Tonight was the celebration of the 100th year of Phi Alpha Delta, Gene's law fraternity. It was held at the InterContinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue. Cocktails, short welcoming speeches, salad, some awards and acknowledgments, chicken, some sort of soufflé, veggies, more awards, Gene (and our friend Garnet Fay) get acknowledged for their work with PAD, chocolate mousse, coffee, thanks and good-byes. In by 6, out by 10, not bad.
It has been a while since last I posted.
Things continue to continue. I won't try to play catch-up, but will try to stay current.
Okay, here's a little recent history.
When we last connected with our intrepid travelers, they were in Kentucky, on their way to the Graham-Eckes class reunion in Palm Beach, Florida.
After the National Corvette Museum, we continued on our leisurely drive. The countryside showed more signs of spring each day.
Roads cut through rock are an exotic thing to flatlanders. Frequently there would be water trickling down the face of the rocks. Quite artsy. Many times we were warned to look out for falling rocks, but never told what to do if we saw them.
Our next adventure was a stop at the George A. Dickel & Co. Distillery in Cascade Hollow, Tullahoma, Tennessee. The tour was interesting, educational and a great marketing tool. After seeing what care goes into the production, you have to get some. 
And guess what, there is a gift shop at the end of the tour. Who would have suspected? We bought a few bottles without tasting, because they are in a dry county and traveled on. That evening, at our hotel, we tasted it. Silky smooth, no burning, wonderful taste. I was hooked.
The next day, we high-tailed it down to Palm Beach to start the reunion festivities.
===== I will get you caught up =====
Much has happened since last we met. Travel, medical issues, knitting, life.
We took a road trip. I love road trips. No airport bothers, keep your shoes on, be on your own schedule, no hurry-up-and-wait. Gene's high school in Palm Beach planned a multi-class reunion in January, the perfect excuse to get out of two weeks of Chicago winter. We rented a PT Cruiser, at first I wasn't thrilled with the choice, but grew to love that car. 
We managed to leave just before a big storm hit Chicago and stayed ahead of more bad weather. One of the neat things about travel at this time of year, is watching the seasons and vegetation change, from snow covered bare trees, to a hint of green, to planted, growing fields and finally the tropical setting of southern Florida.
Ours was a very leisurely drive. We stopped at a favorite winery near Bloomington, Indiana. Oliver Winery has a varied, delicious, and reasonably priced selection. They also have a friendly, helpful staff and beautiful landscaping.
Here we saw the first greening. Spring will happen again this year.
Some landscaping outside their shop.
Our next planned stop was the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This was a stop of parental pride. Our son, Abraham, wrote the computer game "Pit Crew Challenge" that is featured at the museum.
The cars were awesome. The movie about the history of the Corvette showed how the first 50 cars were literally hand-made. This is a recommended stop if you find yourself in Bowling Green.
** TO BE CONTINUED **
Dear Blog, please do not feel that I have abandoned you. I have been occupied with several other things. I joined Face book and Abe got me involved with an amazing collection of 10,000 computer games and puzzles.
Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had seven guests at our table, In my humble opinion, it went very well. The meal was tasty, the table talk was interesting and it is always good to have friends join us. The leftovers were delicious and none went to waste.
Winter has come to Chicago with a vengeance. Cold, snow, ice, sleet, the whole works.
I made a sweater for Gene. He wore it for Thanksgiving, just a little unfinished. It was completed in time to go to the Zemil's post-Thanksgiving open house the next day. It was a fast knit. I used a two yarns, both alpaca. The charcoal strand was an eBay bargain and I won 17 balls of the light strand in a raffle.
I also made a scarf for our friend Jeremy. Every Thanksgiving he delivers his delicious, home-made pies, apple and key lime this year. He said he is wearing the scarf everyday. Unfortunately, The pies are but a pleasant memory.
Yesterday we went to the Steppenwolf Theatre to see an amazing production of The Glass Menagerie. After the performance, we had late lunch with three of the four members of the cast and some of their other friends. We met James Alfred, who plays the son, last week at Marcus and Perpetua's wedding.
Oh right, did I mention that the cast is all Black? Only a few minor changes were made to accommodate this change from Tennessee William's script. The mother still spoke of going to her D.A.R. meeting!
I know, I'm supposed to post some more pictures from the summer, but today was the epitome of a beautiful fall day in Chicago, so here are some I took today.
A colorful tree in Lincoln Park with the Waveland Field House in the background.
The sun over the lake at the far end of Belmont Harbor.
A beautiful day for a walk in the park.
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