March 2015
Sunday March 29
At the end of our street
Guess what happened here last night? 25 cms more of the white and fluffy. We lost a bit of it during the week after it rained but, as you can see from the picture, there is still a lot left. I see from the Archive that last year the winter aconites, our harbinger of spring, had already sprouted by the end of February; and we were complaining about how hard the winter had been. This year they have not even had a chance; they are still buried under about two feet of snow.
James applied to several universities for next year and was accepted to all of them with various scholarships offered. He decided this weekend to go to Acadia, long his first choice, in the computer science department. We are happy with that choice; it worked out well for Katy and Ben and we're sure it will be good for James too.
Last night Ann and I went to see Relative Happiness, a locally produced romantic comedy that our friend Carl told us about; he knows one of the producers and went to a party for its release. Most of it was filmed in Hubbards, a town on the South Shore about half an hour's drive from here. You may recall that we used to get our Christmas trees from a farm there and one of the scenes in the movie was at the Shore Club, right next door to the farm. The plot was fairly typical rom-com fare but it had its moments and there were some very nice shots of the local scenery.
Sunday March 22
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Our street |
Near Vernazza, Italy |
Last week I was away on business in Genoa, Italy, much to the chagrin of those I left behind. I left a week ago Tuesday, flying overnight to Heathrow with my colleague, Holly, and connecting to Munich where we missed our second connection to Genoa. That meant spending an extra five hours in the Munich airport before the next flight, finally arriving at our hotel in Genoa at about 9:30 PM. Our first meeting was the following morning but, thankfully, it ended in the early afternoon so the jet lag didn't affect my concentration too badly. Holly and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Genoa with my friend Tormod from Oslo. It was warm enough to stop and have a beer outside in one of the piazzas before meeting the rest of our colleagues for dinner.
Friday was another meeting after which most of the participants flew home. These meetings are usually scheduled on four consecutive days in one week, but because of prior commitments by some of the participants, this time they were split across the weekend. That meant that Holly, Layton (another DRDC colleague) and I got to spend an extra couple of days in Genoa.
On Saturday we got up early and took the train to Riomaggiore, the town in the Cinque Terre furthest from Genoa. The plan was to hike as much of the trail between the five Cinque Terre towns as we could manage, stopping to explore the towns a little along the way. Unfortunately, when we arrived we found that only the trail between Vernazza and Monterosso was open. So instead we explored Riomaggiore, then took the train back to Vernazza. After looking around the town and having lunch in a pizzeria, we set off on the trail. It was quite rugged and steep in parts but gave great views over the Mediterranean. The picture above is at the start of the trail before it begins ascending in earnest. Notice the ripe lemons on the trees at the bottom right. Once in Monterosso we stopped for a well-earned beer before catching the train back to Genoa.
On Sunday we all slept in, then walked down to the old port for lunch after which we spent a couple of hours at the Genoa Aquarium. That left time for a nap before a nice dinner in a little restaurant that we found in a back alley in the old part of town.
Monday and Tuesday brought more meetings and, on Wednesday, Holly and I left for home (Layton returned on Tuesday), this time via Munich and Toronto. Everything went well until we arrived in Toronto where we were told that our flight to Halifax had been cancelled due to the miserable weather at home. After a couple of hours of waiting, we were sent to one of the airport hotels with reservations on a flight leaving the next morning. That one left on time but, when we arrived in Halifax, we had to stay on the runway approaches for about half an hour while a snowdrift was cleared away; the captain of the plane wouldn't drive through it because he was afraid it would clog the engines. Then when we arrived at the gate they had trouble connecting the ramp to the plane, so it was over an hour after we landed before we got inside the terminal. From there it was clear sailing home via a taxi.
The difference in the landscape between our departure and arrival was quite dramatic. Although there was quite a lot of snow when we left, there was much much more when we got back. Most of the roads in town are still little more than one lane and most sidewalks are buried under about four feet of snow. I got very little sympathy when complaining about our travelling delays.
