The weather has turned to that of December, and yesterday we had our first real taste of snow. We began the day on Sunday by walking the Rouge Gateway Trail in Dearborn, putting in over 4 miles. We chose this trail because it is sheltered. We finished just as the first of several heavy snowfalls began.

It's been a banner week for piano practice! 51 more just like it and I might actually get somewhere with my upcoming program. I've begun to memorize the Beethoven Sonata (Op. 10 #3, as I'm sure you all remember), the Debussy, de Falla and Albeniz. I'll give the Scarlatti more time to settle in.

Deb had a harp gig in Chatham today. It didn't stop raining from Friday noon hour through Saturday evening--2.4" in the rain gauge, following on the heels of Wdnesday's 1.5". That's a lot of rain. I chilled out downtown in a very fine cafe on Willian St., across from Sears. It is called Coffee Culture, a chain I have never seen before today. I sat at a large window, watching the rain pour down on mostly empty streets. No walking today because of practicing piano, and the church wedding (which took up a total of 4 hrs. of our day from leaving home to returning). Our rain gear would have been perfect for walking today.

First term reports cards are done and e-mailed into the office. Five more sets and I am a retired music teacher! Mine were pretty easy, despite the addition of 3 more classes to my schedule. Deb's are much more complex, and took a lot out of her this week. We went out to celebrate at Buddy's Pizza in Dearborn (one of the top 5 pizzas in the US!), and came home with two cds from Borders--a re-release of an old Pogues album, and a newer one by Orchestre Baobab. Both are fabulous!

Last night we held the first performance class of the year, hosting 13 students at the house (all girls!) ranging in age from 8 to 16. They all performed for each other, and I offered some suggestions for preparing and executing successful performances. It's still early in the season, but several students did a great job. They managed to devour most of the food we put out for them at break. They eat like boys!

I have done some major upgrading to the main webpages (right), adding more text describing certain hikes, a few more photos, and some topo maps of selected hikes! I find that I tend to upgrade and work on the site when I have been inspired by other websites. When I first read Mouser's blog several months ago I did some serious rethinking about this site, and again more recently when I discovered Kev and Liz's site. Their writings on the North Downs Way near London are indespensible reading for anyone wishing to walk the English countryside, either armchair style or actually going out and doing it!. So if the Lone Mt Homestead website is in any way half decent, it is thanks to other sites I occasionally come across that inspire me to improve my own.

Today we walked the Windsor Trail, clocking 3.3 miles thanks to our new rain gear. It was raining, but things turned out great. As I slowly get my strength back, I look forward to increasing the length of the walks on weekends to around 10 miles for Stage One, and even longer (Stage Two) if we go ahead and purchase airline tickets to London for March.

Trail alongside Turkey Creek, Windsor. We walked in the rain, sharing the path with the occasional cyclist, one jogger, and 5 or 6 teenagers on bikes in a clearing in the woods having a paintball war. They were very pale-looking warriors, so it was good to see them getting some fresh air, instead of stuck indoors at their computers!

It was a cool, windy and occasionally damp day. We still managed a walk, putting in 4.3 miles on the Windsor riverfront path. However, we resolved to purchase some updated rain gear, and we soon did. We are now set for all-weather situations! We had soup downtown at Pause Cafe before setting out. I had Country Vegetable and Deb had an African Sweet Potato with Peanuts. Both were vegan and delicious. The waterfront trail was empty today, and we had the east half to ourselves.

We had planned to walk to Taloola Cafe for a vegan cookie and some tea, then head back to the car. When we arrived, the cafe was closed due to a power outage. There had been a major fire overnight in the neighbourhood and it had affected power to a large area. With hopes of warm tea and vegan cookies quite dashed, we turned into the wind and walked back towards downtown and our car. Afterwards, we went shopping at WalMart for some new walking rain gear.

It's been almost two weeks since I've been out and about, so today's trip over the river to Detroit seemed quite special! We went to our US mailbox, where we had a Tom Baker Dr. Who dvd waiting for us from Netflix, as well as various catalogues. Then we headed downtown. First we went to John King Books, where we still have a credit from trading some of ours. I snagged "The Road to Wellville" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, a fictional account of the rise of Battle Creek, MI as a turn-of-the century vegetarian health resort, headed by Dr. Kellogg. I've been wanting to read this gem for some time now! I also scored one of the Myst books on cassette, a full cast production with music and sound effects of "Myst: The Book of Ti'anna". Right up there with my Gormenghast tapes Caroline recorded for me from BBC radio!

We went to Avalon Bakery afterwards, one of Detroit's jewels, enjoying coffee and vegan focaccia before visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts. Of course we came home with a loaf of Motown Multigrain from Avalon. Came across this Dutch painting by Van Goyen at the museum that seems to sum up a lot about the month of November. Since I haven't walked now in two days, this photo will have to suffice.

