Dead animals, bluegrass and cold.....

The Field Museum is one of this country’s premier museums – and could probably be one of the most expensive. Last Wednesday was “free day” – Illinois residents didn’t have to pay (Becky sneaked us in, so we didn’t pay, either). However, you still have to pay to see the exhibits. So, for about $54 we got in to the museum (on a regular day it would’ve cost us about $130 PLUS the $54 – this does not count the $19 we had to pay to park. I’m glad it was a FREE day.). I’m not sure how people take their children to these amazing things that are all over the place here….

Anyway, we went to the museum and saw the Tattoo exhibit. It was fascinating….and a little disturbing, if I’m being honest. I have nothing against tattoos – 3 of my kids are tattooed, and it doesn’t bother me (much).  It’s a personal expression of art….The Japanese mafia tattoos were pretty amazing, I have to say, not to mention the Russian gulag tats.

But while that was really interesting, what drew the kids’ interest the most was the animal exhibit. This is Miles’ favorite part of the museum. It’s a zoo – kind of – every animal you can think of, all in close-up glass cages. Just like a zoo, except they’re all dead. None of that annoying running around so you can’t see them stuff – they stand perfectly still and you can really look at them. Some of them are 100 years old. Dead animals. I thought it was a little creepy, but the blue whale skeleton up on the ceiling was cool.

When I was a kid, going to the museum was a free thing, like going to the zoo or window shopping. We didn’t have to pay for that….and St. Louis had, at the time, one of the finest art museums and zoos in the country (I think they’re still right up there).  At any rate, we didn’t think too much about going, because it didn’t cost anything.  St. Louis kids all knew who Marlin Perkins was (and if you don’t, then shame on you, you obviously didn’t watch Wild Kingdom), because he worked at “our” zoo. The thought of going to see dead stuffed animals never entered my mind. You want to see a tiger in the winter? Watch Wild Kingdom.

I have neglected this blog a bit – mostly because I’ve been knitting (well, duh) and watching Shameless. (Virginia Wagner, you must tell Jim about it – it’ll be his new “Justified.”) Shameless is a Netflix series that takes place in Chicago – it stars William H. Macy, and every one of you Seattleites knows he’s “our” actor. We saw him in many Seattle Rep plays in the 80’s and early 90’s. It’s funny, black humor – but only because we all know (or think we do) a family that is just THIS close to being like this………watch it, but start with Season 1, Episode 1, or you won’t figure out what’s going on.

We have been immersed in bluegrass with Becky and her musician buddies. Last night we went with her to a “bluegrass jam” where about 16 professional musicians hang out and play together. Kind of like if you had Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Eric Clapton all hanging out in a bar with their guitars….okay, this is bluegrass, not rock, but there were a fair number of Grammys represented there last night.  Becky was the only female picker there, but it didn’t matter – no gender issues in bluegrass. She sang out loud and proud and the guys all cheered and sang along with her. 

Next week we’ll probably take off for Maine….watching the weather. Right now the Chicago weather is warming up – after snow yesterday we’ve got freezing rain today. At least the temperature has gone above 20, which is the first time since Christmas. Brrrrrrr.

Day ONE of 2017!

Happy New Year!

While Bob had to stay home with a crumby cold, I went out with Becky and her friend, Chuck, to a party/concert. That got "slashed" because it was, technically, a concert, for which we had tickets (bought several weeks ago, as it has been sold out since mid-December), but because these performers are friends of Becky's, it was more like a really fun party. The band we saw were The Henhouse Prowlers - a really, really fun group. They have their own genre - great bluegrass, but with a Chicago twist. Normally, when you hear "bluegrass," you think of people sitting around on hay bales, blowing into empty bottles, drinking 'shine and chewing hay. Yeah. Not so much. These guys dress in black suits, dark shirts (think John Belushi and the Blues Brothers) and sing "Chicago bluegrass." They have a great shtick. (They have just returned from a European tour for the State Department.) Last year they played in Seattle and we didn't go down - Becky even reminded us to go and we didn't. Our loss. Anyway, we had a really great time. After the performance, Becky and Chuck (who is a talented guitarist and singer) dropped me off and they went to the "after party" with the band. A great time was had by all.

I took a video of Becky and Chuck sitting around picking and singing, but it wouldn't send to my computer - too big a file, I guess. Anyway, it's been fun being inundated with bluegrass. I can now identify different songs....we went out on Friday to hear The Wandering Boys, a traditional bluegrass band with guys I remembered from Becky's music classes (they were teachers). We got waves and "hi, Rebecca!!" from them, which was fun. Chuck had a song dedicated to "our buddy Chuck" which happened to be a song I remembered, so we could all sing along. One of the good things about bluegrass is that you are expected to sing along, and since most people do, they can't hear me (and that makes everyone feel better).

