Joachim and Maura Have Arrived

Joachim and Maura arrived from New York this evening, with a minimum of flight hassle. They're having a late supper with Joachim's Oma and Ursula now.

Another Good MRI for Jennifer Today

She's starting her sixth year of good MRIs!

Jennifer and Winston are Back

Jennifer and Winston got back home to Reston yesterday afternoon, after a couple of months in London and vicinity. After Winston finished up his work, they spent a couple of days in Brussels and Amsterdam before heading back to the States. If you haven't seen all the pictures on my web pages, here's one of Jennifer and Winston relaxing on the south bank of the Thames outside Shakespeare's Globe on a beautiful Sunday evening.

Coming Home from London and Wales

Monday, September 28...It seemed as though I had just arrived, but it was time to leave. I left the hotel in plenty of time to get to Heathrow and through security, but the Underground was punctual as usual, and security didn't take long. I had an early lunch (consisting of a full British breakfast), bought some books, and got on the flight to Atlanta. While on the plane, I thought about how I would do things differently the next time. For details, and a few pictures, go to http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm and click on Sep. 28.

I'll be posting a few more things about the trip now and then, as I scan some postcards and brochures. Can't wait to go back.

Last full day in London: Tower and Globe

On Sunday, September 27, the three of us went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels, the Bloody Tower, the exhibits in the White Tower, and more. Later in the day we were Groundlings in Shakespeare's Globe during a performance of Love's Labour's Lost. Find out what that means, and see the pictures and details, using the Sep. 27 button on the London and Wales home page at http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

Blog bonus: The bell tower at St. Paul's Cathedral announces to the busy street that it's four o'clock...

Saturday Sep. 26: Westminster Abbey & British Library

Saturday morning we saw the incredible collection of statues, memorials, gravestones, and relics that is Westminster Abbey. Before going into the Abbey, we visited the much simpler Methodist Central Hall for an early lunch. The only thing a little unusual there was the Cafe Americano, which tasted more like espresso (in a good way).

After touring Westminster (no pictures allowed inside), we walked back to the Westminster Station and Jennifer and Winston went back to the hotel. I found a non-linear path to the British Library, which was very much worth a visit. I took a double-decker bus back to near the hotel, and later we all walked to Blackfriars Pub for a quick pub supper.

Pictures and more details: Click on Sep. 26 at
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

Blog bonus: Paving the street in front of St. Paul's:

View from St. Paul's and a Wicked Musical

On Friday, September 25, Jennifer and I looked around many square miles of London...from near the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. I also saw a piece of the original London wall at the Museum of London, and strolled across the Millennium Bridge to the South Bank of the Thames. In the evening Winston took us to an elegant restaurant and a production of the musical Wicked in the Theatre District near Victoria Station.

As usual, see more details by clicking on Sep. 25 on the web page at http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm.

Blog bonus: a movie clip of the set of Wicked before the action began:

Last day in Wales (this year, anyway)

On our last day in Wales, Jennifer and I motored west to the Cardiff area, and north of Cardiff we easily found the town of Caerphilly. Finding Caerphilly Castle, the largest castle in Wales, turned out to be surprisingly difficult. We did find it, however, and enjoyed walking around and in it, and the area around it.

With some good directions from the clerk in the Castle gift shop we made it to the Avis location near Cardiff Central. After a little unpleasantness from Avis (which preferred that we return the car in the same good condition in which we rented it) we walked back to the train station. There we made one last gift shop foray, and hopped on the train for London.

See the web page at http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm
and click on Sep. 24 to see this latest installment in the saga.

Catching up a little

I've finally finished updating the web pages of my trip to London and Wales through Wednesday, September 23. There are many pictures, and a lot of details to get right. See the web page http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm for pictures and more.

Still working on the Second Day in Wales

I've added the rest of the pictures for Wednesday, September 23, and some more general narrative. Still to come: captions for all the added pictures. Tomorrow?

Meanwhile, here's the link to the updated pages again:
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

Full Day in Wales (so far...just through mid-morning)

On Wednesday, September 23, we drove to the church of Llanedi Parish, St. Edith's, and then found the old farm on which my 4xgreat grandfather William Morgan lived until he died in 1835. The farm is still there, with the same name. There's even a Morgan descendent still living there.

I ran out of steam getting this far with the narrative and pictures...I'll pick it up tomorrow and see if I can get through that long and eventful day.