My goal today was to get through a full work day, nothing more, nothing less. Fortunately I have time to lay down and snooze after the morning shift at school and before the afternoon shift of private students begins. I read a bit and napped after lunch, and have made it to the end of a full work day, somewhat victorious. I am definitely on the mend, but still tire very easily. Sadly, there was no time to walk this afternoon, so I'll have to post a few more pics from yesterday's walk instead.

Even more sadness, as I found out that Caroline has been quite ill too, and with London having a very damp and chilly autumn the weather is doing little to cheer her up. Hope you get well soon! Sounds like we are in for a bit of London weather this weekend ourselves.

Watching the Canadian dollar closely after the US election. If we can get it to $1.10 against the US dollar, I will book us into London for March Break. Still got a ways to go, but it was moving in the right direction. I have another great week of walking planned over there, and if we can maintain our fitness throughout the winter the walking will be very easy compared to New Mexico.

I returned to work today, but had to nap right after lunch when I got home. I found talking to be very difficult and tiring. After my nap I read, did the laundry and eventually took a sunset walk out back once again, completing another 2.1 miles. Not feeling too bad tonight, though I am not looking forward to having to talk and/or sing in classes tomorrow.

How nice is it outside today? Let's just say it is ridiculously nice outside, with temps heading for 70 F and the sun shining like it was early September. I stayed home a 2nd day, but am feeling stronger. My walk today was 2.1 miles, and I coughed out a lot of bad stuff. I will teach my 5 hours tonight, and hopefully be able to go back to school tomorrow. Once home at noon hour tomorrow, I can rest all day if needed.

Like most people, I am anxious for the US election to be over and settled. America appears set for its first black President. I've also been watching our dollar slowly recover some of its previous strength. Funny how it can crash in just a few days, but takes forever to get back up towards par.

Feeling a bit better, but I stayed home today to rest some more, and likely will tomorrow. We had an energy assessment done of our house today, something I recommend. Up front it costs $500, but we will get $150 back from the government. Basically, it shows exactly where the house is badly leaking air, then the assessor goes about telling you how to fix things. Mostly we need insulation and lots of caulking and a few new windows, but things have been pinpointed with great accuracy. The best part comes near the end of the assessment, when you are shown the government grants available to get the work done. There is a lot of money out there to fix up these things, including $1200 towards a more efficient furnace, and thousands of dollars for new and better insulation. We'll be looking into it. 18 months is the maximum time allowed to get the work done to receive the grant money. The assessor is not affiliated with any home renovation company, and whether you do any improvements is entirely up to you.

The good news--my 6-day old beast of a cold is waning. The bad news--it still is a miserable cold, a whole weekend has gone by me, and a full work week awaits. Sigh. As if the cold wasn't bad enough, I have had a giant mouth sore, or canker, on my inside bottom lip since Friday, probably caused by my all-night cough drops when I had a sore throat. Even drinking water is painful, so no doubt I have lost some weight too. Of course we had to miss our symphony concert in Detroit this afternoon--I just wasn't up to a border crossing today.

On another note, Ike's tank has been redesigned by Deb and is looking mighty good. He is turning out to be a very gentle snapper, and seems to like Deb's harp playing. She actually has two weekends off in a row from harp gigs (and I have to be sick on one of them).

I managed to finish reading all of the articles on Kevan's website about the North Down Way long distance walking trail (see yesterday's entry for link), though I haven't finished looking at all the photos. Great job you two, and I look forward to reading about all the rest of your walking adventures.

Finally, we managed to play a board game called "Lord of the Rings" this afternoon. We bought it used from e-Bay, but it looks as if it had never been played. It is a cooperative game, where up to 5 players have to join forces to defeat Sauron. Fairly complex, we got defeated by the Dark Lord quite early on. We'll see how future games go.

It's been a long and grueling week for me, as I maintained a full schedule of work and teaching while putting up with a lousy, energy-sucking throat infection and cold. Monday night we had a very long game of Middle Earth: The Wizards. Overnight my throat was bugging me, and by Tuesday things were well underway. Very little sleep on Tues. and Wed. didn't help. Yesterday was the worst, and thankfully due to school assemblies and various Hallowe'en shenanigans I didn't have to teach a single class! I had to watch a Gr. 3 class for a few minutes, and I gazed bemused at the dozens of cupcakes and bags of candy that parents had sent in for the class. Luckily Deb and I leave at noon hour, as the whole school was getting sugared up!!

We had a quiet Samhain by the fireside, choosing our Arthurian Legends tarot cards for the upcoming year (Celtic New Year starts today). Deb had an outstanding year as far as transforming herself into someone new, both physically and artistically, and if the cards are right she will have another great year.

Another miserable day is coming to an end (for me). Deb went walking today and put in over 6 miles. I probably did 1/10 of a km walking from the bedroom to the computer and to the kitchen and bathroom all day. Couldn't sleep, so I got to enjoy this cold all day. We are supposed to go to Detroit tomorrow to hear the orchestra play, but it's looking very doubtful. I have taken to coughing lately.

