Fourth of July, Salem, MA

A picture perfect end to what turned out to be a gift of a day:



Anna keeps insisting that her brother's adopted. I'm not convinced.



Flyover! The building in the lower left hand corner is the Salem Custom House, where Nathaniel Hawthorne (who, coincidentally, was born on the Fourth of July) worked for a spell.



Fireworks! Salem really put on a nice show. The moon offset rather than outshowed the rockets.

(More pictures here, in case you're interested.)

Happy Fourth!

A really good (albeit long - 15 min) interview with PJ O'Rourke on the Auto Industry, Regulation, Politicans in General. Enjoy!

Long, tiring week of rain, plaster dust and rather unexpected family guests. The construction work is done (for the moment) and the guests are gone. Got a bit of sun today, and am hoping for more over the course of the weekend.

Who the heck does she think she is?

We're not here to validate her. She should have thought of that before she decided to let her husband run for president instead of her doing it herself. (In any event, the American people aren't here to validate the president, it's the other way around. At least it was before the last generation.)

Icon.

We had The Poster in the basement (my stepfather was really into her. My brother, later on, as well). Is amazing to see her at the beginning of her career. (Her choice is interesting, too.)

Classic.

(Yes, I had the album. So did my brother. Two copies of "Thriller" in one household. Imagine that.)

Loved him. Am so sad about the later awful stuff. Hopefully he's at peace now.

***

Megan McArdle has something much older, but just as endearing. Love him during this period, too. Had the crush on him later, though.

She makes some awfully good points here. Problem is, whenever I set myself to writing about some of this stuff, lights (bright ones, white ones) start flashing. Everything from about the hairline up starts to feel like it's on fire. Then either stuff goes blank or the headache gets to bad I need to throw up.

I'm dealing better than when I was younger. It's all still too close (or I haven't learned to cope well enough yet) for me to give it the thought it needs. Maybe that'll change, maybe it won't. We'll see.

(Heck, we'll see if I can sleep after having read a couple of her stories that hit kind of close to home.)

Well now.

Guess there was a bit of a shakeup yesterday.

(More on this later.)

Got another letter from my little brother. When I receive one, it's usually the highlight of the day (if not the week). The sense of humor is shining out more; his writing is improving dramatically. He assured me that he did indeed quit smoking, though that's because it's not allowed at his facility.

Was kind of funny to get his letter, as I'd just gotten back from posting a special dispatch to him:

"Little Bro: Had to drop some stuff off at the post office. Got to thinking of you, so picked up some nifty-looking moose envelopes. Silly question: you don't have moose (not you personally - more of a general question) in the mountains nearby, do you? It's more elks in your neck of the woods, isn't it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway - the best thing about the (outdated) envelopes is the color scheme - green and black. Very evocative of nature. Love, too, how this is enhanced by the turquoise + silver of the 2 cent stamps the nice postal lady had me affix.

Am sending along some koi cards as well.



(These are what I normally write my weekly dispatches on.)

Don't know if they'd be handy. Are awful pretty, though.

Bought my first pint of local strawberries today. They're tiny compared to the California ones, but very red and with so much more flavor. Kind of expensive, but they're a treat one doesn't have to feel guilty indulging in. Besides, their season is so short (6 weeks tops) that you can't really break the bank too badly gorging on them. Also got a quart of whole milk from a local dairy to serve with them (why the heck not?).

Am still slogging through the book I picked up about Eleanor of Aquitaine and the four kings in her life: Philip Capet (her first husband - King of France), Henry Plantagenet (second husband), Richard Coeur-de-Lion (second son) and "Bad King John" (aka Lackland John) - her youngest son + the one about whom the Robin Hood Legend arose. **Richard had an older brother - Henry - who was the heir to the throne, but he died before he could actually take over the throne from his father. Anyway - am right at the end of things - Richard is taken hostage by the Holy Roman Emperor while returning from his crusade. Eleanor's (now in her late 60s - early 70s) running herself ragged trying to come up w/ransom and hostages to free him. All I can think is that she must have been one heck of a force of nature. (Outlived her two husbands + two of her sons as well.) Am trying to figure out what to read next: Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, Tacitus's "On Germany," or something on the period between Napoleon I's reign and WWI. (You might say that I'm on a bit of a history kick.)

Nothing much else is new aside from home repair stuff, some bird watching and some knitting. Would like for the weather to get better so I could spend more time in the garden. Maybe hike more and even go to the beach, too. Too rainy to do any of that, though. Oh well.



Really, it's the thought that counts.

Okay, onward. You keep taking care."

***

His Birthday's coming up soon. Found that I could have a book or two sent directly from Amazon. Am giving that some thought.

The male cardinal has been coming out to sing his song to his lady lately. Seems always to happen at sunset.

Tonight, in spite of the miserable mist-rain, he sang for a full 20 minutes. Dragged my tired bones out to the porch to lose myself in it and perhaps find him. Didn't see him, though he was very close by.

This is awesome in an "It's a Wonderful Life" sort of way.

This project's starting to wind down; we're now down to two electricians. The floor guy came today to apply the last coat of shellac. Should be dry by about noonish tomorrow. Am looking forward to things returning more or less to normal. Want to sleep in my own bed again. Want to come and go as I please.

