Giving Thanks

It's been a crazy year, and sometimes it's the crazy years that remind me of how much I have. What all am I thankful for?

• My loving husband, Hal, who has been more caring and supportive than I could have wished.
  
• My family, especially my sister Tracie and her husband Steve, who made my dad's final years so comfortable at home.
• Hal's parents, Louise and Tom, and our dear friends Susan and Mark, who welcomed me into their homes with such friendship and love this past year as I worked at RWJF while "living" in Minnesota.
• Our many, many friends, who have stood by us and supported us in good times and bad.
• The memory of my parents and my friends Liz, Lissa and Nina, who lived lives of such purpose and love. I hope to emulate their example.
• Work that gives both support and meaning to my life.
  
• Physical comforts that far too many people do not share this holiday season.
• A sense of optimism that the best is yet to come.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Good To Be Home

Chicagoland Living, First Impressions

Yeah, so about updating the blog -- we are woefully behind. Here are some opening thoughts:

• Oak Park, so far, has been a really good choice for us. Walkable for me, close to work for Hal, very coffee-friendly: a Starbucks across the street and the fantastic Caribou and Intelligentsia a few blocks away. Gorgeous homes (we're still in the market) and interesting people.
  
• I went to the farmers' market yesterday and was overwhelmed by the choices we had for produce and was amused by the Democratic Party's presence (it is Oak Park -- I don't know why I'm surprised -- I am a typical OP resident and I do approve of their message).
  
• We went to Oaktoberfest this weekend to sample local food and good music a few blocks away, and I was amazed by the family-friendliness of what is essentially is a well-behaved 3-block beer garden. It's encouraging to see parents with their toddler kids dancing in front of the stage.
  
• Costco: leading candidate for the secular Promised Land. Enough said.
• The proximity to my family is quite nice (4 hours instead of 10). I need to be better connected, that's for sure.
• I know this sounds strange, but I have many moments where my heart (literally, as Joe Biden would say) swells with gladness in Chicago: riding the Green Line across the Chicago River, absorbing the friendliness of just about everyone, walking streets filled with people, making new acquaintances and connections via Twitter. Everything is big and lacks the ruthless efficiency of Minnesota, but it's friendlier and fairly well-organized and reminds me of a larger and more ambitious Philadelphia.
• Many of my RWJF friends are coming to Chicago for a conference. Much as we're glad to be here, we still miss our Philly friends and are happy to see a few this week. It will tide us over until a more extended visit in the fall.
  

And By the Way ....

Today is my father's 95th birthday.

What Will I Miss About Rochester?

If you'd asked me, or Hal, to make a list of the things we'd miss about Philadelphia when we left last year, we'd have run out of space on the Internet. Rochester is much easier to treat in this way. What makes the cut?

• Roscoe's Root Beer & Ribs: very nice barbecue, thank you.
• Counterpoint Home: Located in the downtown mall, this was our mainstay for Old City-like shopping (beautiful modern goods with prices to match) combined with the largest stash of Marimekko items and fabric in one place I'd ever seen.
• Minneapolis and St. Paul: Awesome cities, perfect for an urban fix, even in winter. Only wish they'd been a little closer.
• The bluffs of the Mississippi: truly majestic. When driving here from eastbound points, you see hours and hours of farmland and then a spectacular view of the river and the valley it created. And then ... farmland again.
• Knowing the people who raise the vegetables, meat and poultry we ate. We didn't know all of them, or know them well, but it's nice to buy whole chickens from the people who raised them.
• Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. It's a little funny to understand when you first get there, but if you use it regularly, especially to fly Northwest, it makes brilliant sense in a few ways. It's also far nicer than the Greyhound Station-like feel of parts of PHL.
• Our DirecTV, especially for NFL Sunday Game Ticket and MLB Extra Innings. We are moving back to Comcast country.
• Avocado's. There are other restaurants we'll miss, but Avocado's had interesting food (I would call it Caribbean fusion?), outdoor seating, and an atmosphere that might pass for parts of Philadelphia, if you squinted just so.

So Goodbye To All That ...

Oh yeah, remember us? I know, it's been awhile -- another 25+ plane rides for me (forgive me for not tallying just yet), four months of winter for Hal and well, a lot of looking ahead to Chicagoland.

Many pictures of move-out and move-in promised soon. And then, possibly a new name for the blog to capture the magic of Second City and the awesomeness of our new hometown, the People's Republic of Oak Park (kidding!), and the saga of piecing together financing for an actual house.

Hey, Look: A Funny Use for PowerPoint!

Think of it, as I read someplace, as karaoke with Powerpoint. Battledecks is a competition where poeple come up with the best presentation out of slides they've never seen before (view some on flickr -- warning slow to load), some of which barely make sense, others of which make all too much sense. Enjoy!

Spotted via blurbomat's Jon Armstrong, who participated and is in the video. Watch: