Done Done

The former office keys. Yes, there were two of them. We had the building doors to pass through before getting to the office doors. The locks were changed twice in the 16 years I was in the building; the first time when we moved across the hall and took over the space vacated by some real estate company, and the second time when an employee was fired. This new space has one key. We have a front and a back door, but they are keyed the same. AND, that key is a much lighter weight silver-colored thing. The change in weight of my key ring has been very noticeable.

We hired a cleaning company to clean our new offices twice a month. They also do close-outs so we hired them to clean the old space. It was amazing. The building owners were responsible for the cleaning company and we must have gone through at least 8 different companies in 16 years. You saw the ants on my windowsill. Yeah. They just didn't clean everywhere. This new company cleaned the faceplates on the light switches, dusted and washed all the walls and cleaned blinds. When I met the cleaning company's estimator at the old office she looked at me and asked when the last time was the blinds were cleaned. Darned if I know. We had vertical blinds in the old office and some of them were not working properly. We gave up trying to get them fixed. They were not wiped clean.

I had this corner office on the first floor. It's a southwest corner, but those windows leaked so badly. My office was usually 8-10 degrees colder than the other offices. I would have a space heater under my desk in the summer, too, because the AC seemed to think it was cooling the entire Chicagoland area and blast on high all day. In the winter, the space never heated up. It would be 78 in other offices and 68 in mine. It's tough to type when your office is 65 when you walk into it in the morning.

This is the front door. In the fall, the leaves from the vines growing on the wall would collect in front of the door. It was kind of interesting from a science standpoint because the design would cause air to swirl in front of the door. You'd get this great pile of leaves in that nook, leaves which would then stick to your shoes after a rain and get tracked into the building.

The current landlord has been trying to sell the building for 3 years. We almost never saw anyone from the management company and I often felt that when we would call about replacing lights or fixing broken things, I was being an annoyance to them. It wasn't unusual to come to work and find the building locked up. Maintenance hadn't gotten over to unlock the doors. This building was also last on the route for snow removal. They considered tossing buckets of salt on the walk, "clearing the snow".

I got the "honor", if you will, of doing the final walk-through, since I'd been in the building the longest. The cleaning company had done a wonderful job. There wasn't much of a deposit to get back, but Mike wanted every penny. The air still smelled of lemon cleaning products. Yes, 8 years of wear on the carpet showed and there were a couple of corners which were dinged, but the space looked great for as dirty as we could get it. The gal who walked through the space with me seemed more annoyed at having to do this than really looking at what we'd done. We made small talk about our move and parted. I did one final walk around. I mentioned this back in December when we officially moved north. I didn't feel attached to the space as I thought I would. 16 years is a long time, any more, to be with a company AND to be in one space. Yet, I don't miss it.

I come here every morning now. We have our number on the door, which helps because each one of us had driven by the office trying to find it. I have a nice east view out my window. Squirrels cavort in the pine tree. It just feels more pleasant. I don't mind the drive each way. It's actually quite relaxing.

Running errands over the past weekend, I wondered if my keys would still work. Our lease at the old space ended last Sunday. I was tempted to swing by the building to see if I could still get in. How often do companies change locks, I wondered? The building isn't on any closed circuit security camera so I could let myself in and out with no problem. Would they rekey the outer door, too, if they rent the space? Could I get in over the weekend to use the bathroom, say?

We've all put our old keys in our desk drawers. I think Gene actually tossed his, but the rest of us have a bit of nostalgia for those keys. Eventually, I'll recycle them or give them to someone doing a craft project with keys. For now, they are a reminder of where I spent 16 years of my life.

Beverage:  Raspberry Seltzer

Deb

Frustration, Thy Name Is Starbucks

My best friend, Patt (not to be confused with my best friend, Pam. I love how my best friends' names start with "Pa". I know they would be good friends if they ever met, but I digress.) sent me a Starbucks card for my birthday. I don't drink coffee but they have tea and, right now, hot cocoa is all the rage. There is a Starbucks 2 blocks west of the office. I drive by it coming to and going home from work. And drive by is all I've been able to do.

Perhaps it's a sign of the times, that the economy is better or people are taking the savings they have earned from gas being half the cost it was a year ago and turning that into venti double espressos but the drive through line and their parking lot are always packed. The city fathers of Glen Ellyn didn't think the whole location of the drive through very well because on some days, traffic waiting for drive through backs out onto busy Roosevelt Road. I have cursed coffee drinkers and their need to pick it up from their car when I can't get around them. Had the drive through been positioned a couple car lengths further into the lot, it wouldn't stop traffic, even on busy days.

But what to make of the perpetually full parking lot? Well, there is a Chipotle in this small strip mall so perhaps the problem lies with a mix of the two. There is probably overlap between beverages and pastries and quasi-Mexican lunch and dinner.

Whatever the case, I have not been able to get a hot cocoa since the week after Thanksgiving. I'm rather frustrated at that. I've driven by at several odd hours and there is just no place to pull in or park. Oh well, the card doesn't expire and I'm sure they'll make hot cocoa for me in June as well as making it in January, right?

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Local Food

If you are a planning a trip, one of the things which can be worrisome is what to eat. This is particularly true if you are going to a different area of the country. Your local hamburger joint, who knows exactly how to make your burger, will be nowhere in sight and "medium" to you might be "medium rare" to them.

This gave rise to the national chain. You know, when you walk into a TGI Fridays, exactly what the food will be like. If you order your burger "medium", it will be the same "medium" in Fort Lauderdale as it is in Naperville or Denver or San Diego. There is comfort in that, but there is also less of a willingness to get out and try things, to walk into a diner where they don't know you. Foodies and travel gurus recommend going out of your comfort zone and going into the local restaurant scene. You never know what gem you will find.

It helps to have someone who is familiar with the area to guide you. I have to admit that going to visit Carole and Larry means a trip to Carousel.

That's black cherry and chocolate fudge soft serve.

So, we had to drag Larry around to some of the local restaurants which are staples of life here. We had lunch, the first day, at Alfie's. Alfie's has been around for over 40 years. They started as strictly a burgers, fries and ribs joint but have expanded their menu to provide soups and salads and other sandwiches. But, burgers reign supreme and they are scrumptious.

After lunch, we drove Larry around to see Wheaton and stopped at the grocery. I waited to buy groceries for the kids until they were along so we could get breakfast things, beverages and other items they wanted. We came away with offerings from the bakery.

That's turtle cheesecake and red velvet cheesecake. Both were good but a bit stale. Cheesecake is best within 24 hours of making it. Most recipes I have tell you to chill 6 hours or overnight. Since these have to sit for some time before being completely consumed, they can dry out. I make a much better turtle cheesecake. I think the red velvet one would be better without the cake layer.

Saturday evening, after going to see Christmas lights, we went to a Chicagoland institution, Portillo's. At this point, I had the bright idea to document Larry visiting these places.

Good old Portillo's. Of course I had an Italian sausage, mustard only, and a piece of chocolate cake.

