Ouch

I wore the wrong boots this morning. It was super icey and while walking my beagle dog I fell right on my left arm. OUCH. As I write this I guess I should be glad that I did not fall on my right arm.

Anyway, it hurts and I think something might be broken. Will go get an Xray in a few days if it still hurts.

When I fell Flora ran away! Then she came back. This dog is just too much! I feel like she should have at least licked me.

A christmas miracle

I found one of the gloves that I thought I had lost!

This dog loves to run in the snow!

End of the year reckonings

I am not sure what this says about me, but when I assess the year, I feel as if the events of the world were much more captivating or interesting than anything that happened in my own life. I have never felt this way before.

My year has not been uneventful. I sold my condo and moved back to the midwest after twenty years in California. I gave up tremendous quasi governmental benefits to work for a scrappy non-profit after surviving cancer, Friends died, relatives died, and a black man was elected president.

Do you see what I mean? How can anything in my life seem remarkable after america voted Barack Obama into the oval office?

I do not see Mr. Obama as the second coming. But I have to admit that I never thought I would see a black family move into the white house IN MY LIFETIME. I do not subscribe to the belief that "racism is over" but I do think that this historic election has caused a sea change in how we can dream.

Our economy is in a shambles. As a professional cynic, I am sure that I would have predicted capitalism to fall so spectacularly but what I really treasure is how many people (including our current president) fail to admit it.

Our nut case governor and the Ponzi scheme would be much less interesting to me if they were stand alones. As in the only thing that Jon Stewart could milk for months on end. But geez, this kind of jaw dropping news seems to come to us on a weekly basis. And I really don't even know what is going on in the rest of the world.

But let's bring it back to me. I know it has been seven months but I still can't believe I live here.

Summer was a wonder. Maybe one of the happiest summers of my life. Chicago in the summer is magical. I am confident that there are very few places on earth that do summer like Chicago does summer.

Fall and winter have been a neverending series of revelations and rememberances. There are so many things I had forgotten about surviving cold, dark, and snowy days. It startles me how weather reminds me of people and places and long forgotten feelings.

Having a dog in this climate has been a mixed blessing. I like having someone around who wakes me up and pulls me out of bed, even if that someone is a bit of a winter slug after bounding out of bed at sunrise in the summer. I actually like having to walk my dog in the mornings. It warms me up for the day and acquaints me as to how cold it is and how wild the wind is whipping.

It is all about how you dress. I consider it a personal challenge each day to wear the right clothes for the weather, especially the right coat, the right hat and the right boots. Some days the Uggs are perfect. Other days I MUST have rubber boots because the water is inches deep at each curb. I love telling myself at the end of the day that I GOT IT RIGHT I wore the right coat and boots and thank them by setting them next to my mega heater.

My heater! I do not know who loves it more, me or Flora. This thing is huge, powerful, and the kind of thing that you would only find in the midwest. I love how it blasts heat and keeps the floor warm. Flora hangs out by it so I moved her bed over.

Gloves or mittons are another challenge. Since moving to Chicago I have bought four hats, three pairs of gloves, and one scarf. So far I have lost two gloves. Not from the same pair of course. It is a small miracle that I have not lost any hats. It is so easy to drop this stuff. I see gloves and mittons on the ground everywhere. I want to pick them all up and keep them in a box and then see if I ever get a matching pair. But when I see a glove on the ground I have a quandry. What is If I picked it up not knowing that someone was doubling back to get it?

I want a refund

No one warned me it would be this cold. YIKES! It got as low as 11 degrees today. Or at least that is what it said on the E*Trade clock by Union Station. Everybody commented as they saw that number. There were flocks of people walking towards Union Station (to go home of course) and so it was funny to hear everyone exclaiming "Oh my God... it is eleven degrees" over and over and over.

I had been feeling cold for the last many minutes and was secretly glad that I was justified in my shivering.

It is time to find a down burka and just walk around town warm and happy.

