Backyard Redesign: Time-lapse movie

We have a backyard.

We have never really had a backyard before, so this is sort of a big deal for us, and we want to use it. S and I have been talking about what to do with it, and while we've got some ideas, there are some challenges to the space. They include:

* We rent, not own. All of our changes mustn't be structural, and anything that is expensive needs to be removable (so we can pull it out when we move).

* There's an ugly cinderblock wall on the perimeter.

* Half of the backyard is full of dead/dying plants. We weren't sure if the plants were dead/dying because they've been mistreated or if they're not getting enough sunlight. We've noticed that the right half of the yard tends to house the dead plants, and also the grass cover is spotty, and also it seems to be shadier. To fully examine this, I set up a time-lapse of the backyard, from 6am-8pm. Here's the video:

As you can see, the left half of the yard gets a lot more sunlight than the right half. So, if we were going to grow a garden, that's where it would go! On the right half, maybe a seating area? We're looking to make something that's less water-intensive, or that focuses water-use on dual-purpose plants (pretty AND tasty, for example).

I'll blog more about this as we continue the process...

Did I mention there were bears!

Lake MacDonald

waterfalls into Avalanche Lake

Avalanche Gorge

Glacier National Park (and bears!)

Montana is lovely. I'm here on a family trip with S and her kin: parents C & D and brother B and his wife A (oh golly, that's ABCD! eek!). Today we did two hikes - Avalanche Lake and John Lake. They were both beautiful, but Avalanche Lake was awesome. We hiked a gorge, saw some waterfalls, ate lunch at the lake, and got a wide range of climates. I had my zoom lens on the camera, so you'll see the photos have a different feel than the ones from Yurp.

The internet is VERY slow here, so I'll be emailing the photos to the blog, one at a time. You'll have to scroll through like good little children to see them all.

Also, we saw bears!

Day 26: a chill farewell to Rome

Today was our final day in Rome. I got up a few hours before S, with full intention of running. Instead, my ankle suggested I stay in. Yesterday, I slammed it into a pew in a church, and it was still smarting. Discretion being the better part of valor, I stayed in. Sarah took the morning off while I went out to do some shopping and start the day. I started off by hitting a lovely market in the nearby piazza (Campo de Fiori), but soon started wandering the streets, looking for things to photograph.

S and I met met at The Pantheon, which is one of my favorite places in Rome. She was less than thrilled, frustrated at the gross appropriation of culture and stuff that the early Christians did. Still, the building is magnificent. There's a huge open hole in the center of the roof, and if you position yourself just right, it looks like you're an angel! See:?:!!?

The rest of the building is also awesome!

After we met up, we grabbed lunch and then spent most of the afternoon shopping. Occasionally, we'd stop for a drink or a bite. Then, our last dinner in Europe! S had gnocchi with pesto (why mess with a classic?), and I had a great pasta dish with seafood (which was terrific, except for the fish bones, which seemed to be scattered throughout). Afterwards, gelato! We went back to San Crispini, the place we hit a couple of nights ago. S had chocolate again, and this time, I had a scoop of banana and a scoop of cinnamon cream. The banana was seriously the best banana ice cream or gelato or yogurt I've ever had. Wow!

At dinner, S and I had a nice talk about our favorite parts of the trip and what we would do if we found ourselves with another four weeks to travel Europe. Food for thought...

Tomorrow, we leave bright and early for Philly, then St. Louis! This has been a great trip, but we're both really looking forward to being back on home soil!

Day 25: Colosseum and churches

(short post today. S and I are both a little grumpy)

Today was our big crowds day, with a trip to the Colosseum! We managed to navigate the bus system and make our way to this huge place with huge lines. It was hot hot hot, but eventually we got inside and onto a tour:

(Smile! You're in an old place!)

After we toured the site itself, we went through a little museum on-site, which was more or less dedicated to the reign of Nero.

(the capital of a column)

After the Colosseum, we walked back into town, had some lunch (melon and prosciutto, gnocchi with swordfish, eggplant parm), and set to work on the busy task of seeing some beautiful churches!

After the churches, we went shopping and found some lovely leather bags.

For dinner, we were hoping to have Beth (one of my students) and her friend Steph over for food, but the markets were all closed. Instead, we went out for dinner and gelato.

Okay, one more full day here before we head back to the states!

Day 23: Trastevere, old things, new things, and weird gelato

Today I ran Villa Borghese, a park to the north of the main historical center. There were lots of trees, a lake, some boats, and plenty of stairs. It was a nice run - much nicer than the run on Circus Maximus yesterday.

S and I got a late start out the door, but we made up for lost time with a long long walk. We started with breakfast right around the corner from our hotel. From there, we ran a couple of errands (finally got those Father's Day postcards in the mail!), found a lovely art shop, and hit a shoe store before crossing the Tiber into Trastevere, a neighborhood of Rome that feels more small-town-y. we wandered there for a while, through piazzas that look like this:

and like this:
... ducking into churches and shops along the way. I wanted to see Bramante's Tempietto, which is in Trastevere, so we sought it out. It's on top of one of the seven hills of Rome, and while we were up there, we found this big old fountain:

From the top of the hill, you can see most of Rome laid out in front of you.

The Tempietto was locked away, so we weren't able to get a good shot of it, but after we descended the hill, we continued through Trastevere, where we found a tailor who hand-stitched neckties. Some of his work was truly beautiful, and he was very generous in showing it to us. He didn't speak a lick of English (nor we Italian), but that didn't stop any of us from talking neckties and stitching.

We ducked into the church of St. Cecilia, which sits on top of some Roman ruins (don't look surprised - ALL OF ROME sits on top of Roman ruins). For a few bucks, you could descend beneath the church and have a look around (apparently, one of the ruins beneath the church is St. Cecilia's house!):

After St. Cecilia, we found a little modern bar to grab a drink and a snack. I had a compari and soda (mmmmm), and we were thankful for all of the modern art books that were laying around as a balance to the excessive history that we'd been seeing during the day.

From there, we headed back across the Tiber, past some funky statuary, past the Pantheon, past the Spanish Steps, and then to a small trattoria for dinner. We split a pasta course (cannelloni with ricotta and spinach) and each had a secondi. S's veal meatballs were incredible, but I didn't really enjoy my tripe. I've had it a number of times with different preparations, and I think I can confidently say that I just don't care for it. Still, dinner was good, and it set us up nicely for gelato at Il gelato di San Crispino, which came highly recommended on the internet. It lived up to expectations. S had chocolate (natch), and I had a half-and-half of whiskey and honey. All three flavors were delicious, and a new bar has been set for gelato!

Post-gelato, we stopped off at Trevi Fountain for a photograph before heading home. We passed by The Pantheon once again:

Tomorrow, we head north to Firenze to see the city for a day. We're meeting Liz, an old friend of mine from high school. I can't remember the last time I saw her, but it's been at least 10 years!