Got up between 8 and 9 and lit the stove from the embers of last night, to give a little bit of extra heat to the two 6 gallon cans of bathwater which have been sitting on it overnight. Then had a shave, bath and hair wash as working this afternoon.
The gig went OK.... not an easy one as it was in a nursery, based at the DEFRA buildings alongside the River Foss. So lots of very young children, too young really to enjoy my show to the full, but still plenty of enthusiasm and participation. After the circus show they had a bit of a dance and then party tea... and I made all of them a balloon model.
Was back soon after 4pm, via Country Fresh, to a relatively peaceful house. Gill had made pumpkin pasties for tonight's party that the boys have been invited to.
Our youngest wasn't feeling very well and I don't like Trick or Treating, and these days I'm not much into parties either, so I stayed in with him and Gill went out with our eldest. They had a lovely time and we had a quiet but fine time.
Gill got me up fairly early as she'd suggested to our child who's had homework set over the half term holidays that he ought to do some today, and he immediately started arguing and kicking off. This is so depressing.
However, things calmed down once I'd come and sat amongst them, but when the subject was raised again with the idea that if he did a bit this morning, he might be able to go and play with a friend this afternoon, the same crap behaviour erupted. He did eventually get down to some, ie researching the shape of some musical notation, a 'rest sign' or something. I tried to help him with a couple of Google searches but he is so incredibly resistant to being helped. We are in a difficult situation, with not being allowed to help and him not knowing how to find the info but not accepting help.
After lunch, Gill went out and I sorted pumpkin seeds from the flesh by putting the whole lot in a bowl of water, and taking the floating seeds off the top and popping them on sheets of paper to dry off.
The boys played nicely but as soon as Gill came back they kicked off again! Why is this? We had a nice tea... lasagna which used some of the pumpkin soup, and was delicious.
Barry Potter came as arranged at 7pm to pick up my large fruit press and apple crusher prior to his orchard event on Sunday, and I invited him in to see the stoves which were going at full tilt, as the weather is very cold so we've got both running. He was impressed and perhaps a little closer to getting his own stove, something he's been preparing for for a little while...
I went out a few minutes later, to go to the York in Transition visioning meeting at The Stables. Laura Potts, an experienced 'green' and facilitator had agreed to help us find common ground and look at ways forward for the group. It was a good meeting... I think we did move forward and I met a nice guy called Ian whom I hope to meet again.
Home just before 10pm and the house was lovely and warm, smelling of apples and pumpkins.
However, things calmed down once I'd come and sat amongst them, but when the subject was raised again with the idea that if he did a bit this morning, he might be able to go and play with a friend this afternoon, the same crap behaviour erupted. He did eventually get down to some, ie researching the shape of some musical notation, a 'rest sign' or something. I tried to help him with a couple of Google searches but he is so incredibly resistant to being helped. We are in a difficult situation, with not being allowed to help and him not knowing how to find the info but not accepting help.
After lunch, Gill went out and I sorted pumpkin seeds from the flesh by putting the whole lot in a bowl of water, and taking the floating seeds off the top and popping them on sheets of paper to dry off.
The boys played nicely but as soon as Gill came back they kicked off again! Why is this? We had a nice tea... lasagna which used some of the pumpkin soup, and was delicious.
Barry Potter came as arranged at 7pm to pick up my large fruit press and apple crusher prior to his orchard event on Sunday, and I invited him in to see the stoves which were going at full tilt, as the weather is very cold so we've got both running. He was impressed and perhaps a little closer to getting his own stove, something he's been preparing for for a little while...
I went out a few minutes later, to go to the York in Transition visioning meeting at The Stables. Laura Potts, an experienced 'green' and facilitator had agreed to help us find common ground and look at ways forward for the group. It was a good meeting... I think we did move forward and I met a nice guy called Ian whom I hope to meet again.
Home just before 10pm and the house was lovely and warm, smelling of apples and pumpkins.
Cuddly morning. Didn't get dressed til lunchtime.. the family had gone out to town by bus to get some clothes as the boys keep growing and not wearing them out but outgrowing them. They actually came back with a book, some material and stuff for a costume!
I got a phone call from Cycle Heaven saying Gill's bike wouldn't be ready til about 4pm, not 2 as was suggested yesterday, so I spent some time in the garden, tidying up frosted nasturtiums and picking off seeds and young flowerbuds for pickling. I've not pickled nasturtium buds yet, but since capers are flower buds, I'm trying nasturtium buds! The seeds are great, a lovely hot taste, good for pizzas and making bland grain dishes more interesting.
At 4 went to Cycle Heaven to pick up my bike with new, improved brakes (the disc-brake pads needed replacing) and Gill's which had been serviced. Also got two pairs of LED lights for the boys, as we're going out tonight.
So a bit of a rush to put the lights on their bikes, and a quick bowl of pumpkin soup which was very good, and left for St Nicks at about 5.20... picking up Maria's son on the way. The event was a York Rotters Pumpkin Evening, with a giant pumpkin competition and a pumpkin carving competition. I had purchased three pumpkins from Country Fresh (grown in Heslington!) and also took my biggest squash to enter into the competition. My little 2.5kg squash was dwarfed by Jo's big pumpkin, which itself was dwarfed by a giant 55kg monster grown by children at Bishopthorpe School... this of course won! The carving went well... loads of competitors / participants which meant loads of seeds for me to take back home to dry and prepare for my muesli. My eldest son won the third prize in the carving competition, which made him happy, and all three of them enjoyed themselves. Got home sometime after 7pm.
A very peaceful and happy evening...
Until, quite late, my laptop screen decied to give up completely, after several days of playing up and not behaving properly.
I got a phone call from Cycle Heaven saying Gill's bike wouldn't be ready til about 4pm, not 2 as was suggested yesterday, so I spent some time in the garden, tidying up frosted nasturtiums and picking off seeds and young flowerbuds for pickling. I've not pickled nasturtium buds yet, but since capers are flower buds, I'm trying nasturtium buds! The seeds are great, a lovely hot taste, good for pizzas and making bland grain dishes more interesting.
At 4 went to Cycle Heaven to pick up my bike with new, improved brakes (the disc-brake pads needed replacing) and Gill's which had been serviced. Also got two pairs of LED lights for the boys, as we're going out tonight.
So a bit of a rush to put the lights on their bikes, and a quick bowl of pumpkin soup which was very good, and left for St Nicks at about 5.20... picking up Maria's son on the way. The event was a York Rotters Pumpkin Evening, with a giant pumpkin competition and a pumpkin carving competition. I had purchased three pumpkins from Country Fresh (grown in Heslington!) and also took my biggest squash to enter into the competition. My little 2.5kg squash was dwarfed by Jo's big pumpkin, which itself was dwarfed by a giant 55kg monster grown by children at Bishopthorpe School... this of course won! The carving went well... loads of competitors / participants which meant loads of seeds for me to take back home to dry and prepare for my muesli. My eldest son won the third prize in the carving competition, which made him happy, and all three of them enjoyed themselves. Got home sometime after 7pm.
A very peaceful and happy evening...
Until, quite late, my laptop screen decied to give up completely, after several days of playing up and not behaving properly.
Woke up dreaming and had a leisurely morning reading NewScientist about willpower! Very interesting...
At 11ish our friend Maria came round to tell us about her first term as a teacher... much more work than as a biologist at the University! Her son and ours played very happily on the computer, and he stayed for lunch when Maria went back home to do some marking. Whilst Maria was here I made pumpkin soup, this time with a tin of tomatoes in, with the other half of the pumpkin.
I did some work in the garden after lunch, clearing up leaves and other jobettes including emptying the compostumbler and putting the contents in a dalek. At about 4 Gill came out and said that Cycle Heaven had rang and asked me when I was bringing my bike in to have the disc brakes tightened... which I was going to do today but forgot!
So I went in to deliver my bike, plus Gill's which needs a service. I left them both there and came back on a Cycle Heaven replacement bike... I'll collect both the repaired/revamped bikes tomorrow at 2pm.
Gill made a risotto for tea which I added a few pickled walnuts to... tasty!
Later, Gill and I had a game of Scrabble on the board (which I won) but at the same time (whilst Gill was trying to come up with her words) I was playing Scrabble on Facebook and winning there too.