Forced to rest, of course I surrounded myself with hiking books and Backpacker magazines whilst lying in bed. The pile eventually grew to a respectable height! I then switched my research to the www, focussing on searching a few longer walks that are near to London. One of them is the North Downs Way, and I found a highly entertaining website report by a couple that hiked it in stages from their home base London. The website looks like it will provide me with a lot of reading in the days to come. Here is the link if you'd care to dip in and visit. At one point the writer (Kevan) renames the North Downs Way as the Muddy Forest Way. We have hiked a segment of this path high above Gomshall and Shere, and the description is more than apt! In fact, since our last escapade along the Arun River, we will now come to expect mud on every hike in England, though not necessarily as much mind-numbing forest.

Deb and I had a great time Friday night with my cousin Cathy. We met her around six at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, then headed up to the Art Institute for wine and talk. I hadn't much time with her in Sudbury at the memorial in July, so it was a perfect time just to chat. Of course we talked a lot about Moreno, and I first heard details of their Las Vegas wedding and the engagement weekend in Paris. Fun stuff, Cathy! I proposed to Deb at the Coulson Hotel in Sudbury, upstairs in the Crusader Room bar....

After strolling through some art galleries, the three of us went to Traffic Jam for dinner, wine and lots more talk. I was really looking forward to touring a few local spectacular wineries and showing Cathy our Autumn set-up at the house (we change the art 4x per year), but they decided to head back to Sudbury today instead. Hopefully another time.

Yesterday Deb played a very chilly outdoor wedding in Kingsville (48F) at the Golf and Country Club, whilst I managed a 3 mile walk on the bike trail after helping her set up her gear. I took photos with the Rollei 35mm. Then it was home for an evening fire in the fireplace and a relaxing night.

Just finished watching "Nightmare Castle", a b & w film from my collection called '50 Horror Movie Pack'. Dubbed into English, it is missing 10 minutes from the original Italian version. It's a great little flic starring Barbara Steele, Queen of Horror. She plays dual roles and gets to show a little more depth than usual. Some neat photography sets this apart from your average mid-60s horror films, and I like how the characters tend to move slowly, as if in a dream. The way Ms Steele is made up at the end (she returns from the dead) is amazing, and one will certainly see her influence on Tim Burton's film heroines.

This weekend we are being visited by Cathy and Melanie, two of my first cousins from Sudbury, and Melanie's daughter Marlene and Mel's boyfriend Jaime. They are staying in Detroit and will be seeing "So You Think You Can Dance" at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night. Friday night Deb and I are getting together with Cathy for dinner downtown, possibly Detroit Beer Co. Sunday they are coming to A'burg, and we will tour some local wineries. Saturday Deb plays at a wedding in Kingsville.

Deb did her Free Press half marathon today, completing her 13.1 mile walk in exactly 3 hrs. and 20 min. Her average mile came in at just over 15 minutes, putting her in the top 10% of the pack of 11,000 half-marathoners (many did not finish). Over 18,000 participated, and despite the beginning and end of the race being chaotic, all's well that ends well.

Last night, she played an outdoor harp wedding at Hiram Walker on the river. Not only was it freezing out, making playing very difficult, but the ceremony went on so long that she ended up playing in the dark by the time of the recessional. Afterwards, we went to the nearby Taloola's Cafe for a light supper and delicious warmer-upper tea. A great little place in Walkerville serving coffee, tea and vegan food, and we will be back often.

I have just managed to update the main page with ten photos from our recent camping weekend in Ohio. The London photos will soon be coming off-line to make some room. It was a low-key but nonetheless memorable trip, our last big outdoor event for this year. With one exception, of course.

We went to Detroit this afternoon, specifically to Cobo Hall so Deb could pick up her number for this Sunday's Detroit Free Press Marathon. She has been preparing to walk a half marathon, 13.1 miles, for some time now. The weather looks perfect, and she should have no trouble completing the mission. Go Vegan Power!

Our camping trip to Ohio was a great success, though it seemed rather short. We left Saturday morning, arriving at the campground at Lake St Marys about 2:30 pm, after long stops in Dearborn. We left for home on Monday morning, arriving back about 3 pm after a long stop in Findlay. Leaves were very colourful, and I got a lot of great photos. A separate Ohio page will be placed on the main page very shortly.

I can't believe how fast the days are passing. Tomorrow will be six weeks since we started back to work. Things have been remarkably quiet at school so far, with very few discipline problems occurring. Much of this is likely due to switching from afternoon teaching to morning. I had two new piano students register this week, meaning my already crammed evening private lessons schedule is ready to explode. And Deb ended up getting a last minute harp gig at the university tonight, replacing someone else at a cocktail reception. She also got another gig booked for November, and yesterday got another wedding request for October (next weekend). She has been swamped so far this autumn.

