Kept Light » Family

Cleveland Memories – Part 2

A. Cemal Ekin — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:45:47 +0000

On our wedding anniversary, May 20, Suleyman and Tuba took us to a special restaurant, Pier W on Lake Erie. We watched the vista from the observation deck before going downstairs. The very large lake gives the impression of open sea with nothing visible on the “other side.” On the side where we were and further down on the right we could see the skyline of downtown Cleveland. The dinner was very enjoyable with our friends and we learned that they came to the same restaurant on their first anniversary. That made is even more special for us.

Anniversary Dinner (1:55)

On the way to Pier W, Suleyman drove through the parks that surround the city. We saw the well kept parks, the gorgeous homes along the road, bikers, walkers, all enjoying the miles and miles of nature and city intertwined.

Drive Through the Parks and Towns (2:27)

That Saturday Aysun’s senior prom took place. Tuba wanted to take some photographs of her and her boyfriend and we planned to meet them in one of the parks in downtown Cleveland. The video below shows that photo shoot and how the geese and goslings stole the attention towards the end of the session.

Prom Picture Taking and a Few Geese (4:23)

That evening we were invited to Reismans for dinner. Leaving the park in the city we drove to their house. Like many houses, the Reisman’s house was a very good looking one, made even more interesting with Arnie’s creative art in and around the house in the garden. It was a grand time with lots of conversation, wine, food, and viewing Arnie’s work up close.

Dinner at the Reismans (6:11)

Cleveland Memories

A. Cemal Ekin — Fri, 28 May 2010 02:29:47 +0000

We had a grand time in Cleveland with Tuba, Suleyman, Seda, and Aysun. The following video clips will give you a sense of what we saw; I will provide only brief descriptions before each. They vary in length from 5-6 minutes to 20-30 minutes.

Suleyman and Tuba live in a very nice house with a huge garden that extends to the woods on one side and to the well-kept street on the other. This video clip shows the backyard, the street, the front yard, and the walkway that connects all together.

Villa Gokoglu (4:43)

The Cleveland Clinic has a dominant presence in the city. Many buildings of the clinic are peppered around the city. We approached this one, straight ahead in the opening of the video as we drove around town. It had a very interesting, and very large water fountain, nay a modern water sculpture, of which you will catch a glimpse towards the end of the short video.

Cleveland clinic (0:52)

Continuing on our drive we came to the museum circle along which several museums, a botanical garden, and a spacious park greet the visitors.

The Museum Circle (3:25)

Abrash Gallerie is an eclectic store that offers items for home decoration from fine rugs and kilims to carved wood items to personal wearables. Located at the corner of Cedar-Lee with a bright interior, Abrash will not disappoint.

Abrash Gallerie (2:48)

More to come …

Cleveland

A. Cemal Ekin — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:54:39 +0000

We have been with our dear friends Suleyman and Tuba since Wednesday evening. Jan and I arrived on separate flights from Providence and Salt Lake City in the afternoon, Suleyman picked us up from the airport and we came to their lovely home. Their backyard extends into the woods with chipmunks, birds, and deer. Although we have not seen the deer we have seen the damage they do to Tuba’s plants outside.

The next day, May 20, Tuba and Suleyman took us to Pier W, a restaurant on the lake for our anniversary. The view was gorgeous with the city skyline behind. The observation platform you will see in the photographs is actually the roof of the restaurant. After watching the vista and taking a few photographs we went downstairs and enjoyed an excellent dinner.

Cleveland is a beautiful city with many museums, concert venues, and parks that seem to stretch for miles and miles. It leaves a very positive impression on the visitors with gorgeous homes, clean streets, well-maintained yards. There is a strong architectural presence from homes to skyscrapers, from overhead walkways to old theaters. Our positive experience was certainly due to a large extent to our friends Suleyman and Tuba and their welcoming home. We are enjoying our visit immensely.

[Show as slideshow]

Water, water everywhere

A. Cemal Ekin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:46:23 +0000

Yesterday started like the day before, the pump cycling every so often and doing a yeoman job of keeping up with the water in the sump area despite its age, probably 30 years old. The rising water pushed through the floor and the carpet on the finished side showed wet footprints. The furnace depression had accumulated water and we shut the furnace off. Then, around 8:30 am or thereabouts, we lost power in most of Warwick: no pump! Within 30 minutes the water started rising from the sump area on to the floor. The pictures below show the basement before it was totally flooded and when it was beginning to receive more water.

[Show as slideshow]

Around 12:15 PM

The water now totally covered the area all the way to the far corners of the basement. The still water created some kind of a surreal mirror image of the few things resting in it. The power did not return until around 1:30 pm or so. Then “The Little Pump That Could” started pumping out water for a couple of hours and managed to get the floor mostly free of water. But the carpet and the other items that got soaked are damaged already.

We went out about 4:00 pm to see the raging Pawtuxet River to take some photograph, eat some supper and return. I will post some photograph from that late afternoon later on. ServPro disaster response company rep came to look at the situation at 7:00 pm. The plan is for them to come today, April 3, 2010, suck as much water from the carpet before cutting it and dumping it along with the foam padding. Then they will clean all the floor and apply antimicrobial solution to prevent mold and mildew. Their large dehumidifiers and blowers will be running for three days. Afterwards, they will apply the chemical once more. We are hoping that by then the water table would have gone down and we will not get more water. The photographs below are from yesterday afternoon when there was visible water.

This too shall pass.

[Show as slideshow]

Another Photo Shoot

A. Cemal Ekin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:46:19 +0000

I had a chance to photograph Mina again this morning. After that, other family members participated in the photo shoot. Lovely! Every one of them (especially the one with white hair, all natural you know.)

[Show as slideshow]