ooops... so much for that "Rabbit, Rabbit" thing.... there must be a way around that for New year's celebrations
It started snowing while I was at work (yes, I had to actually work today). The drive home wasn't really treacherous yet, as I stayed on the most traveled streets... thank God for the lack of regular traffic.
Picked up Carol and made our way into the city to Barry & Buffy's. The Tollway and expressway were wet and slow... no traffic tie-ups, just a constant slow speed, which, in the long run, was not bad at all. The snow by us was deeper, heavier than what we experienced by them. I felt good, though, knowing that the weather-critters were predicting the snow ending my 11pm, which gave the plows/salt trucks a few hours to work before we had to make it home.
Don't remember what was on TV all night... with all the conversation, ummm... some of it, ummm... LOUD... it was difficult to figure out what was going on anyway. That snow? Just kept comin'. Kenny kept leaving throughout the night, about every half hour or so just to keep on top of it by shoveling the sidewalks.
Had Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on, as usual. It just seems like the right thing, somehow a tradition...
..ummm... even though Buffy's birthday was just Sunday, somehow I wind-up always getting a cake (mine is Friday), which I always feel awkward about, but... turn down cake? Are you crazy?
11pm came and went... the snow kept coming... changing from light snow, to big heavy flakes, to smaller flakes blowing around...
Midnight came as we watched another tradition of our - putting on Channel 7 (the local ABC affiliate - for "Countdown Chicago") to watch Janet Davies make a fool of herself again. She didn't disappoint. She didn't seem as drunk as we've seen in prior years, but still an awful lot of fodder for our comments (thank you You Tube). The local events that were being covered were just... subdued. The Willowbrook Ballroom’s 68th annual Big Band New Year’s Eve Party? After "Dancing With The Stars", the local experts didn't live up to what we're used to seeing.
Well... it was finally time to call it a night... and we made our slow drive home. Snow stopping at 11pm? No... it's after 1am and still snowing. The side streets were bad. Southport was a little better. Addison was almost a little better. the competition on the streets of revelers attempting to get a cab was fierce - we've never seen so many people hailing cabs on New Year's before. The Kennedy - well, not so bad, though we did see a car spin out in the left-hand lane that wound-up pointing toward us (perhaps a New Year's Eve amateur?) The Northwest Tollway - still not great. I wasn't comfortable even doing the limit, though apparently idiots in SUV's were.
From the Tollway home was actually a bit treacherous.The plows were nowhere to be found. We slowly made our way home - to find our driveway still unplowed. Think we're gonna have to find another service, because this guy isn't doing this well, if at all.
So, we're home safe and sound.
Another year starts, still with all the unknowns awaiting ahead.
Here's to a better 2008!
]]>We went to Manny's deli on Jefferson in Chicago's "South Loop" area... an area that didn't look ANYTHING like it does now just a few years ago. Huge developments, both commercial and residential.
And then there's Manny's. Who ever heard of a cafeteria style deli that's been around since 1942, a place that politicians STILL do business there in the seating areas, a place that STILL has a GOOD selection of cigars in the humidor at the checkout cash registers, a place that has... COMPLIMENTARY VALET PARKING?
Had a Reuben (Barry and I were standing around for quite a while waiting for Joe and smelled that sauerkraut so... had to have the Reuben). Haven't had that quality corned beef in quite a while... so tender and moist...
Man... Carol was jealous that we were going after seeing it on Check Please! I'll going to have to bring here there some weekend...
]]>Well, I have to say lately that I think I've decided that "my kind of movie" is one that entertains, it could be "light", it could be "action"... and this movie doesn't fall into that genre for me. I was reluctant to go, but as Carol pointed out to me, I seem to have been steering our movie going in that direction when the four of us are together and it was time to see one of "their" movies.
A bit dark... a bit disturbing (the subject matter)... but.. I MUST admit, well performed... and enjoyable in that sense.
And, to top it off, my legs didn't twitch at all in those seats, and I haven't the foggiest reason why.
