Stanley Cup

I arrived in Chicago this morning for the Annual Convention of the American Library Association.

I accidentally landed in the middle of a crazy parade of people celebrating that the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.

And worst of all, I was wearing red like everyone else ... several people asked me for directions.

Hopefully tomorrow will be quieter.

Gardening and Knitting

I may have mentioned that I have a mini-garden on the balcony this year. Everything has taken a beating with the storms, but things are progressing.

This is supposed to be a cucumber, but I don't remember cucumbers having lavender blossoms. Does anyone know? I guess it doesn't matter much; I'll be glad to have any kind of harvest.

The tomato plant was big and had blossoms when I bought it.  I noticed this morning that one of the tomatoes is starting to get red.  Very exciting.  The other two plants are bell peppers (one green one red if that worked).  Notice I tied them down to the rails to prevent further upsets from the bizarre weather.

And, of course, I have some flowers.

My knitting lately has been fairly catastrophic.  This is the sweater I have been working on since April.  Too big.  By a long shot.  I will frog it and make something different (maybe for next summer - it's a silk/cotton blend).   I have a pair of socks going; probably a Christmas gift although that remains to be seen.  And I might take a Color Affection with me to Chicago this weekend.

And yes, that would be Sean Connery and Harrison Ford in my bedroom.

They love me ;-)

It Never Ends

Stormlets have given way to Mega-storms.  Here I was, blissfully prepping for the open house to show my peeps my new abode (it was supposed to happen in January but kept getting delayed) when The Storm of the Century hit the night before the party.

I know it's an overused phrase, but it really was a big storm.  Mine was among 500,000 plus homes without power Friday night.  And Saturday.  And half of Sunday.

Normal view on a nice day

View after the storm

Street-level view

I saw much, much worse, but I feel so sorry for those people with trees on their houses and sidewalks ripped up with trees down I just didn't have the heart to stop and shoot pictures.

Of course, this all means that the party did NOT go without a hitch.  Girl-child had to let people in the door manually since the door wasn't working, and then she lead them up the stairs since the elevator wasn't working...in the dark because the lights weren't working ... until Elizabeth saved the day by having a flashlight in her bag (a good scout is always prepared - she qualifies as a good scout!).

The good news is I will no longer be hauling ice up the stairs, the bad news is that I have to throw out food.  I hate throwing out food.  And just for the record, I think there is no foodstuff more disgusting than an overripe banana that has been frozen and then thawed.

Weird meals abound when salvaging food during/after a power outage...
yes that's a ton of cocktail meatballs with corn for lunch

People brought things even though they were not supposed to ... and I received flowers from afar too.  The beer, wine, tea, soap, mixed nuts, chocolates, full-spectrum lightbulbs and vinegar (yes, vinegar - how clever was that?!?) will all be put to good use.  Oh, and I got a sack full of lace-weight yarn that I forgot to offer to the knitters, which means I'll have to take it to Knit Night.

Amazing box of flowers spotted in the lobby;  couldn't believe it when I saw my name on it!

Turned out to be a box of sunshine!

My new best friends - the guys from the electric company

One funny story... so I was fretting myself to distraction Saturday morning ... went to a coffee shop to get Internet ... went to two places to get ice because the first was already sold out ... went to Midtown Farmers Market for breakfast to get my mind off having 30 people over with no power ... was chatting at the market with a woman who politely asked, "So, do you have your top on inside-out on purpose?" to which I replied, "No! Only because I got dressed in the dark this morning!"  I'm happy to say I had my shirt on right-side-out by the time my guests arrived.

Sunny with Wicked Stormlets

I'll try to stop whining now...

...it was sunny enough on Friday evening that I was able to walk both to and from Drunken Knit Night.

I didn't even have to wear a sweater or shawl when I went to the Midtown Farmers Market, although there was a deluge in the afternoon.

Sunday morning was so nice I took the bus and walked when I went to visit my mother.  In the late afternoon two fierce ten minute storms passed through.

In the meantime, these are some pictures recently digitized.

Islamorada, Florida

Nutcracker angel and mouse around 1998.

Trying to Maintain Sanity

I'm definitely losing my mind.

It's all about the weather.

I thought I was made of stronger stuff, but apparently not.

I've taken to looking at this every day.

Found it on Jenny Lawson's blog, which I also look at every day.

Have to find a laugh somewhere.

This is what I found on The Bloggess today.

I laughed.

Global warming-schmarming.

We'll have to evolve into fish soon, or perish.

It's true, the sun tried to come out.

A couple of times.

In the past few months.

With little success.

Today there were waves in the bird bath:

It was dark as night at noon.

I signed up for a 20 week MOOC today.

Will it be enough motivation for me to live or will I expire of despair before it even starts?

Walker Mini-Golf isBack!

Mini-golf is back at the Walker Art Center. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but mini-golf is one of my favorite sports.

For those of you who don't consider it a sport, please note that it is played with a ball and a stick, and there are competitions. I think that should leave no question that it is a sport.

Girl-child and I went on Friday morning. Yes, it was cloudy, but it didn't rain while we were there.

This one has a gnome foosball finale.

Pretty awesome.

You can also be mean and play statue on this one, standing between your opponent and the hole on the footprints provided.  Not that any of us would do that...

In spite of having a million possibilities, this one is very difficult.

And this one has a rock and roll theme - each one is a music-maker.

You can even wash your golf ball professionally.

Time to Build a Boat

I may have already mentioned  complained that it has been a very, very wet spring here.

Fifteen days of sun since March 15th is what I heard.  That means a lot of rainy days since March 15th.

Of course, as the old saying goes, "May showers bring June flowers."  Or something like that.

Things are growing everywhere.

The birds are using any dry space, no matter how small and unlikely, for a nest.

I'm not farming this year.  Just a balcony garden.

No shovel required.

Cielo y Velas

Turns out I was not being unusually cranky about the weather ... Girl-child told me that May 2013 was the rainiest month EVER! I am happy to report some blue sky and sun have been spotted.

I must say, living on the edge of the barrio has some surreal moments. This display in Target made me do a double-take; reminds me of markets in Mexico. Who knew we could have such a selection here?  Not so long ago you wouldn't have been able to find one of these candles to save your soul (hehe - get it?)