Treat Street

 In the middle photo you can see me admiring the big white cat garage door art yesterday. Jen and her two dogs snapped this one and I took the other two. So beautiful. This kind of street art is something I did not see while driving around neighborhoods in Chicago. But maybe I just missed it? It's always such a happy surprise when artists share their work with us in the big, bold fashion.

very Mark Twainish

 This was Karen's choice for our next book club and I didn't know what to expect but I plopped it into my LindaKindle4 and I can now report that I am really liking This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. The story is set in 1932 (Great Depression) and we travel down the Mississippi River with four orphans who are escaping the horrible Lincoln Indian Training School in Minnesota. The strength and beauty of this Chosen Family and all the characters they meet on their journey with good writing and lots of action ~ so I'm happy to be reading this now and to be escaping the real world. 

the past and the present

 Today is Tender Day. Seven years since Husbando passed. Such a good man and still greatly missed by so many, especially by me, of course. This morning at 5am the power was restored and life as I know it now resumes with the busyness of daily living. I was so fortunate to see Bill in his children and grands this past weekend and we would have had some laughs were he with me. If only...

and Harlow, the dog

 The wedding was great fun and beautiful and the bride and groom included the big doodle who always comes to my house. Harlow takes over, but in a good way. Today is an all day power outage so I am at the neighborhood cafe awkwardly typing and posting and worrying about all sorts of battery stuff. I was going to drive someplace but the garage door won't open. I blame Trump. But details. Now. I enjoyed two hours at the Chicago Art Institute on Friday before joining Nancy and family for lunch and then a visit to Navy Pier which was busy and hot and great for kids. OK, more tomorrow, depending on PG&E of course.

scenes from Chicago

 Details tomorrow,  I promise. The wedding was wonderful and the family exceedingly warm, loving, thoughtful and (well) a bit crazy. It was hot. The ceremony was beautiful and the airports and planes were packed, but all smooth and yes, I am so happy to be home where it is currently 62º and sunny and lovely. Thanks to Mr. and Ms. Blogmaid for picking me up at SFO yesterday and to Annabelle for being her adorable me-first self. Courtyard Hotel Downtown/River North was expensive but ideal. So glad I could use Lyft to remain independent and I love all cities ~ Chicago seemed somehow extra vibrant and alive with outdoor cafes and tons of sparkling lights at night. Thanks to you who encouraged me to go and who knew I would have a great time, and I did. You know who you are. LOVE.

an empty chair

 Our friend Lee died yesterday. She was 95 and had a wonderful life. We thought she would make it to book club yesterday when we finally discussed James, but no such luck. I will memorialize Lee at a later date, but suffice it to say that we were all so fortunate to know her. The irony of Lee passing on book club day is not lost on any of us. We had our lunch and a subdued meeting at Heidi's. 

I will be back next Monday. I hardly ever take a blog break but I do not want to take MsBook Air to Chicago and I will snap lots of photos and have a few stories to tell about the wedding, the sights, the heat and assorted family members. Bon voyage. 😎

pre-packing (again)

 Early Thursday morning I fly to Chicago for a lot of family and the grand daughter's wedding. It seems like I just unpacked, but off I go. Annabelle has been acting odd and of course she prefers that I stay home and feed her every ten minutes. I do love Chicago and this big imperfect family that Bill gave to me on our wedding day.