Favorite Things Saturday

A day late, but this is my first try at this.

One of my favorite things is history. Yesterday I drove along my usual route, down the small service road that hosts a sign "Ontarioville Historic District."

As often as I'd thought to myself "I really should stop and check this place out," I hadn't bothered. Until yesterday.


Ontarioville Historic District roadside sign



Prairie Station Pub & Grill

The Pub just underwent a renovation. There's something about it that's appealing from the outside. One of these days, I'll have to take a stop inside.

There are plenty more in my flickr set, but I don't want to overdo.

View more Favorite Things Saturday participants here.

Sunday Scribblings #16: With Baggage

A photojourney.

First, let me introduce you to my baggage:


My baggage and I took a weekend trip to Philadelphia.

We drove the 800-odd miles from Chicagoland, listening to music and books on CD. Al Franken's The Truth (with jokes) was highly entertaining, I might add. So was Sara Vowell's Assassination Vacation. The weather was great, traffic was light, and I stopped regularly to stretch, and give me and Phoebe-the-car a drink.

Illinois and Indiana were uneventful. Early in the drive, so I was full of enthusiasm and expectation, tooling along well above the speed limit with the windows down and the music blaring. Thank God for the I-pass.

Ohio is tedious. Even all the rest stops look the same. Even so, there was something worth noting on the drive through. As I motored along the Ohio turnpike, I noticed what looked like a really, really big model plane buzzing around. Either it was a really big model plane, or a really small private plane, maybe a crop duster. Even with the photo, I just can't tell.




Ahhh, Pennsylvania, where you can see in three dimensions while moving rapidly through the fourth.

At one of the rest stops, I was taken by some pretty flowers growing outside. The rest stops in Pennsylvania are all different. This is not necessarily a good thing, as some were in better repair than others, but at least it offers variety.

I have no idea what kinds of flowers these are. Grape hyacinths, maybe? I'll take suggestions.

Since my baggage and I weren't due in Philadelphia for the family reunion until Friday evening, and I left Thursday night, we overnighted in Manheim.

I was too tired, and it was too dark, to get photos of the hotel that night, but I snapped this the next morning. I wish I'd taken a picture of the room. It was tiny, but cute. My baggage enjoyed getting out of the trunk for the night.

Up and at 'em. At 9:00 am local time, with 10 hours before I was due at the reunion, and only an hour from the city, I had a little time to spend. Time well-spent seeing the local sites.

I started with Valley Forge. It was sunny and hot, so rather than the walking tour, I opted for the driving tour with a few well-placed stops.


rebuilding one of the soldier's cabins that burned down last year.



a peek inside one of the finished cabins


by the cabin were some re-enactors and I had a fascinating discussion on military tactics, firearms and ballistics.

closeup of the flint and strike plate of revolutionary musket

The winding drive went by open fields and skinny-treed forests, past more and more of those little cabins, larger houses used as officers' quarters and statue after statue.



Far across the field, and a struggle of a walk for a freezing revolutionary soldier, stands the Washington Memorial Chapel.

It wasn't there when Valley Forge made history, but it's there now and is making up for lost time.
The chapel is an extraordinary gothic structure, made even moreso by its reverence of Washington in the architecture. I'm not sure how I feel about this, reconciling the Father of our Country enshrined in a house of God.


I was struck, though, by the statue in the courtyard.

To the Mothers of the Nation

It's powerful and dramatic, kneeling alone in the cold stone of the yard.

From here, with five more hours to spend, it was on to Philadelphia...

My baggage spent that trip in an underground parking facility, tucked in the nice, cool trunk. It was probably more comfortable than I was, but it missed the sights.

Without really intending to, I started at the Free Quaker Meeting House



and ended up going from there to the Arch Street Quaker Meeting House

Both are historic locations, but the Arch Street Meeting House is still in use. It has an historical exhibit in the gathering room that's very interesting.

I wandered through Betsy Ross' house, around and through some parks, until I stumbled upon Washington Square. It was a little eerie to think that the entire park was built on a burial field of unknown revolutionary soldiers.

Of course you can't visit Philadelphia without seeing the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The Liberty Bell pavillion was the only place I went into where we had to go through metal detectors and security. I never made it inside Independence Hall. Apparently, they only allow a set amount of visitors per day and the free tickets go quickly.

The rest of the evening and following day were spent with my father's family. His two brothers and sister, their kids and grandkids. Now that one of my children is expecting, we're starting the fourth generation. Although not everyone could make it, we were 57 people at the reunion. It was loud, hectic, chaotic and wonderful. My baggage saw the light of day again, residing in the air-conditioned comfort of my cousin's house, while I visited with relatives I hadn't seen in six years.

