skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Although listening to the song in this link isn’t mandatory, it might enhance your reading pleasure for this entry.
I drove over to meet Ken tonight in the city where he works (it’s not by the Bay). Our mission was to visit our brother-in-law Tom at his place of employment and find a new couch and loveseat—and throw him some business in the process.
Ladies and gents, here it is...my BRAND NEW DAVENPORT! (Shane and Matt will get that joke!)
As you can see, this Broyhill lovely is resting comfortably in the wild. The wranglers in the warehouse at Carson’s will be loading it and its smaller companion for shipment next week, and will deliver it to its new habitat. I think it will be comfortable here, out in the woods and able to enjoy plenty of fresh air and natural lighting.
If you want to make fun of me for being so excited about a new couch and loveseat, I’d like to point out that our current couch and loveseat has been around since my single days in Indianapolis, and it is approaching 25 years old. A quarter of a century. That couch is old enough to drink—and believe me, it has! (Spills happen.) It is on its second set of slipcovers, and I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to be getting a brand new one.
I love the clean lines of it, it has a bit of a mid-century modern feel to it, and I love the light green color. I think it will brighten up our living area quite a bit. It comes with the pillows, and I’m already looking for new sheer curtains that will match the blue in the pillows. (That was Ken’s suggestion...turns out he’s got a pretty good eye for such things!)
As you can see from the picture, Tom had this model on the floor, so I was able to try it out. If I sit all the way back, my heels don’t quite touch the floor, but that’s how it is with the current couch. I sat on another one, one that Tom called the Shaquille O’Neal couch, and it was so tall and deep that my feet stuck straight out a few inches away from the couch. The one we got is comparable to the one we have now. It’s rare that I sit on the couch with my feet on the floor, anyway, and anything built to my size would be very uncomfortable for Ken!
I will be happy to say goodbye to the old couch (although I’ve got some pictures of friends and family on it, but pictures are good enough for me at this point) and welcome the new addition to Nutwood. I’ll take another picture when we get it next week. I also love that it’s called the “Crazy 8” model.
Crazy 8...come on down!
I’m going back over a week, to our Chicago weekend. I’m sorry I’m so behind, but there were quite a few pictures to download, and we’ve had enough going on that I haven’t made the time to get to them.
We met in the lobby around 11:30, and headed out to Wrigleyville. The hotel was within easy walking distance of Wrigley Field, and it was a beautiful day! We kept an eye out for a place to grab a bite to eat before the game, and ended up at a place called F. O’Mahoney’s, a little Irish pub near the ballpark. Along with our food, we had a couple of beverages, and after the previous night at Buddy Guy’s, a pitcher of mimosas tasted mighty good! Gotta get that Vitamin C, you know.
Then it was off to the ballpark. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood, because it was such a nice day, and we were heading to THE greatest ballpark in the country! (I haven’t been to Fenway, but Ken has, and says Wrigley is better...prettier and more charming, or words to that effect. I think it’s the ivy-covered walls.) Our seats were fantastic, behind the Cubs bullpen and just four rows up. We proceeded to watch the Cubs lose 4-0, but you know, we really weren’t expecting much. We’re Cubs fans, after all. And I say that with great love and affection for the Cubs. It’s our lot in life to see them tank year after year, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love them or don’t have a great time at Wrigley. We were hoping that Notre Dame alum Jeff Samardzija (he played both baseball and football at ND and chose baseball for his pro career) would be pitching, but no such luck. We got Travis Wood instead, and he’s one of their better pitchers, along with Samardzija.
Speaking of Notre Dame, the guy who sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the 7th inning stretch was Digger Phelps, former basketball coach for the Irish and current analyst for ESPN. He did a great job, and it was fun to be there and sing along and root for the Cubbies!
We really enjoyed our day, and one of the fun parts was the usher who was covering our area, Jim. The guy was super cool, taking care of problems and putting out fires, and just generally a nice guy. Ken asked if I could come down to the wall and take a few pictures, and Jim said no problem, as long as I don’t try to chat up the players, and do it between innings. I got a nice picture of the bullpen and the field because Jim let me down there!
