August 15, 2011

The past few weeks sure have gone quickly. The biggest news is that I have officially bid adieu to Canada and settled into my new home in Cincinnati. The weeks leading up to my departure were filled with fun and exciting events. The more memorable include an evening on a riverboat cruise that toured the waterways separating Toronto’s islands, our last few rounds of Tuesday night trivia, a final “Twonie Tuesday” of fried pub fare and cheap beer at Einstein’s pub, a walk out to the Drake Hotel to see a thought provoking art installation by Gary Taxali, and a lovely Sunday afternoon at our friends’ very tasty vegetarian BBQ. Matt’s parents came to visit us just prior to our departure. We took advantage of the nice weather and see some of the Toronto highlights we haven’t visited in a long time. This included an afternoon at the Art Gallery of Ontario, dinner at Mill Street Brewery, and a great hike out on the islands. We also got to not only see a performance but also spend some time tinkering with some really neat locally created instruments called hydraulophones (a.k.a. water organs). I highly recommend checking these out online. They’re really neat. They sound a bit like an organ but they produce richer sounds. Making music on them is both a very peaceful and surreal experience.

Matt’s parents left and our final few days in Toronto were filled with moving preparations. After our seriously epic move to Toronto, we decided that we needed to hire movers to help us haul our stuff to Cincinnati. This definitely made things easier but not seamless. The movers came and took our mountains of boxes away. We then rearranged the remaining items to make our Toronto home elegant and stylish. We did this both to impress potential buyers, and to make Matt’s life as refined as possible this fall. Then we rented a car, packed it really full of stuff, and said goodbye to 38 Elm Street. I wasn’t too sad to leave. The management for our building has been taking measures to make life increasingly less pleasant over the past few months. This includes setting off unexplained alarms in the middle of the night, making our patio as uninviting and inaccessible as possible, and more than likely firing our favorite doorman (who works nights) from being too talkative with the residents. This is exactly why we DO like him. He’s great for many reasons, not the least of which is that he is very personable and he made me feel welcome in my building. I very much enjoyed his giant eyebrows that rise up about two inches whenever he smiles. Apparently the management prefers attendants that scowl or are absent from the desk. So unfortunate. Goodbye backwards condo land. I will not miss you.

We made good time leaving Toronto. Incredibly, construction was minimal and we spent almost no time at the border. Matt somehow picked the magic lane that went five times faster than the other 12 lanes. It’s about time! We have suffered through our fair share of border crossings.

The first stop on our great journey southward was Ithaca, New York. Thanks to a lucky set of coincidences, the timing of our move coincided with a summer wedding we wanted to attend.

We arrived in Ithaca and were very pleased to discover that our hotel was both quiet and very comfortable. We were situated at the far eastern end of town, near Cornell’s campus. We had picked the hotel forgetting that in addition to being “gorges” Ithaca is also very hilly. Our first evening, we decided to explore a bit. We found a safe pedestrian route into town and then proceeded to walk down, down down for about 40 minutes. We marveled the entire time that this town is in upstate New York, land of ice and snow. I have no idea how the residents deal with the town’s topography in the winter. Luckily, we were visiting during the summer. We made it downtown and enjoyed a really tasty dinner at Moosewood. We also enjoyed some very tasty “Cascazilla” beer brewed by the Ithaca Beer Company. Yum! We had planned to perhaps enjoy a fun Friday evening but the combination of several weeks of running around, moving, driving, and eating a big meal accompanied by beer shut us down early. We called the fantastic free shuttle service offered by the hotel and then wandered around the downtown commons waiting for a ride home. All in all, it was a great day.

Saturday we got up early and met our friends Brian, Barb and Paul for breakfast. Once again we made the trek down towards downtown, but thankfully we didn’t have to go all the way down the hill. We had a delightful breakfast at a little restaurant called “the carriage house” and then took Brian up on his offer to (1) Show us the venue of the wedding, and (2) Take us back to our hotel. After our tour, we bought sandwiches at the local grocery store and then spent several hours meandering about in the Cornell Plantations. It was hot but beautiful. We returned to the hotel, cleaned, up, again took advantage of the complimentary shuttle service, and got a drop off at the wedding, which was back in the plantations. Our friends, Mai and Craig, put together such a lovely ceremony. The wedding took place on a hill overlooking some ponds. There were large trees shading the guests from the sun and the weather was just perfect. After throwing rose petals at the departing couple, we made our way to the reception – which lasted 7 hours with an open bar! We walked back to our hotel from the reception, enjoying the warm night air and marveling at the stars. On the way, we spotted two cavorting skunks but they didn’t pay any attention to us and instead scuttled across the street. I took this as a good omen.

The weather remained pleasant for our final day in Ithaca. Matt and I hiked up the very lovely trail next to Buttermilk Falls, which is just south of Ithaca. We then cooled off by drinking some local Ithaca beer at the edge of Lake Cayuga, enjoying the geese and the evening air. We finalized the evening and the trip with an incredible Thai meal boasting local tofu. Yum yum yum.

And then we were back on the road. Our first stop was State College, Pennsylvania where Matt’s mother had a delectable lasagna waiting for us. After lunch we spent some time relaxing in her shady backyard and marveling at the beautiful fish in her pond. Then it was on to Murrysville, PA where we did a bit more packing and prepared to haul away a substantial percentage of the Weirauch’s home furnishings (an incredible act of generosity by Matt’s mom and dad). The movers came without a hitch and barely batted an eye at the heavy wood furniture and piano that they had to remove from the house. We were very impressed. After this successful morning, we were back on the road earlier than expected.