Dispatch #14:

"Happy Summer, Little Brother! Hope you're doing okay. Here the work on the house is in full gear - new floors (oak) and a new electrical system on the second floor. (Old electrical system was state of the art maybe 60 or so years ago, so needed a slight upgrade.) Unfortunately, the weather has been terrible - cool, humid, with a misty fog-like rain. Ech. That's supposed to be April weather, not June/July! Pfft. Keep taking care."

Marianne and Islamo-Leftism

(The director of Marianne.fr on an article on their website which makes the claim that a.) Amahnedajad actually one the election b.) that Ahmanedajad is actually a "popular" leader c.) that the Libe and another publication, le Croix are Imperialist tools for reporting otherwise.)

Am not a fan of Marianne at all (even less so their website), but is good to see their director taking responsibility like this for some really awful, inflammatory and untrue stuff. Wish we could see more of that here.

Whoa.

The black boxes were found.

Will be interesting to see what comes of this.

***

Update: nothing much, they weren't actually found.

Decisions, decisions.

1.) Pavel limits himself to one fill of the suet, sunflower, thistle and corn feeders a day. I can understand why. The sparrows make things much more cheerful and much less lonely, so am thinking of doing a refill.

2.) Can't decide between pasta with saucisson sec, olives and Parmesan, or with leftover roast chicken and leeks.

3.) Do I want to continue the Eleanor of Aquitaine theme by re-reading what I'd dug up from the basement about Tristan and Iseut? It's sparked something in me that I'd not felt in years. (Different point of attack for something that used to take up a lot of time and mental/emotional/physical energy.)

4.) Or, Do I want to read more on the struggle between Absolutism and the Communard movement and how the Gothic Revival played in with that? If I do this, I might have to read the biography of Woodrow Wilson I got recently, as the French stuff, in addition to similar situations in Austria/Germany/Italy/Spain at the same time got the US the heck into a nasty war at the beginning of the 20th century.

5.) Or, do I continue reading stuff by dead Greek and Roman guys? Bought myself a couple Loeb Classics the last time the Frenchie was around (Tacitus - on Germany, V.1 of the Peloponnesian wars. Can read Latin. Greek, too, somewhat, but it's much harder - which is why I got back to back texts.) These two are Fundamentals, and have read around both.

6.) Have been doing a lot of work towards the ultimate goal of graduate school. Took the history courses mainly to get reaccustomed to academic writing. Have been taking courses in accounting, finance, etc, as that's what's been paying my way since forever. Was looking into translation, as it's much, much more difficult than literature (my degree), so could be an advantage. Accounting/Finance is having the rug pulled out from under it in this country as I write. I enjoy it, though. It's peaceful. Am wondering about statistics, though (didn't take much of this in college, so would kind of have to retrace my steps). Then there's actual formal training in business analysis. I'm a decent writer, have a good grounding in IT, speak (and write) proficiently some important enough languages to be useful. What the heck do I do?

7.) Kind of had an offer made is looking pretty difficult to refuse in spite of my security and attachment issues.

Minutes from the Congres de Versailles.

Funny what the Niqab thing got sandwiched between.

22/06 14:55 - Nicolas Sarkozy began speaking before the assembled parliament at the Congress of Versailles; the first since 1875*.

22/06 15:02 - Nicholas Sarkozy declared before the Congress that "the economic crisis is not finished," adding that "nothing [will be] as it was before." "Acting as though everything must start over again as before with the same criteria, the same methods would be a fatal error," He added that "we do not know when [the crisis] will end."

15:16 - "Secularism is not the rejection of religious sentiment," affirmed the president. It is a principle of neutrality, of respect." he specified, adding that "we should not be ashamed of our values."

15:20 - Nicolas Sarkozy highlighted that wearing the Burkha (full body veil) is "a problem for liberty, for women's dignity." "The Burkha is not a religious issue, it is a sign of submission, of the lowering of women," he insisted, stating specifically that "it is not welcome in the territory of the Republic."

15:23 - Nicolas Sarkozy stated that, regarding Hadopi, he wanted to go "as far as possible" against illegal downloading.

15:26 - Nicolas Sarkozy rejected the principal of a "politic of rigor**" "I will not participate in a politic of rigor, as this has always failed," specifying that "I will not increase taxes."

15:30 - The President affirmed that the government will have "a date with reform." He insisted that "We will pursue reform on the federal level and on the administrative level. We will not shrink from cutting (by attrition) one out of every two administrative positions in the public sector. We will go further in getting a handle on medical expenses and we will go as far as possible in regional reforms."

15:38 - Nicolas Sarkozy announced a "rearrangement***" of the government for Wednesday.

15:40 - The Chief of State announced the creation of a national loan (pool) which will be devoted exclusively to financing strategic priorities and which would be raised either on the financial markets or via the on the French people. The amount and the procedures surrounding this loan would be adopted only when the priorities were decided upon.

15:42 - "Europe must change," warned the president, adding that "it cannot function after the crisis as it did beforehand." He also added that, "change in Europe must move in tandem with change in France."

15:46 - Sarkozy made a declaration that the decision-making time for pension reform would take place "mid 2010," further stating that "everything would be on the table," including raising the retirement age.

15:53 - The President expressed his desire for a solution to the problem of adolescents leaving the educational system at 16 with nothing and 'falling through the cracks.' "This is an investment for French Society that cannot be circumvented," the chief of State explained. M. Sarkozy declared his support for a state-run "Internships for Excellence" program geared specifically towards "Children of Modest Means."