After the movie, we drove back to their neighborhood to hit a LITTLE restaurant that we love going to - El Tapatio. The food was great, as always, but tonight our issues were 1) sitting under a speaker that was JUST TOO LOUD... and 2) since when do all these toddlers love Mexican food? the restaurant is TINY and the tables really close together, especially in the back where we always seem to sit, but I don't like have to scoot my chair as close to the table as possible (up against my stomach) to stay out of the way of the lady sitting behind.. .and the toddler always running into my chair... the amount of kids in such a tiny restaurant was startling...
We went to their house afterward to watch Game 3 of the World Series (there's no way Boston is gonna loose this series... sorry Colorado...) and had some yummy hot apple pie from Dinkel's (complete with a great vanilla bean ice cream, too).
]]>We hosted a small party of family and friends at the Weber Grill in Schaumburg. It was wonderful - the food was good, the company was great... Janie & Gary had just come back from their home in Santa Fe which was buried in the same snowstorm that hit Denver... but no one has heard about how bad it was in New Mexico.
We had everyone come over to the house for cake.. (and to open presents, as well). Carol got the cake from Deerfields bakery. It was chocolate with an off-white fronsting... with black pinstripes and the White Sox logo! GREAT GREAT cake... one problem though - we have NO idea what the black frosting is made of, but it stained our teeth.. it stained our skin (and yes - we could not was it off!) and stained our clothes. Gave us a good laugh.
Lots of great presents (mostly new shirts(?!)) and a great gift certificate from my sister Diane - City Segway Tours - Chicago! I get to ride a Segway around the museum campus this summer!!!
It was a monumental birthday for me, and it was wonderful to have people together... for me. It meant an awful lot to me. I don't think anyone really knew, but.. it REALLY touched me, even though it was just a small dinner, and cake, and a few gifts.
]]>We spent the evening last night at B&B's, with friends... ringing in the New Year... after SUFFERING through watching the Chicago Bears LOSE to the Green Bay Packers... which.. the WHOLE thing, about the NFL MOVING the game from noon to 7pm... on New Year's Eve, causing chaos in homes, restaurants, and bars around Chicagoland, (do you have/go to a party? do you open your business instead for Bears fans to watch the game?)
We watched the local coverage of New Year's celebrations around Chicago, and heckle the people being shown, whether they are the local hosts doing a poor job transitioning from remote to remote... or the choice of clothing that everyone being shown is wearing... and... perhaps the sad state of decent music being played at these venues
So... that was last night.. celebrating with friends...
This morning, it was the Tournament of Roses Parade. We caught the KTLA broadcast in HD on Discovery HD. We normally watch the HGTV coverage, because of the different approach to it (all bout the float decorations and materials), but... it's just damn hard to pass-up HD broadcasts...
And George Lucas as Grand Marshall... an Ewok float... a Naboo float... original costumes from the movies... The Grambling Marching Band dressed in Empire Officers uniforms playing Star Wars music... and 200 marching stormtroopers, in uniform and all variations of them, all of them fans from around the world. Way cool...
Well.. it's way too late in the day to say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as your first words of the day to have good luck (or, if you blew it, before you go to sleep tonight, you can still try to get some luck, your last words have to be "Tibbar! Tibbar!")... But.. I wonder what happens on a day like this? I mean.. are we supposed to say "Rabbit, Rabbit!" as our first words after midnight, instead of "Happy New Year"? or... is it the first words to utter after you awake for the day?... I'm so confused...
]]>Tonight, Carol didn't plan on anything to cook (still recovering from preparing thanksgiving), so we were trying to figure out what to do. On a lark, Carol decides on pizza from Giordano's. We haven't been there in years, and we could use a nice deep dish.
So, Carol called-in the order, and I went to pick it up. I walked up to the corner, not paying attention to the lady that was standing to the side. The girl behind the counter asked what she could help me with, I say I'm there for a pickup, and give my name. The lady next to me, who had her back to me, whips around.
It's our friend Teri, who we haven't seen in a year or two. She happens to be in the same place, picking up a pizza order to bring home!
We talked for 5, 10, maybe 15 minutes... trying to catch up with each other. While we were talking, her son Joey came out of the bathroom. He's taller than her now.
Damn I miss them...
]]>It's also a big stressful day for me. I cook the turkey every year. Actually barbecue it on my Weber. This year, added stress: no more regular Kingsford CharcoalNo... I've decided to go with wood - Wicked Good "Weekend Warrior Blend" Hardwood Lump Charcoal. I just loved this whole idea of using wood charcoal instead of charcoal briquettes.
