CANADA - Part 2

Rocky Mountain High and Plains Drifters

 

 

Some of you may have thought we are still in Canada.  When we last reported we were in Vancouver watching hockey.  But that was just the first part of our Canadian adventure.  This edition of the trip log has been a bit delayed by a trip to Georgia for a family reunion of Mrs. T's siblings and by the muse's preparations for her upcoming TREES show.

 

The second part of our Canadian adventure was in Manitoba, and to get there we took the train.  This was not the train that some of you may see advertised as a "Canadian Rockies Adventure' or some such name.  This was the regular cross-country passenger train.  We took this nearly two-day trip to western Manitoba and Winnipeg to visit our many other met-in-Mexico Canadian friends. The train ride – beginning with more hockey at the train station in Vancouver - was wonderful and our visits were extraordinary.  We especially thank Barrie and Helen, Dwain and Marlene, and Ron and Diane for graciously providing room and board.

 

We must note that at the time of our visit Manitoba was suffering some of its worst flooding ever.  In the U.S. this did not receive the news coverage that it should have.  While the flood in Minot, North Dakota made headlines, it was old news north of the border.  The flood in Minot started in Canada and the water first flows south into North Dakota but then flows north again back into Manitoba.  It is a one-two punch.  The devastation in Manitoba was massive and we hope that they are recovering by now.  Mysteriously the rain would usually stop and the sun would come out at the appropriate times for us.

 

Here is Mrs.T's travelogue with some pictures interspersed:

 

 

 

When we checked in to get on the train the guy wanted to check all of our bags.  Well I was not having any of that! 

 

"I need my small bag because it has my pills!" I stated firmly.

 

"Well we can check your large bag," the attendant suggested.

 

"I cannot wear the same clothes for three days, I will be stinky "(!), I complained.

 

'I will give you this little bag and you can unpack a few clothes into it," the attendant suggested.  Obviously he had dealt with this problem before.

 

I viewed it suspiciously.  It was a nice little cloth bag with a zipper and two pockets, not too roomy but large enough.  I consented.

 

Now Dan was jealous because he did not get a bag since he had cooperatively relinquished his bag without complaint.  Oh well, tough to be him.

 

We had a nice little compartment for the two of us with a teeny, tiny, toilet which flushed with alarming force.  There were two nice chairs where you could sit and look out the window.  At night our car steward, Joe, came around and somehow the chairs disappeared and two bunk beds folded out.

 

The train had an observation car.  It had two levels; the downstairs was for playing games etc, and the upstairs had glass windows and ceiling so you had great views of everything.  It was getting late and there wasn't a whole lot to see so we went to supper.  It was excellent. How they cooked for everyone in that little kitchen I will never know.

 

When we got back the beds were made. I volunteered to take the top one.  It has been a long time since I went to Girl Scout Camp.  I carefully climbed the little ladder.  One more step and I would be high enough to crawl onto the bed.  BONG I bumped my head on the roof.  When I had recovered a bit I did a swan dive over the top step of the ladder and landed with a belly flop on the bed.  WOOF!  "Victory," I thought.  Of course it was almost worthwhile when I discovered a little chocolate on my pillow.  I awoke in the middle of the night.  Was it worth it to climb down the little ladder and brave the scary toilet or could I wait 'til morning?  Well when you gotta go, you gotta go.

 

The next day after breakfast we went to the observation car.  We were approaching the Rocky Mountains.  This was why we had come.  Looking out I understood why people everywhere, in all cultures and religions put their temples on the tops of mountains and their God(s) in the sky. There is something that makes us yearn upwards.  The pure clear air leaves behind all that is small and meaningless.  And when it seemed impossible that after hours of contemplation our spirits absorb any more the train climbed around a mountain and I saw an immense rainbow that arced from peak to peak ahead of us.  As we descended we saw a second shadow rainbow beyond.  Although we were speeding along it seemed that we would never reach the rainbows, but at last we did and I thought perhaps we weren't in Kansas anymore.  As we came down, and always at last you do, we past foothills with forests and rivers and lakes and at last the plains.

 

As impressed as I was by the Rocky Mountains, I had expected to be.  I was surprised to find the plains were also overwhelming.  Columbus, Ohio, where we had lived for years is basically flat.  But in central Canada you could see huge fields that stretched for miles upon miles.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157627234322259/

 

After we had lunch the stewardess announced the next few stops.  OOPS!! She did not mention Rivers where we planned to disembark.

 

"Oh yes, we know you are getting off at Rivers," she assured me with a smile.

 

If this was not a stop did they plan to slow down and shove us out the door, I mused.

 

"Your cabin steward will help you," she said.

