Our anniversary present

This is our anniversary painting, Cloudwork by Rick Dziak.  Most years this is what we do, although last year was a bit more expensive with a trip to Spain where we celebrated with Martti and Riitta Tulamo.  I walked down to the hotel to meet the artist with a check after talking to his wife, and while I was there a man was being celebrated for his 80th birthday by a bagpiper named Patrick. Fun to watch and hear.  I checked the internet for "bagpiper for hire" and there are many sites.

Miracles from Heaven with Jennifer Garner the Monday movie at Lakeside

Last night here at Lakeside we went to see the movie Miracles from Heaven with Jennifer Garner. It was really an excellent film, great acting, particularly by Garner and the children, very high on production, directing and photography, and not preachy or maudlin. I went with Lynn and Rob Berridge from our church, then we came back here to the cottage for chocolate pie and a great discussion. It would be a great movie for your church group.  Or if you're looking for something to watch in the coming cold winter nights and a dish of popcorn . . . 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/03/14/jennifer-garner-finds-faith-again-miracles-heaven/81600816/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGHxxnP40-I

Jim Kettlewell, 67 of Canton, Ohio

We attended the memorial service for Jim Kettlewell at Chautauqa Park and Memorial Garden this afternoon. It seems all his friends felt they'd always known him, yet he'd only been a part of our Lakeside community for 6 years. He'd joined the Navy right out of high school and one person said it's perhaps there he learned to get along with all different types. It's definitely where he learned the bakery business.  He was a vice president of Nickles Bakery of Navarre, Ohio, and many of us remember his fascinating talk about the technology and marketing of bakery products he gave during one of our final weeks of the season, and sent us home with loaves of raisin bread.  I've been buying Nickles products ever since.  He was just that engaging.

 

I sat beside him Thursday afternoon at a book review, and saw him that night across the room at Hoover Auditorium with some of his grandchildren.  I heard the ambulance Friday morning when I was on my walk, but that it might be Jim never occurred to me.  In recent years, since retirement, he'd been taking classes at Kent, and I'm sure the young students who sat beside him in class gained as much as those of us who sat beside him in Lakeside lectures.  He was an avid reader and writer, and  in retirement began writing poetry.  He'd been planning to go to Ireland in a few days with his wife and a few friends, but we wish him the best on this latest trip and adventure which no one expected (died in his sleep 3 days ago).

 

 

http://www.shriverfuneralhomes.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3863952

 

Lakeside snippets

As I was walking to the evening program at Hoover in Lakeside last night I saw a couple walking on Maple going toward the lake. She was talking so loudly I thought perhaps the man was deaf and had forgotten his hearing aids. But no. He was videoing their walk through Lakeside on his phone, and she was loudly speaking the voice-over. They may have been skyping for someone, or saving it for thier own memories.

Today on my walk I noticed there was a 2000 Porsche Boxster convertible up the street with a for sale sign, $1500. That didn't sound right. Beautiful car. Even if it doesn't run, it would look nice parked in front of your house.  So our neighbor Tom and I went up and looked at it and talked to the guy's wife. She said someone put the sign up as a joke, because he'd never part with that car. Used on the internet a 2000 Boxster goes for about $8,000.

I don't know how they find me, but I get a lot of offers to review books and have guests write for my blog. I used to do several a year, and during the primary campaign I received all sorts of very nice books (I always ask for paper because I don't like e-books). But today I got one on how to deal with a controlling boyfriend. Well, I won't post that interview, I've got a 2 word response. "Dump him." He's not going to change and if you were attracted to him in the first place you've got some serious soul searching to do!

My husband has been eating Oreos since he was a little kid. For years, he had a special method of dunking them in cold milk. This week I bought a new flavor (since the brand is now part of a global corporation there have been many new flavors) called Choco-chip Oreos with artificially flavored creme. They weren't kidding about that "artificially" either--neither one of us could place it. So he ate two, said, "Bleh, these are awful," and ate a chocolate covered Twinkie to get the taste out of his mouth.

Have you ever been walking or driving behind a woman out for exercise and asked yourself, "Does she know what she looks like from behind?" To answer that time honored question, Yes, I do. But I'm doing it anyway before it gets too hot.

Cimbalom

We  were treated to a wonderful symphony program last night at Lakeside celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution which brought so many Hungarians to the U.S. Lakeside's guest performer was Alex Udvary who played a wonderful selection of Hungarian pieces, or those based on Hungarian folk tunes, on the cimbalom. This instrument whose ancestry may be ancient China, is similar to the dulcimer, harpsicord and other hammered strings instruments.