At 11ish our friend Maria came round to tell us about her first term as a teacher... much more work than as a biologist at the University! Her son and ours played very happily on the computer, and he stayed for lunch when Maria went back home to do some marking. Whilst Maria was here I made pumpkin soup, this time with a tin of tomatoes in, with the other half of the pumpkin.
I did some work in the garden after lunch, clearing up leaves and other jobettes including emptying the compostumbler and putting the contents in a dalek. At about 4 Gill came out and said that Cycle Heaven had rang and asked me when I was bringing my bike in to have the disc brakes tightened... which I was going to do today but forgot!
So I went in to deliver my bike, plus Gill's which needs a service. I left them both there and came back on a Cycle Heaven replacement bike... I'll collect both the repaired/revamped bikes tomorrow at 2pm.
Gill made a risotto for tea which I added a few pickled walnuts to... tasty!
Later, Gill and I had a game of Scrabble on the board (which I won) but at the same time (whilst Gill was trying to come up with her words) I was playing Scrabble on Facebook and winning there too.
Woke up soon after 6 thinking about Dexter's artwork and how I'd like it to look, but also with a headache and running nose, so came down and lit the stove off last night's embers and had a hot chocolate and paracetamol.
I didn't go back to bed as intended but mooched around and was generally around as the family got up, and all was happy and pleasent until suddenly it wasn't, with the word 'bored' being bandied around. No-one wanted to go on a cycle ride with me and eventually, after lunch, Gill took them to the Tang Hall Library to find a couple of books each. They get through so many!
I did a little bit of garden work, sawing little logs (with bowsaw), splitting a couple of rounds with my axe and then cutting up a big pile of sticks with secateurs into three potato sacks. These will dry easily and be kindling for future stoves.
Not too bad an evening, although there were several huge outbursts which we took in our stride.
After the children went to bed, I did my paid blog on a good website called Worldometers and draught-excluding snakes, see http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/green-living/ for today's entry.
Still sniffly this evening, so took it easy, stayed warm.
I didn't go back to bed as intended but mooched around and was generally around as the family got up, and all was happy and pleasent until suddenly it wasn't, with the word 'bored' being bandied around. No-one wanted to go on a cycle ride with me and eventually, after lunch, Gill took them to the Tang Hall Library to find a couple of books each. They get through so many!
I did a little bit of garden work, sawing little logs (with bowsaw), splitting a couple of rounds with my axe and then cutting up a big pile of sticks with secateurs into three potato sacks. These will dry easily and be kindling for future stoves.
Not too bad an evening, although there were several huge outbursts which we took in our stride.
After the children went to bed, I did my paid blog on a good website called Worldometers and draught-excluding snakes, see http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/green-living/ for today's entry.
Still sniffly this evening, so took it easy, stayed warm.
Our second half of Day 3 of my trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was spent driving to Miners Castle. This sandstone rock formation is easily accessible by car and a short walk to the many viewing platforms that dot the area. As you will see from the pictures, the gale that had started the day before was in full form and the weather was very cold and windy. The waves crashed on and through the rocks and the beach was torrent of relentless waves. After traveling all that way, we were not about to kept indoors by an "itty bitty" autumn storm, seven one that blew our knit caps from our heads and made me wish our rental cabin came with a hot tub. A Starbucks would have sufficed too, but such beacons of civilization are very scarce in the UP.
Wave crash on the shoreline of Miners Beach
On a warmer day, Miners Beach would be a wonderful place to linger. It is romantic in its petite size and secluded feel (OK, this might be a stretch considering that only us crazy Coloradans were out and summer might just bring the mobs).
A quiet and relaxing day mostly. Was late getting up, watched Countryfile with Gill whilst the boys had 45 minutes each on the computer. Gill made brownies and a quiche and I did a vast wash up, the only downside of so much home cooking.
Listened to Gardeners Question Time and we giggled to hear a question from a chap with 'just' 18 compost heaps in his garden. After which I went down the garden to add some bags of leaves to my leafmold pile and clear up the old squash vines, pick some bean pods and the last of the sweetcorn.
Finished making the soup started yesterday... added bouillon and herbs and whizzed it up with the handheld blender. Then reheated it on the stove. Gill bought a 20 pence loaf at Scummerfield and made some of it into croutons and that's what we had for tea... pumpkin soup, croutons, broccoli quiche and raw carrot, followed by brownies, fruit and ice cream. Blanched the sweetcorn and peeled the kernels off for tea tomorrow.
I developed a bit of a stuffed-up head and runny nose so went to bed for a couple of hours, but came down for 9pm to see the first installment of the Barbara Cartland dramatisation, as I am curious about her life as we share an ancestor (my middle name is her maiden name), but it didn't grab me that much. Gill loves dramas but I get a bit lost and sometimes find the plot difficult to keep up with. Good acting though.
Listened to Gardeners Question Time and we giggled to hear a question from a chap with 'just' 18 compost heaps in his garden. After which I went down the garden to add some bags of leaves to my leafmold pile and clear up the old squash vines, pick some bean pods and the last of the sweetcorn.
Finished making the soup started yesterday... added bouillon and herbs and whizzed it up with the handheld blender. Then reheated it on the stove. Gill bought a 20 pence loaf at Scummerfield and made some of it into croutons and that's what we had for tea... pumpkin soup, croutons, broccoli quiche and raw carrot, followed by brownies, fruit and ice cream. Blanched the sweetcorn and peeled the kernels off for tea tomorrow.
I developed a bit of a stuffed-up head and runny nose so went to bed for a couple of hours, but came down for 9pm to see the first installment of the Barbara Cartland dramatisation, as I am curious about her life as we share an ancestor (my middle name is her maiden name), but it didn't grab me that much. Gill loves dramas but I get a bit lost and sometimes find the plot difficult to keep up with. Good acting though.
A very relaxing start to the day but at 10.45 had to get dressed to get on my bike to go into town, to my GPs for a 'flu jab, which I get as I have asthma and I could have a serious illness if I got influenza. So as I'm entitled to a vaccination, I get one every year.
I then went on to Sainsburys for some of their excellent bread and the Building Society to put in a tiny cheque, part of a payment from a gig last weekend, sent to me as a deposit (I never ask for a deposit, but occasionally someone sends one).
Then via Country Fresh to home and lunch. The children were complaining of being bored (!) so Gill and I decided to walk them down to the Castle Museum. We walked down Heslington Road which was a pleasent route, not too busy traffic-wise. However, Gill tripped over a line in the pavement (or something!) and ended up on the ground, but several people stopped to help her up before I got back to her, and within a few minutes she seemed to be ok. So we got to the Museum at 2.45 and spent an hour and a half there. As local residents with a York Card and proof of residence, we get in free. This museum is really good, York's best museum in our combined opinion. It's a museum of everyday life, with period rooms, washing machines and vacuum cleaners, shops and a brilliant cobbled street with a new lighting regime... a 'night-time experience' with thunderstorm, owls, dawn chorus and wake-up calls from 'residents'... a good addition to the experience! We chatted to the toyshop chap and had plenty of sitting down time whilst the kids enjoyed exploring and playing.
I walked back, collecting cans and bottles, whilst the others got the bus. They got back just before me, but I'd found about 30 aluminium cans, three steel cans and two glass bottles, all litter and now set for being recycled. I also found a handful of sweet chestnuts! Foraging rocks!
So a peaceful evening as the children were worn out, a good ploy! Lit both stoves to warm the house up, and blanched another load of grapes. Also cooked up a pumpkin soup (2 onions, chopped and fried in EV olive oil in a large saucepan on the woodstove, 2 sticks of celery, ditto, one half of a big pumpkin de-seeded, skin removed, chopped into chunks and dropped into the pan once the onion/celery was cooked. Added some water which I washed out the last marmite jar with, a cup of red wine and a squirt of balsamic vinegar, topped up with boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours. Tomorrow will whizz it and add herbs.)
Then had a game of Scrabble with Gill which I was lucky to win by one point!
I then went on to Sainsburys for some of their excellent bread and the Building Society to put in a tiny cheque, part of a payment from a gig last weekend, sent to me as a deposit (I never ask for a deposit, but occasionally someone sends one).
