Letting It Grow

Ever since I retired, about 14 years ago, I have been shaving my head.  My hair is thinning, my hairline receding, and my hair when it grows out is curly and unruly.  I figured I would look better, and, oddly enough, younger if I just shaved it all off.  Even before I retired for several years I had been buzz-cutting it very short.  I haven't been to a barber in a couple decades.    

Since beginning my self-isolation a couple weeks ago, I decided to just let it go and see how much hair is still up there.  In the somewhat blurry attempt at a selfie above, I think you can make out the bit of fuzz covering the top of my pate and the thicker hair on the side.  I am still shaving my face and trimming my goatee, but I am going to allow my hair to grow for as long as the stay-at-home rule is in effect.  (Here in Ohio that has been extended until at least May 1st.)  I am hoping that this crisis does not last so long that I have hair down to my shoulders.  I'll look like an aging hippie!  Even as a teen-ager in the "flower child" era of the 60s and 70s I never let my hair grow that long!

Welcome April

The gray skies and heavy rains here in Ohio have only added to the gloom under which we live.  However the daffodils are in bloom.  In my garden the clumps of foliage all sprouted, but there are only a few blossoms.  I suspect that I will need to thin out and replant the bulbs.  Still the few bright yellow flowers that I have are a welcome sign of spring and a sign of hope for better days ahead.

An International Triangle

I wrote about how I have been doing video chats with some of my cousins in Europe and with my friend Alejandro in Mexico.  Yesterday I added something new to my Skype experience.  I've talked to my cousin Brigitta in Switzerland about my travels in Mexico and about Alejandro and his family, and of course I have talked to Alejandro about my Swiss family.  On Saturday Brigitta emailed me and asked if I would like to Skype at noon on Sunday, and I said sure.  I knew that it was possible to add more people for a conference chat, but it was something that I had never done.  When I talked to Alejandro I asked him if he would like to meet one of my Swiss cousins through a video chat.  He thought it was a cool idea and agreed to go onto Skype at the same time.

Brigitta called me a little before noon, and she was with her partner Peter.  I checked to see if Alejandro was on Skype.  He was, and I added him to our conversation without much difficulty.  We had, as Peter put it, an international triangle between Switzerland, Mexico and the United States.  We probably talked for an hour.  

   
Skype has proven to be a great asset in easing the sense of "cabin fever" during this period of self-isolation. 

What's For Dinner?

Last week I came upon a video on YouTube on how to make "tortilla española", a very typical Spanish dish which is an egg, potato and onion omelette very similar to the Italian "frittata".  The video was done by a fellow from New Zealand who has lived in Madrid with his Spanish wife for the past eight years.  It is a rather entertaining video, especially the repartee between the husband and wife as he prepares the dish.  You can watch it HERE.

I have successfully made "tortilla española" many times.  It has long been a standby recipe to make for company.  I figured I would watch the video and see if he made it the same way that I make it.  His technique varied quite a bit from mine.  After frying the potatoes and onions, he removes the mixture from the frying pan, puts it in a bowl lined with paper towels to drain, and lets it cool down.  Then he combines the beaten eggs to the potatoes and onions and lets them sit for a half hour before cooking the omelette. I just add the fried potatoes and onions to the eggs, and immediately throw it back into the frying pan.  The one way in which my preparation differs from all recipes, is that I do not try to flip the "tortilla".  I simply put the pan under the broiler of the oven to let the top cook.

I had not made "tortilla española" for a long time, so the video inspired me to make it for dinner.  When I went to the supermarket last Wednesday I bought potatoes, the only ingredient which I did not have in the house.  Even though the New Zealander's method is more complicated, I tried his technique.  (Except for the flipping!  I refuse to do that!)

The finished product looked fine, just lightly browned on the top from the broiler.

  

The New Zealander says in the video that he likes his "tortilla" runny on the inside.  Well, when I cut into mine it was a bit runny.  It was tasty, but frankly I prefer the eggs to be thoroughly set.  And of all the many times that I have had "tortilla española", I do not recall ever having it runny on the inside.  I think I will just stick to my way of making it!

The Town that Sandstone Built

Last week I wrote about a walk which I took in the Mill Stream Run Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks  I mentioned Baldwin and Wallace Lakes which were originally stone quarries, part of the thriving industry that made the Ohio town of Berea the "Sandstone Capital of the World". 

Berea is a suburb to the southwest of Cleveland, and is adjacent to the suburb where I live.  It stands upon a deposit of some of the finest quality sandstone in the world, and in the late 1800s stone from the quarries was used for making grindstones and building materials.  Buildings throughout the world were built with Berea sandstone.  (Although I have never been able to verify it, I have heard that there is even a portion of the Kremlin in Moscow that was built with our sandstone.)

