09/11/01
Never Forget
NEVER FORGIVE.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, September 09, 2011
Advertising Overkills
The first one I remember was the dancing silhouette people. They danced in ads for everything. They were cute at first, but then when everyone started doing it, I got annoyed quite quickly and decided to never click-thru on any of them, much less purchase anything they were touting.
Then the repeating (looping) GIFS - some of people dancing, others just of idiots acting like.. idiots - something mobile to draw the eye. Drew my eye, indeed. Drew it right to the spot - where I did NOT click-thru, nor did I do business with any of the companies using it.
The next one I recall was "Obama Wants You To....". Yeah. Right. Like Democrats are stupid enough to fall for such a blatantly STUPID marketing scam. Dear Repukelicans - we're smarter than that. We see through your silly attempt to scam us. Die in a fire. KTHKSBYE
Now it seems they've moved on to "ONE WEIRD TRICK". In many cases it appears that the "ONE WEIRD TRICK" is to have a really well-endowed chest and to stand provocatively in scanty undergarments in front of a camera. There's ONE WEIRD TRICK to lose weight, ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of belly fat, ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of wrinkles, ONE WEIRD TRICK to lower your car insurance rate, ONE WEIRD TRICK to enlarge your.... thingy.
What I want is ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of all the WEIRD TRICKS.
On the car radio, there is one professional voice-over guy who does ads for small companies for WCPT. Most of his rap isn't bad, but at the end of EVERY. SINGLE. AD. he repeats the telephone number 3 times, the first one as if it were a question, the second as if it were the answer to the question, and the third time as if it were the answer again. One time he upped the ante and went for FOUR boring repetitions. Good thing I don't have any sharp objects in my car.
Dear Voiceover Dude: STFU. KTHKSDIEINAFIRE
Then the repeating (looping) GIFS - some of people dancing, others just of idiots acting like.. idiots - something mobile to draw the eye. Drew my eye, indeed. Drew it right to the spot - where I did NOT click-thru, nor did I do business with any of the companies using it.
The next one I recall was "Obama Wants You To....". Yeah. Right. Like Democrats are stupid enough to fall for such a blatantly STUPID marketing scam. Dear Repukelicans - we're smarter than that. We see through your silly attempt to scam us. Die in a fire. KTHKSBYE
Now it seems they've moved on to "ONE WEIRD TRICK". In many cases it appears that the "ONE WEIRD TRICK" is to have a really well-endowed chest and to stand provocatively in scanty undergarments in front of a camera. There's ONE WEIRD TRICK to lose weight, ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of belly fat, ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of wrinkles, ONE WEIRD TRICK to lower your car insurance rate, ONE WEIRD TRICK to enlarge your.... thingy.
What I want is ONE WEIRD TRICK to get rid of all the WEIRD TRICKS.
On the car radio, there is one professional voice-over guy who does ads for small companies for WCPT. Most of his rap isn't bad, but at the end of EVERY. SINGLE. AD. he repeats the telephone number 3 times, the first one as if it were a question, the second as if it were the answer to the question, and the third time as if it were the answer again. One time he upped the ante and went for FOUR boring repetitions. Good thing I don't have any sharp objects in my car.
Dear Voiceover Dude: STFU. KTHKSDIEINAFIRE
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Gnats???
Gnats or fruit-flys. I don't care which, I want them OUT of my kitchen, pronto. I got a "FRUIT FLY TRAP" thingy (pardon my caps-lock) - and it has helped some, but not enough and I really just want to bomb the kitchen with DDT and malathion (sp?) and kill them all TO DEATH in one swell foop.
Problem with that is that a) you can't buy that kind of anti-insect spray anymore, and b) I'd have to take Kili for a long (4 to 6 hour) car ride and she HATES car rides.
This is particularly annoying, as I really want to make stuffed peppers for dinner, but I don't want to have to fight the miniature vermin for my peppers. Grrrr.
Oh, woe is me....
Problem with that is that a) you can't buy that kind of anti-insect spray anymore, and b) I'd have to take Kili for a long (4 to 6 hour) car ride and she HATES car rides.
