cemeteries on the planet.  In addition to local events in Mextown (adjacent to the bridge between Canada and the USA), the Detroit Institute of Arts puts on an annual display of "Offrendas," or altar offerings to the deceased.

We picked up Cathy and Chris Friday morning at their hotel in Windsor, where we met up with Jenn and her mom.  After clearing customs we headed to Mextown, first to stop at a gift store, and then on to a bakery, and then for lunch at one of many Mexican restaurants (some of them being very authentic).  Upon arrival, we found the area swamped with school kids!  Several high schools had decided that this would be a great field trip.  Instead of a nice quiet morning visit, we found ourselves unable to gain access to any businesses due to the hordes of kids and teachers.  Time for Plan B.

This involved heading to Woodlawn Cemetery before lunch, instead of afterwards.  Woodlawn is the final resting place of many of Detroit's most famous families.  Dodge, Ford, Buhl, and many others built elaborate tombs, complete with ornate brass doors and Tiffany stained glass window.  The grounds are fabulous, with hills, a sizable forest, a lake, several mausoleums and chapels, and winding roads that invite exploration.  Though the day was dark and drizzly, we had hit on peak leaf colour!  It was atmospheric and intoxicating, and the crowd loved it!

 Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit

 Cousin Cathy, left, and her friend Chris.

 Autumn scene, Woodlawn Detroit.

 A beautiful brass door at the entrance to a private mausoleum.  Some doors even had a giant brass knocker.  No thanks!

 Autumn splendour, Woodlawn.

 Jenn, her mom, and Deb.  It was a drizzly November day.

 A recent addition to Woodlawn.

One of many stained glass windows to be seen in the rear wall of private tombs.

 Woodlawn, Detroit, in autumn.  Worth a visit.

Leaves on the roof...

Final resting place of Rosa Parks.

Lunch in downtown Detroit, at Calexico.  Wonderful food!  L to R: cousin Cathy, Deb, Chris, Jenn, Sandy, yours truly.  We parked at the DIA and took the streetcar downtown. 

After the cemetery visit, we headed to the DIA.  We parked in the all-day lot, then took the train downtown for a late but delicious lunch.  Cathy paid for Deb and I!!  I had a vegan burrito, and Deb had tofu tacos.  I also had a brewed-in-Detroit Mexican beer, which was fabulous!  Afterwards, we strolled around parts of downtown, ending up at the tiny cafe inside the lobby of the Wurlitzer building hotel (The Siren), where we took over the alcove, comfortably seating six.  Then it was back on the train and into the DIA for the Day of The Dead exhibit.

DIA Offrenda Gallery, with Jenn.

Offrenda dedicated to the garment workers killed in Mexico City earthquake.

Offrenda gallery, DIA.

Incredible embroidery!

 Offrenda at the DIA. 

After our visit to the art museum, our group split up, with Jenn and her Mom hitting a few nearby craft beer stops.  We headed back to Mextown, to our previously missed bakery (authentic Mexican!) and then to the gift store.  Cathy ended up buying a beautiful Catrina!  Deb bought some miniatures to go with her Yorick films.  Then it was back to Windsor, dropping the ladies at their hotel.  It had been a 10-hr day, pretty long for Deb.  It was good to get home and put our feet up!

The gift shop had three Offrendas, one of them dedicated to Frida!  The painting is for sale.

 Cathy's Catrina!! 

Mapman Mike

Samhain Is Here!

Deb is carving the pumpkin.  I am readying the fireplace.  The pies are baked.  Supper is on.  At 8 pm the lights go down and the party begins!  More news on this major annual event tomorrow!

I made it through October reading no less than 16 books!  Not bad, eh?  I just finished an easy and very funny read, Piers Anthony's "Prostho Plus," about a dentist captured by aliens who need his assistance.  It leads to some very unusual emergency dental calls, as Dr. Dillingham is in demand all over the galaxy, filling teeth and straightening mouths of aliens in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments.  Next up is the last unread novel of Eric Frank Russell.  After that novel I will (sadly) only have some of his short stories of his left to read).  I received three books in the mail recently, including as book of translated poetry by Harry Martinson, writer of "Aniara."  I also received a needed novel by Moorcock, and a non SF by S.B Hough, who wrote incredible SF under the name of Rex Gordon.  I have three authors/books remaining to read in the Avon/Equinox series.  The authors are Ballard, Maltzberg, and Blish.  Someday I will have read all the books by all of the authors.  Then I'll have to find a new reading project.  By that time my book review blog will fill up half of the internet.

