Friday, May 04, 2007

We Took The Dogs

out for a walk last night. Our path followed the usual route: the historic Jewish Levi Hospital, turn of the century Victorian dollhouses-three in a row-that are appropriately called "The Three Sisters", then into the commercial district of downtown. We passed by a private courtyard on Exchange Street that I had just noticed for the first time. (I'll try and get a photo soon). It's amazing how there are several little treatlets in this town, undiscovered, even though I've called it home since 1994.

And when our walk led us past The Aristocrat, I sidestepped the slippery grates... much like Dick VanDyke sidestepped the ottoman. Well, no...but given the memory of the pain from falling horizontally atop it, I woulda if'n I needed to.

We came upon several of the new antique shops on the upper end of Central Avenue. Several of them really did their windows well, as they stopped us dead in our tracks. Saw a couple of palace-size urns (Asian) complete with their wood stands, a sterling trimmed crystal pitcher for $1000, and two very cool Yugoslavian beaded lamps (Joe sucked air when he saw the peacock). It was gorgeous. Couldn't see the price tag, though. I may go back and check when the shop is open...just to know. We've got several other Yugoslavian beaded lamps and they are real treats to the eye. Especially if they're the only illumination in a dark room. Intricate, delicate and feasts of color.

We (I) noticed the coolest lighting scheme in that shop. There were cables stretched across the room in pairs-about 4" apart. Along these cables were many small light fixtures that were aimed directly at the artwork. I made mention at how little impact that lighting scheme has on the structure, i.e no holes cut into the ceilings or walls. The fixtures were either halogen or LED.Joe lit up with curiosity, as we've been discussing how to illuminate all of the artwork upstairs... and to add additional lighting, as it is indeed a VERY dark house.

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