Rain, thunder, lightning and more rain

This morning we woke up to a big storm. We had everything, thunder, lightning, and rain. It was so rainy, the dish reception went blank for about 10 minutes. Alma was frightened and hid under the computer desk. She feels more secure in confined spaces. It's been raining since 6:30 this morning. Well, the plants need it, and it I won't have to turn the sprinklers on today.

I have to take Alma to the vet to get some blood tests. Poor dog, thunder and the vet in one day. Then its time for a few errands before we leave for our trip.

I have a loaner car. My beautiful S70 needed some work. It has some kind of leak, and has to stay at Bob's for a few days. Bob's is our independent Volvo place--also known as Hubbard Woods Motors. Bob only works on Volvos. The loaner is a 1993 black "Swedish brick" with a little red stripe on its side. It's in perfect condition. Someone must have worked hard to make it so nice. The steering is a little stiff and it doesn't go to fast. But that's a brick!

It looks like the rain has stopped for a while. I think that Alma and I will be off to the vet. She has a hard time jumping, so she puts her paws on the back deck of the brick and I boost her up. She loves going for a ride. Dogs sure have the life.

Hot, hot and hot.

It's been really hot lately. Not just hot, but humid 100 degree hot. I have to get up and water my container plants in the morning and run the sprinklers for about 30 minutes to preserve everything else that grows. Today was a bit of a respite, but tomorrow, more of the hot.
I have to go to a memorial service tomorrow. The husband of one of my former bosses passed away. He had lukemia, but put up a great fight. He was really a nice person and a gardner too.
We bought a new--to us--car yesterday. It is a Volvo--of course--cross country wagon. The color is shark's fin blue. It looks more like gray to me. I doubt that I will drive it very often because I have my car--a lovely green S70. David will get the brick. This may start him on a life of Volvo ownership.
My mother left for Connecticut for a long visit. The trip and the preparations were a huge deal for her. She is there, in spite of a harrowing trip on United Air lines. They give no respect to senior citizens, even if they are in wheelchairs. ( my mother is a shaky walker, but she doesn't use a wheelchair on a regular basis.) Those people had to wait in line just like everyone else. My mother wants me to write a letter to United. She pointed out how much better service she recieved on Southwest last year.
We are going to CT on Saturday. It may be an interesting, but short trip. We plan to stay in Rochester and go by the the Finger Lakes to get some wine. We plan to stop only at Herron Hill on Lake Keuka and Red Newt on Lake Seneca to get some replacements. Then on to CT.
We have no set plans. We may go to Maine to eat lobster and look around. We may go to the casino in CT. Who knows? We may just have to hang around the farm and get things done. Who knows?

Old streets and older streets

A street in ancient Pompei

I've been thinking of some of the streets I have walked recently. The street in front of our house is quite old, I think that it was relaid in the 1930's. It is made of large, heavy red bricks. I found out that it is cheaper to use the brickpavers than to have a concrete street. The bricks are more expensive to install, but cheaper to maintain and longer lasting.

In Europe, our street would be an infant street. There I walked on ancient streets, medieval streets and modern streets. Florence originally was a Roman town, something that I didn't know. I think that most its Roman aspects were covered over by renaissance buildings. Pompei, of course, is what is left of a Roman town. Dubrovnik is a medieval town, which is pretty much intact. Toarmina, in Sicily, was originally a Greek town, then a Roman town, then a medieval town.
Roman towns were build on a grid system. All of them followed the same plan. The two main streets were called the cardo and the decumanus. The forum and market place were located where these streets intersected. In Florence, the site of the forum is now the Piazza della Republica.


Dubrovnik, Croatia, appears to use a grid system, but they have stair streets, up a few dozen steps, then an intersecting street, up more stairs, then another street, until you get to the city walls.







In Monaco, the old section, which is near the palais royal, has narrow, stone paved streets.












In Taormina, Sicily, this narrow street has stairs and also functions as a furniture showroom.

Beautiful, beautiful weather

We are having some of the most beautiful weather this July. Usually it is hot and humid, and the air conditioning is going full time. Other parts of the country are having horrid weather, hot in Arizona, stormy in New England. Here is in the high 70's or low 80's with little or no humidity. At night, I have even had to use a light blanket. It is sunny, the sky is a beautful blue with a few clouds. I have to be careful to use sunscreen, otherwise a red nose. I took my lovely dog, Alma, for a walk to the Lake today, there was a spring in her step, instead of a slow drag, which is her usual in hot, humid weather. I am planning to enjoy it, because hotter temperatures are coming for the weekend. I am waiting for my annuals to get going--they are still fairly small.
Alma and I walked through Kenilworth, which is enduring a spell of teardowns. Kenilworth is a beautiful town with older houses of many mixed styles. Most of the houses are large and built on large lots. Now the average selling price for a house in Kenilworth is over $1 million. Developers are paying these prices and tearing down perfectly good houses and replacing them with small palaces either in English or French revival styles. These new places sell for over $2 million. The people who live there are not happy, and they protest and put up signs, but the teardowns continue.
I have been driving my brother around since he had rotator cuff surgery. He can't drive for two more weeks. Today he went to physical therapy, and was happy with the report. The pre-op therapy has paid off and his range of motion is good. I don't mind driving him, but I know that he really wants to get back to his normal life. We went for lunch today and I saw three people that I haven't seen for at least 2 years. It was nice to chat with them. One, the parent of one of my son's elementary school friends, told me that her son has a sucessful musical instrument repair business and has published several articles! Way to go. The other has a daughter who is a cellist freelancing in NYC. She is doing well enough to be able to buy a condo there. I love to hear about young sucessful musicians. The third person, a teacher from the very early days, told me that she has a rare disease, and is learning to walk again. She was in good spirits and has a positive attitude. She was also on her way to physical therapy.
So goes a typical summer day for a lady of leisure.

Roof Gardens in Monaco

Monaco is a small place, sanwiched in between mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. We arrived by sea and left by air. In order to get the the Nice airport, we had to go through several tunnels. There isn't much room to build, so most of the buildings seem to be highrises. What struck me was the number of roof gardens.

Chicago's Mayor Daley wants encourage roof gardens in Chicago for a number of reasons. One is that they cool the roofs which cuts down the need for air conditioning. Another is that they just look nice. In Chicago, most of the roof gardens are not visible, unless you are in a building higher than the one with the garden. City Hall in Chicago has an extensive roof garden.

Monaco, since the city is build into a mountainside, is tiered, so that many of the roof gardens are visible. The Westin Hotel has one, complete with swimming pool. Many of the gardens are quite elaborate, with trees, terraces and flowers. They soften the cityscape, and give it a more human scale. The area has a park-like feeling, even though it is quite built up.

I think that Mayor Daley is right. Chicago building owners should add roof gardens. It reinforces the city's motto, "a city in a garden."