This is particularly annoying, as I really want to make stuffed peppers for dinner, but I don't want to have to fight the miniature vermin for my peppers. Grrrr.
Oh, woe is me....
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Garden... Um... Down-date?
Aubergines:
Houston, we have Eggplant. In fact, we have Aubergine multiplicity! They are, however, about the size of golf balls at the moment. I lie. One is the size of a golf ball, the rest are like... marbles. HOWEVER - there is still another month or 2 or so of growing-ish weather, so maybe I will actually get one or two of them. A success, and a learning experience in one.
Peas:
The pea plants were toast by the time I got back from Florida in July, but they are really really cool-weather plants, and I did get a meal and a bunch of snackables off of it, so it is a qualified success. I will grow the same kind again next year, but I will plant them even EARLIER, and I will plant them a bit differently - a rectangular "window box" pot instead of a big round one.
Tomato:
I will never. Ever. Ever. Buy this variety of tomato again. I have one teeny tiny tomato on the plant. That is all it has made after all the watering and care - and then it had the AUDACITY to tip over in the windstorm a few weeks ago and the weight of the plant and the solidity of the tomato cage severed the main stem on my summer squash plant, thus killing any chance for summer squashes. BAD tomato! Bad, BAD tomato! I will get Sweet100 and Patio for next year.
Summer Squash:
See above with regard to squashicidal tomato plants.
Cucmber:
Forget it. Too much work for too little payback. I can get them cheap enough at the grocery market.
Lettuce:
Will try this again next year with some slight adjustments. Learning experience, and fair-to-middlin' results.
Spinach:
Not planted yet. Will probably try the lettuce-box method for the over-wintering.
Basil:
Not only not dead, but rather impressively growing strong. I will bring it inside for the winter and see if I can winter it over.
Banananana Peppers:
They're not as big as the ones in the market, but they are yum, and did well. I will do again next year.
Sweet Bell Peppers:
Meh. I finally got a few, but they are too small to stuff and I just think I'm better off spending my time/energy on something that gives a better return.
Beans:
I never grew beans here at this house before. I am going to either give up on "organic" gardening for them, or forget beans. Mexican Bean Beetles. The "organic" pesticide solution fried the leaves and blossoms and left me with nothing but sad-looking, naked tendrils wrapped around the trellis. Not Good. 'nuff said.
Houston, we have Eggplant. In fact, we have Aubergine multiplicity! They are, however, about the size of golf balls at the moment. I lie. One is the size of a golf ball, the rest are like... marbles. HOWEVER - there is still another month or 2 or so of growing-ish weather, so maybe I will actually get one or two of them. A success, and a learning experience in one.
Peas:
The pea plants were toast by the time I got back from Florida in July, but they are really really cool-weather plants, and I did get a meal and a bunch of snackables off of it, so it is a qualified success. I will grow the same kind again next year, but I will plant them even EARLIER, and I will plant them a bit differently - a rectangular "window box" pot instead of a big round one.
Tomato:
I will never. Ever. Ever. Buy this variety of tomato again. I have one teeny tiny tomato on the plant. That is all it has made after all the watering and care - and then it had the AUDACITY to tip over in the windstorm a few weeks ago and the weight of the plant and the solidity of the tomato cage severed the main stem on my summer squash plant, thus killing any chance for summer squashes. BAD tomato! Bad, BAD tomato! I will get Sweet100 and Patio for next year.
Summer Squash:
See above with regard to squashicidal tomato plants.
Cucmber:
Forget it. Too much work for too little payback. I can get them cheap enough at the grocery market.
Lettuce:
Will try this again next year with some slight adjustments. Learning experience, and fair-to-middlin' results.
Spinach:
Not planted yet. Will probably try the lettuce-box method for the over-wintering.
Basil:
Not only not dead, but rather impressively growing strong. I will bring it inside for the winter and see if I can winter it over.
Banananana Peppers:
They're not as big as the ones in the market, but they are yum, and did well. I will do again next year.