We arrived in Cincinnati late in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 3rd. We let ourselves in using a lock box on the door, and were in awe that not only had we made all the way to Cincinnati, but that we were actually standing inside our new home. The house was delightfully cool and welcoming and felt very much like a haven from the hot and sticky weather outside. Its charm continues to grow on me every day. We immediately explored the house from top to bottom. We had only been inside for 10 minutes in March and we wanted to see if we remembered things correctly. It turns out that the house is almost exactly as I remembered it, although my memory played a couple tricks on me, particularly in the basement. We were both a bit surprised to find a little wooden door in the basement that opens into an incredibly creepy crawl space. During the day, it isn’t so bad, but knowing this space is there will probably keep me out of the basement when I am here alone at night. Especially since some phantom made the alarm go off at the basement door for no apparent reason…

The neighborhood is as it should be – friendly and welcoming. What’s really great is that folks are still friendly even though our moving trucks removed cables from some houses. Apparently this is either normal or just not a big deal. Whew! The neighbors to our right, Kim and Jeff, were the first to make us feel at home. They brought us some cold beer when we first arrived, and some local ice cream and coffee cake a few days later. Last night we enjoyed a very pleasant BBQ out on their new deck. They seem like great people and it’s wonderful to have somebody to talk to. The neighborhood actually has a weekly wine and cheese/ potluck on Friday evenings. This is a great time to meet all sorts of interesting people, drink good wine, and eat great food. The group features an eclectic mix of good natured and fun people who have great stories to tell. It’s just amazing to be part of such a close-knit community. I love it. Matt and I have made a point of going both Fridays we have been here.

Making friends is easy when you are swept into a group of outgoing people. It also helps that my new colleagues are very warm and welcoming. I couldn’t be joining a nicer group of people. Moreover, Cincinnati has reunited me with an old friend. Cincinnati. Incredibly, I haven’t seen anyone from college since I graduated. It has been almost 10 years! However, times are changing. One of my good friends from Vassar, Audrey, lives in Cincinnati. We got a chance to catch up last week over a very tasty pizza and it was just wonderful. A lot has happened to both of us since we left Vassar but not enough that we couldn’t enjoy each other’s company. Audrey brought an assortment of photos from college and they made me laugh. I have my own stockpile of pictures to share and I am looking forward to spending more time with Audrey now that I am here.

Aside from food and wine, our time has been spent inviting a parade of people through our house. For the first week or so we had 3-5 visitors per day. These ranged from planned visits, such as house inspections and cable installations, to less expected visits by the duct repairman and the plumber. The best days were when we had very different people here at the same time. For example, the alarm serviceman and the plumber, or the movers and the cable guy. Fun! Another memorable moment – in order to direct our Toronto movers to my department and my lab, I had to ride in the cab of their semi truck. We got some stares as we drove through the neighborhood. Those trucks sit really high off the ground!

We are enjoying Cincinnati’s wildlife. Our first few nights we were delighted to see the season’s final fireflies. These don’t make it up to Toronto or out to California. The fireflies have now been replaced by cicadas and giant katydids that like to fly into the windows at night. Our first day here we put a hummingbird feeder on our back porch. It took a few days but I can now report that at least one hummingbird has figured out how to drink from the feeder. I think that we also saw an opossum run across the street last night. We have done a marginal amount of exploration around the area. We now know the streets near our house, we can get downtown, and we know how to get to useful stores such as Target and Meijer. We also know where the Hamilton County fairgrounds are. There are some very lovely parks near our house, both big and small. It will take a while to fully explore all of these. For now, we have satisfied ourselves with visits to Burnett Woods, which is situated at the end of our street, and Spring Grove Cemetery, which is reportedly one of the largest arboretums in the country. The difference between where we live now and where we lived in Toronto is huge. The pace of life here might not be any different, but it certainly feels more relaxing. Instead of sirens and horns we have cicadas and cardinals. We can also hear the trains at the nearby train yard when it’s quiet. Instead of a “concrete jungle”, a real jungle of very lush plants, including the biggest catalpa tree I have ever seen, surrounds our home. Most of these plants are very welcome, but some are quite invasive and need to be dealt with. Matt and I have therefore spent the past two Sundays attacking the back yard with loppers and a pickaxe. We have made great progress. Now we can actually walk around the side and the back of the house, and we can see where we might be able to put in a future vegetable garden (or possibly a patio).

For local culture, we followed up on a recommendation to check out a local band (the Pinstripes) that was performing at the Taft Museum of Art. This got us out of the house and gave us an excuse to navigate downtown. Both the band and the museum were worth the trip. We also tried to see a band play at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. During the summer the city puts on nightly free music concerts at the square. What a great idea. We went to see “Is What?” on Monday Jazz night. Sadly, just as the band was getting started, the sky opened up. Cincinnati gets some tremendous thunderstorms! Needless to say, the weather put an abrupt end to the show. We tried to hide under a tent with a bunch of other members of the audience, but once the wind started to blow not only rain but also water from the fountain into the tent, we decided to make a break back the car. I imagine that we’ll try checking out another show before Matt returns to Toronto, but it probably won’t be as memorable.

So, that’s my update. I’m enjoying my new home and I’m getting settled. The house feels pretty good so now it’s time to tackle my office and my lab. Perhaps unsurprisingly, time goes quickly. Sadly, Matt is only here for a few more days. Next weekend we return to Pittsburgh for our friend’s ninth annual Bocce Tournament. Then I return to Cincinnati alone. It’s ok though. I’ll only be here for another week and then I head off to India. I’m getting very excited about this upcoming trip and I am sure that my next letter to you will be filled with exciting adventures.

I hope that you are all doing well. Enjoy the remainder of summer. It’s beautiful out there!

Brooke