 

"Your checked luggage will get off first," Joe explained.  I had a mental image of our bags rolling themselves down a ramp.  It seems the train was too long and the station was too small (about the size of our storage shed) for it to stop once. It would first stop to let our bags off and a lady in a forward car.  Then the train would creep forward a few hundred yards and Joe would help us off.  It went off like clockwork, but still I was greatly relieved to find we had our right luggage and that Barrie and Helen were waiting to pick us up.  (The train was a bit late.)  (We were required to yield to freight trains –dt)

 

This spring there was a lot of heavy flooding in central Canada. (And a lot of snow melt from Saskatchewan. –dt) The land is so flat the water has nowhere to go.  (And it had already been saturated with snow and earlier rain. –dt) There were rivers that were far out of their banks and water sat on the sodden fields.  Planting was impossible.  (Crops here are primarily sunflower, canola, and flax. – dt) When we arrived the water had subsided a little bit still it was a disaster especially for the farmers.  One river ran right beside Barrie and Helen's house.  Every morning we could see how far it had crept up toward their house or receded.  (This stream eventually fed the Assiniboine River. –dt) Their house was a lovingly cared for farm house that had been in Barrie's family for over 100 years. (It has been designated as a Century Farm.  -dt)

 

The next day we toured the area and stopped at a little town called Boissevain.  All over this town there were different murals.  The murals were painted by local people in all different styles.  I loved it.  The town mascot was 'Tommy the Turtle'.  ( http://www.boissevain.ca/visitors/turtlestatue.htm )   This was because the town was near the Turtle Mountains (rather small hills I thought but then I had just been through the Rockies.)  Evidently a lot of turtles live in those mountains.

 

Next we went to the International Peace Garden.  This park is half in North Dakota and half in Manitoba.  It was opened in 1932 to celebrate the peaceful relationship between our two countries.  What a lovely idea.  (http://www.peacegarden.com/  -not to be confused with the International Peace Park, also on the US/Canadian border but at Montana and Alberta.  -dt)  There is a bell tower, the Peace Tower, Peace Chapel, fountains, and flowerbeds arranged symmetrically so that each side is nearly the same for each country.  There is also a fantastic collection of cacti.  We found a friendly gardener who took our picture at the border with Barrie and Helen in Canada and Dan and I in the US.  As we left we all had to show our passports; I did not mention Mexico.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157627359031454/

 

We visited Brandon which is the big city in the western part of Manitoba.  This is close to where the Souris River and Assiniboine Rivers meet causing massive flooding in the region this year.  In Brandon they had humongous sandbags protecting a particularly vulnerable retail area in a valley.  Why Walmart and other major retailers had built in this area is a mystery.  Probably the land was really cheap.

 

That night Helen made us a lovely supper and the highlight was Saskatoon Pie.  These are little sweet red berries.  I had never encountered them before but they are quite good!  (Second that! –dt)

 

After Rivers Barrie and Helen kindly drove us to visit and stay with Dwain and Marlene in Winnipeg.  Winnipeg was also flooding from the same rains.  (The Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet in Winnipeg. –dt) But it is not quite as close to their house.  In Winnipeg they took us to a restored shopping mall.  Marlene and I really enjoyed looking at the old china and glass and antiques in a store there while the two D's waited patiently. 

 

Then we went to Asssiniboine Park Gardens.  This park really has several parts.  There is an art gallery which had an original drawing of Winnie the Pooh, not to mention a lot of other interesting artists.  There was some really excellent landscapes.  One set of pictures was illustrations of different Canadian wildlife.  This is really nice.  There are formal gardens, a conservatory, and zoo.  The formal gardens make me a little nervous for some reason.  Then we came to the really exciting part - the sculpture garden.

 

The sculpture garden was my favorite part.  Generally I am not fond of sculptures of people because they look like children posed for a school picture.  But these were different- there is emotion and passion on these faces that gave you thought of what the real people must have been.  As Shelley said,

 

"Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;…"

 

(from Ozymandias)

 

 

Of course I loved the animal sculptures.  You would enter a little copse of trees and come upon two bear cubs tumbling playfully.  On down the path, you freeze so as not to frighten a group of deer browsing quietly. And then you realize that they are not alive, at least not exactly.  All these sculptures are by Leo Mol.  He was a Winnnipegian who emigrated from the Ukraine.  If you ever are in the area you should go.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Mol ; there are many pictures on the web. –dt)

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157627361919300/

 

We next went to see Ron and Diane on the other side of Winnipeg and stay at their cabin.  The highlight of course was when Crystal brought over the baby.  Every one who knows her knows that Diane would never be so overjoyed!!  But Edwin was a happy peaceful child.  He cheerfully endured being held by strangers. I love babies.  Then we went to their cabin by Lake Winnipeg.

