Fall and School Approach

It's been a busy week and it has got colder.
It used to be that falling leaves were a sign of autumn, but now it's the flyers and the school ads. Teachers have been getting their classrooms ready, and the stores have been saturated with school supplies - and it doesn't matter what stores: drug stores, grocery stores, office supplies, hardwares, ...

To all you teachers, whether you meet before labour day or afterwards, HAVE A GREAT YEAR!

I loved September. I prefer the cooler weather, AND I always looked forward to meeting my classes and getting to know new students. It was true in the regular school system but even more at T.C.

Hurrican Bill dropped By

Just when we thought Hurricane Bill had passed us by and that neither the rain nor the wind had been as severe as forecast, Bill dropped by. Crack! Two limbs from an Armstrong Maple came down.

This tree had been bent and bruised when Juan felled a giant elm across our backyard and bent the maple.

Yet she righted herself and went on to give us beauty, shade and pleasure. Hope the arborist, who's coming tomorrow feels the tree will survive.

Art Show and Hurricane Bill

I'm late getting this up on the blog. Friday was a busy day including medical appointments in Halifax, but we did have a nice noon lunch on the Dartmouth waterfront. It was a beautiful day; nothing like sitting by the water eating one's lunch. Saturday included errands, coping with the heat and getting ready for Hurricane Bill. Judy, it is not a good weekend for your show. Hope the opening went well on Friday; sorry, we could not attend. I urge readers to support Art and Jules which has opened up a new venue for local artists. One can also see Judy's art on her blog: http://www.judyarsenault-artist.blogspot.com

Back to the waiting games as Bill moves along the coast.

poster

This seems to be the third in a musical theme. First, Elvis; then, Les Paul; now, Hank Williams. I have been working on a poster for a friend who is one of the organizers of this event. I worked with the picture he gave me. I lessened its intensity to about 80 % and added a beige tint and then put the printing on top.

The first concert was held three years ago and raised money to help a child who needed an operation. The poster hasn't changed much, but this time we enlarged the photo to cover the full 8 1/2 x 11 sheet.

For those who like Hank Williams and/or gospel music this is a concert with a lot of local talent.

Now I must get back to cartooning and NSTC and TAS stuff. That's what this Blog was supposed to be about.

Tribute to Les Paul

Les Paul, a fine musician and the founder of the electric guitar, died recently at age 94. I remember a number of popular songs with his wife Mary Ford. I have a two cd collection of his songs. I've gone to YouTube, however, to find a video to put on my Blog. In this one, he plays "Birth of the Blues," and Chet Atkins joins him for awhile. Hope you enjoy it.

Elvis - Aug. 16, 1977

Yesterday Weekend Morning featured Acadian music to honour the World Congress. This morning, they were featuring either the music and memories of Woodstock or Elvis. I remembered that I had done a caricature of Elvis at one time and for some reason it was on my computer. So, I'll begin the week with Elvis. His death occured on August 16, 1977, 32 years ago.

To the Classes '09

Friday Night - a Time of Celebration!

Congratulations to the Classes '09 at the NSTC (and the Normal College)Reunion. Imagine! I had three TC class groups there: 1969, 79 and 89. It's a happy time. They look so young. They're happy to be reuniting with friends and recalling happy times in Truro and at NSTC . Exchanging news about careers, children, families. Grads seem glad to see faculty and staff who turn out. It's a welcoming place.

Lenore Zann was guest speaker and she did a fine job. She is such a positive person and her dreams for the Normal College building struck a fine note with those in attendance.

Thanks to those who do the background work that makes such an event happen. It's a time I enjoy. Glad to see former students and colleagues. Cheers!

Half a Century of Cars

My caregiver, Neil, bought his first car in 1956, his second year of teaching. It was a 1954 Chev. When he got married, he and Jean bought a new 1958 Pontiac. There have been a series of cars since. The only one I don't have a picture of is a green 1982 Ford Fairmont Futura. Hope you enjoy the video and I hope it has uploaded successfully. I don't trust audio and video formats. This was made with Windows Movie Maker, but I've published it an a Flash format. Cheers, Professor Tassel.

Meet Vesta

Every church should have a churchmouse. I'm trying to convert a powerpoint to a video and upload it and I'm having trouble. No one said blogging would be easy. Video and audio formats are a pain. I once did a history of Brunswick Street United in Truro. Then I told the story to the children with a Big Book about Charlie Churchmouse and his ancestors, showing the earlier churches. Vesta, however, is the present day churchmouse at Brunswick Street, and we've gone digital. She can introduce herself - I hope. - Professor Tassel.

BING

I have been using the new MS search engine BING (http://www.bing.com) since he became available; in fact, it's my home page when I go on the internet. Each day there's a new picture. Today's picture was this wonderful shot of a covered bridge in New Brunswick.

Yesterday - August 2nd - was a special day. My caregivers, Jean and Neil, celebrated their 51st Anniversary. Boy, they must be getting along.

Well, we're into August. That's our real summer month. Enjoy. - Professor Tassel.