On Monday afternoon Mr. Udvary gave a lecture and demonstration on a small cimbalom he had made himself. Even Lakesiders with many years in the music field were not familiar with this instrument or the make up of a "Hungarian orchestra" but when he mentioned the film music, many of us remembered hearing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s30aQ95XKZc

Music at Lakeside in Week 7 of season 2016

The evening programs this week at Lakeside Chautauqua have been quite spectacular. Our “week” begins on Saturday, so the Saturday night program is usually the big showcase, and she certainly didn’t disappoint. It was Megan Hilty, a TV and Broadway star with whom I’m not familiar, but she is a niece of long time Lakesiders Tom (deceased) and Jan Hilty. She performed as Glinda in Wicked, and has made guest appearances in Bones, The Closer, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives.  She appeared for 2 years in the TV show Smash, and although I didn’t see it, apparently many others did, because the front row seats were filled with fans. Smash is a fictional account of two women who want the part of Marilyn Monroe in a musical stage play. She played Ivy in the show and at Lakeside sang a number of songs from Smash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwHH7mbGjBc

I don’t always go down to the park on Sunday evening (usually local performers), but the July 31 program was a group called the Ottawa County Blue Grass Band, and they were wonderful. Even though the park benches can get hard, they were worth the sit. A father and his two sons, plus a friend from Fremont. The weather was glorious and we could see the sailboats on Lake Erie as we sat under the trees. Many people having picnics on the lawn, or sitting in their golf carts on the street watching. This video is from the Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--jpofPo3hE

On Wednesday we enjoyed the opening night of our summer symphony with a program of “light classics,” followed by a reception. This is music director Robert Cronquist’s 46^th season, and the 53th season of the symphony.

Thursday’s program was really different--not exactly a monologue, not exactly a solo music performance. It was called Six Guitars and the artist Chase Padgett performed as 6 different characters playing 6 styles of music--an 87 year old blues player married six times, a Spanish classical guitarist, R & B, folk, rock and country. He was spectacular in each style as he told their stories, and in the end, each character confesses how he enjoys other styles. We also learned a lot about each genre. http://www.chasepadgett.com/shows/6-guitars/video/

My husband was so excited about this show. He's taking guitar lessons from Dr. Richard Smoot in Columbus and drives there once a week. Wednesday evening he carried some sheet music with us to the opening of the symphony because he needed an explanation about notation. The first 2 musicians--an excellent pianist and a public school music teacher--he asked didn't know, then he found a violinist who could answer his question He is really committed.

I learn so much at Lakeside. While waiting for the 6 Guitars program to start, the woman next to me told me about her battle with sun poisoning, which is different than sun burn. Then she pulled out of her purse flesh colored "sleeves" that she can pull on if she's wearing a short sleeve shirt; kind of looked like hose without feet. Sun protective clothing is quite expensive she told me, so she searched the internet and found these sleeves which are for tattooed people who are not suppose to show their tats at work--much cheaper. Next she's going to work on using knee-highs cutting off the feet. But some tattoo sleeve covers are really fake tattoo designs--looks like you have them instead of covering them.

On Friday evening we were just blown away by “The Sons of Serendip.” If they ever come to a venue within 50 miles of you, get there and take some friends. They are 4 men who were friends in college, all have advanced degrees (3 in music performance) and “day jobs,” but won 2 years ago in NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Micah Christian, the lead vocalist (only vocalist as near as I could tell) has a voice you just won’t believe. I think his is what the angels in heaven must sound like. He has an M. Div. and has been a missionary in South America. He works as a teacher. The other three are a cellist, a harpist and pianist. It’s a combination you don’t see everywhere, and as Micah Christian noted, “How often do you see a 6’4” black man playing the harp?” http://www.sonsofserendip.com/bio/ I think they may write a lot of their material, and at least two write for screen plays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oigeYMKv4yQ

Ninety five degrees and no AC

From Lakeside, Ohio to Columbus is about 2.5 hours, and Saturday after we started out when it was 95 degrees (probably 105 on the asphalt) we discovered our AC in the van had died. It was working fine on Friday. About 10 miles out we returned to our cottage with an almost dead cat, flushed faces and wet clothes. First we tried the nice service station outside Lakeside, and not only was it closed (late Saturday afternoon) but it was for sale. Thankfully, our guests (daughter, son-in-law, niece and husband) came up with a plan after determining it was nothing they could fix when the Wal-Mart trip yielded nothing. We drove in air conditioned comfort in our daughter's new Honda, and our son-in-law Mark followed us in our van sweating out the trip getting us safely home. Then he got back in the cool car and made the return trip for his vacation at Lakeside. I hope he is fishing on the dock now, he deserves it.

