Navy Pier Snow Days 2011

In the spirit of enjoying, and not wishing away, winter, we walked over to Navy Pier on Sunday for their Snow Days. We especially enjoyed the huskies and the sled dogs demos. These huskies were all rescued from local animal shelters and trained to pull sleds. But, they (as we all are) were a work in progress. At one point, as the sled rounded the bend, the lead dog got distracted by a great dane onlooker and pulled hard left to say hi. An abrupt stop to say the least! On the other side of the exhibit were the snow sculptures. Teams from all over the world (China and Mexico were two countries represented) arrived to carve 10x6x6 blocks of snow, created by blowing articfical snow into a giant mold. Really fun to tour and see up close the amazing details!What a fun way to enjoy the winter day!

Trip to Springfield IL 12/10

We loved our weekend in Springfield IL visiting all things Lincoln. The Lincoln Musuem is 4 years old and now rates as one of my favorite museums in the world! Sarah and I had been studying Lincoln and the Civil War so this was the perfect finish to our studies. The first day was the Lincoln Museum and the second we visited his home and tomb. Great experience!

Blizzard 2011!!

What a BLAST! A blast of real winter I should say. Chicago got hit Tuesday and Wednesday with a storm that now sits number 3 on the list of Chicago's all time biggest storms. Our snowfall averaged out around 21 inches. But, if you ask me, the snow wasn't the biggest component. We had major WIND, especially Tuesday night, when we had sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts above 60mph. That is quite an experience on floor 55 let me tell you! A blizzard by definition is a snowstorm with sustained winds above 35 mph. So, we easily beat that! In addition to the wind and snow and whiteouts, we had a Thunder Snow. Never had of that? Me neither! Tuesday night we had lots of lightning and thunder to go with our snow and wind. Very odd. The snow basically was blown out of our neighborhood so upon waking our immediate block had only 4 - 5 inches. But we got a bunch more Wednesday am and then the winds shifted and we got some blown in from the west. I had gone to Whole Foods early Monday am for soup fixin's and produce so we were in good shape. A quick poll of our neighbors and doormen indicated power outages in the building were unlikely, but we rounded up a flashlight with batteries just in case.

We headed out Wednesday am about 10:30, suited up in full for an explore. After heading down Randolph and across to the playground for a minute we continued on to Michigan Ave. Some sidewalks had been cleared but not all so we found it easier to walk down the middle of Randolph, adjusting our path to avoid the occasional snow plow and yes, the #60 bus. I'm telling you, we were amazed at the number of buses and taxis still out and about. Lots of people too, like us, taking pictures and surveying the area. The dogs and their humans were also out in force and for the dogs, it was just an great opportunity for FUN! Some had jackets and booties on, but they all hopped and jumped thru the drifts, eagerly greeting everyone as if to say, "isn't this GREAT?!" In fact, Tuesday night as the storm was getting cranked up, there were several dogs and humans playing out in the six acre park! Wed am, they were back out there again. Chicago dog people are the best!

We headed north on Michigan, noting that Walgreens and CVS were both open, and checked out the bridge and river up at Wacker. We started west on Wacker to check out the former site of Ft Dearborn, stepped thru a bunch of drifts then headed back. Cutting thru the park, we visited the coffee shopped, fully staffed with two tired looking girls. They both lived in neighboring buildings so they walked to work. They were staying open that day until they ran out of supplies...the barista guessed that might be around 2pm.

In spite of what you might have seen about Lake Shore Drive (which, I know, was not good) Dick and I were both really impressed with how quickly things got dealt with all over. Today (Thursday) the schools are still closed, but that appears to be because as of last evening, there were still a bunch of schools without power. This is the first time in 12 years that the CPS system has had a snow day. So, two in a row is really without precedent! As of yesterday early afternoon, everything that I could see from our windows was clean and ice free. The El was mostly running and the suburban Metra trains were running somewhat too. Buses were still making their runs and cabs were available. Of course they have tons of plows and salt trucks, but we discovered that they also have quick hitch plows for the fronts of all the garbage trucks too! Most people have had great attitudes about inconveniences.....along the lines of, "It's Chicago, this happens!" Lots of stories about neighbors helping neighbors, drivers on LSD sharing cars to conserve gas, neighbors of the LSD mess bringing bars and sandwiches down to the stuck drivers.

The saving factor in the storm was that the lakefront was mostly iced over. This prevented HUGE predicted waves washing out over the beaches onto Lake Shore Drive. I've seen that on plain regular windy days, and it's taken out fencing, completely encased benches with ice, and closed down several northbound lanes. Lots of people (well, really, just the media) seem to be criticizing authorities for not closing LSD, but without that open, there would have been significant traffic problems everywhere else as the city tried to beat the worst of the storm home.
I finally muted the news reports cause I just got so aggravated with the tone of the reporting, but I still liked seeing the pictures!

So now, I feel like our Chicago winter experience is complete.

My Top Ten.....Apologies to Letterman......

Well, we've passed the half-way point in our Great Chicago Adventure. And, I've learned some things about city life. Following is my Top Ten Things that I've learned as a Chicagoan these past almost seven months. This won't be clever or anything.....I'll leave that to Letterman.....but it's kinda cool to look back on what I've had to change or adapt to in our new life here.

1. Cars are the hassle I've always thought they were. Driving's not bad....but the parking will kill ya. We use ours here for going to Classical Conversations (school) on Mondays, church on Saturday nights and Costco outings. Sometimes, too to the grocery store......I wish I had tracked our mileage since we moved here. I'm sure it's just a fraction of our average Atlanta mileage. We walk everyday and urban life makes it easy.

2. Dogs are important to me and to Sarah. I really miss not having one (or two) here with us. I frequent the pet adoption sites, and the breed specific websites. Sarah will peek over my shoulder and say, "You shouldn't be out there...." and she's right. We often walk to the Dog Park across the street to get our fix. We'll get a couple furry children when we get back to ATL.

3. A hamster is not a dog. Sarah tried to teach Snowball to sit and stay. Entertaining to watch , but not successful as you can imagine.

4. Gardening is something I miss when I don't do it. Even if I had a balcony with several big pots, that might be enough. Now that the seed catalogs are arriving in my mailbox, I'm really frustrated that I'll miss the planting again. I probably just need to not read them. I've also been known to deadhead and weed on the sly in the Lurie Gardens at Millennium Park.

5. Culture (you know, opera, concerts, museums....) feeds my soul. I'm happier when I get regular doses of it. It's MUCH easier to get here in the city than back in ATL.

6. You can get a bike on and off an elevator quickly if you plan ahead.

7. I LIKE riding my bike. Especially on the Lakefront path. Exercise in general has much more appeal if there's a purpose to it. Riding to the museum.....walking to the library or dinner.....that's the kind of exercise I wish I could do all the time. Round and round on the treadmill makes me crazy.

8. If you don't read the papers, the Chicago politics don't bother you.

9. Diversity is fascinating. In my building alone, where I'm sure we are ethnic minorities, I've heard countless different languages being spoken. It's amazing.

10. I need a house with a yard in downtown Chicago. Any ideas?

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!