 

When I think 'cabin' I think of a little hut of logs with an outhouse.  The cabins we visited are as nice as our home in Ohio.  And the thing is all these clever and industrious Canadians did a lot of the work themselves.  Lake Winnipeg is one tremendously huge lake.  However as chance would have it many of our friends have cabins near each other.  We visited Lorne and Audrey at their cabin down the lake a bit.  Their cabin is in a more wooded area. There were lots of wild flowers.  And we could see how the flooding had toppled a lot of trees along the shore.  Meanwhile Ron and Diane and Ben and Road Bump were preparing for the party.  Ben and Road Bump are two gorgeous golden retrievers.  Road bump has another name (Barkley?) but he always wants to be near you so he lays down right in front of you so you step over him a lot.  But Ron was getting the grill set up and Diane was getting the food organized so when we returned all we had to do was sit by the lake and watch the pelicans.  (I didn't know pelicans came this far north but these were white pelicans.)  There were also a couple of geese with thirty or forty goslings.  Evidently this was the local equivalent of a goose day care center.  I was amazed.

 

Then came the party.  It was perfect.  The weather was perfect.  Cool but not raining.  The food was great: grilled burgers, all the appropriate sides, a few new things that were interesting, and of course chocolate.  The sun was lowering over the lake.  I am still surprised at how late it is light in Canada.  The evening was full of friends, laughing, talking, telling silly jokes, sharing interesting ideas.  And just sitting back in front of the lake, absorbing it all, sipping, lemonade, wine, beer or whatever, feeling mellow while the evening slipped through the air, until the party ended.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157627237727817/  (Hope I have at least one picture of everyone (thanks to those of you who sent them); too bad we did not do a group photo.  Guess we will just need to visit again.  –dt)

 

Sigh!!  Our trip to Canada was over, and the next afternoon we flew home.  (Thanks to Al and Louise for taking us to the airport.  And thank goodness the Air Canada strike was over.  –dt)

 

Thanks again to everyone up north.  We had a fabulous time.  See many of you this season down south.

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT - PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO VIEW

TREES

An exhibition in various media by

　

Rebecca Terrible

opening

5 to 8 pm

2 September 2011

@

Z.A.A.P. Gallery

(Zanesville Appalachian Arts Project)

625 Main Street

Zanesville Ohio

www.zaapart.org

　
　
The show will be on display for the month of September. The ZAAP Gallery is open Thursday through Sunday 1 to 5pm. Please contact us if you would like us to meet you at the gallery; you are also welcome to visit our home in the holler.
　
For those of you coming to the opening, the ZAAP Gallery is located in downtown Zanesville between 5^th and 7^th Streets which both have exits from I-70 eastbound, approximately 1 hour from Columbus. Westbound travelers will need to exit at Underwood St. and proceed south to Main Street and turn right.
We know most of you will not be able to make the opening. But as noted, the exhibition will be up for September. Also, refer to the ZAAP website for more information, especially after the show opens. Please feel free to share this notice.

Onward to Canada

Canada – Part 1

 

Part one of our trip to Canada began with the Victoria Clipper boat from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia.  It is a very convenient way to get between cities if one is not driving.  The boat was at capacity partly due to the number of Canadians who had gone to a U2 concert held in Seattle the night before; the GAS conference closing party that same night was a sedate little affair by comparison.

 

Victoria, on Vancouver Island as distinct from the city of Vancouver on the mainland, is the capital of British Columbia.  As such it has the provincial parliament building and other governmental offices.  However, in general Victoria is a bit of a touristy town, especially in the small area we traversed around the inner harbor (or should that be harbour).  Our tour with Peter showed us that Victoria is a full-fledged, but somewhat sedate, city.  It seemed like a most pleasant place to live.

 

Vancouver on the other hand is a metropolis of 2 million+ population.  It had the normal hustle and bustle of a big city.  Downtown takes in a fairly large area but there is a very good public transportation system.  We were not able to explore much of the metropolitan area which spreads out quite a bit.  We were able to take in a few of the more popular sights. 

 

Mrs.T provides a summary of this phase of our trip:

 

 

Before we got on the boat to go from Seattle to Victoria the lady told us we should check our luggage.  We didn't have to but if we did not we would have to lug it around.  Since there was only one boat the chances of it getting lost seemed remote so we each checked our largest carry on.  The boat trip was nice enough, only a little rough.  When we got off to pick up our luggage it was in two long lines of shelves.  You walked down the middle and picked your luggage off from either side.  Dan suggested I take one side and he take the other and when we found one piece of our luggage then we would tell each other.  We were almost to the end when I spotted his carryon.  I got it down and we decided to continue on because we should find mine soon.  Well, no. 

 

"Are you sure you didn't miss it?" I asked.

