This Vexes Me #20

In keeping with the post below, I bought Pillsbury pizza dough over the weekend to try a new recipe for breakfast pizzas. Pillsbury is a sponsor of Box Tops for Education, the long-running program that gets schools a huge variety of items by having kids turn in box tops found on hundreds of items. I usually know someone who has a child collecting them so I save them when I find one on a product I've purchased, like pizza dough.

This is vexing, though. I don't know if you've noticed, but Pillsbury canned dough products don't open as cleanly as they used to. It used to be you'd pull the "Open here" tab and most of the label came off as a unit. You could lie the label flat on the counter while you read about making sure your sweet roll edges touch each other or the oven temperature needed to make crescent rolls or, in this case, make a pizza using their dough. I don't know when they changed this but now, when I buy a tube and pull the open here tab, a mere strip comes off around the tube. The redesign probably has something to do with keeping instructions on the container instead of having them accidentally tear into pieces. Seems to me, though, you could print the label to ameliorate that problem.

And then, I can't get the label off the container to get at the box top. After several minutes of picking, including a knife which I decided wasn't a good idea, I simply cut around the box top. Frankly, that doesn't seem very sanitary. I'm including the whole tube with this item. Once I got the box top cut away, I tried again and still couldn't get just the label to peel off.

So, this is vexing. There has to be a reason they have gone this route, although I don't know what it is. This will be the last year to send my box tops to a certain boy who sent me Flat Stanley last year. Come fall, I'll need to find someone else to benefit from my saving streak. I won't not buy Pillsbury canned baked goods but I won't be cutting bits off the tubes to mail. That's just gross.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Transport Me

The thing about living in Chicagoland is that you quickly learn how to use mass transit. It's a ubiquitous part of life in this metropolitan area. If you live in "the city", as Chicago is known, the elevated, or "the el", as it's known, is, for the most part, within walking distance of your house.

It goes to both airports and makes a loop around the downtown. It's that circle of the el, part of which is shown above, that gives the downtown of Chicago the moniker, "The Loop".

Transportation into the city is via a number of spokes, one of which, the western line of Metra (Metropolitan Rail Transit Authority), goes through Wheaton where I live. When Flat Stanley came to visit, back in March, we went to the Metra station.

So, when Carole said we were taking the train into DC, I was excited. I like public transportation. I think there should be more of it; more busses and trains to get us around the urban and suburban areas where we live. Perhaps you'd have to wait 10 minutes for the next bus or train, but being able to get where you want to go without adding your car to traffic should be an option.

Unfortunately, unless you make reservations on Amtrak, a trip into DC from Richmond involves a drive north on heavily congested Interstate 95 to the end of the blue and yellow lines at Franconia/Springfield. It was a rainy day to start.

I'm pretty inured to traffic but here it is, Sunday morning and it just wasn't moving in spots.

The station at Franconia/Springfield is multi-purpose in that it serves not only the metro but also busses.

It's very modern, sleek and clean. Coming from a city where the el stations can be upwards of 80 years old, this was quite the difference.

There are clear, easy to read, maps everywhere.

There was a brief discussion on where would be the best stop to disembark. We decided the Capitol South station was the best place to get off. Ticket kiosks could be a bit better designed. Carole had to help me buy my ticket because I was confused. This could be because I'm quite used to buying tickets for the el and I have to remember, different city, different kiosk. Once the ticket was in hand, we descended into the bowels of the station.

I never did figure this out.

This sign tells you which train is coming and how soon it will arrive. We're at the Capitol South stop and heading out of the station. There are incoming trains to this station. I guess you learn when you have to or choose to ride this every day, but I never did figure out which train was coming. In Chicago, train cars have colored placards on the side of them. When a car is hooked to a train, and there are more at rush hour, naturally, than off-peak hours, the placard is changed to the color of the train on which the car will be used. When the train pulls up to a station, you can instantly tell if this is your train. I didn't see this system at all in the DC metro. Heading back, after walking the Mall, I had to rely on Carole's reassurances that our train was coming and not to get on the one that pulled up.

This blue/yellow line took us past Regan Airport. There were a lot of people with luggage getting on and off at this spot.

We also stopped at Arlington Cemetery.

You can't see anything from the metro, but it's nice to know that some day, when I come to visit, this could be a stop on a day's adventure. It's one of the places I've always wanted to visit.

