Evil Eye

Want a unique gift for the yarn lover in your life (or yourself)?  May I suggest the limited edition YarnCon poster, hand-printed by Chicago artist Alex Uribe?

 Proceeds from the sales of these prints will go towards promoting more local fiber artists in the upcoming year.  You can read more about it at the YarnCon Blog.  Thanks!

Without fail, I always leave the DIY Trunk Show with a little less inventory, and a whole lot more inspiration.  Chicago has some amazing crafters! And I had some amazing helpers, thanks so much Scott, Sara and Victor for making it a great day.

I always like to hunker down and make stuff as the temperature drops, and that includes baking of course!  I just visited a site that is perfect for making some crafty cute cupcakes and candies: Bake It Pretty!  And, as if that shop is not sweet enough (yes, pun intended), they are having a contest over on their blog, every little thing.  Of course I entered the contest, I need more of those gnome decorations!  If I had seen that site yesterday, I think the tasty pumpkin muffins I made yesterday would have been embellished somehow.

So, I’m confused about the blue bins.  I saw the truck full of them out front, heard lots of racket from them, they spent lots of time out front.  We got notices about the program (again) a week or so ago.  But, no extra bin, which is good, we have our bin.  But, what was going on yesterday morning?  Confusing.

We tried something new with our gigantic baby last night.  For the first time I nursed him to sleep (that part is not new, I do that every night), turned on the baby monitor and left the room.  Normally, I nurse him to sleep, and go to sleep too, but I want to get him to fall asleep earlier than he has been.  It worked pretty well, he did wake up to nurse again at 11pm, but only briefly, and fell asleep again.  I was a big ball of tension leaving him in the room alone.  I know I was just downstairs, he was fine, but man, I was ready to leap at the first sound.  But, it was the first time, and it will get easier each time.  I guess I was worried that he would wake up, find himself alone and freak out.  He freaked out last week when I had the bright idea to take him to the American Indian Center Pow-wow.  For years I’ve seen people bring their babies, there were other babies there.  Victor was fine until the amplification started, and then it was over, he lost it.  He cried and screamed all the way home, and he cried on and off until he fell asleep for the night.  Sigh.  He was his happy, goofy self the next morning.  It was horrible to see (and hear!) him in such distress.

But, hey, when that’s the worst thing that has happened, things must be pretty good.  We’ll see how it goes tomorrow at the DIY Trunk Show!

Dear Mayor Daley,

I know you are looking to cut costs, and I have a little suggestion.  You don’t need to supply areas that already have blue recycling bins with blue recycling bins.  I hope that helps.

Kind Regards,

A bemused South Sider

This morning I woke up to a lot of noise in front of the house, what could it be?

Yup, that.  Except, that picture was taken in March of last year.  We were part of the pilot program, so we have been using our bins for a year and a half.  Oops.  I wonder how much it cost to give each of us that extra bin, hmmm….

I couldn’t think of a title, so I’ll plug the DIY Trunk Show, which I’m honored to be at again this year.  It’s on Saturday at the beautiful Pulaski Park Fieldhouse from 10am to 5pm.  It has been a challenge to get ready this year, but thanks to a supportive husband, I have managed to pull it off.

Yesterday Victor and I went hunting for historical figures.  I just finished reading Sin in the Second City, and recently remembered that Big Jim Colosimo, a Chicago gangster who was a major player in the Levee, the Red Light district in Chicago at the turn of the last century, is buried at Oak Woods Cemetery.  So, off we went to find him.  I had seen the grave before, but didn’t know anything about him, so I didn’t think much of it at the time.

We also found someone along the way I hadn’t expected to see, James R. Mann, the author of the Mann Act, or the White Slave Traffic Act.  It was “drafted to prevent interstate commerce to facilitate prostitution or concubinage, or other forms of immorality.”*

When I saw it, I thought it would be funny if Colosimo were nearby.  See the dark gray mausoleum in the background, to the right?  Yup, that’s Colosimo.
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act#History,

More about the Mann Act: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88104308

More interesting people at Oak Woods Cemetery: http://www.findagrave.com/php/famous.php?page=cem&FScemeteryid=173554

