Life and Times of an English Language Doctor

Have you ever heard of quince?  My knowledge of the fruit was limited to an Edward Lear poem  that I read as a child about an owl and a pussy cat that "dined on mince and slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon." At the botanical gardens, we saw some quince. I think I took a picture then, as well, but it wasn't quite in season yet. Now it is in season. A friend of mine from church has a quince tree in her garden. Last week, she gave me one to try. I peeled it, cut it, as she suggested.  She warned me that there might be some "tenants" and that I should cut them soon.  Because the fruit it pretty hard, she suggested boiling it. She probably did not mean for me to forget about the boiling pot until all the water was boiled off, but I did. It wasn't totally burned and I was able to remove the burned parts and make the rest into a very delicious dish like apple sauce. On Wednesday, she gave me some more, which boiled over because I put in too much...

On my walk today, I went the park by the riverside.In August on one of my walks, I had discovered a boardwalk that went back to the river, but did not take it all the way to the end. I turned around and took the paths that I knew. I haven't been back to the boardwalk from the streetside because of construction. I wondered if one of the riverside paths through the park might go there, so today, I set out to find out. As you may have surmised from the picture, it did. When I got to the street, however, I had to turn around and go back or find a way to hop over a hole that was 8 feet deep and six feet across. This time, I turned around at the street and walked back to the river.     On my way back, I was in a mood to explore and, thinking of Robert Frost's poem about two roads diverging in the wilderness, I took the one less traveled by. I discovered there was a reason it was less traveled by; it didn't go anywhere. I returned to broad path and found a second narrow pathway. T...

 In my blog about   COVID  earlier this month, I told of all the precautions being taken by my church.  The next day, I received a message from the secretary that beginning October 5, all faculty, staff, and students would be required to wear masks inside the university buildings. That makes classes a little challenging as I feel that I need to project more and it is really difficult to hear some of the more soft-spoken students. Last week in church, the pastor said that beginning this Sunday, October 17, we will be required to wear masks at church.  Our fellowship after church will have no food or drink.  Last Sunday (October 10) , we met inside for our fellowship rather than outside in the courtyard because it was too cold to stand around outside to visit. One of my friends who keeps me abreast of the happenings in Hungary, such as the number of COVID patients on ventillators jumping from 14 to 100, gave me some pointers about shopping for coats and ...

 I explored a new area on Sunday. Enjoy a virtual walk with me.

 This morning after communion, the pastor gave us a rundown of the church's response to preventing a further outbreak of COVID. If we want to wear a mask, we can; if we have a sore throat, we are encouraged to wear one. If sick, it is best to stay home. The church building will be warmed up before the service so that when we are there, we can open the windows for ventillation. We will continue to have our fellowship after the service, but there will be no cookies or snacks, only drinks.  Our services are streamed, but we will continue to meet face to face as long as it is safe.  The pastor will let us know of any changes. At school, as far as I know, we continue to meet in person. All but one of the international students has arrived in Hungary and the one who has not yet come seems to have no internet access, so all my students are in class. Some have missed class due to illness, but at the moment, we are trying not to think about lockdowns. The rector of the university ...