On Sunday, the kids went into the city to see the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. Once back at the house, they decided we needed to go to Baker's Square.

There used to be one near Wheaton North High School, but it closed many years ago, I think at the beginning of the recession. It was the 'go to' place after band practice or football games. I think the band almost single-handedly kept that Baker's Square afloat. Technically, like Portillo's, they are a chain, but they have contracted and there aren't nearly as many around as there used to be. The menu is not all that distinctive from any other restaurant and they seem to be chronically short servers. Still, we could get good food and pie and a place offering pie is usually not a terrible place to eat.

When Monday arrived, the kids decided they were too tired to go into the city for another swing through museums so we had brunch at our favorite breakfast place in Wheaton, Egg'lectic Cafe. It's been a Wheaton destination for over 15 years and, on warm weekends, the wait can be 90 minutes to get in.

The wait is worth it because the food is fantastic with a huge variety. They can make things almost to order, with some exceptions. They also serve lunch and the restaurant can be crowded at lunch, too.

Larry was thrilled because they had biscuits and gravy and grits on the menu. Phil got pancakes and when asked if he wanted whipped cream, he declined. I piped up, "I'll take his whipped cream."

Banana split pancakes with whipped cream. I had to take half of these home for breakfast on Friday.

Tuesday, we headed to Iowa for Christmas. Another place we wanted to take Larry because they have not worked their way completely east is Culver's.

I've written about them before. Clean with cheerful people, they are a decidedly upper Midwestern chain sort of fast food restaurant. Larry's not real fond of ice cream but he had some of Carole's salted caramel "Concrete Mixer", Culver's answer to a Dairy Queen Blizzard. He said it was really good. I had an egg nog shake made with their frozen custard. Now, I really like the Steak 'n Shake egg nog shakes but Culver's was, hands down, better.

He also experienced Chicago-style pizza at Giordano's on Friday with Carole's friends. We had pizza on Monday night from a Wheaton staple, Nancy's. It was one of the few places which would deliver to Niles' so was the place from which to get pizza on Dungeons and Dragons nights at Niles'. We had Chinese food on Christmas Day from a little place, China Star, a couple miles west of me. I know the store front. It's not much to look at but man the food was good.

While a visit someplace new is all about the experience of seeing, food can often make or break the trip. There are good places to eat in Warrenton and its proximity to Washington DC means there are a lot of speciality and ethnic restaurants in that area of the country. We exposed Larry to the basic fare we know and love and, in Carole's case, miss. These were the stars of the trip. We've already started a short list of places to eat at the next time they come.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

I Haz A Sad

With the cold and the snow, I've been wearing my new boots to the office and then changing into shoes once I get there. That way, if I have to stop for something and there's lots of snow around, I don't get my feet wet.

As work was winding down last night, I removed my shoes and put on my boots. Once, home and the recycling dragged to the curb and the mail retrieved, the boots were removed and I went to put the shoes away on the shoe tree in my bedroom. That's when I saw it.

Oh man, this is the left shoe. It's coming apart at the stitching. Quickly checking the right shoe, I found this.

This was my first pair of Clarks shoes. This is the pair that sold me on how good, how comfortable these shoes are. I have had this pair for, oh gosh, maybe 8 years? I'm not sure how long. With RA sometimes affecting my ankles and then, by extension, my feet, my decision to invest in Clarks has paid off substantially. Yes, they are more expensive than something I could get at Payless, but for comfort, they are well worth the price.

You can see that the sole is still in exceptionally good condition and all that's wrong is that the stitching holding the black piping to the sole and the upper has come apart. There is a cobbler in downtown Glen Ellyn. I've taken a lot of stuff to him over the years. There's probably another 8 years, at least, of use left in these shoes. I think I need to drop them off.

Yes, when I discovered this, I had a momentary thought that I should just replace them. They need to be polished, badly. I've had them a long time. But, beyond the broken stitching, there is nothing wrong with them. As long as I can fix them, it's stupid to spend money on a new pair of shoes. If the sole or the upper was cracked, that's a different matter, but stitching. Pffft.

So, next week I have a couple days off for doctor's visits. I'll add dropping these off at the cobbler to my to do list. Oh look. Across the street is The Bookstore. I can pop in and say, "Hi".

Beverage:  Rooibos tea

Deb

Neither Rain Nor Sleet, Although Ice is a Problem

UPS and Fed Ex are taking some heat for not getting packages to where they needed to be in time for Christmas. As someone who spent the week of December 9-13 in the post office every day mailing something, I know a bit about the hazards of shipping in North America in December. When I shipped the last few boxes on the 13th, I was told that, due to the weather, deliveries were taking a day or two longer than usual. Add to that a higher than average late shipping season because people waited longer than they should have to ship things and then expected them to arrive on time, and delays are inevitable. This year, however, I've seen the post office live up to their motto, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds". (We think of it as the official motto but it's merely an inscription on the central post office in New York City. The motto is a translation of a Greek phrase found in the works of Herodotus.)

On Sunday, December 15th, I was eating my breakfast when this postal car pulled up across the street. I watched with interest as the driver rummaged in the back and pulled out a box. I was even more interested when said driver started walking up the front walk to my house to deliver that box. (Contents will be blogged about later.)

Since then, I've been the recipient of two more "off hours" deliveries. Both of those were at 7:30 in the morning during the week. I had just finished my shower and heard footfalls on the front steps. Mija charged down the hallway out of the living room, stopping by the open bathroom door (If you have cats, the bathroom door is never closed.) to look at me and then at the living room where came the sound of the storm door opening and closing. Once I got dressed, I checked and here were packages being delivered. In spite of their deficit, the post office certainly lived up to their delivery motto.

The package from Patt had this sticker affixed to it.

If you've shipped anything, this is what you get asked every time you ship. I save time by, when I ship, telling the employee, "There's nothing fragile, liquid, perishable or potentially hazardous", unless there is, in which I say, "It's fragile. I'd like it stickered as such." They know me at the post office so they kind of chuckle when I answer the question before they have a chance to ask it. But, I've never seen them put this sticker on my packages unless it was in the back where I wouldn't see.

Another item from the post office which I want to tout is their tracking capability. On Priority Mail packages, it's included in the price. On Parcel Post and First Class, it's an extra 90 cents. It is worth that 90 cents unless you don't really care about the contents of your package. I have a story from this year's shipping to illustrate the value of this 90 cents.

Before Thanksgiving, I shipped two packages to Carole in Virginia. She was on vacation at Disney World at the time, but I wanted her to have them when she returned. The packages contained her birthday and Christmas gifts. There was no difference in cost between First Class and Priority (it's based on weight), so I shipped them Priority Mail. The tracking bar code was applied and the number was printed on my receipt. They were to be in Virginia on the 21st.