We watched two feature films lately.  One was Woody Allen's "Cafe Society."  While not exactly boring, Allen's tribute to NY cafe society in the 1920s/30s is not something I would be interested in seeing again.  It is one of the blander movies I have seen by the director.  Though some of the dialogue is priceless, it doesn't seem to really work.  The cast is okay, but there seems to be little chemistry.  The film is what it is, and nothing more.  Probably for Allen completests only.

A recently watched flic. 

Much more watchable and fun is "Wonderstruck," a film about a deaf girl and boy finding some truths and meaning in life.  It's a kids movie at heart, but one of those rare ones that can easily hold the attention of an intelligent adult.  As much as Woody tries to show off NYC in his recent film, this one does a much better job.  We get to experience NYC in 1927 (in b & w), and then in 1976 (in full psychedelic colour), and then again as a vast model city, which the viewer towers over like a Godzilla.  We get to explore the Brooklyn Museum in 1927 and 1976, also.  The kid actors (there are 3 of them) are okay, which helps.  Definitely worth a look.

Deb has won another award for her most recent film, this time from Ottawa (Best animated short in festival).  She had a movie shown in London, England over the weekend, and about to launch her own Youtube channel, dedicated to everyone's favourite skull (which has 22 bones in it, by the way), Yorick (from "Hamlet").  Search "22 Bones" on Youtube to find it, I think by Friday.  Enjoy!

Lastly, I now have two posts up on our recent trip to NM.  At least two more are coming soon.

Mapman Mike

Practicing Piano With Intensity

As I near the end of the road with most of the pieces I am learning for the next recital, it is time to up my game, increasing the focus and striving harder than ever for perfection.  Except for about half a dozen measures of music, the Schumann Op #2 is now memorized, along with the Bach and 4 movements of 5 of the Haydn, and one of the pieces by Louie.  I have one Haydn movement to memorize, and one piece by Louie.  A third piece by here will be performed with music, if I can ever actually play it well enough.  It is nearly time to bring the pieces to Philip, to have them torn down so I can rebuild them!  Not next week (too much going on) but hopefully the week after that.

Randy has notified us that treatment for Anita has more or less been halted, with maintaining her comfort now the priority.  His simple sentence to us brings with it much sadness and reflection.  Of course our thoughts are constantly involved with both he and Anita.  A most difficult time for all involved.  The unseasonable cold and increasingly damp weather we have been having does not make things any easier.  I spoke with my Mom today, and Sudbury has been very depressing this month.  After all, what is Autumn without an October?  We have simply moved right into November.

I have finally got a start on the NM blog, and have published the first part concerning my solo drive west.  Hopefully more will be coming soon, including our Albuquerque and Santa Fe adventures.

I am currently enjoying another novel by Norman Spinrad, a somewhat autobiographical tale called "Children of Hamelin."  Very entertaining so far.  I am reading the book on Kindle, which I more or less like, but when reviewing such a story it is virtually impossible to flip back and check on things.  So I keep a notebook handy, which is cumbersome when reading.  I doubt that my reviews of books read on Kindle are as thorough as the ones I write from real live books.

M.

5-Day Weekends

Thursday, October 25th/18 

This will be the first weekend in three that we do not have a concert to attend.  There are several we could attend, but it's time for a weekend at home.  I do not miss the Thursday teaching at all, and am very happy to work only two afternoon/evenings a week.  Some may complain that a weekend lasting only five days is not nearly enough.  However, I don't agree.  A two-day work week seems ideal!  I had a book waiting for me at the Dearborn mailbox, and there was a new vegan restaurant we wanted to try.  We crossed at the bridge, having to wait in line a long time, as only 3 car lanes were open.  There was some kind of training going on.  But guess what?  Just as we finally got up to the booth, the other lanes began to open.  Ain't life funny?  At least coming back we scored, getting right up to a booth on the Windsor side, with no waiting.

The restaurant is called "Unburger," and features 3 main types of burger, each in two styles.  There are many other things on the menu as well, but we came to try the burgers.  Priced at only $7, they filled us without ordering any sides.  And they were delicious!  We did bring home a piece of vegan chocolate cake for later.  Yesterday was the full moon, but I taught from 4 pm till 7:30.  No time to bake, or even celebrate.  And tonight it is overcast, whereas it has been very clear for several nights in a row.  Hmm, must be heading towards the astronomy session again.   

October has been way colder than average.  It is usually our nicest month of the year.  However, October seems to have been replaced by November, with consistently below average temps.  I wonder what November will bring.... 

