November 10, 2008  

    The fall colors have been more brilliant and have lasted longer than any year I can remember—from the last week in September to the first week in November.
    Lynn and I subscribe to the Nashua Community Concert series—seven concerts per season, and it only costs $45 a person.  On October 10 we saw the Greek guitarist Pavlo and his band.  Great energy and passion!  He just lives to share his music.
    Every Wednesday Lynn and I practice with our vocal quartet, A La Carte.  Here are pictures of Jane, Lynn, John, and me rehearsing.  "Pennies from Heaven" is typical of the jazz pieces we sing.
    A year ago I reported that the arctic summer sea ice was the the smallest it's ever been.  This year it was about the same.  Two years in a row indicates that last year was not a fluke; it seems to be solid evidence of global warming.
    I built some balustrades on each side of the platform at church.  They give it a more unified and finished look.  I have to go back and fix one thing—the left balustrade is one inch higher than the right (you can compare with a ruler on the picture).
    Lynn and I went to Tenney Farm in Antrim for some of their wonderful ice cream.  They're famous for unusual flavors, such as "Cashew Caramel Cluster."  The farm scene was dramatic with sunbeams making strips of light across the fields as they pierced the clouds. 
    In October we visited Matt, Crystal and River to help Matt install some insulating plastic and to enjoy River.  Lynn and River played in bed (pic 1 and pic 2), and I pushed River around in her car.  Grampa's watch is a fascinating toy to listen to and to try on.
    Sarah brought Addy and Alex over for a couple days.  There was story time, of course, and Addy danced to Sarah's piano playing.  This is Addy's nursery-school picture--she's growing too fast!
    Lynn attended a couple quilt shows.  One quilt was a copy of a tile-floor design (look at the size of the pieces!).  The quiltmaker had traveled in Europe and seen this floor in a cathedral.  Upon returning home, she translated it into this quilt--completely made by hand!  Do spend some time looking closely at the quilt; the details are amazing.  Another beautiful quilt featured a variation of  Mariner's Compass.

Feature: Would you believe...
On this day in 1997 Rita Sanchez began putting little points on the toilet paper ends at the Holiday Inn in Springfield OH.  It has since become standard practice at 91% of hotels and motels worldwide.  Join the effort to leave this bit of elegance in each public restroom you visit.

Quote: “There are a hundred billion stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it’s less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers.” – Richard Feynman, physicist, Nobel laureate (1918-1988)

The Philosopher's Cornered - "Rules for Hiking"    Archives