I keep thinking that I will see the Obama motorcade when I walk through the loop. Maybe next week.

Do they know?

So, I walked down Michigan Avenue on Friday, to buy a hat to go with a new coat. I was somewhat shocked to find the streets and the shops chock full of people. And people were buying stuff. Haven't these people heard that the economy is in the toilet?

Anyway, I got my hat and even bought a few other things. Hey, if you can't beat em join em.

In other economy related news: what should a bike person make of our government now bailing out Detroit? Okay, it isn't a done deal YET but I think we all know the unions are pretty much telling the democrats: Okay we voted your butts into office, you better bail us out.

The claim is that we can't let the car companies go bankrupt because no one will buy a car from a bankrupt car company. Apparently, no one is afraid to buy an airline ticket from a bankrupt airline (I have heard this on the news 100 times so it must be true) but people need a lifetime of parts and service from their car company so it can't go bankrupt.

Just typing this out makes me realize what BS this is. Being bankrupt does not necessarily mean that you go out of business permanently.

Henry Ford is sleeping quite well in his grave. They will get their bailout, whether I like it or not.

The return of the FOB

Wow. How time flies. Remember the whole FOB phenomemon of the nineties? When our erstwhile hero Bill Clinton was Prez? Before he effed the whole thing up by being a dumbass and taking the bait of a brazen intern with big hair and a stretchy thong?

Anyway, the FRIENDS OF BILL are now FRIENDS OF BARACK so we can conveniently keep the FOB moniker and wonder how many Bush era refugees are packing their bags and moving back to the beltway?

It has not been that long. Only a few of those last century FOBS are dead so Barack now has to contend with the old guard and all of the 21st century foot soldiers who made him 100 times bigger than Paris Hilton, Beyonce, the new Bond and the old Bond, not to mention all Batmans and maybe even Bart Simpson

I am secretly glad that I did not work that hard on his campaign because now I cannot even begin to try and claw my way into FOB land.

So long, FOGs. Your time will come again. Soon, I hope not.

Being a Breast Cancer Survivor is SO fabulous

Some snow!

Damn it is cold here all of a sudden. And I love it! So cold and clear and quite a fast change. Just a bit of snow but snow nonetheless. Kind of a small thrill for me.

I keep thinking that I am going to try and find a down burka to wear this winter. Doesn't that sound warm?

Pictures coming

And they won't all be of my dog. I promise.

Fine Art

I got to see "Caroline or Change" at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park. This show was amazing. I feel like this kind of play/musical is what it is all about. Great performances. Brilliant performances. A simple plot with complex relationships. And the music was perfect! If I ever really figure out how to deal with my itunes account, I will buy the download of the broadway version.

If this show comes to a theatre near you... check it out!

The triumvirate

When I decided to move across the country in February, I was gambling that I would not get cancer again. If I had a way to know my fate, and more cancer was in the cards, I would have stayed put. But here I am, still (ostensibly) cancer free and moving on with a quasi brand new life.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Those tired old words pretty much sum up my new life in Chicago. It is a new existence but with so many imprints from the past and from people who have weaved in and out of my life for years. Still can't quite make sense of it. What was I thinking? What was the purpose of starting over? My life was perfectly good in California. My heart aches when I think of all the wonderful people that are no longer a BART ride away.

Back to February. When I was mulling over my move, I tried to look at it from every angle. How was this whole thing going to play out.

One day I was not even thinking about whether or not I would move and suddenly it popped inot my head that if I moved, some of my cancer friends would die and I would not be in California to mourn them up close. At the time, I thought that those inevitable deaths were still a long way off.

But this summer, three women whose cancer struggle intertwined with mine all died withing a month of each other. Each of their deaths came with plenty of warning but still caught me by surprise. There is a lot you can do to delay death if you really work at it.

Natalia. Deb. Lynnly. Deb and Natalia were younger than me when they died, Lynnly lived to the grand old age of 54.

