This is Why I Love Christmas!

I left Chicago for 3 weeks to be with family and friends.  The time flew by and this was the only picture I took!  It is a good thing all of the grandchildren were smiling!  What a sweet treat for me!!!

Thanksgiving

This weekend will be a jewel in my crown for some time.  My heart is swelling with joy and gratitude for my family and specifically my daughter Joan who paid us a visit.  Because Todd and I live in a place that our children have never lived, they do not have close friends that they can visit and socialize with when they come to see us.  Hence, we feel it is important to plan things to see and do to help entertain them.  Although Todd and I are enough reason to visit, we like to sweeten the trip just a bit.

For this visit with Joan, we started by driving over 700 miles to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant that is located in the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters in northern Wisconsin.  This is the location of the shoot out with Dillinger, Baby Face Nielson, and gang with the FBI in 1934.  The restaurant has never replaced the windows shattered during the fight.  Rather, they placed glass on both sides so that the original windows could be maintained.   There are several bullet holes and shattered pains of glass between Joan and me. 

Friday morning after sleeping in, Joan and I hit State Street in Chicago to go shopping.  We had a great time.  We had a surprise 50% off coupon at Sears.  That was fun.

That evening, Todd planned and took us to a dinner show at Tommy Gun's Garage.  This was a continuation of the gangster theme from yesterday.  We had a great time, fun family entertainment.

Saturday morning, Todd and I had the privilege of accompanying Joan to her first temple visit.  What an incredible experience it was to share these times with Joan.  We are so proud that she has accepted a call to serve her God as a missionary in Phoenix, Arizona!  Be aware Spanish speakers, Sister Pickett is on her way!

To end the visit, we attended Les Miserables that evening. Yes, we had fairly high seats but they were not the last row.  (Does anyone remember the nose bleed seats for CATS in Madrid?)  The music was very well done and inspiring.  It was a great way to end a wonderful weekend.  I am so looking forward to Christmas!

A Little Change is Good

Last week I changed my living room furniture around.  I moved the piano where my bookshelves had been and placed my coach where my piano had been.  It really opened up my apartment!  It feels much more inviting.  I like it!

 

 

Welcome Caleb!

My daughter and her husband just welcomed a new baby boy, Caleb, into their family.  As with their other children, Caleb was overdue, more than 10 pounds, and 23 inches long!

 I think lengthy gestations and big babies just run through a part of my family.  When Tara was born, she was over 8 pounds and measured 22 inches long.  I have included a picture of Tara and her cousin taken within a few weeks of their births.  These two babies were born within 7 days of each other.  It is true that Tara was 10 days late and her cousin was early, but look at the difference! 

 Announcing the birth of Tara's babies is always fun.  Both because of the announcement and also for the comments.  My mom said, "She spits them out half grown."  Todd's mother said, "I bet she is glad to have that over with."  In all, however, it think it is just as Tara's doctor said, "That's just the way God makes them." 

Labor Day Ride

I have lived in Chicago for two winters and two summers.  I do not care much for the winter, but I love Chicago summers.  One of my favorite things to do is ride my bike.  Chicago has a great trail along lake Michigan that extends for eighteen miles.  Where I live is located about in the middle.  I have been to the north end of the trail a couple of times.  Not until today, however, had I been to the southern tip.  I took pictures of the sign that marks the beginning/end of the southern trail.  It was a great ride, lots of water, green reserves and just enough other bikers and pedestrians to make the event friendly.

Surprise Visitors!

Today, I just happened to run into my niece Amber from Wisconsin.  When I say run into, I mean run into.  I was standing in a hallway in the Chicago temple when I spotted her walking very quickly.  We greeted each other, also quickly, as she was trying to make the next worship service that was starting in the next few minutes.  Good news is that she made it.  Unfortunately, however, her husband did not.  So, she pulled out to wait to attend with him.  This presented me a great opportunity, I could watch their little girl and her friend while my niece, her husband, and their friends all attended a worship service together.  That is how I ended up with this picture of two cute little girls at my house!

Air and Water Show

Just before Joan left to return to school, she, Todd, and I went on a brunch cruise to see the Chicago Air and Water show.  The show and food were good but the company was great.  Thanks for the visit Joan.  We miss you!