Meanwhile, what I have so far for September 23 is on the updated web site at
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

On to Wales

On Tuesday, September 22, Jennifer and I took the train to Wales' capital, Cardiff. We enjoyed the nearby St Fagans museum, in which a large number of houses, farm buildings, stores, and other structures have been moved from the original locations around Wales and restored to represent various periods of Welsh history. Very interesting and enjoyable. The drive from there to Llanedy was also interesting, but much less enjoyable.

Driving on the left side of the road was easy compared to the difficulty of interpreting road signs that don't usually include a simple "west" or "east" but instead show the next town. If you don't know the next town, you're in trouble. If you're going around a tight-diameter two-lane roundabout with such signs on closely-spaced exits, you're in more trouble. If you take the wrong exit, you won't know it for a while because it's not necessary to put a sign on the road you're already on. But all that pales compared to contending with the widths of the roads. Frequently while worrying about scraping the oncoming cars on my right, I would be interrupted by Jennifer telling me urgently to move farther to the right, as the stone wall on the left was just inches from her face. We got well-acquainted with the low curbs on the outside, and also learned that pedestrian crossings often intrude into the lane--with curbs around them. In the more urban areas, the narrow lanes were often half blocked by parked cars. A lot of parked cars. To be fair, they were as much on the sidewalk as in the road, but they were still in the way. I never had to worry about the speed limit. Whatever it was, I could never go that fast.

Eventually we made it to the M4 (what a relief to drive on a limited access highway!) and to the Tafarn y Deri (Tavern of the Oak). This was a tavern / restaurant / Bed & Breakfast in Llanedy, the village and parish where my Morgan ancestors lived until they emigrated in the 1870s. We greatly enjoyed Welsh ale (Brains was the brand name) and cockles & laverbread (shellfish and seaweed in a cream sauce, topped with cheese), and we slept well that night.

For pictures and more commentary, see the updated web pages at
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

Second Day in London

Monday, September 21, was my second day in London. Winston had to work, but Jennifer and I toured parts of London by bus and by boat, I had fish-and-chips and Guinness, and we "saw" the Prime Meridian at Greenwich. Another full and fun day. See pictures and more on the newly updated London & Wales web pages: http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

Blog bonus...We passed these bell ringers working hard in the dusk on our way to eat dinner:

First Day in London

With the travel and 5-hour time change, Sunday morning, Sep. 20, was just a continuation of Saturday. After I got into central London and joined Jennifer and Winston, however, it became a new day and so it gets its own blog entry.

We were all hungry so we got lunch first, at a pub just up the street. Then we got on the Tube and headed across central London to the British Museum. Winston had walked all around the area before, and (with the help of his iPhone GPS) was able to take us quickly the last few blocks to the Museum. The museum is massive, and we only hit some high spots.

Then we took the Tube to the London Eye (now the 3rd largest ferris wheel in the world) and finished up at an Italian restaurant near the hotel. London is a very international city, with all kinds of people and all kinds of restaurants, and we did our best to sample everything.

For more, including pictures, see the updated web site: http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

Blog bonus: What it's like to ride in the London Eye:

London & Wales: Travel Day(s)

Two weeks ago today, I left Tallahassee for London, via Atlanta and Amsterdam. I've started an illustrated chronicle of the trip on my web page. You can go directly to it at http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/LondonWales2009/LondonWalesHome.htm

On that page there are links to pages for each day of the trip. Most of the links aren't active yet, but the one for Saturday, September 19, is ready to go.

Geography lesson: The British Isles are shown below. All but Ireland are part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The main island on the right is Britain. England (in blue) and Wales (in tan) are part of Britain (and part of the UK), and London is the large city in England colored red.

Back Home from London and Wales

After 10 days of traveling by plane, train, subway, boat, bus, sidewalk, and rental car (and rental car on the sidewalk) I'm back home. I had a great time visiting with Jennifer and Winston in London, and with Jennifer visiting interesting places and meeting wonderful relatives in Wales. Much more to come in future posts.

Nebraska: Part 3 of 3

I spent much of my short visit to Nebraska helping Mom with some odd jobs. Here she is with a rubber tree plant I helped her prune and repot.


Monday night I went out with my sister Barb and her husband Mike ("Barb's Mike," not to be confused with "My Brother Mike.") We met at Granite City, which graciously provided the backdrop for the photo.