Reasons to love bacon

Yesterday for lunch at the lake house with our daughter and son-in-law and niece and husband, we had  bacon-lettuce and tomato sandwiches.  Gosh, it had been ages since I'd had one. Then I also munched a little on the extra bacon.  Joan had brought along a pound of thin sliced, and I had a pound of thick, so I cooked them up ahead of time, we put out the sliced farm tomatoes, and leaf lettuce and let every one fix their own.  Fresh fruit and chips completed the banquet.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Reasons why bacon is actually healthy for you!

Pork-Powered Protein: The protein found in bacon is extremely valuable to maintaining our energy levels and a fully functioning, healthy body, with a minimum of those nasty, waist, thigh and butt expanding, fat-building carbohydrates.

Bacon’s Blood-Balancing Bounty: Several university and medical center studies have shown that including bacon as a regular, moderate part of one’s diet naturally works to lower the body’s blood pressure and blood sugar levels, helping to prevent and/or alleviate the effects of diabetes, as well as heart disease, stroke and heart attack.

Flushing Fat With Flavorful, Friendly Flesh: While people have heard horror stories for years that bacon is full of harmful fat and after all, if you are what you eat, who wants to be a PIG? But the facts are completely the opposite, as bacon helps to fully satiate our appetite with high protein / low carb energy, helping the body lose weight, raise one’s metabolism and build leaner, stronger muscles.
Bacon actually has less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than many popular cuts of beef and chicken. While some fish has less fat and cholesterol than bacon, bacon has more protein power and does not contain toxins such as mercury.

Bacon’s Brain Building Business: Bacon is chock full of a very important nutrient called “choline,” which helps increase our intelligence and memory, from conception to Senior Status, and has been shown in University studies to help fight off the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s Disease and other chronic mental impairments.

Bacon Lets You “Pig Out” On Essential Vitamins & Minerals: Bacon provides us with substantial amounts of the important, necessary vitamins and minerals our bodies need to function healthfully. From bacon, we receive: 65% of our Recommended Daily Intake of Thiamin (Vitamin B1) as well as 47% of our Niacin (Vitamin B3), 38% of our Vitamin B12, 36% of our Zinc, 24% of our Vitamin B6, 22% of our Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), 22% of our Phosphorus, 10% of our Pantothenate, 10% of our Magnesium, 9% of our Iron and the Protein to fat balance in bacon is actually 4 to 1, which is one of the highest protein to fat balances found in any meat, fish or fowl found on Earth.

Effective Mood Elevator: Bacon makes you feel happy, satisfied, blissful, which greatly reduces stress in our lives and effectively relieves the negative effects of frustration, self-deprivation and sense of lack in one’s existence.

Nitrates and Nitrites – Now Non-Issues: The fact is, while it is true that nitrates and nitrites are unhealthy for your body, what most pro -veggie, chicken and fish nutritionists fail to tell you is that you can easily avoid nitrates and nitrites by simply (A) not burning / charring / over cooking your bacon or by (B) Baking your bacon in the oven.

Some people also choose to avoid nitrates and nitrites by (C) cooking their bacon in the microwave, however, some medical research shows a strong correlation between microwaved proteins (all meats and proteins, from beef to fish, from cheese to eggs and even milk) and cancers caused by protein mutation under the conditions of microwave bombardment, so we recommend using the oven, 400 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes per side.

P.S. if you always include some dairy and citrus in your bacon meal, the vitamins A, D and E work to effectively prevent conversion of “nitrates and nitrites into dangerously toxic “nitrosamines” in the stomach, rendering them harmless to the body.

Bacon Power Now Expands To Our Vehicles and Industry: Yes, believe it or not, a company in The United Kingdom, TMI Foods has already successfully found a way to use bacon fat and grease to manufacture a powerful, low emission, environmentally friendly, all-natural, bio-diesel fuel that can be used to effectively and inexpensively run anything from motor vehicles to turbines and from the various engines of industry to illuminating and empowering generators. That’s right … Pig Power now also means “Power To The People!”