I do not feel guilty that I have so far survived the true hatchet of cancer but I cannot stop wondering how it is that our fates started so similarly and have ended so differently.

There are so many things that I love about my new life and I am desperately thankful that I have been granted this opportunity.

I understand why I came but I do not know why I left.

I miss my friends in California and I mourn the deaths of my friends. My only solace is that they no longer have to live with cancer, cancer treatment, hospitals, and doctors.

If you want to know Lynnly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p4l1QHFdWg

If you want to know Deb:

http://doiy.com/deb_mosley/

If you want to know Natalia

http://www.beginwithin.net/

Pointing out the obvious

Let's just have the national presidential election tomorrow. The whole damn country is so burned out and I seriously doubt that anyone out there is "undecided."

I talked my cousin into joining a euchre league at our corner bar. Euchre is a card game that I love. Anyway, the people we played with tonight are "go, fight, win McCain" but agreed that he looked like a super freak, (super freak he's super freaky) during the debate. McCain or Frankenstein... you choose!

My dog and I just want peace and love to rule our planet.

Not to mention free hotdogs for everyone.

History

What are we going to remember about this crazy time that we are now living through?

How naive we were about the bailout?

How we knew that our government was selling us down the river but not really knowing how and why?

How it seemed like things could not get worse and then they did?

I think Sarah Palin is going to be someone that we remember sort of faintly and then chuckle at how BIG she seemed at the time.

I met someone today who is under the age of thirty and she is quitting her job soon. Someday she will look back and understand why people older than her said "Wha???"

MEMO

To: Joe Biden and the Chicago Cubs

From: Everyone on the north side of Chicago

Date: Today

Re: Do NOT mess this up! This should be an easy win for you. You, especially Mr. Biden. Please do not feel obliged to open your mouth and show the world how much smarter you are than Sarah Palin. It is as obvious as she is unqualified that this is your debate to lose.

Carlos... Carlos... El Torito: Bring us a really big win!

Just another brick in the wall

And here I thought I was so unique. It turns out that everyone in the whole damn country except for Henry Paulson and his wife have been hatin' on the bailout. Goshdiggedydang.

But at the same time I feel inspired by what little faith we collectively have in our government. It makes me feel as if perhaps our nation is smarter than I thought.

My 401K has taken a drubbing but Flora and I can always just live on the beach somewhere when I retire.

Flora has promised to live to be 35 so that I will never be alone.

Still hatin' the bailout BUT

I think McCain is going down. What can he say? I am sure his wife is freakin' on how much money their family will lose if the Treasury Secretary doesn't get what he wants.

By the way... why is that women are ALWAYS the secretary unless there are large amounts of money involved and then men have that job?

Henry Paulson is a pig. And here is what he is really upset about: if he doesn't take care of all of his richie rich cronies in this 700B deal... then they will NOT invite him to their summer houses next year.

Boo hoo. His kids will have to shop at Banana Republic like the rest of us.

Hatin' on the Bailout

I feel peace and love towards the planet... but I am just a hatin' on the bailout! Thankfully I am starting to think that this is not a bipartisan thing; conservatives are hatin' too.

But still, why do I feel like the final 700 billion bailout is still going to be a travesty?

I do not think I have ever felt a greater sense of "what is wrong with this country?" I can't even believe that people are still debating/thinking about dare I say hatin' on Sarah Palin. Like who cares?

My only hope is that democrats and republicans are calling their congresspeople and senators in droves and freaking out on them. That is our only hope.

Flora the Beagle

Flora has no idea that she is going up to Wisconsin this weekend but she will LOVE IT. I can only imagine how many critters she is going to chase into their holes/caves/trees.

It is not rocket science to make Flora happy but it is not always feasible for me to make it happen.

I will have fun too.

Fads

It dawned on me today that Sarah Palin may just be a fad. In a few weeks we will be on to something else.

As in, people might see a connection between our failing financial system, impossibly expensive and wasteful war in Iraq and FEMAs inability to get water to Dallas before a radio station could.