Sweet Bell Peppers:
Meh. I finally got a few, but they are too small to stuff and I just think I'm better off spending my time/energy on something that gives a better return.
Beans:
I never grew beans here at this house before. I am going to either give up on "organic" gardening for them, or forget beans. Mexican Bean Beetles. The "organic" pesticide solution fried the leaves and blossoms and left me with nothing but sad-looking, naked tendrils wrapped around the trellis. Not Good. 'nuff said.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Blatantly Stolen Comments:
WRT the current scare tactics from NRA auto-dialers looking for contributions and saying that President Obama, the "Lib'ruls", Secretary Clinton, and possibly little green men from Mars are trying to overturn the 2nd ammendment:
The U.S. government as currently constituted probably couldn't agree on the wording of a National Be Nice to Kittens and Puppies Resolution, and they're all going to get together to repeal one-tenth of the Bill of Rights!
************************************************************************************
I just like this one. I soooooo want it to be true. I wish it were true. Wishes and wants and $5 will get you a triple venti vanilla latte at Starbucks, however:
I should have figured it out sooner.
It's the shampoo I use in the shower.
When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body.
Printed very clearly on the shampoo label it reads, "FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY."
I have gotten rid of the shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish detergent.
...Its label reads, "DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE." Problem solved!
Geez! It sure pays to read the label!
The U.S. government as currently constituted probably couldn't agree on the wording of a National Be Nice to Kittens and Puppies Resolution, and they're all going to get together to repeal one-tenth of the Bill of Rights!
************************************************************************************
I just like this one. I soooooo want it to be true. I wish it were true. Wishes and wants and $5 will get you a triple venti vanilla latte at Starbucks, however:
I should have figured it out sooner.
It's the shampoo I use in the shower.
When I wash my hair, the shampoo runs down my whole body.
Printed very clearly on the shampoo label it reads, "FOR EXTRA VOLUME AND BODY."
I have gotten rid of the shampoo and I am going to start using Dawn dish detergent.
...Its label reads, "DISSOLVES FAT THAT IS OTHERWISE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE." Problem solved!
Geez! It sure pays to read the label!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Garden Update
Lettuce:
The lettuces are not actually making the "heads" as advertised. It is ok, I am getting a lot of nice leaves, I pick a few and put them on sandwiches - but I think I'm going to have to cut the stuff down and just make one salad from what is there, because I don't think it will survive my absence. That is ok. This is one of those "things I did wrong" things, but I'm learning and hopefully next year I'll have more success.
Peas:
Sugar Snap. That is all you need. Sugar snap peas. They make peas. They make edible pods. You can pick the damn things right off the vine and give them a little wash and just eat them like a carrot -but they taste NOTHING like carrots, they are sweet and crunchy and totally YUM. I will plant at least twice as many seeds next time.
Beans:
Some of the beans runners have reached the top of the trellis. There are lots and lots of tiny purpley/lavender flower buds on them. I also have 2 actual beans. One is about 4" long, the other is about 1-1/2" long. However, if the flower buds are any indication, I will have more than plenty of beans in a few weeks. This I count as a huge success.
Peppers:
The standard sweet green peppers are not doing all that well. I have a few very small ones, and I'm thinking maybe I should pick them now and use them in an omelet or a pepper & egg sandwich, and see if that eggs on the plant to doing some more growing and blossoming.
The "banana pepper" is growing like gangbusters. The stems are about 2-1/2 feet tall, and they're making baby peppers. They are SO cute! Squeeeeeeee cute. I picked one that was about 5" long and had stopped growing any bigger, I will cut it up and put it in that salad that I'll make from the lettuces. I would certainly grow these again if they turn out to be tasty and all.
Basil Plant:
Still not dead.
Squash:
This is a straight-neck yellow summer squash plant. The plant is doing quite well, it is making a lot of "male" blossoms, I am hoping for "female" ones in the next couple of weeks. Not quite as thirsty as the tomato, and growing in the same pot with the cucumber - but looking quite dapper and healthy.