Fast forward to November 27th. Carole calls me to ask when I shipped the packages because she doesn't have them. My heart sank. Filing claims with the post office is an exercise in how much paperwork can you endure. Plus, they require photos of the items in the missing boxes and how do I claim hand made scarves? The value of those would lie in the cost of the yarn, I guess, not the time it took to make the scarf. (Yes, I have had to do this once. It wasn't fun. The box turned up within a week of filing the claim.) If I could find the receipt with the tracking number, Carole said we could see when or if the boxes had been delivered. I had recently cleaned off the desk and tossed a whole bunch of paper into the recycling bin. Thankfully, I had not emptied the house bin into the bin outside. I found the receipt.

If you search for USPS tracking, up comes a page where you input the 10 number on your receipt. The page shows you the status of that package from the time it was entered into the system through its delivery at its destination. We discovered the packages had been delivered November 22nd. I gave her the tracking number and she called the local post office. The postmaster there verified what we were seeing, that the parcels had been delivered. Unfortunately, that delivery person was off on the 27th so Carole would have to stop by or call on the 29th. At that point, they would ask her where she put the boxes.

On the 29th, Carole went to her car, sitting in the driveway to run errands. There, on the front passenger seat, were the boxes. She'd left the car unlocked through her vacation and someone put the boxes there. We don't think it was the delivery woman. We think it was the person who received the boxes in error, although it wasn't either of the neighbors because they said they hadn't seen boxes for her. I had printed the address correctly on them, always a concern, so we are confused, but Carole got her gifts, even if the birthday gifts were a day late.

My point is that tracking is worth the extra money I spent on all my parcels this Christmas. I actually had fun typing in the long strings of numbers and seeing where parcels were en route. It's fascinating to see where a box goes when you ship it from Glen Ellyn, Illinois to San Antonio, Texas, all the stops, all the sorting. And that's something else I want to remind you of when you vilify the carrier to whom you gave your knick knacks for shipment this Christmas. To get from me to Carole involved 7 separate stops; Glen Ellyn to Addison to Chicago to Washington D.C. to Alexandria, VA to Warrenton to her. That the post office told me, on Tuesday, November 19th that they could get two boxes from Glen Ellyn to Warrenton by that Thursday is no small feat. If you draw a line from Dallas, Texas to Bangor, Maine, all along that line, in December, there was crappy weather. I think we should cut the shipping companies a bit of slack for being able to do what they do in spite of the bad weather. At least the post office was upfront about letting people know of delays, particularly if they were shipping to a storm affected area of the country.

The post office can get a, sometimes deservedly, bad rap for a lot of things. My experiences during this monster shipping season were uniformly positive. If you have something to ship, I strongly endorse utilixing the tracking ability. If there is a claim, it's a good indication of where the packages were on any given day. The Sunday and early morning deliveries will probably cease now. That's okay, too. Hearing footsteps on the front steps as you're stepping out of the shower is a wee bit disconcerting.

Beverage:  Dunkin' Donuts tea

Deb

Small Business Saturday

I think we should look with huge skepticism whenever a company, particularly a credit card company, encourages us to spend money. Even under the guise of "X% of the proceeds will go to fighting toenail fungus", I tend to think the overall goal is to part me from money I don't have and make me want things I don't need. But then American Express came out with this "Small Business Saturday" idea. You know, it's a great idea.

If you haven't a clue what it's all about, and admittedly, I should have blogged about this a week ago, but I've been preoccupied with other blog posts, American Express came up with this idea to promote the small businesses that form the backbone of the local economy. It's not the Walmarts or the JC Penneys or the Jewel grocery stores that pump money back into the community. It's the yarn shop, the tea house, the bookstore with square footage equal to my house who keep their profits in the community. So, I decided that the few places I still needed to frequent would be as local as I could make them and would be on Saturday.

One of the great things about living in the Chicagoland area is the wealth of small downtowns with a wide variety of offerings. I went into downtown Glen Ellyn after getting my hair cut today.

Antique stores, children's clothing and toys, stationary, framing, women's specialty clothing, bakery, shoe repair and my favorite bookstore on the planet, Just the Bookstore. I could be a bit biased since I used to work there but the personalized service you get from Jane, Sue, Linda, Jenny and Renee cannot be beat. It's time to replace the calendars in the house so they ordered 4 of the 5 I usually get. The other one they can't get so I'll have to order it on Cyber Monday. There was a book I'd read about which they just happened to get in the day I called about the calendars. "Oh Deb, we have this book that, when it was announced, we all said, 'That's a book for Deb'." Yeah, yes it is. I'd actually seen it but hadn't ordered it, yet.

Buying locally makes me feel good. Could I get those books and the calendars for less somewhere else? Oh yeah, but when I walk in the store and they ask about my daughter, hand me something they think I might like, show off grandchildren photos and discuss where the kids are that our kids grew up with, it's family. I wound up having to go to Target because I couldn't find something that I wanted and the staff seemed more friendly than I remembered. It wasn't nearly as hectic as I expected today to be. Maybe that's why Target employees were happy.

Small businesses are easily swallowed up by the Targets, the Walmarts, the Costcos. Every time you walk into one of those anywhere in the US, you know the shampoo will be over to the right, the printer paper will be off to the center and pet food tucked in the left corner. But you won't have someone asking how the girls are doing, I can guarantee that.

So, I did my part today. I actually don't need a reason to shop locally and far prefer it, although, with some things, there are just limited options. If you're going to be a consumer, try to shop local. You win. Your shopkeeper wins. Your community wins.

This is the point where I should plug the written word. Give a book. Go to your local bookstore and see what they have for Christmas. Give a classic. Give something new. If you're not going to crochet scarves for everyone on your list, give a book. In fact, if you email Just the Bookstore, they will ship anywhere in the US. I'm thinking I should go back and get that cookie making kit that's in the center of the display. I know a family who would love that.

Beverage:  Berry-flavored seltzer

Deb

Repairing a Memory

One of my wall decorations fell on Friday. I came home to a gap.

The hanger came off, which caused the portrait to slip down. Fortunately, it was caught on the one below it. It was a simple matter to glue the hanger back into position and replace the item where it was.

These silhouettes are very special to me. The top one was done when Carole was 4 years-old. A woman named Sally Newcom was doing silhouettes at a Lord & Taylor store near me. I thought that would be cool to have something like that done. I remember the little boy in front of us just screaming at the top of his lungs when asked to sit still. I explained to Carole what was going to happen and that she had to look straight ahead at me so the lady could cut out her head from black paper. She was very excited to have this done.

Four years later, there was another Sally Newcom event. I don't remember where. The one that toppled was done when she was 14 and is also a Sally Newcom silhouette. The bottom one has no age on it so I'm hoping Carole remembers. It was done by a man and done at The Bookstore in Glen Ellyn. I think she was a senior in high school.

Now, about the placement. Originally, I had these just hanging on the wall. They were two across in a box grouping. It was fine. When Carole graduated from high school, she wanted, as a gift, a road trip to tour Civil War sites. It was one of the most fun vacations we'd ever done. We hit Gettysburg first and then Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, Antietam, and drove all the way to Richmond to visit the Museum of the Confederacy because they had just opened an exhibit on Robert E. Lee. After doing that, we headed home. Oh look, we're close to Monticello. Let's stop there.

