Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Monticello in Spring

I am back from a beautiful long weekend in Virginia and Maryland. It was a picture perfect day when I toured Monticello - 73 degrees, full sun with a light breeze from the Virginia hills. I promise to show you the gardens & grounds in the coming days. But you should know that the overall theme of this trip was VISION. I love Thomas Jefferson's "mechanical novelties" that show how (in the late 1700's!) he designed his home to be beautiful, efficient and above all, cool. My favorite was the two-faced Great Clock in the main entrance hall. Not only does it have an indoor & outdoor face displaying the time simultaneously, but it was designed to tell the day of the week! As the pulleys move, the weights rest next to the day of the week marked on the wall. Yes, it still works, and right now the weight is resting next to "Wednesday." How cool is that?

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