Then via Country Fresh to home and lunch. The children were complaining of being bored (!) so Gill and I decided to walk them down to the Castle Museum. We walked down Heslington Road which was a pleasent route, not too busy traffic-wise. However, Gill tripped over a line in the pavement (or something!) and ended up on the ground, but several people stopped to help her up before I got back to her, and within a few minutes she seemed to be ok. So we got to the Museum at 2.45 and spent an hour and a half there. As local residents with a York Card and proof of residence, we get in free. This museum is really good, York's best museum in our combined opinion. It's a museum of everyday life, with period rooms, washing machines and vacuum cleaners, shops and a brilliant cobbled street with a new lighting regime... a 'night-time experience' with thunderstorm, owls, dawn chorus and wake-up calls from 'residents'... a good addition to the experience! We chatted to the toyshop chap and had plenty of sitting down time whilst the kids enjoyed exploring and playing.
I walked back, collecting cans and bottles, whilst the others got the bus. They got back just before me, but I'd found about 30 aluminium cans, three steel cans and two glass bottles, all litter and now set for being recycled. I also found a handful of sweet chestnuts! Foraging rocks!
So a peaceful evening as the children were worn out, a good ploy! Lit both stoves to warm the house up, and blanched another load of grapes. Also cooked up a pumpkin soup (2 onions, chopped and fried in EV olive oil in a large saucepan on the woodstove, 2 sticks of celery, ditto, one half of a big pumpkin de-seeded, skin removed, chopped into chunks and dropped into the pan once the onion/celery was cooked. Added some water which I washed out the last marmite jar with, a cup of red wine and a squirt of balsamic vinegar, topped up with boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours. Tomorrow will whizz it and add herbs.)
Then had a game of Scrabble with Gill which I was lucky to win by one point!
Cycled into town with Gill, which was lovely... had a hot choc with her and visited the Futon shop to get a cover for the futon Gill got in the summer. Then I went to Cycle Heaven to book both our bikes in for some TLC next week, and I came home via the Thomas's Bread Shop to get their 'Yesterbake' deal which makes life so much cheaper.
Lunch and did a bit of work in the garden before going to get our youngest and was very pleased to see the pumpkin monsters on sale, alongside Green Thumbs Biscuits, which sold out. I couldn't help but buy one called 'Viletta, who loves compost' made with the pumpkin and four pears plus other bits of veg... and two weren't sold so I was given them, so pumpkin soup tomorrow!
Had a peaceful evening still doing the reminiscence artwork prep for Dexter and Ali.
Lunch and did a bit of work in the garden before going to get our youngest and was very pleased to see the pumpkin monsters on sale, alongside Green Thumbs Biscuits, which sold out. I couldn't help but buy one called 'Viletta, who loves compost' made with the pumpkin and four pears plus other bits of veg... and two weren't sold so I was given them, so pumpkin soup tomorrow!
Had a peaceful evening still doing the reminiscence artwork prep for Dexter and Ali.
I took out littlest to school and had a brief chat with the headteacher who popped into the playground when all the children had gone in. I told her I was pleased, very pleased, to see the Japanese Garden had been re-done, with the illegal treated sleepers taken out and replaced with untreated ones. She said that she was the most pleased it had been sorted out... I said I was even happier than her since I'd pointed out the error in the first place and therefore had 'caused' the kerfuffle. I also asked about the site of the new classrooms and it looks very much like they'll be partly on the site of the plot we dug over last year, so Green Thumbs will have to find another place to have a garden. I didn't have time to have another go at getting recycling on the agenda.
Did some more log stacking in the morning before heading off down to town to meet an author called Donna who's got a book about to be published, an autobiography, and we had a hot chocolate at El Piano together for an hour's chat.
After lunch I took my quiet shredder round to Phil's just up the road and helped him feed a pile of pruned out sticks and small branches through it... in return I'll get a small pile of the thicker sticks and a suprise gift, which will be a suprise!
I got our littlest from school and as Gill was out, didn't help with Green Thumbs... but it was OK as they were inside and doing pumpkin monsters, but when I got back Gill was in. I helped scrub potatoes for tea, Gill made a hotpot with a veggiesuet pie crust... lovely!
A good evening, did a lot of washing up to make space for washing and blanching grapes, as I've brought back about 30 punnets of red seedless grapes, which are unsaleable as some of each punnet is going mouldy, although over half of them are fine. Once blanched, to prevent mould, they dry quite quickly in trays on the woodstove and make excellent raisins.
Did some more log stacking in the morning before heading off down to town to meet an author called Donna who's got a book about to be published, an autobiography, and we had a hot chocolate at El Piano together for an hour's chat.
After lunch I took my quiet shredder round to Phil's just up the road and helped him feed a pile of pruned out sticks and small branches through it... in return I'll get a small pile of the thicker sticks and a suprise gift, which will be a suprise!
I got our littlest from school and as Gill was out, didn't help with Green Thumbs... but it was OK as they were inside and doing pumpkin monsters, but when I got back Gill was in. I helped scrub potatoes for tea, Gill made a hotpot with a veggiesuet pie crust... lovely!
A good evening, did a lot of washing up to make space for washing and blanching grapes, as I've brought back about 30 punnets of red seedless grapes, which are unsaleable as some of each punnet is going mouldy, although over half of them are fine. Once blanched, to prevent mould, they dry quite quickly in trays on the woodstove and make excellent raisins.
I took our youngest to school and came back with four sacks of leaves.
A quiet day in the house mainly... more chores whilst Gill went to Art in Osbaldwick, proudly showing me a lovely 'negative' artwork when she got back. They'd been given a couple of chairs to draw, but had been told to draw everything but the chairs, so the gaps between were there but the chairs themselves were just silhouettes.
Before and after lunch I spent a good long time cutting back this year's fruited loganberry canes and tying in the ones which have grown this year and will fruit next year. This is a tricky job, gloves would make it completely impossible so I used bare hands and secateurs, but quite a few of the tiny prickles and spines found their way into my hands, so I spent a bit of time during the evening chopping them out like I do with splinters, using my very sharp penknife scissors.
Continued with the work I'm doing for Ali's project, which will convert into a 'Dexter' artwork. It's a list of words from my first 40 years, memory joggers. I need about a thousand, so only another 800 to go then!!!
I met up with Julia from Green Thumbs at 3.40 at Country Fresh, so she could buy and take away 20 pumpkins which the youngsters will make into creatures, rather than carve with sharp knives which we think wouldn't be a good idea from a safety point of view. I'm grateful to the guys at Country Fresh for the very reasonable deal on the pumpkins!
A cosy evening with Gill once the boys were in bed, which took time as the homework situation had caused a lot of anger.
A quiet day in the house mainly... more chores whilst Gill went to Art in Osbaldwick, proudly showing me a lovely 'negative' artwork when she got back. They'd been given a couple of chairs to draw, but had been told to draw everything but the chairs, so the gaps between were there but the chairs themselves were just silhouettes.
Before and after lunch I spent a good long time cutting back this year's fruited loganberry canes and tying in the ones which have grown this year and will fruit next year. This is a tricky job, gloves would make it completely impossible so I used bare hands and secateurs, but quite a few of the tiny prickles and spines found their way into my hands, so I spent a bit of time during the evening chopping them out like I do with splinters, using my very sharp penknife scissors.
Continued with the work I'm doing for Ali's project, which will convert into a 'Dexter' artwork. It's a list of words from my first 40 years, memory joggers. I need about a thousand, so only another 800 to go then!!!
I met up with Julia from Green Thumbs at 3.40 at Country Fresh, so she could buy and take away 20 pumpkins which the youngsters will make into creatures, rather than carve with sharp knives which we think wouldn't be a good idea from a safety point of view. I'm grateful to the guys at Country Fresh for the very reasonable deal on the pumpkins!
A cosy evening with Gill once the boys were in bed, which took time as the homework situation had caused a lot of anger.
Wowow a lie in!!!!!!!
Actually had a lie-in til just after 9, lucky lucky me... Gill took our little un to school and our eldest is having a day off as his school has staff training today.
A good day, plenty to do, but spent an hour playing Scrabble whilst the woodstove heated water, for washing up. Our youngest was at the theatre this afternoon, so wasn't due back in school until 4.20, so I cycled down there with our eldest, who was pleased to see a couple of his friends who are at a different secondary school.
A filling meal of pasta and squash.
Actually had a lie-in til just after 9, lucky lucky me... Gill took our little un to school and our eldest is having a day off as his school has staff training today.
A good day, plenty to do, but spent an hour playing Scrabble whilst the woodstove heated water, for washing up. Our youngest was at the theatre this afternoon, so wasn't due back in school until 4.20, so I cycled down there with our eldest, who was pleased to see a couple of his friends who are at a different secondary school.
