Living Green the Traditional Way

Living in a city know for its art, statues and palaces it isn't surprising that there is a focus on antiques and restoration. The neighbourhood we live in is littered with furniture and art restoration places as well as little art galleries. I've no idea how the art galleries are making it, but the furniture restoration places seem busy. The thing is that there must be at least a hundred of these furniture restoration places in our neighbourhood an area a mile square. They're not just restoring antique furniture, but the furniture that people use on a daily basis.



On our daily walks we pass tens of these places, smelling of hay, wood shavings, lacquer and wax. On piano terra (ground floor) below apartments, and with open doors, these places seem like throw backs to another time. Yet this is the way things are done well and so this is what the Italians do. Appreciating workmanship and beauty, the work is done by hand. Chairs and sofas live long lives here, I expect beyond the human life span. Why don't we do this in the US? Or do we? Is it just off my radar? I wonder how many furniture restoration places are in Tucson? Or even tv repair places? I don't see them any more. Such a disposable society. It happens here too, Ikea does exist, but not at the same level.

Oh and workMANship...while the furniture stores seem to be exclusively the domain of men, the shoemakers, art restoration and picture framers have a high proportion of women working too. I find this gender division, or lack there of, in certain areas flies in the face of my stereotypes of Italian gender roles. I like that.

Stocking up for those deep winter Tucson nights

We've just less than a month left. It seems unreal. I went to a few stores today and asked when they'd be closed...this Monday until the 20th, the 23rd, the 27th, until September. So I stocked up. You know, on the important stuff, cotton,alpaca,worsted wool and merino. Food, schmood. Then we got home and pulled out the rest of the stash I've accumulated since we arrived...

Oh dear.



And to think, this is how it started.

In my defense, some of it is a gift for an avid knitter. The rest...I only have this to say:

Dear Family,

For the next few seasons all gifts from our household on the occasion of your birthday or various Winter holiday will resemble a knit or crochet hat, scarf or bag. I say resemble because I don't have a very good reputation for finishing my projects. Still, something to look forward to?

All my love,

Your wife/mother/daughter/daughter in-law/sister in-law/cousin/niece/aunt (Delete as appropriate)

ps. Dear mother in-law I will finish that hedgehog for you before this December. Honest.


I fear, however, that I may have imparted some of my less desirable traits to my daughter. This is how I found her after leaving her alone for just a few seconds in the living room with the yarn stash:

Clutching on to cool memories with sweaty hands

The German Alps near Bertesgarten
Originally uploaded by rhubarbqueen

At some point in our plans to be in Florence this year, I got really excited by the idea of not being in Tucson this summer and getting to see a 'real' Fall. Mainly, I was under the false impression that I would be in a cooler place this summer rather than the blasting oven heat of my beloved desert. I had images of Ila and I prancing through parks, lined with trees and cool breezes. Well, we're not going to be here for Fall and if 96 degrees and 45-65% humidity is cooler...

The main thing is that air conditioning is not prolific here. You aren't jumping out of your air conditioned vehicle to be blasted for a few minutes while you make a dive for your air-conditioned office or home. Oh no, more like you step out of your barely-air conditioned home (if you're lucky)into a dripping semi tropical (without the green) environment to enter various business establishments that have no air conditioning at all, okay maybe a fan. This might be the reason why the locals escape for the month of August. Yes, that's right, the whole month of August! They're not stupid. They take off for the beach or the mountains and the city apparently slows to the speed of a snail. Hot, bothered tourists fly in for a day to do the usual and fly out. Shops close, cafes close, I'm assured there will be some supermarkets open.

I went into my favorite yarn store yesterday, and asked when they closed, Friday the woman said barely containing her excitement. She practically jumped up and down as she said it, a woman in her mid forties, typically reserved, jumping with glee! When do you open? I asked. September! Can you imagine what it would be like to take a whole month off? How relaxed you would be? How rejuvenated you would feel? Funny thing is, it isn't just Italy. The Germans do this, the French, the Scandinavians. While I'm a little concerned about what August is going to be like for us, I can't help think what a good idea this is. They think we're nuts for the lack of vacation time. The lack of balance. I think they're right. So, I'll be without the local English speaking newspaper, The Florentine, the neighbourhood American Bagel store, the sweet, but expensive, Danish kids clothing store along with a host of other now familiars for our last month. It'll be interesting.

Given the heat I think I'm going to ask D to print out a few rough copies of our Austria/Bavaria photos so that I can just imagine a cooler place. Thought I'd share them with you too. The top picture is from just by where we stayed on the Austrian/German border. I must admit I think this countryside some of the prettiest I've ever seen. We hoped to stay at a farm. D had done this on his visit here 15 years before with his sister and Aunt, but we didn't find any ones with room. So we settled for this Gastehause, which was none too shabby.

Simple, clean, good food, welcoming family. A stream near by, cow bells, a forest to walk into, time to make daisy chains...



and even a little bit of snow

Speed Demon

We had a play date yesterday afternoon with a little girl 6 months younger than our speed demon. I met her mum in a cooking class. It was fabulous.

The lack of interaction with kids of a similar age for our kid has been the biggest issue with our move here. Funnily, I felt so much guilt about having our daughter in daycare when she was 6 months old, and now I feel guilt about her not being in a good day care setting and with other kids her age rather than me. She desperately needs the company of other children of a similar age. You can't win. Is this guilt a generational thing? Would I feel so torn if I were 15 years younger? Or perhaps if this were 20 years ago?

I'm still behind with posts from Austria/Bavaria and last week to share, but for right now I wanted to share what my day often feels like.

When I'm a parent I'll never...

never dress my daughter in frilly, pink crap. Then again, I also said I'd value/listen to her opinions too. Can't have it both ways really can you? I will publicly admit I think it rather sweet.

Look out Heidi

Salzburg...you mean there is something else important other than the Sound of Music?

Not that we just went because it was the location for the Sound of Music, but somehow a lot of our conversation while we were in Salzburg went like this:

"Oo! Oo! Isn't that where Maria sings in the square, right by that fountain before she meets the Von Trapp family?"

"No, I think it's that square with the horses. This is the one where she is with the children and..."



and...
"This is just like when Maria and the children are running along the river side..."



"Oh, lets sing "Doe, a deer, a female deer. Ray, a drop of golden sun." And yes, Ila does know most of the words now.



and "What do you mean? Edelweiss isn't an Austrian folk song?"
"Nope dear. Only if Rodgers and Hammerstein were Austrian folk artists."
"Oh."

You'll have to guess who was way out in left field about that one.

Oh, so we did stop by Mozart's birth place and inhale a few Mozart Balls, I mean Mozartkugeln. Chocolate, pistachio marzipan, etc. lovely.

Follow up to Dear Gabby

I have pictures and posts to follow from our trip, but I wanted to come back and touch base about the healthcare issue.
Thank you so much to those who emailed, or called, or wrote to Representative Gabrielle Giffords or their congressperson. If you haven't, please do so now.

I just had a quick gander at tweets @Rep_Giffords and she is being bombarded with tweets from a number of people who are very anti healthcare for all. Please, please, please let her know that there is a huge number of us who don't feel that way and feel that the health and success of the country is best served by health care for all. If you've already written, go ahead and write again. If you're on Twitter, let her know that way too. Seriously, the opponents write multiple times a day!

Kucinich's amendment to the Education and Labor Bill that would allow individual states to adopt a single payer system is maybe the way to go forward for now? It has to stay in the bill. Lets make sure that Gabby supports a bill that includes at least such an option! http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18620.cfmWeb Video: House Committee Approves Kucinich-Sponsored Measure to Keep Single-Payer Option Alive

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