the nicest I.T. guy I know

a birthday

I want to tell you about my dad. He's pictured here. Today along with his twin brother Craig, he celebrates his birthday. He's a pretty amazing guy.

He grew up in a small farming community in Illinois. It's a wonderful little town. I can describe it like this: It is flat. There are cornfields in every direction. Also El Caminos in driveways and bicycles in yards. There are no stop lights in the city limits. There is still a soda shop on the corner. People take pride in their homes. People smile and say hello. There are swimming holes. There is a small library. The churches outnumber the gas stations. People always wave and pause at stop signs to talk with each other. Someone always carries your packages from the grocery store or gas station and places them in your trunk. Friday night football games are the only events you need be concerned with in the fall. It is a place where I have always felt at home.

Along with Craig and his older siblings Jeff and Kim, my dad lived an idyllic childhood. In fourth grade they moved into the house the town doctor (my great-great-grandfather) built. It was a mammoth house with a sweeping staircase and large kitchen. They lived a block from the high school and my dad filled his growing up years with biking the country roads, playing football and running track, working as a lifeguard and tennis coach, dating girls, driving around town, and taking the train to Chicago for Cubs games.


While in college, he met and married my mother. They were young, in love, and had a big wedding complete with red, white, and grey tuxes. Life for the young couple began. Soon, they welcomed me into their lives and eventually the three of us moved to Kansas City.

When I turned two, my parents divorced. After my dad gained custody of me, we moved our lives to Wisconsin to be closer to family. For four years it was just the two of us. This has meant so much more to me as I've approached my late twenties. I sit here now and think about my dad getting me ready for school, feeding me breakfast, taking me to kindergarten, and then heading to work at a downtown advertising firm. He was only 25. When I turned 25 this image gave me pause. I think about how overwhelming it must have been at times to be such a young parent, on his own, figuring it out as he went along. When I insisted my frozen pizza be cooked in a disposable pie pan because it gave it a softer crust, he obliged. When I put my foot down about eating anything other than baked beans and hot dogs, he let it go. I mean at least I was eating something.

In 1985 he was featured in an article about young divorced dads raising their kids. He talked about carting me along to the gym, watching basketball and baseball games together, and celebrating holidays. When asked about traditions, my dad responded: "When I was little, from December 1st to Christmas Day, my parents would put candy in our windows and tell us it was a gift from the elves. I really wanted to go all out for her, so one night I went and bought some candy. Each morning I'd get up extra early and quietly line the candy up on the window sills. Myndi would get up in the morning and run to the windows. It was so fun to see. To this day she still looks for candy in the windows."

I think about all of that, the sacrifices, the scrimping and saving, the compounding a social life into two nights a month, and I think how lucky I am. I am so lucky I have a dad that always put me first and ensured I had a happy childhood like he did.

Now as adults we are especially close. We talk often about our jobs, the challenges we face, about our undying love of the Cubs and Bears, what we're each cooking for dinner, how much better life will be when Obama is president, and the future. It's a bright one for my family.

Life seems to often circle around itself. Two weeks ago I helped my dad, stepmom, and two brothers unpack boxes in their new home in that small idyllic town. They are now living four houses away from the house where my father spent his childhood years. His brother Craig now inhabits that house with his own family. My brother Jacob is now playing football on the same high school field my dad did. He is coached by the son of my dad's coach. Full circle I tell you.

And so, it's important that I wish my dad the happiest of birthdays today. It's been an especially challenging year with job changes and moving. I am so proud to call him my dad. He is the most optimistic, positive, and genuine person I know. His stories are classic and his perseverance never ending. He's never stopped supporting my brothers and I, never shown disappointment in us, and has always made us feel so loved. We are very fortunate. Happy birthday Dad.

the sea

I deeply wish I could take credit for the photograph above. It pictures Charlie, age 13 on the family sailboat. He remembers the day well. Along with two friends, Charlie sailed Allegra around the lake. It was August. They spent the day sailing, enjoying the last weekend before school began. It should be noted that Charlie is quite the accomplished sailor. I was unaware of his skills until our honeymoon when he easily led us through the ocean waves while I held on for dear life.

