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....
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
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