In touring Jefferson's home, one of the things the guide pointed out was the silhouettes on the wall in the drawing room. It was, she said, a very big event to sit for your silhouette. Jefferson's wife made sure this was done with all family members repeatedly. I think even some servants had their silhouettes done. The silhouettes on the wall were mounted on top of a ribbon which matched one of the colors of the wallpaper. I remember looking at Carole and she at me as the light bulb went off in both our heads simultaneously. 

At the time, the living room was painted in beige and a light tan. We repainted it in its current colors over Thanksgiving weekend that year. Once the room was painted, we spent a long time at JoAnn Fabrics looking at ribbon. It had to be just the right color and width. The silhouettes in Monticello are much smaller than these which is why we opted to go with a wide ribbon. My walls are painted two tones, a very light gray-ish lavendar on top with dark gray-ish lavendar on the bottom. I know it sounds weird but the colors are found in a lap blanket a former friend gave me. You know I like color and the store matched the colors in the blanket perfectly.

We measured from the top of the ceiling down and then marked where the silhouettes would hang. I made the "bow", put the nail through the inside of the bow and nailed the whole thing to the wall. Each silhouette is nailed through the ribbon into the wall. They aren't quite equal distance apart, but close. I wasn't going to put repeated holes in the wall to get them all 2 inches apart.

It's been like this for years now, over a decade actually. It's kind of rare to have one of the silhouettes fall off the wall but it happens. If Carole can remember when the last one was done, I'll be sure to write the year on the back.

Beverage:  Lapsang Souchong tea

Deb

Aftermath

When you are inside a movie theatre, the world could end and so long as the movie keeps showing, you'd not know it until you walked outside. Such was the nature of last Sunday. Pam and I went to Brave. There was a 40% chance of rain but that just means 40% of the area gets 100% of the rain. The temperatures were to approach the upper 90's again and Com Ed was announcing record power consumption figures.

Hence, when the power went out in the movie theatre, we weren't exactly sure if this was something with the theatre, a brown out or perhaps weather. Pam thought she heard rain, but, again, is it rain or is it something in the movie. We didn't know, for sure, until we walked to the front of the theatre and exited. The parking lot was wet. There were standing puddles and there were leaves and twigs scattered about. To our left, the dark clouds of a passing storm were heading east southeast toward Indiana. "Hmmm, looks like we got heavy rain. Do you suppose it was heavy enough to knock out the power?"

We had no idea.

Power was out at one stoplight on the way from the theatre to Culver's for lunch. We had a delightful lunch and continued to head west. When we got into Glen Ellyn, the light at Park and Roosevelt was flashing. No matter. We'll go cross-country. I wanted to hit CVS Pharmacy before going home as I needed refills on Folic Acid and Methotrexate. As we headed into the neighborhoods to avoid Roosevelt Road, we started seeing signs that perhaps this was a heavier than we thought storm. There were limbs down and lots of debris clustered around the storm drains. CVS was closed due to no power.

"I'll wait. You run inside and tell me if you have power," Pam said, as we drove down my street and passed a neighbor carving up the remnants of the tree that had blown over in his front yard. Nope. I had no power. Pam headed home to see what awaited her.

Wheaton was one of the hardest hit communities. The storms formed roughly 30 miles west of us, just popped up, without warning, and roared east, "roared" being the operative word. We've been told "hurricane-force winds" of 80-90 mph came with 1-2 inches of rain in 20 minutes. We often joke that getting from place to place easily in Chicago is a "you can't get there from here" adventure. Downtown Wheaton has and still has no power and lines down all over. Giant trees, probably in excess of 60 years old, were snapped, toppling onto power poles and lines, snapping them. Pam had a limb down in her back yard, balancing on the power lines and a limb down in the front.

As Pam has a generator, I removed most of the fridge and freezer stuff I bought on Saturday (I know. Perfect timing.) and took it to her house. The damage was incredible. It's going to take weeks to get things cleared. My power came back Monday afternoon. Pam's is still not back on. People have been on the grid only to be removed because of another problem. Wheaton canceled all of their July 4th events because you can't get into downtown, where the parade goes, and the excessive heat and dry conditions do not bode well for fireworks.

I have two branches down of this size. The city has announced they will pick up storm debris from parkways. I just have to drag this to the street. I am incredibly fortunate. I look at my tree shaded back yard and realize, it could have been so much, much, much worse than a couple of branches and the deck chairs tipped over.

We gripe and complain because we are without power. When you drive by streets closed because the lines are dangling 2 feet off the ground, when you drive by homes where the tree snapped, hit the power pole and snapped that in three pieces, when you drive by streets where the only thing you see on each side are mounds and mounds of branches and limbs, you realize that this is not a 24-hour snap your fingers clean up. I must have passed a dozen power trucks and a dozen tree trimming trucks, some at work and some standing around the remains of a light pole and assessing how best to remove that branch  safely.

Last July's storm left me without power for about as long as this one did. It's hot. It's sticky. It's uncomfortable. But, I am grateful I did not suffer any major damage, just a minor inconvenience. We have become quiet used to our electrified lives and it comes as a system shock when that is interrupted. I am grateful there are people who work to restore power. I won't criticize the linemen, the guys in the trucks trying their hardest in 90+ degree weather to restore power.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Avoid Chicago, Please.

You probably don't know, or maybe you do, as I like to think my readers are a well-informed bunch, but the leaders of Nato are going to be in Chicago this weekend for their meeting. As I live in the 'burbs, this won't affect me all that much, but get a load of what the street closures are:

Street closings, including shutdowns of pedestrian and bicycle paths, start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Lake Shore Drive will be closed from 39th Street to Balbo on Saturday until an unspecified hour during the evening rush period on Monday, officials said. No traffic will be allowed on the Stevenson Expressway from the Dan Ryan Expressway to Lake Shore Drive during the same period.

Major intermittent closures will occur on the Kennedy Expressway in both directions betweenO'Hare International Airportand downtown; Ohio and Ontario streets between the Kennedy and Fairbanks Court/Columbus Drive; and the Dan Ryan to Roosevelt Road, 18th Street and Canalport Avenue, according to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications...

"The roadway closures will be intermittent and unannounced," Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said. "That's all we will say."

Security officials have previously said that full traffic stoppages involving temporary roadway closures will be in effect only for President Barack Obama's motorcade, but that all other heads of state will get the "rolling closure'' treatment, meaning traffic is halted as they pass.

But on Wednesday, Chicago police Supt. Garry McCarthy said the motorcades for the Afghan and Pakistani heads of state motorcades will also receive the highest level of security, which will include full stoppages of traffic...

Unannounced street and expressway closings, CTA and Metra trains stopped for security sweeps, extra detours of CTA buses that are already detoured from their normal routes, and airport delays even on a cloud-free day in May should be anticipated, officials said...

Monday will be the busiest day by far at O'Hare, because all delegations will be leaving and Mondays are a big day for business travel. Complicating matters, the weather forecast for Monday calls for rain and possible thunderstorms, with the potential for heavy downpours, according to WGN chief meteorologist Tom Skilling.