We have the kids home with us all week, so we'll be hitting museums (The Field Museum has an exhibit on the history of tattooing, which sounds pretty interesting...you can get a temporary tattoo...Naomi thinks that sounds super cool. I do not.) I believe that ice skating is in our future this week, also....I plan to sit on the sidelines and cheer. :)

We have found a bar in town - The Brownstone - that is a Seahawks bar. It shows every game and would like patrons to come in blue and green. Niner fans are discouraged. :) We stopped in on Friday and the bartender gave me a pair of Seahawk gloves - because we're "real" Seattle fans. Evidently, Seahawk fans who are NOT from Washington state do not count as "real" at The Brownstone.

Go Hawks.

Pictures next time.

Crazy Town

We had a great Christmas....it is amazing how quickly 2 children can unwrap what took you hours to shop for, choose, pay for, drag home and wrap. We Skyped with Ross and Zakia - Christmas Day is also Zakia's birthday, so we called to sing Happy Birthday to her. Ross' kids took 2 hours to go through everything - but, to be fair, they save everything from all family members for Christmas morning, while Miles and Naomi open "family" presents on Christmas Eve.

We had a fantastic Christmas dinner at my niece, Colleen's, home here in Chicago. She lives on a pretty street lined with beautiful old brownstone houses, mostly single-family. Her house was easy to find, as it was the only one with a cracked front window from the bullet hole in the upper right corner. (Hey, it's Chicago, whatcha gonna do?)

Yesterday, Bob, Becky and I went to the movies - we had forgotten that the movie, SING, opened on Christmas. There were, literally, hundreds of children running around - the movie had sold out, so they were all getting tickets for future showings. We were able to get tickets for FENCES, which is the new Denzel Washington movie. Run, don't walk, to the theatre when it comes to town. You do NOT want to miss this movie! Five amazing actors, ONE set, 2 hours equals Best Movie Awards all around. We saw the play in the early 90's at the Seattle Rep (back when we had season's tickets), and it was good - but this adaptation is absolutely fabulous. Denzel Washington reminds you just how good an actor he is from the first line of the movie to the very end. Don't miss it!

Bob and I ran errands this morning - I'm still not driving our truck in city traffic - and on our way home I became irritated again by a stop sign 2 blocks from Becky's. It bugs me every time I come here. It is in the middle of a one-way street. There is no corner - just a wide spot in the road - so it's like a "Surprise Stop" since, normally, stop signs are at corners. It even has an "All Ways" sign on it - but it's a ONE WAY STREET - how many ways are cars going to be coming, in the middle of the street? So, I'm now wondering what relative of Rahm Emmanuel lives nearby? Or, what city councilman lives in Becky's neighborhood?  And why do I have to stop in the middle of the block on a residential street? No school on the street. No church on the street. No playground on the street. No crosswalk on the street. Just a stop sign.

This is a crazy city.

December 23 - in the heart of Chicago!

We’re finally here, settled in and ready for Christmas Eve with Becky and the grandkids. This is the first time we’ve been with Miles and Naomi when they opened presents, so it’s a special year for us. Then, to add to an already special day, I get to spend Christmas afternoon with my sister – the first time in about 50 years that we’ve been together on the holiday.

My knitting buddies all know that I brought lots and lots of yarn and patterns with me – can’t NOT knit, can I? While we were driving, I began a pair of Norwegian mittens. I’ve wanted to make something like this for a long time, but the constant switching of yarns put me off – it just looked like it would take a really long time. So, I figured out that if I keep one yarn in one hand and one in the other, I could maybe speed up the process. Hey, it works! It took me a couple of days to get the feeling right – and I’m still pretty slow with my right hand, but I did it! I’m proud of myself….so stranded colorwork isn’t such a time-consuming thing after all. J Here is the (almost) finished mitten: not quite finished because the thumb isn’t done – but it’ll be ready for Christmas!

I won’t blog now for a few days – we’ll be busy with the family and making some new memories.

Happy Christmas!

Day Five - we're gonna laugh about this some day

One day, in a few years, we're going to laugh about day four. But not yet. It started out okay. We filled the tank and started on our way east through Nebaska. 8 miles later, we heard a thunk and then, a mile  later the truck began to shake like an unbalanced washer on the spin cycle. Then, it gave a giant shudder and simply stopped...in the eastbound lane of Interstate 80. Semis whizzed by us ...we got the truck to the side of the road and just sat there.  I found a towing company in the town we'd stayed in, but the phone number went to a place in Lincoln - about 120 miles away. The woman an who answered was nice - she found 2 places in Kearney, which was 30. miles away. We gave them a call, and he came out in about 45 minutes.

We were towed to a Chevy dealer, who estimated (after an hour or so, they were busy) that it would take about $5000 to fix it, and who knows how long. Well, that pickup is 11 years old, with 90000 miles on it - blue book is about $7000, so we're not going to spend $5k on it....we found a 2011 GMC with 43000 miles, in great shape, so we bought it. After a whole day spent in this endeavor, we got to a hotel at 4:30. Ridiculous  stuff followed....

