Sarah and I drove over to the VFW on Friday late afternoon. They moved the weekend market from the downtown street on Sunday mornings to the VFW parking lot on Friday afternoons.
There were about 15 merchants selling everything from organic meat to chiropractic care. Sarah and I wandered around. She bought some pasta.
I had spied a welcoming patio at the side of the VFW hall. There were a few people sitting there drinking beer. I told Sarah that I wanted to sit and have a beer while she shopped. I asked a man standing by the door if I could go in and buy a beer even though I was not a member. He was very friendly and he said that I could.
They didn't have any good beer but I bought a Miller Genuine Draft and went out on the patio and watched the shoppers. It was a little cool but the setting was quite pleasant.
Sarah came to get me and I bought her a beer. But she didn't like the Miller Genuine Draft so I finished it for her. We talked about dinner. We talked about going out for a drink. Instead we went home and ate and then sat and tried to find a movie to watch.
We started with a chick flick called, "Letters to Juliet." It did not work for us. We started a couple of other movies and then watched quite a bit of the movie, "Wild Bill" because it has Jeff Bridges in it.
"Wild Bill" was too violent and action packed to please us. Sarah fell asleep and the movie really seemed to bog down towards the end. I turned it off and we went to bed about 9:30 PM.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Amanda comes home
Amanda, my daughter, left two weeks ago for Boston. She went there to attend meetings to help her plan for her Interfuture adventure. She had to create a research question that she would study both here in the U.S. and starting in December 2012 in Amsterdam.
I must go now to pick her up at the airport. I have missed her a lot.
I must go now to pick her up at the airport. I have missed her a lot.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
air conditioning
I don't use air conditioning a lot. Cost is a factor but also the fact that when you turn on the air conditioner the outside world becomes a hostile environment and you are likely to stay inside. Also, the environmental impact is a consideration.
There are some really hot days and nights when even I turn on the air. The first such hot night this summer I turned on the air conditioning and it blew warm air.
I spent the next day doing research on the internet and using my meter to try to track down the problem. I couldn't find the problem.
When all was said and done it turned out that I had a leaking valve on the outdoor unit ( the compressor and condensor ) and all freon had escaped from the unit. $450.00 dollars later the air conditioning is working. I hope that the fix lasts a long time the replacement cost is very high.
There are some really hot days and nights when even I turn on the air. The first such hot night this summer I turned on the air conditioning and it blew warm air.
I spent the next day doing research on the internet and using my meter to try to track down the problem. I couldn't find the problem.
When all was said and done it turned out that I had a leaking valve on the outdoor unit ( the compressor and condensor ) and all freon had escaped from the unit. $450.00 dollars later the air conditioning is working. I hope that the fix lasts a long time the replacement cost is very high.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Dinner in Berwyn
Sarah and I met my brother and his wife for dinner in Berwyn. It had been a long time since I had been in downtown Berwyn by the railroad station.
There were some cute shops and a few restaurants and bars that looked promising.
We ate at The Riverside Restaurant on Harlem Ave. The food reflects the food of the dominant (at least formerly dominant) population of Berwyn. That would be Czech, Bohemian and Hungarian I believe.
I had goulash.
There were some cute shops and a few restaurants and bars that looked promising.
We ate at The Riverside Restaurant on Harlem Ave. The food reflects the food of the dominant (at least formerly dominant) population of Berwyn. That would be Czech, Bohemian and Hungarian I believe.
I had goulash.
Monday, June 13, 2011
birthday
For many years, but especially for the last seven or eight, I have not been a good celebrator of my own birthday. I view birthdays as rather melancholy affairs. A reminder of my own mortality and a time to reflect on how little I have accomplished over the years.
I would rather sit and brood than celebrate. The wife would try her best to improve my mood. She would suggest things that we could do but I would refuse.
This year the wife didn't ask me. She planned a party. She invited my good ping pong playing pals Dale, Ziggy, Vaso and Jeff and their wives Carmen, Irene, Sue and Maria. Also invited, as they are every year regardless of my mood, were my mom and my sister. And last but not least my neighbors and friends Frank and Tish.
Mom and I have season tickets to the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the concert was on Sunday, my birthday. It was a great concert. We heard Tchaikovski's 6th symphony, the Pathetique, and Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto.
The piano in the Rachmaninoff piece was played by a young, Korean woman by the name of Joyce Yang. She was wonderful!
I don't think that I ever heard Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto before, it is quite a piece.
After the concert Mom and I drove to my house. Some of the guests had already arrived and sister Debbie was there as well.
Sarah had bought me a small, metal fire pit to replace the one that had rusted away. She had also purchased two skewers. We built a fire and roasted hot dogs. There was also coleslaw, chips, baked chicken and deviled eggs.
I set up the bag toss game and the men played.
It was a cool evening and the fire felt good. We sat around it and talked and ate. Some of us drank beer. Not much beer though, there is enough beer left over for another four parties. Maybe five.
Everyone left early except for Frank. Of course he only needed to go next door. He had brought some very good beers as a gift and when everyone else left he got out two cigars. We smoked cigars, tried the beers that he had brought and talked for several hours.
I was tired but satisfied by the time that I went to bed.
Everyone brought gifts. I was embarrassed by their generosity and wished that they had not brought anything. Both Jeff and Vaso had birthdays only a couple of weeks ago and I did nothing for them but wish them a happy one.
Sarah worked very hard to make the party a success. And it was. I had no time to reflect and be melancholy.
I would rather sit and brood than celebrate. The wife would try her best to improve my mood. She would suggest things that we could do but I would refuse.
This year the wife didn't ask me. She planned a party. She invited my good ping pong playing pals Dale, Ziggy, Vaso and Jeff and their wives Carmen, Irene, Sue and Maria. Also invited, as they are every year regardless of my mood, were my mom and my sister. And last but not least my neighbors and friends Frank and Tish.