I really am an optimist.

Lance, you can kiss my big butt

Must I elaborate?

I think it is okay for Lance to try to come back to professional cycling. Why not? It is very much the only thing he is truly good at. Clearly he is not a good husband, boyfriend, or Dad. He is an okay marathoner but will never be a contender.

So boo hoo. Lance is really only good at riding a bike and winning the Tour de France.

Forget his young kids who would probably love to spend lots of quality time with their Dad. Forget all the celebrity chicks who haven't yet gotten their hands on his gams, and forget the folks at Livestrong his uber famous cancer charity...

OH, WAIT A MINUTE! I must apologize! Lance isn't coming back to cycling because there is no one left in his titanium sandbox... he is doing it to help the global cancer fight!

Yeah right. Um, note to Lance: you have outlived your status as world's most fabulous cancer survivor. There are so many more interesting people besides you who have had cancer and will have cancer so just admit that you are just a selfish SOB and we will all watch your "comeback" with great interest next summer.

Why couldn't McCain have chosen Lance to be his running mate? Would have solved a lot of problems for everyone except my man Barack Obama.

In the eye of the storm

Well dang. Right after I read an email from Amanda telling me about a drought in Olema I got stuck in a terrific rainstorm that still seems to be rockin and rollin ten hours later.

Is this the hurricane coming to us?

Are we still on Ike or on to a new one?

Not only did I not have an umbrella with me today, I had no coat and a pair of sandals. What a kooky day.

Let's get a bit kookier: I am actually happy for Roger Federer winning the U.S. Open. Another Rafa/Raj match would have been epic but let's be fair. Getting a Gold Medal as individual in the Olympics is much better than winning the U.S. Open.

Final tennis note: Go SERENA! Now that was an exciting match.

Amanda: Watch your mailbox. A big old box of rain headed your way.

Seattle

I like Seattle. It feels so small and livable. Today Renee and took a walk around the Sculpture Park. Fantastic! This is the best form of public art. You can mix walking with sightseeing and see a mix of contemporary sculptures.

On our way home we stopped at a Japanese-American owned fish market. It felt very pacific to me. The place was packed and the fish looked fresh and amazing. We got a big salmon and a few dozen oysters. They also had a lot of cool ingredients and noodle packs that I wish someone sold near me in Chicago.

Many years ago I had the good fortune to go on a bike tour in the San Juan islands with my good friend Deb. I picked up this book that I read (part of) many years ago called "The Living" by Annie Dillard. This book had such an effect on me. Sounds dumb since I did not finish the book. But I quit reading it because it was too painful. It was about various phases of settling the pacific northwest. It is called "The Living" because so many people die. Settling the West was not an easy life. Perhaps even less easy on the people who were already here.

In other news, I have never felt a greater need for Jon Stewart in my life. This election is going to continue to be a source of amazing revelations and moments. Without "The Daily Show" I am lost.

News black out

Sorry fans that I have no time in post in my blog during this wonderful week of rockin out republican hypocrisy. I am in Seattle at a bike conference. How banal.

But suffice to say, I am lovin it.

But let me temper my joy with some sobriety. Imagine, if you will, what the grand swath of educated white people in our fair nation would say if Barack Obama had a 17 year old daughter who was pregnant?

A whole different story. And I do believe that the democrats would be right in line with the republicans judging without mercy.

John McCain is nuts. But he still might be our next President.

Who is the majority?

I am too lazy to chase down the stats, but last time I heard, the (slight) majority of women in this country are anti-choice.

Anti choice, pro life, whatever you call it they are opposed to abortion in most cases.

It is entirely likely that there are leagues of women who LOVE the idea of a female anti-choice President or Vice President.

I still think that McCain's choice of a V.P. is an insult to the women of this country but I also think that there are a lot of women in this country who feel insulted by women like me who presume that we speak for thinking women.

I will be pro-choice till the day I die but I do not think this makes me smarter or better than the billions of women who disagree with me.