 

"No, absolutely not; I didn't miss it!" Dan replied.

 

"I will wait here with mine and you go tell them you can't find your luggage," Dan commanded imperiously.  (The editor will let that slide through.  –dt)

 

This did not seem fair to me but rather than argue, I agreed.

 

When I had explained this, man said (rather condescendingly),  "Why don't you go look one more time first."

 

Well I knew I had not missed my carryon so I started back up the side Dan had checked.  I had not gotten very far when there it was in plain sight.

 

I got my carryon and returned to where Dan and the luggage guy were standing.

 

"Oh I'm glad you found it," the luggage guy said.

 

Dan, very wisely did not say a word.

 

We proceeded to customs.  Dan went first and zipped right through.  When it was my turn a rather bored customs guy asked why I was coming to visit Canada.

 

"To visit my friends," I replied with perfect honesty.

 

"Where do your friends live?" he asked.

 

"All over the place," I replied.  (this might have been a slight exaggeration but Dan had the list with everyone's' addresses and I did not remember.

 

"Where did you meet your friends?"  he asked.

 

"In Mexico," I explained.

 

"Are you bringing anything with you into Canada?" he asked a little more firmly.

 

"Well my clothes, a few books, some glass samples, my pills,…" I wasn't sure quite what he was getting at.

 

"What pills are you bringing?"  (Was it my imagination or did he seem to be paying more attention?)

 

"Well the purple pills are for my tummy; the little yellow pills are for hot flashes, the little pink pills are for depression, the big white pills are for anxiety, the large blue pills are multivitamins…"

 

"So all these pills are prescription medicine?" he asked.

 

"Well I did bring some Rolaids, some anti diarrhea pills and some cold pills," I admitted.

 

Suddenly light dawned.  This man thought I was a mule carrying drugs into Canada.

 

I glanced over at Dan's face and had no doubt that he thought I was an ass!

 

"How long have you known these friends from Canada?" the interrogation continued.

 

Eventually it was all sorted out and I was allowed to enter Canada (no searches were involved).  I slunk over to where Dan was waiting trying to pretend he had never seen me before.  "Never mention Mexico!!" he hissed.

 

Our travel agent (dt) had done a good job and our hotel was right across the street from the dock.  When we checked in we found two messages, one from Paul and Kathleen welcoming us to Canada and one from Serah saying she was on her way.  (I love getting messages at hotels!)  In fact Serah was there by the time we finished checking in.  She drove us around Victoria showing us some sights and we had dinner at a seafood restaurant that looked out over the Inner Harbour.  They made their own beer there and Dan had one.  Going back to our hotel we passed the Parliament which was outlined with lights; it looked charming.  There were horse carriages parked beside it that would take you for a short tour.  That looked like fun but I was too tired.

 

The next day we walked around seeing the sights of Victoria.  We took a self-guided tour of the Parliament.  We looked at lots of totem poles and statues.  We went to the undersea museum.  This was a very large aquarium with lots of local fish, octopi, shellfish, anemones and so on.  Then we went on a carriage ride; silly I know but I enjoyed it.  The horse was a Belgian whose name was King.  When the driver said gee step King would go right.  When she said haw step he would go left.  Step meant straight ahead.   As we rode the driver gave an interesting commentary about the history of Victoria.  All went well until a large semi screeched to a halt right in front of us.  "

 

"Gee step!" the driver said calmly. 

 

King turned his head completely around and stared at the driver in disbelief. "Do you really want me to go out in front of that big noisy thing?" he seemed to ask.

 

"Gee step!" the driver repeated.

 

King shook his great head; heaved an immense horsey sigh, and made a right turn.

 

That evening we had dinner with Paul and Kathleen.  It was good to see them as we had missed them in Mexico last season.  They both were doing well.

 

The next day we went to Butchart Gardens.  This is probably the most beautiful garden I have seen.  I especially liked the sunken garden which was built in an abandoned gravel quarry.  As our home is on an abandoned strip mine I immediately began to see similarities and possibilities. At the gift shop I bought 3 packages of seeds.  Since I could not bring home the 54 gardeners they employ I suppose my efforts will continue to pale by comparison but we do what we can.  One flower that was especially beautiful was the blue poppy.  I bought some Canadian lily seeds so that I could commemorate our journey, if they grace us by growing.  (It was a bit rainy that day, but no worries.  The garden provided umbrellas which they even brought out to folks when the showers started.  –dt)

 

That evening Peter picked us up and took us to some of the interesting spots around Victoria.  We climbed the highest lookout point and from there we could look down and see both sides of the island.  There was a little map that showed us the names of other islands across the bay.  There is something wild and free about being on an island.  The world flows by around you, it seems to me.