16:19 - Nicolas Sarkozy announced to the assembled parliament his proposition that "all who were laid-off for fiscal reasons would continue to receive their (full?) salary as well as training for a year." "I confirm that all tho lost their jobs due to economic reasons - I repeat - all who lost their jobs for economic reasons - must continue to receive their salaries and training for a full year."

16:25 - The President confirmed before the Congress his determination in advancing the carbon tax in order to fight pollution and to lighten the (tax) burden on work (employers?): "I hope to go as far as possible on the Carbon Tax. The more we tax pollution, the more we can lighten the burden for Work." (No timeframe was specified.)

***

*First since 1875. That's saying a lot.

** Don't really know what "politique de la rigeur" is - politics of force? Interesting statement, given that one could argue that his actions to date have been very evocative of that absolutism/nationalism mix born under Louis XIV and perfected by Napoleon.

*** "rearrangement" - remaniement - hmm. Wonder if there's going to be a ministerial shakeup on Wednesday.

Stress.

Relatives who want to visit have changed plans on short notice and are coming much earlier than I had suggested they do. As much as I don't like to have to turn people away, it's looking like someone might need to get a hotel room. Heck, I'd get a hotel room if I could leave.

Stress.

The bureaucratic boondoggle is not much closer to being resolved and I can't get a hold of people I need to talk to to finish up. Kind of have a time frame, too, for getting stuff done.

It's actually turning up a lot of old, unpleasant memories of past dealings with the same folks*. That in and of itself is tough, because I'm not the best glued-together person in the world, emotionally speaking.

***


*(See, Be, it's *not* you doesn't help much, either.)

Stress.

The newly finished floor is not drying due to the awful, humid weather. As a result, need to crank the heat upstairs - not something one likes to be doing when the weather's already pretty stifling.

Don't know when the rest of the work's going to be done. They're nice guys, all of them, and they're doing a great job. I'd just like to be able to move around a bit more and have my space back.

To be honest, I didn't know that this was such a problem. (See lots of veils - much more than here, though.) As for the interchange of the terms 'burkha' and 'niqab' among the French, not very surprising. This is a place that instituted programming for the immigrant influx after the pullout from Algeria in Arabic, rather than in the language that the new 'citizens' actually spoke.

***

Althouse (of course) puts it far more elegantly and correctly when she states that this is "paternalism attacking paternalism."

Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't wish my dad a Happy Fathers' Day. Hope you had a great day today!

Happy First Day of Summer!



(Pavel reveling at America's Stonehenge.)

If, in the next few days, the back doesn't get better, am going to have to look into getting a massage or something. (Really hurts, ouch.)

Compare and Contrast?

Hmm, the closest analogy I can come up with is maybe:

CBS correspondent in DC : Student Protester in Iran :: Nanterre in 68 : Prague Spring?

I know it's not quite apt, so if anyone can come up with something better, please let me know.


***

Actually, it occurred to me - as frivolous and immature as I do see a lot of 68ers as being, there *were* actual causes for grievance or protest in Mai 68. When compared to their Czech counterparts, though, the French students come across as incredibly immature.

So, need to come up with a better analogue. Maybe

CBS correspondent in DC : Student Protester in Iran :: Nero Fiddling : Rome Burning would be better.

Finally occurred to me why I had this horrible pain radiating from one of the lower vertebrae into my kidneys. Yesterday, while taking stuff out to Pablo's cah, had my ankle give way on me. Fell and jabbed myself pretty badly on the corner of a concrete border. Made a mental note that that was going to hurt like the dickens later on, but lost said note.

Really need to find my brass polish.

Par-tay.

Oh yeah: first coat of polyurethane. Woo. (Think the cat and I are going to be sleeping on the first floor tonight, actually.)

The floor guys sure work fast. They got here at around 8:00 and had the new boards nailed down by 11-ish. Have been staggering lunch breaks so that someone'd constantly be working. Right now, they're just about finishing up the sanding; expect that the initial coats of polyurethane will be applied very soon.

Have to admit, have heard of (and have had personal experience with) bad contractors in all areas*. Chuck is a dream, though - prompt, efficient, excellent manager, honest in terms of pricing. Oh yes, and someone with a knowledge of history and a sense of aesthetics we agree with. (Important, that.)

***

* Last house, the back stairs had to be ripped out and put back in several times because the guy kept getting things wrong. Also was missing an exposed wall for nearly a month and was w/out a bathroom for a couple weeks. Very typically hear from friends of people starting work, dismantling stuff completely, then disappearing for weeks at a time.

Let's hear it for Jackie!

Since am solo for now, decided to try out the new Vietnamese place that just opened up nearby. Had a bowl of fisherman's soup, a crepe and a papaya salad - standard stuff, but nicely done. Was particularly impressed with the crepe, as it was neither too greasy nor soggy in spite of my showing up late to pick it up. Loved the filling, too. The sprouts were perfect.

Figured that I'd just eat, then turn in with a book (long day, plus the floor guys are coming early tomorrow). That was before I noted that someone put Baisers Volés up on Youtube. (Missed the entire series of Antoine Doinel stories at the Brattle last month, could have kicked myself for that.) Charming, but a little sad. Doesn't help when one recognizes more than a few of the locations and starts feeling the Sehnsucht welling up as a result.

Still, not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

Oh, how we've been needing rain.

