monday's mulling: friendships

These guys, all from different towns in Ohio, met in college (Wittenberg University) and pledged the same fraternity. Through the bonds of the fraternal brotherhood lifelong friendships grew. And here they are, 48 years later, laughing at their stories of crazy youth and beaming when sharing about their kids and grandchildren. And the wives,,,three of us also went to Wittenberg. Over the years, we stayed in touch by going to Homecoming, occasional get togethers, phone calls, Christmas cards, then Facebook, Zoom calls, and now retirement brings more opportunities for more frequent gatherings. 

We met at Coldwater Lake in Michigan this past weekend. We spent time on the lake, took walks, fixed way too much food, reminisced, and shared stories about our lives and families. With this group, we pick up right where we left off, like no time has passed. 

yep!

Thought for the day 😄

 

signage

Sometimes it's hard for a store sign to compete with the visual clutter of a city, but the Good Shepherd Thrift Store nailed it.

the friday feed: fun with food

Made a veggie tart, something that is turning into a weekly dish. This time I did a ROYGBIV theme and used all the colors in the spectrum (except for I). Red peppers, orange carrots, yellow pepper, green zucchini and jalapeno, blue potatoes (even though they look purple), and violet eggplant. 

I bought farm-fresh eggs - six chicken eggs and six duck eggs. What a difference fresh from the chicken or duck makes in the taste, appearance and texture! The eggs are so beautiful; I didn't want to crack them. That bright yellow yolk is a little burst of sunshine.

chicago...just one more thing

Chicago is somewhat of a public art mecca. Works by Picasso, Chagall, Miro, and Calder ornament the Loop, making the streets an urban art museum for anyone to enjoy.

We were downtown, Todd had some work to do so he found a place in the Palmer House lobby to do what he needed to do, and I set out with my notes and good friend Siri to find the public art works by these famous artists.

The Picasso, as it is known, is an untitled sculpture that some liken to an insect or baboon. Pablo Picasso gifted the sculpture to the people of Chicago in 1967, without ever explaining what it was intended to represent. Today, it’s one of the city’s most famous and iconic public artworks. (Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington)

The Four Seasons by Marc Chagall. This mosaic of thousands of inlaid chips was created in Chagall’s studio in France, and installed in Chicago. It portrays the four seasons through six Chicago scenes. The Chase Tower Plaza was under construction and fenced off from public access so I had to take photos from behind the fence. (Chase Tower Plaza, 10 S. Dearborn St).

Joan Miró’s mixed media sculpture stands approximately 40-feet tall and is composed of steel, wire mesh, concrete, bronze, and ceramic tile. It’s a celestially inspired work, representing a female figure with a moon at her center and a star above her head. At the same time, her bell-shaped base stresses her closeness to the earth. (Brunswick Building Plaza, 69 W. Washington St.)

Alexander Calder’s 53-foot-tall, bright red Flamingo…you can’t miss it! Its curved lines contrast dramatically with the steel and glass Mies van der Rohe buildings that surround it. It’s a piece of art that you can walk under and around it. (Federal Plaza, 50 W. Adams St.)

All of these masterpieces are withing walking distance of one another. It was like strolling through an outdoor museum.

wednesday's words and wanderings and wonderings

Chicago. Lots seen in a short amount of time. 

We arrived on the weekend of the Chicago Air and Water Show. It's a huge event, we were babysitting our grandson so there was no way we were taking him into that mayhem. As we were looking over the take-care-of-the-baby instructions, our other daughter called and excitedly told us to get to the roof. The Blue Angels were putting on their show. We watched it from a distance and were thrilled when they passed directly over the roof from where we were watching.

Our daughter and son-in-law requested that we take little grandson to his daycare during our stay. They're paying big bucks for this service and they also wanted to keep his routine going. Monday after dropping him off, Todd said, "Let's go to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast." It's an iconic breakfast diner and bakery on Historic Route 66. We found street parking, I paid for the spot with the ParkChicago app, we got to Lou Mitchell's, thrilled that there was no line. It's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We walked around the area, strolled through beautiful Union Station, and found another breakfast spot along the Chicago River.

The Democratic National Convention started this past Monday and banners were posted all around downtown and in the United Center neighborhood. We passed the United Center daily on the way home from little grandson's daycare and even followed Route 66 part of the way. If we were there this week, we would have to take an alternate route home. Fences, checkpoints, all kinds of security in place.

The Obamas are from Chicago but after spending two presidential terms in Washington D.C., they opted to stay there. The Obamas haven't forgotten their Chicago roots.

The Chicago Cultural Center, an architecturally beautiful building (two Tiffany glass domes, hand laid tile on every floor), an event center and art gallery, with free admission. A mural on the outside pays tribute to twenty women who have contributed to the culture of Chicago. A current exhibit shows 934 handmade bowls, some with a pint of change, and when each one is filled, that will pay the artist's college loan debt.

This post has gone on long enough with plenty of photos and now it's time to stop. At least for right now. 

 

signs of fall

It's August 20, the Dog Days of summer have passed, and subtle signs of summer morphing into fall are showing up. We were in Chicago for a week and on my first day back at my farmer's market job, apples and fall squash were on the shelves. 

At home, our burning bushes and hydrangeas begin their change from green leaves and white flowers to red leaves and dusty pink flowers.

School busses pass through the neighborhoods, drivers familiarizing themselves with their routes and stops. First time school speed limit signs are in place in front of the high school and middle school. (Why the city and Board of Education waited so long to put these up is mind-boggling). Students are moving in at the university and the once quiet streets and easy parking accessibility are no longer. It's good to see them back, feeling their excitement for a new academic year. Soon the monarch butterflies with their large orange and black wings will begin their migration to Mexico. Their beauty delights, their strength and stamina amazes. 

September 21 marks the first day of fall but Mother Nature and human nature clocks already point us to the changing of the seasons.