September 16, 2022

This week as I thought about the volcanic action of Mount St. Helens and the agricultural and societal fallout - you never know if it's going to blow. I've always been fascinated by the tales of Mt. Fuji. Like many other high peaks, Mt. Fuji is also a dormant volcano.

The person who got me interested in Mt. Fuji was the founder of the El Tour in Tucson, Richard DeBernardis. In fact I just unexpectedly heard from Richard today. He's an old and favorite friend of mine. One of his favorite areas to bike are the roads around Mt. Fuji. Your not going to go all the way up to the top, like on Mt. Lemmon, but you have a choice several routes that take you to breathtaking vistas. Fuji is a climb that I hope to hike up one day, but I really want to bike it, as I know some of you have already done.

From: Britannica.com, By: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Mount Fuji, Japanese Fuji-san, also spelled Fujisan, also called Fujiyama or Fuji no Yama, highest mountain in Japan. It rises to 12,388 feet (3,776 metres) near the Pacific Ocean coast in Yamanashi and Shizuoka ken (prefectures) of central Honshu, about 60 miles (100 km) west of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area. It is a volcano that has been dormant since its last eruption, in 1707, but is still generally classified as active by geologists. The mountain is the major feature of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park (1936), and it is at the centre of a UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 2013.

Mount Fuji, with its graceful conical form, has become famous throughout the world and is considered the sacred symbol of Japan. Among Japanese there is a sense of personal identification with the mountain, and each summer thousands of Japanese climb to the shrine on its peak. Its image has been reproduced countless times in Japanese art, perhaps no more famously than in the series of woodblock prints Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai, which were originally published between 1826 and 1833.

One of the only rides that includes both professional and amateur riders El Tour de Tucson brings tourists and economic benefits to Tucson, as well as generating a great deal of money for Charities. This year will be the 39th running of El Tour de Tucson and includes rides for all levels of cyclists.

From: eltourdetucson.org

El Tour de Tucson is Perimeter Bicycling’s flagship event and one of the largest bicycling events in America. Held annually the Saturday before Thanksgiving, El Tour attracts over 6,000 cyclists of all ages and abilities from around the United States and beyond. Since 2005, El Tour’s finish line/annual Downtown Fiesta, brings together cyclists and members of the greater Tucson community for a celebration of charities, community, health and fitness.

As we head into the 39th anniversary of El Tour de Tucson, Perimeter Bicycling wants to emphasize all components are catalysts in driving it to help raise money for more than 100 nonprofits throughout the year.

El Tour de Tucson enables nonprofit, charitable agencies to raise funds for their respective organizations.

Photo: Getty Images

From: BBC Good Food, By: Jo Lewin - Registered Nutritionist

What is Cinnamon?

A favourite household spice, cinnamon was once traded as currency. The spice has a pleasant flavour and warm smell, making it popular in cooking, especially in sweet bakes and savoury curries.

Derived from the inner bark of a small evergreen tree, the bark is peeled and laid in the sun to dry, where it curls into rolls known as cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon is also available in powdered form.

From: The Spruce Eats, By: Bethany Moncel, August 3, 2022

Nutmeg is a spice made from the seed of the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragrant), a native Indonesian evergreen tree that is the source of two popular spices: nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg is the inner seed, while mace is the red, lace-like substance that covers the seed. Nutmeg is a quintessential autumn spice, frequently found in fall desserts and beverages. It can also be used in savory dishes, such as butternut squash soup, and pairs well with cream- or cheese-based recipes like a vegetable gratin.

By Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen - List of Koehler Images, Public Domain, Link

My grandmother cooked with Allspice and until recently I thought it was a combination of other spices, but Allspice is in fact made from one plant.

From: Wikipeadia 

Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world. The name allspice was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who valued it as a spice that combined the flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.

Several unrelated fragrant shrubs are called "Carolina allspice" (Calycanthus floridus), "Japanese allspice" (Chimonanthus praecox), or "wild allspice" (Lindera benzoin).

Photo: Parker Feirbach

From: delish.com, By: Mackenzie Filson, July 21, 2022

Baking up a bunch of cozy desserts is the point of fall, isn't it? Now that the temperatures are safely nearing sweater weather, we're more than ready to pre-heat the oven to bake up pumpkin pies, honey cake, maple butter blondies, and French apple tarts. All of these autumnal treats fully have our attention, especially since they're packed with our favorite fall flavors like pumpkin, maple, apple, and cinnamon.

Not the biggest fan of all the pumpkin-spiced craziness? We get it. It's a lot! Luckily, we've got plenty of festive fall treats with no pumpkin in sight. Personally, there's nothing more cozy than making a batch of walnut and pistachio baklava, spicy biscochitos, or caramel-y alfajores. Our copycat Starbucks Cranberry bliss bars, sweet potato bread, and apple dumplings will be sure to help you celebrate the changing seasons.

From: Healthline.com

To say that walnuts are a nutritious food is a bit of an understatement.

Walnuts provide healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals — and that’s just the beginning of how they may support your health.

In fact, there’s so much interest in this one nut that for the past 50 years, scientists and industry experts have gathered annually at the University of California, Davis, for a walnut conference discussing the latest walnut health research.

The most common variety of walnut is the English walnut, which is also the most studied type.

Here are 13 science-based health benefits of walnuts.

Our deep dive today is about patients. When we are patient we can prevent our exiting attitudes from getting in the way. If we hold back and avoid reactivity we can keep a clear perspective and accept situations on their own merits. This is a lesson that I've learned with the guidance of our deep dive guru Haywood Fox. Don't hesitate to give Haywood a shout out, he has a big heart and welcomes all.