<

Got all the weeding and planting done that I wanted to - before the rain, too. Am very pleased with myself for that. Managed also get some strawberry jam made. (14 jars - just kept working until I ran out of sugar and jars). Now need to figure out how to manoeuvre around the the electricians in order to wash up and get out of the house for a bit.

Quelqu'un me manque beaucoup maintenant.

Don't usually like my stuff unedited. Love this one, though. (Taken just past the gates of the Wellington Yacht Club in...Medford(?)..north shore of the Mystic, anyway.)

24 Jars of Peach Jam.

Tomorrow we start on strawberry.

Still no word from the not-for-profit bureaucracy in whose hands my life lies.

Wire drops were made in one of the rooms being updated. Lots of detritus carted off, as well. I had yet another Kafka-like interaction with a bureaucracy that's been dogging me for nearly 20 years. Will not let them get me. Eleanor of Aquitaine was imprisoned for the same amount of time by her husband - no money, no freedom, no interactions with others - and she bloomed. What I'm dealing with is far less severe and certainly far less important in the scheme of things. Still, it's important to me. Important enough to have consumed a good bit of my soul over the past several years, anyway.

While the guys were up knocking things around and singing loudly, I went into domestic mode and made some jam:



Queen Eleanor, King Marmalade and some confiture de pêches.

Peaches were $.99/lb at Stah, so went crazy buying. (If there's one thing I like better than eating cheap peaches, it's making jam out of them - ended up with 15 lbs worth of fruit.) Prepped stuff and sterilized the jars. Got about 1/2 way through before I had to clean up and head out to the doctor. Ended up with 15 jars, all of it slightly runny but jelled just the same.

Will finish the rest tomorrow. Then will have to go out and find more jars to start on the strawberries that I went wild over.

Can you spot the hamburgler?

Took a walk along the Mystic over by the Wellington yacht club today to get out of the house for a bit. Saw and heard many wonderful things there. Will talk more about that later, though, as am wiped out and just want to curl up with Eleanor and her four kings right now.

(Good night.)

Chuck came by this morning at eight with a couple of big, burly boys and an electrician to start another project in the house. This time around, they're reflooring all the parts of the second floor that haven't been tiled and rewiring everything to get it all up to code. Should take about two weeks.

Today was demolition. All the old, mouldering wall-to-wall that remained was ripped up, then the floorboards (some of which were rotten) were removed. What a racket! Poor girl cat was hyperventilating upstairs for a while and even bit me when I tried to comfort her. Eventually she did let me take her downstairs for a bit. Interestingly enough, when she got to see the big, burly boys, she calmed down considerably.

Anyway, we're down to the sub floor in the big bedroom and the hall:



Pavel's room, which is just below mine.



Hallway.



Some of the hundreds of hundred-year-old nails pulled up this morning.

This part went surprisingly fast. Wood's going to be delivered later on this week and, based on when the electricians finish their work, the floor guys will come in either over the weekend or early next week to lay in the new wood. It's going to be red oak. Should be gorgeous.

There's dust everywhere and our movements are seriously restricted, but it's all going to seriously be worth it. Can't wait to see the end results.

In honor of my June swap partner.



(I could do far, far worse than to have a Joni Mitchell song as an earworm.)

To change the subject somewhat:

Would really like to attract hummingbirds. Is this possible in Somerville? We bought a nectar feeder along with some red-dyed juice and two hanging pots of bright red blooms (geraniums and impatiens). I'm thinking of getting a butterfly bush if I can find a place to fit it, along with lots of petunias. Am growing sweet peas, morning glories and nasturtiums, as well. In any event, this all is going to look great by July or August. Just don't know if I should get my hopes up regarding the visitors I'm trying trying to entice.

Is amazing how such small animals can make such a racket. Normally, there's just the general cheerful chirping that goes on from about sunrise to sunset. From the inside, it's a nice background noise. When we're outside, sometimes we can hardly hear ourselves talking over it.

A couple times a day, there'll be a dispute over territory or food that leads to feathers flying and a general uproar in the yew. The best equivalents I can think of are a crowd of middle school aged kids chanting "fight!" around a couple of usually boys but sometimes girls intent on killing each other in an echo-y hallway or maybe the collective booing in the cafeteria after someone drops a tray*.

What's really notable, though, is the stillness and utter silence that overtakes the flock after some sort of warning call. We witness this maybe once a day and it even puts our hair on end.

***

* Yes, I was educated by wolves.

Sometimes it's hard for us to remember, being as high on food chain that we are, that it's an incredibly brutal world out there for the little guys. The yard is pretty safe, with lots of high branches and places to hide. There are a few predators out there, though: namely squirrels. A small black and white cat (strangely frightened of people) has been seen prowling around as well.

The other day, Pavel found one of the fledglings on the ground, stomach split open and innards strewn about on the patio. He put the remains on the compost pile so that the poor thing could come back as a sunflower or something. Such a sad little thing it was, but also a reminder of why some birds give birth to so many over the course of the Spring and Summer.

I'm sure that the sparrows're probably crowding out all the other species who might come to visit the feeders. Oh well, they're cute anyway.



This morning we must've had a good 40 of them in the yew along another 8-10 on the patio where I put a plate of corn. Though most still have their juvenile plumage (when does that change?), all seem to be able to get food from the feeders and crack the seed hulls on their own. It's only relatively rarely now that
we see the frantic wing flapping and gaping mouths pointed upward (this happens on occasion at the suet feeder, though).

