Words of Wisdom

Spring is in the Air

We've been up to lots of fun things at our house.

Pete is brewing his first batch of beer.  It's supposed to be like Harpoon's UFO Hefeweizen but if it really does taste like UFO, Pete is naming it "Beginner's Luck".

I've developed a slight obsession with Craigslist, and bought a fabulously cheap and functional computer armoire for the office.  After 2.5 years of displaying all of my worldly goods on bookcases in the bedroom/living room, I have a need for things to be "put away".  This will do just fine.  I also stop by our local thrift stores regularly, and found a perfectly good, very comfortable bar stool for $20.  Meredith was key in getting that thing into the back of the car, but it fit.  It appears to have come from Sam's and looks fairly new.  And while the seat is covered in a palm-tree motif fabric, it can easily be recovered.

After passing up a beautiful and pricey leaf swag at a local boutique before Christmas, my frugality was rewarded with finding a very similar one on Pottery Barn for $4.99 (which is now sold out).  And while I was already paying the shippng, I found some sheets for the guest room to go with my New England theme.  Pete has already made fun of them with a Joseph's-coat-of-many-colors joke.  That comes from a man who thinks "brown" is the only manly color.

I'm really really really ready for spring now. 

Stewing

I made Middle Eastern lamb tofu stew for dinner, tonight.  Elephant & Castle has the best, and the stew paired with calimari was our standby for nights that started or ended at the State T stop.   After having dinner with Juice and his family this past December, I stalked his sister-in-law until she gave me her recipe that she raved about.  If I could have found my Yeah Yeah Yeah's CD to pop in over dinner, I would have SWORN we were on Devonshire getting ready for a pub crawl through Beacon Hill or a visit to the infused tequila at the Kinsale.  Ok, it could have also been the half bottle of wine that I had with it.

Anyway -- it's cold here and I highly recommend a hearty stew to warm you up.

Da Bears

Nothing says "Go Bears" like a festively decorated cookie...

Brew City

We had a really fun time crossing the cheese curtain and into Milwaukee on Saturday.  Other than going to the airport, it was my first visit.   (On the way up, we had buttermilk pancakes at my favorite breakfast spot.  It's a must for the weekend, and for that Pete has threatened to call "pancakes anonymous" on several occasions.)  We really chose the worst possible day because of the cold, but at least there were no crowds.  Our first stop was the Miller Brewery for the tour.  Granted, most of the breweries are the same, but the story of the entrepreneurial start is always interesting.

Next, we headed to Water Street for some shopping including this fun store -Broadway Paper.  They were outside the box on the typical scrapbooking store and had some neat things.  We had lunch at the Milwaukee Ale House where we sat for a couple of hours tasting the beer and admiring the view of the very cold, frozen river.  That area is part of the River Walk, where for several consecutive miles, one can walk along a well-lit sidewalk between the businesses and river.  It was far too cold to really enjoy, but I made a mental note of it for July.  Pete was ecstatic to find that there was a Rock Bottom Brewery there.  And he paid them a visit while I checked out TJ Maxx.

Not wanting to make a late evening, we headed back, stopping by a cheese & sausage store for some cheese curds.  I'm looking forward to going back for a weekend next time, perhaps without the risk of frost-bite.

Uncle Jimmy

Uncle Jimmy died this week.  We just found out last night and it’s still sinking in.

When I first joined the family, I was “warned” about Uncle Jimmy.  He liked to talk and talk and talk.  The funny thing was that I didn’t mind.  He would tell stories about family, about which he knew everyone.  There were stories about community leaders, about which he knew everyone.  There were stories of politicians of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s, about which he knew everyone.  During the story, he’d take great pains to spell out names, because as we all know the proper spelling of a name is what gives them respect.  “B-A-L-L, and they’re buried in the cemetery.”  “L-O-N-G, and he owned the plumbing business on Main Street.”  He told the story of how they made their money or lost everything they had, who they married, what they did for a living, and how many children there were.  And after a completely credible story that seemed interesting and an important part of someone’s history, he’d turn to whomever had remained through the monologue as if they didn’t believe him, and he’d say, “no, it’s true”.

He was famous for the good deeds he did for his nieces and nephews.  Pete still recalls the stories of Uncle Jimmy taking them on trips, buying them dinner, and generally taking an interest in what they were up to.  Being involved with state politics, he traveled extensively, and always made sure to include the kids when he could. He loved most to take them to the best restaurants in each of the cities.

Besides the stories, to me, Jimmy was famous for two things “Uncle Jimmy” eggs and piano playing.  Not long ago, he had a stay in the hospital and when was released, Judy invited him to stay with her where she could help him with his medications and monitor his health.  While he was there, anytime we came to visit, he would get up early and make a famous mixture of scrambled eggs and bacon, to which we could not say no.  Those eggs with some toast were so incredibly good.  And every Christmas, at least once, I would hear him sit down at a piano and play Christmas carols.  He would ad lib the sheet music giving each traditional tune a flair and bounce. On Christmas Eve, just a few weeks ago, we were in California with him visiting some family, I came out of the bedroom to see him sitting at the piano with Johnny, Oscar, and Pete standing around belting out Winter Wonderland as best they could. I ran to get my camera, but they had disbanded before I could snap a shot.