Piano practice has been hit or miss this week.  Jenn G. visited all day Monday, so there was no opportunity there.  We had an all day beer sampling session, though, and even managed an outdoor walk.  I haven't seen Jenn in ages.  I get the feeling she might want to move back to B.C.  She is currently living in the cesspool that is central southern Ontario, which is quickly being turned into one giant suburb.  I can't blame her for not liking it there.  Today I managed an hour, as I did yesterday and Tuesday.  So I have big hopes for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Piano practice will be mixed in with yard work, which is on-going.  And that doesn't even count leaves.  Just catching up on summer growth that needs to be tamed.

 

Highpoints

Tuesday, October 23rd/18 

I seem to be on a roll at home lately, having read some truly remarkable novels, and listened to some of the best music ever penned.  Over the weekend we heard Benjamin Britten's spellbinding operatic version of "Turn of the Screw," from the novella by Henry James.  I studied the book in high school, but now need to reread it.  We are searching for an audio version on-line.  Britten brings exactly the right sense of drama to the work, and it will stick with me for a long time.

Brahms' Op 53 and Op 54, two works for solo voice and orchestra, are spellbinding in different ways, but essential to hear if one claims to love music.  Op 53 was Clara Schumann's favourite piece by Brahms, and Op 54 continues to be one of his most popular.  Earlier in music history  we have Haydn's Symphonies 41 in C Major and 42 in D Major.  Very different works, indeed, but captiving, energizing, and completely wonderful little worlds unto themselves.

In SF literature, reading "Aniara" by Harry Martinson (a Nobel Prize winner for literature) was one of the most moving experiences of my life.  He gets completely and utterly to the important matter, and the whole epic poem is a hymn to Earth, and to those who realize what we have (the prize of the galaxy, no less).  I will reread this book until I wear out the pages.  Also recently devoured was an utterly brilliant story called "Greener Than You Think," by the genius writer Ward Moore, who also brought us "Bring The Jubilee."  It actually has a lot in common with Martinson's novel, and it is interesting that by chance I read them back to back.  Reviews can be found in my Avon/Equinox blog, in the left margin.

We are continuing with the visually stunning PC game called "Obduction."  It has proved impossible to solve without a walkthru, and even then has been very challenging to try and finish it.  However, I am often just happy and sit and stare at it, or walk through the many different landscapes.

Beethoven's Turn

Saturday, October 20th/18 

For the last three weekends we have attended a concert that has been devoted to a single composer.  Two weeks ago it was Schubert; one week ago it was Bartok.  Now it was Beethoven's turn.  Philip Adamson, my piano instructor for the past many years, was back at his bucket list, performing 4 more of the 32 piano sonatas.  He has now performed 16 of them, and is likely at work today on the next programme.

Beethoven is such a composer of truly odd works, and despite historians and musicologists trying to pigeonhole his styles and periods, in my opinion it is all for nought.  No two piano sonatas are alike, or even closely related.  They all explore completely different ideas, emotions, and, in some instances, games and buffoonery.  When Beethoven wishes to be serious, it can lead to music of such devastation and calamity that it is a wonder a true performer doesn't die in the attempt to bring it forth for an audience.  I am reminded of a performance many years ago of the 5th Symphony by Antal Dorati and the Detroit Symphony.  Even back then I was totally familiar with most of the notes in that iconic work.  However, Dorati's performance was so intense and overpowering that I jotted in the margin of my program something like "This music is like a mighty mountain being torn apart."  

 Portrait of Beethoven we saw in Vienna,

at one of his houses.  My photo.

My favourite performers of Beethoven's piano music are the late Ivan Morovec, who only performed and recorded select sonatas, and Andras Schiff, alive and well and still performing the entire set on occasion.  I have been fortunate to hear these masters on several occasions, and their Beethoven sets standards far beyond anything that mere mortals can achieve, no matter how many hours are spent at the piano.  Having said that, Dr. Adamson has accredited himself admirably in his attempt to climb the mighty heights of the Beethoven Sonatas.  Though he has completed work on 16 of them, there are still some mighty big sonatas that lie ahead, including the Appassionata, the Waldstein, the Hammerclavier, the Tempest, and the nearly impossible to bring off effectively final sonata.  So I congratulate him on his progress, and wish him well with the rest of his amazing journey!