Thanks for the Visit

Earlier this week, my daughter and her family returned to their home after delighting us with a visit.  After the house is all put back in order and life gets back to normal, I have all kinds of sweet memories such as...

Road trip to Springfield

Parades and Programs

Saved Seats

Used Seats

Old Seats

Unusual Seats and ...

Horse Eats

Library Fun

and Books

3-D Glasses

Ocean Naps and...

a Bus Trip to Kansas

What a great time I had!!! 

Riding the "L"

My daughter and her family recently visited us in Chicago.  We did road trips out of the city, lots of museum in the city, and even stood on the sky deck of the Willis Tower.  Still, the one landmark that held the most fascination and received the most unsolicited comments was the "L".  Every time we were outside they would listen for it!  Everywhere we went, they would look for it!  So...when the adults went to dinner at a fine Chicago steakhouse, we went for a ride on the "L". 

Looking down at the street from the "L" entrance.

Starting the "L" experience.

 

Waiting for the train.

Riding the train...

and riding some more!

Waiting for the next train.

Crossing the bridge from one side of the "L" to the other.

In all, we probably went on at least 8 different trains, stopping at different stops and hopping on the next train coming through.  We went on the brown, pink, orange, and purple lines.  The only one we didn't try was the green.  It was a delightful hour and 45 minutes and Daniel still wanted to keep going! 

Spelling and Pronounciation

I have been reviewing a college writing handbook from many years ago.  I am doing it in hopes of improving my writing skills.  One of the sections of the book addressed words frequently misspelled because they have more than one correct pronunciation.  For fun, I have copied the list below.  How do you pronounce these words?  (I think I should add the word pronunciation!)

surprise
government
arctic
boundary
comparable
February
generally
interest
veteran
laboratory
memory
sophomore
literature
temperature
perhaps
where
hundred

Learning Something New About Andy Warhol

Growing up, I had always thought that Andy Warhol's painting of Mao was an anti-American statement.  This week I learned differently.  Rather, Mr. Warhol's intent was to mock Mao by duplicating a picture for individual profit that all Chinese citizen were required to carry inside their communist notebook.  Besides making a profit on his painting, the makeup painted on the face would have been seen by the Chinese as abhorrent. Warhol painted hundred's of these paintings in varying sizes changing the colors on the face and background.  He painted only three that were fifteen feet in height as the one I have photographed here.   

Trying Something New

Summer in Chicago is so much fun!  There are concerts, walks, the parks are great and they have exercise class outdoor on Saturday morning.   This last week, I decided to try something new, Tai Chi.  This class starts at  7 am.  It is certainly a unique exercise program.  To do it well, I think you would have to study this consistently as the routines seem to be memorized.  My all time favorite class is Yoga.  It starts at 8 am.  They also have a Pilates class at 9. 

The second picture is of the Zumba class at 10 am.  There were lots of newcomers by them.  No matter what class you go to, it is beautiful to be outside breathing the fresh air and moving.  All classes are sponsored by guess who....McDonalds!

A Bible with a Great Story

I am cleaning out shelves and boxes to accommodate my smaller apartment.  I have decided to discard a bible given to me by my grandmother, Martina Dalebout Duffin.  Before I do, I want to share the pictures and short story of this book. 

 

This is a King James Bible published in 1941.  It is leather bound.  It was purchased by Martina from a door-to-door salesman.  I don't know if she knew or only assumed, but her reason for purchasing the book was to help the man who was trying to support his family during those difficult economic times.

Although the cover is very warn, the interior was left unmarked.  For that reason I felt that the value was in  the story and not the tattered bible itself.  

A Suprise in Grant Park

Todd and I had a tour of Grant Park today.  This is the park we look at from our front windows.  During the tour, I saw and learned two more interesting points about the park.  First, there is this great statute of Christopher Columbus at the south end of the park marking the entrance into the park on Columbus Drive.

The other surprise and really interesting point was about the section of the park called the "Hall of the Presidents".  Currently, the only statue of presidents in the park is of Abraham Lincoln at the north end.  The original plans included one more statue on the south end.  It was to be of George Washington.  I would love to see a statute of George in the park!