Cucumber:
Ok, this is SUPPOSED to be a "bush" cucumber that you can grow in a pot, but the darn thing is sending runners out all over the place. I keep having to nudge them around so that they don't take off and invade the neighbor's yard. Lots of blossoms, no baby pickles yet. Still, seems to be doing well.
Eggplant:
Since I moved this into the sunniest part of the deck, it has just done wonderful. The plants grow slowly, but each and every one of them (there are 4 in the bucket) has a small lavender colored flower bud on it. Crossing my fingers that this is good.
Tomato plant:
The World's Thirstiest Tomato Plant is thriving - but although there are a lot of flower buds, none of them are opening up. And I can't do that paintbrush thing that TFWY said to do, because I can't see any flowers to play "bee" with.
Other than that, and the fact that it seems to suck up water like a wet-vac, it's the most vigorous-looking tomato plant I've ever grown. I think next year I'll plant a different variety, however.
Photos will follow sometime when I can rememember to take some.
The lettuces are not actually making the "heads" as advertised. It is ok, I am getting a lot of nice leaves, I pick a few and put them on sandwiches - but I think I'm going to have to cut the stuff down and just make one salad from what is there, because I don't think it will survive my absence. That is ok. This is one of those "things I did wrong" things, but I'm learning and hopefully next year I'll have more success.
Peas:
Sugar Snap. That is all you need. Sugar snap peas. They make peas. They make edible pods. You can pick the damn things right off the vine and give them a little wash and just eat them like a carrot -but they taste NOTHING like carrots, they are sweet and crunchy and totally YUM. I will plant at least twice as many seeds next time.
Beans:
Some of the beans runners have reached the top of the trellis. There are lots and lots of tiny purpley/lavender flower buds on them. I also have 2 actual beans. One is about 4" long, the other is about 1-1/2" long. However, if the flower buds are any indication, I will have more than plenty of beans in a few weeks. This I count as a huge success.
Peppers:
The standard sweet green peppers are not doing all that well. I have a few very small ones, and I'm thinking maybe I should pick them now and use them in an omelet or a pepper & egg sandwich, and see if that eggs on the plant to doing some more growing and blossoming.
The "banana pepper" is growing like gangbusters. The stems are about 2-1/2 feet tall, and they're making baby peppers. They are SO cute! Squeeeeeeee cute. I picked one that was about 5" long and had stopped growing any bigger, I will cut it up and put it in that salad that I'll make from the lettuces. I would certainly grow these again if they turn out to be tasty and all.
Basil Plant:
Still not dead.
Squash:
This is a straight-neck yellow summer squash plant. The plant is doing quite well, it is making a lot of "male" blossoms, I am hoping for "female" ones in the next couple of weeks. Not quite as thirsty as the tomato, and growing in the same pot with the cucumber - but looking quite dapper and healthy.
Cucumber:
Ok, this is SUPPOSED to be a "bush" cucumber that you can grow in a pot, but the darn thing is sending runners out all over the place. I keep having to nudge them around so that they don't take off and invade the neighbor's yard. Lots of blossoms, no baby pickles yet. Still, seems to be doing well.
Eggplant:
Since I moved this into the sunniest part of the deck, it has just done wonderful. The plants grow slowly, but each and every one of them (there are 4 in the bucket) has a small lavender colored flower bud on it. Crossing my fingers that this is good.
Tomato plant:
The World's Thirstiest Tomato Plant is thriving - but although there are a lot of flower buds, none of them are opening up. And I can't do that paintbrush thing that TFWY said to do, because I can't see any flowers to play "bee" with.
Other than that, and the fact that it seems to suck up water like a wet-vac, it's the most vigorous-looking tomato plant I've ever grown. I think next year I'll plant a different variety, however.
Photos will follow sometime when I can rememember to take some.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Books
So I had to get a new power cord for my lappy because I LOST the old one (don't ask) - and it was only a few $ at Amazon, so I also got a few books.
2 books on container gardening.
Good news: I have done a number of things "right" without knowing any better.
Bad news: I have done a lot of things "wrong" without knowing better. I know better now, next year should be interestinger. <-(is SO a word!)