Consider attitudes as seen in judgements and opinions. We frequently misidentify these outlooks and consider them the truth. We defend our outlook and belief as though our self-survival depended upon it. In order to consider a more fluid and flexible way of knowing, we might recognize all attitude as merely positions. If an attitude were not a personal identity, it need not be sustained.

I loved hopscotch, we played it on the playground, and neighborhood sidewalks. We never realized that we were doing both a physical and cognitive exercise, improving our balance and math skills at the same time. We were just having fun.

From: Horizon Education Centers, By: David Smith, August 17, 2016

When we say that hopscotch is an old-fashioned form of fun, we aren’t kidding. Some experts believe it was created back in Ancient Rome, if you can imagine that. One group suggests that Roman soldiers participated in the activity on 100-foot-long hopscotch courses, dressed in heavy armor, to build endurance. Others believe that the modern game comes from an earlier version played by Roman children.

Meanwhile, Wikipedia states that this game was first mentioned in print in English more than 300 years ago, although it was usually called “scotch-hop” or “scotch-hopper.” No matter how and when this game was invented, it has clearly stood the test of time and can still be enjoyed by young children today.

From: Wikipedia

Hopscotch is attested c.1200 to 600–500 BCE from the Painted Grey ware era of prehistoric India, it is also listed among the games prohibited by Buddha. It is attested that an ancient form of hopscotch was played by Roman children and soldiers, but the first recorded references to the game in the English-speaking world date to the late seventeenth century, usually under the name "scotch-hop" or "scotch-hopper(s)". A manuscript Book of Games compiled between 1635 and 1672 by Francis Willughby refers to 'Scotch Hopper‥. They play with a piece of tile or a little flat piece of lead, upon a boarded floor, or any area divided into oblong figures like boards'. In Poor Robin's Almanack for 1677, the game is referred to as "Scotch-hoppers". The entry states, "The time when schoolboys should play at Scotch-hoppers." The 1707 edition of Poor Robin's Almanack includes the following phrase… "Lawyers and Physicians have little to do this month, so they may (if they will) play at Scotch-hoppers." In 1828, Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language also referred to the game as 'Scotch-hopper' ... 'a play in which boys hop over scotches and lines in the ground.'

In the last seven days I've been to see four operas, one in Budapest and three more at the Vienna State Operahouse. I can't believe that I was so lucky to see Les Contes D'Hoffmann, The Magic Flute, Carmen, and La Bohème all in the course of a week. I think most of my life I never gave opera the credit it deserved, as I've matured it has become more meaningful to me. When I walked into these two of many famous opera houses, I expected to see a traditional opera, but what I saw each time was a new take on a classic story. In the avant-garde production of Les Contes D'Hoffmann some performers wore leather miniskirts or had hair dyed in bright colors. Even though it was three takes on the same classic love story, each came across as a new and fresh tale from an unexpected perspective. What I leaned is that there is traditional opera, but there is also room for contemporary and even avant-garde interpretations of classical works. The presentation can change with time, but in the end, Opera still speaks to the eternal human story. Life is about love.

From: Wiener Staatsoper

Wiener Staatsoper is one of the leading opera houses in the world. Its past is steeped in tradition. Its present is alive with richly varied performances and events. Each season, the schedule features 350 performances of more than 60 different operas and ballets. Every night, you can witness world-class artists alongside the permanent ensemble members on the stage and at the conductor’s desk, accompanied by a unique orchestra: the orchestra of Wiener Staatsoper, whose members at the same time make up the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

From: Wiener Staatsoper

Under the command of their corporal Moralès, soldiers are on guard duty outside a cigarette factory in the South of Spain. Micaëla, a young woman from the Basque region, is looking for a man she grew up with, Don José. He is not on duty. When the soldiers start to scare her making strong advances, she runs away.

After the changing of the guard, as José goes on duty, the cigarette factory employees take a long break. The female workers enter the square – watched enthusiastically by the men. The woman most eagerly awaited is Carmen. She arrives and sings a song about the unpredictability and uncontrollability of love. At the end, she throws a flower to JoséWie

From: Opera on Tap

This year, we are offering a similar experience, albeit without our beloved playground. Students will use technology, imagination, and everyday items to bring to life one of the world’s most famous stories, Cinderella! This class, which lasts for about two hours, will teach the basics of music-making, set designing, dancing, marketing, and costume making, all within the confines of your home! Our wonderful Teaching Artists (TA’s) will align without pre-recorded episodes, and assist your children with making an Opera come to life! By the time they have finished with our seven-session program, your child will have learned the many facets it takes to bring an opera to life!

*AND at the end of each session their art work will be integrated into a customized opera film production alongside our professional performers for you and your family and friends to enjoy! What an amazing achievement!

From: Tucson Symphony Orchestra

A fun family experience for everybody. Filled with discovery and storytelling, our interactive ensemble concerts entertain, engage and educate our youngest listeners.

Saturdays at 10:00 & 11:15 a.m.

Tucson Symphony Center, 2175 N. Sixth Ave.

Free admission (recommended donation $3 per person)

Let's look at Giselle Aubrey, who we last saw serenading Tucson's own Linda Ronstadt. This week we wanted to update you to her next performance for Los Tigres del Norte at the Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater in Tucson, AZ. Her father Eric is a dear friend and metal works designer who has done work for our family as well as wrought iron work for The Inn at Hacienda del Sol in Tucson. Let's give him some credit for also raising some truly fantastic children.

Beth was in Fisterra, Spain. Once one of the old end of the earth points for Western Europe. Fisterra is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Fisterra. Fisterra is on Cape Finisterre, the destination for many pilgrims on the Way of St. James, or Camino de Santiago, Pilgrimage.

Poised, pensive, and dedicated to her country, her family, and the citizens of the crown. No royal man or woman has served longer! 

Keep Your Chin Up

and Roll with the Punches.