Last night Philip chose to group three of the four pieces he performed around the key in which it was written.  Beethoven chose G Major for four sonatas, but the smaller student one had already made an appearance on an earlier program.  Since (see above) the sonatas are so vastly different, and strikingly odd in each their own way, there was no danger of the works sounding like one another.  Especially so with Philip's deeply thought out interpretations and carefully chosen tempos.  With professional pianists sometimes the music flashes by so quickly that special moments are lost in the flurry.  Philip takes time to bring out these moments, and many others, but manages to keep things lively and moving along.  Favourite parts for me were the slow movement of Op 79, the first movement of Op 14, #2, and the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata.  The latter was as fine a performance of that old chestnut as I have ever heard.  It certainly beats out Morovec, who plays much too slowly, and comes closest to Schiff, though somehow Schiff manages to play with the damper pedal depressed all the way through.

I had some problems with the piano, a new Yamaha CFX, priced somewhere near $100,000.  For one thing, it was out of tune, and a high C# was twanging away throughout the final piece (which was in C#).  For another, the middle range has difficulty keeping pace with the very powerful bass, so sometimes balance of sound was a problem.  Having said that, the acoustics for piano performances are vastly superior in the new recital hall than they ever were at Assumption Chapel, which more less resembled an echo chamber. 

Overall it has been a very fascinating three weeks of live concerts.  Combined with my home listening projects of attempting to hear the complete works of Britten, Brahms, and all the Haydn Symphonies (we already have completed Delius) I am doing my best to keep my ear(s) in good shape!  Our next concert date isn't until November 10th, another piano solo recital (with some Beethoven)! 

In New Mexico news, Jens Hanson was at the concert last night.  He was professor of theory and composition at the university when I attended.  He and Dr. Kovarik, who taught history, were the two most interesting people in the building.  He is from NM!  He managed to get back to his hometown for a visit this past spring.  However, a massive forest fire had devastated the surrounding mountains, leaving him with a rather sad impression.  I am currently at work on my blog version of our journey, and hope to have the first post up soon.  So come back often!

Mapman Mike

Lone Mtn Homestead Leisure Time Pursuits

Monday, October 15th/18 

With students fleeing piano lessons this year, I am way down in both numbers and hours.  It means a lot less travelling abroad next year, with possibly no major trip on the horizon after Vienna.  I can live with that for now, since it affords me more opportunities for observing, reading, writing, listening, practicing, gaming, and every other pursuit that interests me.  Teaching music for 37 years has never been boring or a disappointment, but I'm certain I will survive with many fewer students.  In fact I have no urge to even advertise open positions.  It is what it is.  If there is less money for travel, so be it.

We have been playing a visually astounding PC Windows game called Obduction, from the people who brought you Myst.  It started out quite great, with decent puzzles and mind-blowing graphics.  Now the graphics are decent and the puzzles are mind-blowing.  We have no hope of finishing the game, even with a very sketchy walk through.  We are stuck in a hell, nicknamed "the gauntlet," which appears just before "the maze."  The puzzles have been beyond Mensa level, which is evident from the comment boards, where virtually everyone has resorted to the walk through, often, like us, without luck.  Game designers apparently have not learned valuable lessons even today.  Needless to say we will not be purchasing their newest game.  On my older upstairs computer I am playing a very old game called The Last Express, which came out around the same time as Myst.  It runs perfectly on the old computer, and is quite fun, as you embark on the Orient Express in Paris, and become involved in a murder and mystery on board as the train travels past different stations.

Music home listening continues on three fronts.  We have finished with the first 40 Symphonies of Haydn, as well as up to and including the Op. 53 of Brahms and Britten.  Brahms Op. 54 coming up later tonight!  

Astronomy has been a disaster due to incredibly hazy and/or cloudy weather.  October is usually the best time to observe, and this month there was not a single good night to do so when the moon was out of the way.  In 2016 from July through October I was able to get out and observe 29 times.  In the same period of 2017 (a very bad year) I went out 16 times.  This year my grand total is 10!  I fear that I see a trend here, and it's not a pretty one.  So it is even more important that I am able to get out on almost any clear night, thanks to two less evenings of teaching.  The moon is waxing now, so of course it is wonderfully clear tonight.....