Memorial Day

Todd was out of town attending a special award ceremony for his father. He tells me it was wonderful!  Being alone in Chicago, I thought up a last minute Memorial Day outing for myself and invited some friends.  We enjoyed an outdoor concert at the Pritzker Pavillion in Millennial Park.  The first act was  Soctt Lucas and the Married Men.  The second was Kelly Hogan.  They are both Chicago born artists and bands.   For not being with family, it is great to have good friends!

V-8 Summit

I had a tour at the Merchandize Mart building this morning.  The building was sponsoring a contest for sculptures made from canned food that would later be donated to food pantries.  After this last week, I have to say that the V-8 Summit was my favorite.

I also really liked the light house as well.  I have a view of it from my front window.

NATO on Monday

Today is the last day of the NATO summit.  I saw a couple of small protests from my window.  This quarter circle park I have taken a picture of is famous for protests.  This is where the 1968 Democratic Convention riots started.  If there is to be a protest, it is usually either there or at Daley Plaza.  Anyway, the buses and cars parked on the circular road around the park are all for police.  There are a lot of police around the parameter of the park as well.  They do this to separate the protesters from the general public.  My point is that the protesting crowd was small. 

What a surprise I had in the evening when I looked out my window to see more protesters.  Remember, the NATO summit people are gone!  Still, we had this sit-in on Michigan Avenue and Jackson.  The protestors had a megaphone.  That means I could hear them as well as see them from my window.  After listening a while, I got the feeling that this was a love fest/testimony meeting.  They were taking turns talking about how they had been wronged and discriminated against.  They spoke about the injustice they had to endure and how they had found meaning and friendship with each other and their cause.
 

After a while, the protesters started spreading out into a large circle while holding hands.  A few individuals walked towards the center of the circle.  They started baring more than a testimony.  They were stripping off their shirts.  There was a moment there when I wondered if they would stop!  Thankfully they did just removing their shirts.  (Yes, some of them had to pull up their pants in the processes of walking into the center of the circle to avoid tripping on themselves!)  Then, the whole crowd started to "omm".  After being on the corner for several hours, they finally broke up.

Over the last few days I have observed the following:  First, most protesters in the Sunday parade were legitimate citizen voicing their opinion in a lawful way.  Second, there was an element who wanted to pick a fight with anyone for any reason.  Thirdly, there are several people who felt that their right to free speech allowed them to trample on the rights of others, hurt their business revenues, unlawfully block their streets and traffic and in many ways inconvenience them.  Lastly, I just want to thank all of you for paying your federal taxes which helped to pay for the policemen who had to babysit these people.

NATO's Sunday Evening Hooligans

I thought the days events were over after the large march in the afternoon.  I was wrong.  Sunday evening was a different category.  I won't even give the agitators the dignity of calling them protesters, the majority were hooligans.  They were small in number and split into small erratic groups moving like mobs through the immediate downtown area that I had access to.

 Picture of Jackson and Michigan Avenue.  Police are anticipating the protestors traveling south from in front the Art Institute.

This is the corner of Wabash and Jackson.  (The west side of my block.)  It is difficult to see the police gathered on each point of the corner.  They were there to build police lines across streets should they be needed.  There were lots of agitators around.  Rather than really protesting for a cause, they were trying to stir up problems with police and spectators.  Scarey.

There was a contingent of protesters that stayed at the Art Institute for hours until about 11:00 pm that evening.  This photo was taken about 10:30 pm.  The white vans are all government vans used to move the police around.

NATO on Sunday

This is my good friend and neighbor Annette.  We spent the early afternoon together watching the "parade" from my window.  There were a lot of people protesting.  The Chicago Tribune estimated about four thousand.  Their numbers, however, were not the feared tens of thousands the "Occupiers" threatened.  (Thank goodness!)  I have actually seen more people leaving Grant Park at one time for other popular events.  It was a lively crowd that included mostly normal people.  The predominant message was anti-war.  The group moved very slowly...It took about 20 minutes for them to pass by my window.  I have included some shots below.

This was the beginning of the march.  I believe the double-decker red bus has press people.

Highlighted in this photo are the US service men and women who were the "grand marshals" of the protest.  They were going to throw away their war medals at the end of the march. 

 The police led the march and were also the rearward.  The finale were the street sweepers as pictured below.