 

That evening we went to dinner at Peter and Judy's home.  They had prepared a lovely salmon dinner for us. And for dessert our mutual friend Daphne had made a lovely trifle.  We had a wonderful evening with most pleasant conversation.  We talked of things we had done and places we had been and made plans for next winter when we all will meet again in Bucerias.

 

Sadly we missed seeing Brian and Susan and David and Lorraine; we hope everyone is better and we catch up with you sometime.

 

(Pictures from Victoria:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157627147799092/ )

 

We took a bus to Vancouver – sort of.  To go to Vancouver we first rode on a bus and then on a ferry and then on the bus again.  The bus from downtown Victoria drove right onto the ferry which was docked at a bay on the other side of the island where we disembarked the bus for the ride to the mainland.  Then we reboarded the bus for the trip to downtown Vancouver.

 

Although we probably could have walked, we decided to take a cab to the bus station In Victoria for the first leg of the trip.  A little confusion with Canadian currency left a very happy cabbie with an $8 instead of a $2 tip for a very short ride.  (I counted 1,2,3,4 when I should have counted 2,4,6,8.  –dt)

 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dan asked.  What was he going to do demand a refund?

 

We settled in for a short but rather rowdy stay in Vancouver.  No, we were not rowdy but it just so happened that the days were there were the days the Vancouver Canucks were playing in the Stanley Cup.  But we did take in some of the sights.

 

In Vancouver we visited China town.  At one of the herb stores I talked to a man who sold ginseng.  He was eager to buy from me direct until I told him we were only allowed to sell to government registered dealers.  We went to Stanley Park (Good recommendation, Gord. –dt) where they had a great aquarium.  While we were there we saw a Beluga show; they were charming animals.  Then we rode on a little train and saw a Disneyesque enactment of a Indian folk legend. (In Canada they are called 'First Peoples.'  -dt) I enjoyed it but I think it may have been a bit hokey for Dan. (He just is not in touch with his inner child.)

 

The next day we checked out but still had lots of time before our train departed. (For the second part of our Canadian adventure -dt), so we wondered around downtown a bit and visited some art galleries.  Returning to the hotel to collect our luggage we saw many locals with blue faces carousing in the streets.  We took a cab over to the train station and after checking in for the train watched the end of the hockey game on a big screen TV in the waiting lounge.

 

"Do you think we should be rooting for the US?" I whispered to Dan.

 

"Don't even think about it!!" he replied.

 

(Pictures from Vancouver:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157627028690663/ )

 

 

The next adventure will be about the train to Manitoba and our wonderful visit there.  If any of you in Manitoba have additional photos to share, forward them soon so that they become part of our next newsletter.

 

Best wishes to all.  Stay cool.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

A Nice Vacation

PAB/ST

 

Plane, auto, boat/ship, train – we used them all during our recent vacation.  Many of you know we went to Seattle for the GAS conference and then on to Canada; a three-week vacation.  We have been back about a week and have things mostly in order.  (Another week-long trip is in the offing.)  The whip-poor-will generally wakes me up just before sunrise; he does an even better job than a rooster.  (Listen to its song here:  http://www.junglewalk.com/popup.asp?type=a&AnimalAudioID=388 )

 

Mrs. T tells about the Seattle portion of our trip below. 

 

 

 

"I have become a name;

For always roaming with a hungry heart

Much have I seen and known – cities of men

And manners, climates, councils, governments,"

 

Ulysses - Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

We have returned!  Our sojourn (a bit shorter than Ulysses') was exciting, entertaining, enlightening.  We negotiated everything we thought we needed into four carryon sized bags (And one for DT's CPAP machine; medical equipment is exempt luggage –dt).  Actually, thanks to the generosity and support of our family and friends we could have made do with quite a bit less.  I admit I overdid it when packing the jewelry but it is so hard to decide.  (She has so few things to choose from –HaHaHa –dt)

 

We have discovered a great travel secret - when the plane is very full, as it usually is these days, airlines will gate check your carryons at no charge, especially if they tend to be on the plump side.  This way you get your bags back when the plane lands avoiding baggage claim and fees!  We muddled though all the waiting, being scanned – waiting - - flying, rushing to the next plane – more waiting because it was late - getting on the plane - waiting while it was checked out for some maintenance problem – flying, and finally arriving at Seattle.  We upgraded to a larger sized rental car.  For some reason it seems to be cheaper to upgrade at the airport than to order the larger car from the start.  With only a slight detour we arrived at Suzy and John's. 