The Capitol South stop put us one large block south of the Capitol building.

Maps are everywhere; in the metro both before and after you get a ticket, and on signs all around the area. This one was by the Canon Building.

Don't see what you're looking for? Walk to one of the other places located on the map and there will be another sign pointing you in, probably, the correct direction.

Coming back, after walking all over and deciding it was time to head home, we went to the metro stop outside the Smithsonian building.

Metro entrances are clearly marked and have maps showing you where you can go from this station. If you need to transfer to a different line, they show you that too.

I enjoyed riding the metro even if I was a bit concerned at the Smithsonian Station about being able to sit down on any train we'd get on. There were a lot of people and, by the time we got to the station, my legs, feet and hips hurt. As it happened, most people got on an orange line train so there were very few people on a blue line train. Could have fooled me how they knew.

When I go back to visit Carole again, assuming we have the time, there are an abundance of places to visit. I only got a very miniscule taste of what is offered in the nation's capital. Taking the metro and walking, while a test of my endurance, is the best way to see things. I know, from listening to friends talk who live in the area, the metro is being expanded to other suburbs in an effort to alleviate DC's traffic congestion. I'd entertain the idea of riding the metro end to end, just to say I'd done it. Besides, the station architecture isn't unpleasant.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

And All I Got Was This Tee Shirt.

For all intents and purposes, physical therapy is over. My last appointment was last week wherein Carrie beat up my knees. Of all the things she's done, which included make me walk in bondage, hold a ball between my knees (You are free to word associate here. I don't mind. It took us 5 minutes after she told me what I was going to do for us to stop laughing.) and then her working the knots out of my shoulder muscles, this was excruciatingly painful. I actually had her stop at one point because whatever she was doing hurt and sent shooting pain into my shins and my upper thigh. "Hmmmmm," she said. "It really shouldn't hurt that much." Ya think? But, redirected pressure and massage and then she could go back to the original pressure points. Something was awry and she fixed it.

It is now up to me to continue with the "fixing".

The thing is, even with pages and I do mean pages of exercises, nothing replaces or regrows cartilage lost due to injury or age. The best I can hope for is that the RA is sufficiently under control to stop or reduce joint damage and that the exercises I do strengthen the surrounding muscles to ease the pressure on the actual joints. Part of that exercise is to resume walking and, in order to do that, I'm buying actual walking shoes this weekend. The shoes I have don't provide enough support for my toes for steady walking. I can't be a mile from home and hobbling like an unshod mule because my toes have cramped something fierce. Shoes designed for walkers are the way to go, more expensive, to be sure, but they are what I need if I'm going to get back into this.

So, I said goodbye to Carrie's House of Torture. As a parting gift, I received the above tee shirt. I know. I know. I need another tee shirt like I need a Charly Horse at 2:30 a.m. (I've had those. They are such fun.) It's a nice, heavy weight tee and I know the stack I saw in the closet is factored into the cost of my therapy. Still, all my doctors are through this health service so, unless other doctors have these in other colors, one is all I need.

I have mixed feelings. I don't want to rack up more medical bills, but it is absolutely undeniable that physical therapy combined with the other changes to lifestyle and the diligence of my rheumatologist have made my life head and shoulders better than a year ago at this time. I never dreamed, even as far back as May of 2011, that I could feel this good. I need to build up my stamina and continue to strengthen my knees. Walking will do that.

I'm also going to miss Carrie and how she made this fun. As an example of her enthusiasm, when Flat Stanley was here, she jumped into the idea of making Stanley do some physical therapy. He waited patiently for our appointment.

Then she put him on the bike.

Once he was warmed up, she had him balance on an exercise ball while holding a weight.

After this, she had to check his balance. Stanley did so much better than I can ever do on the balance board.

When this was done, we tried to get Stanley to pull weights but he kept getting tangled up in the straps.

I'm told Dillon's classmates thought this whole thing was hilarious. What really got the laughs was when we weighed Stanley.

We really needed a baby scale or just a bathroom digital scale, neither of which they had. So we had to improvise. He stood on the scale part and then we moved the weights all the way to the right.

The kids recognized the scale and knew what moving the weights to the right meant. I guess Dillon got a big laugh out of his class when he read my comment that Carrie thought Stanley needed to lose a little weight.

