The WIND.....now that's something else.....

When the weather report comes up, it doesn't usually make a big, if any deal about the wind. But, I can tell you, living here, this is a BIG factor in our day to day outings. And, living in the clouds, with no balcony can make it hard to plan properly. About two weeks ago, I went for a bike ride heading north on the lake front path. When my bike and I finally got down to street level, it was colder than I expected....kinda thought about going back up for a jacket.....but decided once I got riding I'd be fine. Lovely ride, practically flew up past Fullerton (several miles) and then realized I needed to get back. Coming home however was another story! Either the wind just started up or the wind was the reason I practically flew all the way up to Fullerton! I discovered why bikes have gears....mine has seven and I'd never used anything other than #6 and #7. Well I quickly downshifted to #1 and my legs were going round and round and round and I was hardly moving! My eyes were tearing so much I was having trouble seeing and I was freezing. I started mentally working thru my options.....and there weren't any....other than just keep on plowing into the wind. I really wondered for a bit what I was going to do! Walking the bike home was NOT what I wanted to do......I coulda used a bench and a rest but I was so cold! I did keep going....I didn't give up (that's for you Sarah!) and I made it home. Actually, I felt really good! The good kind of exhaustion.....don't get me wrong....I was really tired....but I hadn't worked that hard physically in a while and it was great!

Then last week, the night before Thanksgiving, my mom and all five of us (the big kids flew in from ATL) decided to walk down to Giordano's for pizza for dinner. We knew it was cold and a little rainy, but that night we all experienced WIND like never before. At one point, I was crossing the street and a gust hit me so hard I almost fell over and my glasses nearly went flying. I AM NOT EXAGERATING! I'm not a tiny girl...duh...and the wind nearly sent me sprawling! We all were laughing, crying and just plain thrilled to finally make it to the restaurant. We assigned kevin to my mom to make sure the night did not include broken bones or emergency room visits. The walk home was about as bad....so bad it was funny.....we arrived soaked, Sarah had been crying, saying that she couldn't breathe....the rest of us laughing til our sides ached...and no emergency room visits.....and we were Thankful.....

Our First Guest!

Sarah's friend Abby flew up from Atlanta over this past weekend and we delighted in showing off our fair city to her. Visits to Navy Pier and, of course, the American Girl Store are even more fun when you get to bring a friend! And, we made a quick trip down the street early Sunday am to watch the start of the Chicago Marathon. We got there early enough to see the start of the wheelchair races and also, one double amputee on prosthetic legs. Incredible to watch them all, knowing they would be going for 26 miles. After about 10 minutes, the elite runners came by, looking more like they were running a sprint. Someone told me the elite runners would finish in just over 2 hours. It's mind boggling..... The weather was warm---up near the mid 80's....I don't even check weather.com anymore cause it's always wrong! I thought we moved north! Still have that new coat, you know, the sleeping bag with a hood.....

Pumpkins, and Dragons and Camels oh my!

My sister and her family live in Crystal Lake....out in the boonies, if you ask me! But, it's an easy train ride on the commuter line, so we've been taking turns going back and forth. So, a couple of weeks ago, Sarah and I headed out there (it's about 1 1/2 hours each way...but it's comfy and easy) to join them for an outing to a pumpkin farm. We fed giraffes, watched a pumpkin eating dragon, rode a camel and just enjoyed the fall day. Bought a small pumpkin, best for carrying on a train and headed back after dinner. We so enjoy hanging with Tisha and her three girls!

MORE....Millenium Park

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra got a new conductor this season, Ricardo Muti and it's a BIG Deal. They did a free concert in MP to celebrate and man was it packed. The three of us met up with my sis in law, Janet, daughter Jaimie and boyfriend Dan and Dan's mom. The lighting was really pretty, and if you look closely, you can see that the neighboring hi rise buildings spell out Muti, and CSO in their window lights. Again, just a wonderful evening!

The Beauty of HomeSchooling

In September, the Adler Planetarium had a free admission week, so one morning, Sarah and I got on our bikes and rode the Lakefront Path down to spend the day. It was a picture perfect morning and we had such fun on our ride, and of course the Planetarium was great! By the way, I have the coolest bike...a comfort model, in bright orange with white leather seat and grips. It makes me smile every time I see it. And, I see it often since it's parked in my dining room!