Also got Keith Richards' "Life". Will bring that along on the drive to Florida for "put your brain to sleep so you can sleep" and entertainment. Since I'm driving, I can bring a number of books. This is good.
2 books on container gardening.
Good news: I have done a number of things "right" without knowing any better.
Bad news: I have done a lot of things "wrong" without knowing better. I know better now, next year should be interestinger. <-(is SO a word!)
Also got Keith Richards' "Life". Will bring that along on the drive to Florida for "put your brain to sleep so you can sleep" and entertainment. Since I'm driving, I can bring a number of books. This is good.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The final count
Ok, I'm done buying plants for the garden. If the stuff makes it, great. If not... learning experience.
Over the weekend I went out and got 4 more plants.
1) Straight-neck yellow squash. I like these sliced thin and saute'd with a little butter and a spritz of lemon juice.
2) Bush cucumber. Supposed to do well in containers. We shall see.
3) "Black Beauty" eggplant (aubergine). The one I got earlier was not the typical (pardon my french) uterus-shaped ones, but round. While the idea of great purple softballs is amusing, I am not certain I will like them, so these new ones will be more "normal" - presuming I can grow them. Again, we shall see.
4) A square pot with a square trellisy thing with a large-scale sweet green pepper plant. I really do hope this does well. Even if it does not, the pot is cute.
So that's it. Make it or break it. The container garden has:
1 pot of peas - doing exceptionally well. Making pea-flowers. Good.
1 pot of pole beans - the leaves look a little wrinkly, but they are climbing up the trellis nicely, and although they are a few weeks behind the peas, I think they will do ok as well.
1 box of lettuce - doing good. The leaves are getting bigger, and I've actually nipped off a few and put them on sandwiches. Not enough for a decent salad yet, but I will certainly do this again!
1 pot of 3 tomato plants. They seem to be doing ok. A few flower buds are coming on, although I'm not sure they will make baby tomatoes just yet. This planter needs a LOT of water.
2 pots of peppers. Banana peppers in one, big sweet green peppers in the other. They look awesomely healthy, but I've been fooled by peppers before. We'll see.
1 pathetic little pot of basil. And yet... it isn't dead.
1 pot with 2 kinds of eggplants (aubergines). Fingers crossed.
1 pot with a "bush" cucumber. Again with the finger crossing.
1 pot with a straight-neck squash plant. Crossing toes, as I've run out of fingers.
Over the weekend I went out and got 4 more plants.
1) Straight-neck yellow squash. I like these sliced thin and saute'd with a little butter and a spritz of lemon juice.
2) Bush cucumber. Supposed to do well in containers. We shall see.
3) "Black Beauty" eggplant (aubergine). The one I got earlier was not the typical (pardon my french) uterus-shaped ones, but round. While the idea of great purple softballs is amusing, I am not certain I will like them, so these new ones will be more "normal" - presuming I can grow them. Again, we shall see.
4) A square pot with a square trellisy thing with a large-scale sweet green pepper plant. I really do hope this does well. Even if it does not, the pot is cute.
So that's it. Make it or break it. The container garden has:
1 pot of peas - doing exceptionally well. Making pea-flowers. Good.
1 pot of pole beans - the leaves look a little wrinkly, but they are climbing up the trellis nicely, and although they are a few weeks behind the peas, I think they will do ok as well.
1 box of lettuce - doing good. The leaves are getting bigger, and I've actually nipped off a few and put them on sandwiches. Not enough for a decent salad yet, but I will certainly do this again!
1 pot of 3 tomato plants. They seem to be doing ok. A few flower buds are coming on, although I'm not sure they will make baby tomatoes just yet. This planter needs a LOT of water.
2 pots of peppers. Banana peppers in one, big sweet green peppers in the other. They look awesomely healthy, but I've been fooled by peppers before. We'll see.
1 pathetic little pot of basil. And yet... it isn't dead.
1 pot with 2 kinds of eggplants (aubergines). Fingers crossed.
1 pot with a "bush" cucumber. Again with the finger crossing.
