Summertime and the Livin' is...

This has been a busy summer, with lots of small activities instead of a major occasion.

My brother came to town and we spent a lovely day seeing sights and going to a Drum and Bugle contest. My cousin Ric came to town and we spent several evenings with Ric and Carol and assorted relatives. The annual trip to Loda with the gourmet Group was peaceful, pleasant, tasty and relaxing. What could not be great about a day at a house on a lake with abundant good food and great friends and no pressure? The usual two birthdays, 8/15 for Abe and 8/19 for me. A new to us car, thanks to Harold's mother-in-law. It is a 1999 Saturn SL1 , silver gray with an astonishing 24,000 miles. I'm continuing to make and sell jewelry.

The biggest thing on our agenda is organizing the apartment so that it is showable and looking for a new condo. We are being picky because we don't want to move again, once every 30+ years is enough.

For my birthday, Gene and Abe got together and got a Magellan GPS unit. Love it. Now we have to go on a road trip to use it. Thanks guys.

Yesterday, some monster storms came through Chicago and caused a lot of damage. Many, many trees came down, power was (and in some cases, still is) out, roads flooded and general mayhem prevailed. The lovely russian olive tree that the garden group planted on Grace street was totally destroyed. Very sad, we had planted it as a sapling at least 15 years ago and it had grown to be a beautiful tree that always reminded me of my friends Tom & Peter. It was planted on the parkway outside their apartment, where they could enjoy it. They moved to Washington DC many years ago and I always thought of it as a permanent link to them.

Cruising, Visiting, Enjoying

I found the coolest soon-to-be site yesterday while reading Franklin's blog. It is called Ravelry and it is (will be) the internet equivalent of being in a knitting shop, in a library, in a chat room, where you can track your stash and get patterns, ideas and/or help or encouragement. They are still in beta testing but are accepting wanna joins. As of today, I am number 22,093 with 14,299 knitters in front of me and 239 behind me. No cutting please, one third of those wanting to join have been issued invitations. Hey, one in 22,332 is better than one in a million!

Last Friday my brother came to Chicago. Fred, Gene and I took the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Architecture River Cruise. A wonderful hour and a half on the Chicago river, viewing the beautiful buildings, learning their history and the history of Chicago. I recommend it to everyone. After the cruise, we strolled down to Millennium Park and took in the Bean and the spewing fountains. Photos to follow. We feasted on Chicago-style hot dogs and enjoyed a lovely day in the park.

Another snap of under the Bean.

Gene & Fred Under the Bean

We retreived the car, picked up Abe and drove to Naperville for the Cavalcade of Brass, a Drum Corps contest sponsored by The Rosemont Cavaliers. In fact, that is why Fred was in town. It was the 50th reunion of the 1957 Chicago Cavaliers. A good time was had by all.

As an added benefit, I delivered eight pair of earrings to the fellow in charge of the Cavaliers souvenir booth. They sold two pair that evening. A good thing for all involved.