Check-Out Time

Day Four: Yesterday I stayed close to the hotel, finishing my book. Or once my book started making me cry!!, I had to stay close to my Kleenex. The weather was gray and wet at times, too.
But we ventured out to go to a cheap Asian restaurant Jess Cafe on Belmont and Austin for dinner. Very much home-cooking. Very good. The crazy thing was when we came back to the hotel with take-out glasses of fruity smoothie with tapioca, guys at the front desk were all curious. We were giving directions to these locals!
Day Five: Joe's currently in class, anxious to get out. After he passes his test and comes to pick me up, we'll celebrate with Cold Stone. Then we're heading north to see the Murphys in Green Bay. Meanwhile, I'm off to Starbucks with my second book.

Art Exploration in Chicago

Day Three: I luckily had a tour guide in downtown Chicago today. I got connected with someone from my art network who just moved to Chicago to teach. We met at the right side lion in front of the Art Institute at 10. The picture below is Michigan Avenue in the mist this morning... quite a change from yesterday. The Art Institute was simply wonderful. I got to check out the brand-new Modern Wing, where I was excited to see lots of unfamiliar works by familiar artists like Picasso, Matisse, etc. Thanks to Michael's membership to the Art Institute for such a pleasant visit... no wait in the line that went outside in the rain! Then we went and tried this Japanese restaurant on Randolph, called "Meiji." I had a plate of some traditional "nigiri" sushi with assorted raw fish and a choice of "maki" roll that was more "fusion." Everything was very good and just right.
After that, we walked around to find an art gallery and explored the gallery district of River North. Then we encounter this interesting 3D ad on the building.

Finally we stopped at an Irish Pub to celebrate our excellent day of art explorations! Thanks again to my guide Michael!!

I can't forget about Joe!! Well, he had another day at school. Poor thing. For dinner we went to a Chinese buffet his instructor recommended in Des Plaines. We almost got lost looking for the place, but Joe managed to get us there. And food was very good, a lot better than the Chinese food we have in our town.

Kayo Loose in Chicago

Day Two: I took a Blue Line downtown today to just explore on foot. For a starter I got a free one-way train ride! Don't ask me how. Anyway when I got off the train, I came across this very urban farmers market. To someone from a not so big city, this was quite amazing.I kept on walking and strolled through Millennium Park. At noon there was a free jazz concert, so I took a seat and relaxed.

And here's me in front of the huge "bean" sculpture. A highlight of the day, next to the big art supply store on State.

Joe slept a lot better last night. Still he had a long, intense day at school, PLUS homework! Poor thing. For dinner we tried Potbelly sandwiches. They were very good.

We're in Chicago!

Hello from Chicago. Joe's in school for Toshiba all week, so I came along with him just to bum.
Day one: While Joe had a head-spinning day at school, I stayed chilled, reading "the Commoner" by John Burnham Schwartz. Tomorrow I'll take a Blue Line downtown.
For dinner we went to Laredo's Embassy of Mexcan Food. A large margarita, fresh guacamole, and enchilada were all VERY GOOOOD!
Hope Joe gets to sleep better tonight..... Our hotel is pretty much like an airplane(O'Hare) observatory!

Happy State Fair!

Yesterday after work we went to the State Fair. It's Joe's family tradition, almost as important as his fishing and hunting. Joe's highlight is to win a shoot-out-the-star game every year. Both Joe and his dad are quite serious....(see the picture). After how many rounds I lost track of, Joe got his prize!

Then, right after that, Joe's dad got one, too.

Me? I pretty much enjoy watching these BIG kids having fun. The only thing I looked forward to at the fair was to get a haircut for 8 bucks in their Old Village. Oh, the teriyaki chicken and tempura were actually pretty good. I think I just started to enjoy myself at the fair.

Joe's Snowthrower

Yesterday, one of the hottest days of this summer, Joe ran into a very very good buy on a snowthrower at a garage sale. Living up north, you can't NOT think about winter. A snowthrower is a neccessity, and this one is only a year and half old, practically brand-new, with a local dealer's sticker plus owner's manuals. The only thing Joe could have asked for was heated handles. Oh, well. We'll get him a pair of EXTRA warm gloves.

Red Microwave

It has gotten pretty hot this week. It's a lot more like summer... finally. For the lack of heat so far, I'm actually NOT complaining. Veggie plants are happy on the porch. Sunflowers might grow tall enough to bloom. Our old house stays pretty cool as long as we keep windows shut and shaded during the day. We hope to survive the summer without airconditioning.
Here's a picture of our new RED microwave! Since we often have leftovers, we missed having a microwave. But we were glad to have waited till the red microwave went on sale. Isn't it cute?? And these cool pots for Joe's banana plants fit perfectly in our upstair bathroom.

Kayo's First Keeper

Yesterday morning we went fishing with Joe's dad again. We rather had a slow start at the Big Hole... there were huge fish at the bottom, but they were too smart to get fooled by our lures. So Joe and I took a walk upstream to fish another spot. Joe caught a couple of nice fish and released. Then, quite unexpectedly I had a fish on my line!! I honestly didn't know what exactly I did, or didn't. Joe helped me reel in and unhook the fish. A nice brook trout. My very first keeper trout.

When we got back to the Big Hole, Joe's dad had caught a nice German brown. A very nice catch! In the picture is my brook trout on top.

Framed Shag

Remember those shag carpetings we ripped up before we moved into the house?? We got small pieces nicely framed. Check out our new framed wall pieces in our upstair bathroom. Here's a close-up picture. The bathroom now looks very "sophisticated" and still wild!

Busy Painting

I'm having a small exhibit in September and trying to finish some oil paintings. Now that I have my studio set up, I can paint larger canvases. It's been nice to be able to work with oil paint again.

Ready for Insulation

Last weekend Joe's cousin Al came over to help Joe cut the ceiling openning bigger to put insulation in the attic. Under Al's supervision Joe got to use a power saw and was so proud! When we married, quite a few people including Al told me that I shouldn't allow Joe cut anything, because he can't cut straight.
Here's a picture looking up the ceiling and through Joe's proud hole. And looking inside the attic. Note there is NO insulation! We're going to cure that soon.

Lanterns Up

We put up cheerful lanterns in our Japan room. Now let's party!! Here're Mr. & Mrs. Morning Doves enjoying the quiet evening erlier.