I'm to check in next week for an update but I can be officially discharged. I'm sad but I'm happy too. Time to get out and explore the world, something back in January I never thought possible.

Beverage:  Irish Breakfast tea

Deb

I Was the Only One

I stumbled across this scanned photo of Flat Stanley while sorting photos on my office computer. Stanley and I had gone shopping to Woodfield Mall. Meredith collects patches and spoons from various places so, when she asked if she could send me money for those items, I knew right where to go. Of course I refused money. I was happy to do it and I got some great photos of Stanley.

Woodfield, north of me, is one of the largest indoor malls in America. For a time, it was the largest in North America, but has been eclipsed by another in Canada. As with any mall, it's seen its share of stores come and go. We used to go here a lot as it had a couple of stores devoted to games and gaming. Those are gone. There used to be a huge Disney store, but that's been scaled down to half its original size. I like the JC Penney that anchors one end and the mall has a Clarks store. Between that store and Penney's, I have access to every style of shoe Clarks makes.

But Stanley and I were looking for one store in particular, Love From Chicago. I found my spoon and patch and a few other items which I knew would be appreciated and Stanley posed with the merchandise.

If it has anything to do with Chicago, you'll find it here.

As I walked through the mall to the store, I noticed one thing I just had to do with Stanley. This was the weekend before Easter.

How could I NOT have Stanley visit with the Easter Bunny? The gals taking the photos giggled. It was hard to know how the guy who was the Easter Bunny felt. I hope he got a kick out of it. Meredith was aghast at the cost for a couple of photos but, come on, it was the Easter Bunny. I got the cheapest package, which was 2 4x6 photos. There was one for Dillon's class and one for Dillon himself.

As it turned out, I was the only person entrusted to take Stanley around who had him visit the Easter Bunny. Score one for the lady in Illinois.

Beverage:  Lady Gray tea

Deb

A Celebratory Lunch

I found out that Dillon got an "A" on his Flat Stanley project. We had a bit of a panic because the envelope containing Stanley, his diary of his travels and the CD, got buried in an avalanche of papers on the teacher's desk. She thought Stanley hadn't arrived. I had the proof I mailed it and it was posted here, April 1st, on the blog. Stanley surfaced and Dillon got to present the photos over 2 days because I had taken so many.

I think this calls for a celebratory lunch. Stanley went out to eat with me on two occasions. For the first time, I had to attend the board meeting of the Great Lakes Society of Explosives Engineers. First, he checked out the menu.

We decided to split a bacon cheeseburger.

And a Dr Pepper, of course.

Afterwards, we had dessert. I ordered a slice of chocolate cream pie, but one of the other guys at the meeting ordered cherry pie and the waitress forgot about my chocolate cream and brought me a slice of cherry. It was still good.

I should have had her warm it and top it with ice cream.

When Stanley went to the office with me, we got up kind of late so we swung by Dunkin' Donuts and got breakfast.

I think Meredith said Dillon liked this photo the best.

There's always Subway. Stanley and I went to Subway, when he was here. I had to take him since I eat there about 3 times a month.

They made my favorite, turkey and cheese with lettuce, green peppers, spinach and mustard.

It was a foot-long so there was more than enough to share.

On the other hand, we could just go to the grocery store and get a few things.

I was out of cat food.

I think Stanley liked riding in the cart, especially when we went by the Easter candy display.

Finally, Stanley got to help check out and was checked out himself.

I think he costs a million, billion dollars.

I'm so glad Dillon got an "A" on the project. It was so worth dragging a large paper doll around with me.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

A Trip Around Wheaton

One of the last things I did with Flat Stanley was take him around Wheaton, where I've lived for over 30 years.

We started at Adams Park. It's a large park just to the north of downtown. It used to be framed by streets but several years ago, the library got the eastern street vacated and they expanded, building an entrance accessible from the park.

I haven't been in the new addition since it opened. I used to use the library all the time. I knew several of the librarians, but I've found that my need for what they offer is, currently, non existant. That might be a reflection on society in general as people can find things they used to go to the library for, online. Libraries should never go away and I'll generally always vote for a library referendum, unlike some other tax increases. If you're interested, go here and watch the video about the Troy, Michigan library's funding campaign. Inspired.