While I'm playing catch up

As I was just looking thru iphoto to post the pics to the last blog, I found some other ones....

Sarah had her 8th birthday in July and the whole family came into the city for a picnic and concert at Millenium Park, our FAVORITE hangout....

Illinois Institute of Technology hosted a Lego thing and we invited my nephew Kyle (prince of all Lego things) to join us. He and Sarah enjoyed that, as well as the silver helium pillows---actually an art installation conceived long ago (but constructed for the Lego weekend) by Andy Warhol.

I'll throw in any other summer ones that I find.....

When you can't remember how to start a new post on your blog.....you know it's been too long since you posted! Summer was more like one long vacation, but once September got here, the business of life swallowed us up! It's all been good though! We started a home school program on Mondays called Classical Conversations. We've met several families here in the city and are enjoying it very much. Sarah also does ballet twice a week and I started my first piano student here two weeks ago. Starting, too, to network for Silpada in the city while still caring for my Atlanta customers. So, a lot is going on!

August we headed back to Atlanta to help Elizabeth get back to UGA and then returned to the city to enjoy the Tall Ships events at Navy Pier. We sailed on a replica 1812 warship....and visited the HMS Bounty. It was constructed in the 1990's specifically for use in films and was the featured ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean. It is completely authentic on the outside, but custom built on the interior to allow extra room for lights and cameras. There were a dozen others, all fabulous and beautiful. The ships all sailed in on Tuesday of that week in a parade and we rode our bikes down near the planetarium to watch it all unfold.

The end of the month found us up in Wisconsin with Dick's family for our neice Jessica's wedding to Ben. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding in Dick's folks back yard, along a stream and finishing in their gazebo. Great weather finished a perfect day, and Jessica and Ben are on their way to London where Jessica will finish her medical training. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up!

Well....now that I've a new camera, I've been taking pics and just put them into iphoto. So, let's see if I can post them to the blog......

Quick, Call Land's End!

Saturday, September 4 2010......The first day we were COLD! The week had been quite warm--Monday was in the low 90's and I was getting pretty cranky....Chicago had betrayed me with promises of a cool lake breeze and reasonable summer temps. Then, we moved here and have had the hottest summer on record for decades. Atlanta had been cooler than Chicago by 6 - 10 degrees for the first part of the week. I really should not have Chicago and Atlanta weather side by side at my weather.com home page......

We headed over to Grant Park Saturday around 4:30 with a picnic to enjoy a part of the weekend Jazz Festival. We grabbed our jackets because it was cooler than usual that day and if we stayed into the evening, we would probably want them. By 6:00, we all had our outerwear on. I had a white denim jacket and it did not get the job done. Sarah had her warmest NorthFace type coat and Dick had a fleece. I checked weather while we were there (on my Blackberry---aren't I a techie?) and....get this...it was 62 degrees!!! That's it! We are SO gonna freeze up here.....

My coat wardrobe consists of the above mentioned denim and a thin fleece. I got home and went out to lands end and ordered what EVERY woman that I've talked to said I needed. It's a black, down Michelin-man (I'm sure) long coat with a fur trimmed hood. Fashionable? I think not! LE description says it's good down to 40 below. I also ordered Sarah a real winter coat and snow pants. Dick has been instructed to get out to LE and order some stuff as well...

But, the good news is daytime temps of mid to high 60's are delightful. Our Sunday trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden couldn't have been nicer weather. Today is sunny with a high of 77 and very windy. I'm OK with that....

What just happened.....?

Here's one for the record books.....Last Thursday, Sarah and I were walking home from ballet and saw a big street sign advertising the musical Shrek, which is in town for about another month. She's asked several times about seeing it, but I didn't really want to pay full price, so I've just been waiting. I've gotten some Broadway in Chicago emails with specials, but they weren't all that special. Then, a friend mentioned that her friend had gotten $25 Shrek tickets on the day of performance at the theater box office. Now, that was a price I was willing to pay......

