Thursday, 21 July 2011
Our garage magnified the effect of the heat dome, hitting triple digits. The hot side of the house almost reached 100°F, holding at 99°F for several hours (whew), while indoors almost hit 90°F.
We cleverly dined in the only air-conditioned room in the house the master dining bedroom.
And, John discovered, no inexpensive or moderately priced air conditioners remain for sale in the Lansing area.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
I see colorful blotches headed our way…and I’m hearing the first sky-audio. No lightning yet out the window, but the meteorological maps show it’s a matter of time.
Monday, 13 June 2011
For a while this afternoon, the car said it was 100 big fat Fahrenheit degrees out. Then, for a little while it reported 102°F.
Sometime later it dropped to 97, and I began to feel better.
Sunday, 22 May 2011
We got caught by the spring weather today.
And, we caught mass at the famous duomo (cathedral) at Monreale, outside of Palermo. The roof is so far above, it’s hard to fathom. Plus, the glow of the gold when they brought the lights up for mass almost took my breath away. Probably no one, perhaps intentionally, recorded how many laborers worked to build this building, begun in 1174. The local masses made a poor showing at today’s noon mass, and the priest criticized us tourists for showing up. We got that much from the Italian.
Still, we did cough up 6 euros each to visit the cloister, which meant we got to walk all four sides of the huge courtyard. Very scenic, surely, but I also got a bit queasy thinking about the lives lost so this could be built and decorated. I didn’t have time to study the Byzantine mosaics, just caught their gleam, mostly.
So, we stopped at the first picture last (yes, they’re not in chronological order). I hesitate to mention that we descended through a side door to look at catacombs (called a necropolis here if it is Greek, Roman, or early Christian, but apparently not if it is more recent) with embalmed or otherwise preserved corpses of Capuchin monks and community notables dating to the 1800s (older ones were not on view). Exceedingly strange. Prominent signs read No Fotos and No Film, as well as Show Respect (approximately). One said No Flash; I guess they were relenting a bit. Strange, considering high windows were open to the rainy outdoors, although the rain didn’t come in, just the terrifically humid air.
Milling around before we left, we saw a bier being loaded into a van through a door next to the entry. I saw the shoes through the glass, so I know someone’s remains were, shall we say, going on tour.
The rain’s back, we have a good internet connection, and we’ve talked to some home-folks, and that’s all for now.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
We avoided switchbacks, and their alter egos—tunnels, and took the funavia to historic hilltop Érice, which the Greeks called Eryx.
We saw churches (there are, I read, sixty of them), castles (or at least crenellations), lots of alley-streets, a few dogs and cats, some tourists (but it could have been worse), balconies, gated courtyards, and a few piazzas and salitas (“little rooms,” or openings smaller than a piazza).
When a cloud settled atop the city, we ducked into a Caffé for coffee and a sandwich, emerging when we felt the temps warm a bit.
One souvenir store we ducked into had a small shelf of Kodak 35mm print film above the cash register; I wondered what the expiration dates were on the boxes.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Luck is fleeting, ephemeral, and sometimes local.
Meteorological rainbows passed over us in waves last night, with the last, shown here, abandoning us by the wee hours. The Guru stood watch, with our basement refuge ready.
Tornadoes visited people to the west and north, and, since some hit urban/suburban areas, whew, the damage is extensive. Here, the street now is half-dry.
Here on our little street, we are lucky and fine, if a bit tired.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Rained much of the night. By early mid-morning, the road had dried, yet the clouds lingered, adorning the skies with roiling shades of grey, as is common across the Great Plains.
Monday, 4 April 2011
I’ll pass on the “fudge” covered potato chips incorporated into the Fallon tribute flavor.
No, it’s this morning’s pollen count. (Sniff, sniff—and that’s after today’s ration of loratidine.)
Meteorologists say there’s a big storm coming through tonight, so that should bring that number down. However, it’s not all coming up roses, since the storm is predicted to bring wind, too….
Saturday, 5 March 2011
These daffies are in the front yard, a legacy of the border from our old walkway. I need to transplant them…. Photo from before the rain.
Winter rains arrived today, and I’m glad. I don’t feel quite so cooped up and trapped by winter’s short days and inclement weather, so having a bit of the life-giving precip seemed rejuvenating. (That’s an unfortunate circular argument; maybe it seemed timely? Something.)
Monday, 28 February 2011
Weird weather all day, and the worst is pending momentarily.