My New Favorites

My new favorite hot-weather drink is Jamaica.  I first learned about this refreshing drink when I visited Mexico. Jamaica is made with dried Hibiscus flowers, brewed like tea leaves.  Its a beautiful ruby red color, sweetened to taste, and often spiced with a cinnamon stick and a few slices of ginger.  Sometimes a splash of lime juice is added or a fizzy drink which makes a bubbly version.

As the years passed, I brewed it less and less frequently, but when the daytime temperature reached 100 degrees, and the forecasts of 100 plus degrees days were soon to follow, I began thinking of chilled lemonades and iced teas.  Then out of the blue, I remembered Jamaica.  Instead of making only a glass at a time like I used to, I now keep a jar of concentrated Jamaica in the fridge and dilute it with chilled water. 

Another new favorite is an old favorite once remembered, Key Lime Pie.  A restaurant here specializes in Key Lime Pie and a serving lasts me four days!  The graham cracker crust is so thick, its a dessert by its self.  The pie is served with a huge tea cup size strawberry, with its stem still attached,  on the plate.  It definitely requires a take out box to bring home.

My new favorite comedian is Kate Mc Kinnon of Saturday Night Live.  Her satirical portrait of Hillary Clinton is priceless!  I like the other characters that she plays, but her 'Hillary' is worth a 24 carat gold star!

My new favorite book is by Michael Sims.  Its a collection of Victorian Detective Stories.  The title, The Dead Witness, is taken from the title of a story in the book.  The collection depicts the evolving character of a detective from the first detective story published in 1837, the year Victoria became Queen, to the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous Sherlock.

Carpet of Flowers

The other day while I was looking at some 'step by step' photos on how to make a Decahedron Himmeli Mobile, I scrolled down the page and became fascinated with a photo that didn't have anything to do with Decahedron mobiles.  It was a photo of a flower carpet in Brussels on the Grand-Place.  The huge, brilliant colored design was awesome, and seemed to be on a higher level than the ground people walking on.  Of course my attention was diverted from mobiles to what and how this display was created.

The photo led me to Brussels official web site where I learned the following about the flower carpet, its history and how its construction.  There is also a webcam focused on the Grand-Place which I plan to watch when the 2016 carpet is laid in August.

Every two years the Grand-Place of Brussels is covered with a carpet of begonias for only 1 weekend free to the public.
The first carpet was in 1971 on the Grand-Place.  It was the work of landscape architect E. Stautemans who was inspired by other carpets in diverse Flemish cities.  The peculiarity of the Brussels flower carpet is its place on the Grand-Place. It measures 77 meters by 24 meters. 

The carpet is planned one year in advance.  A committee of non-profit illustrators, graphic designers and landscape architects plan each edition around a theme.  Scale reproductions of the subject is realized in several project stages.  Quantity and number of flowers, and combinations of color are determined.  Shapes and colors of cut flowers are calculated in the hundreds and thousands and reserved long in advance.  A life size drawing is put on a transparent plastic sheet. 

On the day before opening, the spaces between flower motifs are filled in with rolls of sod.  When the carpet is laid, 120 volunteers install the million begonias within 4 hours.  Each edition has a composed musical theme and concerts are played every evening, accompanied by a light show and fireworks. 

The fragrant tuberous begonias used in the display are native from the West Indies and resistant to all weather conditions, intense sun, violent winds, rain, and cold.  The colors range from vivid to delicate pastels.  When the carpet is made, they are placed close together, (300 per square meter) to prevent then from being blown away.  They create their own micro-climate.  If there is a heat wave, the sod is watered to prevent wilting.  If the weather is too wet, the grass grows 4 to 5 centimeters within 3 days and the flowers remain fresh, preserving their splendor during the 4 days of display. 

The 20th edition in 2016 is scheduled for Friday August 12 to Monday August 15.  It will celebrate 150 years of diplomatic relations and friendship with Japan.  Brussels Grand-Place is considered the most beautiful central square in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Its construction commenced in the 15th century.  It was razed after 3 full days of bombardment by the French Army in 1695, but was rebuilt in less than 5 years later.

Minding My P's and Q's

I'm making progress in my project of reading a book upside down, but I really have to pay attention to some of the characters.  Especially the letters P and Q.  They are easily mistaken for B or D.  The same goes for A and E, although distinguishing A and E have become easier as I get more practiced.  Those letters appear more often.

I still have to spell out some words to understand them.  I also tend to anticipate the next word, often incorrectly, consequently not getting the right tense or meaning.  Example: detect, detective, detected, detects, detection and detecting.  I've also discovered that when I put the book down and pick it up again many hours later, I have to re-orient myself to think upside down, but after reading several words or a sentence, it becomes easy and I can read more quickly. 

I remember that names of font designs used to be printed on the fly leaf of books, but as long as the printing was legible, I didn't care what font design was used.  They may not even be mentioned in publications any longer, its not listed in the book I'm reading.  Whatever the design in my book, the letters f and i join in some words so it looks like an h.  I have to back track to decipher the meaning of the word.  Examples: 'first' and 'find'.

I am gaining an appreciation of art work in font design!  Its amazing the things one notices when trying something new out of the ordinary.

Moving Buildings

I recently watched a television film documenting the relocation of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.  Because shoreline erosion threatened the lighthouse, it was moved 2,900 feet from its original 1890 location, to a place where it will be safe for a hundred years.  When the decision was made to move the lighthouse, a year was spent in planning the move.

I was spellbound as I watched the preparations for the maneuver to take place.  When the moving actually began, the lighthouse was pushed along a track system as it rested on horizontally mounted jacks.  It only moved in 5 feet increments, then the jacks were reset along the grid beams.  The incredulously difficult undertaking took 23 days to finally place the lighthouse in its new location in July 1999.  I have tremendous admiration for those who have the knowledge to attempt such a feat, and then actually do it.

I've seen houses being moved and its always an amazing event.  Years ago, one of my uncles worked for a company that moved houses, and he often related stories about moves that were particularly difficult.  I've even seen houses being moved down the highway with police on motor bikes directing traffic, and I always marveled at the slow but sure progress being made.  Several years ago, a neighbor had a house moved from a nearby town to a lot across the street from me.  It was to be placed on the slope of a hill, some distance from the street.  To my untrained eye, it looked like a ticklish job and I wondered how the men would achieve the move without incident.

The house and workers arrived on my street in the morning, planning to have the house on its final location by the end of the day.  The street was blocked off preventing any traffic entering, and also preventing those living on our block from driving their vehicles in or out.  Aside from the owner, there was a man in charge with a crew of about 7 or 8 Mexican who spoke only Spanish.  It was a very hot day and the work was tedious, exacting and non-stop, but the work progressed smoothly; the men worked carefully and in a choreographed manner.  I was one of many onlookers and we all were impressed at how hard the men worked.  When the final push came to set the house on the planned spot, the men worked fast and furiously to place the house exactly in the right spot.  It was amazing how deftly it was done, And, in one day!