My Avon/Equinox reading project is still going great guns.  My right eye cataract is worsening, so it will need fixing.  I will try to arrange for the surgery right after our Vienna trip.  I currently have an appointment with my optometrist on Oct. 31st.  He will then refer me to a specialist, hopefully Dr. Emara, who did my left eye a few years ago.  Anyway, I am still reading like a demon.  I finished three books on the NM trip, including the enormous biography of Brahms.  I just recently discovered that the same author penned a Beethoven biography that was recently published.   Sounds like a must-read!  In the past two weeks I have finished and reviewed 8 books!  I am currently reading an early one by Robert Silverberg, having just finished a really fascinating one by Hal Clement.  Clement is a hard-science writer; he chooses an interesting situation on an interesting planet and then goes about demonstrating how things work there.  He  wrote a short series (two novels and three stories) about the planet Mesklin and its caterpillar-like inhabitants, and it proved to be one of the most fascinating discoveries so far in my reading project.  I have read the first novel (Mission of Gravity) and two short stories.  The novel was absolutely mind-blowing!  I have discovered so many fabulous authors in this reading project (see my Avon/Equinox page for a full blown discussion)!

My only current writing project is trying to finish the NM Trip #38 journal.  It's nearly done.  the problem is that I physically write this, and I find that I cannot write for more than 30 minutes at a time.  It should be finished soon, and I will begin work on the web version.  In other writing projects, I have a good start on my 2nd Valeria the Vegetarian Vampire story, and hope to finish it before winter is out.  With two short books in hand and ideas for at least two more, that will be the time to approach publishers.  Once published, Hollywood should snap up the film rights, and we will live the high life in California!  We will still visit Canada occasionally.

Half-Listening to Bartok's Music: The One-Ear Approach

Friday evening was our second concert of the new season.  Held at Wayne State University, it was an all-Bartok program that went a long way to cleaning out my head of music rooted in the traditional tonic-dominant relationship.  The concert opened with a short talk on Bartok's music, and then was followed by the brief but very intense 3-movement Sonata for Piano.  This is a wickedly difficult piece to perform, with big chords, large leaps, and rhythms that almost defy human ability to interpret from the printed score and play in time.  Of course just as the music was about to start, my hearing aid battery died.  I forgot to bring a spare battery.  It has a music setting which isn't too bad for listening and practicing, but last night I had only one ear to hear with.  Still sounded pretty amazing.

After a very short intermission to set up the stage came the master's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.  Two percussion players use 11 different instruments during the piece, which is essentially a quartet.  Again it is in three movements, and follows traditional classic forms to a large extent.  This is vibrant and very exciting music to listen to, but very difficult to perform.  A fine job was done by all concerned!  I used to play a lot of Bartok, and have one of his big pieces scheduled for the concert after my upcoming one.  Meanwhile, several of the astronomy pieces I have been playing recently by Alexina Louie are heavily influenced by Bartok, as well as Debussy.  It was interesting to hear to hear the speaker last night tell how much Debussy's harmony influenced Bartok.

It was a cold a rainy night in Detroit, but restaurants were crowded and there was a lot going on in the big city.  We had dinner beforehand nearby, and were home by 10 pm.  Concert #3 for us is next Friday night here in Windsor, as my instructor Philip Adamson performs four more Beethoven Sonatas, his fourth concert in his complete cycle of the 32 sonatas.  I am very excited!  Sometime next week I will bother him again for a few lessons on my up and coming repertoire.  My practicing has gone much better this past week, and I am now considerably beyond where I was with the pieces before the trip to New Mexico.

Speaking of that trip, I am finishing up my written journal, and hope to start on the website version early next week.  Stay tuned for news of that.  In film news, one of Deb's short films took first prize at a festival in Venice!  She is currently working on her Youtube channel.

Detroit Concert Season Opener

Sunday, October 7th/18 

Last night we attended the first of four planned concerts between now and our trip to Vienna.  The first three concerts come on consecutive weekends, so we have another concert next weekend, and another the week after that.  Our first concert of the new season was a performance of the Schubert Octet, one of the greatest pieces of chamber music ever written.  It's a long one, too, at nearly one hour.  It has six movements, and is heavily modelled on the earlier septet by Beethoven.  Schubert added a 2nd violin, which Beethoven omitted.  So he used a full string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello), then added a double bass and the three winds; French horn, bassoon, and clarinet.  The clarinet and first violin interact continually, but the other instruments get to solo as well, and the sound combinations are nearly limitless.

There are six movements, and each one seems to be a complete world unto itself.  The 12st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th are all massive in scale, and really do need to be taken one at a time by the listener.  Hearing all six uninterrupted is like eating a heavy 6-course dinner!  We had the good fortune of hearing 8 chamber players from the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, from London, and they gave a magnificent performance and interpretation.  Before the concert the musicians came out, and the horn player talked about the piece at some length.  the group played excerpts to illustrate certain points, mainly comparisons with the Beethoven work.  Then they performed uninterrupted.  It was a long time to sit, as there was no intermission. 