After the game, we started making our way back to the hotel, and stopped in at a place called Rock’s Lakeview for dinner and beverages. Noisy as hell, but the food was decent, and it was fun to enjoy the open windows and the party atmosphere of Wrigleyville on game day.
Then we went back to the hotel and crashed, because Happy Fun Party Time™ wasn’t going to be happening two nights in a row!
That was our day at Wrigley Field. At least one more Chicago post, about our visit to the Art Institute on Sunday, and I hope to get that done this week, but no promises...lots going on this week!
Before I get to that, I want to tie up a couple of loose ends.
I recently wrote that my Congressman, Jackie Walorski, was a coward for not holding any town hall meetings. She did finally hold one, so I give her credit for that. However, she held it in Rochester, a small rural town about as far removed from the major media outlets of South Bend and Elkhart (cities in her district) as she could possibly get. I chose not to attend, but my friend Dan did. He said there were a lot of questions about the Affordable Care Act, the NSA, and immigration. It seems that Jackie is in hot water with conservatives over quite a few things, because they feel she isn’t being conservative enough. The usual teabagger stuff. When this town hall was announced (I believe it was announced the day before it took place), it was said that there would be “more to come.” There have been no more scheduled as of today.
So do I take back my “coward” statement? Not really. While I give her credit for finally scheduling a meeting, it was in a small town that was remote from the majority of her constituents, and she has scheduled no further meetings. It seems to me that she does not want to face anymore tough questions from her constituents, those on both side of the aisle. That still strikes me as cowardly.
On a more fun topic, I also posted the poll about the best sneer in rock and roll. There were only a handful of votes on the poll, but there were also several Facebook comments on my post of the entry there. I can tell you that the overwhelming winner was none other than the Blonde Bombshell, Mr. Billy Idol. Sid Vicious got a couple of votes, but almost everyone went with Billy. I have to agree, and that was who I voted for, too. Mark commented that it is an iconic punk look, and when he thinks of punk rock, Billy’s look and sneer springs to mind. There was just something about Billy’s look...that spiked blonde hair, the gorgeous face, and the way he did that sneer. Some really fun music, too, and I still enjoy listening to Billy and Generation X. Nutwood and Friends love you, Billy!
Now, a quick write-up of our fun Saturday. The Drewry’s kickoff party started at noon, but because we had another thing to go to afterwards, we didn’t get there until 2 pm. In retrospect, that was a mistake, because they had already run out of all the tasting beers, they had passed out the last t-shirts, and it looked momentarily like they had run out of food. However...silver linings, people, silver linings! We DID get our Drewry’s pint glasses, which are pretty cool. They did bring out more food, and although it wasn’t abundant, it was fairly tasty, and we got enough to take the “edge” off. But good grief...you’d think people hadn’t eaten in a week. As soon as they wheeled out the carts, there was a horde of people following them and swarming the cart like human pigeons. Chill, people! We also saw Drew, who is earning the title of Mr. South Bend because of all the work he’s doing with the State Theater and making downtown a destination!
The silveriest—most silvery?—silver lining of them all was that because they had run out of the other varieties of beer, they made the Classic Lager (which they still had plenty of) FREE. That’s right. Free beer. I won’t say that a choir of angels were singing, because the beer wasn’t all THAT great. So maybe one angel was singing. No offense, Drewry’s, but the Classic Lager I found sort of...meh. I look forward to trying some of the other varieties, though, as they become available in local stores.
Another bright spot was seeing a long-time South Bend fixture, Billy “Stix” Nicks and his current band Motown Dance Party. We chatted with Billy afterwards, as well as a couple of band members, and apparently they play Martha’s Midway fairly often. I look forward to seeing them there, because they were a lot of fun and very talented. Billy is a living legend, and is incredibly sweet and charming. I was so pleased to finally get to see this guy...his name crops up frequently, but I had never managed to see him before. Wonderful!