1 pot with a straight-neck squash plant. Crossing toes, as I've run out of fingers.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Garden Update
Just 2 photos, but taken this morning.
First off, the lettuces, which are doing pretty well, considering the trauma from the monsoons and lack of sufficient drainage (and resulting mudslide when I tried to pour out some of the overflowing excess water).
And the peas and beans. The peas have gone past the top of their teepee - I think I may have to put more green wire/tape from the teepee up to the top of the fence to give them room to stretchhhhhhh.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
My Weekend with Mr. T
I spent the memorial day weekend hosting a little fuzzy visitor from the UK - he wasn't really big, but he has a big job. He is travelling around the world, raising money for worthy charities. Right now his charity is the helicopter ambulance guys - the ones who go to really bad emergencies and take folks to the hospital fast so that they (hopefully) don't die.
His name is Mr. Tonsilpus, and he has his own website and Facebook and everything.
I volunteered to show him around my part of the world (Chicago and suburbs), and he showed up at my office on Friday night, ready and raring to go. Unfortunately I still had some paperwork to work through, so he gave me a hand with that before we got to go home for the evening. Here he is, checking out my baby Lime Tree in the livingroom.
Equally unfortunate, the Monsoon Monster was still pouring torrential rain on my area, so we really didn't get to do much but sit around the house and play with Kili the cat. Kili gave him the once-over, then ignored him.
Saturday dawned rainy and wet and nasty. Again we were thwarted from any outdoor activity, which was a bummer. I decided to give Mr. T a guided tour of my sewing/crafting area (formerly my daughter's bedroom).
He seemed really interested in my quilting, and it occurred to me that he might enjoy having a little quilt of his own to travel with, since it can get kind of cold overnight in those post offices all around the world.
We picked out some nice fabrics and I put together a "T-sized" quilt for him. (I really, really screwed up with the binding. I'm not used to working with such small pieces, and the corners just would NOT lay flat for me. It's embarassing, but time was at a premium and after the 4th rip&redo I gave up on perfection.) He supervised.
Sunday was again cold and rainy and impossible. In fact, at one point I heard a noise outside that sounded like a train in my front yard. There wasn't a visible tornado, and the sirens never did go off, but it scared me some for sure! Later in the day I thought Mr. T should have at least the opportunity to go outside for a LITTLE, so we grabbed an umbrella and went out for pizza for lunch. (How much more "Chicago" than that can ya get?)
Deep Dish Stuffed Pizza from Giordanos. Mr. T perused the specials menu, but we ended up with a spinach & mushroom stuffed pizza.
Our nice waitperson let me take his picture with her (and the pizza!)
Sunday night we watched a couple of movies - one of them was the Blues Brothers (original), a Chicago classic.
Monday morning dawned bright and sunny. After a nice breakfast and a stroll through my little container garden, where Mr. T inspected my pea plants, we drove into the city of Chicago proper to see the sights.
From where I live, the easiest way to the downtown area is via the Eisenhower Expressway, which turns into the Congress Expressway when you get into the downtown area (right before it stops being an espressway and turns into Congress Parkway) The expressway, all 8 lanes of it at this point, goes underneath the old Post Office building. The building appears to be deserted - many windows are smashed out. Sad. I was always so impressed by this building as a child.
Mr. T said he'd like to see some of the places where they shot the movie we'd watched, so we went down to Wells St., under the "L" tracks.
Then we went over to Daley Center Plaza. Yes, that is the building where the Bluesmobile ran through the plate glass window. There were some kids playing in the fountains and we stayed a bit to watch them.
Mr. T also got his photo taken in front of the Picasso statue-sculpture-thingy.
Directly across the street was a place we remembered well from the night before - the place where the "Bluesmobile" met it's end - directly in front of the County building. Of course, we HAD to get a photo there!
We tried to find Wrigley Field, but the traffic was just wretched. So instead we took a short drive past Buckingham Fountain, which was on and working (but blocked by traffic!).
and then North up Michigan Avenue
And then a cruise through Lincoln Park and past the zoo - couldn't stop, no place to park! On a bright shiney warm day like this, when everyone who isn't a retail worker has the day off, it's hard to navigate through the fun places to go/see!