Universally Beloved Flavor Enhancer: Because bacon tastes so amazingly awesome, we’re a LOT more willing to set many of our finicky ways aside to enthusiastically eat many of the boring, icky, lackluster, so-called, “healthy, nutritious food items” that are supposedly good for us, as long as they come wrapped in bacon or with lots of bacon bits broken up and served with or within them.

While We Heart Bacon – Bacon Heart’s Your Heart: While people over the years have mistakenly made jokes about bacon being a leading contributor to heart disease, actually there are in fact several studies that show that the Omega-3 Fatty Acids and “choline” found in bacon can actually protect the heart from developing detrimental problems, as well as actually help HEAL such anomalies, after they have occurred!
Unlike the Omega-3 Fatty Acids supplements derived from fish sources, the ones that come from bacon aren’t chock full of poisonous mercury, like most of the popular fish oil versions are. So bacon Omega-3’s can not only help prevent heart disease, as well as lower your cholesterol, reduce inflammation and improve circulation, but also help you to avoid mercury and other toxic poisons being regularly spewed into our planet’s oceans.

Dockside church service

  

Maybe Windows 10 photo feature isn't so bad after all. I think it auto corrects for wrinkles. It even cleaned up the ladies behind us. Actually, by the time the service started, it was packed. Sometimes over flows to park area.

Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm, the chinkapin oak.

"Chinkapin oak  (also called Chinquapin) is usually found on warm, moist Udalf Alfisols, Dystrochrept Inceptisols, Udoll Mollisols, and Udult Ultisols over much of its range.  In the extreme southwestern part of the range chinkapin oak also grows on warm, dry Ustoll Mollisols and Astalf Alfisols."  I have no idea what those soils are, but the only  place I've ever seen these trees is Lakeside, Ohio. They have a wide range in northern and Midwestern United States.

The tree's scientific name honors Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1753–1815), a Lutheran pastor and amateur botanist in Pennsylvania. He was the son of a German Lutheran missionary Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. In publishing the name Quercus mühlenbergii, German-American botanist George Engelmann mistakenly used an umlaut in spelling Muhlenberg's name, even though Pennsylvania-born Muhlenberg himself did not use an umlaut in his name. (Wikipedia)

There's a very large one on the corner of Third and Walnut, next to Hoover Auditorium, but at Third and Oak I can see 8-10 of them.  Very tall and shady. Our soil is rocky and the roots shallow and spread, so when they fall in a big wind, it is incredible.

Does eating breakfast at friends' home count?

Eating at home (if it's healthy food) may be protective.

"The researchers analyzed health and dietary data from nearly 100,000 male and female U.S. health professionals who were followed for more than 20 years. They found that people who ate 11–14 homemade lunches or dinners per week had a 14% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes during the study period than those who ate six or fewer weekly homemade meals. People who ate more homemade meals ate more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and consumed less soda, according to the study."

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/homemade-meals-type-2-diabetes-risk/?

Today we're going to the Idlewyld B & B for breakfast for Dan's homemade pancakes.

People often say

Why would you consider selling your Lakeside cottage when you enjoy it so much?

Here's some photographic evidence.

 

 

Guys Club at Lakeside

 
Guys Club at lunch on Wednesday, July 6

Sounds of the early morning walk at Lakeside

When the city walker starts out for a morning walk in a small town along a large lake (like Lakeside, Ohio where we have our summer home) at first she hears silence.  But the sounds begin to roll in the ear soon.  At first it is the disgusting crunch, crunch of the Mayflies underfoot at every intersection with a street light. An experienced Lakesider just reminds herself--it means the Lake is healthy.

Then she hears the birds--sparrows, black birds, robins, cardinals, jays, mourning doves--and all the others that she's been told about on the morning bird walks provided by Lakesiders but can't identify. It's a beautiful cool morning, but some people are running air conditioning window units unaware, something I don't hear at home because everyone has whole house AC.  Then if the windows are open, I hear some muffled talking, probably from rumpled beds, and a baby, very young is crying.  Maybe a wet diaper? No sleeping in for the new mom and dad.

Now there's something I never hear at home--a screen door slams as the resident walks to the porch with a hot cup of coffee.  I can hear the boats patrolling the shore, probably from the Customs and Border Protection from a near by port.  Other noises, like the tiny business district waking up and getting ready for customers. Someone needs to take vacations at another time so this tourist area can be served. If it weren't for the fact I need to stay on the flat streets, I'd head for the lakefront for other sounds--almost like a different place, but just two blocks.