A filling meal of pasta and squash.
A good day... took our little one into school and came back via lots of windblown leaves, and filled 3 sacks for the leafmold pile...
I spent the whole day inside, doing a load of washing up and fruit drying whilst Gill went to the dentist again. I spent quite a lot of time playing Scrabble on Facebook, between pots and pans and apple slices.... I must remember to choose a long time for goes as I had a short bit of game with a stranger and it was on a two minute timer, and she forced a win against me as I ran out of time... not really fair, but I've learnt from this! Most of my games are on a 24 hour or 7 day timer... much more civilised!
Gill went to school to fetch our youngest and at 4.20 I went to 'Meet the Teacher' as Parents evening is now called. Our youngest is doing well, good reading and writing scores, maths too, so we're proud of him.
I came back with four large sacks of leaves... the leafmold enclosure is looking pretty full now, but I'll build the sides up with cardboard whilst it sits down a bit!
A toasty evening with a big log on the stove and boys being relatively well behaved. More Scrabble as Gill snoozed... and then did my paid blog on a solution to the 'Credit Crunch'.
I spent the whole day inside, doing a load of washing up and fruit drying whilst Gill went to the dentist again. I spent quite a lot of time playing Scrabble on Facebook, between pots and pans and apple slices.... I must remember to choose a long time for goes as I had a short bit of game with a stranger and it was on a two minute timer, and she forced a win against me as I ran out of time... not really fair, but I've learnt from this! Most of my games are on a 24 hour or 7 day timer... much more civilised!
Gill went to school to fetch our youngest and at 4.20 I went to 'Meet the Teacher' as Parents evening is now called. Our youngest is doing well, good reading and writing scores, maths too, so we're proud of him.
I came back with four large sacks of leaves... the leafmold enclosure is looking pretty full now, but I'll build the sides up with cardboard whilst it sits down a bit!
A toasty evening with a big log on the stove and boys being relatively well behaved. More Scrabble as Gill snoozed... and then did my paid blog on a solution to the 'Credit Crunch'.
Another of one of my findings :-)
The site of photographer Todd Selby, a person with an eye for wonderfull things.
The site of photographer Todd Selby, a person with an eye for wonderfull things.
I think this doesn't need a lot of explanation, just enjoy the pictures and do visit the website. You will be looking there around for a good moment.
Quite an early start, to go into town to help Ali get off back home, so got to the station at about 11 and she got the 11.28, and I came back home.
Tried to use my computer to do a variety of things and and some seemed to have stopped working, which is annoying... but not the blog which I'm happy about.
Had lunch and started to get ready for work. My gig today was a 6yr old's birthday party in the cafe at Rowntree Park... just my circus skills show, no balloons today. As usual, the show went well despite a couple of mistakes... the ceiling is almost too low for me to balance a devilstick on my nose so I had to stoop slightly to do the trick and it is hugely more difficult like that.... but as the trick is a crucial part of the show, I have to do it.... and managed third time around.
After that, went to the Winning Post to get my deposit money back from the Transition event a couple of weekends ago, and came home via Country Fresh to pick up a fairly small dose of compostables.... luckily as I couldn't carry much more!
I had a few minutes relaxation inside before getting changed and went down to the leafmold enclosure to finish digging it out and putting last year's leaves in plastic sacks, so the chicken wire enclosure is ready for this year's harvest. I had already got about 5 sacks of autumn leaves ready for it, so they went straight in, half filling it up. They will bed down to a much smaller volume, and I'll probably be able to put in between 6 to 10 times as many before the enclosure is full.
Did a bit of stacking logs before being called in to have tea and try to help the boys with their homework. I did bathwater fot our youngest and a relatively peaceful evening ensued.
Maria sent me this link
http://3rings.designerpages.com/2008/02/26/dutchtub/
wow!
Want one!!!
Tried to use my computer to do a variety of things and and some seemed to have stopped working, which is annoying... but not the blog which I'm happy about.
Had lunch and started to get ready for work. My gig today was a 6yr old's birthday party in the cafe at Rowntree Park... just my circus skills show, no balloons today. As usual, the show went well despite a couple of mistakes... the ceiling is almost too low for me to balance a devilstick on my nose so I had to stoop slightly to do the trick and it is hugely more difficult like that.... but as the trick is a crucial part of the show, I have to do it.... and managed third time around.
After that, went to the Winning Post to get my deposit money back from the Transition event a couple of weekends ago, and came home via Country Fresh to pick up a fairly small dose of compostables.... luckily as I couldn't carry much more!
I had a few minutes relaxation inside before getting changed and went down to the leafmold enclosure to finish digging it out and putting last year's leaves in plastic sacks, so the chicken wire enclosure is ready for this year's harvest. I had already got about 5 sacks of autumn leaves ready for it, so they went straight in, half filling it up. They will bed down to a much smaller volume, and I'll probably be able to put in between 6 to 10 times as many before the enclosure is full.
Did a bit of stacking logs before being called in to have tea and try to help the boys with their homework. I did bathwater fot our youngest and a relatively peaceful evening ensued.
Maria sent me this link
http://3rings.designerpages.com/2008/02/26/dutchtub/
wow!
Want one!!!
Quite a busy morning at home, and went to pick up Ali at 10.30, and on the way to St Nicks I (and then Ali too!) stopped to chat to a Corpus Christi Carmelite Nun called Sister Ann, who was working in the Convent garden, and was delighted that I offered to remove a couple of cut branches and invited me to help remove several 'weed' trees (Sycamore) which I hope to make time to do. She said I was a gift from God! I didn't reply to that comment! Then Ali and I rolled along to St Nicks as they were having a 'taster art day', preceding a project called 'Seeing Green' and Ali filmed me explaining about the design of the building and some of the projects that are based there. She interviewed my buddy Martin who just happened to be there, and both John and Ivana who cope really well with my enthusiasm and make the most of it, including today asking me to help move some heavy metalwork which is needed to take the turbine down, as it's having new blades fitted next week.
So then we wheeled up to our house, where Ali was able to just get in, our hallway being just wide enough for her chair, and we had lunch. She filmed me lighting the stove and explaining about the renewable fuels, how efficient the stove is compared to open fires, and the dried fruit and bathwater systems...
After lunch, the boys took her camera down the garden to show how long it is (the garden is very inaccessible... narrow paths, encroaching vegetation, mud etc) and after that I took it down to show my view of it. Then she came outside the front to watch me chainsawing, splitting, stacking and crushing cans ready for taking them to the metal merchant, and Ali filmed lots of this.
Then we all had tea together ; Gill had done vegetable rice and I did some home grown squash on top of this. Gill and Ali had a long chat which was good, I'm glad that they get on so well, as I met Ali at a gig in Sheffield, she's become my friend and now she's become a friend of the family, which is lovely. She is extremely easy to be with and very understanding and friendly. We are all very lucky, I think. During the evening I had a short telephone chat to Ali's daughter who's a massive (5 yr old) fan of Professor Fiddlesticks, which is lovely too.
I put the boys to bed (ie made supper for them, found their PJs, told them to go upstairs before 9pm, switched their lights out) because Ali was interviewing Gill for her film, and they were chatting intensely. I went to get the washing off the line and then we had a game of Scrabble...... I won and Ali came a close second, but Gill was falling asleep by this time and had bad luck with the letters she picked. A good end to a lovely day.
So at 11.30 I walked down towards town with Ali to help her get ready for bed.... and on the way noticed a body lying on the pavement at the bottom of a hedge. I went to investigate and he was snoring (proving he was alive!) and I thought it best to see if he was allright, and tried to wake him up and ask him. He was very groggy but came to and I found out his name and where he lived, and that he did want to go back home. As I was talking to him a chap approached from the other side of the road saying he'd already called an ambulance. He'd seen the chap fall over after staggering around, but hadn't come to his aid. A couple of minutes later the abmbulance came, I briefly gave the driver the details and we continued on our journey.
I helped Ali get her stuff together, which in her own home is easy for her to do, but in an allegedly accessible hotel room is not as easy, and got home for half-past midnight, had a bath and was in bed for before 2am.
So then we wheeled up to our house, where Ali was able to just get in, our hallway being just wide enough for her chair, and we had lunch. She filmed me lighting the stove and explaining about the renewable fuels, how efficient the stove is compared to open fires, and the dried fruit and bathwater systems...
