Autumn is on its way

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This is a strange concept for me, that it could start to get cold in late August. That decade, plus, in Tucson completely reset my internal sense of seasons. It should be over 100 F from May through October, as far as my body is concerned.

Mix this with a healthy dose of already being acclimated to cool-ish summer temperatures in a country where air conditioning in residences is rare, and I can't wait for this week's 90 F and sunny to end at the same time as I am horrified by the forecast for rain and 65 F by weekend. I think I may only like 73.5 F and partly cloudy for weeks on end right now.

Anyway, the windows and curtains and metal shutters are all closed throughout the apartment since 10:30am this morning, in hopes that the heat won't make it in the rooms very far by the time we get home from the river, and then they'll open briefly until dusk, close again for mosquito feeding hour, which is also known as "Let's go eat M to a pulp" and the night.

A's water toys are packed, as are her swim diapers, and some snacks, for our almost daily trip to the river. The water is a glorious 77 F, and clear greenish-blue. The current isn't too fast, but it makes you feel like you're swimming in something thicker than water, half-set jello according to my friend I. There are shade trees and toddlers and everything you need to spend 4-5 hours escaping the heat.

I've stopped taking many photos recently, somehow there is just too much life to live and not enough time to even take out the iPhone, so let me finish with a few scenes from our trip a few weeks ago to Milan. Fish, street art (commissioned and not), and design were big themes on this trip.







We stayed in yet another AirBnb great find, an apartment where the owners had twins, so we had everything we needed for the stay - didn't even bring a stroller. Which is the height of travel-with-toddler ease, let me tell you. And the apartment was near the biggest green space in the city, with four off-leash dog parks for the dog (who came with), something she hasn't seen since we moved to Zurich. They don't do dog parks here. We followed most of the latest NYTimes "36 Hours in Milan" guide, which provided equal parts great food and gelato, and design museums and other such destinations. All who went had a great time. Ok, except maybe the rental car that got us there and back and got hit in the lot it sat in the whole rest of the time. In true name-your-favorite-stereotype fashion, the lot attendant had no idea how that could have happened, even though we had left it parked for him in the middle of the crowded lot and it was parked in a space when we picked it up.