Speaking of laziness I am too lazy to find sexy pics of Sarah Palin's hottie hubby who proudly refers to himself as the "first dude" of Alaska. If he does not want to wear a speedo to the convention, how about a beach volleyball costume?

Show us those abs big daddy!

Are we stupid?

Gosh. I am afraid that the answer is YES. Let's not forget who our president is. Collectively we elected the village idiot. And don't give me that crap about how he didn't really win. If he is sitting in the oval office, he "won."

But still, one has to feel some HOPE as re Barack Obama and wonder if John McCain's Hail Mary VEEP choice is really a subtle way of telling us women that he thinks we are stupid.

While on one hand, I am guessing that the Governor of Alaska is smart and hardworking, I have to wonder why she seems even remotely fit to be our number two? Sure McCain could live to be 110. Stranger things have happened. But what if the guy has a killer heart attack in 2009 and all of a sudden this outpost governer is running our country? Scary.

Clearly she was chosen to capture the disgruntled Hillary vote." Which makes me think that McCain thinks we women are stupid. If the idea is to get a woman on the ballot, what is wrong with Condi? Okay, DUH. We all know what is wrong with Condi. Whatever blood Bush doesn't have on his hands, McCain has on his hands, and Condi thought up the whole scheme. But still, let's face it, Condi has "experience." I am not exactly sure who they are, but there have to be other right wing women who are in politics who would be a more appropriate choice than Sarah Palin.

In other news, her husband is damn cute. In my grand fantasy life, he will dress like Michael Phelps at the convention when he gives his speech about how serving his wife and changing his kid's diapers is what matters to him most.

CarolynFloraBarcelona

OMG. Flora and I have seen the new Woody Allen movie and we are ready to pull up our stakes and head to Spain. OMG! Have I said that yet? This newest Woody Allen movie is so much fun and all if could make us think was - why not just move to Barcelona?

We see a need for a greater infrastructure for cyclists there. As soon as the right job comes up, we are headed to Europe.

I love Michelle Part II

I refuse to desecrate our fabulous heroine by talking about today's big news (um, McCain's VEEP choice of a mega Mom from Alaska) but I am sorry to say that I can't quite find a good enough picture of the magenta ensemble that the Obama family wore at the convention last night. Sorry about that.

Those stupid ironic columns framing Barack (which I do agree were ill advised) are WAY old news. Couldja believe how perfectly blended the Obama family outfits were? Michelle has on a rockin magenta floral dress. The girls are NOT wearing matching dresses, they are wearing dresses that blend beautifully. So tastefully done Michelle! And, then, as the piece de resistance, our future president is wearing a dark suit and a MAGENTA and pale pink striped tie. OMG does it get any better than this?

If anyone cares, I think fireworks are stupid.

What's not to love?

So is everyone as crazy in love with Michelle Obama as I am?

She is just SO fabulous! And do you LOVE her hair and amazing fashion sense?

GO Maria Pinto!

http://www.mariapinto.com/press.html

Let me rip off Stella Foster from the Sun Times because she said it like I was thinking it:

MICHELLE OBAMA'S SPEECH at the DNC convention was phenomenal and her outfit and hair style was perfect. She is described as the "Black Jackie O" on the Internet . . . as in the late first lady Jackie Kennedy. I say she is the black Michelle Obama . . . no more . . . no less. And to the women readers asking who did Michelle's hair because they loved it: Top hairstylist Johnny Wright, a former Chicagoan now living in Los Angeles, flew to Denver to coif the potential first lady. Wright has been doing Michelle's hair for about a year. So, now you know.

I remember Meleia

It has been over three years since Kimberly's lovely daughter, Meleia Starbuck-Willis, was murdered in Berkeley.

I still find it hard to believe.

What I remember about Meleia is how she looked at you deeply as if she could see into all of your insides. I felt like she did this so that she got to see all of you, not just what you looked like on the outside.

