Time to Go

My first blog entry in July 2009 was all about falling in love with a mischievous kitten who invaded our home and captured our hearts with his silly antics and quizzical looks. Ozzie inspired Cat Tales and Other Truths.

He's quite the gentleman cat with good manners (most of the time) and a social disposition.  He's a seasoned traveler who crisscrosses the country twice a year with nary a complaint. He's a skilled hunter, a daytime prowler, prince of the neighborhood in Hinsdale and guardian of our backyard in Lakewood, watching over the ducks and birds that come his way.

Ozzie testing out the driver's seat as we made preparations for our departure for winter in Arizona.

Finding solace in an open drawer and..

comfort in an half-packed suitcase.

Making sure he's not left home alone









 


Finding his niche in the car and...

Crossing the border from New Mexico into Arizona

Her Father's Daughter

The second half of Jeff's dream came true in September. First, Nick came home to play his KLM disc golf course in June, now Katie - the girl who throws a frisbee like the best of them, thanks to a dad who mentored her from a young age to stretch her abilities in sports. It probably helps that she plays with the big boys too.

I remember someone once saying that fathers and daughters who fish together will remain close all their lives. Looks like disc golf works the same magic and is much more appealing in Katie's eyes (and hands).

Definitely Not Marianne

The upside of owning a timeshare with average trading power is a mind-boggling selection of hotels and condos in diverse locations around the globe.

The downside of owning a timeshare with average trading power is a mind-boggling selection of hotels and condos in diverse locations around the globe.

We've been pleasantly surprised by spacious accommodations in Malaga, Spain and a little dismayed by cramped manufactured housing in Sedona.  With timeshares, it's all about location, location, location. Take the Stardust Lodge for example. We're directly across the street from the Heavenly Valley ski lift and village, a short walk from Stateline casinos and the shores of Lake Tahoe.  Personally, I like the old Vegas-era sign, but the place is a bit rustic. We would have been on the floor (or out the door) if we didn't get a second room for Nick, Lizzy and Katie. Even then, they may have been a little squished in the tiny studio with a pull out bed. 

Definitely not Marianne

But the reason I'm even writing this is our neighbors next door. Every morning, we saw the lady lying in bed, drapes wide open, and the caged parrot by the window. She'd squawk, but for the most part, I paid no attention until Nick pointed out a "Marianne" beach towel draped over the parrot's cage. I finally saw the lady up and dressed on our last day, so I asked if her parrot was named Marianne. She was puzzled by the question, until I mentioned the towel. She was clueless about the name - probably snagged the towel out by the pool from another unsuspecting timeshare trader.





Fun Times by the Stardust

After all these years

A series of long-forgotten photos discovered on a trip to grandma's. 

A sweet reminder of childhood innocence, the joy of cousins and a lesson about sharing. 

 

Audrie's apple 

attracts Katie and Jared's attention

while Nick and Joel ham it up

for the camera, oblivious to the drama in their midst.

Katie still wonders to this day why Jared got the apple. Her forlorn little face showing her disappointment.

                                                                                                             

Fast fast forward 21 years to the Silvan Family Reunion. 

We meet mystery cousin Audrie 

and try to remember the details surrounding that summer day at grandma's. 

Nobody remembers, 

not even grandma. 

Then suddenly, 

Audrie's beer 

attracts Katie and Jared's attention

while Nick and Bryant ham it up

for the camera, oblivious to the drama in their midst.

Once again,

  Jared gets the prize leaving Katie

sad and thirsty at a hot summer picnic in Winters.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away 

BUT

Laughter and beer takes away the blues... that's our lesson on sharing.

One way to 36 happy years

          

Love

Compassion                        Holiness  

    Kindness                      Forgiveness 

      Humility          Patience 

    Gentleness 

                                       

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

 ~ Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)


  

Peace                              Togetherness 

             

                      Harmony       Gratitude

                         

God-centered 

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

~Colossians 3:15-17 (The Message)

Lucky for Jeff

After I grumbled a bit about the farm being mostly work and little play, Dan made Jeff promise to have some "Marianne-time".  He was probably dreading the possibilities, until Aunt Rita and Uncle Palmer arrived on our doorstep late Friday night for a farm weekend and just like that, Jeff is off the hook. 