Mom and I have season tickets to the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the concert was on Sunday, my birthday. It was a great concert. We heard Tchaikovski's 6th symphony, the Pathetique, and Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto.
The piano in the Rachmaninoff piece was played by a young, Korean woman by the name of Joyce Yang. She was wonderful!
I don't think that I ever heard Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto before, it is quite a piece.
After the concert Mom and I drove to my house. Some of the guests had already arrived and sister Debbie was there as well.
Sarah had bought me a small, metal fire pit to replace the one that had rusted away. She had also purchased two skewers. We built a fire and roasted hot dogs. There was also coleslaw, chips, baked chicken and deviled eggs.
I set up the bag toss game and the men played.
It was a cool evening and the fire felt good. We sat around it and talked and ate. Some of us drank beer. Not much beer though, there is enough beer left over for another four parties. Maybe five.
Everyone left early except for Frank. Of course he only needed to go next door. He had brought some very good beers as a gift and when everyone else left he got out two cigars. We smoked cigars, tried the beers that he had brought and talked for several hours.
I was tired but satisfied by the time that I went to bed.
Everyone brought gifts. I was embarrassed by their generosity and wished that they had not brought anything. Both Jeff and Vaso had birthdays only a couple of weeks ago and I did nothing for them but wish them a happy one.
Sarah worked very hard to make the party a success. And it was. I had no time to reflect and be melancholy.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A Wisconsin Day
Sarah and I enjoy visiting Wisconsin, most often the area between Monroe and Madison. It's a close enough drive that we can take day trips there.
On Wednesday Sarah had to be in Rockford for a two hour meeting. I went along so that after the meeting we could drive up to Wisconsin.
In Beloit there is a small bar/restaurant called Hanson's just north of town and just east of the river. They are famous for their hamburgers. We decided to stop there for lunch. We made the mistake of sitting at the bar where a ditzy bartender was working.
Working is not the right term, there wasn't much working going on. And that was the problem. It took a long time to get a drink, when I asked for menus she gave them to someone else - even though there were only five people at the bar, and after getting our drinks she ignored us.
We decided to wait until we got to Monroe and eat at Baumgartner's. And that is what we did.
After lunch we walked to the used book store, Fireside Books, just off the square. We always visit Baumgartner's and Fireside Books when we are in Monroe. The owner of Fireside Books, Cathy, actually recognized us from last year. We had a long chat with her including talk of memoirs, which she and I both like, and her daughter Calla who is traveling through Europe.
After 90 minutes in the book store we went to an old soda fountain on the square and then took our ice cream to a park. It was a hot day but there was a breeze and it was alright in the shade. We got blankets from the van, laid in the grass and read for over an hour.
At about 6 PM we decided it was time to head home.
On Wednesday Sarah had to be in Rockford for a two hour meeting. I went along so that after the meeting we could drive up to Wisconsin.
In Beloit there is a small bar/restaurant called Hanson's just north of town and just east of the river. They are famous for their hamburgers. We decided to stop there for lunch. We made the mistake of sitting at the bar where a ditzy bartender was working.
Working is not the right term, there wasn't much working going on. And that was the problem. It took a long time to get a drink, when I asked for menus she gave them to someone else - even though there were only five people at the bar, and after getting our drinks she ignored us.
We decided to wait until we got to Monroe and eat at Baumgartner's. And that is what we did.
After lunch we walked to the used book store, Fireside Books, just off the square. We always visit Baumgartner's and Fireside Books when we are in Monroe. The owner of Fireside Books, Cathy, actually recognized us from last year. We had a long chat with her including talk of memoirs, which she and I both like, and her daughter Calla who is traveling through Europe.
After 90 minutes in the book store we went to an old soda fountain on the square and then took our ice cream to a park. It was a hot day but there was a breeze and it was alright in the shade. We got blankets from the van, laid in the grass and read for over an hour.
At about 6 PM we decided it was time to head home.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Leo Kottke
Neighbor Frank won two tickets through a contest on radio station WXRT to a Leo Kottke concert. The concert was at the new Montrose Room (Montrose is Rosemont backwards sorta) in the InterContinental Chicago O'Hare hotel in Rosemont.
Frank was kind enough to take me. We left early so that we could upgrade our tickets from the back balcony, where you must stand, to the area right in front of the stage that has chairs and those tiny, round nightclub type tables.
On the web site it says that the upgrade costs $5 per ticket. We had to talk to Niles. He charged us $10 per ticket. We didn't ask or argue. My guess is that for their regular Friday night concerts featuring local acts the upgrade is $5 but for bigger acts like Kottke the cost is doubled.
We found a table and sat down. We were within 20 feet of the tiny stage. Soon Leo Kottke came out and played and talked for about an hour and 15 minutes. He is great. And quite clever too.
After the concert Frank and I stood in the parking garage, on the eighth level, and looked out over O'Hare Field and talked. It was a beautiful evening.
Frank was kind enough to take me. We left early so that we could upgrade our tickets from the back balcony, where you must stand, to the area right in front of the stage that has chairs and those tiny, round nightclub type tables.
On the web site it says that the upgrade costs $5 per ticket. We had to talk to Niles. He charged us $10 per ticket. We didn't ask or argue. My guess is that for their regular Friday night concerts featuring local acts the upgrade is $5 but for bigger acts like Kottke the cost is doubled.
We found a table and sat down. We were within 20 feet of the tiny stage. Soon Leo Kottke came out and played and talked for about an hour and 15 minutes. He is great. And quite clever too.
After the concert Frank and I stood in the parking garage, on the eighth level, and looked out over O'Hare Field and talked. It was a beautiful evening.
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