No, I'm not talking about religion. I'm talking about Kendal's fine maintenance service! At dawn today, March 27, Easter Sunday, our cozy cottage felt as cool as a cucumber. Sure enough, the programmable thermostat was calling for 72 degrees but it was reading only 63. And our normally very reliable furnace wasn't coming on.
I opened the circuit breaker panel cover and found that the furnace breaker was still engaged. It hadn't tripped. Nevertheless, defying logic, I turned it off and turned it back on again. The inducer blower came to life. Aha! Then 30 seconds later it went off. Awww…
I called the after hours maintenance number. Greg answered and I told him the problem. He came right over, looked over the situation, and played with the inducer blower a bit. That's the safety device that makes sure the furnace vent is working so combustion exhaust gases go up the flue and carbon monoxide doesn't come into the cottage. Greg got it working, got the furnace to come on, and said he'd go check to see if they had a spare replacement for the blower. Meanwhile the cottage rapidly heated up to temperature.
A few minutes later Greg returned with a new spare part in hand. He deftly proceeded to remove the old inducer blower, replaced it, tested its operation, and declared it working fine. Maybe it was 10 minutes, not more. And he left, with thanks for a great job. And my wife and I said to ourselves, if we were living at our former residence and the furnace wouldn't start on Easter morning, would we have a prayer of a chance of getting it going before Monday? We are SO glad we live at Kendal, where small inconveniences like this are taken care of quickly and competently, thanks to the well-trained and very able maintenance staff.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Music of the Season
On Tuesday evening, March 15, the Vintage Voices entertained at Kendal. A fine community chorus composed largely of Granville seniors and noted locally for appearing at holiday celebrations, the Voices were bringing their Easter program to Kendal. The group was introduced by Teddy Westlake, a former conductor of the Voices and a resident of Kendal. Their annual concert here is much anticipated, and this year performance was, as expected, beautiful.
The program included several numbers that were unknown to me – pieces that were moving and dramatic. It was a mark of the strength of the chorus that at least a half dozen singers had solo opportunities. The highlight for many in the audience was undoubtedly the world premier of a new sacred piece by regional composer Cliff Davis who – no coincidence here – is known to many Kendal folks as the son of Kendal resident Irmagene Davis. It is a work that deserves wider and frequent hearings. When the concert ended with a vigorous performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah, the dazzled audience signaled its appreciation with an explosion of applause. The appearance of the Village Voices on the Amelia Room stage was yet another sign of the vitality of musical programing at Kendal.
The program included several numbers that were unknown to me – pieces that were moving and dramatic. It was a mark of the strength of the chorus that at least a half dozen singers had solo opportunities. The highlight for many in the audience was undoubtedly the world premier of a new sacred piece by regional composer Cliff Davis who – no coincidence here – is known to many Kendal folks as the son of Kendal resident Irmagene Davis. It is a work that deserves wider and frequent hearings. When the concert ended with a vigorous performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah, the dazzled audience signaled its appreciation with an explosion of applause. The appearance of the Village Voices on the Amelia Room stage was yet another sign of the vitality of musical programing at Kendal.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Kendal University – Yes, Really
As home to Denison University, Granville is a college town. The residents of Kendal at Granville have long benefited from the advantages of living in proximity to one of the country’s finest liberal arts college. But the first two months of 2016 have demonstrated yet again that Kendal all by itself itself is a center of education, and the breadth of its curriculum is authentically impressive.
I was prompted to think about this point when the marketing department invited two other residents and me to give lunchtime presentations on subjects dear to our hearts, as part of a once-a-week lecture series. This three-week program was dubbed “Kendal University,” and participants from the priority list could earn a “degree” by attending all of them. All three of us presenters were retired professors, and we chose topics that were at once dear to our hearts and close to our scholarly interests. I drew on my interest in British history to speak on “Brexit,” the short code term for the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union. David Skeen, a professor of psychology in an earlier life, spoke on the reasons some people are happier than others and how we might work to bring more happiness into our own lives. Susan Richardson, a literary scholar and author, spoke about her experience with the editing of Tuyo Suyemoto’s I Call to Remembrance, her memoirs of her internship during much of World War II.