Shortly after lunch and a tour of the farm, Aunt Rita and I hightailed it to downtown Mt. Carroll, where we whiled away the afternoon on Market Street. We take our time sorting through the myraid of stuff at dabluz boutique, where I score a two-strand vintage pearl necklace for $12.  

dabluz is part of the shops @glenview, a 3,000 square foot hodgepodge of rooms located below the historic Hotel Glenview. There are handmade treasures, repurposed stuff and raw materials for the yet-to-be-made. A new tenant since my last visit is the Driftless Area Stillroom, an upscale wine and cheese shop that would look and feel at home in Hinsdale. We meet the proprietor Penny. I wish I asked about the unique name ~ there has to be a story behind it.

Our favorite stop on Market Street is New Morning Glass, where a wonderful glass artist named Mary is always gracious and eager to talk shop. 

Last year, she showed Deena and I the four-season, four-panel piece she was completing for a nearby barn-turned home.  It was gorgeous. Aunt Rita and I saw another work, the twelfth and final stained glass window for First Brethren church in Lanark. It was equally gorgeous and interesting for the quilter in Aunt Rita to see Mary's template and process.

We drop into a couple shops I didn't know existed ~ Charlotte Arvelle Glass and Now & Zen Gallery, where we have a nice conversation with Heather, a teacher and artist who hopes to bring art enrichment to Mt. Carroll's youth. Final stop is Brick Street Coffee, a gift boutique and coffee shop located in the renovated Kraft Building. Back at the farm three hours later, where our presence was not missed. Later that evening, we dined at Bella's so I could wear my new pearls and admire Mary's stained glass booths. The food was delicious too, thanks to the creative efforts of Troy and Shaina. We want to keep them cookin'!

Cheers for the red, white and black, I mean blue

The hometown crowd exploded a few minutes into the Fourth of July parade for a sight that makes hockey devotees bow in reverence and more casual fans cheer with excitement. The  traveling Stanley Cup, which has already been on television with David Letterman, in concert with Jimmy Buffett and on the field with the White Sox, graced the streets of Hinsdale, raised in a victory pose by resident Coach Quenneville.



Quenneville's presence briefly overshadowed the parade, but once the crowd ogled the larger-than life-Cup, we settled back into the patriotism of the day, clapping for the real heroes ~ the proud veterans whose fight for freedom is everyone's victory.

I just hope Quenneville's appearance doesn't ruin the other hockey sport; that of chasing down the cup.

Junebug

I love everything about this photo collage ~ it shouts "summer!" 

I love every single detail from the band-aid on her finger to the cake crumbs on her mouth, hungry after swimming,
 rosy from the sun. Tousled hair under a frayed hat, looking like a little farm girl. 

Dark eyes wondering what's the big deal. 

"I'm just eating", she seemed to say back in June 1994 at grandma's house in California.

Home for Father's Day

Stop! I want to take a picture, I announce, as the boys disc golf around the park where Nick played so many years ago. In my mind's eye, I see a flash of images: a little boy shinnying up and over the jungle gym like a monkey; careening down the sledding hill, then quickly tromping upward to do it again; charging balls on the soccer field. And now, thanks to the vision of a few and the hard work of many, the park that time forget has new life. Brightly colored discs whirl past stately trees and fall near fence lines and far corners that were seldom hiked and never seen. Now, the solitude is broken by the jangle of chains as well-aimed discs fly into baskets and players yelp their victory, not knowing as Jeff and Nick do, that the real victory is the course itself. 

But the heart of the matter is what I really remember on this Thursday in June is another time, another place where father and son posed for me on a another disc golf course. Almost six years ago, senior year, Flagstaff.  Time alters much, but love remains constant. Every moment together a cherished gift, even when I'm the one on the other side of the camera. 