So, we turned around and walked down to the theater box office. I asked about the $25 tics and he had two....and told me they were on the main floor, with a partially obstructed view (in this case, no pole, just far off to the side) and that the guy next to me paid $90. Such a deal! So I paid for the tics and we headed home for the afternoon. About 7pm, Sarah and I hailed a cab (theater was close, but shoes were not walkers) and glancing at the envelope front, told the cabbie to go to the Cadillac Palace theater. As we neared the theater that I had been to earlier that day, the cab didn't slow. And then I saw....I had been in the Oriental Theater, and in spite of the ENORMOUS signs and the detailed marquee advertising, I realized I had bought two tics to BILLY ELLIOT! Checking my tickets confirmed that I had indeed purchased tickets for the wrong show at a completely different theater! How in the world did I miss that I was in the theater showcasing Billy Elliot??? So the cabbie, after studying me for a minute, circled the block and pulled in at Billy Elliot. So, we saw Billy Elliot.

And Sarah is still asking about Shrek.

Running Errands--City Style!

Yesterday was my errands day.....city style means no car....so I set out with Sarah about 9am and headed to ballet camp. It takes us about 15 minutes or so to walk over and once she was dropped off I backtracked a block to catch the brown line up to my new chiropractor. I'm still not as confident as I will be at navigating the transportation here and usually have a few post-its with details as well as my little laminated maps in my purse. My goal is to be like the majority of the commuters: reading a book while listening to their ipod/cellphone and magically knowing when their stop is approaching. Then, being able to swiftly move to the door without losing or dropping anything would be the icing on the cake!

Once I exited the train, I had another 15 - 20 minute walk to the office. Such an interesting walk though! In one block I saw a peach tree, a Starbucks, an Iglesia Christiano, a double decker bike (two frames, one on top of the other) being ridden by a guy with purple spikey hair and two moms pushing their toddlers in strollers. Some of the little courtyard gardens were lovely....and some were not. Mixed zoning at it's finest. It is also interesting to note that with cell phone headsets, it is difficult now to tell the Probably Crazies apart from the Could Be Crazies----everyone (except me!) is talking to themselves! But it did occur to me that this walk might not be so interesting in the dead of winter so I'm gonna try the bus next time and see if that reduces the walking.

After my chiropractor, I took the brown line back into the Loop and got off at the Library stop. Headed for the Barnes and Noble to get a couple things for school and then met up with Dick for a quick Thai lunch. I continued on to another appt and Dick went up to ballet and walked Sarah home. As I walked home thru Millenium Park, the filming helicopter was very busy getting shots of the Lake, river and park again. Honestly, those guys never stop. We see them multiple times each day.....and often so close to our windows that we can see the guys IN the copter. They're still blowing things up a couple of blocks over at Michigan and the river so booms and smoke are part of the background up here in the clouds!

Here's our only pic from LaSalle street which Dick shot before we found out they are CRAZY serious about no pics on their set.......note Pritzker Pavilion in the background.....

We found out that Transformers 3 is in town shooting, and this past weekend, they were in my backyard! We were up and out at 7am hanging around the park across the street waiting for helicopters and parachuters. Apparently, alien robots are coming to a theater near you, but they start out life as (crazy) big guys in black jumping from helicopters in very narrow spaces among the downtown high rises. We saw the five jump and steer through the neighbor buildings and land in our park. They then dragged their chutes to the fenced playground and re folded them in the middle of the swings. Pretty cool...though making movies seems to involve alot of sitting and waiting and then some fast action.....the guys in black will be digitally erased and replaced with the bad robots. I'll have to bone up on this Transformer stuff....

After the parachuting, we headed to the Loop where LaSalle and several cross streets were completely closed. Large concrete debris, burned out cars, smoldering piles covered LaSalle. But, they're all made of foam! Well, the cars are real...some with and some without engines....We saw them shoot an explosion from a block away (that was as close as we could get, and believe me, I tried). They shouted "Fire in the hole!", and we covered our ears. Big, loud bangs, small fireworks, two flipped cars and a VERY low flying helicopter (probably 2 - 3 stories above ground) filming it all....we clapped and cheered, and I made a mental note to see Transformer 1...or whatever the first one is called.

On our way back, we cut through Millenium Park where the Chinese American Museum was hosting the family activities in the Target Family Tent. Sarah completed a dragon craft, and had her name written in Chinese calligraphy.

Is this a GREAT city, or what!!!!

Wow....they're making a movie in my backyard!

painted forest

In our walks around town we've come across these groves of orange and yellow painted trees. It was so pretty and eye catching, but puzzling! Hitting google told us that it's a joint project between the Chicago Park District and their landscape firm. It was installed late last fall to provide color and they used over 100 dead trees sourced from area nurseries. I think it's a great way to add color and use dead trees!