What really gets us now is naptime.



Amid the din we'll always find a few downy little ones with their heads tucked under the wings. Occasionally, if we've not been discreet enough in our approaches, heads will come up, eyes will blink a few times in a fight between alertness and sleep-weight, and when they see that it's only the big things behind the shiny stuff that hurts when one bumps into it, sleep will win out again.

Dispatch #13:

(1.)

"Hey Little Bro! First of all , I'm sorry to have missed writing you last week. Was working a temporary job that was 10-14 hours/day not including the commute which was an hour each way. Am so glad it's over. I ain't as young as I used to be! How are you doing? Is the mouth feeling better? Hope so.

My garden's doing pretty well. Harvested some lettuce the other day for the first salad of the season. I also have peas growing + radishes. In pots I have tomato plants and lots of herbs (sage, thyme, tarragon, oregano, marjoram + lavender.) To be continued..."

(2.)

"Continued...

I want to grow cucumbers as well as bok choy. Love bok choy stir fried w/a bit of garlic, sesame oil mirin + either tofu or chicken.

Bought some peaches + strawberries for really cheap today @ the grocery store. The plan is to make some jam tomorrow if I'm not too tired. Am wondering if it would be a good idea to try to send you some. You could share it (or trade it) - whatever. Let me know.

Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Dave may be visiting me in 2 weeks. Should be a trip. They're fun in metered doses (snort!).

Dollars to doughnuts says that these postcards come in reverse order + none of this makes any sense! You take care!"

Un peu énervée.

Am waiting for some fairly important news that has been promised for Monday. Wish me luck. (Am not saying anything right now because, firstly, I don't want to jinx anything. Secondly, it's a bit personal.)

From my little window seat yesterday, wasn't disappointed: saw the cardinal pair, two jays and an American goldfinch couple. Was very nice to have those splashes of color to brighten up such a dreary day.

During the time I was downtown, Pavel went out to explore different parts of the Mystic preserve. Every day he went, he saw a new bird. Among those - Baltimore orioles, a yellow-shafted flicker, yellow warblers, a king bird, plenty of swallows and killdeer.

The best find, though, was in a sycamore tree by the orange line overpass:



Audubon's Cedar Waxwings, drawn April, 1820. "[Audubon] observed that various plants provide these birds with plenty of berries and fruits, on which they fatten, and become so tender and juicy as to be sought by every epicure for the table. He had known an instance of a basketful of these little birds having been forwarded to New Orleans as a Christmas present. They never arrived, and it was afterwards discovered that the steward of the steamer, in which they were shipped, made pies of them for the benefit of the passangers.*"

Pavel tells me that these birds have a song that is so high-pitched that he nearly mistook it for some sort of insect sound. Tender as they might be, he didn't seem much interested in bagging any for that night's dinner; is wondering more on how to attract them into his yard. Maybe if we were to supplement the yew tree with a juniper bush (as seen in the print). This seems like a good excuse to get that mountain ash he's been talking about for some time, as well.

***

*From "Original Watercolor paintings by John James Audubon for the Birds of America." American Heritage Publishing, 1966, plate #9.

The job finally ended on Thursday, thank heavens. Took all of yesterday to recover but am still feeling somewhat out of sorts. Thank heavens for the sun and the warmth today. Might actually rouse me to get out and get some fresh air. That'd do a world of good.

"Much of the land will be given back to nature. People will enjoy living near a forest or meadow."



Right.

The housemate's really stepping up to the plate for me lately; this is the third time he's made dinner since I'd started working. Tonight's going to be a stir fry of steak, carrots, celery (plus some other vegetables to be determined), over jasmine rice. Am very happy because am very tired.

Today's my aunt Suzie's birthday. She'd have been 63. I hear that her kids are going to let loose a bunch of balloons to commemorate the day.

Personal opinion here:

Am wondering if Airbus Air France won't be in a heap of trouble (not to mention France itself, given that they're major shareholders of these entreprises), given what I've been reading. (Major media silence in France up till now.) Bad, bad news.

***

Good commentary here from someone who knows way more about airplanes than I do (thanks, Dad).

***

Air France pilots are considering refusing to fly the A330s and A340s that haven't had the instruments in question upgraded, according to Le Monde.

One of the only days I can sleep in past about 6 ish, I got to until 7. That's when Building and Grounds started working over the hospital's trees and shrubs.

Oh well. At least I don't have to be anywhere today. (Am wiped out).

Full Fathom Five

Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, - ding-dong bell.

Shakespeare, interpreted by Ralph Vaughan Williams

(For all those people who didn't make it across the Atlantic the other day. I cross it a fair bit and this is one of my biggest fears.)

Lots going on right now, so am sorry for the twitter like posts. Am working a conference for some friends at a big school to the south of heah - often half days or more (on a 24 hour schedule). It's good work, and I enjoy the folks there. Don't think I could do it long term, as tempting as it may seem at the moment.

Have a lot of knitting



gardening



and inneresting reading going on. Also am trying to figure out the future, as it always seems to be dogging me.

Am tired, very tired, but very happy in the change of pace.

Just love it when Flickr greets me in Latvian.

Labdien right back at cha, photo editor.

Connections.

I know all about it, past and present.

