Today marks the 23rd anniversary of our wedding ceremony, and a little more than twenty-five years since we first met... Happy Anniversary, Maggie!
Today is a Sunday and I have to start work at the St. John's International School Musical Theatre camp tomorrow (more on this later) so we were planning to go to a patio or restaurant yesterday instead of today. However, the Feast of Assumption falls on August 15th, and so everything was closed. Instead of postponing our anniversary dinner we opted instead to try out the rotisserie on our new stove, and had spit-roasted chicken with oven fried potatoes and broccoli, with some seafood appetizers (shrimps and scallops), and enjoyed that out in the garden. Malcolm is at home for a few days and so it was a rare occasion when all four of us were together.
The weather cooperated for our dinner outside, which was lucky: recently it has been very much like August in Ontario: many weeks of dry conditions, and very hot, and then this past week we had torrential rainstorms late in the afternoons nearly every day. A few days ago we had a prolonged hailstorm (about 30 minutes duration at least!) with marble-sized pieces of ice that tore holes in the sunflower and zucchini leaves, and even broke through the plastic roof of our veranda in several places.
I have never seen a hailstorm that lasted so long... it was also accompanied by heavy rainfall that filled the water cistern. It also caused a river to run down the driveway, and unfortunately our outside drain was blocked by fallen leaves, and so several centimetres of water made its way into the cellar. Our neighbours on either side also had water in the cellar, so perhaps it would have happened even without the leaves. Obviously since the flood we've been busy shifting things around and running a fan, and keeping the front and back doors of the garage/cellar open to ventilate it fully so that no mold or mildew starts to form. In fact, I am sitting in the garage right now, typing this blog post while I make sure that no one sneaks in and steals any of our tools, or bikes, or anything else, while the door to the street is open.
We've been extremely busy this summer with home renovation projects. I realise that I haven't posted anything since the end of July, and since then we have pretty much finished the kitchen. I have some steel kick plates to install under the cupboards, and also some nice brushed steel electrical receptacle covers on order, but other those things, plus a little bit of painting, it's basically done.
We've been extremely busy this summer with home renovation projects. I realise that I haven't posted anything since the end of July, and since then we have pretty much finished the kitchen. I have some steel kick plates to install under the cupboards, and also some nice brushed steel electrical receptacle covers on order, but other those things, plus a little bit of painting, it's basically done.
removal of kitchen radiator, and re-tiling next to where the new fridge will be
retiled and grouted
removal of some unnecessary electrical outlets
retiled and grouted behind the stove
We went to an appliance outlet centre here in Wavre that was recommended by a friend, and found a good quality fridge and stove. The fridge price was much less than we could find anywhere else, and we managed to get the vendor to match a better online price for the stove. In the end we got them both for 20% less than the price of the next cheapest vendor, and delivered, too.
first loaf of bread in the new stove
our new 300-litre fridge!
Yoshi seems to approve
The kitchen renovations required a lot of different skills that I haven't used for quite some time, if at all. I don't remember every doing tiling, so that was a bit of a learning curve. Then there was water plumbing, gas connections, electrical, painting...
And that is just inside the kitchen. I also did a painting job for our elderly neighbours two doors over, scraping, priming and painting the back wall of their house while they were away on vacation. That momentum then was applied to our back wall...
And that is just inside the kitchen. I also did a painting job for our elderly neighbours two doors over, scraping, priming and painting the back wall of their house while they were away on vacation. That momentum then was applied to our back wall...
Duncan and I demolishing a little wall at the bottom of the stairs
We opted for a sort of pale straw yellow for the walls, which reminds us of the old farmhouses that we remember seeing in Aix-en-Provence. The railing is strong but a temporary one, as we eventually plan to do something different with the veranda and terrace/patio/deck. The next project will be to do surface preparation for the edge of the staircase and the brick wall underneath the stairs, and also the other walls. I don't like the italianate balustrade above the garage door, but can't remove it without also removing the glass panels that close off the veranda, and that will have to wait until the new windows and doors at the end of the kitchen and living room are installed in the first week of September.
Christopher and I have also done several runs to the dump to get rid of a lot of junk from his cellar and a fair bit of our own discards. We borrowed a trailer from Alain, a friend of his, and when we returned it I went along, and loved seeing the vintage tractors that Alain regularly buys and restores. This one is a Massey-Harris from Canada, made in 1951.
I'm not at the point yet that I would need a tractor like this for my garden, but it is a nice thing to dream about...
tallest sunflower topping out at 3.63 metres (almost 12 feet)
Maggie is on a pickle-making strike, as we have enough dills to last us for the foreseeable future. We've used every jar in the house, and have had to buy new ones. One thing that works is to buy large jars of beans or other vegetables, and then cook with those so that you can reuse the jar.
The green beans are still going strong: I think we've harvested at least ten kilogrammes from the maybe 25-30 plants, and there are still more to pick. This variety will also dry for storage if I let them stay on the vine longer, so I might try that as well.