After lunch, the boys took her camera down the garden to show how long it is (the garden is very inaccessible... narrow paths, encroaching vegetation, mud etc) and after that I took it down to show my view of it. Then she came outside the front to watch me chainsawing, splitting, stacking and crushing cans ready for taking them to the metal merchant, and Ali filmed lots of this.
Then we all had tea together ; Gill had done vegetable rice and I did some home grown squash on top of this. Gill and Ali had a long chat which was good, I'm glad that they get on so well, as I met Ali at a gig in Sheffield, she's become my friend and now she's become a friend of the family, which is lovely. She is extremely easy to be with and very understanding and friendly. We are all very lucky, I think. During the evening I had a short telephone chat to Ali's daughter who's a massive (5 yr old) fan of Professor Fiddlesticks, which is lovely too.
I put the boys to bed (ie made supper for them, found their PJs, told them to go upstairs before 9pm, switched their lights out) because Ali was interviewing Gill for her film, and they were chatting intensely. I went to get the washing off the line and then we had a game of Scrabble...... I won and Ali came a close second, but Gill was falling asleep by this time and had bad luck with the letters she picked. A good end to a lovely day.
So at 11.30 I walked down towards town with Ali to help her get ready for bed.... and on the way noticed a body lying on the pavement at the bottom of a hedge. I went to investigate and he was snoring (proving he was alive!) and I thought it best to see if he was allright, and tried to wake him up and ask him. He was very groggy but came to and I found out his name and where he lived, and that he did want to go back home. As I was talking to him a chap approached from the other side of the road saying he'd already called an ambulance. He'd seen the chap fall over after staggering around, but hadn't come to his aid. A couple of minutes later the abmbulance came, I briefly gave the driver the details and we continued on our journey.
I helped Ali get her stuff together, which in her own home is easy for her to do, but in an allegedly accessible hotel room is not as easy, and got home for half-past midnight, had a bath and was in bed for before 2am.
On Day 3 of our trip, it was raining rather steadily, so rather than head out for a long hike we decided to hit a few car friendly sights. The first of these was Munising Falls.
Nestled in a damp canyon infested with ferns and other water loving plants, Munising Falls is a pleasant destination in its own right. Around 50 feet in height, it dribbles water over a large sandy precipice. At one point, you were allowed to walk behind the falls, which would have been pleasant indeed. Now, the National Park Service limits the views to boardwalks on either side.
Coming from Colorado, the dangers associated with walking behind these falls would have been minuscule compared to the western approach to Mt. Quandary;. The insurance weenies, who have probably never left their well padded offices, must have had something to do with this. Given that no one was around, I was sorely tempted to BREAK THE LAW and do it anyway. Dang it, but I am too good of a Soldier to, some might say too brainwashed, to be so brazen.
Munising Falls from the right
A bit of an argy bargy this morning due to someone not doing his homework... but both boys did go to school and got there on time. I spent the morning with Gill who was feeling very tired, and I went to the Tang Hall Library to take back two books the boys have finished, and pick up another in a series that one of them is reading and had ordered. That'll mean a peaceful weekend with a good book to be immersed in... Melody with her CVS Funding Advice hat on was there, so I slipped on my YorkLETS hat and asked her about funding stuff for the new software... she was excellent and gave me some really good advice.
Home and then cycled down to Counrty Fresh to get some veg for the weekend and then back in time to make sandwiches to take up to New Earswick Quaker Meeting Housefor the AVP NEEM meeting... we usually gather for lunch at midday and the meeting kicks off at 1pm. I chaired and got us through the meeting by 3.30. A good meeting... it's like being amongst old friends (well, I am amongst old Friends, literally, hahahaha) (they won't mind me putting that!) It was a productive meeting anyway, got lots done.
Then zoom home and made up the stove, had a coffee, did a 10 min wash up and zoomed into town to see Ali, who's in York to make a film. She did some filming at the Indian restaurant we ate at and she was happy with what we did.
Home quite late, Gill had had a peaceful evening, thank goodness!
Home and then cycled down to Counrty Fresh to get some veg for the weekend and then back in time to make sandwiches to take up to New Earswick Quaker Meeting Housefor the AVP NEEM meeting... we usually gather for lunch at midday and the meeting kicks off at 1pm. I chaired and got us through the meeting by 3.30. A good meeting... it's like being amongst old friends (well, I am amongst old Friends, literally, hahahaha) (they won't mind me putting that!) It was a productive meeting anyway, got lots done.
Then zoom home and made up the stove, had a coffee, did a 10 min wash up and zoomed into town to see Ali, who's in York to make a film. She did some filming at the Indian restaurant we ate at and she was happy with what we did.
Home quite late, Gill had had a peaceful evening, thank goodness!
Waking up after a pitch-black storm in our cozy cabin on Shelter Bay was a treat. This cabin was located just a few feet from the lake. It was surrounded by woods and two bridges traversed a long narrow pond. While my two friends lounged in the sunny solarium facing the lake, I wandered about snapping pictures. So forgive me in indulging in this fit of plant loving photography.
There is something about the smell of rotting vegetation after a rain! In this series there were at least 3 species of fungi. Alas, they won’t be the last you see. Mushrooms, jelly fungi, and toadstools sprouted like wildflowers in the Michigan woods. I had no idea they could be so varied in style.
The Pond Series
I like the these Lilly pond picture because of the striations in the water.
Fall color reflected in the pond
Ok, it is just reeds growing in the pond but I liked the reflections.
The day after the pictures above, a 3-day gale started to blow. After the storm had abated the sky and clouds turned deep blue. One morning a Bald Eagle soared between us and Grand Island.
Another early start, although as I'd bought two day's tickets yesterday, I was able to get to the station a few minutes later and go and hop straight on the train. Had a hassle free journey and was picked up by Mary, one of the staff at Paddock School, who visits the station every morning to drop her husband off so she waited for me to arrive at 8.30 and took me the 10 minutes to the school.
I was working with the KS 1 kids today.... reception and infants.... all doing Science Week, mainly stuff about bodies and senses, insects and minibeasts (a visiting animal wrangler with giant millipedes and a snake), this planet and the night sky (a planetarium) and my stuff on how things work, forces etc. So I again did three one hour shows, with very basic sciency info such as push/pull, weight, gravity, friction (explained with stickyness/roughness as opposed to not very slippery!) and gyroscopic forces explained (not!) with 'Derek the Diabolo' and an array of spinning tops and the like. Working with the very young is more difficult as their hand-eye co-ordination is not well developed, and some of the concepts might be a bit difficult, although I did check with the teachers first thing, and they said 'go for it'!
I had a good time with the teachers and other staff, a really lovely 'vibe' in the school. They seemed to enjoy the day too, and I was taken to the station and got the just-before 3 train back home. I stopped by the Building Society on the way home to put my cheque in, and at Country Fresh to pick up a medium box of compostables.
A peaceful evening... I pulled out of two meetings as Gill wanted me to stay in and ensure an easy evening for her, and anyway, I was tired so I was happy to have a quiet evening in.
I was working with the KS 1 kids today.... reception and infants.... all doing Science Week, mainly stuff about bodies and senses, insects and minibeasts (a visiting animal wrangler with giant millipedes and a snake), this planet and the night sky (a planetarium) and my stuff on how things work, forces etc. So I again did three one hour shows, with very basic sciency info such as push/pull, weight, gravity, friction (explained with stickyness/roughness as opposed to not very slippery!) and gyroscopic forces explained (not!) with 'Derek the Diabolo' and an array of spinning tops and the like. Working with the very young is more difficult as their hand-eye co-ordination is not well developed, and some of the concepts might be a bit difficult, although I did check with the teachers first thing, and they said 'go for it'!
I had a good time with the teachers and other staff, a really lovely 'vibe' in the school. They seemed to enjoy the day too, and I was taken to the station and got the just-before 3 train back home. I stopped by the Building Society on the way home to put my cheque in, and at Country Fresh to pick up a medium box of compostables.
A peaceful evening... I pulled out of two meetings as Gill wanted me to stay in and ensure an easy evening for her, and anyway, I was tired so I was happy to have a quiet evening in.
I had to get up very early as I had to cycle to the station with all my gear to get a train at 7.40 to Huddersfield, to attend Science Week at Paddock School, where I was performing 3 one-hour 'Professor Fiddlesticks Fun Physics' shows for Key Stage 2 children, with circus tricks being used to explain and demonstrate various maths and science subjects. I did 2 before lunch and one after, they all went brilliantly and the audience/participants were wonderful. We all enjoyed ourselves a lot.