But wait! There’s more! We weren’t even close to being done. We headed over to the Cove for Ken’s company party. We chatted with several of his coworkers, I got to check out some of the valves and stuff that the company makes for firefighting equipment, and I got an up-close look at one of our city fire trucks. The technology is really amazing, and total respect for the firefighters who put their lives on the line every single day! I like being associated (at least by marriage!) with a company who helps keep the firefighters as safe as possible in a terribly dangerous job.
We hung out at the Tiki Hut—a nice addition to the Cove!—saw the bartender we talked to last time we were there for Bacon & Brews, and also saw and chatted with Ben, the head chef for the Cove. I pigged out on popcorn and my favorite thing there: Philly Cheesesteak Nachos. I’ll try to hit the workouts extra-hard this coming week! The Hawks lost, but it was still a great evening at the ballpark, and the weather was perfect. Then it was a stop at Fiddler’s Hearth for one last brew, and we chatted with a guy who works at the Morris, and talked about how excited we are for the coming season’s shows. A really fun day downtown!
Today has been a fairly lazy Sunday (although Ken got the mowing done), and we’ll top off the weekend with a couple of porterhouses, some grilled potatoes, a salad with blue cheese dressing, a bottle of wine, and a movie.
I hope your weekend was as pleasant!
It was way too nice today to mess around with pictures on the computer, so no Cubs entry today. I still intend to make that an entry, but it might not happen this weekend!
After picking up Matt and dropping him off at the train station at the airport (so glad his folks are doing okay!), I headed home and did my workout and a few chores, but also had time to enjoy the perfect weather out on the deck.
The perfect weather looks to hold throughout the weekend, and tomorrow (Saturday) promises to be especially fun. First we’ll be attending the launch party of the new (old) Drewry’s Brewing Company downtown. Drewry’s used to be brewed in South Bend, and a Chicago entrepreneur decided to start the brand up again, and it is currently being brewed in Milwaukee. They hope to build a new brewery in South Bend at some point.
There will be music, food, and plenty of Drewry’s! The party is from noon to 5, but we probably won’t get there until around 2, because we have a second event to go to later on.
Ken’s company party is also tomorrow, a picnic at Coveleski Stadium, AKA The Cove. Our South Bend Silver Hawks will be taking on the Great Lakes Loons, and the company picnic will start at 5, and the game starts at 7. So after the Drewry’s party, we’ll be heading over to the Cove for another party. Whew! It’s going to be a long but fun day, and I will definitely have to pace myself!
In a nice bit of serendipity, it was announced today that the first time that the new Drewry’s will be made available to the general public is at Saturday’s Hawks game!
It’s shaping up to be a fun weekend, with beautiful weather. I hope yours will be as pleasant!
After an enjoyable ride up to Chicago, with lots of talk—and traffic that wasn’t TOO bad—we found our hotel with no problem and got checked in. We had a little time to relax and freshen up in our rooms before we met in the lobby for our first evening’s adventure: Buddy Guy’s for dinner and music.
We cabbed it down (six miles is a little too far too hoof it) and got in with no problem. Apparently, they fill up fast on Friday and Saturday night, especially when one of the sports teams is playing, and they don’t take reservations. But we got there early enough that we breezed right in like rock stars. Well...not exactly rock stars. More like people who just got there really early. [grin]
We got a couple of pitchers as we looked at the menu, and the first act started soon after that. A low-key acoustic player, and a nice start. One of the appetizers we got was catfish tenders, and they were so freakin’ good that I ordered the catfish dinner! Definitely some of the best catfish I’ve had, with a light cornmeal coating, nicely cooked, and very tender. I love me some catfish, especially with a little hot sauce on it. Mm-MM! Tom got ribs and seemed to like them, and Ken and Di got the Bayou sampler, with the usual New Orleans fare of jambalaya, étouffée, gumbo, and red beans & rice. Not quite the same as having it in a New Orleans restaurant, but the tastes I had were not bad at all! I thought they did a good job with the food, and I would definitely eat there again!