 

Their home has that comfortable elegance that some people with good taste, a little extra money, and no live–in children, seem to acquire effortlessly.  Am I jealous?  (Is the Pope Catholic?)  Not really; it is their flower garden that makes me want to abandon that old coveting commandment.  Houses are nice, and I love our house and our condo.  But Suzy has lots of flowers. (We have beautiful flowers at the house and condo as you have seen in previous posts.  But Suzy's garden is indeed exceptional. –dt) One of my favorite parts was a wall of bamboo along their back fence.  I would love to have some of that bamboo but I don't think it grows here, and frankly I am afraid of bamboo.  I understand that if you don't have a panda it tends to take over.  I would be willing to explore the panda option but I have a feeling that Dan would veto it. (Certainly would. –dt) Suzy had lots of lobelia in bloom and mongo grass and a rose of many colors.  Her irises were just starting.  They had a dark black one that would be amazingly elegant.  I comfort myself that Seattle's climate is kinder than ours.  But truthfully, I know that incredible amounts of work, love and patience are needed to create a garden like John and Suzy's.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,--
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth

Dorothy Frances Gurney

I soon discovered Suzy has a crow who comes and sits on her wall waiting expectantly for tidbits that Suzy puts out.  Exactly who has trained whom I'm not quite sure.
We came to Seattle to attend the Glass Art Society conference and we enjoyed it.  We took a day trip to the Tacoma Art Museum.  While we were there we watched Rich Royal making a bee hive kind of thing.  I really like the installation with big blue glass stones on the 'Bridge of Glass'.   Later, at M-Space, a private studio, we watched a contest where teams – amateurs and professionals - had 10 minutes to make a goblet.  One team featured a young man of 12.  Some of the results were quite interesting. 
Back at the Seattle Art Museum (venue for closing of the GAS conference –dt) the main exhibit seemed to be people made to look like mops with lots of string hanging down.  It was interesting at first but I think he might have gotten carried away.  I have only a capacity for so many mop men.  (Nick Cave show –dt) We also saw a lampworking demo by a lady making small iridescent people.  I thought she was quite good.  We went to a cold working demo by Joe Benvenuto who years ago was the director of Glass Axis (That is where we still work – www.glassaxis.org  -dt) and tutored our son Nick.  He seemed to be doing well.  We saw our wonderful friends Yilmaz and Nimet from Turkey whom we first met years ago when the GAS conference was in Japan (1998 –dt).  (Read about their school at www.glassfurnace.org  -dt)  We also saw Robert Wiley who earned his MFA from OSU and is running a school in Portugal now.  It was a little sad to think of some friends like Finn and Drew who are gone.  We do not go to every GAS conference (We prefer more exotic locations, although we probably will go to Toledo, Ohio next year –dt) so the ones we do go to have a combination of new and old people, and new and old technologies seen through our ever changing perspectives.  I suppose after all the years some of the amazement is gone but I still love working with glass, playing with fire.
While we were in Seattle we visited some other sights.  We spent a morning at MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry) where Suzy volunteers.  (Did I mention that our sister- in- law is a famous archivist?)  We visited a Chinese garden that is under construction; I always like the moon gates.  And we visited a sculpture garden that is part of SAM.  I liked the rope sculpture and also the fountain that had a person holding out his hands as if to summon the water.  During our time in Seattle we had mostly clear weather and could see the mountains.  People there say the mountains are "out" the same way we might say the sun is "out" although really everything is always there.  (Unfortunately we did not get a picture of Mt. Rainier –THE Mountain.  –dt) Aren't people odd? Then on to Canada, but that is another story.
Some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157626928215653/
Our next edition – or two – will be about the Canadian portion of our trip.  Let's say here that we had a great time.  And we feel very sad about the flooding in Manitoba.  What you have been seeing about Minot has been going on in western Manitoba for the past month or more.
Enough for now.  Hope you all are well as summer really begins.
 
Dan and Rebecca
www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com
 

Who is Your Shipper?

Flora & Fauna & ***

 

As has been previously related to some of you, Rebecca will be the featured artist at Z.A.A.P. (http://www.zaapart.org/ ), one of our art organizations in Muskingum county.  (We invite all of you to come to its June auction fundraiser.)  Mrs.T worked quite hard this winter to complete several paintings – of trees, of course – for that show.  Because they have a shipper right in Bucerias, we arranged to have the paintings shipped back by ***, one of the biggest and most reputable services in the world.  What followed has been discouraging and disheartening.  And none too beneficial to R's psychic health.  Below you will find a much compressed description of the events; she really is in mourning.  As you can see in the following pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157626797189920/

three paintings did not arrive in good condition.  We know the original packing was substantial; it was registered as weighing 70kg (almost 160lbs).  The paintings arrived at our house in cardboard boxes with the bubble wrap in shreds.  The photos do not really show the extent of the damage.  The two extensively damaged works have a cut/puncture - a cut that went through a piece of cardboard (by the label on it evidently from repacking), through the bubble wrap, through the back of one painting, and through the front of another.  A third painting had its canvas stressed out of shape.  All in all, not the careful shipping we expected.  There were many calls and emails, including several to our shipper in Bucerias.  Right now the paintings are being repaired and Mrs.T will attempt to repaint the damaged areas, but the paintings never will be the same.