I got driven back to the station and was soon on a train back to York, I tried to read my NewScientist but kept on dozing. I cycled into town to visit Craft Basics on Gillygate to replace my peacock feathers which are getting a little ragged because of all the use they've been getting. I also called in to Country Fresh to pick up compostables, got 2 carrier bags and a large box, somehow balanced these on top of the unicycles on the trailer and took them home.
Gill had done some pasta for tea and we had yesterday's soup on top of it as a sauce. Lovely!
BLOG ACTION DAY
I'd been thinking about a Blog Action Day post for this blog, and although it's not about abject poverty but people on low incomes, I want to tell you about a scam which has been directed at me, as a small business owner.
Many businesses are suffering right now and some might be thinking about taking on some extra advertising to drum up more work and generate more income. But beware, entertainers and perhaps some other businesses are at risk of being taken in by a scam which could mean that you lose money, and at these times, no-one can afford to do that.
About 3 months ago I was phoned by a company offering to place an advert for me in a Child Safety Directory. The concept was that the directory would have a load of info in it about lots of child safety issues, such as roads, online safety, 'stranger danger' etc. I said it sounded like a reasonable idea and I might consider placing an advert in it. I asked them to send me the paperwork, a sample booklet and advertisers rates. Nothing came and I forgot about it. Then a few weeks later, I got another phone call with a persuasive person telling me that I'd agreed to an advert and the options were £399, £299 or £199... and remember they cover the whole country... I was sure I hadn't agreed to anything, especially as I'd not seen anything in writing, and was careful to not agree to anything, as a verbal agreement can be legally binding.
I have been contacted a couple more times and after the last conversation, got the company address and contact name, and I contacted Trading Standards, aka 'Consumer Direct' (telephone 08454 04 05 06) to discuss this issue. They were able to confirm that there have been many similar scams, aimed at ripping off small businesses who are well-meaning, kind and perhaps just a little gullable.... Their website gives good advice about how anyone can avoid being a victim, lose money, experience identity theft and therefore potentially lose even more money.....
Now this experience, even if I had paid for a non-existant advert, would not have landed me in poverty, but it would have reduced my available income, and once someone has been taken in by this type of scam, their details are sold to other scammers who try to take advantage of them as well. So beware, take care, and be careful.
I got driven back to the station and was soon on a train back to York, I tried to read my NewScientist but kept on dozing. I cycled into town to visit Craft Basics on Gillygate to replace my peacock feathers which are getting a little ragged because of all the use they've been getting. I also called in to Country Fresh to pick up compostables, got 2 carrier bags and a large box, somehow balanced these on top of the unicycles on the trailer and took them home.
Gill had done some pasta for tea and we had yesterday's soup on top of it as a sauce. Lovely!
BLOG ACTION DAY
I'd been thinking about a Blog Action Day post for this blog, and although it's not about abject poverty but people on low incomes, I want to tell you about a scam which has been directed at me, as a small business owner.
Many businesses are suffering right now and some might be thinking about taking on some extra advertising to drum up more work and generate more income. But beware, entertainers and perhaps some other businesses are at risk of being taken in by a scam which could mean that you lose money, and at these times, no-one can afford to do that.
About 3 months ago I was phoned by a company offering to place an advert for me in a Child Safety Directory. The concept was that the directory would have a load of info in it about lots of child safety issues, such as roads, online safety, 'stranger danger' etc. I said it sounded like a reasonable idea and I might consider placing an advert in it. I asked them to send me the paperwork, a sample booklet and advertisers rates. Nothing came and I forgot about it. Then a few weeks later, I got another phone call with a persuasive person telling me that I'd agreed to an advert and the options were £399, £299 or £199... and remember they cover the whole country... I was sure I hadn't agreed to anything, especially as I'd not seen anything in writing, and was careful to not agree to anything, as a verbal agreement can be legally binding.
I have been contacted a couple more times and after the last conversation, got the company address and contact name, and I contacted Trading Standards, aka 'Consumer Direct' (telephone 08454 04 05 06) to discuss this issue. They were able to confirm that there have been many similar scams, aimed at ripping off small businesses who are well-meaning, kind and perhaps just a little gullable.... Their website gives good advice about how anyone can avoid being a victim, lose money, experience identity theft and therefore potentially lose even more money.....
Now this experience, even if I had paid for a non-existant advert, would not have landed me in poverty, but it would have reduced my available income, and once someone has been taken in by this type of scam, their details are sold to other scammers who try to take advantage of them as well. So beware, take care, and be careful.
I took our youngest to school (no cycle helmet hassles this morning!) and then cycled on to Fulford to deliver a confirmation letter to my agent, and on to town to pay a bill, get a cheque for rejoining Garden Organic, get some money for the TV licence, get a key cut for our eldest's school locker, and pick up compostable orange-halves and coffee grounds from Dylan at Millers Yard. Then onto St Nicks who were happy with a layer of oranges on their compost system, picked up the last of the sticks left over from the shredding weeks ago, and home....
A quiet afternoon, doing some kitchen stuff as Gill is taking it easy as she's still feeling rough after her tooth extraction.
I picked up our youngest, and much later on I did a blog post on Community Care for Blog Action Day, on a couple of local schemes which may help alleviate poverty.
A quiet afternoon, doing some kitchen stuff as Gill is taking it easy as she's still feeling rough after her tooth extraction.
I picked up our youngest, and much later on I did a blog post on Community Care for Blog Action Day, on a couple of local schemes which may help alleviate poverty.
Got downstairs at 8ish and our eldest was growling his way through his homework.
I took our youngest to school, and when I got home Gill was getting ready to go and have her tooth extracted, to prevent the re-occurrence of the abscess. I lit the stove so I could dry a load of fruit...
I spent quite a bit of time looking through information about cycle helmets, following the comment (last Friday) from Richard Keatinge about why he and his children don't wear them. I have learned a lot about this contentious subject, and hope that more research is undertaken.
We had a good afternoon talking to Paul, another new contact, and then at 3 went to pick up our little one.... coming back via the logpile and arriving at home with another 60 or 80 kilos...
As all was well after school, I popped down to St Nicks to help clear up some mess made over the weekend when someone threw a load of sticks around which I'd piled up to slowly take home bit by bit. I took one load home and put the rest into the St Nicks compound so that some of their volunteers can chop it all up for their stove...
Then came home and a very peaceful evening progressed, although Gill was feeling ill she boiled some home grown potatoes and broccoli, and created a nutloaf. I chatted with the boys, and as was finding some music to become a soundtrack to Ali's film, they took an interest in that.
These are some of my favourite tracks/bands:
Orbital: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEVBTKrs97I and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvuiXb--Lu8 (Gill and I were at this gig!)
Ozric Tentacles, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXAaDqPl7oY
Spacemen 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgrxD674IY&feature=related
Ultramarine, (not my fave track/album which I cannot find on Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ7cshAkWY
Eatstatic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8BOUtKe2dg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-_NneB5fmY&feature=related
The Orb see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvavCIRKJrw&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8xqMEOjtlA&feature=related
KLF see, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_64V5he-bk&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLUTDhdlJs4&feature=related
Peter Tosh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OZQ1vFCmoI and my favourite PT song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX7zvcW8eaU
and Tosh soundalike Lucky Dube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRzSOCDApc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFVjtBkfyDo
Pink Floyd, my fave album is Obscured by Clouds, which is soundtrack to a film called La Valee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5R-_Go5C2A
Deep Purple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFDvvQ5wi1w
and that's just a start... I have a vast music collection and this only just scratches the surface.
I haven't had time to find Human League, Kraftwerk, Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Small Faces, Beatles, Black Uhuru, Yello, Frank Chickens, Big Audio Dynamite, Blondie, Gong, Steve Hillage, Steve Miller, Gary Numan, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, all sorts of Break Dance/Hip Hop stuff, a smattering of classical such as Carl Orf's Carmina Burana and Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition (best version by Tomita) and thousands more, literally. I used to LOVE music and it still means a heck of a lot.... although when I listen now, the shivers don't go up and down my spine as they used to...