I didn't take pictures on the drive home, or stop anywhere to sightsee, but the trip back was just as good. I'd make another drive like that in an instant. It was a great minivacation.

Sunday Scribblings #17: Thief!

When I hear the word Thief, I think first of Tierza (not always, of course, but I did today). Tierza, like Hannah, is an rpg character.

She's beautiful, cold and vain. As many gamers do, I've chosen a celebrity's face for her: the uberlovely Catherine Zeta-Jones. It was a cool coincidence that Entrapment was released about a year after the character was introduced.

Tierza, the gods love her, is a thief. She's good at it, and has been successful with it. She's stolen art, technology, cash, jewelry and people.

Tierza's a mercenary in the most basic sense of the word. Her physical and mental abilities are marketable commodities. This has led her not only into theft and espionage, but military actions and occasionally prostitution. She's a good planner and strategist, and an excellent gymnast.

Her first loyalty had always been to the contract, and she honors her word for the duration. Once that contract is concluded, however, it's every man for himself. In the seven years of her existence, she's learned about personal loyalty.

She married once for duty - and a mistaken notion of love - and bore a child that she adores. Tansiya, named in honor of a good friend, is first, last and always for her. The woman that delivered Tansi ranks second on Tierza's loyalty list. There's nothing Tierza wouldn't do for her, as long as it doesn't negatively impact Tansiya. Then there's her good male friend. Tierza finds him amusing, adorable and generally easy to manipulate. She doesn't know it, but she loves him. He, however, is married, and Tierza is too fond of him to even try to get him to "break the contract."

Tierza's one of those women who's beautiful and knows it. She's alluring, sultry, seductive, and not above trading on these attributes to get what she wants. Although she's been with more men and women (human and alien species) than she cares to count or remember, she's really not interested in sex. It's about seduction as a means to an end.

She's very creative, designing jewelry and other decorative items. As with most of the things she does, this has a practical purpose: once she's stolen a piece of jewelry, she takes it apart and re-sets the stones. She can draw well, but can't read or write, being severely dyslexic.

Her disdain for most people is legendary, and she won't think twice about saying exactly what she thinks, in no uncertain terms. It's not always easy to understand her, however, since her thick French-ish accent and not-always-spot-on command of the language have made for some amusing misunderstandings and exchanges. It was mind-boggling to watch Catherine the Great a couple of years ago and see Catherine Zeta-Jones speak French.

Tierza's been described as "the family cat that nobody has the heart to put down." It's easy to see why others don't really like her, and for Tierza, other peoples' opinions aren't really worth acknowledging unless they somehow impact her or the mission. The description of a cat is apt. Tierza's very feline, and apt to be found curled up or stretched out in the most comfortable place available. She stretches, she purrs, she watches, she pounces. She's flexible, mysterious and unpredictable. She's aloof.

I haven't done much with her recently, but it's fun to remember what she's done, where she's been and how much she's changed while remaining the same.

Sunday Scribblings #18: My Two Cents

My two cents, I've recently learned, actually costs 2.8 cents to create. Apparently, this will lead to economic collapse one of these days. Certainly it bears more attention than war, strife, fire, famine and universal healthcare.

But enough politics.

"My two cents" would indicate an opinion. Thoughts on a subject in particular. Right here, right now, I have no emboldened thoughts. How about a story instead.

It had rained earlier. You could tell by the small rivers running along the curb toward the storm grate. Light bounced off the streaming water in ribbons and sparkles, bright whites and blues. The headwaters began at the top of the block, gaining speed and volume as it raced downhill to waterfall into the grate, splashing, burbling.

A small foot in a pink sandle stomped firmly into the stream. Undeterred, it flowed around the little heel and over chubby toes. Another stomp. A splash as the water jumped, willing to stop and play, but only for a second.

"Traci, don't you ruin those shoes!"

The little feet retreat.

Out of a driveway, the tires of a bicycle cut the stream in half, splash-splash. Some of the water, distracted, tries to chase after it, leaving wet trails in its pursuit. The rest rushes on.

A breeze blows softly, not fast enough to ripple the surface of water that moves still faster, but enough to drop a feather into the water. The downy boat spins and wobbles on its ride.

In the distance, "Traci? Traci!"

The pink shoes are back, chasing the feather down the hill. Too late to catch it before it plummets over the Angel Falls drop and into the drain below. Chubby toes peek out of pink sandles looking down between the slats of the grate. Far below, lit by sunshine sliced by grating, the feather bounces in the churning surf.

"Traci! Come away from there. It's time to go!"

Blue eyes shut tightly. Breathe in-breathe out. Splash splash.

