Update on renos and the History and Birth Day Things.

The living room

It's been a few days since my last post here. We've been trying to get most of our renos finished before our visitor arrives. Jo is heading down to Vancouver; an hour drive, a 2 hour ferry ride and then another 40 minutes of so and she'll be picking Fiona up at Vancouver International at noon. Then they'll be heading back and hoping to catch the 3 p.m. ferry back to the island. *fingers crossed*

Another view

So this past week, we've had our new floors installed, new carpeting in the upstairs hallway and the stairs and on Wed - Fri, Jay was here putting in the new baseboards and just trying to tidy things up. Friday, Jo and I went out and got a new rug for the living room. It's lovely and soft.

To the dining room

Friday evening and all day Saturday, Jo and I spent bringing back the furniture from the garage and wherever else we've been storing it; getting the visitor's bedroom tidied up and all those other things that needed touching up.

The new stairway carpet and front hallway

So the house is basically ready to accept visitors. I'll do a final walk through this afternoon and clean up outside a bit. The reno work isn't all done yet but most of the big stuff is done. We still have a bit of painting to finish off and we also have to finish Jo's office but that's going to wait until we finish entertaining. A nice little break, actually.

So now onto my other items.

Great Historical Events

My last post referenced a massacre in Massachusetts in 1704. Today's excerpts start with news of a post office.

"1710 - First colonial post-office in New York.

Massacre in North Carolina

1712. Indian massacre in North Carolina. One hundred and thirty-seven of the colonists killed at first attack. Assisted by South Carolina, the colonists make a general attack upon the Indians and defeat them with great slaughter, and drive them from the province. (Ed. Note. I'm not sure what to say except maybe that this was a great clash of cultures. Hard times for both.)
1713. Close of Queen Anne's war.
Slaves are transported to South Carolina, by British ships, in great numbers, to cultivate rice.
1718. Impost duties laid by Massachusetts on English manufactures and English ships.
1720. Tea first introduced to New England.
1721. Inoculation for small-pox introduced into N.E.
1722. Paper money first used in Pennsylvania.
1725. First newspaper in New York (N.Y. Gazette) published by Wm. Bradford. (Ed. Note. The first 'fake news' in North America?  ;0))
1732. Tobacco and corn made legal tender in Maryland."

Next entry will start with the birth of a famous American. Who? You'll have to wait.

Business Laws Briefly Stated

My last entry finished with mention of notes by minors... Moving on..

"A note obtained by fraud, or from a person in a state of intoxication, cannot be collected.
If the time of payment of a note is not named, it is payable on demand.
Value received should be written in a note, but, if not, it may be supplied by proof.
The payee should be named in a note unless payable to bearer.
The time of payment of a note must not depend on a contingency. The promise must be absolute."

I'll stop there. These business laws are too exciting to post too many at one time.

The Birth Day Thing - 10 November 1972

US Billboard #1 Single, 10 November 1972

I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash. Johnny Nash was an American singer - songwriter, born in 1940. He was one of the first non-Jamaican singers to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica. I Can See Clearly Now, which he wrote, was his most successful hit.

UK #1 Single, 10 November 1972

Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon. Lieutenant Pigeon was a novelty band from Coventry, England. Mouldy Old Dough was their only #1.

New York Times Fiction #1, 10 November 1972

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Jonathan Livingston Seagull was originally published in 1970. It's simply the story of a seagull named Jonathan and his life with the other seagulls, as he learns about life and flying.

By 1972, more than a million copies were in print, it had been condensed by Reader's Digest and it stayed at the top of the NY Times list for 38 weeks.

The book was also turned into a movie with a soundtrack by Neil Diamond. I'm sure I read the book, which I much preferred to the movie.






Pulitzer Prize Winner, 1972

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. I've never heard of this book. It tells the story of a wheelchair - bound historian, who has lost connection with his son and living family and decides to write about his frontier - era grandparents.

The story is based on letters by Mary Hallock Foote, later published as A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West.

Stegner lived from 1909 - 1993 and was a novelist, short story writer, historian and environmentalist.






Nobel Prize Laureate, 1972

Heinrich Boll (West Germany). Heinrich Boll lived from 1917 - 1985. His Nobel Prize was awarded 'for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature'.

Hugo Award Winner, 1972

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer. I've never read any of Farmer's stories. At least I don't think I have. I have however recently purchased one of his stories so I'm looking forward to giving him a try.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go is the first book in his Riverworld series, of which there were 5 novels.

Just checking his bibliography, he wrote a few books. Wow! I have Dare, a book he wrote in 1965 on my bookshelf to read.





Edgar Award Winner, 1972

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. I don't know that I've ever read the book, but I've seen both movies that were based on it and enjoyed them both very much.

The story is about a professional assassin hired by a French dissident paramilitary organisation to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle.

The movies were very tense and exciting. Even if I have read it before, I think I should read again sometime.






Man Booker Award Winner, 1972

G. by John Berger. John Berger was an English artist, novelist and poet who lived from 1926 - 2017.

G. was his 4th book and was set in pre-First World War Europe. It tells the story of G., a Don Juan - like lover of women who gradually comes to political awareness after a series of adventures in Europe.







So there you go the great year 1972. I'm not sure when I'll get my next entry done as we will have company for the next ten days or so. But I'll try to squeeze in one or two. Have a great week!!