So the boys were fascinated to see/hear some of my favourite 'retro' life, which they know nothing of, as ever since we moved here, I've never got my turntable plugged into the amp, and then a couple of years after moving here, one child dropped a pot of paint onto the amp so that it no longer works. I really ought to get it all wired up again. So for 7 years, I've only listened to my tape collection and a few CDs, and the radio. The hundreds of vinyl records have just sat there.... which is a pity really as it's a varied and eclectic couple of bookshelf's full...
A very pleasant evening! Included a good phone chat with my parents and two Scrabble games on Facebook with two of my friends..
I took our youngest to school, and when I got home Gill was getting ready to go and have her tooth extracted, to prevent the re-occurrence of the abscess. I lit the stove so I could dry a load of fruit...
I spent quite a bit of time looking through information about cycle helmets, following the comment (last Friday) from Richard Keatinge about why he and his children don't wear them. I have learned a lot about this contentious subject, and hope that more research is undertaken.
We had a good afternoon talking to Paul, another new contact, and then at 3 went to pick up our little one.... coming back via the logpile and arriving at home with another 60 or 80 kilos...
As all was well after school, I popped down to St Nicks to help clear up some mess made over the weekend when someone threw a load of sticks around which I'd piled up to slowly take home bit by bit. I took one load home and put the rest into the St Nicks compound so that some of their volunteers can chop it all up for their stove...
Then came home and a very peaceful evening progressed, although Gill was feeling ill she boiled some home grown potatoes and broccoli, and created a nutloaf. I chatted with the boys, and as was finding some music to become a soundtrack to Ali's film, they took an interest in that.
These are some of my favourite tracks/bands:
Orbital: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEVBTKrs97I and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvuiXb--Lu8 (Gill and I were at this gig!)
Ozric Tentacles, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXAaDqPl7oY
Spacemen 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgrxD674IY&feature=related
Ultramarine, (not my fave track/album which I cannot find on Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCZ7cshAkWY
Eatstatic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8BOUtKe2dg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-_NneB5fmY&feature=related
The Orb see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvavCIRKJrw&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8xqMEOjtlA&feature=related
KLF see, for instance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_64V5he-bk&feature=related and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLUTDhdlJs4&feature=related
Peter Tosh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OZQ1vFCmoI and my favourite PT song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX7zvcW8eaU
and Tosh soundalike Lucky Dube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewRzSOCDApc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFVjtBkfyDo
Pink Floyd, my fave album is Obscured by Clouds, which is soundtrack to a film called La Valee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5R-_Go5C2A
Deep Purple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFDvvQ5wi1w
and that's just a start... I have a vast music collection and this only just scratches the surface.
I haven't had time to find Human League, Kraftwerk, Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Small Faces, Beatles, Black Uhuru, Yello, Frank Chickens, Big Audio Dynamite, Blondie, Gong, Steve Hillage, Steve Miller, Gary Numan, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Roxy Music, all sorts of Break Dance/Hip Hop stuff, a smattering of classical such as Carl Orf's Carmina Burana and Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition (best version by Tomita) and thousands more, literally. I used to LOVE music and it still means a heck of a lot.... although when I listen now, the shivers don't go up and down my spine as they used to...
So the boys were fascinated to see/hear some of my favourite 'retro' life, which they know nothing of, as ever since we moved here, I've never got my turntable plugged into the amp, and then a couple of years after moving here, one child dropped a pot of paint onto the amp so that it no longer works. I really ought to get it all wired up again. So for 7 years, I've only listened to my tape collection and a few CDs, and the radio. The hundreds of vinyl records have just sat there.... which is a pity really as it's a varied and eclectic couple of bookshelf's full...
A very pleasant evening! Included a good phone chat with my parents and two Scrabble games on Facebook with two of my friends..
A good slow start to the day. Peaceful.
Then lunch and got myself ready to go to work... loaded my bike trailer with jugglestuff and unicycles, and my backpack with costume, balloons and training unicycles.
Headed for the station and on to Starbeck, walked up past my favourite stove shop to the Methodist Church where I did a Circus show and balloon model workshop with a bunch of 20+ children, a few of whom were autistic or learning disabled. The birthday party went really well and shortly after 5 I was finished, got paid and headed back to the station.
Once back in York I cycled past Country Fresh where Richard had left me a box of gunk for sticking on the heap tomorrow. Glad that he's back... he's had a fortnight off and I've missed him and his amazing ability to sort the shop's recyclables out and reduce the amount stuff going in the bin.
Popped in on Deb on the way back, met her new friend Teff, had a quick chat and got home where Gill had had a tough day, attempting to get the children to do homework. My first words when I got in didn't help, but things settled down again. I had tea, reheated on the woodstove, and was quiet and tried not to interfere with anyone or anything...
The evening therefore was peaceful too.
Then lunch and got myself ready to go to work... loaded my bike trailer with jugglestuff and unicycles, and my backpack with costume, balloons and training unicycles.
Headed for the station and on to Starbeck, walked up past my favourite stove shop to the Methodist Church where I did a Circus show and balloon model workshop with a bunch of 20+ children, a few of whom were autistic or learning disabled. The birthday party went really well and shortly after 5 I was finished, got paid and headed back to the station.
Once back in York I cycled past Country Fresh where Richard had left me a box of gunk for sticking on the heap tomorrow. Glad that he's back... he's had a fortnight off and I've missed him and his amazing ability to sort the shop's recyclables out and reduce the amount stuff going in the bin.
Popped in on Deb on the way back, met her new friend Teff, had a quick chat and got home where Gill had had a tough day, attempting to get the children to do homework. My first words when I got in didn't help, but things settled down again. I had tea, reheated on the woodstove, and was quiet and tried not to interfere with anyone or anything...
The evening therefore was peaceful too.
Fall Color OH MY GOD!!!!!
To someone who has never seen the brilliant reds of a hardwood fall, our marathon drive to Copper Harbor and back was one long continuous scream. Toss in a mountain pass, Bald Eagles frolicking in the trees, and a brandy infused fruitcakes from the Jampot, and you have the makings for a quintessential fall day.
Refer to my map of the trip for a blow up of the roads on the Keweenaw Peninsula. We started out in Silver City, drove through Ontonagon, up Highway 26 to Houghton, took Highway 203 to Calmut, stopped in Coppertown, went through Eagle River and Eagle Harbor, took the Brockway Mountain Drive, ate lunch in Copper Harbor, and finally high tailed it late in the day back down Highway 41 to Shelter Bay. Phew! Now for the details.
(Left: Red Maples along Highway 26)Much of the fall color on the route was in two locations, farther south on Highway 26 and farther north after leaving Copper Harbor. The day was very rainy so the colors in my photos muted believe it or not. We stopped along the side of the road so that I could take a picture of the highway and noticed a dirt road leading off into the trees.
Supercalafragalisticexpaladocious! I can still close my eyes and still see these brilliant colors. They are emblazoned on my retinas. You could have left me there and I would still be taking pictures. My only regret is that I did not drag my tripod along. The sky was very dark, and even with a high ISO, my photos are less than perfect. Still, they hint at what we saw.
(Right: The entrance to the Coppertown Museum).The route took us through Houghton, which is a large town with many hotels and a super Wal-Mart. After the sparse infrastructure of Silver City, it was almost intrusive. It was not long before we were out of town, however, and crossing over to Hancock and up the coast.
(Left: Inside the Coppertown Museum).We stopped at Coppertown, which is a National Historic Park in the making. There were plenty of old brick buildings and a new museum that contained tons of relics from the Copper mining era. With our National Parks Pass, it only cost us $3 to get in.
From Coppertown, we headed up towards Eagle Harbor. On the west side of the loop, there are glimpses of small towns, lighthouses, and old homes. The water is not always visible but it is pleasant. There was a cold rain falling that made us hesitant to get out of the car and I felt continual pressure to keep moving since we were staying near Munising that night and Munising was a long ways away.
We did allow ourselves a short stop at the Jampot, a store run by the Society of Saint John, a Byzantine Monastery. Inside were delectable preserves made from local berries, muffins, and fruitcakes infused with brandy and other liquors. We purchased wild strawberry, thimbleberry, and bilberry. So far only the bilberry has been tasted. Lynn reports that it is scrumptious. We also grabbed a walnut-ginger fruitcake whose cheesecloth wrapping reeked of liquor. I loved it, and altruistically brought some back to the folks at work who also raved about it. The Jampot does mail order by the way, so you don’t need to travel to the UP to experience these unique treats.