The little feet retreat.

The gridlined sunbeams shine on disks of copper in the storm drain wishing-well.

back with a vengeance, part 1

I've taken a long, long break from blogging, and what a long, strange trip it's been.

That, plus a recent photography itch, has kept the prose side of my brain quiet. I've missed writing, though, but until today have only felt vaguely inspired. "I want to write, but I have nothing to say."

Let's start with the loooong drive from Chicagoland to Philadelphia. God, that was a good trip. It made me realize how much I miss the East Coast. Things went from picture-postcard flat to three-dimensional at the Pennsylvania border. I don't know why that is, or what it means, but I just don't belong in the Midwest.

Just the week after the drive to Philadelphia, I went on a photo-walk in Chicago with a friend, and mentioned that I hope - really hope - that I won't be here in five years. She replied, "I'd hate to see you go, but I'd never stop you. Since you came here you just..." she trailed off, obviously not wanting to say something to offend me.

"Don't belong here?" I finished for her.

"Yeah," she admitted. "You're too...East Coast."

What she thought I would take offense to, I heard as a compliment. I'm a damn Yankee, and that's what I'll be wherever I am.

It's not that I don't like the village I live in now. It's not that I don't appreciate Chicago - even more now that I've taken the time to wander through it without a destination in mind.

In fact, although it's asynchronous, I'll start with the pics of my walking tour of Chicago. It was relatively brief, I had a great time, and took some good shots. The weather was perfect, and I had good company in my friend, and in my camera.



I call this one "cluttered city." It's a messy picture - I was aiming for the clock tower - but it gives an idea of the crowdedness of a downtown city. In truth, this makes it look worse than it was. For a summer Saturday, it was actually pretty quiet.



Standing directly under the archway of the church gave an interesting angle on the embellishments. I love to see the detail work in places people don't normally look, like under eaves.



More of the same. Decorations under and overhang. You wonder "why" at the same time you appreciate the attention to detail.


Standing at the foot of the Sears Tower, I got a great corridor shot. I spent a lot of time looking straight up.


The bean. Yes, that's what they call it, because that's what it looks like. A big, chrome bean. It got a lot of controversy when it was first unveiled in Millennium Park, and I admit, I was dubious about it myself. But check this out...

Stand under it and look up. That's what you see. It gives a unique perspective no matter where you're standing.

And lest we think that Chicago's all chrome, steel and stone, let us not forget Grant Park.


Not the best picture of Buckingham Fountain, but Buckinham Fountain just the same.


A very little bunny, from a very long way off.




I think Mr. Olmstead, who also designed Central Park, would be pleased with this.


Peeking in through the beaux-arts garden gate.


The lions outside the Art Institute. This photo was serendipitous. I was trying to be all artsy and unique, and get a picture of the inside of the lion's mouth, but I was too short.


Another serendipitous find. I thought "Oh, cool. Check out that globe on top of that post." It wasn't until I got home and brought the image up on the computer that I realized those are all zodiac symbols.


This may be one of my favorite finds (I consider it a "find" like Columbus "discovered" America. I'm sure plenty of other people knew it was there first.) I have a fondness for deco. Not too much, just enough.

Of course, there are plenty more. But these are especial bright spots.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 180

Once again, from Unconscious Mutterings, via 101 Things in 1001 Days...

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Video :: game
   
2. Fantasy :: football
   
3. Homework :: pencil
   
4. Crush :: kill
   
5. Late :: night
   
6. Husband :: wife
   
7. Soccer :: ball
   
8. Wine :: glass
   
9. Before :: after
   
10. Romantic :: music
    

Spoofy goodness

DaVinci, Rockwell. High budget, low budget. Paris delicacies, canned tuna.

The most spot-on Don Knotts impersonation, ever.

The Norman Rockwell Code.











photo from The Norman Rockwell Code.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 179

Once again, from Unconscious Mutterings, via 101 Things in 1001 Days...

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Face it :: facts
   
2. Healthy :: hearty
   
3. Cartoon :: tv
   
4. Device :: artful
   
5. Raider :: Lost Ark
   
6. Closer :: to me
   
7. Admission :: guilt
   
8. Culture :: shock
   
9. Stakes :: high
   
10. Heartbroken :: ache
    

Today's blogthings

You Are Wind

Strong and overpowering A force to be reckoned with, no one dares cross you You have the power to change everything around you You are best known for: your wrath Your dominant state: commanding

What Type of Weather Are You?

