Today would have been the 93rd birthday of my grandmother Rita. (We miss you, grandma.)
She was comforted her whole life by her strong faith. What is interesting is that her birthday coincides with one of the oldest festivals in Christianity, and indeed is most likely far older than the religion she practiced. Here in Belgium, and in France, Switzerland and Luxembourg, La Chandeleur (fête des chandelles) celebrates the return of the light, as symbolised by the presentation of the infant Christ to the temple, forty days after Christmas. This festival is recorded to have been celebrated as early as 312 C.E...
But there were two ancient Roman festivals from around the same time of year that inspired the early Christians: Lupercalia, which celebrated the ancient Roman god Faunus (a god of fertility, and a defender of the sheep from attack by wolves), and Feralia, which celebrated the spirits of the dead. These festivals were suppressed by the Pope in the fifth century, and replaced with the Christian celebrations of Candlemas, and on the 14th of February with the feast of St. Valentine.
There is some idea that the ancient pagan churches were oriented so that the light of the rising sun would enter the temple sometime around this time of year. What happened if the priest saw his shadow is anyone's guess...
The first week of February has a lot of important birthdays in it for me: it starts with the birthday of my late grandmother Rita on February 2nd, continues with my youngest sister Emily on February 4th, and then has my middle sister Heather on February 5th, which is coincides with the birthday of my late Grandfather Delbert (50 years apart).
We have had some nice clear days recently, that are in keeping with the return of the light, but it has also been colder the last couple of weeks than it has been all winter. We have really been glad for the woodstove as I haven't insulated the attic yet. There is a plastic membrane which helps a bit, and I have enclosed the top of the staircase with a wooden airlock structure which also helps, but still it's nice to have the radiant heat. Our living room has instantly become a much more social place.
We have had some nice clear days recently, that are in keeping with the return of the light, but it has also been colder the last couple of weeks than it has been all winter. We have really been glad for the woodstove as I haven't insulated the attic yet. There is a plastic membrane which helps a bit, and I have enclosed the top of the staircase with a wooden airlock structure which also helps, but still it's nice to have the radiant heat. Our living room has instantly become a much more social place.
Last week Bryan and I went and did a run out to pick up a load of wood with his trailer; this time it was my turn to receive the load of wood, as I had completely run out. This wood is in larger pieces and seems more dense; for the first time it has been possible to load up the stove in the evening before going to bed, shut it down, and awaken to enough embers still smouldering in the morning to be able to add more kindling without completely relaying a fire. As well we decided to try stacking it just inside the garage door so that it will dry out and burn more efficiently; we found stacking it at the back of the garden meant that it got pretty damp with the rain.
Building a lean-to at the back of the garden may well be one of my spring projects, as there is lots more wood to come; each load of the trailer is around 1.8 cubic metres, so that means that there are about 25 more cubic metres for Bryan and I to divide. I don't think that I want to devote that much space in my basement just for wood storage!
We have also had a couple of runs in the Bousval forest over the last few days, once with just Bryan and I, and then this Saturday with Kiana, Maggie, and Lawrence. I am very happy to have done nearly 15km in under 6 minutes per kilometre again. It's time to start looking at the different races that are coming up this year, and decide which ones I'm going to register for. I had some knee tendonitis last season that sidelined me for a bit, but I've bought some straps that limit the movement of the patella, and they seem to have worked. I'm wondering if 30km is my personal limit; there are races that are slightly longer but I am not sure if I need to run further than 30km. Still, that extra 12.19 km required to get a marathon distance is pretty enticing!
We've been doing a lot of bricolage (tinkering) around the house. During one of my infrequent trips into Brussels I stopped at Les Tissus du Chien Vert, one of the biggest fabric stores in Brussels, and picked up some nice fabric to make another set of curtains for the bay window. This warm golden yellow fabric is nice, as it contrasts well with the blue of the walls and the red of the outer curtain, and echoes the warm colours of the dining room opposite.
As well I'm always on the lookout for more light fixtures that are more in keeping with the age of the house, and I found a few this past week that can be rewired and used to replace the very modern and frankly cheap-looking ones that are currently there. I think that these ones will look good with a fabric shade, in the front hallway. Or I might not use a shade at all and just use some of those "Edison" style designer LED bulbs that look old-fashioned. We'll have to see.
On the subject of light, I also found this antique Belgian miner's lamp. I'm not sure if it is supposed to burn kerosene or maybe gasoline, but it seems to work well with ordinary kerosene. It has various numbers stamped on it and is very old. The glass hurricane on it has Val St. Lambert etched onto it, so it seems that this very famous cristallerie made much more than just wine glasses back in the day. It will provide a nice ambiance while dining al fresco when the weather improves.
As you can see in the above photo, the lawn has been very green. I noticed last week that there were snowdrops already visible in the garden, and the lawn is showing a very nice surprise of wild primroses, growing in many places in the grass.
I mentioned before that Malcolm has been getting very good results in his studies. This past week he started doing some tool-making, and built a binding cutter to use in the assembly of his guitar. I find this very exciting, and the birds-eye maple he used for the tool is beautiful. I hope that he'll make some nice wooden marking gauges for me!
We have also had a couple of runs in the Bousval forest over the last few days, once with just Bryan and I, and then this Saturday with Kiana, Maggie, and Lawrence. I am very happy to have done nearly 15km in under 6 minutes per kilometre again. It's time to start looking at the different races that are coming up this year, and decide which ones I'm going to register for. I had some knee tendonitis last season that sidelined me for a bit, but I've bought some straps that limit the movement of the patella, and they seem to have worked. I'm wondering if 30km is my personal limit; there are races that are slightly longer but I am not sure if I need to run further than 30km. Still, that extra 12.19 km required to get a marathon distance is pretty enticing!
