Despite this being a family friendly blog, I seldom talk about my family. However, I do think of them a lot. One of my two surviving aunts passed away yesterday, sister to my mother. The Whitehead clan (my mother's maiden name) consisted of my grandfather, William, born in Newcastle, England, and Maes, with roots in French Canada, and their seven children. Evelyn died when only a few weeks old. Jack was killed in WW2, on a Lancaster bombing mission that went wrong. Jimmy was killed in a car accident south of Sudbury. Jimmy was only six years older than me, and was much more like a brother than an uncle. He lived with us in Sudbury for a time, attending the same school as me. He introduced me to SF, fantasy (Lord of the Rings, among others), intelligent board games, music, films, Tarzan, and a host of topics that kept us having discussions late into many a night. He died when I was in 4th year of university Music, and he was just starting out as a lawyer. That was the same year my dad had his major heart attack. It was a rough year for me, and the family.
That death was back in 1979. Since then, the four remaining Whiteheads, 3 sisters and a brother, have survived. The girls were Jacqueline, Pauline, and Geraldine (the latter being my mother). Bill is the lone male survivor. Though at different times of my life I was close to all of them, and they treated me often as their own child, I have been out of contact with Jacqueline for a while now. I saw her briefly two years ago when I was in Sudbury, but not since then. Jacqueline passed away peacefully yesterday, well into her 90s. I have not seen the obit yet, but will try and publish it here soon. Husband Mike passed away several years ago. Richard and Sandra are my two cousins, surviving children of Jacqueline and Mike. At one time, Jimmy, Ricky, and me were like the three musketeers, growing up together, though all different ages. Ricky fell between me and Jimmy in ages. I was the youngest, and always got the benefits of hanging out with the older guys. Many were the sleepovers with either or both of them, and our adventures at Lake Penage are too numerous to mention.
I have a number of films to report on, though that can wait a bit. I had the pleasure of two clear nights, last Sunday and Monday, though both were very, very damp affairs. Still, the skies were clear and I got some decent work done in my 7 hours total of observing time. The weather has changed suddenly, to cold and very wet. Halloween night promises to be totally miserable, though we will be cozy by the fire. A major Tarot reading is in store for us, along with all kinds of treats. We baked two pumpkin pies tonight, part of the celebration of Samhain. Speaking of fires, we tried something new tonight. We usually roast coffee outside on the table on the back deck. But now that the temperatures are too cold for outdoor roasting, we tried an indoor roast. We put the little roaster on a foil roast pan, inside the fire place. It vented perfectly, and the beans roasted even better than outside! So for the first time, we can roast our own coffee beans year round. Not only is it cheaper than buying good beans, but the flavour is much better, and we get to choose the type of coffee, which is nearly limitless.
It's time for another autumn landscape from the DIA. I will dedicate this painting, an absolute favourite of mine, to my aunt Jacqueline. Though she would have never seen it, I know exactly what her reaction would have been if she had. Rest In Peace, Auntie!
Kaaterskill Falls, 1871. Oil on canvas. Sanford Robinson Gifford, American, 1823-1880.
Unframed it is 14" x 12". Detroit Institute of Arts.
I'll try to catch up with our film watching soon. And my end of the month literature summary is coming up soon, too. But I haven't even finished my astronomy notes, yet.
Mapman Mike
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