Last Sunday, eager to relieve the "cabin fever" I was feeling from isolating myself at home, I took a walk through the historic center of Berea and photographed some of its sandstone heritage.

Just to the south of downtown Berea is Coe Lake, which was once the largest stone quarry in the town.  It is today a pleasant city park.  Notice the blocks of sandstone decorating the shore of the lake.

The sandstone was not generally used for building private residences, but there is one house in Berea which was built entirely from our local stone.  It dates back to 1854, and today it is the headquarters and museum of the Berea Historical Society.

A new edifice for St. Thomas Episcopal Church was built of sandstone in 1893 when a local resident who had made a small fortune selling horses to the Union Army during the Civil War bequeathed $5000 to the church.  The church has expanded since then, but the old stone structure still used for parish activities.

At the heart of Berea is Baldwin Wallace College. (Since 2012 with the addition of graduate courses, it is officially called Baldwin Wallace University.)  The institution was founded in 1845 by John Baldwin, who was also the founder of Berea and the man who began the sandstone industry.  

(image taken from the web)

John Baldwin

His school was one of the first colleges in the country to accept students regardless of race, gender or religion  (Baldwin had not forgotten that his own mother had been denied admittance to a university because she was female.) The large number of German immigrants coming to Berea led to the establishment of German Wallace College in 1855.  Immigrants could attend classes there to learn English.  (My great grandmother from Switzerland as a young girl attended those classes.)  The two institutions were closely linked, and students at one school could attend classes at the other.  In the early 20th century, as the sandstone quarries began to go into decline, the schools were facing financial problems.  In 1917 the two colleges merged to form Baldwin Wallace College.

Baldwin Wallace is my alma mater, so it was interesting for me to wander around the campus and see the changes since I was a student there.  The campus was eerily quiet since classes have been suspended during the pandemic, and most of the students have left the residence halls.  (I saw one student, probably heading home, packing clothes into his car.)

It is not surprising that all of the older buildings at Baldwin Wallace are built of Berea sandstone.  Marting Hall, built in 1896, still houses the history and English departments.  I had many classes there since I had a history minor.

Next to Marting Hall is the college chapel.  Built in 1870, it was originally a Methodist church until it was given to the college in the 1950s.  (Baldwin Wallace was originally affiliated with the Methodist Church, but the formal affiliation ended in 2019.)

Dietsch Hall was originally built in 1899 as a women's dormitory.  If I remember correctly from my college days, it was used for administrative offices at that time.  Now it houses the foreign language department.

Kulas Hall, built in 1913, is the home of the Conservatory of Music, nationally recognized for its excellence, and famous for its annual Bach Festival, the oldest collegiate Bach festival in the country.  (Sadly, due to the pandemic, the April event will most likely be cancelled this year.)

Heading to the northern side of the campus, Carnegie Hall, built in 1882 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie, housed the education department when I was a student there.

Next to it is this building which from 1894 until 1958 served as the college library.  It is dedicated to Philura Gould Baldwin, the granddaughter of John Baldwin.  Philura was a graduate of the school and an avid collector of books.  When she died at the age of 26 of consumption, the Baldwin family donated the funds for this building with the stipulation that one white rose be presented each year in memory of Philura.  That "White Rose Ceremony" is still held today. 

(image taken from the web)

Philura Gould Baldwin

Now, the former Baldwin Library and Carnegie Hall are connected by a modern structure and they house the social science departments.

Wheeler Hall, built in 1891, holds many fond memories for me, since it used to be the location of the foreign language departments.  Now it houses the education department.

From the Baldwin Wallace campus I continued to the north side of town, to photograph one more important sandstone building, the former Berea Depot.  Today it is a restaurant and bar.  

Between 1876 and 1958 this structure was Berea's passenger and freight station.  Tons of sandstone were shipped from here daily.  It is an example of Victorian Gothic architecture, and when it was opened, one of the Cleveland newspapers called it "the finest facility outside the big cities."

That concludes our tour of the sandstone buildings of historic Berea.

Postcards from Home

My readers may remember that on my last trip to Mexico, Alejandro's 9 year old nephew, Ezra, asked me for my address so that he could write me a letter after I returned home.  (Well, he still hasn't written me a letter.)  Before I left Mexico City in February, I bought a postcard and mailed it to Ezra.  I was back home in Ohio for at least a couple of weeks before he received it.  (The card was sent from Mexico City's main post office to an address within Mexico City!)  Ezra was really thrilled to receive something in the mail, even though it took forever to arrive.