Soon after Meleia was murdered, Katrina swamped New Orleans. And then came the Kashmir earthquake: Government estimate 79,000 dead. My co-worker Nadia lost many members of her extended family.

So when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in late October, 2005, it just didn't seem so bad.

Still doesn't.

Cougar in Chief

I am actually watching the Democratic Convention this week. It does seem to me to be a (dare I say) historic event. I just can't believe how many women I have seen speak this week. I also can't believe how many prominent African Americans have been profiled. When I was watching Hillary Clinton speak I felt sort of amazed that a woman came that close to being the President. Truly this is something that I am not used to. Then I started thinking about Michele Bachelet, the President of Chile, and how cool it is that SHE got the top job there.



I started thinking that twenty years from now women leaders may not be that big of a deal. But how will they handle the fame and pressure? If Hillary were to be elected, would she be a dumbass like her husband, John Edwards and countless others and have sex with some young stud whose adoration she can't resist?

Probably not. But it is kind of fun to think about. What about that 3am phone call that totally stresses out Madam President and she has to work round the clock for several days until she is so seriously sleep deprived that she is in a stupor? Suddenly a very cute, very young, very sensitive male intern with a serious puppy dog crush offers to get her yet another diet coke... all of a sudden they are making out in the war room and it is all captured on some other intern's cell phone and on youtube before they can even get all of their clothes off.

Oh my.

A similarly fun subject is whether or not Condi and George will officially hook up after he leaves the White House. Again, probably not. She has to reinvent herself somehow so that she can be our first African Woman Presidential contender in 2016 or something like that. For whatever reason, I really like the idea that Condi and George really truly love each other and whenever they get time alone all they talk about is what soulmates they are.



As this post comes to an end I wonder if it is a good idea for me to be watching so much of the convention.

Hippest trip in America

A fixture from my childhood is the show "Soul Train." It was on every Saturday in the afternoon and I used to watch it. I was not a devotee - nor was anyone else in the family, but the dancing and the funkified outfits (this WAS the seventies if you don't know) provided great entertainment. Another reason I watched it was because kids talked about it at school. As I write this, I realize that even to this day I will watch something because I know others will be talking about it. I am not sure if that means that I am a blind follower or if I know how to connect to others. Possibly some combination of both. Anyway, kids at school would talk about the dancers, the music guests, and of course Don Cornelius, so that is how I ended up watching Soul Train on Saturdays.

The first week that I lived here in Chicago was beyond surreal. I just could not believe that I had actually moved. Every day was more amazing to me than the previous one. I think what shocked me the most was how familiar everything was. The thick green grass. The friendly neighbors. The bar on the corner with the "Old Style" sign. Everything was new but I had seen it all before.

So, my first Saturday in Chicago I popped onto the couch to watch a bit of TV. I turned on the TV and started flipping channels. Next thing you know I was watching "Soul Train." I cannot tell you what a mindblow this was. I started really questioning my sanity and wondering if I was in some super realistic-seeming dream. How could Soul Train still be on TV?

The more I watched the more I realized that it was a re-run. I figured it out by studying Don's hair (jehri curls) the outfits (big shoulder pads) and perhaps the way they danced. I forget who the guest was, but I remember thinking that he was kind of an 80's guy too.

Oh my. Since that time I have happened upon the TV on other Saturdays and seen another golden oldie rerun of Soul Train. So much fun.

"...We wish you love, peace... and SOUL!"

Flora and I miss Mary & Harry

That is Mary helping me out, of course. Mary and Harry are so cool. I miss them both.

Maybe I should not look at pictures of my old agave plants. I miss them. They are probably still on the patio of 410 Sheridan but I no longer see them every day. What fabulous plants. Agave do not grow well in Chicago. Plenty of Agave bars (aka places to drink expensive tequila in mass quantities) but not those big massive desert dwellers that I adore.

Oh well. I still have Flora the Beagle. And I can call Mary any time.

Fuzzy Deiss is my brother

I just love this song that my brother wrote and bass slapped onto YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ZCdVjuLgk

The Obama Family on Cute Overload?