We had plans to leave tomorrow for a three-night camping excursion to Ohio, but we are now feeling too taxed to leave right after work. We have delayed the trip by a day in order to have some breathing (and packing) room. We are going to Grand Lake St. Marys State Park, and will stay over Saturday and Sunday only, with day hikes planned for those days. We will try to be back early Monday. Theresa will look after things here for us. Weather looks like it is going to be incredible!

1/8th of the school year is now over! Only 35 weeks left! At the rate things are going, it will go by in a flash. The weekends seem to fly by, at any rate. Today I managed a decent two hours at the piano, and the Beethoven Sonata is creeping along. I am going to memorize the Spanish pieces and the Scarlatti Sonatas once again, then start in on the Beethoven memory work. I would like to perform the program in Windsor and Sudbury next year. This coming week I have two new students coming for piano lessons, one an 8-yr old beginner and the other a returning older student. Tara has been living in the US for the past two years, and her family has just returned to Amherstburg. She left just after finishing the Gr. 3 piano exam, so it will be interesting to see where she is now.

Later in the afternoon we finally got around to palying our new board game, Carcassonne. There is a good board and card game shop at the mall in Windsor, and we bought it there a month ago. The game is easy to learn and fun to play, the object being to acquire points by building cities, farms, monasteries and roads by assembling tiles. We have an expansion set too, which we will save for later.

It has been a hectic weekend so far. Deb had a harp gig at the university last night. I helped her get set up, then left in the Jetta for Detroit. I went to hear a pianist by the name of Christopher Taylor perform under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society. He should not have been engaged as a performer on such a prestigious series. He performed a multi-movement Bach Overture (b minor), and had serious problems with it. Despite a gorgeous tone when he wanted it and a prodigious technical ability, he tended to bang a lot. The Bach came out sounding rough and course. His phrases had large "wows" in them, and tended to fade at the ends. The last movement, an "Echo", was the worst of the set. His fortes were so loud that the ensuing echo was barely heard, because the big sounds hadn't dampened enough. Next came Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata, and with the pianist's wildly varying tempi, excessive banging (again) and annoying habit of "singing" loudly (out of tune) as he played, it added up to an unpleasant experience. At times his piano tone was among the finest I have ever heard, such as when emerging from the 2nd movement and beginning the 3rd. A very inconsistent performance, with some poor phrasing and no real concept of the music and where it needed to go. However, it was fast and it was loud.

After Intermission came the Chopin Etudes, Op 25. Here was playing that Taylor was finally attuned with, and the set of 12 turned out to be absolutely ravishing. The playing was so good, restrained when needed and volcanic when needed, that I really didn't mind his obnoxious vocalizing (I hate to call it singing). For an encore he played a beautiful, mellow Rag by William Bolcom. I attended the concert with Roger and Dave, two adult piano students that study with me. Afterwards, we stopped at Copper Canyon Brewing Co. in Southfield for a pint before heading home. The cask conditioned IPA was among the best beer I have ever set my lips to. We were lined up and stopped by U.S. Customs at the Bridge heading back into Canada, on the American side. Good grief! I got home very late, and wasn't in bed till nearly 1 a.m.

Today Deb had not one but two harp gigs, including a wedding at Heritage Village in Essex and another one at the University right afterwards. I helped out at both, and managed a 4.2 mile walk in Windsor while she played at the University. We were both pretty tired tonight, and will likely hit the sack early. Tomorrow we plan to stay home, except for a hike through our nearby woodlot.

Ike the Turtle has moved in for the winter, as previously reported. Deb has him fixed up in his own aquarium, though she puts him in a separate "feeding tank" for an hour each day. This saves a lot on keeping the main tank clean. She can also warm the feeding water to a higher temp when he eats, stimulating his appetite. Here are a few pics of the setup in Deb's Harp Room (also home to a mouse and five finches).

Deb found a really impressive reptile store in Lasalle today. "The Vivarium" is in a plaza near Zehrs on Malden Rd (across the street and beside the Shell Station), and is worth a visit for lovers of reptiles. The owner is very enthusiastic and knowledgable, and the store is extremely clean and well set up.

Tonight we finally got to celebrate Autumn Equinox with a wood fire in the home fireplace! For the past several years it has been much too warm on Sept. 22nd, and we've had to wait. This year proved no exception. This was the first cool day of the season! I even baked a vegan pumpkin pie! Dinner consisted of some first-class nachos!

We had a really fun weekend, taking off early Saturday morning for Battle Creek, MI, as well as nearby Marshall and Albion. We were doing some urban walking and hiking, and visiting two new (for us) brewpubs and an historic hotel pub. We did a downtown riverwalk in Battle Creek. They have a great set-up there with something called the Linear Park, 22 miles of bike path and walking trails. Also downtown is one of my favourite microbreweries. At Arcadia Brewing Company we sampled all 9 of their beers, as well as their two cask conditioned ales. Yum! The food was good but not great. The beer, however, was fantastic.