Soon after returning home, I bought a couple of Ohio postcards to send him.  I sent one at the end of February, and he received it yesterday.  The postcard had been written before the current crisis, and Ezra excitedly said to his uncle, "He's still coming to visit us in April!"  Alejandro had to explain to him that the plans had changed since the card was sent.

Today I made out the other postcard and sent it to Ezra.  (The card, pictured above, is of Marblehead Lighthouse.  It is the oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and it is located about an hour from where I live.)

I needed to buy a stamp for the card.  (Postage costs $1.20, far more than the postcard cost.)  Since it was a mild, sunny day I decided to walk to the post office.  Although we are under stay-at-home orders in Ohio, we are allowed to go outside for exercise, be it walking, jogging, running or bicycling, as long as we keep our distance from others.  Fortunately, when I entered the post office the customers were all keeping the recommended distance from each other.

My walk was 4.7 miles round trip, so I got my exercise for today.

Skyping Away

I have mentioned before that when it comes to modern technology and social media, I am a dinosaur.  It is indeed a wonder that I have a blog.

I have used Skype before but not in the last several years.  Today I used it more than I ever have in my entire life.  

A few days ago my cousin Brigitta in Switzerland emailed me, and asked me if we could have a video chat via WhatsApp.  I told her that I don't have a smart phone so I don't have WhatsApp.  However, I told her that I do have Skype on my laptop.  Yesterday she wrote that she had tried to reach me on Skype but that she could not get through.  I went to the laptop and turned on Skype, but since I had not used it for so long it needed to be updated.  In the process of updating I somehow ended up creating a new account, so I had to give Brigitta my new Skype name.  While I was at it, I sent emails to cousins in Norway and England asking if they would be interested in setting up a time to do a video chat.

Last night I was streaming a Netflix movie from my laptop to the TV when my friend Alejandro called.  I mentioned that I had updated Skype, and I asked if he wanted to try it out.  So we both went onto Skype, and it worked.  

This morning I had emails from all three cousins, and they all wanted to chat with me via Skype.  My cousin Brigitta and I made plans to Skype at 1:00 this afternoon (6:00 PM in Switzerland).  My cousin Kevin, who lives outside of London, and I made plans to chat at 3:00 PM (7:00 PM in England).  Then I emailed my cousin Hans Peter in Norway, and he quickly answered, "I'll call in fifteen minutes."  So I turned on the laptop (my desktop does not have a built in microphone) and went to Skype.  At the agreed time Hans Peter called, but I didn't hear any ringing.  When I saw that I had missed his call, I immediately called him back, and we were connected.  He could see and hear me, but, although I could see him, I couldn't hear him.

He couldn't figure out what was wrong.  While he was fiddling with the adjustments, I talked to him and he typed messages back to me.  He asked me if the problem was on my end, and I told him that I had no problems last night Skyping with Alejandro.  After a while we gave up, and Hans Peter said he would call again when he had figured out the problem.

Shortly afterward I realized that the problem was indeed on my end.  Since my laptop is connected to the TV, the audio is coming through the television.  I did not have the TV turned on when Hans Peter called.  I sent a message to Hans Peter and told him that the problem was solved, and that we could talk later.  It was nearly 2:00, and Brigitta would soon be calling.

With the TV turned on, Brigitta and I had no problem at all.  We had a nice, long conversation.  Fortunately, the family in Switzerland is well.  The pandemic is quite bad there. Only essential businesses are open, and people are expected to isolate themselves.

After talking with Brigitta, I called Hans Peter back, and this time we had no problem communicating.  The situation is the same as in Switzerland, but he and his family are fine.

Shortly after talking with him, I got a phone call from Alejandro in Mexico.  He said he needed to connect with me on Skype.  So I turned the laptop back on, and his call came through.  His nephew Ezra had a question about his English homework.  Classes have been cancelled down there, but the students are still receiving homework assignments online.  Alejandro aimed the camera on a page of Ezra's English workbook.  The exercise was a crossword puzzle that he was not able to complete.  I realized that the problem was that for one of the clues, he had filled in "swimwear" instead of "swimsuit".  From there everything else fit in.  Alejandro said that we would Skype again at 9:00 tonight (7:00 in Mexico).

It was then time to wait for the 3:00 PM call from Kevin. Kevin was using his business laptop and his business version of Skype.  He sent me an email with a link to connect to that since it is totally different from what I have.  At 3:00 I clicked on the link and i had to wait and download the business version.  We finally connected, and I had a good chat with him too.  The family is all well, but they too are largely confined to the house. 

So I have been socializing all day, without disregarding the concept of social distancing!