We are one day away from completing our 28-day walking program, the one we always use to go from a zero activity level (following Deb's surgery, and a very hot early July), to a basic level of walking fitness. Today we undertook a 90 minute urban hike in Windsor. It was sunny, pretty warm, (about 83 F) and very humid. We stopped for lunch halfway through at Pause Cafe, a place with more and more vegan options every time we go. He makes soup from very old recipes, and today he had one of our favourites, a cold soup from almonds from a recipe from Spain. It is so delicious, and our bodies were ready for a cold soup today. His gazpacho is also fearsomely good, but today it was almond soup. We also split a large salad plate with tofu, cucumber, onions, kidney beans, and other delicious things. By the time we were ready to leave, we were prepared for the long walk back to our vehicle, left way uptown.
Deb continues to have films shown on virtually every weekend this summer, and on into September. We are two weeks away from attending the festival in Cincinnati, where three of her films will be screened. One of them is nominated for an award.
Our listening program is in progress, and we have completed 70 of Haydn's symphonies, and 70 opus of both Brahms and Britten. Next up is Symphony #71 by Haydn.
Deb's weekend movie choice was an odd little children's film from 1979, just released on the Criterion channel. Called "Black Jack," the film is difficult to watch without subtitles (there were none). The soft spoken Yorkshire accents are difficult enough, but the sound miking was less than good as well. Shot on 16 mm film, it is still engaging, and the mostly outdoor settings and the costumes were absolutely perfect. A very large man escapes death on the gallows by choking down a metal spoon before he is hung. He awakens in his coffin, in a house where an old woman sells the bodies of such men to the local medical society. The time is 1750, and the setting is Yorkshire.
In his escape he kidnaps a young boy, and they disappear quickly into the countryside. Here they encounter Belle, a young girl who is being delivered to a mad house. When her carriage breaks down she escapes, and she and the boy (Tolly) link up and become friends. The girl quickly loses her madness, and the two of them hook up with a "doctor" and his travelling medicine show. From a novel by Leon Garfield, the film is worth a second viewing, perhaps after the novel has been read I have ordered a copy of the book).
A wonderful little film from 1979, but pretty hard to understand the dialogue.
On our trip to Detroit last Thursday we went downtown, spending some money at Vault of Midnight, a game and comic store. I bought the complete comic of The Watchmen by Alan Moore. The novel contains all 12 comics, as well as written fiction by the author that goes along with it. I will read one complete comic each time I finish up a book on my Avon/Equinox list, so it will take me 12 books to complete the comic. I'm currently reading a volume of 21 stories by Silverberg, which is nearly 400 pages long. We also bought a new board game, called Teotihuacan: City of Gods. It has an enormous and very attractive playing board, as well as about five thousand small pieces needed to play. So far I have set up the board so it is ready for two players to play. That took me two days! We might get started tonight.
The box.
The game board. For 1-4 players.
Some possible heavy rain is predicted overnight. Despite flooding still everywhere around us, mostly due to the high lake levels from the winter snow melt (record setting), we badly need some rain. Just not 3", please. Half an inch or so would be nice.
Mapman Mike
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