After we went to the library building, we went into Adams Park, itself. The park is built on the site of the home of one of Chicago's prominent merchants, John Quincy Adams, a 4th cousin of the 6th president. In the center of the park is a fountain. It was covered for the winter.

Turning to our right, we can see the DuPage Historical Museum.

This limestone structure was, originally, the Wheaton Memorial Library, and was built in honor of Adams' wife. Wheaton and Downer's Grove were the only DuPage towns to have a public library at the end of the 19th century. In 1967, the current library was built and the historical society moved in.

From there, we went to other important places in Wheaton. We stopped by the post office.

This building is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was build in 1933, during the Great Depression and is classified as a Works Progress building. The interior has changed quite a bit since I moved here but the exterior has been lovingly preserved.

Across the street from the post office is city hall.

One of Chicago's claims to fame was being the railroad hub of the US. If you wanted to get freight from the west to the east or the east to the west with any speed, you had to route it through Chicago. Part of that legacy goes through Wheaton. It started with the Galena and Western in the post Civil War years and continues with the Union Pacific today.

The other facet of railroad life is the need to move people. In the late 19th Century, this concept was seen with some now suburban towns being viewed as vacation destinations. Glen Ellyn, the town immediately to my east, has a lake just off their downtown. Chicagoans would take the train to Glen Ellyn to spend vacations at the large hotels that sprang up around Lake Ellyn. An electrified railroad, the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin, ran from Franklin Park to the western cities of Aurora and Elgin. This was an early commuter railroad. When it folded, the right of way from Melrose Park to Aurora and Elgin was given to a non-profit and turned into the Illinois Prairie Path.

As Chicago grew, the need to get people from the growing suburban community to their jobs in the city caused the railroads to add commuter service. Each railroad had its own service, but by the 1970's, they all wanted to abandon passenger service. It just wasn't making any money. The Illinois legislature created the Regional Transportation Authority, which became the Commuter Rail Service Board which became Metropolitan Rail or Metra, in 1987. It is said the city of Chicago's population triples during the work week as dozens of commuter trains bring people into the city for their jobs.

Wheaton has two stations. This is the main station, located to the west of the downtown.

The railroad really cuts the city in half. It's located right in the downtown area and 5 blocks from my house. This is not the original station that was here when I moved here. That station was twice this size but had been renovated to the end of its useful life. It was completely torn down and this station built on the same site. I live by the College Avenue Station. That place started as little more than a brick bus-type shelter but was rebuilt to a station the same size as the downtown station to reflect the quantity of people who use it.

From here, we went to downtown Wheaton. The big attraction in downtown Wheaton is Martin Plaza.

Robert Martin was a well-liked mayor of Wheaton who passed away while in office. He spear-headed the drive to redo the front streets of downtown to make them more interesting and inviting to residents. When Front Street, as it's called, was redone from Hale to Main (the street immediately east of this plaza), fountains were added and this public area designed to give people a place to congregate.

In the distance, the spired building is the former DuPage County Courthouse. This building was built in the late 19th century and served as the government center of DuPage County until a new county complex was opened on the west side of Wheaton, out by the fairgrounds. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, too. It was turned into condominiums. I think that would be cool, to live in the former courthouse building. To the left, in the photo is the eastern end of downtown.

This is looking west into the heart of downtown Wheaton.

The building coming out of Stanley's head is the original Wheaton train station. As the town grew, so did the need for a bigger building. The Chicago and North Western who had absorbed the Galena and Western, built the commuter station to the west and used this building for small freight deliveries and storage. Eventually, they abandoned the building. It was purchased and restored and is in use for a hair salon and a yogurt shop.

The circular turreted building in the distance marks the intersection with Hale Street. Front Street is one-way heading towards us and Hale is one-way going right, north. Hale is the heart of downtown. When I moved here, everything I could want was in downtown, from clothing to groceries to crafts to bookstores.

Economic downturns haven't been very kind to original downtowns. Clothing stores have closed. The grocery store closed but it will be replaced by a new one a half-mile south of this area, along one of the major east west roads from Chicago. There are small businesses with niche interests and a lot of restaurants. We have a theatre company using a former bank building. We also have the Wheaton Grand Theatre, a 1920's theater that's been the subject of much discussion and debate. I remember seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and Tron at the Wheaton Grand, when it was a movie theatre.  At the time, there were many things drawing families into downtown. Today, not so much. Yes, we have a Starbucks.