After lunch and a 2-mile walk, we headed back east towards Marshall. Although a much smaller town, Marshall has a fairly impressive downtown shopping area and a lovely riverwalk trail. It also has Schuler's Pub and Restaurant, and we sat in the pub. We ended up having wine, because the Bell's house brew was undrinkable. The keg was obviously off! Non-smoking, and it even had some good veggie food choices.

Next up was Dark Horse Brewery in Marshall. A bit hard to find, it was worth it. We had beer and pizza, one of the best non-cheese pizzas ever! The place is like someone's large garage, with hundreds of unique beer mugs hanging from the ceiling and walls. They belong to mug club members, of course. The beer was fabulous, too and we would love to return here. It sure was lively here for a small town pub on a Saturday night.

Next day was given over to hiking. We used the Whiteman Nature Center at Albion College, putting in 6 trail miles on Sunday before heading back home. We stopped at a cafe in Jackson and a pet shop in Ann Arbor. Ike is now set up for the winter, and the next post will deal with him and his new environment.

This weekend we are heading to Michigan to do some walking and to visit a few new brew pubs. Reports will follow, and hopefully some pics. I just finished my trip journal for the recent NM voyage, and can finally move on to other things in my life (like reading, and perhaps gaming). At 245 pages, it is the largest single-trip journal yet. I will also try to update the VW webpages, mostly with some unpublished photos of the trip with the Touareg.

A busy day, but we had lots of fun. Sundays used to mean laundry and groceries, but since we have shifted things around a bit, the day is now mostly free. We began by going to A'burg early this morning and printing the remainder of the New Mexico trip photos. We continued on into Harrow, and we walked along the Greenway. I put in 5 miles and Deb walked 6. She did 2 more when we got home, while I washed the Jetta. Her half-marathon walk is only 4 weeks away. That makes 8 miles I have walked since yesterday, meaning I am managing to maintain myself physically so far, even with no immediate major hiking goals in sight.

Once home, I continued work on my never-ending, ever-enlarging trip journal. It is now the fattest school notebook I have ever seen. I'm not sure it will hold together for the remaining entries, though I am nearing the end. Weather continues to be unbeatable for this time of year. It is the last day of summer, though.

I can't believe a month has passed since our 32nd Anniversary Hike in New Mexico (for photo see NM Part 3, right)! We are keeping up the fitness levels, too, which is really amazing. We walked three miles today in Dearborn, trying out Deb's new wrist GPS/Heart Monitor. We can download the hike info onto my topo map collection. It gives profiles of altitude and even gives the weather. Next week we are going deeper into Michigan, hiking in Marshall and Albion.

This past week was a busy one, complicated by "Meet the Teacher Night" on Thursday. We did some rescheduled private teaching on Wed., and after the school function Thursday rushed home to take the remainder. We still took a bit of a financial hit, as some people could not reschedule. Friday, Deb had a harp gig in Belle River. However, the main reason I have been lagging in my blog entries is because whenever I do have a spare moment I've been either editing photos from the NM trip or working on my journal or website updates. In addition to my own website (welcome to it!) I also look after the school's and the one of our local branch of ORMTA.

Austin Miles Update: Austin is back fulltime at school after his horrendous ski accident last January (see entry for Jan. 30th, below, and others following). Regular readers will remember that Austin got caught up in a ski grooming machine. Not only did he somehow live, but he now has nearly normal use of the leg that was wrapped around the studded groomer cylinder. Thank-you again Univ. of Michigan Children's Hospital!!! He had more physio over the summer, but all seems well. It does my heart good to see him take gym class with the rest of the kids.

I haven't added a lot of pics to the blog lately because I have been using some of my old 126 Instamatic cameras. Shoppers Drug Mart still develops them, and does a great job. Today I received 10 more film cartridges, plus 24 flash bulbs--remember flash cubes?--I found some on line!! I have two top-of-the-line 126 cameras, including the Instamatic 500 (made in Germany) and an SLR with three lenses (also made in Germany). They take incredible pictures!!

Tropical Depression Ike paid us a visit all weekend, dumping 5.7" of rain into our back yard. The creek, needless to say, is very high. Other than a quick trip to the mall yesterday, we fortunately had no weekend plans, managing to stay home for the wet weather. Looks like grass cutting will resume, after the driest August on record in the county.

I have been working hard on my journal of our recent trip to New Mexico, having now completed 12 days of 16. I am well past page 200!! Even by drastically reducing the number of photos, I still have more than from any other trip. This is a good thing, because I also have a larger number of superior pictures than from any other trip. Reduction will continue over the next few months. Part 3 of the website update is now complete, and Part 4 will make it online eventually.

On our walk this morning (it wasn't raining) we came across a teeny weeny snapping turtle sitting in a gutter beneath a curb in Pointe West subdivision. We scooped him up and brought him home. We will keep him a week or so, until we are certain he can make it at the local pond. Not sure how he got there, but he must have been washed down the curb during the storms. His name (of course) is Ike.