Meanwhile, Metra will shutter five close-in stations Saturday through Monday on the Electric District line, which will operate without stopping under McCormick Place. On Monday, 25 Metra stations, including the entire Blue Island branch of the Electric line, will be closed.

Unprecedented security measures affecting all 11 Metra lines during the three days will likely throw the commuter railroad's normally good on-time performance to the wind.

Food, liquids and carry-ons such as backpacks and large purses will be prohibited on Metra trains starting Saturday, and passengers will be subject to random searches, Metra police said...

The CTA is taking what many experts view as a more practical approach to increasing security on an open mass-transit system that doesn't lend itself to airport-style passenger screening. CTA customers will see more police officers and explosives-sniffing dogs patrolling CTA rail stations, trains and buses, but the transit agency is not limiting what passengers bring on board.

And I know there are more side streets closed that aren't listed here. This doesn't really affect me all that much, as I'm not heading into the city for anything this weekend. I have other things to be doing. It would be cool to see these heads of state, even from a distance. You read their names and see their photos but it's just different to see them in person. "Hey, it's...it's...pst. Who's that again?"

We have been told to expect violence from protestors but, again, that's not going to directly affect me. As for my company, we are working very hard to avoid having to send anyone in the direction of the city until Wednesday of next week. It's going to take that long for things to get back to what passes as normal around here. 

The biggest thing I'm expecting to experience is the following.

I was heading home from my doctor's visit yesterday afternoon and caught site of 3 Huey helicopters going from right to left in front of me. By the time I could get the camera out of the purse, turned on and ready to use, only one was visible. I would imagine all area airports are involved in providing a place for security forces to park these things since we don't have the Glenview Naval Air Station anymore. I expect I will hear, if not see, more of these going over my house since one of those airports is directly west of me.

While this is a huge event, a very big feather in our collective caps and will showcase Chicagoland, warts and all, I'm not expecting much change in my routine. You won't see my suburb on the news and I'm grateful for that. Taste of Glen Ellyn is this weekend. I should, maybe, wander over there for something to do. It's going to be a nice weekend. Buying a can of deck stain would also be a profitable way to spend time and I wouldn't need to go into the city to get that.

So, follow the events. Enjoy the view they show of Chicago. It's a beautiful city and a fun place to live. Yes, you're welcome to visit. Give me a couple weeks notice and please, don't come by this weekend. You really won't be able to get there from here.

Beverage: English Breakfast tea

Deb

Cleaned Up

When I got home yesterday, the limb had been removed from the street.

I have to feel for those guys. It's been quite the summer for downed trees and limbs. I drove to the post office, bank, grocery, book store and home today and the number of trees downed in Glen Ellyn is quite amazing. We're not talking the slender 6-8 inch around trees. We're talking the 3 feet in diameter ones that have seen generations drive by possibly from the early 1900's. Street departments have had their hands full just to get the streets cleared, let alone pick up some of this. It's disheartening when you see the remains of a tree that you know probably was  planted before WWI, lying in the parkway. But that is the nature of summer in the midwest. We're just aware of it because we live where we can see what nature does. In a forest, we are grateful for those downed limbs where we can sit and rest. Plus, they provide, as they decompose, vital nutrients to the ecosystem of the forest. Here, we haul it away and maybe turn it into mulch. 

I took a look into the tree to see where the branch had been snapped off. It took me awhile to find because I was looking at the side of the tree, where the branch hit the street. That's not where it broke.

It broke off one of the north center limbs. In looking at this I realized that although I thought I could cut it up, my little saw would not have been able to go through this limb. I probably would have had help from neighbors in cutting it up but I'm grateful the city took it away. 

Now to clean up the twigs and small branches scattered about the yard. 

Beverage:  Orange Juice

Deb

Just a Bit of Rain

We got somewhere between 2 and 3 inches between midnight and 8 a.m. on Thursday morning. Let's just say the drive to the office was "interesting".

We called it "Lake Roosevelt" for the street on which it formed. It was gone by 9:00 a.m. I actually parked behind the building. I could have driven through this but the traffic was a mess leading up to it so I just went around the back. 

Beverage:  Cranberry Pomegranate Juice

Deb

Gauging Gas

I didn't want to fly to Carole's wedding. It was an option and I do like to fly, but anymore, it's such a hassle. I couldn't afford to buy a ticket back when the date was set and then, as the time marched on and the costs rose, the ticket became more and more out of my reach. At one point, I honestly thought I wasn't going to be able to go to the wedding, simply because my finances wouldn't allow it. But judicious skrimping and saving and doing without allowed me to save what I considered to be adequate funds to make an over-the-road trip. Plus, driving would allow me to see people from Spectacular Death and that's important to me.

Enter gas prices. In April, I watched them race towards $5 a gallon. The week before Bin Laden was killed, gas was $4.55 in Glen Ellyn. I paid $4.61 in Chicago on May 15th. At that time, it was much less in the 'burbs, but I needed gas then and didn't have much of a choice.

My mother was going to bring her Durango in spite of the 12-15 mpg.. My Jeep will get 15-17, so it wasn't that much better. The day before she arrived, I did the numbers and realized I was going to be short and would wind up charging more than I really wanted to. I could skip meals, I tend to do that anyway when I'm traveling, but it was going to be really tight. The saving grace on this was splitting the costs of travel and the fact that 2 of our days were going to be at April and Perry's which would save us a bundle on lodging. Then, when mom's husband insisted she drive his car with the 26-27 mpg gas mileage, I knew this would work.

She filled the car for $3.60 in Iowa. Our first gas stop was the first place on the Indiana toll road. I decided that I should stop when we got to a quarter tank and not push it. Running out of gas is not cool. We were pleased with this gas price as it was $4.29 around me.

We discovered that Dale's car would get us from Point A to Point B on one tank. This was a godsend. It eliminated a fill-up each day. That saved us $130-$160. Knowing this savings made the trip less stressful.

Our next fill-up was in Youngstown, Ohio on Thursday. We went to breakfast with April and Perry and then to get gas. We were excited at the prospect of gas at this price. But, we are heading towards the DC area. Who knows what it will be there? We were expecting the metro-Washington area to have higher prices than Youngstown and were bracing for that.

Nope. We filled up on Saturday on the way to the wedding. David's dad needed gas as did I so I filled up at $3.69 a gallon. We did see gas at $3.68 in Warrenton, but the place we stopped at was on the way to the church. Easy in and easy out.

We didn't do much driving on Saturday so this tank took us out of Virginia on Sunday as we began the trek home. The directions I had from Yahoo to get to Warrenton, took us over some 2 lane roads. While it was the most direct route, it wasn't that scenic and really wasn't that fast. I bought a road atlas on Sunday and we went a different route back, through the mountains. Amazingly, our gas mileage, even with the ups and downs, hovered around 27 mpg. Our next fill-up was in Morgantown, West Virginia on Tuesday morning.

We thought it was interesting that this large sign doesn't list diesel as an option. That last line is for "kero", which we took to mean "kerosene".

