Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving
I hope all you folks have as much to be thankful for as I do and that this brings you much happiness.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Mid November 2012
It's been an eventful ten days since my last post. We've been to two concerts, two shows, and gone on a crafts tour, gone for a few walks, been out at friends or family four times, and I finished insulating and replacing the mud room interior.
Culture: We went to see the 39 Steps at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox on November 1. It is a satire of a story by John Buchan somewhat famous in its own right ( the story not the satire) but more so because it was one of Alfred Hitchcock's early hits. The satire has two actors and an actress playing a myriad of parts. It is a farfetched spy story, full of mysterious characters, and in the satire, also full of comic stereotypes. We laughed a lot, which is what we hoped for.
Saturday, 11/3, we went to concert of Sephardic songs and prayers at our temple in Greenfield. The melodies had a Spanish flair and we spent an enjoyable ninety minutes listening to singing accompanied by guitar.
Last Thursday we attended a Hartford Symphony concert which included a modern concerto for electric guitar ( not bad except for some of the guitar riffs) and Dvorak's Eighth symphony (one of my favorites, played well, although not quite the way prefer).
Last Saturday we went to a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Patience", an operetta which made fun of the foibles of the 1880's ( in the original version) transposed without changing the songs or lyrics to the 1960s London scene. It was fun, but it did cause me to miss the wealth of musical talent we enjoyed in northern New Jersey, particularly at Ridge High.
Last Sunday we went on a tour of the artisans and artists of Colrain, a nearby town even more rural than Ashfield. We visited the shops of painters, caligraphers, wood turners, furniture makers, potters, photographers, sewers, dyers, etc. A lot of talent in these hills, some of which is too avant garde for me.
Friends and family: We went to a pumpkin carving party in October. I observed the annual Halloween onslaught of candy seeking kids overrunning the center of our town; all done with good humor. Have been to great brunch, a wonderful pre- concert dinner at our cousin Tami in Connecticut, and a Sauerbrauten (spelling) feast with the last ten days.
Walks: Among the few walks I've taken were two with grandsons. One was a 6 miler to an old cemetery and impressive stone bridge. It just about wore out the 7 year old, but he had great fun for the first four miles. The eleven year old had no trouble whatsoever. Stopping at the apple farm on the way home added to the charm of the walk and the energy of the walkers.
Another memorable walk was one with just the 7 year old. His initial response to going for another walk was NO. However, when we reached the turn around point I picked out, he wanted to repeat a long hike we had done last winter. Watching him climb over rocks, run from trail marker to marker, look for bear dens, and find the perfect stick was great fun. A pretty forest and perfect weather didn't hurt.
Projects:
I redid the door mountings for the inner mud room door again!! Then I stuffed the mud room front wall with solid insulation which required lots of measuring and cutting. I then prepared the studs for reinstalling the wood boards that constitute the interior surface. This required lots of cutting, shimming, planing, etc. Then I installed the boards which required more of the same. I finally restored the doorway between the shop and the mud room,and installed the door. This made Jean very happy because now the mud room is a room again and the door to the shop hides that disgraceful area from her view. I'll post some photos soon.
We now have a roofing contractor repairing a portion of our slate roof. Aside from having broken a window, they seem to be doing a good job.
I am now making picture frames for some photos and paintings we have, including two by Sarah Valente, and the photo montage from my last AP classes.
Physics: Now reading the Infinity Puzzle by Frank Close and some lectures on quantum mechanics by Fermi. The resolution of infinity problems by renormalization still leaves many people dissatisfied. I'll make a special post if and when I have something coherent, or at least something that appears coherent to me, to say about this.
Culture: We went to see the 39 Steps at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox on November 1. It is a satire of a story by John Buchan somewhat famous in its own right ( the story not the satire) but more so because it was one of Alfred Hitchcock's early hits. The satire has two actors and an actress playing a myriad of parts. It is a farfetched spy story, full of mysterious characters, and in the satire, also full of comic stereotypes. We laughed a lot, which is what we hoped for.
Saturday, 11/3, we went to concert of Sephardic songs and prayers at our temple in Greenfield. The melodies had a Spanish flair and we spent an enjoyable ninety minutes listening to singing accompanied by guitar.
Last Thursday we attended a Hartford Symphony concert which included a modern concerto for electric guitar ( not bad except for some of the guitar riffs) and Dvorak's Eighth symphony (one of my favorites, played well, although not quite the way prefer).
Last Saturday we went to a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Patience", an operetta which made fun of the foibles of the 1880's ( in the original version) transposed without changing the songs or lyrics to the 1960s London scene. It was fun, but it did cause me to miss the wealth of musical talent we enjoyed in northern New Jersey, particularly at Ridge High.