Part 2 of the website update is now on-line! It includes at least one photo of each of the 7 hikes we completed in this phase of the trip. We were north of US 64, up north of the Hopewell Lake area for two nights, though the photos also include shots of Colorado and Taos, NM. Enjoy. Part Three will be sometime in coming, followed by a section of Touareg shots from the journey, so stay tuned.

Our first real weekend in over two months has come and gone. I have spent much of it practicing piano, writing up my travel journal, working on the website, and continuing the walking program. We actually had a lot of fun this weekend, getting over the border on Saturday morning to our mailbox and to a large Barnes and Noble bookstore. It was an incredible weather day, and I'm glad we got outdoors. We returned to Windsor for lunch at Pause Cafe (our third meal there in a week!), then walked three miles through downtown and along the river. Sunday we walked at Malden Hill, putting in another three miles. We finally had some rain this morning, though barely enough to wet the grass (4/10"). We need a good two-day soaking to get things back on track.

The first week of work is over, and we are both glad it's Friday! Next week, the full teaching load will hit us as our private students commence lessons too. I am unbelievably tired right now, and can't keep my eyes open. Getting up early every morning and going to work is something I haven't done in over 15 years! The shift from afternoon teaching to morning is taking its toll, though I'm sure I will adjust quickly.

We have made it through the first day of school, with only 189 more to go! Can't wait till next summer vacation, even though no plans have been formed as yet. I now have two years less a day remaining in my committment to teaching school music. Let the countdown continue. The real challenge this year will be maintaining our fitness level while trying to keep up with piano, writing, attending concerts and perhaps even sneaking in some autumn nights at the telescope eyepiece. September will definitely set the tone. Our next major hiking expedition isn't until March /09, but we don't want to lose what we've worked so hard to achieve.

We left school at 12:15 today (and will every day), meeting up with Amanda and going downtown Windsor for lunch. We have discovered the delights of a little cafe called "Pause". I also got my 2nd batch of New Mexico photos today, so I can now work on the journal again, writing about the actual hikes we did during the first segment of our recent outdoor adventure. So much to do yet on that opus, my largest travel volume to date.

I am gradually getting my private teaching nights organized. The hours will be even longer than last year, and we have put our rates up slightly as well. Financially, it should be a good year, paying down the Touareg so that a year from now the loan will be almost nothing. Then we can attack the Jetta loan. All debts must be cleared before I can retire, and they will be, we hope.

Only one day left! I console myself in the fact that our private teaching doesn't begin until next week, so things won't be too bad for the first week back at school. I managed a decent piano practice today, and began work on the gargantuan task of editing the mountain pictures, getting them printed, writing the journal entry and inserting the photos, adding some to the website with commentary, and lastly getting enlargements of the best of the best and putting them into an album. All this whilst trying to work, practice, and keep fit! September will be a busy month.

Deb went out and bought new clothes for school, since she doesn't fit into any of her old things anymore. She has dropped from a size 11/12 pants to a size 6, and all her blouses now have to be sized small! Remarkable what diet and exercise will do (and won't do, if you ignore them).

Our remaining holidays are speeding past all too quickly! I have been busy resuming piano practice as well as working on editing photos and writing the travel journal for our recent voyage. We've also had three long walks in recent days, including today's epic 7 mile one along the Windsor riverfront. It didn't even tire us! If only we had hills here, to maintain our current level of super-fitness. Flat walking, no matter how long, only gets your body working so hard.

We are back, safe and sound. The trip was absolutely perfect, and seemed to last and last (it was 16 days for me). I took nearly a thousand photos, and spent all of today doing a fast edit on just the ones I took on my solo drive to Colorado Springs. I pared them down to 'only' 272 4 x 6s, and printed them at Amherstburg's Shoppers Drug Mart, my lab of choice now. Their equipment is all by Fuji, and far superior to anything I have come across elsewhere. A few shots may appear on the website by the end of the weekend, but it will likely take much longer. To make room on the website, the Trip #25 pics will disappear, as will the Colorado ones.

Did we manage to climb our designated peak, Little Costilla? Anxious readers will just have to wait and see. Suffice it to say we hiked every day for 8 days, and did more miles than ever before. Our fitness level was the main reason for this. Can't wait to see a photo? Okay, I'll break down and include one, but just this once.

We have just returned from a hike in Ann Arbor, revisiting the U. of Mich. Nichols Arboretum. We last hiked here May 25th (see below), when we were only two weeks into our initial training program. Today we returned for a strenuous hike in Week 9 of just over 10km. The hills are very steep, and the back country trails are as rugged as any in the midwest. We aced the hike, giving us confidence and added quad and calf strength! We walked for two hours and 15 minutes (not counting a few short breaks), chalking up over 6 miles of steady up and down forested terrain. Afterwards, we had a fabulous vegan lunch at Earthen Jar in downtown Ann Arbor before heading home. The food here is sooooo good, and we haven't visited in a while, perhaps because it's closed on Sundays.