So as night began to crowd in, we headed back home for a nice little barbecue in the back yard (Mr. T stayed indoors where smoke and FIRE couldn't get at him!) and then the next day back into his Tyvek travelling sack and off to his next destination!
Bye bye, little fuzzball - it was fun!
His name is Mr. Tonsilpus, and he has his own website and Facebook and everything.
I volunteered to show him around my part of the world (Chicago and suburbs), and he showed up at my office on Friday night, ready and raring to go. Unfortunately I still had some paperwork to work through, so he gave me a hand with that before we got to go home for the evening. Here he is, checking out my baby Lime Tree in the livingroom.
Equally unfortunate, the Monsoon Monster was still pouring torrential rain on my area, so we really didn't get to do much but sit around the house and play with Kili the cat. Kili gave him the once-over, then ignored him.
Saturday dawned rainy and wet and nasty. Again we were thwarted from any outdoor activity, which was a bummer. I decided to give Mr. T a guided tour of my sewing/crafting area (formerly my daughter's bedroom).
He seemed really interested in my quilting, and it occurred to me that he might enjoy having a little quilt of his own to travel with, since it can get kind of cold overnight in those post offices all around the world.
We picked out some nice fabrics and I put together a "T-sized" quilt for him. (I really, really screwed up with the binding. I'm not used to working with such small pieces, and the corners just would NOT lay flat for me. It's embarassing, but time was at a premium and after the 4th rip&redo I gave up on perfection.) He supervised.
Sunday was again cold and rainy and impossible. In fact, at one point I heard a noise outside that sounded like a train in my front yard. There wasn't a visible tornado, and the sirens never did go off, but it scared me some for sure! Later in the day I thought Mr. T should have at least the opportunity to go outside for a LITTLE, so we grabbed an umbrella and went out for pizza for lunch. (How much more "Chicago" than that can ya get?)
Deep Dish Stuffed Pizza from Giordanos. Mr. T perused the specials menu, but we ended up with a spinach & mushroom stuffed pizza.
Our nice waitperson let me take his picture with her (and the pizza!)
Sunday night we watched a couple of movies - one of them was the Blues Brothers (original), a Chicago classic.
Monday morning dawned bright and sunny. After a nice breakfast and a stroll through my little container garden, where Mr. T inspected my pea plants, we drove into the city of Chicago proper to see the sights.
From where I live, the easiest way to the downtown area is via the Eisenhower Expressway, which turns into the Congress Expressway when you get into the downtown area (right before it stops being an espressway and turns into Congress Parkway) The expressway, all 8 lanes of it at this point, goes underneath the old Post Office building. The building appears to be deserted - many windows are smashed out. Sad. I was always so impressed by this building as a child.
Mr. T said he'd like to see some of the places where they shot the movie we'd watched, so we went down to Wells St., under the "L" tracks.
Then we went over to Daley Center Plaza. Yes, that is the building where the Bluesmobile ran through the plate glass window. There were some kids playing in the fountains and we stayed a bit to watch them.
Mr. T also got his photo taken in front of the Picasso statue-sculpture-thingy.
Directly across the street was a place we remembered well from the night before - the place where the "Bluesmobile" met it's end - directly in front of the County building. Of course, we HAD to get a photo there!
We tried to find Wrigley Field, but the traffic was just wretched. So instead we took a short drive past Buckingham Fountain, which was on and working (but blocked by traffic!).
and then North up Michigan Avenue
And then a cruise through Lincoln Park and past the zoo - couldn't stop, no place to park! On a bright shiney warm day like this, when everyone who isn't a retail worker has the day off, it's hard to navigate through the fun places to go/see!
So as night began to crowd in, we headed back home for a nice little barbecue in the back yard (Mr. T stayed indoors where smoke and FIRE couldn't get at him!) and then the next day back into his Tyvek travelling sack and off to his next destination!
Bye bye, little fuzzball - it was fun!
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