Memorial Day memory

Memorial Day is like the unsung heroes it celebrates, sometimes remembered, oftentimes not.  I think back to a time of innocence when Katie, in her third grade wisdom, reminded us that war is the sum of the individuals who give their lives for our freedom. Instead of being overwhelmed when we visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. back in August 1998, she brought the massive wall down to her size and understood the magnitude of what she was seeing.  She focused on the first name she saw, John, and the last name, Jesse. And to her they were real men, real soldiers, real heroes.

In 2001, we visited the American Immigrant Wall of Honor at Ellis Island in New York. This time,  Katie searched for names she knew, that of her grandfather and great-grandparents. Heroes of a different kind, who against all obstacles, with courage and faith, made the journey to America, a journey that took them away from their  families, homes and heritage to a foreign land where their name was changed upon docking, stripping them of their identity and respect. But they persevered, learned the English language, joined the U.S. Army, took a job, raised a family, made a life.  And we, that family, are testament that the journey was well worth the trip.

Summer throwback

I'm surprised to see the ice cream truck peddling its treats through Hinsdale this summer.

I vaguely remember an ice cream truck controversy back when Nick and Katie were growing up. I don't recall if parents were worried about kids running into the street, the integrity of the driver or both, but one summer the truck came no more. It wasn't a great loss since our freezer was always stocked with ice cream, push ups or freezies, different colored juices in long plastic wrappings that became popscicle-like when frozen. They came in a big box and were plentiful when there were lots of kids around. They could even have seconds.  

Still, there were times before the ban when the magical melody caught the kids' ears. They rushed in for change and rushed back out, eyes wide open as they perused the tempting photos of drumsticks, red, white & blue bullets, chocolate-covered ice cream bars, cookie sandwiches.

They never did figure out the truth: orange creamsicles are the best.

Downstairs at the National Restaurant Show

We grab a glass and proceed down aisles and aisles of vendor booths at the International Wine, Spirits and Beer Show. A sip here, a sip there, a sip of wine from Hawk and Horse Vineyards cause it's near Jeff's hometown, a sip of Spanish wine, a sip of Greek wine and can't forget the effervescent Prosecco cause it's the new in drink and the charming rep is so authentically Italian. Then there's Jan's, the smooth friendship drink from Holland; Domaine de Canton, the sophisticated French ginger liqueur; and Dorda, a double chocolate liqueur from ~ who cares where it from, it's dessert in a glass.
 
It's a good thing I'm not a buyer. My head was spinning by the time we left, but I do a have a couple tips.


For Lizzy, who like to do cute things when entertaining: a drink bar.

For Katie, who loves all things Chicago, here's your beer.  

The gift that keeps on blooming

One week later, my birthday & mother's day bouquet has new blooms.

 Lilies so fair that they are mentioned in the Bible for their splendor:

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you,

even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

                                                                                                ~ Luke 12:27 (ESV)

Celebrity sighting times two

I didn't know when the evening started that Jeff and I were in for a thrill of the rarest kind ~ a celebrity concert so private that we were were asked to turn in our badges as we exited so no one on the street knew it took place. 

I get a thrill just being in downtown Chicago so having this special invitation as part of the National Restaurant show was particularly exciting. This is the kind of thing that happens to other people. 

The evening started out warm enough to stroll from Millenium Park to Smith & Wollensky for a lovely dinner on the river. That is until the wind whipped up and sent us inside to savor our last glass of wine before heading to the House of Blues next door. There was our contact Jon in the purple shirt with his coat full of secret badges.

Yep, our celeb for the evening was Sheryl Crow and her band.  So why the headline 'times two'?

A young lady, who works for Jeff Bridges' End Hunger Network, came up to us before the concert began and asked if she could have her photo taken with Mr. Bridges' doppelganger. Others have said that but never someone who actually knows the other Jeff. So I'm wondering, did they always look alike or just recently, with the long hair and beard.