This photograph is one of my favorites. Everything about it, even the flaw on the right perfectly encapsulates the moment for me. It is the essence of adolesence, sun, late summer, and the carefree feeling of being a teenager.

I am determined to learn to sail as well so we can eventually teach our kids and maybe one day buy a boat. It wasn't difficult for me to imagine us sailing about Lake Michigan last time we were at the beach.

Enjoy these last days of August.

an inventory

August is winding down. Next week it will be September. On Friday we will have lived here for one month.

+ Best part about leaving Baltimore? Public transportation in Chicago. Baltimore did have a light rail and a complicated bus system, but because the light rail only ran on one side of the city, it wasn't very convenient to use (unless you lived right off of it). Since being here, we've used our car about once a week (if that). The bus routes make sense and the el seems generally reliable. There has been some work on the red line as of late that has changed some of our travel plans, however it has been great not relying on our car to get around.

+ Worst part about leaving Baltimore? Besides leaving friends and The Brewer's Art? Probably the music scene. So maybe it was meant to be that Dan Deacon's Round Robin concert tour arrives in Chicago this October. Our tickets came in last week. Can't wait! Chicago readers, buy your tickets here.

+ We had a chance to check out The Bluebird this weekend. Great bar with a fantastic beer selection. It meets my main requirements for a quality drinking establishment: a place where I can sit down, a place where I can hear myself converse with friends, and decent music. Check, check, and check.

+ We watched Persepolis on Sunday. It was the best movie I've seen in quite a long time.

+ Mer's fall collection has gotten me excited for cooler temperatures and wearing scarves again.

+ I shyed away from Gabriel Garcia Marquez for a long time. So glad I finally got over it and picked up One Hundred Years of Solitude. I've been devouring it all week on the patio.

+ I finally feel settled enough here to pick up some creative projects I put on hold during the move. I am picking up the painting I started in June and some new embroidery. It's good to use my hands again. There's nothing quite like sitting down and creating something you can feel.















+ Before I left town, a friend shared her indispensable advice with me. Her words have been echoing in my head all week. The three essentials to happiness: Something to do, someone to love, something to look forward to. She's always right. This week I've been thinking about how true it is.

+ I know I shouldn't wish the days away, but I'm sort of aching for fall. Soon, soon.

september, 2004

As I cleaned and organized some files last night, I came across a handful of photos from my first year in Baltimore. This shot was taken by Charlie when we were house-sitting for some Hopkins professors. These professors were spending two weeks in France, so we were left in charge of their 100 acres of land, three cats, and dog Frankie. They had a beautiful French-style country house, along with a writing cabin each on the property. There were no television sets, no locks on the doors, and a simple kitchen that we cooked dinner in each night. After dinner we would walk the property with Frankie. Our goal was to allow him to burn off some of his puppy energy, but mostly we admired the beauty of rural Maryland and talked about eventually having a country estate of our own. It was a beautiful two weeks.

sun falling

On Wednesday mom arrived for a visit. It's been great to have her here. We've enjoyed our time together and took in The Dark Knight at the IMAX last night. What a great film. It's not often I see an action movie, so I really enjoyed it.

I'm glad the weekend is near. The weather has been beautiful for the second week in a row. While we were out walking last night, it seemed fall was very near. I'm really looking forward to seeing fall here.

dinner on the lawn

Before the week gets away from me, I wanted to post a recipe for your next meal eaten outside. Last night we met Kate and Adam for the movie in the park. We watched Orson Welles' A Touch of Evil and ate dinner as the sun went down. I brought a curried chicken salad (easily transportable in small jars). The salad, along with fresh peaches and mint, and Kate's lemon bars made the night complete.

August has meant cooler temperatures here and we've been taking advantage of the cool summer air every chance we get.

Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas and Raita
Gourmet, August 2008
Serves 4

Ingredients
For curried chicken salad:
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 cup)
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons cilantro
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (3 to 4 cups)
1 cup red grapes, halved

For chickpeas:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry (2 cups)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

For raita and topping:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 seedless cucumber, peeled, cored, and chopped (2 cups)
2 tablespoon chopped mint
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Make curried chicken salad:
Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry, cumin, and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt, cilantro, and chicken. Cool to room temperature.