 

You will notice that the editor has replaced the name of the world renowned shipping company with ***.  The editor felt it not wise to put the name in print as that might bring legal repercussions.

 

For those of you in Ohio, sometime in August we will email you information about Rebecca's show which will start on the first Friday of September and last for the month.

 

Here is Mrs. T's synopsis of events:

 

 

"Art is long and time is fleeting", or something like that.  At any rate my art was quite fleeting, or maybe it was flitting.  *** lost my 10 pictures that I had painted in Mexico and am planning to use in a show in September.  After about 6 weeks of increasingly frantic and irate phone calls (where ***'s computer told me my call was important to them and please to continue to hold) finally the pictures were located.  (Actually they were lost in two parts. –dt) After they were located (twice –dt) they were shipped to me and I found that two of them had holes in them.  After a lot more of continuing to hold I was told to ship them back for examination.  I firmly explained that the last time I gave the paintings to them they lost them and made holes in them and I would be darned if I was going to give them a second shot!  (*** evidently thought that the paintings were like a blender and could be simply replaced. -dt) Eventually we agreed that I would take them to the local *** office where the lady took pictures of them with her phone and was going to fill out a claim.  (Actually two trips –dt) I am still waiting to see what comes of it all but I have already been told that if the claim is approved I will need to get the money from the Mexican shipper!  Have you seen the commercials about how *** wants to solve all your problems?  At the very least, continuing to hold should be featured much more heavily in their commercials!!!

 

Dan and I have been really enjoying our home in the woods.  One of the nice things is all the animals.  Our pond has been visited several times by a pair of wood ducks.  And yes, we do have a turtle this year.  Exactly what kind I don't know because every time I try to get close he dives.  We have lots of birds, including wild turkeys who wander by occasionally.  The last time this happened there was a male strutting around displaying his tail feathers for a couple of turkey hens who didn't seem all that impressed.  I think the prettiest birds are the scarlet tanagers.  We have a red tail hawk and a pileated woodpecker. (A very large bird -dt.)  The noisiest is the whip-poor-will who repeats his name seven zillion and three times each evening and morning. (As good as an alarm clock –dt) The phoebes have eggs in their nest - an engineering marvel - outside Dan's office window.

 

Of course our largest visitors are the deer.  The other morning about 6 AM I was peacefully sleeping.  Dan grabbed me, "Rebecca. Rebecca." he called in a stage whisper, "Look!" (She always wants to see the wildlife –dt) I slowly sat up and peered bleary eyed over the headboard.  There were two deer meandering along our driveway.  They would stop and graze every few feet.  How nice.  Suddenly I realized that they were stopping every few feet to munch on another clump of my lilies!  I leaped out of bed and ran out on the front porch and started yelling at them. "STOP THAT!!  BAD DEER!!"  They froze for a moment, their tails flashed up and then they leaped down over the hill.  When I came in Dan had a funny look on his face, I think he may have been trying not to laugh at me.  (I cannot deny nor affirm that comment –dt) Be that as it may, a few days later when four more deer wandered up the path they turned when they came to the lilies and sedately ambled down the hill, leaving my lilies strictly alone.  I guess I told them!

 

It must be true that April showers (and May rains also –dt) bring May flowers because I have a lot of lovely flowers this month.  My irises are lovely; I have at least four different varieties and thank goodness the deer don't eat them.  I had some lovely allium which I planted last year and they bloomed very enthusiastically.  My lilies of the valley are slowly spreading, (Don't you love the way they smell?)   I bought five new evergreen trees at the Dawes Arboretum plant sales. (Dawes is one of the premier arboretums in the country. www.dawesarb.org  The very historical Dawes family includes ambassadors and a vice president; one of them even rode with Revere. -dt).  I cut my thumb pretty badly working on glass at the studio so Dan dug three of the holes, albeit grumpily.  (Not true  –dt) This is really above and beyond the call of duty because our agreement is that I can get plants as long as I dig the holes.  Fortunately my thumb is almost better; I got a bunch more plants at a plant swap and there is one more plant swap this weekend.  (A very long drive past Cincinnati. –dt) I love getting plants.  I got one I was unfamiliar with this week but it was listed as an endangered native, so I felt it was my duty.  It is a celandine wood poppy; I will plant them today.