This tank took us back to Youngstown and across Ohio. Yes, at the spot where I broke down back in November, I thumbed my nose. Maybe that's tempting fate but it was good to sail past that spot.

Our last fill-up was also the priciest. I let it get into the "red" zone, where we're running on the last little bit. I made the decision to stop at the first service plaza in Indiana after we crossed from Ohio. I wasn't sure how far we were from getting off and getting back on and didn't want to make a bad decision to wait and risk running out. We were quite astounded at the prices way out in eastern Indiana. Oh well. We hadn't paid this at any point in the trip and this tank would get us back to Wheaton and get mom to Iowa where she could fill up for much less.

This was at a Mobil. As we traveled west towards Chicago, plazas changed from Mobil to BP. In doing so, gas prices dropped 40 cents. It was kind of depressing but I knew we couldn't have made any of the BP stations. Maybe Mobil is the only company who will provide gas at those lonesome stations, but it seemed very out of whack with what we saw advertised on billboards and with what we encountered closer to Chicago.

It's $4.19 today. I need to put gas in the Jeep. I remember, in 1973, during the Arab Oil Embargo, we were going to take a family trip to northern Minnesota and one of the questions we asked the places we were staying was if they had gas. We had seen supplies run short in our small town as well as the images of lines stretching for miles as people waited for those limited deliveries. Even after that experience, we never really thought of trips with an eye towards gas prices. Now, you have to.

Would it have been cheaper to fly? I don't know. I would have needed to rent a car for 3 days, fill it with gas. I wouldn't have had the chance to spend a week with my mom, nor would I have seen April and Perry and Joe. I wound up coming in right at what I had budgeted which makes me feel really good, that I was able to figure this out.

Beverage:  Huckleberry tea

Deb

First Snow of the Winter

Overnight, we got about 4 inches of wet snow. It's borderline slush actually, the kind that is going to produce snowballs but will also make you really wet when playing in it.

My task this morning was finish shopping. I had one framing project to drop off, one stop at The Bookstore in downtown Glen Ellyn and a swing through Whole Foods for fresh fruits and veggies. Four-wheel drive into the street and we're off.

It is beautiful out. This kind of snow sticks to everything and makes things look frosting covered. Walking about with a tiny camera means I can keep it drier than if I had a large one like Carole and David have. Of course, I'm limited in my shots to what the camera can do, but, as this photo of the tree in downtown Glen Ellyn shows, it takes perfectly wonderful photos on its own.

The forecast for tomorrow is partly cloudy. It might be a time to wander parks for good photo opportunities. There are too many people scared to be out in this actually out driving in this when they should be at home for me to feel comfortable driving about now. I'm home. I got 90% of what I needed to get done, done.

This kind of snow makes the upcoming season more real for me. HO x 3!

Beverage: China Black tea

Deb

Blessing or Luck?

Things were sparse in the Luck Journal yesterday. Unlike Friday when I filled nearly a whole page, I had to really think about what kind of "lucky" things I could put on the page.

Life is like that.

One of the highlights of Friday was going to get a polish and fries from Flips down the road. Although I left around 11:30, it seemed as if many people had the same idea and many people felt Flips was the place to go. The line snaked back into the eating area.

Flips owner takes pride in fast service. He likes people to wait no more than 3 minutes for their food. It might take longer if you have a large order, but individual orders shouldn't involve lengthy waiting. It's reasonably good food too, standard for a fast food joint.

In front on me, on this day, were three members of Glen Ellyn's Fire Department. They were well-known to the owner of Flips who called them by name. Two of them and me ordered a polish. They got their sausage with stuff on it. I just want mustard. There was some confusion about the orders and I had to wait while another polish was cooked for me. It seems one of the firemen got mine. Oh well. So I have to wait. I knew it wouldn't be long and I knew it would be good food when I did get it.

The owner of Flips apologized profusely for the delay which amounted to a whole 8.5 minutes. "Free dessert. Free chips. What would you like? And here," he said, going to the cash register. "Two dollars off your meal for having to wait."

I said it wasn't necessary, that the food was worth waiting for, but he insisted. So I took a chocolate chip cookie. He turned to a guy and said, "Cookie, both!" and turned back to me, "I'll give you chocolate chip and oatmeal. I'm so sorry." What a way to make a day!

It was the little things all day that just make it a luck filled day. My online friend, Jonathan, and I were teasing each other about whether it's luck or blessings. He prefers to call what I'm keeping my "Blessings" journal. I have fallen back into "Luck" journal all because I'm not sure I believe these are blessings in a religious sense.

Whatever they are, they are serendipitous. It's easy to fall into a pothole and feel I can't get up. That book was right in one respect. When I find the luck/blessings, actively look for them, I find many more, even on days when it feels as if there isn't any luck.

Beverage: water

Deb

There was some rain overnight on Friday.

A number of my friends have sent emails expressing concern about some "excessive dampness" that occurred over the weekend. Herewith are just a couple of photos taken off the Chicago Tribune's web site photo gallery of "overly wet weather" from the weekend.

Carole will recognize the spot above. This is the intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Road just south of downtown Wheaton. To the right, is the former Hubble Middle School where she went to school. The Wheaton Park District's main street offices are to the left of the sign. There is a large grassy area, tennis courts and a football field here. My vet's office is 3 blocks north of this location.

It has ALWAYS flooded here when we get an inch of rain. I'm given to understand flooding has been a forever problem. With Hubble Middle School replaced by a new school in Warrenville, any development of the old school site is to include an assessment of flooding problems.

I awoke at 12:45 a.m. Saturday morning. Mija was upset by the noise and sitting in the bedroom window after bouncing about the bed. I could hear heavy rain on the roof. "Uh, oh," I thought. "Did I pick that stuff up off the basement floor?" I knew, from the sound, that I'd probably have water in the basement in the morning. My boss said he heard it at 4:15 a.m. There must have been more than one cell go through.

Come Saturday morning, the usual amount of water was in the basement. It was about 50% dry by last night.

So how much did I get? The report I read said 6.5 inches of rain. My boss said he read 7 inches. Since moving to the Chicagoland area in July of 1981, I have been through 4 of these deluges. I don't remember this kind of thing growing up. Flooding usually came from the spring snow melt, not from huge amounts of water coming out of the sky. It's possible I just don't remember rains of this nature for, as a kid, I may have been allowed to stand outside in it.

Whatever the rain totals, it created monster headaches for travelers on Saturday. I didn't go anywhere. No way am I going out when I saw on my computer news feed that sections of streets in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn were closed due to high water. I don't need to go gawk when others will do it for me. I did not know until yesterday, when I was reading the Sunday paper, about the Eisenhower Expressway into the city being closed.

Um...yeah. That's a good reason to close it. This is the elevated railway, called "the el" which runs alongside the Eisenhower. The area joke is "you can't get there from here". On Saturday, that was most certainly true.