I heard that the wood burns faster and hotter, so I started the wood later than I have in the past - I started the first chimney at 1pm. The chimney lights fine (but I used 4 sheets of newspaper just in case), and seems to be completely involved a little faster, by maybe 5 or 10 minutes. and it's HOT... not just hot, but HOT. I threw the first chimney on the grill, started a second, added chunks to the first batch. The second chimney is done at the one hour mark from the start of the first, and both chimneys full of charcoal are in the grill, soaked hickory chips thrown over the top, and the turkey (18.3 lbs), in a rack, breast-down, on the grill at 2:05.
Pouring the chimneys into the grill was interesting. First, let me say that this is the best weather we've had on Thanksgiving in years.. and possibly ever... it's about 60 degrees. I don't need a jacket, and I had a fleece sweater on. Had. The charcoal was so hot, that when I poured a chimney into the grill and the heat so intense, my sweater started to smell as if it was starting to liquefy and melt. I really didn't need the sweater anyway.
2 hours and 10 minutes later, the turkey was off the grill and resting under an aluminum tent at Turkey Carving Central. Done.
Did the new charcoal work? Hell, yeah! Was the juiciest bird we had ever had... the meat was still moist putting the leftovers away after dinner.
As I write this, the charcoal is still burning in the grill. All the vents are closed, it should kill the fire. No. That's how hot the fire was.
It had occurred to me when we got up there, that they didn't know about me being diagnosed with Type II Daiabetes... which I sort of forgot about... The only soda they had was either the real stuff, that I shouldn't have, or... what I would consider "odd" flavors. White grape? Tangerine? I had a Diet Coke that was found in the back of the fridge. I had never had a Diet Coke in a can... it had absolutely no flavor.. .and tasted like I was drinking Alka Seltzer. I am SO happy that I've avoided Diet Coke so far, if that's what it tastes like... in a can, at least.
]]>We love having them out here..
]]>Man.. .I guess I'm just a City Boy at heart... that's just WAY too far off the grid for my comfort. I mean, I had no cell service the entire time I was up there... good ol' Spring just didn't have the coverage.
Late yesterday afternoon, we were on the deck, overlooking the lake, eating some salmon fillets that John had smoked... just watching life on the lake pass by.
We did that for two hours. Maybe more. I couldn't tell. I just watched and ate and watched... and time just passed... so relaxing, and yet not boring.
I guess that was the whole weekend... relaxing and not boring. Good to get away every once in a while to do this.
And... I blew the whole "Rabbit, Rabbit" meme thing, along with "White Rabbit" or Rabbit! Rabbit! Rabbit! today... just too relaxed.. and, being away from home, you kind of forget things...
]]>Happy Birthday to my sister Diane!
Happy Birhday to my buddy Barry!
]]>Time to spend it with friends. Went to B&B's for the day. We were all going next door to Kenny & Pat's for a barbecue. Debbie came over. And then - before we went next door - Diane and Melinda brought Jackson over, so B&B could finally meet him before he turned one years old. Jackson was a big hit. It was a great visit. We went next door, sat outside in the backyard, I had a couple of beers (!) and we had some hotdogs from Falatic's Meat Market in Michigan.
Celebrate the "End of Summer"... a time that came and went too quickly.
]]>We left on Saturday morning, drove up to Harbert, stopped at Falatic's Meat Market (butcher.. for meats for our meals, since Carol shopped for other groceries on Friday and packed them into the VERY crowded trunk)
The weather wasn't great when we got there.. we were there early enough for pool-time, but no sun.. and it had been raining, so we went to Redamak's for lunch. Took off for Indiana.. stopping first at Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets mall for Buff to do some quick shopping, then over to Blue Chip Casino, where I sat down and played Blackjack for the first time since... well, first time this decade, I think...
Had a Prime Rib dinner at Skip's. Crashed at home, pool the next day with fresh chicken brats and hotdogs. B&B took the car and went to New Buffalo to get some fresh corn on the cob for dinner and some Sweet Baby ray's barbecue sauce... for the ribs that Barry prepared for dinner. Great meats, great cooking, great meals, great company.
