Oasis

In the middle of Baltimore's hottest summer in years, I've been craving lemonade. I want the perfect summer lemonade, made with fresh-squeezed lemons while I watch. It must have a delicate balance of sweet and thirst-quenching sour. And it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. This could be a possible trend, I decided, or at least a trendlet: A fresh-squeezed lemonade is made of natural ingredients, after all, and it has retro appeal - all part of what America likes in 2006. Surely someone in this town is taking it a step further and making watermelon lemonade or serving it in a martini glass.

His skill is to rise toward the heavens on a board with wheels, twisting through the air in ways only dreamed about, never achieved, before he got there. But when Tony Hawk lands back on Earth, he is not merely the greatest athlete of his sport, skateboarding. He is the first skate-bully impresario, a cultural icon-slash-entrepreneur for the Nickelodeon set. If you're a parent, you may have heard of Hawk. If you're a teen-ager or younger, odds are he's taken your lunch money, seducing you with skateboards, sneakers, snack foods and video games.

Handlers used special massage techniques to soothe Goldencents' muscular frame and sudsy sponges to stimulate the shine and bloom on the Preakness competitor's chocolate-colored coat - while a sizable entourage seemed transfixed. Outside the Pimlico stables, a green oasis tucked inside urban Northwest Baltimore, a crowd had gathered around Goldencents. Photographers took pictures. A cluster of men, women and children from a sunrise tour stopped to stare. Security guards looked on. The list of helpers, assistants and advisers for Goldencents and the other Preakness all-stars is longer than Stacy Keibler's prep team on Oscar night - grooms, exercise riders, hot walkers, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians, stall muckers, chiropractors, ultrasound technicians and nutritionists.

The KIPP Harbor Academy in Anne Arundel County has been on a roller coaster ride. Two weeks ago, the principal announced that the 2-year-old school would have to close for lack of space. Then County Executive John R. Leopold and schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell tried to intervene, helping to prompt a 3-2 vote last week by the school's board to keep the school open. But any space solutions are far from settled, and the school's continued existence is now also threatened by a lack of qualified teachers.

Stopping growth has become a watchword in many suburban regions. Growth pressures are clogging roads, crowding schools and changing the landscape. Commuting to work, to school or even the grocery store takes bigger and bigger chunks of the day. Meanwhile, the costs of multiple cars, along with gasoline and auto insurance, eat further into the family budget. Suburban sprawl is taking a heavy toll on modern lives -- no wonder "growth" has become a political hot potato.So hats off to Montgomery County developer Joseph Alfandre, whose Kentlands development in Gaithersburg is a step back toward livable neighborhoods -- places where sidewalks and front porches encourage neighbors to say hello to each other.

"Nothing is as round as the circus," the French artist Fernand Leger observed in 1950. "It is an enormous bowl in which circular forms unroll. Nothing stops, everything is connected." The same could be said of A Circus Family: Picasso to Leger, a whirling, swirling, merry-go-round of an exhibit that opens today at the Baltimore Museum of Art. While the title may suggest a bright, breezy look at the glamour and spectacle of the circus, this show is actually a darker, more nuanced examination of the human condition by many of Europe's leading artists from the 1890s to 1950.

Summer's almost over, your money's almost gone, and yet it feels like there's still so much left undone. What's a person to do? We can't help you with the money part. And much as we'd like to, there's no way to expand the calendar. But we can point out what you may not realize: There's plenty to do in and around Charm City in the waning days of summer, even with nary a penny in your pocket. Herewith, an itinerary for the thrifty, offering 50 no-cost activities to keep body and soul engaged over the next month or so. There's a lot to do, so get busy.

There's something dreamy and perfect about an outdoor living space, especially in the balmy days of summer. Whether your space is large or small — whether you plan to kick back on a single chaise longue, or have couches, an outdoor bar and a firepit — experts say you can create an oasis that suits your fancy and spirit. "Decide first what the space will be used for," says Carol Grillo, an artist and certified interior designer who heads Carol Grillo Designs in Ruxton. "Will it be an area for eating, lounging poolside or seating for entertaining?"

Paradise lost has been found. Tiki torches are burning in back yards across America. Thatched-roof bars are serving mai tais, rumrunners and pina coladas. The hula girl has become the motif du jour - on everything from kitschy lamps to dinnerware. After a 30-year disappearance, it's tiki time once again. We have seen some indications of the trend for the past few years, but now the Polynesian drums are beating so loud they can't be ignored. Until recently, most folks who wanted a tiki motif had to search yard sales, thrift stores and the Internet.

Eight years ago, Kevin Lassiter looked at the sparkling new townhouses in the Oliver-Johnston II community and saw a peaceful oasis in a depressed East Baltimore neighborhood."