It's A F*x^#!* Winter Wonderland

February 15th is when it all ends here at the Homestead.  Except it didn't this time.  Usually we have mild temps and rain by now.  Since we've moved to this address (1989?), winter has been extended only once before.  So twice in 35 years isn't too bad, I guess.  We had some snow Wednesday overnight and again last night.  There is now about 6" of the stuff on the ground.  My daily exercise program, which usually consists of treadmill walking, stretching, etc., has now shifted to "cross-training," i.e. shovelling.  Our driveway is about 70' long, and the county snowplows leave a nice big and heavy snowbank at the foot of it.  So Thursday was a shovelling day, and today is another one.  Today's snow is heavier, though, so I am taking things in short bursts.  I've been out twice already, with perhaps two more sessions to go.

 

Speaking of sessions, astronomy was set to resume this coming Tuesday.  But take a look at these temps (in F) for the upcoming week.  Add wind to that forecast, and it's going to be another indoor week.  And being away from a city, we are usually a few degrees colder than Detroit (which comes in handy in the summer, but not in the winter).

 

 

Here are a few snapshots looking out the back door this morning.

 

That is a lilac bush.

 

A few backyard shots.  It took until mid-February, but we finally have some snow. 

 

Last week we finally finished playing all of the board games I had laid out to play on the Christmas holidays.  The final game in that stack is called Teotihuacan.  The game is loosely based on sacred rites used to build and decorate a large main temple in the prehistoric city.  We visited the actual city of Teotihuacan in the early 80s, and not only had experiences that were transcendent, but we also got the worst sunburns of our lives.  Anyway, the game is a very complex one to set up.  There are three rounds to play, so we played one round each day, leaving the table set up.  And since it took a previous day to set up the game, it actually took us four days to play.  Of course this can all be done in one long day, taking about 4-5 hours from opening the box to closing it again with everything back inside.  It's quite a fun game, so we don't mind playing once in a while, despite all the hassles of setting it up and relearning the rules.

 

The game is afoot!  In this case, Teotihuacan. 

 

The real thing.  We are sitting atop the Pyramid of the Moon, with the main (highest) pyramid at the left.  We climbed it, too.  There was a kid at the top selling coca cola. 

 

Last Friday I went and ran through most of my piano pieces in Chatham.  Jim P. has an 8'11 3/4" Steinway (9'), and having played it once before I was eager to do it again.  Jim is a piano teacher and a truly great player.  He tackles some of the biggest pieces in the repertoire, and pulls them off incredibly well.  Over two hours I ran through my program for him and he in turn played some amazing pieces for me.  These included Ravel's Jeux D'Eau, one of Bach's very difficult toccatas (E Minor), and the solo piano version Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue.  So that was a very fun afternoon!  As my program is nearing completion, it's time now to take it to Philip A., my teacher, for some final polishing and criticizing.  I'm still on the fence over performing the Bach and Couperin on harpsichord or piano.

 

In film news there is only one to report.  Mel Brooks has directed some of the silliest films to ever appear on the screen.  Spaceballs is his 1987 send up of Star Wars.  There are many jokes that fall flat, but when he hits a ringer it makes the whole thing worth watching.  And there are several ringers.  Rick Moranis is too perfect as Dark Helmet, and John Candy as the doggy friend Barf.  We hadn't seen this film for decades.  Highly recommended for SF fans who realize how deeply Star Wars itself set back the SF genre.  

Now showing on Amazon Prime video. 

 

Mapman Mike