Here's Brother Mike with a portrait of our great-great grandfather, whose first two names were Michael James, and our great-great grandmother, whose first two names were Margaret Jane. It's not a coincidence that Mike and Mom have those names too.


It was a too-short but good visit, complete with early-fall cool weather. I'm already looking forward to my next trip back to Nebraska.

More from Nebraska: Uncle Roland & Aunt Jaccie

A week ago yesterday, we went to visit my Aunt Jaccie and Uncle Roland (my father's younger brother). Mom, my brother Mike, and I drove west from Lincoln and they drove east from Cambridge, and we met at a restaurant south of Grand Island. We had a very good lunch, only slightly marred by the realization that all five of us were considered "seniors" by the restaurant. At least we got a discount.

After lunch we relaxed in the lobby and traded stories about various relatives, health issues, old times, and the water level in the Republican River (yes, Nebraska tends to vote Republican, but the River was named after a branch of the Pawnee Indians called "The Republicans," before the political party even existed).

We always enjoy seeing them when we can, and enjoyed this visit too.

Back from Nebraska

I went to Lincoln a week ago yesterday, to visit my mother and other relatives. Among the relatives I got to see were my niece Latisha and her kids Kadijah, LaMonica, and LaCorian. The first night all were at Mom's house for dinner except Kadijah, who was busy elsewhere. My brother Mike was also there, but he and Mom didn't get into the picture.

Kadijah was able to come over the next evening, so my grand-nephew and grand-nieces could all be in the same picture. They've all grown up a lot since I saw them last year.

More on my visit in the next post.

Back On Line

Our Comcast Internet connection went out Tuesday morning, part of a wide-spread outage. Whatever that problem was, it was fixed by Wednesday evening...but our Internet connection still didn't work. I called Customer "Service" and they said they could have someone out Thursday, after 5 pm (when I would be home). The technician came much earlier in the day, was gone by the time I got home at 5, didn't fix anything, and "cancelled the appointment" because he couldn't get into the house.

I called Customer service again last night, and this time they only promised to get someone out "in the next 24 hours". I got 30 minutes notice this morning, missed an hour and a half of work, and now the Internet is working...but only from a temporary cable outlet on the main floor. At least I can carry my laptop around and do my email. They are supposed to complete the repair (by running a new line into the upstairs location) some time next week. We'll see.

Good News for Jennifer :^)

Jennifer's latest MRI was another good one, as all of them have been since August 20, 2004. That makes exactly 5 years of no change in her MRIs!

Jennifer Back Home

Jennifer just called to tell us she made it safely back to Virginia this evening. Considering the state of air travel these days, she had a good trip (nevermind the delays and dripping condensation in the cabin) and got there about when she was scheduled. We had a great visit, and are glad she was able to stay on after her high school reunion.

Belated Father's Day

Since Jennifer wasn't in Tallahassee on Father's Day in June, she made me a delicious Father's Day breakfast yesterday. She'll be leaving on Thursday, back to Virginia.

Fawn Sighting

Ursula and Jennifer saw a fawn in the yard this morning, and Ursula took this picture. The fawn was accompanied by three other deer, at least two of whom seemed to be adults. These were the first deer to make an appearance since Jennifer came to town for her high school reunion.

Really Cooking

Jennifer and her Oma have been cooking together this week, as Oma imparts her wisdom and Jennifer provides much of the labor. Okay, she's just getting a pickle out of a jar in this picture, but she's been cooking, too. Jennifer is staying on with us a couple of weeks, although Winston had to return to home and job.

Bald Cardinal

This unusual-looking bird arrived early this morning. I understand, that it's an ordinary male cardinal with mites. Apparently that's fairly common in hot and humid weather, and usually the bird just picks out the mites while grooming his feathers with his beak. Of course he can't reach his own head with his beak, and the feathers eventually fall out. Who knew a cardinal was so dark under his feathers? Makes you think about how unimportant a skin color really is.

Jennifer and Winston in Town

Jennifer and Winston arrived yesterday evening, and will be attending various festivities for the 10th Reunion of Jennifer's Leon High School Class of 1999. They joined us (above) for dinner at Ray's Steele City Saloon not far from our house.

