Another front row seat to the sun setting!

Enjoying the end of the day, sunset just ahead to marvel over

Ahhhhh, At Long Last!!!!!

FINALLY!

Finally we found a truly authentic Japanese (not Thai, Vietnamese, or Chinese) sushi restaurant to fulfill our ever growing cravings to savor the flavors our juicy taste buds were so hoping for in the east since our move here. Just thinking about those desires for wasabi, maki rolls, teriyaki skewers….just give us the works! YES, we found a GOOD sushi bar too!

Delighted to find it!

Meeting up with hubby for a lovely luncheon date, one hour from home, I was most excited at long last for this possibility, a first since our move here. It had been arranged our meal was to take place at a newly discovered restaurant hubby noticed on a drive from work, with a most delicious temptation of enjoying lovely savoring delights. All we had to bring was a hearty palette. As the morning progressed, and the journey of the drive almost completed for me, an ever growing and mounting craving became so substantial, when arriving at long last, and then just entering the authentic Japanese restaurant, I was pumped! Thrilled to be there for my luncheon date!

Upon entry into the main area, immediately I noticed the delicate rice paper centers within the wooden frames on the doorways of two tatami rooms to my left, the sushi bar was to my right at the far back corner, with the on duty sushi chef working his hands in intricate detailed ways to make culinary artistic and beautifully presented fares, ultimately served on special dishes to accentuate the loveliness of the culinary masterpieces.

Chef was excellent, his talent impressive!

I smelled the green tea brewing, and heard the Japanese cultural music droning into my senses to awaken at long last, the craving of this edible artwork, so longingly hoped for and desired since our move here. Yes, this was the best place so far to separate and configure our chopsticks, blend in our little green mounds of wasabi into our soy sauce to make a spicy paste, sip our tea, and enjoy the feast fare of the afternoon! My only regret was not taking pictures of the lovely presentation, as I was so eager to consume it I guess, the camera was completely forgotten. Oops! Next time!

Absolutely Scrumptious!

Thomas Edison Museum

Another outing to Port Huron we traveled to a while back; finally I'm blogging to tell about it in this and the next blog.

On May 5th this year, I blogged about a biography I had been reading aloud each day to the younger children, one that instantly sparked quite a whetting of the appetite in both of them, to seek out more information of the varied inventions Thomas Edison had become historically famous for. We had planned to take a road trip to the heritage sights later on to discover more.

Did you know shortly before his death at age 83, Thomas Edison had obtained his 1,093 patent? Scores of people aren’t aware of his accumulated curiosities and successes, only vaguely remembering the disk phonograph, telegraph influences, electrical illuminations (like our barn!), motion pictures, and other notables, those few noted writings within a selection of history books. As well, Thomas Edison was 83% deaf in one ear, more in the other.

In the city of Port Huron, Michigan, there are several areas of interest dedicated to the achievements of Thomas Edison while a citizen living there during his youth; heritage locations are clearly marked where he lived with his family, an Inn having his namesake overlooking the lovely St. Clair River, the Fort Gratoit railway station which welcomed immigrants, settlers, military, and other travelers to Port Huron during the 19^th Century. The Grand Trunk Railway built this station in 1858 and launched daily passenger service to Detroit the following year. This is where Thomas Edison worked today stands closed for business, but serves as a museum, displaying particular original items which he had owned himself, and also several streets were dedicated to his namesake, both first, middle and last.

The Edison family moved to Port Huron, living on a military reservation a short distance away from the railway station in 1854 when Thomas was seven years old. He left Port Huron in 1863, and his parents moved out of the house in 1865. Five years later, the house was completely destroyed by fire; however railroad tracks laid on the site, protected Edison family artifacts still buried there. When archeologists excavated this area one hundred years later, we learned more about this young inventor’s life. Interestingly too, during the same time Thomas Edison was making history in Port Huron, or on his route traveling to and from Detroit, the Underground Railway was also at its peak. It was not a real railway, rather a system of routes where people opposed to slavery would provide escaping slaves with food, clothing, shelter and encouragement. Sympathetic people hid the escapees in houses and barns by day, and then guided them to the next “safe station” at night. Many escaped slaves traveled north into Michigan, in pursuit of freedom. The Thomas Edison biography I read to the children mentions escapees being present at the Inn in Detroit where he dined each evening, noting several Underground Railway folks dining next to him often, courtesy of the Inn. Others continued their flight to Port Huron and into Canada or other places along the waterway. Port Huron today has a large capital of escapee descendants living in its communities today. As a historical point as well, not far away geographically in the town of Chatham, Ontario, on the Canadian side of the St. Clair River, “Uncle Tom’s cabin” still stands for all to visit, also a part of the time period.

At an early age, Thomas was unable to sit idle in the one room schoolhouse he attended; his teacher literally expelled him from class, and suggested psychological counsel. His loving and intuitive mother refused to allow the teacher to deem him unfit to educate, therefore committed to his education at home. He was home schooled. *smile*

At age 11, Tom's parents tried to appease his ever more voracious appetite for knowledge by teaching him how to use the resources of the local library. This skill became the foundation of many factors that gradually caused him to prefer learning via independent self instruction.

Starting with the last book on the bottom shelf, Tom set out to systematically read every book in the stacks. Wisely, however, his parents promptly guided him into towards being more selective in what he read. Unfortunately, in spite of their noble efforts, Tom's dedicated parents eventually found themselves incapable of addressing his ever increasing interest in the Sciences. For example, when he began to question them about concepts dealing with Physics - such as those contained in Isaac Newton's great "Principia" - they were utterly stymied. Accordingly, they scraped enough money together to hire a clever tutor to help their precocious son in trying to understand Newton's complex mathematical principles and unique style.

By age 12, Tom had already become an”adult”. He had not only convinced his parents of his mature responsibility to allow him the opportunity of allowing him to become a hired worker for the local Grand Trunk Railway, traveling with the train route daily to Detroit, selling newspapers, snacks, and candy. His knack for sales also included the beginnings of an entirely separate business selling fruits and vegetables to immigrants arriving at the Port Huron rail station when first arriving from foreign lands.

And at age 14 -during the time of the famous pre-Civil War debates between Lincoln and Douglas –he had befriended the Detroit Press printer, decidedly advancing the timing of news stories himself from the associated news releases that were being teletype into the station each day, and published them in his own little newspaper. Beyond his sales for the day at on the trains, he included personal sales of his newspapers, selling all his copies before the train reached the last destination of the day. As the word spread of his new endeavor continued, eagerly folks began to line up at railroad stations between Detroit and Port Huron where passengers were picked up at small towns along its route, they awaited the train, not to board, but to purchase their own copy literally hot off the presses onboard, of this advanced news of the day from him.

Focusing upon such newsworthy "scoops," he quickly enticed over 300 commuters to subscribe to his splendid little paper: The Weekly Herald. Interestingly, because this was the first such publication ever to be type-set, printed, and sold on a train, an English journal now gave him his first exposure to international notoriety when it related this story in 1860.

At its peak, Tom's mini-publishing venture netted him more than ten dollars per day. Because this was considerably more than enough to provide for his own support, he had a good deal of extra income, most of which went towards outfitting the chemical laboratory he had set up in the basement of his home. But then his usually patient and tolerant mother finally complained about the odors and danger of all the "poisons" he was amassing, he transferred most of them to a locked room in the basement and put the remainder in his locker room on the train.

One day, while traversing a bumpy section of track, the train lurched, causing a stick of phosphorous to roll onto the floor and ignite. Within moments, the baggage car caught fire. The conductor was so angry; he severely chastised the boy and struck him with a powerful blow on the side of his head. Purportedly, this may have aggravated some of the loss of hearing he may have inherited and from a later bout he had with scarlet fever. In any case, the station master penalized him by restricting him to peddling his newspaper to venues in railroad stations along the track.

One day while he was on the train, the stationmaster's very young son happened to wander onto the tracks in front of an oncoming boxcar. Tom leaped to action. Luckily - as they tumbled away from its oncoming wheels - they ended up being only slightly injured. Now, one of the most significant events in Tom's life occurred when - as a reward for his heroism - the child's grateful father taught him how to master the use of Morse code and the telegraph. In the "age of telegraphy," this was akin to being introduced to learning how to use a state-of-the-art computer.

The rest as they say….is history. For a list of all Thomas Edison’s patents for inventions, check out THIS LINK

Interesting to note the upcoming events at the museum, a historical train celebration will be taking place for the public to participate in. We noticed the advertisement for the upcoming second annual "Down by the Depot/Hobo Fest" taking place September 22-24th, complete with simulated steam engines like the "Flagg Coal company #75, Thrill to the sounds of a live steam locomotive. The father and son team of John and Byron Grambling spent a decade restoring this locomotive to operating condition, and it returns to Port Huron for the first time since 2004. Cab tours of the locomotive will be available


CN Rail's newest "Little Obie" will be making its first appearance will be Canadian National Railway's safety train, "Little Obie." "Obie" is a 40 foot scale model of a CN Locomotive, and comes complete with a flatcar and caboose. The Locomotive is authentic downtown to the engineer's cab, working headlights, etc. Included is Obie's air horn, which makes a big impression on kids.

Riding in the country

My riding partner and I

Off for a ride to get our mail, my little trooper here is very fit, keeps a steady pace, riding just in front of me doing very well in fact at the distance riding.

There ought to be a new law passed allowing those with "big hair" not to have a mandatory law, that of forcing a bike helmet to be plunked onto their mane (like mine!), jamming and tucking all inside for an instant and automatic heat wave to surge to the brain, wanting the individual to scream and shout. I hate head gear as I've blogged about before! But, as per practising what I preach to the children, to my credit, note the helmet I have to swallow my pride on and wear gracefully, each and every time I venture out on my wheels.