I confess that , yes, “Kendal University” was a somewhat cute-sy term for the series. But it was also apt. And in fact – and this is my broader point – it is not inapt as a description of the entire Kendal at Granville experience, at least for residents who remain curious about the world we all live in. As proof of the claim, I give you the calendar of educational events for January and February, which reveals the flow of academic opportunities that have been available to residents since the beginning of the new year.
When the long holiday season receded, we launched our second semester here on January 19 with a history presentation, as lifelong Roosevelt scholar Dick Lucier spoke on “FDR and the New Deal: What Was It and Why Did He Succeed?” The very next evening David Baker, an award-winning poet at Denison, delivered readings from his his latest book of poetry, featuring “nature or environmental poetry with kind of a political edge to it.” On the 25th the Diversity Book Club discussed Debbie Irving’s Waking Up White, a much-acclaimed examination of her long journey to awareness of the place of race in American society.
The pattern continued in February. On the 10th Alan Miller, the new editor of the Columbus Dispatch, spoke about the general challenges facing journalism in the country today and the specific challenges facing the Dispatch, the state’s best and most ambitious newspaper. For this subject we could not have had a more front-line speaker. On the 23rd the acclaimed string quartet ETHYL, currently in the second year of a three-year stint as artists in residence at Denison, presented a concert of twenty- and twenty-first century music from a variety of countries and culture. On February 29 Marilyn Donahue, a docent at the recently reopened and expanded Columbus Museum of Art, talked about the museum’s history, its collection, and its plans for wider community engagement. In short, across the first two months of 2016 Kendal sponsored presentations in six different academic disciplines: history, politics, journalism, literature, psychology, and music. Kendal at Granville is truly a university for seniors.
And looking just beyond the Kendal campus, there was more to be found. The Lifelong Learning Institute, which holds classes around Licking County, offered a varied set of courses in January and February, among them “Human Trafficking: Modern-Day Slavery,” “Lake Erie: Critical Issues,” “Music Music Music: From the Fundamentals and How to Read Music, to the Trends,” and “Beginning Genealogical Research.” Meanwhile, for those who like theater, the two months offered nearby performances of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Richard II.
Finally, for those who enjoy getting into a college classroom with real live undergrads, there are Denison courses galore available to Kendal residents. Just offhand I know of residents in at least two of them this semester: Medieval History and Modern East Asian History. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t add at this point that across the past eight years – and this will be a very incomplete list – I know of residents who have sat in on Denison courses in economics, English, geology, German, music theory, philosophy, religion, and studio art.)
The facts speak very much for themselves. Kendal residents have a wide range of opportunities to expose themselves to educational encounters. Perhaps it goes without saying then that at Kendal we pride ourselves on our lively minds.
I was prompted to think about this point when the marketing department invited two other residents and me to give lunchtime presentations on subjects dear to our hearts, as part of a once-a-week lecture series. This three-week program was dubbed “Kendal University,” and participants from the priority list could earn a “degree” by attending all of them. All three of us presenters were retired professors, and we chose topics that were at once dear to our hearts and close to our scholarly interests. I drew on my interest in British history to speak on “Brexit,” the short code term for the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union. David Skeen, a professor of psychology in an earlier life, spoke on the reasons some people are happier than others and how we might work to bring more happiness into our own lives. Susan Richardson, a literary scholar and author, spoke about her experience with the editing of Tuyo Suyemoto’s I Call to Remembrance, her memoirs of her internship during much of World War II.
I confess that , yes, “Kendal University” was a somewhat cute-sy term for the series. But it was also apt. And in fact – and this is my broader point – it is not inapt as a description of the entire Kendal at Granville experience, at least for residents who remain curious about the world we all live in. As proof of the claim, I give you the calendar of educational events for January and February, which reveals the flow of academic opportunities that have been available to residents since the beginning of the new year.
When the long holiday season receded, we launched our second semester here on January 19 with a history presentation, as lifelong Roosevelt scholar Dick Lucier spoke on “FDR and the New Deal: What Was It and Why Did He Succeed?” The very next evening David Baker, an award-winning poet at Denison, delivered readings from his his latest book of poetry, featuring “nature or environmental poetry with kind of a political edge to it.” On the 25th the Diversity Book Club discussed Debbie Irving’s Waking Up White, a much-acclaimed examination of her long journey to awareness of the place of race in American society.