 

 

 

Well, we shortly are going off on a 3-week vacation.  First to Seattle to the Glass Art Society Conference, actually a good excuse to visit brother John and his wife Suzy.  And then two weeks in Canada.  (The folks in Manitoba are having floods every bit as bad as ours.)  We mentioned this in a previous newsletter but now the trip is at hand.  We will try to post something while away, but don't bet on it – we are already quite booked with events and rendezvous'.   Looking forward to a lot of great companionship.

 

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

Bonus Material

TWO THINGS FROM BUCERIAS
 
Here are a couple of additional items from the south.  One is a short video  of the master of the boogie board.  (Hope you can get it to play.) The waves were not too good this year.  (Thanks P for the video!)  The second item is a picture of us with our good friend Marisol and her roommate Miriam at lunch just a couple of days before we came back north.  For those who do not know, Marisol was one of my students at Franklin University; she is a wonderful person and the reason we now live in Bucerias during the winter.  Thanks Marisol!
 
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157626401870693/
 
dan and rebecca

RETURN NORTH

 

 

O-H-I-O

 

As mentioned in our last newsletter we were preparing to make our way up north.  And here we are back north for about ten days – seven days of rain and clouds and three days of sun.  I have filed the taxes and am considering a ticket to go back south.  As Mrs.T relates below she is quite happy to be back among her blooming flowers and the fauna of our forest.  But before we turn to her short tale, we should mention Oaxaca again.

 

As you no doubt noted, Mrs. T was overjoyed just to see the Tule Tree and Monte Alban was icing on the cake.  But we also visited Mitla, which is an older Zapotec site, and nearby Teotitlan del Valle where there are reputedly 2000+ weavers.  (No, that is not an extra zero.)  We visited the "Bug in a Rug" studio/shop and had quite a good description of all the natural dyes and a demonstration of their rug weaving techniques.  The Zapotecs had been doing this for centuries before the Spanish conquest and the subsequent introduction of the modern spinning wheel and weaving loom.  Several of Teotitlan's artisans are world renown and are represented in public and private collections, including a nice rug at our condo.  In the pictures you will see the exquisite rug that KA of our group from Casa Ollin purchased.  R bought a pillow cover which goes well with Turkish ones we have had for some time.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157626384102583/

 

 

On to R's brief commentary about our restart of the northern home:

 

We are home in Ohio.  We arrived about seven hours later than we first intended.  Dan was extremely, and justifiably grumpy and I was a wreck.  But after a week things are settling down.  We went through a ton of mail, most of it third class, and ended up taking 3 tubs and one plastic garbage bag to the recycling place.  Dan thought there was not room for it but I climbed up and shoved the existing stuff around and made room.  (Yes I did wipe off my hands quite thoroughly with wet wipes I keep in the back of the beluga for just such emergencies.)(I insisted –dt)

 

Arriving back in the North the cloudy weather hit me like a sledge hammer.  It was not really that cold, although Dan did grouse a lot, but grey and dreary.  And I have to admit my toes are a little grumpy about wearing shoes after five months of sandals.  The good thing is I had a lot of wildlife and flowers, some wild and some I had planted.  Also we have bats.  I hope they will eat the mosquitoes. We put up a bat house when we moved here but the bats are living somewhere else.  I have also seen lots of birds and butterflies.  I have taken pictures of a lot of the flowers; the animals would not hold still!  There has been a lot of rain this week and the pond overfloweth. (The week before we returned there had been a record setting 1.6 in./4cm in one day. –dt)  I was happy to find my goldfish made it through the winter this year.

 

Dan is busy doing the taxes and out of sorts about that, but I am happy because we get money back.  Not only that but we got a peach pie from the reduced rack at the grocery store; no pie man (or muffin man or strawberry man –dt) to make home deliveries in Ohio.  As a point of interest you know you live in a rural area when they sell seed potatoes at the grocery.  I was looking at them thinking, "those potatoes look awfully old and wrinkly surely no one will buy them" and then I saw the sign "SEED POTATOES".  This is Spring - the time for growing things.  Soon I will plant my bulbs and flower seeds that my sweet husband got me.  But first I have to go buy dirt; I suppose you know you are dealing with a gardening radical if she buys dirt to use outside.

 

Mrs. T's pictures of flowers, pond, etc.:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157626508869244/

 

(For those of you who are not flora experts, most of the flowers are not nearly as large as they might seem by the photos. –dt)

 

Our next adventure will be a vacation to Seattle and Canada.  We are going to the Glass Art Society conference this year.  After that we will visit Butchart Gardens in Victoria and then take the nearly two day train to Manitoba to visit some of our many Canadian friends.  Those of you in that northern country should have already received an email with our itinerary.  We are very grateful to the several of you that have invited us to visit and are quite excited.  We think everything has about fallen into place as planned.

 

Hope your spring is green.

Dan and Rebecca

 

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com