Tomorrow the packing of the SUV begins in earnest. As I check over the weather maps, the monsoon season is really firing up in northern New Mexico. It's so hard to plan mountain hikes there this time of year. Hopefully we'll have better luck in March, when we make a return to the Cornudas Mts. and Alamo Mt. in the far south. We have not had a desert adventure for many years.

The upcoming voyage marks my third drive from Windsor to New Mexico, and the second with Beorn, our trusty and capable VW Touareg. Our ultimate goal is to hike to the summit of Little Costilla Peak in northern NM, our first attempt to break the 12,000' altitude mark. This will entail a grueling 7-mile hike (no trail, just a scramble) with a net elevation gain of about 2,600', the most gain we have ever attempted on a single hike. Remember, we are flatlanders living here in Essex County.

We have used two training programs to prepare ourselves. The first was our usual 4-week walking plan from Walking Magazine, and the second a 6-week hiker-specific one from Backpacker Magazine. The first program did a good job of getting us from completely unfit to a decent level of basic fitness. The second plan is much more advanced. As I write this a few days before departure I am halfway through Week #5 in the second program, and I have reached a level of fitness not known by me in decades!

That means I went from zero to very fit in 9 1/2 weeks! The icing on the cake has been Deb's focus on healthy vegan meals and our reduced caloric intake. Both work together beautifully--focused exercise and fresh and healthy vegan food. I honestly feel 10 years younger than I did 9 short weeks ago! If we fail to achieve that mountain summit it won't be due to lack of fitness--rather it will be weather-related. The last mile of the hike is above treeline, and exposed to wind and lightning. Even if it is a "nice" day up there, the weather will still be autumnal at best.

Our backpacker fitness program dictates one longer hike each week. Today we returned to the Johnson Nature Centre. We abandoned a hike here several weeks ago due to horrendous mosquitoes. It is a lovely facility, with a modern exhibit building, washrooms, drinking water, and an outdoor deck with seating overlooking a small lake. The mosquitoes were still there, but we were ready for them! We had deet, but better yet we had our new mosquito jackets with hood to bedevil the little vampire buggers. Our biggest problem was how to complete a 4 mile hike in a 32 acre park. The perimeter trail was only 0.9 miles long, but luckily there were many inside trails and connecting paths. Even so, we had to loop around the same areas several times. The hills were a big plus, and we surprised ourselves by easily climbing them over and over with barely a huff and a puff.

Yesterday Amanda L. dropped by, her first visit in a long time. We ate lunch on the deck, then went inside to watch the BBC Scotland adaptation of Iain Banks' novel "The Crow Road". Except we couldn't find it. So we watched "Altered States" instead, a great sci fi movie from 1980 that can still knock your socks off. William Hurt makes his film debut in Ken Russell's fun and engrossing little masterpiece about the ultimate search for oneself. The hero finds himself, but it sure takes a lot of magic mushrooms.

Afterwards, I delved deep into my dvd collection of martial arts movies, and came up with a very rare, bizarre film called "Crippled Masters". I can't believe I saw this movie! Starring two severely handicapped guys--one legless and the other armless--they take on the bad boss and his syndicate after receiving more humiliation than a character from a Dickens novel! Definitely a guilty pleasure.

I watched a Roger Corman movie that I have somehow missed over the years. A fun entry in his series of low-budget films. The movies seem to be put together during parties in various parts of California and Mexico, and this one is no exception. Good fun, from my Mill Creek series. One of the funniest creatures ever seen on film. Love the poster, too.

Steve and Lynne have come and gone. We went to Colchester on Sunday afternoon and met them at Viewpointe Estate Winery, the most spectacular winery in the county. With enormous windows looking out upon Lake Erie, the building and setting are hard to beat. The wines are very good too! Afterward, we went to Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery, another excellent source of local wine, and close to home.

On Monday we made our first of two crossings to Detroit, dropping off Lynne and Steve at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn while we explored a nearby Barnes and Noble superstore. Afterwards we went to the Dearborn Cheli's Chili Bar, enjoying lunch and a look at the hockey memorabilia. I had a very decent veggie burger with a side of veggies, while Deb had a yummy salad with a few extras. There was Bells beer for me, wine for Deb and Bud Light for them. Next came Borders Books. We had coupons for 40% off DVDs. Steve was able to get his Red Wings dvd for $15! After this, Deb and Lynne were dropped off at the downtown Detroit wine bar called Enoteca while I drove Steve to Hockeytown to check out more Red Wings souvenirs. Steve and I walked around downtown a bit while the ladies sipped their wine samplers. After a quick refreshment stop at Detroit Beer Company we were on our way home for the evening. Steve managed to get our rear mudflaps installed on the Jetta, and everything looks very sweet (photo coming soon). The dark green colour of the car makes the black mudflaps really look classy! Must do the same for the Touareg asap.