More pitchers ensued, and then more bands came on. Sammy Fender was an older gentleman, and one helluva showman. He’s also not as tall as he looks in the picture—and I’m not as short! He was standing onstage, and I was on the floor. The guitarist for Sammy was a younger guy, and was just fantastic.
More pitchers, and another band, this time a guy named Biscuit Miller, the headliner for the evening. Damn, Skippy! He brought it, as did the whole band! The dance monster in me was awakening, and when Biscuit and the band played some James Brown, I really shook what my mama gave me, I tell you what! I worked up quite a sweat to JB, and if it was that much of a workout just dancing to it, James earned his Hardest Working Man in Show Business moniker!
At one point, I headed to the restroom, and when I got back, Ken had caught one of the t-shirts the staff was tossing out from the stage. Sweet! Sadly for him, it was a medium, so I was the recipient of the shirt. (Thanks, Honey!) I now have an authentic Buddy Guy’s t-shirt!
We were pretty much pitchered out by this point (remember, we were cabbing it, so no worries!) and headed back to the hotel. We all agreed that it was a fun evening, and I can say that the caliber of talent that takes the stage at Buddy Guy’s is top notch. Of course, I would expect nothing less! I have a feeling that Buddy Guy’s is similar to the places on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, or Beale Street in Memphis: if you’re playing there, it means you’ve got chops. They don’t let just anyone play these places, and I bet you could go to Buddy Guy’s any night of the week and hear some fabulous talent. We sure did on Friday night! My buddy Jim spent a week at a guitar school in Chicago a while back (I believe that’s what it was...he can correct me if I’m wrong), and one of the perks of the school was that they got to play at Buddy Guy’s. Jim and his bandmates in Cornerstone Blues Band definitely have that kind of talent, and if they ever get a gig at Buddy Guy’s, I think we’ll just have to go up to see them play there!
It was a great kickoff to our weekend, and even though we were dancin’ to the blues, none of us were feelin’ them!
I’m going to go all out of order on the Chicago weekend—no, YOU’RE out of order!—but I plan on writing about it all.
One of the things we had not planned on was seeing the Bean. If you aren’t familiar with this particular work of art, is it a large sculpture in Millennium Park. We were excited to realize that it was right next to the Art Institute, which was our Sunday afternoon destination.
We had all seen plenty of pictures of this unusual Chicago art piece, but none of us had seen it in person yet. It was even more fun to see it up close and personal! It is quite large, and the polished surface is a mirror for all those who are observing. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, there were tourists from everywhere swarming around the Bean, taking pictures of it, and taking their own pictures in the reflection. We joined in, of course!
The real name of the sculpture is Cloud Gate, and it is by the British artist Anish Kapoor. Its shape led to the obvious nickname “The Bean.”
What I loved about this is that it is somewhat a participatory art piece. The structure stands on its own, but what really makes it “pop” is the way the viewers react to it. The artist really got this aspect of the piece right...the reaction is as much of a part of the art as is the art itself!
I really noticed that when we stepped underneath the Bean. It is arched, and there is a small walkway below the arch, and people can crowd in there. Because of the mirrored arch, you see people in a wedge, heading into the tunnel of the Bean. It’s hard to explain, but we were all up in there and looking overhead at our reflection. We had become a part of the art. Our reflection made the Bean something more than just a mirrored, kidney-shaped structure. Our presence brought something to the piece that it didn’t have on its own.
I felt the same way about Cadillac Ranch on Route 66. The observers become part of the art. I love that sort of art installation and sculpture. Visitors are encouraged to add their mark on Cadillac Ranch with spray paint; visitors to the Bean document their presence with pictures taken in the reflection of the large structure, and the photos are all over the Interwebz!
I love the picture of my reflection taking a picture of Ken resting his head on mine, and my sister leaning over and looking at us!
More Chicago stuff to come!
Although listening to the song in this link isn’t mandatory, it might enhance your reading pleasure for this entry.