I'm the what? I don't think of myself as the wind.
Really.
I love the wind, though.
The way it feels in my hair, the lovely way it cools summer heat.
Driving fast down an open highway with the windows down.
Leaves clapping with glee as the wind moves through them.
The harpy's shriek that warns of the coming storm.
Bouncing shadows on the ground.
Fluttering fabric, bright-colored kites and loose clothing. Laundry on the line.
Wind-scarves lifted, floating and dancing.
Flags flapping. Snapping a call to attention.
The way it makes angles of the rain, and dancing fairies of the snow.

Bits from books

From Ink on My Fingers, a meme-poetry lesson.

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.

2. Book #1 - first sentence~ Battle Cry of Freedom, James McPherson

3. Book #2 - last sentence on page 50~ The Secret Supper, Javier Sierra

4. Book #3 - second sentence on page 100~ The Art of Possibility, Rosamund Stone Zander

5. Book #4 - next to the last sentence on page 150~ Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner

6. Book #5 - final sentence of the book~ Virgin and Martyr, Andrew M. Greeley

7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph (or poem).

The hallmark of the United States has been growth.
What name or number did they conceal?
But what if there is no apparent way out?
But the fear of death needs to be narrowed down.
Regnam beatitudinus.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

I can't help myself, I'm a Christmas fiend. The mood, the decorating, the lights, the general idea that most of us carry around that we should be just a little kinder and friendlier.

Since I honestly try to maintain that feeling through the holidays, I'm constantly on the lookout for tips and tricks for making the holiday season a little easier. One source is ChristmasOrganizing.com, who has a regular newsletter. For today:

Journaling Prompts for Decorating

• House – Make a list of all the rooms in your house that you plan to decorate.
• • Do you have a theme for that room?
  • Do you put a tree in this room?
  • What item do you need to add to this room this year?

-bathroom (no) dunno yet
-kitchen (no) dunno yet
-hallway (no) dunno yet
-entryway (no) dunno yet
-living room (yes) dunno yet
-dining room (no) dunno yet

Add these items to your shopping or to do lists.
Really have to look at what we have, what we're keeping and what's going out before I can say.

• Trees - Some people only have one tree but many have more than one – think about your tree or trees – did you want to:
  • Add anything new to them? Just ornaments.
    
  • Buy or make a new skirt? Nope. I have a beautiful one that a friend made. I'll keep it as long as it lasts.
    
  • Purchase new lights? Pre-lit tree. Once, I'd have considered that cheating. Now I consider it helpful. Besides, the tree has a lot more lights on it than I would have put on, myself.
    
  • Add some ornaments? Yes, this year we'll be adding. As children move out and take their ornaments with them, I find the tree looking a little bare. Fortunately, Santa always tucks a new ornament in our stockings each year.
    
  • Change it completely? No... there's no reason to get rid of what we have.
    

Add these items to your shopping or to do lists.

Ornaments
New garland

• Yard – Do you decorate in the yard? Things to consider:
  • Do you want to add anything to your decorations? Nope.
    
  • Do you want to remove something? Nope.
    
  • Do you need to schedule leaf raking before decorating? Yeah, good idea.
    
  • When do you need to start putting up your decorations? Around December 1.
    
    

This year's purge will include the Christmas stuff. No more having for the sake of having or keeping for the sake of keeping. Just what I love.

Summer birthdays?

Try this little baby from Williams-Sonoma.

Go from before:

to after:

I call them Conecakes. Williams-Sonoma calls them Ice Cream Cone Cupcake Pans. Either way, they're a cool-looking treat for summer celebrations, no?



photos from Williams-Sonoma.

Wordplay: E is for...

E is for... me!

Everything: 'nuff said.

Earth: Warm and soft or cold and hard, the bringer of bread. The foundation on which we stand.

Ethereal: Heavenly. Mysterious. A vision of filtered light and gray veils. Soft string music and gentle organ chords.

Effervescent: Bubbly, cheerful. Happy. Youthful. Maxcy (another rpg character) at her best. Once I get through my Hannah fixation, maybe I'll blog about ol' Max.

Evanescense: Another one of those words that sounds pretty, but I don't know what it means.
from dictionary.com:
n : the event of fading and gradually vanishing from sight; "the evanescence of the morning mist"

Endomental: my photography blog.

Enviro-mental: my home design/improvement/me-want blog

Esoteric: Secretive, mysterious, kept among a select group.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 178

Once again, from Unconscious Mutterings, via 101 Things in 1001 Days...

I say :: you say

1. That :: Girl
   
2. Fishbowl :: exposed
   
3. Church :: steeple
   
4. All about :: Eve
   
5. Fist :: hit
   
6. Tagline :: newspaper
   
7. Agree :: consent
   
8. Leak :: spring
   
9. Jessica :: Simpson (bwuh?)
   
10. Superman :: steel