I do have one very funny story. The cats are not happy that they can't go into the basement and lie on the cool concrete. It will be dry by tomorrow. On Saturday night, roughly 8:15 or so, there was a crash in the living room. Someone had knocked over the box fan I have running to keep the air circulating. Now, Saturday night is usually prime World of Warcraft night so I was online, with my guild, running a tough raid named Ulduar. Fortunately, we had just started and were getting assignments for the first boss when this happened.

I jumped up. Mija, who had been asleep on the bed, dashed into the living room and was met by a wet and angry black cat. There was hissing and Pilchard took a swipe at her. Mija retreated to the hallway while Pilchard dashed under the table. She was dripping. I grabbed a beach towel, threw it over her and carried this thrashing cat into the bathroom. In spite of hissing, spitting and much growling, I was able to towel dry her, check for injuries and then try to figure out what happened.

Judging from the wet footprints in the living room, kitchen and up the basement stairs and a small spot on the basement floor that appeared to have been sopped free of water, Pilchard decided the water in the basement did not exist and she jumped off the basement steps onto the basement floor. Once there, she discovered that water did, in fact, exist and she tried to get away from it, wiping out in the process. Because both sides and her belly were wet, she must have slipped and fallen a couple of times before reaching the steps and charging back up the stairs. She raced through the kitchen and into the living room, but the "wet brakes" didn't work and she collided with the fan, knocking it over, which was the noise I heard.

She sat under the table in the living room, giving herself a bath for at least an hour. I refilled my tea cup twice during that time and she was cleaning away both times. She had discovered that the airflow from the fan dried her fur a bit faster so she was near it.

All day yesterday, when I went into the basement to do laundry, they sat at the top of the stairs looking mournfully down into the basement. I am thankful right now, that I never got around to moving the litter boxes to the basement. That would have been a mess for sure. Pilchard is not shy about peeing on things if she feels the boxes aren't clean enough for her. I can't imagine what I would have awakened to Saturday morning.

Things will be back to "abby-normal" probably by Wednesday for sure. There is more rain predicted for later in the week, but we can hope it's just the usual summer showers and not the overturned bucket kind of rain.

And to those who are wondering, I don't have friends or family directly affected by the Delhi Dam breaking. If you have not seen the video footage, I recommend watching it. We try to control Mother Nature and she reminds us that she will always have the upper hand.

Beverage: Dr Pepper.

Maybe I need a new one.

If you're a long-time blog reader, you know I've been teased about my "ancient" purse. I used to have 4 or 5 purses which I changed out based on outfit, weather, season, event. But, when I started working, the constant moving of a life from one bag to another became hugely frustrating. I'd learn where everything was and then change purses. You men have NO CLUE.

I was working at a book store and this woman came in with the best purse I had seen. The front zipped open to reveal places for money and credit cards, checkbook and pen. The back of it was just a pouch where she kept a comb, lipstick, coin purse and other items. The whole thing was about 3 inches thick. I wanted one.

I never found one. Instead, I got the brown leather purse everyone teases me about now.

Well, over Memorial Day, I noticed the gaping hole you see to the right. The stitching has come apart. I looked around the purse and there are a few more places where the stitching is slowly coming undone. After 10 odd years, it might be time for a new purse. I could take it to Paul's Shoe Service in downtown Glen Ellyn and he'd probably fix it for me. But I wonder if the cost of fixing the purse might not be the same as buying new on sale? The other thing is, if I get a new purse, I have to learn where everything is again. Again, you men have NO CLUE.

What to do, what to do? I can't afford a new purse right now, anyway, but I also can't afford to get this one fixed right now. Maybe in another week that will happen, but not now. Plus, if I take the purse in, I have nothing to replace it with while it's getting fixed. A plastic bag just doesn't cut it.

Beverage: grape pomegranate juice

Deb

That's one way to get me out of bed.

Off the "Breaking News" wire...

Two stalled freight trains in separate western suburbs this morning blocked multiple rail crossings, causing big problems for Metra commuters trying to get to train stations, according to commuters and authorities. But both problems were cleared up by about 7:45 a.m.

A train stalled with mechanical problems in Western Springs on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Line was moving again as of 7:05 a.m. Multiple rail crossings in Western Springs had been blocked, but traffic now is moving freely in the area, said Police Sgt. Mark Battista.

The problem in Glen Ellyn cleared up about 40 minutes later. Metra said commuters were unable to board either inbound or outbound trains there. Trains were still running on schedule, however.

The freight train in Glen Ellyn was blocking automobile traffic for a two-mile stretch, according to a police dispatcher there. She said the train had broken down shortly after 5 a.m.

According to the TV news, the train's locomotive was across the Park Avenue crossing in Glen Ellyn and then stretched back west for 2 miles. That puts the end of the train across the College Avenue crossing which is 4 blocks from my house. So, what you do to provide good coverage is send your helicopter to fly over the line. You have it circle around and fly east to west and west to east. In flying west to east, it flies over my house. The air overpressure from the sound of a low flying helicopter rattles my house and scares my cats which makes Mija jump when she's lying next to me. As helicopters flying over one's house is not a usual occurrence, it forces me to get out of bed to see what's going on.

Oh well, I was at the office 10 minutes early today.

Beverage: Christmas Blend tea

Deb

Sunburn and 60 mph winds--long

Hot tea and the rest of a package of Tuxedoes pseudo-Oreo cookies never tasted so good. What an incredible 48 hours I have had.

It started at 9:10 a.m. Friday, June 19th. I'm sitting at my kitchen table putting the finishing touches on a piece of foam core which has materials printed off the Clan Thompson web site. It's just for information purposes and to make the table look filled. I hear a siren. Now, I live very close to the College Avenue commuter train station in Wheaton and they have one of those lightning sirens. If lightning is in the area, that siren goes off. But as this siren was joined by 3 others, that's the tornado siren. I'm not dressed, mind you. I took the day off so I could go to the games and set up the tent without dragging everything from the parking lot so I haven't been up but an hour. I looked outside and the wind was blowing but I couldn't see anything that looked "tornado-ish". Hop on the Internet.

A tornado warning had, indeed been issued for Lake in the Hills, Crystal Lake and points east of there. A tornado had been spotted heading for the ground up there, but that's a good 40 miles from me. Jon was on Yahoo Messenger and said no sirens went off at the office, a mere 2 miles from me. Curious. The warning expires but the heavy storms rumble through about an hour later. High winds and rain, but no hail. I debated on putting up the tent Friday night as the weather was to breed more.

The storms were passed by noon and I know they appreciate clans being around on Friday night. So, I set up my tent and sat back to wait for the few people I knew would come by.

The Oakbrook Polo Grounds are adjacent to Butler National Golf Course. At 6:10 p.m., their lightning sirens went off. It had grown cloudy, semi-ominous. The heat from the day was churning the clouds as I sat and watched. The polo grounds has a reasonable ability to slough off water, but it was still exceptionally muddy and soggy. I chose not to wear the kilt Friday night and wore tan pants. I may have to soak the hems to get out the mud and dirt. I decided to pack it in for the night with that warning as they will be quiet insistent that people get under grounded tents so no one is going to wander looking at clan tents.

