Industry Night

No real pictures of Industry Night--though it was fabulous. I was out with visiting high school guidance counselors and arts teachers showing off the event and all of our visual artists' work to our guests. But I was able to take a second to sit down and relax my back and feet and notice how beautiful the city and the weather was being.


Our students, faculty and staff at Columbia College work incredibly hard to put on Manifest, and the day is a celebration of that hard work and the innovation and creativity of the community. But the strange magic of the day wouldn't be the same without its cropping up in Chicago.

Manifest Emissaries

Last year, in lead up to Manifest to the hooligans running around building anticipation were Magritte inspired, colorfully-vested, trench-coated, bowler-hatted pranksters.

This year, they were more sober, steam-punkish, hard-working folks. Two to three khaki enrobed workers dragging around a wheeled desk in which cardboard eggs and typewriter were nestled in live grass. On a pedestal above--a red emergency phone and a Chinese lantern. And always, following in their wake, a darkly dressed gentleman taking notes and speaking into a small recording device, investigating their work. . .

Why is he so disapproving?

I love it. . .

Comedy Studies

This past Tuesday, Dan went with me to kick off a little early Manifest fun.

Columbia has been running the leading "study abroad" program in ensemble improv comedy training on site at the Second City, taught by their gifted training faculty and called "Comedy Studies." As a capstone project of the semester-long program, the students put on two nights of shows for friends, family and the public on Second City's ETC Stage.

I've tried to make it to most of the final performances. I missed them for the first few years, but have been going every semester since. . . because the Comedy Studies students are ridiculously funny. Their work is savvy and smart and witty and a little vulgar (which I love, because they're not just making me laugh. . . their parents are there, too).

My favorite piece this year, was a song called "Ambiguously Asian."



And every year, Jason who works for the Second City and the program brings me a ridiculous drink. I do a little paperwork for the program and it's incredibly nice for Jason to reward me with far too much garnish.

One of the Best Weeks of the Year

Blog-wise, I usually get out ahead of this each year, but it's been an really busy spring. Anyhoo, this past week was one of my most favorite of the year--the week that ends in Columbia College Chicago's Manifest.

It's a magical week on campus--students are wrapping up their finals, seniors are dreaming about graduation, street art and performance art starts to crop up around campus. And we had the added bonus of hot sunny weather almost the entire last week.

The first thing I saw that let me know Manifest was gearing up was this great installation by (don't fret.). Super talented wheat paste artist that Columbia gave a wall to play on. Obviously, he doesn't need to be given a wall. His job is to find walls and take them over. But I think it's a lovely testament to the college's dedication to all forms of art that we invited him to do his thing on one of our buildings!

Beautiful Day + Log

This spring has been a cold and rainy one in Chicago. But last weekend we had a sunny day and again today, a sunny day. And it was in the low 70's. So, I took my bad back outside into the sun and did a little yard work (emphasis on the "little"). One thing I did do? Cut a few non-magnolia stumps out of our pretty magnolia bush.



And then L.P. went to town on the tiny stumpy logs.





L.P. had the best day of any dog in town today. No contest. Don't even try, other dogs, because L.P. loved that log. . .

It Doesn't Look Like Much Yet. . .

But you just wait, the front of our house is going to look better in a month or two. And in 2-4 years, it's going to be the envy of the block!

But for now, it looks like this ("Hi!" to Dan waving from the back yard):


I have this terrible habit of imagining what a garden spot could look like in ten years, and then planting that garden immediately. That's not really how gardens work. Nevertheless, I imagined the northeast corner of our our lot being a shady, sun-dappled little glen--with a dwarf, gnarled, apple-tree as the center piece, with hostas and lily-of-the-valley growing blue and green and gold in its shade.

But the apple tree is a stick and won't be much more than that for another year or two. Regardless, with the image of a wooded glen in mind, last year, I immediately planted hostas and lily of the valley right up against the sidewalk--which is a pretty sunny place. Dumb.

So, I moved some things around today. I moved hostas back into the shade of the house--some lilies, too. And a huge rhubarb plant came with the house when we bought it. It was a giant monster in the backyard, and looking at it, I realized it's easily 6-7 rhubarb plants trapped in a tight spot growing on top of each other. So, I divided two off and have planted them in the front yard. They look sad right now, but they'll perk up! (fingers crossed!)


The neighbors have pretty tulips blooming in their front yard right now--the red with black center of poppies. . .


And the backyard got some love today, too. Dan cleared out old leaves and did some weeding. And I have filled loads of containers with new dirt and seeds. In a few weeks, I hope to see the start of hot pepper plants and nasturtiums and zucchini.

Casey Riordan Millard

Went for a second view of my best friend Casey Riordan Millard's show at the Schopf Packer Gallery in the west loop of Chicago. Her work is as brilliant as ever--pretty (like hardcore schoolgirl-in-pigtails-crinoline-and-patent-leather-shoes pretty), and gorgeously executed and sad. If you haven't seen her work before, you're missing out.

Check out her website: caseyriordanmillard.com

This is my favorite piece of hers. . . ever: "Shark Girl Riding Blue Bird"

New Critters

They need pants or skirts or something, but they're hanging around my office at home until I figure out the plan. . .





I love this little girl's bell-shaped sweater. She will need, I think, a similarly full sweet skirt to go with.

Our House is Naked!!!!

At long last, our house has a face for the first time since we're owned it. As it turns out, it's a vaguely sad unkempt face that needs some painting and cosmetic attention--but how is one to know until one cuts the bangs and really takes stock?!?