On Tuesday we returned across the border, visiting Whole Foods Market in Troy. We purchased a picnic lunch then found a nearby park with the help of Steve's new GPS gadget. Afterwards we walked around Somerset Mall, drooling our way through several of the upscale shops.

We headed back downtown, making stops at Motor City Brewery, and our first visit to Traffic Jam to try their beer. They were the first brew pub to open in Michigan, and had to fight hard to do it. We have eaten here many, many times but had never tried the homebrew. It was good, but not as good as Motor City Brewery across the road. After this we went to Steve's favourite pizza restaurant.

Next, the tired crew (with two hungry members) made a brief visit to see Randy and Anita before heading home. It had been a very long day, and an extremely warm one. Another quiet evening (except for Steve watching clips from his newly purchased DVD of Texas Chainsaw massacre) finished off the day, and the company was gone early Wed. morning, heading for Upper Michigan to camp overnight before returning to Sudbury.

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last blogged! Time is flying much too fast!! Heard from Cathy via e-mail today. She returns to work on August 1st and hopefully some kind of "normalcy". She has an actioneer helping her with stuff from Moreno's motorcycle shop. There are so many tools and parts left over from their cycle shop that it simply boggles the mind. Of course Cathy felt completely overwhelmed by everything after the funeral and memorial, not the least of which was disposing of the shop stuff. Hopefully this will now go forward smoothly. Love ya, Cathy! Deb will be sending her a recent painting back with Steve and Lynne, who arrive here tomorrow for a few days' visit.

Also this week Caroline, our good friend from London, UK, got a well-paid university research job. It lasts one year and should stabilize her finances while she continues her film-making career. She has been working on a Sherlock Holmes script for a major tv production that sounds like a don't miss thing. If she gets her script chosen it will be a major breakthrough for her, so we are keeping our fingers crossed. News here as soon as we know.

Deb and Anita reduced their annual kids' country harp camp to one long day and night this year. 22 children spent the day at Anita's house in Woodslee harping, swimming and visiting the horses. In the evening they had a small bonfire, then Randy and I came out with small telescopes. Randy gave a great intro talk on the summer sky, then we let them have turns looking at a few selected celestial objects.

Speaking of telescope shots, I have been going through old family slides for several summers running now, and will be sending many of them off to be scanned onto cds. I had a few of them printed last week, three of my brother Steve (displayed here soon) and one of Deb and I at Penage, which I present below.

Despite morning rain (once again predicted for the afternoon, which was sunny), we got a major walk completed along the Windsor riverfront. Over the course of three hours we walked at least 10 km, stopping at a downtown cafe for refreshment, and at the new bus terminal to purchase a ticket for Deb's upcoming trip to Lindsay to attend her mother's 80th birthday. It was cloudy for much of the walk, but near the end the sun appeared and the temps soared. We were done by 12:25 and on our way home, nearly done in by the humidity.

While surfing the Henry Ford Museum website last night, I came across an older on-line exhibit of photos taken by the Detroit Publishing Company. This turned into an amazing discovery! The company sent photographers all across the globe at the turn of the century to take pictures, selling them to calendar makers, encyclopedia companies and publishers of books and postcards. Over 250 images are on the site, though unfortunately even the larger versions are quite small. Still, there are some unbelievably good pictures to look at in several categories.

We watched Sherlock Jr. tonight, a Buster Keaton silent film classic in which he nearly kills himself many times over doing his own outrageous and very dangerous stunts. The movie is hilarious, fast-paced, imaginative and only 50 minutes long. We have been Keaton fans for as long as I can remember, though we haven't watched one in a few years.

We test drove the new Jetta TDI yesterday, the 2009 clean diesel model, and I want one! It was so fast I still can't believe it! And quiet! How long can I live without one of these machines? As VW continues to go towards all-diesel until a switch to electric around 2016, the technology behind these engines becomes increasingly astounding. 1000km on 55 litres of fuel is something we would like to be able to do once more, after selling our 2000 TDI to buy the Touareg. Of course right after buying the SUV, gas hit $1 per litre for the first time, and hasn't gone back! Anyway, even the Touareg will have a new clean diesel engine starting next April. Can't wait to test drive one of those.

Deb had a wedding gig in Blenheim today, a small farming town about 90 minutes drive from Amherstburg. We packed up the Jetta with her gear and drove out on a cloudy, very dull summer's day. While she was playing harp at the church I strolled through town, enjoying the annual Cherry Festival and ensuing carnival. The main street was blocked off, a nice enough event in itself, and the folks were out enjoying the rides and major sidewalk sale. The Chatham-Kent Parrot Club had a tent and some birds, and it was attracting a good crowd. I eventually found a great independent cafe and settled in for an hour. Deb was happy with her wedding performance, which paid quite well. Driving home we stopped at two wineries we have not visited before, one just west of Blenheim and the other in north Ruthven.