Today, B&B took the car and went back to Lighthouse and Blue Chip, Carol bobbed in the pool and I did some podcasting.
The drive home late this afternoon was a breeze, with the exception of the hour we spent on Lake Shore Drive from Soldier Field north.
We love going up there just to "get away"... and we acually travel well together...
]]>I LOVE these things. There's something special about being in the park - when the team isn't there playing ball. I took my buddy Barry to share this unusual event.
We're in the middle of this god awful heat spell, so the first thing we did was get wristbands to be allowed out onto the field. HUH? Yes, we were allowed to walk out onto the field...
You know how special it is to walk out onto center field of a major league ballpark? Feel the unbelievable grass at your feet.. level... no holes... no weeds... look around and get an idea on how much room a centerfielder has to cover..
We strolled around the field... went into the Sox bullpen, both the dugout and mounds... then off to the Sox dugout... the phones were live.. if you opened-up the box and pulled the phone off-hook, the opposite phone (bullpen-Dugout) would ring automatically... we walked to the visitor's dugout... watched people playing catch in the outfield... we stopped to watch a woman throwing to.. her husband? no arc to her throws, good mechanics, zip on the ball.. she's played... we lapped the field... and we went inside to get something cold to drink in the patio area...we made a mistake by not getting any of the free food (chicken, ribs, dogs, burgers, potato salad, cole slaw)... we walked the tunnel underneath the stands and visited the Visitor's Clubhouse.. looked at the lockers, and ALL OF THE SNACKS AND DRINKS... we walked across the tunnel to the Conference Center, the big conference room still setup for a Post-Game Press Conference... and then we checked out the Scout Seats food and beverage café (REALLY nice)... then we went out of the tunnel, walked up a ramp, onto the main concourse of the park, where we waited.. and waited.. and waited in the heat (no breeze, but no sun either) to look at and get our pictures taken with the World Series Trophy.
That was long and draining for me.. let alone barry, who is still not up to 100% healthy. We walked the outfield concourse.. and got to Fundamentals, which was open. Barry didn't feel comfortable climbing all of those stars, so I went up alone, and saw the batting cages, pitching cages, training field, and the Scott Podsedik Run.
I came back down, we walked into the Patio area for lunch and.. NO FOOD. They had shutdown for the day... we were able to get a cold drink..
It really felt special to be there again. I miss the park. I know I'm there each weekend, but this is sooo much more special.
It makes you feel special.
So.. we left the park.. hungry.. with nothing to do.. so.. we went to Horseshoe to gamble for a couple of hours!
]]>Carol and I along with Barry & Buffy traveled almost 200 miles to a small town called laValle - population 329 - in south central Wisconsin
Our friend and former co-worker that retired recently (that Barry & I went to his retirement party recently) and there was another party for him, this time for friends and family, at the house he's retiring to in Wisconsin - 200 miles away in LaValle.
We left Saturday morning, drove to Rockford and had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We drove up and stopped 19 miiles short in Reedsburg to check into a motel (Super 8! Free wireless internet! (yeah, try getting a good DNS) more friggin' channels on the Tv than any other hotel I've stayed in anywhere!) and then drove to the house.
Life is different up here. This is small town America. There is NOTHING here for miles. No cell service! NOTHING here. John lives on a man-made lake and we were hoping that somehow it would be cooler there... WRONG..
It's a scorcher - high humidiy, 97 degrees on the sign at the bank in town. John was genuinely srprised at all of us that came up to visit and party. We stayed about three hours... outside the whole time (in the shade).
We left, drove into Reedsburg and got some ice cream, in enough time to go to the movie theater to catch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. (really enjoyable). Drove through the drive through at the mcDonald's across the parking lot from the hotel and retired for the night.
This morning, we drove back to LaValle to eat breakfast at Granny's (a tradition). and we took off afterward.
We stopped at the Ho Chunk casino so Barry and Carol could play some blackjack. THen, we were off... Carol drove most of the way, thank God... the traffic was terrible. we had multiple areas that we were STOPPED on the tollway. It was a full hour longer to get home trhan to get up there.
All-in-all, a great weekend. The 4 of us seem to travel well together.