Make chickpeas:
Heat oil in cleaned skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook chickpeas, stirring, 1 minute. Add cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring to coat, until skillet is dry, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Make raita:
Stir together yogurt, cucumber, mint, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Assemble jars:
Divide grapes among jars and layer curried chicken, raita, chickpeas, and almonds on top.

john's message

His words are so fitting for today, it sort of boggles my mind.

true weekend

This weekend has truly felt like our first one in the city. On Friday we spent the day taking care of the bureaucratic components of moving to a new place. We headed to the DMV early to get our new Illinois licenses, license plates, and registration. I am happy to report I received a 100% on the written portion of the driver's test. I was dreading sitting for a written test. Luckily we both passed without problems and were able to get our licenses easily. In the evening we unpacked a final box and sorted things in the kitchen. The apartment is nearly together, we are just waiting on a kitchen storage/work space piece from IKEA. Once that comes in, things will feel complete.

Yesterday we took full advantage of the beautiful day. I caught up on some needed sleep in the morning and later we headed out to explore the neighborhood. We bought some books at Quimby's and the Boring Store, looked into tutoring opportunities for the fall, checked out the actual Wicker Park, walked, walked, walked, stopped into the famous La Pasadita for tacos, and finally ended the day at the Dusty Groove . We purchased some new Jorge Ben albums and dug through the bargain LPs and scored some good finds for $0.99. Record shopping might top my list of favorite weekend activities.

On the way home we kept an eye to the street looking for Anthony Bourdain. Apparently he was around all weekend filming a new episode of my favorite show, No Reservations . Unfortunately we didn't see him, but just knowing he was in the area was excitement enough.

Later in the evening we cooked up some shrimp, greens, and brown rice before heading out to celebrate Ron and Dave's birthday. After the bar, we closed out the night at another taqueria before collapsing into bed.
. . . .

Today has been spent in the most indulgent fashion; some coffee, a little pastry, new music coming through the speakers, and the newspaper.

We need to spend some time getting ready for the week. It's what I love best about Sundays, the possibility to start the week off in a calm and rested way.

in the neighborhood, saturday

perfection? just maybe.

Meet the chocolate chip cookie of your dreams. Probably the most blogged about cookie right now, but for good reason. Megan directed me to the original recipe and we talked at length about our craving for a good chocolate chip cookie.

I followed Orangette's modifications with the flour and chocolate and found the cookie to be the perfect balance of a chewy and crisp cookie. The box of cookies is headed with us to Kavi and Idders' place tonight. Good thing too because if they're in my presence much longer, I'm likely to eat every last crumb.

summer in the city

Beautiful night in Grant Park with friends. Watched The Day The Earth Stood Still and saw the city change at dusk.

making a home

Slowly these rooms are beginning to feel like home. On Sunday, after a day spent putting things here or there, we ventured out into the neighborhood. The night was cool, far cooler than any summer night in Baltimore. The streets were less crowded and the sun was going down. It was in this moment, walking somewhere to find dinner that something in me eased. All the tension, the emotion, and unsettled feelings in me smoothed and dropped away. For the first time in a month I wasn't thinking about the next day or the running to-do list on some faraway table. No, instead we were looking for dinner. Our neighborhood is filled with outdoor cafes on every corner. Something about walking past the diners out enjoying their Sunday evenings and the cozy lights in the trees was strangely comforting.

. . . .

Nothing makes me feel more settled than an unpacked kitchen and a cabinet full of groceries. Kate and I have talked at length about this. Why is it that home isn't really home until everything in the kitchen has found its place?

I'm anxious to get back to cooking again. It is the the one activity that centers and calms me after a long day. We've indulged in so many meals out throughout this move, I'm really looking forward to cooking some satisfying and healthy meals and eating at home again.

As summer begins to wind down I'm thinking of the late summer harvest. I'm thinking of tomatoes and corn and eggplant. I want to take advantage of what's left of the season before the cooler temperatures move in. Chicago readers, which farmer's market is your favorite? I've heard a lot about the Green City Market .

We bought these local peaches at the market on Sunday. They were too pretty not to photographed before they were eaten.

we are here

mostly unpacked, digging through the last of the boxes. The move was a tough one, but we arrived safely and all of our things made it. I will be back to regular posting on Monday. For now, we're headed out to the Cubs game.