The pattern continued in February. On the 10th Alan Miller, the new editor of the Columbus Dispatch, spoke about the general challenges facing journalism in the country today and the specific challenges facing the Dispatch, the state’s best and most ambitious newspaper. For this subject we could not have had a more front-line speaker. On the 23rd the acclaimed string quartet ETHYL, currently in the second year of a three-year stint as artists in residence at Denison, presented a concert of twenty- and twenty-first century music from a variety of countries and culture. On February 29 Marilyn Donahue, a docent at the recently reopened and expanded Columbus Museum of Art, talked about the museum’s history, its collection, and its plans for wider community engagement. In short, across the first two months of 2016 Kendal sponsored presentations in six different academic disciplines: history, politics, journalism, literature, psychology, and music. Kendal at Granville is truly a university for seniors.
And looking just beyond the Kendal campus, there was more to be found. The Lifelong Learning Institute, which holds classes around Licking County, offered a varied set of courses in January and February, among them “Human Trafficking: Modern-Day Slavery,” “Lake Erie: Critical Issues,” “Music Music Music: From the Fundamentals and How to Read Music, to the Trends,” and “Beginning Genealogical Research.” Meanwhile, for those who like theater, the two months offered nearby performances of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Richard II.
Finally, for those who enjoy getting into a college classroom with real live undergrads, there are Denison courses galore available to Kendal residents. Just offhand I know of residents in at least two of them this semester: Medieval History and Modern East Asian History. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t add at this point that across the past eight years – and this will be a very incomplete list – I know of residents who have sat in on Denison courses in economics, English, geology, German, music theory, philosophy, religion, and studio art.)
The facts speak very much for themselves. Kendal residents have a wide range of opportunities to expose themselves to educational encounters. Perhaps it goes without saying then that at Kendal we pride ourselves on our lively minds.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
C'mon, Spring!
February
has come and gone. Winter has been fairly mild this year, with only
one serious snowfall and that was a mere 4 inches! The temperatures
have dipped to single digits, but not below and not for long. We've
not worn boots or parkas all that much, in fact. Maybe we'll pay for
this in July and August, but for now we're okay with a mild winter!
With
March here our thoughts are definitely aiming at spring. Those who
are into gardening are anxious to get outside and start to do their
activity. At Kendal at Granville, the outer perimeter of 6-8 feet
around our cottage, villa, and apartment, is pretty much ours to do
what we want in terms of landscaping and gardening. If we want to
tend roses, mums, and daffodils, we can do that. If we want to plant
corn and soybeans...well, not many of us do!
I'm
not a gardener. I learned my lesson early when my father tried it and
ended up providing a banquet for the squirrels and rabbits. I prefer
to have a professional landscaper create a nice appearance to our
cottage with creative and elegant plantings which are not expensive,
require minimal maintenance, and don't appeal to the local wildlife.
I'm a fan of hostas and day lilies and they look good outside our
patio.
Speaking
of patios, each cottage, villa, and apartment comes with one. Most
are enclosed “three season rooms” and ours is a lovely, carpeted
room, about 10 by 10 feet, which we can use whenever the outside
temperature is above 50 F, with the help of a small space heater. The
room is all glass on two sides, with three sliding doors that can be
opened in warm weather (protected by screens), and it faces the woods
in back of our cottage. It contains two lounge chairs, two rocking
chairs, a bookshelf for my wife's library of knitting books, and a
sewing cabinet with leaves that fold down. There's a lamp on the
cabinet, an overhead lamp on the ceiling fan, a wall sconce, and her
high-intensity lamp for knitting. It's our favorite place to sit and
relax, enjoy happy hour or a meal, watch the birds in the trees, and
see an occasional resident walk by on the paved path between our
cottage and the woods.
We
got a fleeting taste of the patio last week, after a long hiatus of
not being able to use it since November. We had a warm Sunday and it
was really nice to have one day when it was comfortable on the patio.
The woods are still bare and the grass is still brown, but the sky
was blue. This one day of warm weather, teasing though it was, was
enough to revive our spirits in anticipation of a great spring season
ahead!
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