So these are the places Stanley went on our quick tour of Wheaton. It was quite a cold morning and I didn't want him to catch cold so we went home.

Beverage:  Root Beer

Deb

A Merry Box of Stickers and Stuffs

The start of our abnormal rainfall on Wednesday was also the date I received a box from Meredith. These are always boxes of fun, as I'm starting to call them. I sort of know what's inside but am not completely sure. There are always surprises. This was no different. Meredith is psychic because the box was not very big so it fit perfectly between the front door and the storm door. This is a good thing. I think, had the postman wrapped it in plastic it would have been washed off the front steps. It was a hair too big to fit in the mail box, even the big farm box that I have.

Inside were wonderful things. It's mainly stickers, which she got at Hobby Lobby. They have a huge sticker department and when those are on sale, if you use stickers in any capacity, they are a good deal.

See the "boss" stickers at the lower left. I laughed so hard. Guild members have, thanks to Daniel, started calling me "boss". I don't feel like a boss, more like a guide, but it always gives me a chortle when someone types, "Hiya boss" when I log into the game.

And Meredith has been taking some classes in, I think, Medical Records Administration. She'll talk to me about her homework. "I'm really tired. I'll finish this in the morning," she'll say. The next day, I'll find out she went shopping. "Wait. Is your homework done?" "Um...no, but there was this sale..." "No dessert until you finish your homework." "Um...yes boss." Or I find out she gave some of her supper to Scooter, her black pit bull. "No dessert tonight. You gave your supper to the dog. It's not good for him to have people food." "Um...yes boss." I'm so effective that I can discipline her in San Antonio while I'm in Wheaton. It makes for some really funny conversations.

I'll come back to the above photo. Here's a second layer of stickers.

The dinosaur ones had me laughing. In the world that Blizzard has created in their game, they have added an island populated by dinosaurs. Because the game is what I do in the evenings after I've done my chores, Flat Stanley had to watch me play. Kids love dinosaurs too so what could be better than a photo of Stanley with the dinosaurs.

Yes, dinosaur stickers are most appropriate.

Here's the last layer.

That's 22 packages of stickers, all with multiple pages. I'm thinking I now have enough to cover anything I send between now and at least Labor Day, possibly beyond. Memo to self: when Meredith asks how your sticker stash is doing, define "getting low". On the other hand, I know she stood there and said, "One of these and one of these and OH! I HAVE to get her one of these and look! Those are awesome!" I just hope her squeals of delight in the sticker aisle didn't attract too much attention.

Now, go back to the top photo and look at the upper left. There is a tube of chocolate fish from her trip to Nantucket back in mid-March. Milk chocolate in fish shapes. Oh...my. They are gone. I ate the whole tube over the course of a couple evenings................................or maybe it was one evening. They were so good and such a mood elevator when all I could hear on Wednesday was the sound of heavy, heavy rain and trying to calm a frightened cat when the thunder shook the house.

The other item is, to use a 1960's term, way cool. It's a tote bag that is contained in a small zippered pouch. I've never seen something like this before. You unzip all the way around the pouch and the bag is folded inside.

You pull the bag out and it sits on what was the outside, if that makes sense.

I should have put something next to it for you to get a relative size, but this will hold two 2 liters of soda to give you an idea of how big it is. It's a nylon composite fabric that will pop into the washing machine with ease and is somewhat water resistant on the outside. When I'm done using it, it folds just like a road map meaning, I wound up making up how to fold it and then stuffing it back inside the pouch.

I am thrilled with this. The tag said it was $3.99 but I'm not sure where she got it or if that's what she paid for it. She might have found it on sale, knowing her ability to sniff out sales. I tossed this in the center well of the Jeep. I can't tell you how many times I'm at the office and I think, "I need x. I'll just run over to Dominicks after work and get it" and then ruing that I don't have one of my reusable bags with me. This is nice and small and will be perfect for those impromptu grocery runs. The hard part is going to be remembering to stick it back in the car when I've used it.

So, Wednesday went from cold and wet and windy to warm and funny. I guess I'd better get busy writing letters, hadn't I? I have stickers to use up.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb