Merry Merry

Christmas for us means brunch at Mom and Dad’s. People who have had that breakfast have a hard time not coming back, even if they have moved on from our family. Mom turns out several varieties of eggs, creamed chipped beef, sausages, potatoes, chocolate muffins and an infamous pecan cinnamon coffee cake which can induce riots in the buffet line. This year we added three sailors since my niece joined the Navy and was married over Thanksgiving. It was probably our first and last Christmas for some time with the fleet, as my niece is being assigned to Japan, and her husband will hopefully soon join her.

My eldest brother is the juice and coffee steward. My other brother mans the scrambled eggs, and due to the bigger crowd we consumed over 4 dozen this year. My sister in law did the seating arrangements, and thanks to her, there were no fights. I was recovering from a stomach bug so I lay low as the swarms of children buzzed around.

Christmas used to mean trimming the tree on Christmas Eve, dating back to the times when Dad would wait until the tree sellers on Mass Ave had packed it in for the season. After they turned the lights off, he’d go over to the lots and root around in the dark. Sometimes the trees would be straggly and sometimes they would be OK, but he never knew what he had until he got home. Then, one year, when things were good, he grandly ordered a tree from Friendship Florist, and it was the worst tree EVER, so he never did that again. By the time I came along, he was no longer liberating leftovers. Instead, I remember going to the Florida Avenue Market, and Dad would haggle with the vendors. I always had to pretend like I could care less about a tree, and be prepared to walk away and hang out at the ash can fire if the deal didn’t turn out, but we always went home with one, much to my relief.

A quick survey finds 1941 to be a favorite Christmas. It was the first year they had bought a home of their own in River Terrace. There was a live Cocker Spaniel puppy under the tree in a box. And a Lionel train with real smoke. My mom and sister had matching red velvet dresses which my mother had made by a dress maker instead of having to do them herself. Plus, my mother says it was the last year you could actually get everything you wanted before the rationing of World War Two got underway.

Another favorite was around 1939. That was the first year that Dad’s parents let him bring his non-Greek wife to Christmas at their place on Macomb Street. Dad remembers giving his father seat covers for his car. Papou thought they were blankets and tried to wear one.

The family has always had a Christmas party at Yiya’s and Papou’s house. My brother remembers they had a table top tree which he thought was a bit skimpy, but they lived in an apartment. I remember when they lived on Upton Street. Back then the Post Office that is there now was a Safeway, and I always admired my grandmother for keeping a grocery cart in her front yard. I also remember they'd gotten an aluminum Christmas tree, which eliminated any midnight runs to tree lots.

Now my Dad is the Papou of the family. He has eleven grandchildren and seven greats, and although it’s not as traumatic as Thanksgiving, they still put on a tree trimming party AND the world famous brunch Christmas morning. This year with the fleet, there were twenty six of us grateful pilgrims singing "Anchors Away". Once again I have to say thanks. Hope everyone had as good a holiday as we did.

Waxwing and Mountain Ash Berries

With the cold weather hanging on for another night, I figured I would get up early and drive to Grand Marais to photograph the steam behind the lighthouse. What I wasn't figuring on were the thousands of Waxwings that were hanging out in the various trees in the Grand Marais campground. I found one area where all the Mountain Ash berries had blown off the trees and down onto the ground. I watched as hundreds of Waxwings hopped around amongst the berries, choking them down just as fast as they could pick them up. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to isolate this one bird against the backdrop of berries. It is my favorite shot of the morning.

Ropes?

I get asked this a lot.



"What rope do you use and how long is it?"



These are my general comments and suggestionsfor alpine and ice use. There is always an exception so nothing is written in stone. I own a number of ropes just so I have options.



l have partners who prefer 70m ropes. But I've never ever seen a place we needed one
over 60m. The best they have done to justify the extra weight and mess is use a single 70 to fook up a perfectly spaced set of 50m belay and rap anchors. Seems silly to me. For a guy who climbed several decades on 150' ropes and found 50m ropes LONNNNGGG, imagine what I think of a 70m rope?



Make the climb long,hard and scary enough and I might consider a set of 70m Twins a blessing just for the ability to do alonger rap. It might just be enough mental supportto keep me mobile and going up.






Beal Ice Twins




Added useless weight imo. But I do own 3 70m ropes. The same ropes that seldom get used just for
that reason. Tooheavy to carry or lead with. 70m pitches turn out to be
a really heavy rope imo.



I do own a 30m twin sold as a glacier rope that I use in the summer a lot and a 60m twin that I might double and use as a 30m twin as well. I will generally but not always plan on simu climbing a good bit with the 30m rope set ups. The tag line gets used the most as a 30m rap rope when soloing. So I hope the raps are short!






Beal Joker used as a single hereand a Beal Ice Twin as a tag line for the rappels




Ropes are a system. Do a 150' free hanging
rappel on a lwt single 9mm and a 5mm tag line and you'll figure that out quickly
enough. And it isn't all that humorous. Any mismatched ropes aren't all that fun
rappelling actually. The smaller rope will run faster in most cases. And a 7mm matched to a 9mmisn't much different. Either way it is smart to check you proposed system first so you aren't surprised. You'll also want to make sure
your descending/belay device is up to snuff on skinny ropes. The most recent BD Guide wasn't
on two big rappels I did a couple of times recently. The Midi bridge and off the
Pencil on Polar Circus. From experience I can tell you the latest Petzl 4 version
works a LOT better on the skinny Beal Ice Twin ropes.









actual rope weights?



60m
lines:

Beal Joker 7# 8oz

Beal Ice Twin 5# 0oz

5mm tag 2#10oz




As you can see lots of tasty talk on ropes but in the end a set of twins
at 10# 0oz is better than a a Joker and a skinny tag at 10# 2oz. Easier to split
up and pack the twins, much easier to rap on if required. Easy enough to haul on
one if that is needed.



Given a choice I'd rather just use a 50m (or a
60m) lwt single like a Joker if I am brave (I will not fail or have an accident and need to retreat) and know it is a
walk off. But if you know you'll be rapping..I want to use lwt twins. Double ropes BTW just tempt me into using one as a lwt single rope. So I simply no longer buy them. YMMV on that rational.



There are lots of good choices in ropes and rope systems.I happen to be using Beal ropes at the moment. But it a very distinct and personal choice, as I buy all my own ropes. They are not given to me.Just make sure you know why you have decided on your rope system.

The “Happy 101” Award

The “Happy 101” award is making the rounds in geneablogger land and I'm happy to say that it has been given to me three times! I've received it from Carol at Reflections from the Fence, Harriet at Genealogy Fun, and Bill at West in New England.

I'm also happy to accept the happy award! By accepting it I am obligated to name 10 things that make me happy and pass the award along to 10 more bloggers that brighten my day.

Here are just 10 of the things that make me happy:

1. Being retired.
2. Traveling.
3. Sunshine and blue skies.
4. Meeting geneablogger friends.
5. Keeping in touch with family.
6. Warm weather.
7. Walking in the woods or along the seashore.
8. Writing.
9. Photography.
10. Watching the sun rise and set.

And the 10 bloggers to receive the award are:

• Jasia at Creative Gene
• Apple at Apple's Tree
• Denise at Moultrie Creek
• fM at footnoteMaven
• Ruby and Cheri at You Go Genealogy Girls
• Donna Pointkouski at What's Past is Prologue
• T.K. at Before My Time
• Debra Osborne Spindle at All My Ancestors
• Leah Kleylein at Random Notes
• Greta Koehl at Greta's Genealogy Bog

Wedding Day!

Jessica and I got married today! We had a beautiful ceremony filled with friends, family and love. It really was a perfect day. We'd like to extend our thanks to all those that helped make this day perfectfor us. We appreciate and love you all!



Special thanks to Timothy Young for officiating, Staci Drouillard for the incredible cake and our friend Paul for taking beautiful photos throughout the day! And a very special thanks to Carah Thomas, Rod Dockan and Al Oikari of Cook County's Most Wanted for providing the awesome music for our ceremony. You guys were incredible and we totally loved the "Joy of My Life" song... you guys are the best! Thank You :-)

Bicycle Safety: My Perspective

Every so often I am asked to state my views on safety with respect to transportation cycling*. Though reluctant to raise this topic in the past, after more than two years I feel ready to share my perspective. So here it goes, and I ask in advance that you help me keep any ensuing discussion civil:



When it comes to bicycle safety, I draw a categorical distinction between two facets that are often mushed together, but for me areentirely independent: (1) safe behaviour, and (2) protective gear. I believe that safe behaviour is essential and a matter of social responsibility. I believe that protective gear is secondary and a matter of personal choice. This distinction and prioritisation governs (i.e. biases) the views on transportational cycling that are expressed throughout this blog.



To clarify what I mean by "safe behaviour" on a bicycle, here are the points I consider crucial:



Riding a bicycle that is functional and road-ready

Taking reasonable steps to ensure one's bicycle will not fail on the road.This includes making certain that the wheels are secured and that the brakes, lights, and other crucial components are functional. Riding a bike with known mechanical problems, insufficient braking capacity, or any unusual features that make it intentionally difficult to operate, can have disastrous consequences in traffic.



Being in possession of basic bike handling skills

This includes being able to start and stop without faltering, to maintain a line of travel without weaving, to reduce speed when appropriate, and to safely maneuver around obstacles. It helps to ride the type of bike one is comfortable with and in a way they are comfortable with, depending on skill level and personal preference. Those who do not yet possess adequate handling skills should practice on trails and quiet side streets before mixing with traffic.



Adhering to traffic laws

Knowing and following local traffic laws, as they pertain to bicyclists. This includes respecting lane directionality, street lights, stop signs and right of way, signaling turns and intentions to merge, and in general behaving predictably.



Knowing safety maneuvers

Awareness of various crucial safety maneuvers and the ability to execute them. For instance: not positioning oneself in the blind spot of a car that could turn into one's line of travel, not cycling in the door zone of parked cars, and not passing other cyclists on the right.



Being visible

Having sufficient lighting on one's bicycle, so as to be clearly visible to others on the roads in the dark and in inclement weather.



Being vigilant

Paying attention while cycling; being cautious and attentive to what goes on in one's peripheral vision while resisting distractions. This includes not being engrossed in conversation with fellow cyclists, not chatting on one's mobile phone or texting, and otherwise not engaging in activities thatdetract from an awareness of one's surroundings.



You might not agree with me on some aspects of these points, but I believe in them and try to adhere to them to the best of my ability. In my view, this makes me a conservative and safe cyclist.



As for protective gear (helmets, knee pads, steel-toed boots, padded vests, pre-emptive neck and back braces, etc), these things are simply not relevant to the safe operation of a bicycle. We all have the right to expect safe behaviour from each other, when the behaviour impacts other road users. But we do not have the right to decide what each other's personal comfort levels ought to be, when this comfort has no effect on us.



In addition, I think that protective gear - whether we believe it to be useful or not - is secondary to safe behaviour to such an extent, that to stress it above the other stuff (as I feel is routinely done in safety campaigns) is misguided and even, dare I say, dangerous. As I write this, out of the window I can see a helmeted cyclist making a left turn onto a one way street against traffic, riding a bicycle with no handbrakes and no lights. I think this sort of thing is a direct result of promoting protective gear instead of safe behaviour, and I think it's evidence that we have our priorities backwards.I do not find that my views on this matter are radical, although sometimes I am made to feel as if they are. Whether you agree or not is entirely up to you.



--

*a small group of us (Dave from Portlandize, Matt from Bicycles, Books and Bowties, and myself) are working on a transportation cycling brochure, where the topic of safety will be covered. However, I am not the person who is writing that particular section, and the opinions expressed here - though congruent with those in the brochure - are my own.

Ski of Dreams

After spending 36 solid hours stuck in our tent at high camp, we were treated to fresh turns all the way back to Paradise.