Here's what the house looked like just two days ago. . .


My folks came up to visit and Dad gave Dan Tree-Cutting 101-classes in the front yard. And at long last those durn trees are gone gone gone.


(That's the house, Dan, Mom and Dad. . . Dad was being shy, though, and camouflaged himself as the old trees. See close-up below:)


I have plans for the front yard garden-wise. I won't leave it looking like that forever. There's a spirea at the corner that has to go and we have to grind down the remaining tree stumps. After that, though, I am going to plant 2-3 colonnade apple trees, a hydrangea and a big old-fashioned lilac. Whatever space is left over will get filled with some perennial herbs, irises, lamb's ears and any thing else I can think of that my mama and grandma grew when I was a kid (black-eyed susans? hollyhocks? snapdragons?)

Easter and Passover Season

I'm not a very religious person. I was raised Presbyterian and was active in church until I fell away in my angry teen years--but more than any other season of the year, spring still seems attached to religion and the food that is attached to religious communities.

April pops up and every year, I get a yearning for hot cross buns, delicately poached fish on fridays, and homemade matzos ball soup (raised Presbyterian, but close friends all through childhood with loads of folks from the Catholic and Jewish communities of Cincinnati. Most closely tied to the Jewish community, though, as if the German-ness of both Presbys and Jews was the tie that bound us together in a German German German town).

I am also the daughter of both a gardening tribe (Hi, Mom's people!) and a farming tribe (Hey, Pop's peeps!) And so Spring is a season of hopeful, simple, ridiculously yummy food. Sweet sugar snap peas everywhere. The first fresh herbs of the season (sage, thyme, parsley, oregano, chives) showing up in pale flavor-rich soups and simple bean dishes.

My first venture into the new season:



The strength of this matzos ball soup was the broth--some homemade, some storebought, but all combined and recooked for an hour or so with a few pieces of garlic, bay leaves, celery leaves, peppercorns and a handful of uncut carrots. Ridiculous. The matzos balls could have been a little more flavorful and will be next time. . . but topped off with fresh parsley from the garden, it was pretty great anyway. . .

Brigid

New at my fivetrees etsy shop. . . Miss Brigid!

Organizing

I've been sick for days and days. The longest I've been sick for a while--and between napping and napping and napping, I kept waking worried about work or thinking about projects I wanted to start.

So, yesterday, as the illness was beginning to relent, I whipped together a needle case for all of the my double-pointed knitting needles. My aunt gave me a needle holder years ago, which I love and use all of the time, but it officially doesn't have enough space for both single and double points.

So, here's the new concoction:


Neatly bundled up. . . but rolled out to total width, it's about 42 inches long. That's more space than I really need for knitting needles, but my collection seems to keep growing.


Not a very difficult project and I still had to take breaks throughout the day to nap between steps. Being sick is so strange. But having a new needle case is lovely. . .

Bertram

New pachyderm at fivetrees + a few other new toys appearing soon.

Sometimes I wish I could read his mind. . .

Other times, I wish I could escape into his noggin and think the way he does. The world is a rough place right now. There's way too much to think about, worry about, get worked up about. But this little guy pretty much just worries about meals and who's going to throw the ball for him next.

What's a Birthday Without Decorations?

My man and his twin brother are having a big birthday soon, and we're lucky enough to get the brother in town to celebrate. So, I figured, beyond the usual oodles of party food, I probably needed to make some decorations for the big day. . .

So far, with 4 slim packs of paper and one extra sheet of scrapbooking paper, I have made three very long garlands and a whole host of 3-d decorations. If I had more time, I could make twice that for the party. . . Paper is awesome.

Oh. Why Are You So Tasty?

Like many Americans, I could stand to lose a little weight. But guess who is not helping with this endeavor. . .?

I shake my fist at you, glorious Vietnamese bakeries on Argyle Street. (and then rub my belly with satisfaction of a snack happily eaten after playing at the dog beach on Lawrence.)

she read my mind

Wow. It's as if Judy Kaufman has made artwork especially for me. You can get this as a print on Etsy, if you, too, love your city. But don't buy all of the prints, please. I want one to still be there once I get past my husband's-b-day spendy rush.

It's February. In Chicago, that's traditionally the month when everyone starts to go a little out of their minds with cabin fever. The cold has gone on for too long. Spring is just around the corner. . . but it still feels like it will never arrive.

So, you do what you can to get over the hump. Dan and I tried the direct approach yesterday--going out into the face of winter, hanging out by the lake and walking about. Today, I'm taking the indirect approach--by searching out bright colorful things online that make me happy. . . and maybe by making a few colorful things as well!

Speaking of bright, colorful and cheerful, I found this adorable pillow cover at sukanart's shop



And it would be hard to stay crabby sleeping under this quilt by Ozark Quilters every night:



Or maybe just take a second to remember how excited you were to wear fall clothes and your new coat back in October with Michele Maule's "Little Red Coat" (available as a print in her shop on Etsy!:

Why Doesn't He Care?

Trying to take pictures of L.P. outside in the snow is a little like trying solve a problem like Maria. He's not having it. He's too busy playing and digging it to be cute for the camera.

Dan joked today at the Lawrence dog beach that L.P. just doesn't care about his web presence.

So true. He's too cool for friendface and so refuses to try to understand why I might want cute pictures of him either for posterity or for my blog.



He's too cool for school.



He's also obviously pretty mouthy. What can we say? We forgot to pack a tennis ball for the beach, and L.P. was sorely vexed in between meeting other dogs, running about and eating snow.