We hit heavy rain and storms once in Detroit, and again after the concert.  At home, 3.2" of rain was sitting in the rain gauge!!  Needless to say, our little creek is rather full today.  With the warm weather we've been having (and clouds), I will be cutting the grass again very soon.  Our tree and yard man paid us a visit last week.  We will be getting some trees trimmed and some old branches removed, as well as having an old stump ground down, thus stopping the endless number of shoots that grow on it every year.  There is still so much to do in the yard, but there are still mosquitoes, so we will wait a bit longer.

My own concert preparation has taken a bit of a dip since our return from NM.  I have been finding it really difficult to get back into the pieces, though my very bad ear likely has something to do with it.  I am not yet back where I was with the pieces before I left home, and am having trouble concentrating.  My reading concentration is fine, and I've been working hard on my trip journal (it's about half done now).  I just think I would rather be in NM right now, hiking some more.  When I returned and finally sat down at the piano again, I fully realized how difficult it is to play piano and learn pieces!  I actually had a dull ache in my brain afterwards.  It really does take full concentration, which is very demanding, especially if you are continually thinking of mountains.

October 2018

Wed., Oct. 3rd/18 

The former staff at APS was always much closer than most other schools.  We were a lot like family, and made some friends for life.  The camaraderie shown back in those days carries on occasionally even today.  Our luncheon attracted 16 or 17 people that use to work together day in and day out, doing our best to send students out the door in the right direction.It was a fun get-together, and there will be others.  One of our members couldn't be there, as his wife is dying of lung cancer.  Previously to the luncheon, a collection had been taken up raising considerable funds, and given to Dave for restaurants etc. as he deals with his wife's severe and terminal illness.  Anyway, it is a good group of people, and I am happy to still know them and was proud to work with them for many years.

The October astronomy session is turning into an unmitigated disaster, much like most of the other months so far this year.  Warm, humid, cloudy weather is persisting, much like a continuation of the first half of Sept.  No clear nights are predicted so far in the 10 day forecast.  Unbelievable.

I finally got some trip photos printed, and I am writing up the journal.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will be finished, and then can concentrate on the web version.  Next trip is Vienna in early December.  Caroline sent a link to a review of the Bruegel exhibit, and of course it sounds totally amazing.  At least half a dozen new (for us) paintings of his will be on display, in addition to the Prado's incredible "Triumph of Death", a picture we got to know extremely well during our six-week stay in Madrid in the 1980s.

Another tram view of the Sandia Mtns. in Albuquerque. 

September 2018

Sunday, Sept. 30th/18 

Today was as close to a normal day as I've had in three weeks.  I got to practice piano, which was an interesting experience.  My hands basically moved where they were supposed to move, but it felt like it wasn't me playing.  Very strange.  It will take several more days before I really know what I am doing again.  The listening program also resumed, this time with Brahms' Op. 53, his absolutely beautiful Alto Rhapsody, with words by Goethe.  Very few of his compositions made any immediate impact on audiences, but this one did.  A stunning piece of music! 

When I travel, the reading I bring along with me is not related to my SF rediscovery project.  Instead, I pull books from my other waiting piles.  On our recent journey to NM I finally finished up the Brahms biography.  It proved to be a most rewarding journey, and seemed like fiction much of the time.  The writer (Jan Swafford) has a real story-telling gift, and not only makes Brahms come alive in every chapter, but goes a long way to explain his very strange and off-putting character and personality.  I got the book for free several years ago for attending all of the DSO Brahms festival concerts, and have been reading it off and on since then.  The other book I brought and finished was the first book of the Solar Pons stories by August Derleth!  Often as good as the Conan Doyle Holmes stories, and frequently better, I look forward to the next batch soon.

More yard work today saw us about 30% caught up with what needs doing.  Tomorrow we will call the tree experts to come give us a hand with the bigger stuff.  The weather is perfect now for outdoor work, after a brutal summer.  I also continue to edit our trip photos, and hope to prepare some soon for printing. 

 This was the high point of our NM journey, as we huffed and puffed our way up another big beast of a mountain.

Saturday, Sept. 29th/18 

The laundry is done, the grass is cut (we had over 3" of rain in the interim)and we are (mostly) unpacked.  Two weeks with little news to read, virtually no social media, and even less piano practice and (for Deb) film making.  Normal operations should resume tomorrow.  I have begun the long and slow process of editing over 250 photos, hopefully keeping at least half of them.  We managed four great days of hiking, and more of driving.  Internet updates will take some time, as I always complete the written version first.  In the meantime, I will post some photos here as they are edited.  Check back often.