Just before the turn off for the Brockway Mountain Drive is Lake Bailey. We watched Wood Ducks zip about in the rain with our binoculars. I really wish I we could have gotten out of the car at that point. I have never seen a Wood Duck up close.
Some folks at the Coppertown Museum told us about Brockway Mountain Drive. This route cuts off ten miles from the Highway 26 loop and is well worth it. It ascends to a [snort] dizzying height of 1,328 ft above sea level (726 ft above Lake Superior). Fog gripped much of the low lands, obscuring the really great views, but it was dramatic nonetheless. This route also enabled us to view Copper Harbor from above.
In Copper Harbor we ate lunch at the Harbor Haus, a quasi-German/Midwest restaurant. I say quasi because even though some of the staff was dressed in Dirndls and there were beer steins along the walls, the food was more Midwestern than German. Here we had our best Whitefish meal of the trip. Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) is ubiquitous in the UP. They school and feed near the lake bottom and are harvested by the millions. While still plentiful, they are being over fished just like every other “ocean going” creature. We certainly condoned this by overfeeding on Whitefish on this trip. I wish we could have taken the Harbor Haus along with us for the rest of the trip where the food was less inspiring.
At this point we were tempted to cancel our cabin in near Munising and stay in Copper Harbor. It was 4pm already and we had no idea how long it would take us to get to Munising. We asked to see some rooms in the numerous roadside motels in Copper Harbor. Most were dark, and filled with thrift store furniture. They at least had views of the harbor. Not knowing what awaited us in Shelter Bay, we decided to head out. This turned out to be an excellent choice because our cabin on Shelter Bay was not only beautiful and cozy, but was situated within yards of the lake.
Highway 41 forms the eastern side of the loop around the northern Keneenaw Peninsula. Here we found the famed tunnel of trees. This short stretch of road did not just show off its fall color, it engulfed its visitors so that there was no such thing as sky, just brilliant reds and the road. We were one with autumn. On a bike, this short stretch of road would have led to a religious conversion. It certainly produced many rapturous sighs. If such a road existed in Colorado, it would have been so clogged with cars so that no one would be able to move. We saw only 5 or 6 cars, however, so our bug-eyed epileptic fits of amazement went gratefully unnoticed by fellow leaf peepers.
The drive from this point on was a marathon push that ended in a dark and dreary slog through the pouring rain. The shore of Lake Superior is pitch black at night and we needed guidance to find our cabin. At one point we were staring directly at the road on which it was located and could not see it. When we awoke the next day, however, the cloud filtered sunlight revealed a marvelous treat. That will be the subject of my next post.
Lake of the Clouds is the most photographed section of the Porkies. We were really looking forward to it because of this. The reality was not a phenomenal as the pictures make it out to be. I am not sure why this is. It may be the mob of people who drive up to overlook, or it may be that compared to Presque Isle, it just wasn’t as interesting.
We had planed on hiking the Escarpment Trail, which departs from the overlook. The trail was in the trees, however, and spoiled Coloradans as we are; we were in the mood for the wide-open spaces after, oh horror, being in the trees for half a day! So instead of lingering and hiking, we decided to head down to the lake shore and revel in Lake Superior. My Visions of Lake Superior post have the photos from our drive along the shoreline.
If you go, the Lake of the Clouds is 10 miles up M-107 from the entrance to the park. The road dead ends at the overlook, which is a very broad chunk of uneven rock that some people had trouble navigating. I overheard two older gentlemen comment after walking the 100 yards to the view that it was well worth the effort. Everything is relative and for those who cannot get out into the woods, viewing the Lake of the Clouds will be a memorable experience.
Bit of a manic morning including taking my large galvanised bath down to St Nicks on the bike trailer so that apples could be easily washed before cutting in two, removal of major mouldy bits, popping in the crusher and thence into the press.
My stint there started at just before 1, to help set up the press. Jo arrived and set to with washing loads of apples, many of which were windfalls and therefore had some mud, slugs and bits of grass on. Chad, the new dad with a very cutie baby, took charge of the press when I wasn't around. I did some announcing as I have a loud voice and two stints of apple juggling workshop. Ali came and took some of her film, as she's doing a project for her degree and needed to get some shots of Professor Fiddlesticks in action. My family came too, Gill had some good chats with Ali and the boys borrowed Gill's digi camera and did some filming, which when downloaded onto their computer caused great hilarity.
When it officially finished at 4, there were still loads of apples to be processed and some people were intent on continuing to make more apple juice, and asked me to help... so I did but made my excuses and got away at 4.30, came home, got changed, held the fort when Gill went to get some goat's milk for our youngest who prefers this, and then bombed into town to meet up with Ali who needed to talk me through her film project. We met in Borders and her carer went to the station, and we went to City Screen for a drink, something to eat and a good chat. She created a kind of storyboard which was cool! I have to contact my friend Dexter and Kate Lock as they could feature...
Then for 7.40ish we went to the station where Ali was booked onto the train and I was home by soon after 8, to witness the boys larking around on their computer hooting wildly at the film and stills they'd taken. We stopped them though so they could come and watch a programme on the 50th anniversary of Blue Peter, after which they quickly went to bed.
Gill and I had a good game of Scrabble. I only just won.
My stint there started at just before 1, to help set up the press. Jo arrived and set to with washing loads of apples, many of which were windfalls and therefore had some mud, slugs and bits of grass on. Chad, the new dad with a very cutie baby, took charge of the press when I wasn't around. I did some announcing as I have a loud voice and two stints of apple juggling workshop. Ali came and took some of her film, as she's doing a project for her degree and needed to get some shots of Professor Fiddlesticks in action. My family came too, Gill had some good chats with Ali and the boys borrowed Gill's digi camera and did some filming, which when downloaded onto their computer caused great hilarity.
When it officially finished at 4, there were still loads of apples to be processed and some people were intent on continuing to make more apple juice, and asked me to help... so I did but made my excuses and got away at 4.30, came home, got changed, held the fort when Gill went to get some goat's milk for our youngest who prefers this, and then bombed into town to meet up with Ali who needed to talk me through her film project. We met in Borders and her carer went to the station, and we went to City Screen for a drink, something to eat and a good chat. She created a kind of storyboard which was cool! I have to contact my friend Dexter and Kate Lock as they could feature...
Then for 7.40ish we went to the station where Ali was booked onto the train and I was home by soon after 8, to witness the boys larking around on their computer hooting wildly at the film and stills they'd taken. We stopped them though so they could come and watch a programme on the 50th anniversary of Blue Peter, after which they quickly went to bed.
Gill and I had a good game of Scrabble. I only just won.
Distance: 2.3 miles RTElevation: 602-802 ft
Elevation Gain: 200 ft
(Left: Detail of Manabezho Falls viewed from the East River Trail)
The Presque Isle area of the Porcupine Mountains is by far the most scenic and the most interesting. The Presque Isle River flows through an area of Nonesuch Shale, which has resulted in waterfalls, unusual rock crenelations, and in summer a wicked set of rapids. The crenelations are caused by rocks that have swirled in the rapids, carving out deep, perfectly curvaceous, holes in the rock. The water flows over these areas in a stunning manner. The shale itself is interesting to behold. Like fossilized Baklava, it is easy to see the rock’s thousands of layers. Nonesuch Shale was formed at the bottom of a lakebed 1 Billion years ago.
The east/west river trail is a short and easy loop that can be taken in either direction. We chose to cross the river and head east side first. Before heading into the trees, we walked down to the lake and admired all blue water, clear skies, and interesting rocks along the shore. Little did we know that this would be the only sunny day on our entire trip.
There are three major falls on this short hike, Manabezho, Manido, and Newadaha. Manabezho is rather famous, appearing on coffee mugs, placements, and other tourist paraphernalia throughout the area.
The East River trail winds through the trees with oblique views of the falls. There are numerous social trails that lead to viewing spots. Some of these were very steep, slippery with mud, and crisscrossed with tree roots. The East River Trail ends at the road. You cross over a bridge, which provides an expansive view of the river itself, and then head off into the trees again. This side of the loop is called the West River Trail.
The falls are more directly visible from the West River Trail. In several locations, the trail becomes a series of boardwalks, stairways, and viewing platforms. No root scrambling here.
All in all the Presque Isle trail has it all, a cool forest, fascinating rock formations, picturesque waterfalls, and lots of moss (not something we see a lot in Colorado). If you journey to the Porkies, start your sojourn there.