This is going to blow Raphaella's mind when I tell her.

Oh My Gosh.

Pavel's sister mentioned recent sightings off the NYC coast. How amazing that they actually have documented proof, though?

Very bad news.

Whatever happened, I hope it was so fast that no one had time to realize what was going on.

What a nice story.

Only got like 3 1/2 hours sleep last night for whatever reason. Am wiped out. Think I should go to bed.

Dispatch #12:

Hey, little brother! Hope you're doing okay and that the tooth is better. I'm tired! Am helping a friend out at one of the universities here - just doing whatever they need right now. Was at the office for + 10 hours today. Will probably have to work the weekend, too. That's okay, though, because I really like the department. The people are really nice. More soon (promise)! Had a great weekend. You take care."

Wallander.

Please check it out while PBS keeps it online. Really. I'm not a TV person. I'm not a PBS person (am, actually anti PBS.) This is actually very good and am rather surprised to see it.

Banged my toes up a fair bit. I think I might need new boots.

Apparently there was a bad ice storm this winter that caused an awful lot of damage. One trail that I like, Birchtoft, was closed for cleanup. Did note a lot of bowed white and felled yellow birches on Cascade:



Gateway to the South.



(Of course it got me thinking of Robert Frost. Are you kidding? How couldn't it.)

Well, yesterday I managed to force the house mate into going on a death march with me in New Hampshire. For a number of reasons, it's been a while since I'd been to Monadnock. Was very glad to return, though.

We started off on the Cascade trail with the intention of taking Pumpelley to the summit. However, since we got a late start, didn't make it all the way to the top. Got pretty close, though.



Between 1/4 and 1/2 mi to the summit, we hit this marker indicating the intersection between Pumpelley and Red Dot trails. Since it was very late, decided to rest and eat something there, then start our descent.



"Alpine" meadow.

Ended up taking the Smith connector to White Cross and following that down to the base. This was a big deal for me, as I'd had a bad experience on White Cross. Wanted to get past that and the idea that I couldn't navigate this place without someone more experienced than me. Both I and the knee did fine. In fact, was amazed at how sure-footed I was. Believe me, I'm not overconfident or anything, there's just some body memory involved now that I didn't know I had. Also have a lot more sense than I'd allowed myself to believe I had.



Still don't like getting close to ledges. Even ledges with short drops, like this one.

Now that I'm the one wielding the camera, found myself having a hard time tearing myself away from the beauty in bloom and of decay to admire the panoramic views.



Trillium. These were endangered species in NYS when I was living there. Was amazed to see their profusion here.



Weird focus. Sorry for that. Was an amazing lichen, though.



Moosewood, aka Striped Maple, in bloom.



Lady Slippers, the only orchid indigenous to the Northeast of the United States, has a symbiotic relationship with oaks and maples. Guess one could say that it blooms on decay. Sorry about the poor quality of the image - have such bad luck in low light settings and I hate the flash.



Was bowled over by the luminosity of the bark of some felled yellow birches.

Next time we go back (and I think that'll be fairly soon), want to take the house mate up to Monta Rosa. It's a shorter (and less demanding) climb with two peaks for the price of one.

(More pictures here if you're interested.)

Sacre Floof!

Looks like we've got a yew ful of house sparrow fledglings, complete with downy chests, pink beaks, and insatiable appetites. Wow.

Today was the perfect day to leave the roost, spread one's wings, be free of the city for a bit.

Now, to sleep the sleep of the just (as Pavel calls it). We earned it, just as we earned the relish with which we ate our dinners.

Last night I dreamed of garlic soup with saffron, so absolutely had to have some this morning. Threw together a broth (veggie stock from the freezer to which I added four sauteed cloves of garlic, some thyme, black pepper and a huge pinch of saffron). While this was simmering and perfuming up the house, made a piece of toast and poached an egg. Buttered the toast and put it in a bowl. Set the egg on top of it, then ladled the broth over this. Sprinkled a bit of parmesan cheese over that.

My word, did it hit the spot. Love it when something so simple can satisfy like that and actually get me glowing.

Dispatch #11:

"Hey Bro! Happy Memorial Day! Hopefully the mouth is feeling a lot better?? Sorry this card's going out late - you know how a long weekend messes up schedules...Glad you got the stationery I sent - I'll get some more envelopes + stamps out this week. Anything else you need that I'm allowed to send? This was a nice weekend. Had a barbecue and saw a parade. The weather was gorgeous. Not much else exciting happening. Hey...did you quit smoking? Just wondering (hope so). You take care."

"Again and again...mothers who lost their sons in France have come to me...



The American Cemetery at Suresnes in January of this year. The Frenchie tells me that each grave has an American and a French flag beside it for today's ceremonies.

...and, taking my hand have shed tears upon it not only, but they have added, "God bless you, Mr. President!" Why...should they pray God to bless me? I advised the Congress of the United States to create the situation that led to the death of their sons. I ordered their sons overseas. I consented to their sons being put in the most difficult parts of the battle line, where death was certain, as in the impenetrable difficulties of the forest of Argonne. Why should they weep upon my hand and call down the blessings of God upon me? Because they believe that their boys died for something that vastly transcends any of the immediate and palpable objects of the war. They believe, and rightly believe that their sons saved the liberty of the world."

-from Woodrow Wilson's Pueblo Speech, September 25, 1919.

***

Happy Memorial Day.