It’s time to get out there and vote if you haven’t already.  We’re going today, and I’m pretty excited.  Not only do we get to vote for the president, here in Illinois we will vote (yes!) for IL Con-Con.  I just wish I lived in the 39th precinct in Hyde Park so I could vote against the referendum to make the area dry.  If you do live there, please vote against that move.  I completely understand wanting to support the union, being against the demolition of Doctor’s Hospital (although, really?  It’s just not that interesting, and keeping it empty is not useful at all, but that’s just my opinion), and wanting someone else to develop the hotel, but making the area dry for at least 4 years is a mistake.  I know any precinct can choose to do this, but by actually doing it, no restaurant or hotel will consider moving into the area without taking this action into account.  The 5th ward (which includes part of Hyde Park and Woodlawn) needs more businesses, it needs jobs, please don’t sabotage this area.  Just today I read this story about the economic state of affairs in Woodlawn.  A hotel on Stoney Island could employ a lot of local residents, and make that area less lonely at night.  If you don’t like the way things are going, keep negotiating, but think of the area beyond your little precinct, we are all affected by what happens with Doctors Hospital.  How many more large abandoned buildings does this area need?

So, get out there and vote, it makes a difference.

RIP Studs Terkel, Chicago is a richer place because you were a part of it.

more animals

I came across this the other day and thought it was funny.  I’ve actually already enjoyed a lovely dinner and yummy birthday cake courtesy of my MIL, and tonight I am looking forward to birthday sushi, and tomorrow dinner with my brother and his girly.  I normally spend more time anticipating my birthday and halloween celebrations, but this year it snuck up on me.  I guess I have been distracted by the little guy who just spit up on me.  I thought I would be a little blue missing out on halloween activites this year, but that has not been the case at all, in fact, I feel very content, although I feel a little bad I have not put decorations up outside.

Now, if you will excuse me, the kid and I need a change of clothes.

Now, I can understand being overwhelmed by large cities, they are big, and have busy, crowded neighborhoods.  I can understand being nervous about visiting a big city if you are not used to them.  But since when are city dwellers not as American as small town and rural Americans?  Since when are we un- or anti-American?  Since when are we not a part of real America?  Is it so hard to discuss policy that some must stoop to dividing us as a nation of real and not as real Americans?  (Well, I think I know the answer to that question.)

Big cities are marvels of American ingenuity, the result of people who made big plans, homes of beautiful art and architecture, places where people come to realize their dreams.  I have nothing against small towns, they are as much a part of the fabric of this country as are the big cities.  I am just sick of hearing Sarah Palin, Nancy Pfotenhauer, Michele Bachmann, and the like divide us as a nation, and paint some of us as anti-American.

And what is wrong with the elite?  What do they mean by elite?  Rich?  I doubt it, McCain’s not hurting.  Certainly not well dressed, right Sarah Palin?  Well educated, is that it?  Smarter than the average Joe?  Know what?  I want someone who is well educated and smart running things, how about you?  I don’t  care if the candidate is the kind of person I would want to have a beer with, like it’s gonna happen.  I want them to be smart and wise.  We have our chummy president, and he sucks, lets try something else this time.

I will leave you with a positive message from Sarah Vowell.

Yesterday Victor and I went for a walk in the local cemetery.  It just so happens that our local cemetery, Oak Woods, is Chicago’s oldest, and has all kinds of interesting people buried there.  Yesterday we went to look at the restored monument on the Cornell family plot.  Cornell* like the college?  Well, yes in fact, but that has nothing to do with its importance to this area (Woodlawn/ Hyde Park).  Paul Cornell founded the Hyde Park Township, which was annexed by the City of Chicago in 1889.

We had never seen the monument, which was off site being restored.  Last month when Victor and I went for a walk at Oak Woods I noticed it was back, but I was already heading back home, so I didn’t take s much time to look at it as I would have liked.

Not only is it the marker for the founder of this area, and of the first railroad suburb, it is also significant because it is made of white bronze, not a common statuary metal.  You can tell right away it looks different for some reason, it is just not a color one is used to seeing in statues and monuments.

Cornell’s monument is of white bronze (zinc), and, at about fifteen feet tall, is the largest of this material to be found in the Chicago area. The lowest step is buckling from the weight, its sides visibly bulging outward.**

I should contact them so they can update their page, the monument looks as good as new.

A few shots of our walk yesterday:

It was a beautiful day to be out and about, see the fall colors, both in the cemetery and across the street from my house.

I find that if I have a camera handy, I am much more observant of my surroundings, of course.  Yesterday I noticed that a stone block I have been walking past for four years has writing on the side.

If only I could salvage that block.  I don’t know what I would do with it, other than put it in my yard and sit on it, but I like it.

*Cornell was founded by Paul Cornell’s cousin, Ezra.

** http://www.graveyards.com/IL/Cook/oakwoods/cornell.html