A cruise on the Sapphire Princess

Pauline Spencer of Gorham has just returned from an exciting trip to Alaska with Darrel and Betty Huff of Scarborough, and other Huff family members, including the Huffs’ daughter and son-in-law, Arthur and Amy Green and their daughter Victoria; son and daughter-in-law, Cheryl and Corey Huff of Florida, and Betty’s sister, Debbie Densmore of Saco.

They flew to Seattle, visiting the famous Space Needle while there. Then they sailed via the Inside Passage to Alaska, on the cruise ship Sapphire Princess. Polly described the ship as elegant.

They had stops in Victoria, British Columbia, visiting the government buildings there. The ship also stopped at three Alaskan ports, Ketchikan, Juneau (the Capital), and Skagway. Polly spoke of the thrill of seeing the gorgeous mountains as the ship sailed up the fjords.

While on the ship, Arthur and Amy observed their 10th wedding anniversary and took part in a ceremony, renewing their vows. The march was led by their young daughter, Victoria. The family members and Polly were all dressed up for the occasion.

Polly was very impressed with Alaska and would like to return to see more of it. It is a magnificent country. My cousin Betty Stearns and I had a memorable trip there, not a cruise, but traveling many miles by bus, continuously surrounded by mountains. We both would have loved to take that trip again, too.

More about Erich Korngold

I wrote last week that I would look up more about the composer whose songs were sung at last week’s concert at the Saco River Grange Hall.

I did not consult Grove’s Dictionary, but found good information about Korngold in both the Encyclopedia Britannica and Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Music.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born in Brunn, Austria-Hungary, May 29, 1897 and died in Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 29, 1957. As well as a composer, he was also a pianist. He is best-known for his film music and the opera, “Die Tote Stadt” (The Dead City).

A child prodigy, at age 11 he composed the ballet “Der Schneemann” (The Snowman), which caused a sensation at its first performance in Vienna (1910). He was still a teenager when his operas, “Der Ring des Polykrates” and “Violantz” were produced in Munich (1916). “Die Tote Stadt” (Hamburg, 1920), one of the most successful operas composed in the 20th century, brought him international attention. Korngold went to Hollywood in 1934 to write film music and won Academy Awards for the scores of “Anthony Adverse (1936) and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938). In 1975 “Die Tote Stadt” was successfully revived in New York City.

He became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in 1943. I read in Baker’s Dictionary that when Gustav Mahler heard Korngold play some of his music as a young boy, he kept repeating “Ein Genie,” “Ein Genie!”

He was labeled by some as “the new Mozart.”

More on the “March Of the Penguins”

We keep reading, in various newspapers, more references to the documentary we enjoyed, and wrote about last week.

The Boston Globe, in a column by Mark Feeney titled “For the Birds,” writes that “March of the Penguins” is the sleeper hit of the summer. So far it’s grossed more than $50 million in the United States. Its box-office success has made it the second highest-grossing French film in U.S. releases. (You didn’t know it was French? Morgan Freeman’s English narration was added for American audiences. Narrator and narration were different in the original, where actors spoke for the penguins).

Now I would like to hear and see the French version, but I’m afraid that my four years of high school French plus two more years of college French would not suffice to allow me to understand all the narration.

A part-rubber necklace for $195?

Last week I saw a Tiffany & Co. newspaper ad for a necklace, in sterling silver and black rubber, for $195, and a matching bracelet for $135. The picture showed mostly rubber, and silver only about 2 inches long at the front.

I think that jewelry would be very uncomfortable in warm weather, and also I was surprised that the famous store would be selling jewelry with that combination.

My hope would be all silver.

Recipe

I talked with Florence Day recently, who told me that she plans to try last week’s recipe for Pineapple Brownies. I’ve found another interesting brownie recipe in the Aug. 24 Boston Herald and plan to try that one, too. But instead of the cup of dried cherries called for, I plan to use a package I have on hand, called “Craisins,” and the package says “Sweetened Dried Cranberries” with a cherry flavor.

Glad’s Brownies

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

1-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter

2 cups of sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sifted flour

1 cup dried cherries

1-1/4 cups chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 13×9-inch pan. Melt the chocolate squares together with the butter. Cool it slightly and beat in the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour. Mix well, then add the cherries, walnuts and chocolate chunks or chips. Put the batter in the pan and bake for about 15 minutes.

Be careful not to overbake. Cool in the pan. Bakes a very generous 1-12 dozen.

I’m not familiar with chocolate chunks, but I shall use chocolate chips.