Not to be outdone by those artsy-folks, the Field Museum dressed one of their residents in a Blackhawk Jersey.....quite a time of celebration after the Stanley Cup Win.....

Finally, here's a picture of the Lions with the Blackhawk helmets that greeted us on move-in day!

Being green.....

Last Wednesday, after reading about the forty something weekly farmer's markets in Chicago, I headed out to the grand daddy of them all, the Green City Market, held up in Lincoln Park. I entered the address into the RTA trip planner and it told me exactly what buses to take. I left about 7:30am and by 8:00 was enjoying a beautiful spread of local and sustainable harvests. Oh my goodness was it pretty! So many different colors of tomatoes, fat blueberries, greens galore and homemade breads and sauces and desserts. The people there were equally colorful--moms with stroller tykes, older folks, suits on their way to work, overwhelmed newcomers (me), dog walkers with beautiful dogs (almost all were big dogs BTW---and I petted each one!). I circled the whole thing twice before getting a game plan. I ended up with blueberries, fresh( not dried) pasta, fresh shelled peas, one pound ground beef, portabella spaghetti sauce, and a non-dairy berry smoothie for my breakfast! I would have gotten more, but I ran out of cash! It was great to talk with the farmers themselves--they're pride was obvious and they couldn't have been more helpful. It was also quite a "community"---I got the feeling the customers and the vendors were all regulars---they all seemed to know one another and were asking after each other. I suppose, this might have been what it was like before the big superstores.....kinda nice...

I also found a small indoor farmers market between the apartment and Sarah's ballet. Great place to stop for items to fill out dinner. They also referred me to the Pastoral Cheese shop, and they fixed me up with some shavings of parmesan when I realized that I didn't own a grater here and couldn't grate their wedges. Super nice folks...

Funny to think that in the heart of the city I have access to all this wonderful, healthy food with more choices than in Atlanta! And, I get to walk to it!

Enjoying life out at Tisha and Ian's hanging with Anaka, Autumn and Aaliyah while mom and dad are in humid Miami! The three girls and Sarah have had such fun together: tea parties, trampoline and Wii for starters! I took Autumn and Aaliyah to lunch individually on Tuesday and Wednesday. They both chose IHOP and both chose the funny face pancake loaded with whipped cream. What a special meal! They've been very helpful around the house with the kitchen and the critters. The baby praying mantises, Speedy and Darla (!!!) are still alive eating a subsistence diet of mealworms that I got at the nature center and flightless fruit flies, since neither Dick nor Aaliyah have had any luck catching house flies. They recently molted and I know they're hungry, so I'm pretty stressed about this. Merlin the cat is enjoying my feet and has lots to say to me.

Off to the Brookfield Zoo today and then back to the city in the am!

Out my window almost straight north, we can see the Ohio Street Beach nestled in the trees. So this morning Sarah and I took my new AWESOME beach/grocery/picnic cart and walked on over. It was about a 25 minute walk (sure looks closer from the apartment), but a lovely one along the lakeshore mostly. We know a few shortcuts thru parking lots which aren't gorgeous but the lakefront was clear and sunny and blue with a gentle breeze. When we arrived about 9:45 it was pretty quiet. I set up my chair under the shade of the trees and Sarah headed for the water. I left the plastic cups (our version of sand toys) in the apt, but she had fun anyway! It heated up pretty quickly to the mid 80's and we headed back about 11:30. Chores and practicing now then off to the 'burbs this evening til Saturday to stay with Tisha's girls while she and Ian head out of town. We'll stop by Janet's and Jaimie's Schaumburg townhome on the way back into the city Saturday am for a quick piano lesson, the we'll be back into our lovely home.

Thursday Sarah and I made our first grocery run. We walked to Whole Foods (1 1/2 miles each way), made our selections, then arranged for them to be delivered for a fee of $10. Not too bad....We hoofed it back pretty quickly to meet the delivery guy who came to the door and put everything on the kitchen counters. Very convenient. Grocery shopping and workout all in one! I have however, recently purchased a wheeled cart for toting groceries home and will try that next time. I've also seen several Peapod deliveries unloading at the apartment. So....this is how urbanites grocery shop.....There's also a Trader Joes next to Whole Foods and a close by Dominicks, so we'll try those too!