Last Sunday we went on a tour of the artisans and artists of Colrain, a nearby town even more rural than Ashfield. We visited the shops of painters, caligraphers, wood turners, furniture makers, potters, photographers, sewers, dyers, etc. A lot of talent in these hills, some of which is too avant garde for me.
Friends and family: We went to a pumpkin carving party in October. I observed the annual Halloween onslaught of candy seeking kids overrunning the center of our town; all done with good humor. Have been to great brunch, a wonderful pre- concert dinner at our cousin Tami in Connecticut, and a Sauerbrauten (spelling) feast with the last ten days.
Walks: Among the few walks I've taken were two with grandsons. One was a 6 miler to an old cemetery and impressive stone bridge. It just about wore out the 7 year old, but he had great fun for the first four miles. The eleven year old had no trouble whatsoever. Stopping at the apple farm on the way home added to the charm of the walk and the energy of the walkers.
Another memorable walk was one with just the 7 year old. His initial response to going for another walk was NO. However, when we reached the turn around point I picked out, he wanted to repeat a long hike we had done last winter. Watching him climb over rocks, run from trail marker to marker, look for bear dens, and find the perfect stick was great fun. A pretty forest and perfect weather didn't hurt.
Projects:
I redid the door mountings for the inner mud room door again!! Then I stuffed the mud room front wall with solid insulation which required lots of measuring and cutting. I then prepared the studs for reinstalling the wood boards that constitute the interior surface. This required lots of cutting, shimming, planing, etc. Then I installed the boards which required more of the same. I finally restored the doorway between the shop and the mud room,and installed the door. This made Jean very happy because now the mud room is a room again and the door to the shop hides that disgraceful area from her view. I'll post some photos soon.
We now have a roofing contractor repairing a portion of our slate roof. Aside from having broken a window, they seem to be doing a good job.
I am now making picture frames for some photos and paintings we have, including two by Sarah Valente, and the photo montage from my last AP classes.
Physics: Now reading the Infinity Puzzle by Frank Close and some lectures on quantum mechanics by Fermi. The resolution of infinity problems by renormalization still leaves many people dissatisfied. I'll make a special post if and when I have something coherent, or at least something that appears coherent to me, to say about this.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
More on Italy
1) Here are email addresses for the hotels and B&Bs we used in Italy. I recommend them all for really friendly service and connecting with the locals. While providing comfortable rooms and modern facilities, they are very far from the Sheraton/Holiday mold.
2) Some general reflections.
The number, quality, and extent of works of art and architecture still existing in Italy is absolutely astounding. It is an enormous tribute to the skill, talent, and industriousness of the inhabitants of that country. Most of the modern construction is of the drab, utilitarian, and characterless nature that characterizes our own era. They still build Ferraris, so there is some hope.
Invasive species are a problem in Italy. Small and large areas overrun by bamboo are present in many of the place we went. It displaces virtually all the native plants once it gets going.
The amount of rural, even semi-wild, land in Italy is very impressive. Less than 15 minutes from central Rome by train, we were in farm land. Some of the forests outside of Spoleto still provide habitat for wolves. Most of Italy is still green, open country. It is hilly and mountainous land and most of it is at least pretty and much is beautiful.
The italians still seem to know better than most of how to live. However, the big city inhabitants seem to experience the same malaise affecting most city dwellers, although to a lesser extent. I suppose the economic difficulties have cut somewhat into the joi de vivre ( I don't know how to say that in Italian) I have come to expect of Italians.
City/Town
|
Hotel
|
Email
|
||
Rome
|
Armonia Opera (B&B)
|
|||
Bellagio
|
Hotel
Florence
|
info@hotelflorencebellagio.it
|
||
Riomaggiore
(Cinque Terra)
|
Casa Lorenzo
|
info@casalorenza.it
|
||
Siena
|
Palazzo di Valli
|
|||
Spoleto
|
Palazzo Dragoni
|
2) Some general reflections.
The number, quality, and extent of works of art and architecture still existing in Italy is absolutely astounding. It is an enormous tribute to the skill, talent, and industriousness of the inhabitants of that country. Most of the modern construction is of the drab, utilitarian, and characterless nature that characterizes our own era. They still build Ferraris, so there is some hope.
Invasive species are a problem in Italy. Small and large areas overrun by bamboo are present in many of the place we went. It displaces virtually all the native plants once it gets going.
The amount of rural, even semi-wild, land in Italy is very impressive. Less than 15 minutes from central Rome by train, we were in farm land. Some of the forests outside of Spoleto still provide habitat for wolves. Most of Italy is still green, open country. It is hilly and mountainous land and most of it is at least pretty and much is beautiful.
The italians still seem to know better than most of how to live. However, the big city inhabitants seem to experience the same malaise affecting most city dwellers, although to a lesser extent. I suppose the economic difficulties have cut somewhat into the joi de vivre ( I don't know how to say that in Italian) I have come to expect of Italians.
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