      

Pavlo, Elvis and Noone

Wonderful program by Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits at Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside Saturday night. What a performer! He looks 45 when he comes out, and 75 when he finishes--really puts everything into it (he's 68). Noone and the Hermits had outsold the Beatles by 1965. The audience loved the sing a longs, and the impersonation of some other performers like Jagger and Cash (he's great at that).

Friday night we had a great Elvis impersonator, Mike Albert, and he'd shortened his show a bit which strengthened it. He's so great with the kids. I think he had them on stage at least 3 times.  Also his mother.

 The Saturday before we enjoyed Pavlo, (Pavlo Simtikidis) and because my husband takes guitar lessons, he was really thrilled.

Sunday there was a lecture on the Ross cottages (large, hip roof style, about 100 years old) for the archives program.  I blogged about them years ago. Learned we had stayed in 2 as rentals back in the 70s.

Art show begins this Tuesday and my husband is teaching perspective drawing at the Rhein Center this week. Day time programs are on Cuba.

Morning walks at Lakeside

I’ve been getting 5-6 miles a day in at Lakeside, staying on the flat east/west streets. North/south are steep hills. I don’t have the exact source, it may have been on one of the walking history tours, but Lake Erie used to be much larger, and the flat areas are the old (10,000 years or so) shore lines. So I don't get too worked up about climate change caused by humans.

But June when everything is fresh and deep green is a wonderful time to walk at Lakeside. Because of bursitis, I'm being cautious and not doing hills. I see the youngsters (60-something) marching up and down the north south streets and give them a nod and smile. Yesterday I came across a squirrel sprawled out in the street.  I thought perhaps it had been hit by a car, so I got closer and could see a faint heart beat. I thought I would call administration to have it removed before it was splattered everywhere, but a few minutes later I looked back and it was gone, crawling under a parked car. Perhaps it had fallen from a power line above and had the breath knocked out.

Always enjoy seeing what the latest shoe fashion is for athletes.  Yellow, pink, lavender, etc., all on the same pair. I'm wearing a very sturdy white pair--I bought them 2 years ago and set them aside.  Good thing, too.  Hard to find these today.

The lilies are so lovely this time of year, and now the hollyhocks are blooming. The lake provides a great back drop. This is actually an early July photo, but can't find the one from this week.

Monday Memories along the Lakefront

I'm gradually increasing my walk time here at Lakeside (bursitis pain), and I like to walk along the lakefront and read all the memorials. It slows me down, but then what's the hurry in Lakeside?  A veteran of WWII born in 1921 who died in 1994--I wonder what he saw; a young child who died at 5 years old--would have children of his own now; a happy 60th anniversary Mom and Dad from the 1980s; a simple dedication to the trees in the park donated by a long time Lakesider. a street lamp  in remembrance of Hazel and Wendell Lutes, Sr. who may have strolled in the moonlight, and of course, the wonderful gazebo, a memorial for the Steeles who died in an auto accident, and now is the site of much happiness and music in the park and many weddings.

 

And although it's not on the lakefront, we have the wonderful Rhein Center serving thousands in the summer, a  wonderful memorial to C. Kirk Rhein, Jr. who lost his life on TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

 

About 8 or 9 years ago I asked if there was a record, but was told "we're working on it."

 

Link to 2007 blog on memorials at Lakeside

 

Other thoughts on memorials, and what might happen to your donation

 

Memorial tree is dying, too

 

Dad's name on a memorial

 

 

Sticky keys on laptop, walking the lakefront, and Father's Day

Here at Lakeside I'm using both my I-pad and my laptop, and occasionally some keys stick on the laptop.  Today I couldn't use the T or the Y so I switched to the I-pad and stated a substitution, but as soon as I did that, they started to work.

I walked 2 miles this morning, choosing the most level street (3rd) but also walked back on the lakefront, but did have to walk about half a block with an incline.  At one time the lake was much bigger, like maybe 8 thousand years ago (have you been warned enough about climate change), so the lakefront used to be much further south of here, with a gradual slope.  Even so, it was worth the extra effort.  The lakefront flowers were gorgeous, and it was much warmer than last night's prediction.

We'll celebrate Father's Day by eating breakfast at the Patio Restaurant after the Dockside church service.  Tomorrow my husband returns to Columbus for a church meeting, his guitar lesson and a doctor's appointment, so he'll have his Father's day dinner with our daughter and husband then.  He doesn't know it, but she's found the 2016 Maise Dobbs novel, and that will be one of his gifts.  Don't tell!  He has the set, but we didn't know about the latest one.   http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com/