***

Update: The Frenchie sent some images from Memorial Day:

I Love a Parade.

For some reason, I thought the big Somerville Memorial Day parade was going to be on Monday. Was kind of shocked when, up in my room reading, I heard actual bagpipes after the sirens. Grabbed my camera & a couple of batteries to see what I could see:



What a profile.



Anchors Aweigh!



Okay, the Shriners rock. If I'm not too tired, will have a whole post on these folks. Love them.



Rock on, Shriners, with your figure-eights and all.



What's a parade without pipers? Two groups (that I heard/saw) this parade.



Boston's Best brought up the rear. There were representatives from Somerville, Medford, Arlington, Cambridge, Boston and Brookline. Made me think about this person. Don't know if he goes to parades, but hope he realizes that there's an awful lot of people who think good thoughts for him and his colleagues.

Happy (and Holy) Memorial Day to everyone out there. This is an important holiday in an awful lot of places in the world. Please keep that in mind. And if you don't know why, please read or listen a bit outside your normal scope.

(More pictures here.)

As a reward for a day well-spent, we got treated to a beautiful, site-transcending sunset.

One way that Pavel's been combating his insomnia lately has been by wandering around the Mystic in the early hours of the morning to watch birds. The last couple times he's gone he's seen and heard all sorts of creatures who don't visit the yew in the backyard.

Yesterday afternoon after everything that needed to be accomplished was done, we decided to take a wander over to see what we might find. Though not as numerous as at dawn, there were still quite a few birds out. Right off the bat, heard song sparrows and red winged blackbirds. I'm pretty sure that I saw some kind of warbler, too, up in an alder. Of course, there were swans, cormorants and geese.



The most exciting new discovery had to be this guy. We knew that he was some sort of wader, but weren't sure what. By the time I got close enough to snap a shot, he decided that he'd had enough of us and flew off. (What the heck was he doing out in broad daylight?)

Since birds move around too much, I confined myself to taking pictures of fruits and flowers. There was a regular cornucopia of potential tasty things either in bloom or ripening, too. Will have to visit again in a few weeks in order to take advantage.



Staghorn Sumac!



Milkweed!



Blackberry!



Mulberry! I'm particularly happy about this, as when the new bridge went up on Lowell Street, they took down the tree I used to collect berries from.



Yarrow!

Made our way to the graffiti'd underpass and decided that it might be a good idea to head over to the Friendly in Meadow Glen for some ice cream. (Good call, Be!) Pavel got a strawberry shortcake sundae and I got something new - a peanut butter and banana sundae. As I'd been craving a banana split since finishing finals, this really hit the spot. Admired the artwork; wish that they sold it or at least had it up on their website.

On the way back, happened upon a fire in the reeds. Have seen this numerous times before, so had often wondered if DCR had some sort of controlled burning program. Decided to call the fire department just in case. (That was good deed number two for the day. The first was rescuing a poor little garter snake off the sidewalk on School Street near City Hall. Put him in the shade. On the trip back home, saw that he had left. Hopefully he's alright.)

Am always amazed at how far from home and the city I feel when I wander around the preserve. For this, I'd say that it has to be one of my favorite around. Really need to get back there more often. It had been nearly a year since I'd last visited and this is a place that should be seen at least once each season.



The aeolian over by the high school in Medford. Can see it from Spring Hill.

(More pictures here if you're interested.)

Am feeling a bit tired and weak today. Hopefully this will pass.

El Sueno de la Razon Produce Monstruos.

There is no my space, no our space. Only her space.



Ampersand reclining on a project that took forever to complete and which pleases me to no end. It's a simple garter stitch triangle (CO 3 stitches; sl 1, inc 1, k to end until desired length/width - I got sick of knitting at 200 stitches with a gauge of 4st/in unblocked. BO, block the heck out of it.) inspired by the wonderful, airy Morehouse designs and knit from some of the oldest yarn in my stash - two skeins of crewel wool that I'd bought at the Women's Educational and Industrial Union back when they had a store and were phasing out their needlework department. I'm calling it Wedgewood. (Stitches in more detail here.)

Though I realize that the spare bed is technically her territory, driving that point home by pretending to sleep on wet wool seems a bit silly.

Dispatch #10:

"Hope the tooth is feeling a bit better. I have a stomachache right now + have been in a haze for a couple days. (Either it's nerves or I'm coming down with something.) Aside from that, life isn't too bad. Finished exams on Wednesday and am now just resting a bit.

Re: masters degrees - It depends on what you're studying of course, but the average study time is 2 yrs. My problem is figuring out what I want to do - am good at lots of things, and am afraid to pick. (Fear of commitment - snort!) The History classes I was taking were nice, because they were a different viewpoint on stuff we've already heard about + there was a fair bit of writing. I like to write. Take care."

Catharsis

and more catharsis.

Have been following both for some time, might as well put their links on my little sidebar of fame (for what it's worth).

Ugh.

I was wondering why helicopters were circling overhead for what seemed like all morning.

Exams finished; made it through more or less unscathed. Felt myself seizing at about 11/2 hours in, so made a point of getting up and stretching some.

Got all my papers back for the year, as well. Grades were much better than what I thought I'd merited. One paper in particular made me happy and went to talk about it in more depth with the professor during office hours. Offered some other observations on the subject at hand, some other points in time to look at in the continuum, a book to check out. I think I have a nice little something to keep me out of trouble over the summer (at least).