We've been doing a lot of bricolage (tinkering) around the house. During one of my infrequent trips into Brussels I stopped at Les Tissus du Chien Vert, one of the biggest fabric stores in Brussels, and picked up some nice fabric to make another set of curtains for the bay window. This warm golden yellow fabric is nice, as it contrasts well with the blue of the walls and the red of the outer curtain, and echoes the warm colours of the dining room opposite.
As well I'm always on the lookout for more light fixtures that are more in keeping with the age of the house, and I found a few this past week that can be rewired and used to replace the very modern and frankly cheap-looking ones that are currently there. I think that these ones will look good with a fabric shade, in the front hallway. Or I might not use a shade at all and just use some of those "Edison" style designer LED bulbs that look old-fashioned. We'll have to see.
On the subject of light, I also found this antique Belgian miner's lamp. I'm not sure if it is supposed to burn kerosene or maybe gasoline, but it seems to work well with ordinary kerosene. It has various numbers stamped on it and is very old. The glass hurricane on it has Val St. Lambert etched onto it, so it seems that this very famous cristallerie made much more than just wine glasses back in the day. It will provide a nice ambiance while dining al fresco when the weather improves.
As you can see in the above photo, the lawn has been very green. I noticed last week that there were snowdrops already visible in the garden, and the lawn is showing a very nice surprise of wild primroses, growing in many places in the grass.
I mentioned before that Malcolm has been getting very good results in his studies. This past week he started doing some tool-making, and built a binding cutter to use in the assembly of his guitar. I find this very exciting, and the birds-eye maple he used for the tool is beautiful. I hope that he'll make some nice wooden marking gauges for me!
I have been continuing with the cleaning of the attic walls, and it is slow and dirty work, that produces an ungodly amount of dust. But the good news is that I am finished the longest wall, as well as one of the two slightly shorter end walls. This leaves the other end wall, and the wall on the street side which is interrupted by the window, and is quite short in height.
Today I have the plumbing/heating guys in to do some installation of a gas line in the kitchen, a re-plumbing of the dishwasher, and replace the tap in the kitchen. I bought a gently used gas oven/range made by the rather posh Italian company SMEG (Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla) and the fellows are going to put it in to replace the crappy electric one that was here when we moved in. I absolutely hate the cast iron stove top, and the electric oven was also not well regulated. As Malcolm, Maggie and I all are quite avid bakers it needed doing.
the "new" oven/stove
the old cooktop
new kitchen tap
Ordinarily I could do all of these things apart from the gas line, but we have an electric hot water heater underneath the kitchen sink, with some rather confusing connections, so I'm happy to let the experts handle it.
Yesterday afternoon all four of us had appointments with our opthalmologist: Duncan has good vision in one eye but the other is requiring correction, so it's glasses for him. Malcolm's eyes haven't changed from his last checkup, but Maggie's prescription has changed a bit so she needs a new set of glasses. My eyes are still within normal limits, seven or eight years after the laser surgery, but I've noticed that it's a bit tricky to see fine work; when I was doing detail work while guitar building I found in necessary to sometimes use magnifiers. The doctor wrote me out a prescription in case I want to get specs, but said that they were purely for convenience... I think I might get some glasses made anyway, so that I can use them also for protection when working in dusty conditions or when running in the forest. That's something you don't think about when you've worn glasses since being a young teenager: you automatically have something to protect your eyes.
On the way home we stopped off to pick up a small bathroom sink, mirror, light and soapdish set made in Rouen. I had a look online, and this type of hand-painted blue porcelain seems to date from the 1940s, which makes it a good fit for our new attic bathroom.
I wrote last time that I've agreed to come sing in an operetta in Toronto in April... Bruce was at a performance of the same company last weekend, and it would seem that the producers wasted no time in getting the publicity printed...
Today I have the plumbing/heating guys in to do some installation of a gas line in the kitchen, a re-plumbing of the dishwasher, and replace the tap in the kitchen. I bought a gently used gas oven/range made by the rather posh Italian company SMEG (Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla) and the fellows are going to put it in to replace the crappy electric one that was here when we moved in. I absolutely hate the cast iron stove top, and the electric oven was also not well regulated. As Malcolm, Maggie and I all are quite avid bakers it needed doing.
the "new" oven/stove
the old cooktop
new kitchen tap
Ordinarily I could do all of these things apart from the gas line, but we have an electric hot water heater underneath the kitchen sink, with some rather confusing connections, so I'm happy to let the experts handle it.
Yesterday afternoon all four of us had appointments with our opthalmologist: Duncan has good vision in one eye but the other is requiring correction, so it's glasses for him. Malcolm's eyes haven't changed from his last checkup, but Maggie's prescription has changed a bit so she needs a new set of glasses. My eyes are still within normal limits, seven or eight years after the laser surgery, but I've noticed that it's a bit tricky to see fine work; when I was doing detail work while guitar building I found in necessary to sometimes use magnifiers. The doctor wrote me out a prescription in case I want to get specs, but said that they were purely for convenience... I think I might get some glasses made anyway, so that I can use them also for protection when working in dusty conditions or when running in the forest. That's something you don't think about when you've worn glasses since being a young teenager: you automatically have something to protect your eyes.
On the way home we stopped off to pick up a small bathroom sink, mirror, light and soapdish set made in Rouen. I had a look online, and this type of hand-painted blue porcelain seems to date from the 1940s, which makes it a good fit for our new attic bathroom.
I wrote last time that I've agreed to come sing in an operetta in Toronto in April... Bruce was at a performance of the same company last weekend, and it would seem that the producers wasted no time in getting the publicity printed...
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