Last week we were in Milwaukee, visiting our younger son. Always on the hunt for fun activities to do with the boys when we are together, I was thrilled to find a place that offered mini bowling. Jim and Jason were up for it so we headed out. Mini bowling is played the same way as traditional bowling, but the pins are smaller and the lanes are more narrow and much shorter. The balls have no finger holes, are similar in size to small coconuts, and come in one weight (about three and a half pounds). Because of the type of balls used, it feels a lot like Skeeball when…
-
-
The Ugliness of Air Travel, or Travel is Fun!
As of yesterday, I have had to run through four airports in order to catch a connecting flight, two times barefoot and all four times on the way home. The first time it happened was in London at Heathrow back in 2007. I had been away from my family for more than a week, and my first flight out of Frankfurt left late. I was alone, having left my friend and her family at the hotel because they were going on to Austria without me. I can’t remember how much time I had when my plane arrived at Heathrow, but I do remember how frustrating it was to have to…
-
Have You Ever?
Have you ever looked down at your right hand and noticed that the only ring you wear 24/7 on that right hand, the tanzanite one you got a couple of years ago when on a cruise with your husband, is missing and so you launch into a panic while you simultaneously run around the house looking for it and sob hysterically and each time you come back into the dining room where your husband is (eating a late dinner because he just walked in from his group bike ride) to report that the ring isn’t ANYWHERE, your panic level goes up a notch even as he says things like, “We’ll…
-
Question of the Day: Have You Ever?
Have you ever driven into downtown Chicago to meet a friend for lunch and, when you arrive at the hotel valet parking garage you reserved space in ahead of time on your favorite parking discount app, you don’t actually see the valet at the stand that’s in the circle drive and you wait there in your car for a minute to see if he would eventually appear but he doesn’t and so you glance over at the entrance to the garage itself and think, “Huh, last time I parked in the city, the valet was actually IN the garage so perhaps I need to go in the garage to find…
-
Where Do We Go From Here?
I have convinced myself over the last few months that I really don’t know enough about politics to write about it (and honestly didn’t want to join the fray). That said, considering the history that might possibly be made tonight along with the fact that I have never educated myself about politics more than I have during this election cycle, I called BS on my Debbie Downer self talk and decided to check off today’s NaBloPoMo post with a little politics. Just a little. First, I am sick of politics. I’m sick of political ads, I’m sick of hearing about the candidates, I’m sick of the angry (and countless other…
-
The Mystery of the Denim Shorts
Alternate title: Designer Label Averse, Apparently. The scene: my bedroom. Jim, home for the first time since August, has handed me a pair of Calvin Klein denim shorts and questions to whom they belong. “You, I thought…” I replied. “They aren’t yours?” “No,” he said. “They aren’t my size and anyway, I don’t wear Calvin Klein anything.” “Oh, maybe they belong to Dylan,” I said. Sidenote: Dylan, who currently lives here full time, is so well-known for his love of wearing denim shorts that his college/fraternity nickname was “Jorts”. Jim strolled into Dylan’s room and put the shorts on his bed. About an hour later, I was back in my…
-
I Saw The Signs
Sometimes my curiosity is overwhelming. Take yesterday, for example. I was watching the roll call at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), sobbing my eyes out when Hillary Clinton was officially nominated as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States and then sobbing my eyes out again when Bernie Sanders moved that Hillary be nominated by acclimation, trying to unify the party. (I’m just setting the stage for you.) While all of this history was being made, convention attendees were holding up signs. And more signs. And more signs. There was no sign shortage at the Republican National Convention (RNC) either, which I watched last week. Signs are commonplace…
-
We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Speaker.
I love music. If you know me at all, this is not news. I listen to music all day long. I have Sirius XM radio in my car and I am a Spotify addict, with different offline playlists downloaded to my phone than the ones downloaded to my iPad, for those occasions when I have no WiFi and have to limit my choices (on a plane, on a road trip, etc.). I used to make fun of Jim for walking around with music blaring from his iPhone. After a while, I realized he was onto something there (sorry, Jim). We never ever ever ever use the stereo iPod/iPhone doc that…
-
I Still Miss Google Reader But…
Back in the day, I used to keep up with my favorite blogs (all 150+ of them) on Google Reader. Come to think of it, back in the day I had time to read all 150+ of my favorite blogs. Wow. Anyway… I loved opening up my reader every day and catching up with everybody. If I had a busy streak and was unable to read blogs, it was fine because they were all there waiting for me when I returned. In what can perhaps over-dramatically be described as a crushing blow to me, Google Reader went away for some strange reason last summer and left me flailing. There was…
-
What Is Art, Anyway?
Last week, Jim and I spent a nice afternoon at the Art Institute of Chicago. I always enjoy strolling through the galleries and getting up close and personal with some of the most famous works of art in the world. I’m not the type of person to stand in front of a painting and analyze it in a conversation with someone else, but I do have my own agenda. What I do when I come across a piece of art I really love: 1. I look at it from afar first, and then I slowly walk closer until I’m only about a foot away. 2. If the painting has one…
