Day 323 - Cafe

Thought of the day: Jasmine's swim team is having an outdoor lesson today.  She loves it, in spite of the air that is already getting a little chilly. We're so lucky to have perfect weather today and I'm glad that we can spend a couple of hours outdoors and enjoy the last bit of the summer warmth and have some good fun in the sun.

Photo of the day:

Inside a cafe this morning. It's good to be able to take a break there for a couple of hours during the day when both girls are in school. The cafe keeps changing the wall exhibitions and the theme of this month is T-shirts with prints. Changing of interior decorations keep the space interesting, just like changing of seasons and rhythms keep life interesting.

Day 276 - Korean BBQ

Thought of the day: It was a warm day and a perfect day to spend in the Eldorado Springs swimming pool.  The pool was located at the base of Eldorado Canyon State Park and fed by a natural spring.  The artesian water in the pool was very cool and refreshing.  The pool was surrounded by an ancient pool house, a dingy snack bar, some wood benches, a first-aid station and completed with a dive board and a metal slide.  Everything - other than the refreshing water itself - looked historic and a bit outdated but that did bestow some old world charm on the pool.  After our nice pool experiences in Switzerland last month,  I certainly wish there were more shades, especially over the toddler's area. I was also missing espresso machines and better food choices there.  However, if you are prepared to bring your own food and drinks, it can be a good place for you to cool down and whisk away a couple of carefree hours in a hot summer day.

Photo of the day:

The Eldorado Springs pool cooled us down sufficiently for a Korean BBQ in the evening.  We are hosting a Korean Soprano  (second to the right) for a couple of days and we, together with a couple of our friends, took her out for some yummy food tonight.

Day 217 - Swimming

Thought of the day: A friend was asking for book recommendations on Facebook the other day.  I followed up with her and ended up exchanging physical books with her today.  The experience demonstrated to me how easy and fun it could be to exchange book recommendations, and maybe even books, in a local community.  So tonight I set up a prototype "book swap club" for the neighborhood using a bunch of Google tools including spreadsheets, forms, and groups.  If this was a serious venture, it should probably have been a dedicated service or a specialized app.  Of course, the idea of book swap is nothing new and there are applications out there that help you do just that and plus some.  College book swap seems to be most popular because a textbook can be ridiculous expensive and its useful lifespan tends to be short.  However, I'm not seeing applications that promote book sharing within a local, non-college community.  To me, sharing with friends locally makes more sense than sharing with strangers globally - it saves the unnecessary overhead and hurdle of shipping, it takes advantage of common tastes and local interests and promotes a better sense of community.  If something is good for the self, the community, and the environment, it's certainly a good thing that is worth doing.

Photo of the day:

Finally a sunny day - Jasmine swam in the outdoor pool in the afternoon.  Jasmine is a book lover.  I am sure she would love to do book swap with her friends too.  A junior books sharing project?