When you buy a vehicle, they give you paper tags you put into your window until you have the plates. When you buy a vehicle out of state, they return your old license plates to you, and as soon as you receive the title (takes about 20 days) you put your old plates on the new truck....the paper tags are good for 30 days only. (That number is an important part of this story...) because we do not routinely carry the title to the car with us, we have to have it sent to us........our title is in our safe deposit box. No one but one of us can get in that box. We cannot give someone the power of attorney to get into the box, either. Yes, that's the rub. We are 1500 miles away from home, with no plans to go back for well over that 30 days. After many conversations with the bank, we figured it out (kinda). We filed a "Lost Title Application" , got it notarized and sent it to Olympia. They will send us the title, and we can then send it to Nebraska.  THEN they can send us the title to this truck and we can put the plates on. All this has to happen within the next 30 days, with holidays in the middle. Yeah, I dont think that's gonna happen, either.

Okay, after figuring this all out, we decided to go to dinner. So, we go downstairs, climb in the new-to-us truck, turn the key, and nothing. We walk the 4 blocks to the dealers (did I mention how cold it is here?) and the sales manager gives us a look and says what are you guys doing here??? We tell him the sad story and in minutes he's back with a key to a loaner for the evening and a charger. So he brings the truck back, they keep it in the shop for the night. All this means that we have to empty the truck of all the suitcases, boxes, etc that we just loaded INTO the truck.

This morning, after sleeping in, since we figure the truck won't be ready early, we get to the dealer.....service guy comes out, tells us the charging system is fine, after being on a charger the battery is fine ....it had sat too long on the lot without being driven, apparently. So, we load up the truck again with all the stuff and finally get to leave Kearney at 9:30  - in a much larger, roomier truck. On our way to Iowa.

Day 3 - cold, colder, coldest

The state motto of Wyoming is "Forever West." Which is strange, considering that more than half the state is east of the continental divide. We crossed it around 8:45 this morning, about 45 miles west of Raw
Ins, Wyoming. Huh. Still looks like the West....mesas, miles and miles and miles of nothing but land and a silo here and there.

Looking at a map (because, after all, I'm in a car driving across the country - what else am I going to do), I see that Wyoming is kind of the center of the country....but all my life ( at least the first 26 years of it) I've lived in what I felt was the middle.... Missouri and Illinois.  Guess I'm going to start calling myself an easterner. 

I think that we forget just how huge this country is until we start driving. I can fly to my son's in Scarborough, Maine, in a few hours (not including the hours spent at 2 different airports), but it took 20 hours of driving 80 mph highways just to get to the middle....

The temperature is 7 degrees here in central Wyoming, the sun is bright, but there are 60mph gusts, blowing dry snow across the roadway, obscuring the road altogether. Makes it difficult to see the marks on the highway. II took this picture from the truck, so it's kind of hard to see, but it's dry snow being sucked up by the wind and then deposited on the highway.

Glad I'm not a long-haul trucker! This is stressful.

It's easy to see that the interstate system is how we get goods across the country. Nothing but trucks. We estimate that there are at least 3 semis for each car on the road. These vehicles were preceded by about 10 trucks...

. Trucks, trucks, and more trucks....We'll tell 'em Bone sent us. ( Seattle joke.)

Stopping in Laramie gave us a chance to chat with a long-haul trucker who is very happy with her Kenworth. Made Bobs day.

Ahh, Nebraska...now, THIS is the Midwest. There are trees. And it's fllllaaaaattttt. (We are in Lexington, Nebraska, which doesn't appear on the road signs until about 10 miles before you get here.)

Day 2

Idaho, at 8am....who da ho?

I see that no one had the answer to yesterday's question of the day. Huh.

While the speed limit in Idaho is 80 mph, the limit in towns like Caldwell and Nampa is 65. However, it appears that limit is for us tourists, because local cars continue going 80. Except for small farm trucks who apparently do not have cruise control. Fast...slow...fast...slow.

Ok, I am a coffee snob. We have entered the world of motel coffee. Boyd's coffee is hardly worth filling my mug...but I see a Starbucks down the street from the motel. Happy day!

Saw some geese who evidently overslept, since they're just now heading south. Later saw 3 more, heading north....maybe they were using old flip phones, or somebody forgot to google "South."

We drove through Idaho and Utah with bare, dry roads...cold (13 degrees), but sunny and dry. The Wasatch Range is beautiful to drive through! Lots of wind vanes...

We entered Wyoming and we're still in the hills....high desert, here. Big winds, but still sunny and dry. Great roads, at least for the first 10 or so miles....then we watched the truck in front of us slip, then we did a little fishtail move of our own....we had our own tango going. Quick, Bob put it into 4 wheel drive and we slowed 'way down. Wow. I'd never seen a fish tailed semi before...plus another one in the ditch and a third getting hauled out by a big winch. Yikes. Still sunny, but at 12 degrees, that shiny surface on the road isn't water, that's ice, baby. We got through unscathed, and are now in Rock Springs, Wyoming. It's still about 12 degrees, but there's a crazy wind, making it feel more like -13. Hurts my sinuses!

Tonight we are grateful for 4-wheel drive and Blizzex tires! Oh, and SUN!