This wonderful little sculpture was seen in a window in downtown Springfield, Missouri.  It quickly became the symbol of my solo drive west, as I gained altitude each day until I reached NM!

 Autumn was arriving in the higher elevations.  Sandia Mtns., Albuquerque, as seen from the tram that took us from 6000' to over 10,000'  for our first big hike.  That downward opening is a waterfall during the monsoon season.

Friday, Sept. 28th/18 

We're Baa-aack!!  Just back from a great road trip--3689 miles and several mountains later, we have returned with a pile of laundry, and grass that needs serious trimming!  Lots of great photos to share, with maybe a few posted here tomorrow if time permits to download and edit them.  Stay tuned to this channel for more exciting updates soon!

Friday, Sept. 14th/18 

Twas the night before New Mexico, and all through the house there was much activity.  Laundry going now, packing finally begun, though things have been set aside for over a week.  It's much worse for a camping trip, but bad enough for a two week driving excursion.  It feels a bit strange teaching for two weeks, then stopping for two weeks.  As for the practicing, what can I say?  Things are good right now.  However, in two weeks probably not so much.  As to reading material, I am taking a break from my fiction project, and will be trying to finish the excellent Brahms biography I started a few years ago.  Sadly, the listening project is on hold, as my ear has reached a point where listening to music is no longer pleasant. 

I now have the ability to blog during the journey, so there might be one or two entries coming up.  Alas, no photos, as we cannot get them from the camera to the internet.  I managed one clear, very damp night of observing for the entire two week dark sky session.  Rather disappointing.  We will be in NM for my 65th birthday and the Autumn Equinox (with a fire on the outdoor patio at Sherri's B & B), and a full moon.  By the time we are back, it will be almost time to resume observing once again.

See everyone again in about 4,000 miles!

Monday, Sept. 10th/18 

Four days of clouds now, and cool temps.  Yesterday it remained in the 50s all day.  It was a total delight!  Not to fear, sunshine and warmth are returning soon.  However, New Moon has come and gone without a decent observing night.  Very few days left in the September viewing session.  Gordon (the storm, not the steam engine) is to blame for the weekend clouds.  Another incoming hurricane will affect us next weekend.

We have 4 days of hiking and exploring in NM coming up, a very exciting prospect!  Three areas involve new territory (and maps) for us, with one hike being a repeat from several years ago.  Mt. Taylor is an enormous one-time volcano that we climbed previously.  However, having just reached the summit, we were set upon by a fierce elctrical storm.  Hopefully this time we will be able to enjoy some summit time.

 Mt. Taylor, NM  rises to 11, 305', with a mile of prominence.  This will be the highest point of our upcoming journey.  Phtot was taken from our Amtrak journey to California a few years ago.

Saturday, Sept. 8th/18  

There was a time, perhaps a happier time, when Detroit belonged to us. We were the only people on the streets not begging for money.  We were trying to support small business, stay safe, and do all things cultural.  There were literally no white people to be seen outside the hallowed halls of Orchestra Hall or the Art Institute.  Definitely no babies, no children, and no dogs, other than the lean, hungry kind you wanted to avoid.  Switch to a few years later--Detroit is swamped with white suburbanites who have "discovered" Detroit, and don't mind being seen drunk and loud and belligerent at any time of day.  Dogs on leashes everywhere.  Babies!  Kids of all ages!  Is this Detroit?  There is even a version of the Croydon Boxpark, appearing suddenly on a lonely and previously empty series of vacant lots, now populated by happy suburbanites discovering a "real" city near them for the first time in their lives.

Ya, it was crazy busy in Detroit today on our visit.  We still managed to find an undiscovered vegan lunch spot near the heart of it all, and one of the best taprooms in existence, remarkably quiet today while chaos soared all around it.  We did a mailbox run to get Deb's Oscar-like statue from her win in Cincinnati, did a walk through one of Dearborn's most unique historic neighbourhoods, and managed to escape the throngs threatening to choke the city into some version of London or Manhattan.  Worst of all is the new electric scooter craze.  One day there were none, then there were billions of them, speeding up and down streets, sidewalks, and boulevards.  Rent a scooter, leave it anywhere when you are done with it, and move on.  We first noted them in Cincinnati a few weeks ago, but they are WAY more prevalent in the Motor City.  Bad news all round.  Can you imagine these things in London?  On sidewalks?  Well, folks, watch for it....