At 6:35 p.m., the PA announcer issued a more ardent plea for people to move to a grounded tent. By now, in the southwest, brief flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance. It still didn't look that ominous. I lowered the tent to just above the table, put everything under the table, either in plastic bins or on top of the bins and took with me, anything I didn't want getting wet.

It was starting to sprinkle when I reached the car. It really appeared to be heading south of the event although the sky was streaked with spider web lightning. I headed home. Now, it's a good 15 minute drive from the Polo Grounds to my house. Part of the route takes me by my office. As I crested the hill adjacent to the office, heading west on Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn, I drove into the teeth of a gale. The sky and road and landscape went gray. I could see the taillights of the minivan in front of me, but nothing else, not even street lights. Fortunately, I know the road intimately. I put on 4-wheel drive, slowed to 20 and just moved west. I was never, ever scared, even though the wind driven rain is horizontal and my wipers cannot keep up with it. The only thing that crossed my mind was, would I see anything being blown by the storm before it hit me?

The nucleus of the storm was over in 5 minutes and then the sky to the west brightened. I drove onward, turning north off Roosevelt to go to the house. There were branches down all over the place which turned the drive into an obstacle course. I got home and on the front porch was the box full of items I'd ordered to sell at the tent on Saturday. It's a pretty good box. It has not disintegrated in spite of getting soaked last night and sitting on wet ground today.

I checked the radar and saw that the very bad stuff was north of me and I am, in turn, north of the festival. There was a band of yellow, which is not good, heading over the venue but maybe it won't be as bad as we think.

At 9:15 p.m., I received a call from one of the clan organizers saying he's not sure, but my tent might have been blown over. I thought about the few things I had left. Well, if the tent is gone but everything else is okay, I will be happy.

This morning, I arrived at 7 a.m. to this:

I had done a superb job of anchoring the tent into the ground. But 60 mph horizontal winds had come through, attempted to lift it off and then decided to flatten it instead. The table is wet. Those white chairs are wet. My green captain's chair was a bit wet but everything behind it, which was two plastic bins, was dry.

You should know, dear reader, that on Thursday night, I slept "wrong" on my right arm and the wrist bothered me all day Friday. Today, I wrapped the hand and wrist so as not to aggravate whatever it was I had injured. So, I'm already at a disadvantage when I arrive. They are refusing to allow people to bring cars onto the grounds as they were, if possible, more muddy than Friday. Some vendor tents had been uprooted and carried onto the golf course or turned into bowling balls, mowing down tents in their path. Volunteers had removed the twisted tents they could but weren't sure if mine was salvageable. I surveyed the tent and decided the only way to know was to get it up again. Enter Clan Young.

Now this clan is the epitome of a biker group. Their motto is "We Ride" and their members show up in Harley gear or black leather with Clan Young crests painted on the back. They give weapon demonstrations and are generally looked at over one's glasses. Their tents had withstood the onslaught with the exception of some ties tearing. They set everything back up and came over to my tent en masse. Four of them grabbed a leg and we righted the ship but two of the aluminum legs were bent. Some of the cross sides were snapped at the screws holding them together. Not to worry. One of them headed over to the pile of ruined tent frames and grabbed pieces. Using copious amounts of duct tape, we got the tent up and standing. Let it never be said that the Scots aren't resourceful.

I decided NOT to raise the tent to it's highest point. People would just have to duck. But it was up and functional and the fact that it was clear as a bell and would be 88° today meant I NEEDED a tent to stay cool.

The only problem was the wind. It was still windy today, although not nearly as windy as last night. What is it with large open areas? I have been in rock quarries in August where the surrounding area is still as a hunting cat but you drive out onto the face of a rock quarry and there's a 20 mph wind? Not a breeze, mind you, a wind to the point of not being able to talk, it's that strong. There was a wind today, about 15-20 mph. At 10:15 a.m., the tent started leaning a bit, to the left in this photo, where the sides had been damaged. A gust came through, the thing gave a shudder and down it came. I was standing to the left holding onto the closest leg. That's not one which was bent. That large framed item is the old map I was telling you about. I got it framed on Thursday night and it looks marvelous, really draws people in.

To say I was discouraged would be an understatement. People showed up from all over to help move the frame off my table. One of the bent legs snapped and another side snapped. It was clear there was no tent for me today. I wrapped up the top and a volunteer helped me bend the frame into a transportable piece. He then dragged it over to the pile of other frames which would be tossed. I started packing up my stuff. I know people here. Indeed to the right are clans Wallace and Young. I know the people in Clans Pollack, MacLeod and Douglas. Several Sinclairs, to my left, came running including their North American chief. Their clan chief was in attendance today, all the way from Scotland, for their annual meeting. Nice chap who played a mean bagpipe. But how could I ask any of these people to share a space with me? I just felt I would come home and consider the games a wash. I know a number of people within the Illinois St. Andrew Society, too. But they didn't have extra tents because what they had was being used.

I'm packing things up and Mary Ellen Ashton from Clan Wallace says, "Where do you think you're going?" "I'm going home. I can't sit outside on a day like this with no shade." Her husband Peter says, "You will do nothing of the sort. You will turn your table sideways and you'll share our space." So, after clearing away the damaged frame, he and Jim from his clan, turned my table sideways and we formed Thompson & Wallace.

That's Peter and Jim in the background. I was back in business. I actually sold a button, that's all, but I sold a button after being moved sideways.

Once again, it got hot and with all the water on the ground, steamy. I was fine until it came time for the parade of tartans. In the past, I've always had a bunch of people to walk with me, but several regulars didn't come this year. I'm sure the weather played a part. So, it was just me walking with the flag. I didn't mind. I happily represent my clan and if I walk alone, I walk alone. Mary Ellen said people will stop what they are doing and stand 5-6 deep to watch the parade of clans. So, if I'm alone, it just means I'm more visible. Here I am after the parade. That's when I got the sunburn because they tell you to start lining up at 12:10 intending for the the parade to step off at 12:30 and it never does so you're standing in the bright sun.

I started taking the tent down at 5:30 p.m. I hauled what I could to the car and then helped Clan Wallace pack up their stuff. Cars were not allowed onto the field until 7 although that wasn't enforced very well. They had people driving golf carts but trying to get one when you were ready was difficult. Peter managed to get his car so we could start packing and THEN a gal in a cart came by and could ferry me and my last two bins, which I could not carry, to the car. I came home and left everything in the car except for my purse. The cats were very, very happy to see me. The AC was on so the house was cool. I took a shower and am so ready, now, for bed.

I am always glad I go even though this year, I lost my tent frame and I really cannot afford to replace it right now. I need to watch end of season sales for a new tent. The top is in perfect condition so if I can get the same kind, I'd have a spare top.

So, that's been my last 48 hours. My wrist seems to be better. I am so looking forward to a long sleep. I think I will take some aspirin and not wake up until 10 a.m., except to feed the cats so they leave me alone.

Beverage: English Teatime

Deb