That trip to California was the last time I saw him.  On Christmas morning Pete and I woke up early, not being adjusted to the time change.  We left the house to drive around in search of something fun to see.  While we were gone, Jimmy went to church, and when we got back he was still out.  Everyone was waking up and wandering outside to sit in the warm morning sun.  Mei was waiting for him to call for a pick-up.  She told us that this was so important to her that he was out there with us.  In the past year, she had many friends and family who had lost loved ones suddenly, and we never know when our – or anyone else’s – time is up.  The timeliness of that trip and her sentiment is humbling.

There have been other important mambers of the family who died before I met Pete, and I always felt like I had missed out on an important piece of Pete – these people who were so crucial to who he is today.  So I feel so incredibly blessed to have really known Uncle Jimmy for the time I’ve been a part of Pete’s family.  He will be missed.  (No, it’s true.)

Unacceptable no matter what

I've almost peed my pants watching 30 Rock tonight when Liz and "Hair" are on a date and realize that they're related.   Us?  We just got married.  It really saved not to have separate guest lists at the wedding.

I love new things

Saturday was a good day.  First, our new yummy leather sofa was delivered.

Then, we bought a vehicle! Christmas came a little early for us.

We're looking forward to having a little break for Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll get some shopping in, too.

How Do You White Hen?

Part of exploring our new world in Chicagoland is listening to the radio on or way to work every morning.   One things we've found it that ubiquitous to every American society is the morning coffee shop and a ridiculous number of commercials advertising where you can get your daily caffeine fix.

In Boston, Dunkin Donuts ruled.  Not surprising the chain is native to the Boston area, and I think we counted over 10 in a 3 mile radius around our apartment there.  The best example was on Route 60 where there was one on each side of the rode, directly across from each other. 

Here in Chicago, White Hen is it.  Not surprising, White Hen started in Des Plaines, IL, and it gives me great pleasure to support local landmarks.  Not unlike Dunkin Donuts, White Hen has a series of funny commercials asking people how they "White Hen" as if White Henning is a verb.  There are various responses referring to their coffee such as "double espresso with a shot of cherry chocolate syrup".   Nothing sounds more disgusting to me than cherry coffee, but maybe it's a Chicago thing.

Yesterday, we met Autumn in the city for some Thai food, walking exercise, and enjoyment of the holiday cityscape. The chilly temps and winds didn't keep us away. We're slowly but surely finding the good spots (like White Hen) and where the homeless people hang out. Autumn introduced us to the Chicago Cultural Center, which was a great resource for maps and things to do. While we were there, she showed us a fabulous view of Millennium Park in the Children's Choir room. We snuck in while a crew was stacking chairs.

We also visited Millennium Park to see the Cloud Gate and skyline.  Yeah, I think about "Adventures in Babysitting" too when I see the Smurfit-Stone building, too.

I'm really looking forward to the Christkindl Market, which is a outdoor German market with authentic German crafts and food.  I'm imagining elves serving me Glog from those little red and white striped tents.

We were surprised to see that the giant Christmas tree isn't a tree so much as many, many trees put together.  I'm not sure if it's fascinating or deceptive.

The best part was that it was Pete's first trip on the Metra.  He's totally sold on the Metra - $5 weekend passes, restrooms, and convenience of being located next to our house.  After our tour and a few beers at E&C, we White Henned, not with coffee but with 6 bottles of 312 Urban Wheat and enjoyed our ride home.

Happy Halloween

On Monday morning, at approximately 6:30 am, my vacation ended.  I am now an employed tax-paying contributor of society. 

Luckily last week, I was able to sneak in a trip to St. Louis and it was fun.   One of the things about moving to Chicagoland that excited me was that I could take the train from Union Station.  Amtrak has a big hub here, and the possibilities are endless.   HOWEVER, I would definitely NOT recommend taking the Amtrak more than 5 miles in any direction.  My trip back was no less than an HOUR AND A HALF late.  Oy Vay.  But, to their credit, I did not have to stay in my seat or refrain from using my cell phone!   You can form a line at the lavatory and carry liquids on board!  I didn't have to arrive 2 hours early for a security check and there was plenty of room everywhere.

Here are some pics from my trip:

Fall

Fall is definitely my favorite season. While I shudder at the thought of shorter, darker days, the cooler air, beautiful scenery, and fall festivities are my favorite. My time off of work has allowed me to enjoy some of this season's finery and today was a perfect example because it was raining beautiful, brightly colored leaves. We had a hard frost last night, and it must have been the trick to pull the leaves off the trees. Across the street, one tree lost every last one of it's leaves today, and all morning, it was a rain shower of small branches. It was audible from my front porch, and I rather enjoyed Mother Nature's incredible show. I even took a short movie to prove it to Pete. The Northeast boasts a barrage of "leaf peepers" and gorgeous sights - especially in Vermont and New Hampshire - but the Midwest can hold it's own during fall in the Deciduous Tree Department.