The corn on the other hand, while delicious, has been a mixed success. I think that the prolonged dry conditions had an adverse effect on the plants, and also I see a big difference between the earlier cobs that were hand-pollinated and ones that were left to be pollinated by wind. There are almost twice as many kernels of corn on the hand-pollinated ones, so if I grow corn again next year I will keep a better record of when the silks emerge, and regularly do the pollination.
The green beans are still going strong: I think we've harvested at least ten kilogrammes from the maybe 25-30 plants, and there are still more to pick. This variety will also dry for storage if I let them stay on the vine longer, so I might try that as well.
Back to the summer camp that I mentioned earlier... it is still a "go" for this coming week. The conditions will be similar to those being imposed on the sports camp: small bubbles of a maximum of twenty students, activities held outside wherever possible, indoor activities in well-ventilated places, regular temperature checks and symptom questionnaires, masking and social distancing. Obviously the kids won't be able to dance and sing wearing masks, but it looks like our total enrollment is less than twenty kids all-told, and we'll be breaking them into two groups, so it should be ok. It will be nice to get a head start on the high school production, which is set to be performed at the end of November. At this point my contract has not yet been confirmed, but I am hopeful that it will be, so that I have something artistic and remunerative to focus upon. Perhaps I will receive news during the coming week? Certainly Maggie returns to staff meetings in the school in person on Thursday, with the students arriving for classes on the following Tuesday. It's going to be quite interesting to see how this will all unfold. I just hope that the weather is less hot that the past few weeks as the school can get pretty warm, and wearing face masks on hot days is a chore.
In other musical news, I received the confirmation from La Petite Bande that the Japanese tour of Bach scheduled for October/November 2020 was indeed cancelled. As well the quarantine rules for Canada meant that I would not be able to sing the No Tenors Allowed concert in Stirling on October 25th, as my flight was to arrive on the 16th October, and I would therefore be in quarantine until the 30th October. The director of the Stirling Theatre was gracious and so we have postponed that concert until 2021 at the earliest. But on the plus side that means that I will have time to devote to Grease.
Then yesterday there was a bright spot: the Japanese tour has in fact been rescheduled to take place at the end of January/early February 2021. Unfortunately it doesn't correspond with Maggie and the boys' holidays so we can't piggyback a Japan trip for them at the same time. But I am encouraged...
As well, the group with whom I sang the Homilius Passion in March has asked if I will participate in the Flemish baroque programme that they will present at the end of February 2021, and they have sent me the scores, which look very interesting, particularly the nice aria for bass by de Croes. Here it is sung by the English baritone Peter Harvey.
In other musical news, I received the confirmation from La Petite Bande that the Japanese tour of Bach scheduled for October/November 2020 was indeed cancelled. As well the quarantine rules for Canada meant that I would not be able to sing the No Tenors Allowed concert in Stirling on October 25th, as my flight was to arrive on the 16th October, and I would therefore be in quarantine until the 30th October. The director of the Stirling Theatre was gracious and so we have postponed that concert until 2021 at the earliest. But on the plus side that means that I will have time to devote to Grease.
Then yesterday there was a bright spot: the Japanese tour has in fact been rescheduled to take place at the end of January/early February 2021. Unfortunately it doesn't correspond with Maggie and the boys' holidays so we can't piggyback a Japan trip for them at the same time. But I am encouraged...
As well, the group with whom I sang the Homilius Passion in March has asked if I will participate in the Flemish baroque programme that they will present at the end of February 2021, and they have sent me the scores, which look very interesting, particularly the nice aria for bass by de Croes. Here it is sung by the English baritone Peter Harvey.
.
Also, the Flemish group that I performed with at the Bach Wochen Thuringia last year had asked me to sing three performances of the Christmas Oratorio in early December. They have changed the programme to a much scaled-down project, also of early baroque music, with composers like Schütz, one of Bach's most important influences. No choir, a chamber orchestra of single players, and a few soloists... like the other concerts that are allowed to proceed social distancing will be practiced between the musicians and singers and audience.
Also, since I'm not going to Canada/Japan, Julius Stenzel from the Minimes has asked me to sing the Hunting Cantata and the Coffee Cantata on October 25th. These two cantatas have no choir, just soloists, and the same type of performance practice will apply. A reduced audience is not a big hardship for the Minimes organisation, as they have royal sponsorship to cover the costs of production.
Happy Sunday to one and all...
Also, since I'm not going to Canada/Japan, Julius Stenzel from the Minimes has asked me to sing the Hunting Cantata and the Coffee Cantata on October 25th. These two cantatas have no choir, just soloists, and the same type of performance practice will apply. A reduced audience is not a big hardship for the Minimes organisation, as they have royal sponsorship to cover the costs of production.
Happy Sunday to one and all...
Posts