My reading mind has never been stretched so far as since I undertook the Ballantine Fantasy project, and now the Avon/Equinox SF project.  So many books I would never have glanced at, or, at most, read part of the first chapter and immediately discarded.  However, since I am now hooked on about 24 SF authors and committed to reading most of their output, I have been forced to read on through books I never would have finished.  And guess what?  I am coming out a much better person for it!  Some of these books (John Sladek and Norman Spinrad, Hal Clement and Ward Moore, Eric Frank Russell and Piers Anthony, among others, come to mind) have cranked my brain wide open in ways I thought only James Blish and Iain M. Banks could do. 

We have now had two cloudy, cool days in a row! This is big news.  Tomorrow will be Day Three!!  The remnants of Hurricane Gordon are arriving as I write, promising a full day of rain Sunday.  I will believe it when it happens....

Thursday, Sept. 6th/18

First week of teaching went smoothly.  I only have 9 students right now, down six from last year.  This is both good news and bad:  good because it means I have an easy year, and bad because it means that our travel fund will not reach its annual goal of $10,000.   This has been a very busy year for travel, with two major trips still coming up.  We went to London in the spring, then to Columbus to Origins Film Festival and Board Game Fair.  I went to Sudbury, then Deb went to Lindsay, both for family visits.  Then we went to Cincinnati.  NM coming up, and then Vienna.  So we went way over our $10,000 budget this year!  Next year will have to be more subdued, unless a few more students find their way into my studio.  Deb also had a harp student, who is now gone, so actually we are down 7 this year.  It means more astronomy chances for me, and I will likely return to Iaido in October. 

It has been a horribly hot and humid start to the school year, with temps from Sunday through Wed. at 88, 88, 90, and 92 F.  Add in gross humidity and it was a very bad time.  We stayed mostly indoors, though we managed to mostly keep up our morning walking program.  We have no choice, as some big hikes are coming our way very soon.  The kids were pretty burnt out by the time they got to me for their piano lessons.  The news reported this week that 80% of classrooms in our county are not air conditioned.  Today was much more comfortable, with cloudy skies and much lower temps.

There was a shooting this morning in downtown Cincinnati, one block from our recent hotel.  I was in the lobby of the bank where the shootings took place exactly two weeks ago.  A bit scary.

Today was Deb's blood work day; next Thursday is her infusion.

And in other riveting news, it has been a rather uncompromisingly bad observing session.  Not one night has tempted me to drive out to the observatory, mostly due to extreme heat and humidity, even at night.  Nothing promising in the near future, either.

Sunday, Sept. 2nd/18

A new astronomy session has begun, though it seems unlikely that a good night will arrive any time soon.  We are currently in yet another wave of heat and humidity, our 95th or 96th such event lately.  However, yesterday we received our biggest rain since June 19th.  The brown grass was green within one hour of the storm passing!  When this session ends in less than two weeks, we will be on our way to NM!

The storm hit us yesterday as we were visiting with Randy and Anita in the late afternoon.  There was more lightning than I am comfortable with, with several very close hits.  We left there house in Windsor as the storm was dying down, but ended up driving through another storm as we headed for home.  We chose back roads, largely with no traffic, so we had no difficulty getting home.  There was 1.6" in the rain gauge when we got there!  We had 4 days in August at 90 F or above, making the seasonal total 20 days so far, not including today.  It is supposed to be hot and humid all week.  I remember those 'back to school days' as a classroom teacher!  September can be brutal.

Randy traded in his white van, which he originally bought to transport his large telescope.  He bought a limited edition, numbered Bullitt Mustang, assembled in suburban Detroit with the engine made in Windsor.  It is way too much car for me, but Randy seems to enjoy driving it.  It rumbles pretty good, and has more power than it knows what to do with.  The car would be a lot more fun if there were legal places to drive it the way it was designed to be driven. 

Anita has been recently bothered by more pain than usual, and her pain meds are being increased to cope with it.  She is now on her newest chemo concoction, and is due for the next hit on Tuesday.  They won't know how the tumours are doing until late September, so until then we can only hope that the chemo is helping.  Best of luck Tuesday, Anita, and the several days afterwards!

My right ear has been plugged since March, but has gotten much worse since the hot and sticky weather has arrived.  It is at least 85% blocked right now, making piano practice an added challenge.  I have some memorization goals set before leaving for NM, and so far I seem on track to meet them.

Mapman Mike