Now to crash. The tension's left the body and I feel like a wet noodle. (Good night.)

Works in Progress.

Mrs. Cardinal aside, I've prettymuch put the wool away for the season.



3/12, or exactly 25% of the way through this fun little toy. The yarn is a discontinued one from Lion called Kitchen Cotton. Am making it for a little boy who is allergic to wool, whose mom is a physicist and whose dad is a mathematician. Wonder who will have the most fun with it?



This will eventually fill out to become a birthday cardigan for a little girl who shares part of a name with me. It's the Color Block Cardigan from this book, and I'm using Lion's Microspun in pink, red and purple.



The yarn for this one was an impulse purchase; normally it's so expensive (to me) that I can't buy more than one skein at a time. However, found five in a sale bin at a price that couldn't be refused. The color's not my favorite (it's sort of a peachy-melony orange), but it's a dream to work with and should feel wonderful when the weather gets even warmer. Here's the pattern; I'm at the neckline. As am making it a size smaller than what I normally wear, am hoping that this keeps up the motivation to keep doing my stomach crunches and pushups. Have lost a fair bit of weight, but am still a bit too flacque to feel comfortable either baring the shoulders or drawing attention to the stomach. That's Trouble in the upper left hand corner, by the way.

Got a letter from my little brother today! These are rare treats. Guess he's on drugs for a toothache, so it's making him a bit woozy. Not much other news on his side of things; is very curious about what's going with me.

When he writes it's usually short, but within I can see the half smile, can hear his voice's deadpan delivery. Love the little glints of him through the fog of the past several months.

Right now he's probably in the best place he could possibly be. Just wish that it didn't have to be this way; that things could have turned differently.

Dispatch #9:

"Sorry to hear 'bout the toothache - hope it gets resolved soon. Beautiful day out today - took a long walk, met an ex-coworker for lunch. We had hummos sandwiches at a local middle eastern place. I LOVE MIDDLE EASTERN pickles!* I don't know how they brine them, but it's good - can only find them @ Israeli or Lebanese restaurants. So - lots of rain by you. Not necessarily a bad thing. It's a little dry here. I have my history exam on Wed. Wish me luck. Will tell you 'bout that + school next time 'round. Till then - TAKE CARE!"

***

* Maybe not the thing to be saying, given where this note is heading. However, have to be true to myself. I *do* love middle eastern pickles and my brother's pretty knowledgeable on these things, so might be able to shed some light on this in his next letter to me.

Flowering Trees



Fiddleheads



Bird Family Values



Oh, and lots of fretting over school and exams. That's what's going on in my little world right now.

I can't wait until next week when, for better or for worse, the school stuff will be done for the Summer, anyway.

Woke up to the hard rainfall on the roof this morning. Can't get back to sleep, though I am dog tired. Don't need this; have all sorts of stuff that needs to get done later on in the day and that needs a clear, not tired (and upset) mind.

Who could ever forget that laugh?



One of my favorite movies as a kid; must have seen it like a dozen times.

Rest in Peace, Dom DeLuise.

All plants are still there, surprisingly. Just a little wilted. Watered them twice today, but can't seem to get enough water into the ground. We really need rain.

The lettuce was wilted, the tomatoes pot bound. Since they were all sure to die if I didn't do anything, planted them out back. Will be interesting to see if anything's still standing tomorrow morning. If so, have some chicken wire left from the compost piles that I'll jury rig into some sort of fence.

Sparks and loud pops on the train are fine if they stay outside the passenger area. Kind of neat, actually. Add a bit of piquancy to the commute.

Much less dangerous, too, than silly women who wear stilettos without knowing how to walk in them. The girl next to me (She was wearing nice flips that showed off a new pedicure. Made me glad I've not broken out my sandals yet. My feet need lots of work before they can be exposed.) was stepped on by a woman who lost her balance getting up for the next stop while the train was still moving. What a scream. What a scene. Poor thing.

Dispatch #8:

"Happy May Day! It's raining right now, which is a relief given that the temperature was 102 on the back porch earlier this week. Am taking a friend to the airport today - he's going to Paris for two weeks. Had another friend go back to Paris on Monday, too. Am jealous. Have to stay around here, write papers and study for exams. On an unrelated note: found some mushrooms on the reduced price produce rack at the grocery store the other day. Took them home and made a sort of cream of mushroom soup out of them. You know what? Was *much* better than Campbell's. You keep taking care."

The Good Old Days.



I was in kindergarten when the first epidemic hit. Learned the term 'swine' from the news, in fact. Don't remember if I got a shot (don't think so), but I do remember the first of the two commercials.

Sehnsuchten.

Dispatch #7:

"It got *hot* here: lots of sun, 80 degrees right now. Was at the beach in Rockport (North of Salem, MA) and got a killer sunburn. Am getting too old for that. Ate the yearly lobster, too. I'm not crazy about lobster, but it's kind of the principle of the thing. You kind of have to do that here every now and again.

Rotten news: The @#$!! squirrels ate all my strawberry plants! Am going to have to rethink the garden. Only three weeks left of school this semester. Wish me luck...& YOU take care."

Ugh. 80 degrees. Too much for April. Had to actually iron a (linen) shirt in order to look presentable when I go out tonight.

Since the weather's so nice, am going to go up north for a couple days. Will be back soon.