Name That Bird

This pair of birds showed up at our feeder this afternoon. I'm assuming they are a male and female of the same species, as they arrived together, ate together, and left together. Looking at a variety of ID pictures, I can see only two that even resemble these: pyrrhuloxia and pine grosbeak, and neither should be anywhere near Tallahassee. Any suggestions?

Update on August 5: It's almost certainly a House Finch pair...the male is the red one. (Thanks to Jim Cox.)

Wildlife Photos on My Web Page

I've added a new section to my web page:
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com/Events/Wildlife/Wildlife.htm.

This page has a few pictures I've taken around our house, and I'll be adding both old and new photos to it.

Each small picture (thumbnail) is a link to a larger version of the picture. Just click on the small photo to get the large one, and then use your browser's BACK button to return to the original page.

So far I've posted yesterday's bird pictures and some new ones about a squirrel feeder that the squirrels have yet to discover.

Bird Pictures

Here are some pictures of recent visitors to our deck.

First: a Carolina Chickadee


...and a Carolina Wren.


Next: a Tufted Titmouse (I think). He's tilting his head away, so it's hard to see the crest on top of his head.


And, finally, a Tufted Titmouse and a Carolina Wren on the feeder at the same time. They do NOT like to share.

The Afternoon of a Fawn

This afternoon we saw not only the adult deer again, but a fawn as well. The prelude to this afternoon was several days before the 4th of July, when we first saw the spotted little fawn. I'm assuming it's the same one, but it's hard for me to tell one from another. This one definitely was bigger, but it could have grown. Both times the fawn has been too distant and too small (compared to the weeds) to get a decent picture. I'll keep trying.

Hungry Deer Video Clip

This deer is doing its best to keep the weeds next to our house under control.

Hummingbird at the New Feeder

Our old hummingbird feeder was a beautiful red globe, but the hummingbirds didn't like it as much as we did. Today we put up a more traditional model, and we've already had several visits.

Deer Are Back

The night of the 4th of July, some of our neighbors put on a long, loud, and illegal fireworks show. We didn't see any deer for a couple of days after that, and were a little afraid they had been scared far away. Not to worry. On Tuesday the 7th at least one of them happened by. I took this picture on Wednesday the 9th.

Austin Trip Highlights on the Web

I've compiled a little PDF booklet on my recent trip to Austin, with more text and photos than I posted on this blog a few days ago. It's on my web site at http://gordonRmorgan.com/, in the Chronicles section of the Events page.

Monica's Montessori Meanderings

Monica has her own blog, in which she is posting about her experiences at a summer training session for Montessori teachers. Her blog, Montessori Meanderings, also has an occasional item about other fun aspects of being in the New York City area for much of the summer. The blog address is http://montessorimonica.blogspot.com/ . You can also capitalize her name, to make it easier to remember and type: http://montessoriMonica.blogspot.com/ .

Back from Austin

I've been in Austin for a meeting of the Mobility Measurement in Urban Transportation working group. I also got to spend some time with Toby, who picked me up at the airport Sunday afternoon and treated me to a delicious homemade meal that he made from scratch. For lunch Monday, since we were on the University of Texas campus he suggested the Sao Paulo restaurant. I had never been to a Brazilian restaurant before, and the chicken in Brazilian cream sauce was delicious.

Monday morning I toured the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Monica had recommended it when we were in Austin in March, but we didn't have time for it then. The museum has three floors of exhibits and dozens of small areas where short films are shown to illustrate critical episodes in Texas history. It also has a 200-seat "Texas Spirit" theater in which the 15-minute film Star of Destiny is shown. The audience sees the images and also feels rain from above, smoke and wind from the sides, and vibrations from the seats. This star in front of the museum is a large sculpture, not just pasted onto the snapshot.

Our meeting hotel had this early evening view of downtown Austin from the 17th floor, facing west.

The weather was mostly hot, but not as humid as Tallahassee. The flights were uneventful, except for one strange thing: on the second leg coming home, from Charlotte to Tallahassee, there was an empty seat next to me! First time that's happened in a long time.

Recently Noticed Wildlife

Since we put a birdfeeder on the deck a few weeks ago, we've had a variety of feathered visitors: cardinals, Carolina chicadees, assorted wrens, tufted titmice (titmouses?), mourning doves, and--for a few days--some rose-breasted grosbeaks. There's a definite (excuse me) pecking order, as the cardinals chase away the smaller birds, and the bigger mourning doves strut in to displace the cardinals. The mourning doves are easier to photograph...instead of darting in to grab a few seeds quickly, they hang around like punks in front of a candy store, daring the other birds to try to eat.