The older daughter exclaimed she wasn't eager to ride with me much anymore, unless she could have a head start because she says I move rather quickly for her. It's not my fault though, as I attempted to give a helpful hint and explain about her limbs growing longer, and quite simply, the riding would be more pleasant if she just raised her seat a bit higher to accomodate the growth, and clicked her gear up to a higher level to coast a larger length with each motion of the peddling.

She's s country gal, now trying on cowgirl hats!

My, the growth of the summer months is most notable when a child begins slipping into a pair of slacks with its length only dipping down to just above their ankles for a out of fashion "flood look". Instead of tossing them into the donation box, they've begun to roll the bottoms up to the knee. Now that's a fashion I like saving me from having to shop for fall already. Honestly, this is number six I now have to depart from denial and admit I look up to her now. Sheesh! Now to find my wrench and get that seat raised higher!

Summer and Pig Roasts, part one.

It must be something very special, an event sure to draw a large crowd. Pig roasts are big here, in fact; huge. We were invited to two within a seven day span, the first being right next door, and the second one by our new friends from church we had for breakfast a while back with their lovely family.

Our neighbors celebrate every summer with a large gathering of friends, ski club members, yacht club members, old local school buddies having another reunion for the fun of it, and of course, a few surrounding neighbors. We fell into the last category and made the easy decision of accepting the invitation. Only one other couple from behind us, the farmers were able to come, but at least we met someone new to us there.

We joshed and teased our neighbors a bit as we watched them work in earnest during their "vacation" time preparing the property for the upcoming roast. The acreage grass was a labouring detail, the orchard necessitated a meticulous weed whacking, followed by the ride on mower circling around and around each individual tree for a tedious and extremely grueling cut. Counting eighty orchard trees in all, you can bet it was a long and difficult task. Remember the heat here was almost unbearable with the humidex at 48 degrees , or 123 degrees F. The real clincher came when I caught them both raking the entire yard and throwing the coumarin smelling stuff into the wheelbarrow for a golf green looking surface. Then, I really inquired if this was a regular detail because we were not going to keep up with the neighbors on that one…laugh.

Volleyball and Badminton nets are all set to go here

A the week progressed, two heavily detailed lawn cutting days turned into more, when we saw them later in the week, once again mowing the grass shorter and spotted them sprinkling grass seed around the back area behind the swimming pool. A company was motioned in to cut down stray branches from tall mature trees, then more mowing at the end of the week in the surrounding area of what was to become a volleyball and badminton playing center. Power washing the inground pool decks, gardening, general cleaning, setting up the nets for the games, and the setting up of several tents were providing color and decorating the orchard as friends from out of town were expected for the long weekend. Even two tent trailers appeared giving the feel of a camp ground, but privacy was a premium back there with lots of space to meld in the greenery.

The pool decks were clean and glistening in the summer sun

Pig roasting celebration day arrived with the hosts creating a charcoal fire at 4am inside the pig roasting ovens, borrowed from a friend and completely assembled from old tractor parts. Very cool invention! The pig roasted without any marinade or spicing for fourteen hours before the meat began to tenderly fall off and a hearty consumption began.

The guests began to arrive and grouped around the back of the house in the later afternoon. We could hear folks in the pool, the bocce balls were being used, volleyball was already a high feature fun spot, and lawn chairs spilled out everywhere. These guys really know how to have a summer party! What a fun time we were in for, and a lovely time we had, though we knew no one there for the most part. We met many interesting folks, feasted on the piggy highlight of the day and enjoyed all the selections of other foods every guest supplied. It was enlightening and educational to speak to many folks there who made their living as farmers in the area. One supplied the pig, another supplied bushels of peaches and cream corn, another green beans, and one other sausage meats. Never mind the food for dinner, the desserts were rolled out and set out on the bar built into the side of the hot tub to make anyone begin to drool with the color…and obvious load of enticing sugar feast presented there.

All food detailing aside, the highlight for us in particular ended up being not only the fascination with the pig roast itself and the ensuing gathering of men to form a special team work to carve it when the meat began to melt off the bones (yummy yum), truly it was definitely meeting the interesting guests, each from all walks of life. Some were "extreme" skiiers who yearned for their yearly travelling experience to conquer another black diamond level on the mountain top somewhere in North America. Others were chatting about their recent sailing or boating expeditions. I found myself gravitating towards this group asking many questions about owning a boating vessel, maintenance issues and the mandatory skippers course now required by every boat owner. Some old school pals were filling us with local historical information and recommending areas and special sights to see. Hugely though, as the evening progressed, I sat glancing about with a smile on my face, admiring each individual for specifically setting aside this day, happily doing so "on purpose" happily submitting to a very enjoyable mingling with others, all being good sports by participating in all the lawn games and ultimately simply enjoying time together at this, the traditional yearly pig roasting party our neighbors hosted.

Cheers to them all! They really know how to lay their stresse in life aside and have fun making memories!