CuteOverload.com should put the Obamas on their site. Everyone in that family is so dang cute!

Meanwhile, I think it might be boring to be dinner guests at their house. I bet they talk about policy a lot, and probably are not as big into the kind of BS tall tales that I like to tell.

Meanwhile, I wonder, am I so proud to be an American? I suppose so. But thank god I am not a politician so I do not have to give these quasi jingoistic speeches.

I vote, I pay my taxes, and I will serve jury duty if they ever call me up. Is that enough?

A diggety dog, a lawnmower, and a tree that litters

That Flora loves to dig. Not sure what she was after but she nearly made it to China. Too bad that I hauled her in so that we could go to sleep.

See that red lawnmower? It nearly got bulldozed. Right before the wrecking ball swung, I got it from the people who now own 250 Palo Alto Avenue. It had belonged to Ken and Amanda and now they have it up in Olema.

The tree that litters? Just trying to be clever. But so much junk comes off of that tree. Ask Nick who probably still has a car sitting under it that he plans to sell some day. The car gets decent mileage. He should sell it before Labor Day.

This post should have been made in May or June but just getting to it now. RIP 250 Palo Alto Avenue as it was.

This is what I currently look like.

Blasting through the past

I have been living in Chicago for almost three months and I am still shocked and awed by my decision to come back to the Midwest. Thankfully I am very, very happy that I made this move. But it still seems like a surrealistic pillow and I have moments where I wonder if I am really and truly living in Chicago, Illinois.

Meanwhile, I am blown away by how cool it is here. I love how friendly midwesterners are (even in the "big city") and how green and lush the grass is. There are so many things I had totally forgotten about that now cheer my days: The almighty brat, the luscious polish hot dog, the thick armed greek that sells you this stuff. I just love it.

Alice Waters, you can kiss my butt. That woman had the nerve to come to the Green City Market a few Saturdays ago and hock her cookbooks with one hand while holding her nose with the other. I have a memory like a steel trap for people who dis midwesterners and little Miss Chez Panisse has pierced my ear drums in the past with her little rants about how all we eat is iceberg lettuce and Kaukauna cheese.

First of all, where do you think we got that iceberg lettuce? From California you dumbass. And don't knock Kaukauna cheese until you have tried the port wine variety. That stuff is hella tasty. Anyway, what bugs me most about Ms. Waters is that she has felt terrifically comfortable making sweeping generalizations about my people when she never had the privilege to meet my Mother.

Did you ever hear of Polly Helmke? Well, she was so into her vegetable garden and fruit trees that she even had a cold frame in the backyard so that we could have fresh lettuce way into the winter. And how about that crappy tree in the dog run that she scoured for every last piece of peach so that she could can each edible morsel providing us with nice fruit after dinner in January?

And in the 70s' while Alice Waters was perfecting the art of gouging all those rich denizens of the Berkeley hills with pan braised arugula, my Mom was in Michigan fighting metastatic cancer, raising three kids, working full time, AND laboring over a monstrous vegetable garden that provided us with the freshest of vegetable laden dinners and preserving what could not be consumed for winter.

And if my Mom had bothered to open a restaurant so that everyone could eat so well, I guarantee you that she would not have a charged an arm and a leg nor would she have insulted other people from other regions that she really did not know that much about.

Okay, screedy, snarky rant over. But that one has been stewing in me for a long time.

Back to happy Chicago talk. Another good thing is that Flora the Beagle likes it here too. We have made many dog and people friends in our environs. The cats are not so crazy about us. The bunny rabbits wish that Flora would mind her own business, and the squirrels agree. I have only seen one chipmunk since I have been here and Flora has seen none. Boy are those little suckers cute. I don't think I saw any chipmunks the entire time I lived in California but that doesn't mean that aren't living large on some almond or walnut farm.

OMG. I have finally started writing in my blog. Let's see when I get to it next. Peace out.