While I was gone, Ann and James held the fort. Since it was March break, James had lots of time for shovelling. Ann worked at home on the days after the two storms. We had another weather system pass by yesterday but, to everyone's relief, it gave us much less precipitation than expected: a couple of inches of snow and a few millimetres of rain. Nevertheless, school is cancelled tomorrow.
James had a bunch of his friends over one night last week, then gave them a ride home. On the way he had his first flat tire. He had to call for some help to change it; Carl gave Ann a ride to where he was parked. They called CAA but were told that there would be a long wait, so they tried to do it themselves but couldn't figure out the arcane implements provided by Toyota. In the end, they were helped by a couple of passers-by and managed to get home. We now have a new set of tires to get us through the rest of the winter (nobody here is willing to acknowledge that we are now, technically, in spring).
Last night, Ann and I went to see Rexy at Neptune with Kim and Glen. We had a nice dinner at the Baan Thai Restaurant beforehand, though we had some trouble negotiating the public transit system to get there. Because of the snow, there is very little parking in Halifax, so we thought it would be prudent to take the bus (they have been free for several days to encourage people to use them). We arrived at the closest stop several minutes early then waited for over half an hour for one to arrive. At last one came, then drove right past us without stopping. We gave up in disgust, walked home and drove to the terminal at the Sportsplex where we managed to catch a bus right away arriving at the restaurant about half an hour late.
Sunday March 8
Ann on the Dartmouth Waterfront Trail
We have had an uneventful week just working and relaxing for the most part. Yesterday Ann and I went to the church for the annual bean supper (baked beans and sausages followed by gingerbread with lemon sauce) James stayed at home because he was a bit under the weather and didn't want to pass it on to others.
This afternoon Ann and I went for a walk along the Dartmouth Waterfront Trail between the Woodside ferry terminal and the Coast Guard station. It was a gorgeous day but the trail, like all the sidewalks in town, was a sheet of ice in some places making our progress a little slow.
Sunday March 1
James playing at the EPEC Swing Night
James has had a busy musical week. On Thursday, the All-City Studio A Jazz Band, in which James plays trombone, had a concert at the Eastern Passage Educational Centre. It was billed as Swing Night and consisted of a dozen or so swing standards. There was also a young couple who demonstrated a number of different dances (jive, etc.) while the band was playing. They also gave the band a few lessons just prior to the concert.
This weekend, including Friday evening, James practiced with the Nova Scotia Youth Wind Ensemble (NSYWE) in preparation for their concert this afternoon at Mount Saint Vincent University with the Stadacona Band of the Royal Canadian Navy. Ann, myself and Jenny, James' godmother, went to see it. It was a very enjoyable performance all around. The Stadacona Band started with a varied set of pieces including a Sousa ragtime number that I particularly enjoyed and an amusing piece featuring a xylophone rendition of famous themes from Carmen and the William Tell Overture. They were followed by NSYWE playing a suite of pieces by Percy Grainger. Then both bands combined for a final piece, Aurora Awakes.
On Friday evening, while James was practicing with NSYWE, Ann and I went out for dinner at Chez Tess Crèperie followed by a skate on the Oval, the speed skating track on the Halifax Commons. We were serenaded by the Urban Surf Kings, a local band led by James music teacher (and Emily's, David's and Katy's before him). It was billed as a winter beach party to try to get everyone's minds off the horrendous weather we have been having lately. That was a bit of a stretch as it was still −8°. I don't know how the band managed to get their fingers to work; mine always stiffen right up whenever I try to play in cold weather.
Last night we went to a music/birthday party at our friends Thomas and Sandy's place in Halifax. Ann spent the afternoon making a couple of cakes, one in the shape of a guitar. I spent almost all evening playing tunes with a variety of people including my fellow Dave Brothers Band members while Ann did most of the socializing.