I have a washer and dryer in the unit which I'm so happy about. Since this is an older building, most of the units do not have in unit laundry, but this one does...and it's bigger than I thought. When I want to do linens and bedding, I can use the big laundry facility downstairs. There are advantages to that.....several huge commercial size units....and many available washers so I can do multiple loads at one time.....but for now I'm doing it all here!

Went to Millenium Park's Pritzker Pavilion for three concerts so far. Had a picnic with our music Saturday evening. Yesterday my sis-in-law Janet and my neice Jaimie came down for a visit. Jaimie recently learned she's been selected for the Schaumburg Youth Orchestra on French Horn. Way to go Jaimie!! She'll be studying piano with me this year, which I am SO excited to be doing with her! Last night, in honor of her recent good news, we went to hear the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra at Pritzker. Great concert.... and it closed with a Concerto for Maracas! Yes, those shaky things in every child's rhythm band collection! The soloist was the percussionist with the Lyric Opera Orchestra and man was he good! I didn't know Maracas had different pitches and colors depending upon how you shake them. We were sitting right down in front so the visual was as good as the music. What fun!!

You know how some shoes are two hour shoes, some are good for heading in to dinner and walking back out and some are Disney worthy? I apparently own none qualified for hoofing around town. Sarah and I walked to the library today and I came back with seven blisters! I was wearing my favorite flats that I thought were good, but since they'd never been truly road tested, I was unaware of the dangers ahead. Stopped at Walgreens and bought bandaids....after I had twice applied Blister Stick while on a bench in Millenium Park. Worked for awhile, but not for too long. As we left our lunch-time restaurant, I stopped again to adjust the bandaid and the hostess whipped out a giant box of bandaids and asked if I needed another one. First bandaids offered by a restaurant .......but apparently I'm not the only one with foot challenges!

As we were limping home, we cut thru Millenium Park and the Grant Park orchestra was rehearsing for their first concert of the summer tomorrow evening. Sarah was all about stopping and listening since she recognized the piece as Vivaldi's Four Seasons, which is part of her favorite Classical Kids CD Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery. We plan to head over tomorrow night to hear the program in full.

Yesterday we discovered a treasure at the Art Institute. I've been to this museum scores of times in my life and never knew about the Thorne Room of Miniatures. All you Interior Designers and doll house lovers out there....take note. It is a fabulous collection of period accurate rooms from England, France and the US from the 1600's to the 1930's. They were assembled by Mrs. Thorne in the 1930's of authentic materials with the most breathtaking details! It's supposed to be the most accurate set of miniatures in the world. Sarah and I really enjoyed walking thru there---and they have a raised ledge for the vertically challenged to walk along so they can be sure to see everything as well!

Still can't find my camera. I'm dying to post pics of the Lions wearing the hockey helmets......

We're Here!

We arrived Thursday June 10th. Dick drove the UHaul truck skillfully through the downtown traffic and narrow lanes without incident. Sarah and I were in the Suburban and since I didn't have to park it, all went well! As we passed the Art Institute, we saw big black hockey helmets on the stone lions standing guard at the entrance, commemorating Chicago's Stanley Cup hockey win of the night before. I've seen tasteful wreaths and Santa hats before, but these helmets were firsts! We checked in with the leasing agent, signed a thousand papers and got our keys. The two guys hired to help us unload arrived promptly and made fast work of what took us a few weeks to pack. Now the work really began. Three 14 hour days and one trip each to Costco and Target and we have a new home! The views here are beautiful! We are on the 55th floor with a corner view to the north (Navy Pier and River/City) and the east (Lake Michigan and the harbor) so I have already wasted plenty of time just sitting and looking out the window.

My sister Tisha and her three beautiful girls joined us for the day yesterday. We walked over the the playground across the street and enjoyed a picnic with our fun. We then stopped at a second playground on the way back where the kids got soaked in the fountains. It was pretty cool, so when the blue lips set in we hustled back to the apartment. Yes, I have two playgrounds in lovely park settings within a 1/4 mile of our home. This corner where we are is right in the middle of everything but tucked away in the trees. Hard to beat that combination!

Today Sarah and I are off the the Art museum to see the Matisse exhibit before it leaves next week. Dick left yesterday (poor guy!) for Boston on business for the week. So all for now!