Even the mourning doves fly away when the squirrels arrive, however, and the squirrels arrive often. They climb up and around the iron pole, grab the top of the bird feeder with their hind legs, and reach down to the seeds with their front legs. Watching them do this is mildly entertaining. Watching them scramble back up, around, down, and off through the air to the nearest tree is really fun.

At first they would run wildly away when they saw me approaching from inside the house, yards from the glass door. Gradually they learned I was no threat until I reached the door and started to open it. Now even that will only make them freeze and wait to see if I'll really come any closer.

But ALL of the little creatures disappear when the hawks arrive. A pair of them have been hanging around for more than a week now, and we haven't had to refill the bird feeder nearly as often.

We haven't seen one swoop down on a smaller bird or squirrel, but those creatures seem to consider it a distinct possibility. So far we've seen them perched on this tree stump (the remainder of the tree that fell on our house), or on the deck railing, or in a nearby tree, or soaring above the trees with a loud and annoying caw-caw-caw-caw as they go. They may be trying to establish their territory, because it sure isn't to attract their prey.

The largest of all of our visitors, the deer, seem oblivious to the screeching of the hawks and the disappearance of the birds and squirrels. They just keep munching on weeds, pausing every few seconds to jerk their heads up and stare at us. We stare back, unmoving, and the deer lose interest and continue munching. If accidentally walk near them (they're nearly invisible in the woods when not moving) they will hold completely still until they feel they need to leave and then they will bound away almost faster than we can turn to see them.

Monica in New York

Monica made it to New York safely today. Her flight from Tallahassee was delayed, but she made her connection in Charlotte and got to New York okay. She'll stay with friends for a few days before starting her Montessori training.

Enjoying Monica's visit

Monica has stopped off here on her way to summer Montessori training for teachers of infants and toddlers. Since Father's Day is only a week off, she served me a special breakfast.

She's also preparing for her course, catching up on her email, and visiting with us and her Oma.

ComCast Finally Fixed the Connection

We had been offline since Sunday. I gave up trying to fix it by checking cable connections and restarting the cable modem and called in the problem Monday afternoon, arranging for a ComCast technician to come over Tuesday. He finally figured out that the problem was "at the street" not in the house, and said "someone from maintenance" would be over within 24 hours to fix it.

Wednesday evening we called ComCast Maintenance to ask why no one had fixed it yet, and they said it would take up to a week (very complicated, lots of testing). I called ComCast Customer Service, and she said it should be fixed within a day--and she'd call me back as soon as she knew exactly when. Half an hour later she called back to say it would take up to ten days to fix it. When pressed about why it would take so long, she finally admitted the problem was that they had a backlog of maintenance work and it would take that long to get to me. I suggested they should employ more maintenance people, and she got snippy and said she didn't want to argue with me.

Late today, surprisingly, it's been fixed. I guess we got moved up in the queue by complaining. Lesson learned.

ComCast failure (posted by dial-up modem)

We've hit a snag in our on-line presence. ComCast has let our connection (at the street) deteriorate over a couple of days and our Internet connection has gone from sporadic to nonexistent. It took a day for a ComCast technician to find the location of the problem, and another day for us to find out that ComCast has no immediate plans to send anyone out to fix it. Apparently we're not first in line for repair work, and it could take as long as ten days to get someone out here.

We are NOT fans of ComCast, and are seriously considering switching to DSL, even though it's slower.

SPAM ALERT: Tagged.com

Ursula received some email today--supposedly from Shelley, a friend of hers--with the subject line "Shelley sent you photos on tagged". It turned out to be spam that sent a similar message to everyone in her address book. If you got a message "Ursula sent you photos on tagged" or anything like that, please DELETE it without opening it. Thanks, and sorry about that.

First Post

This is the first post to a new blog about Gordon & Ursula. We'll let you know what we've been up to, especially with regard to our daughters Jennifer and Monica, and their husbands Winston and Toby.

We're also moving our family web site to a new location:
http://www.gordonrmorgan.com
It's available now, and is similar to the one at the old location on nettally.com. I'm enhancing it, though, so be sure to go to the new address. Soon I'll be replacing the old one with a note reminding you to go to the new address.