More holiday fun.
Christmas morning, and the usual exchange of presents. Only one book for me! But it's a beauty: Bookmarks, an exhibition catalogue. Cathy also gave me a subscription to Kateigaho International Edition, a magazine of Japanese arts and culture, and some lovely paper she bought when she was in Japan. Stacey gave me a pair of black velvet gloves and a black velvet scarf with embroidered roses. And, of course, we had the usual joke presents.
The weather was very nice - about 40ºF, no wind and the sun was out. So Cathy and I decided to go over to the Wooded Island for a walk. When it is cold and the leaves are gone, it is an entirely different experience. You can see the bones of the trees and bushes, and the dead limbs are no longer buried in creeping greenery. If you pay attention, you find all sorts of curious shapes. I was completely intrigued by the ice - the different colors and textures, and the way it formed on the lagoons and the ponds:
Then we came home, and just hung out until it was time for dinner. The leg of lamb was excellent, as was everything else.
Boxing Day:
We decided to go to the Garfield Park Conservatory, where they are having their annual holiday show. The title this year is "Let it snow, let it grow", with white and silver plants and ornaments in the Show room. I'm not a big fan of poinsettias, but this variety, called "Winter Rose White", is utterly gorgeous!
Then we walked down to the Garfield Park Fieldhouse, a rather exuberant Spanish Baroque Revival building:
(There's some work going on; hence the scaffolding in front of the entrance.)
Lunch at a favorite noodle place in the neighborhood and a visit to Powell's Books, then back home. I made a classic chocolate pudding to take to Victor & Paul's for dinner. Paul had the day off (he works retail at a gourmet wine-and-food shop, so they are always crazy busy at the holidays)! We had Victor's mac-and-cheese (they save up the scrag ends of gourmet cheeses - this is not Kraft!), so it was an old-style comfort food meal all the way around. Victor will be on sabbatical the next academic year (2008-09) and is planning to spend it in Macedonia doing research. So we talked about my sisters and me going over there, perhaps in the spring of '09, and, with V. as a guide and translator, visiting the village where my father was born.
Yesterday:
Cathy headed back to San Francisco yesterday. There was enough lamb left over so she could fix herself a nice sandwich and make everyone else on the plane jealous. ;-)) Before she left, she gave us each a 2008 calendar. It's an advertising calendar for Pearl® Soymilk, with a different drink recipe for each month, all of which Cathy developed.
Then Stacey and I went to visit some friends. We checked out their new digs (they've moved from a big loft downtown to a smaller apartment in Pilsen (ex-Czech, ex-Polish, currently mostly Mexican neighborhood), and we all went out to Greektown to eat. (Stacey doesn't like Mexican food, or we'd have gone somewhere in the neighborhood.)
This morning, Stacey went to the dentist, and I'm home catching up, watching the fluffy snowflakes, and waiting for the 4"-6" to hit. (I had to warn Stacey to move her car, as she had parked right in front of my house - a great spot, except it's a snow route, which means no parking if there's over 2" of the stuff.) I think I'll go run a couple of errands before much more comes down.
The weather was very nice - about 40ºF, no wind and the sun was out. So Cathy and I decided to go over to the Wooded Island for a walk. When it is cold and the leaves are gone, it is an entirely different experience. You can see the bones of the trees and bushes, and the dead limbs are no longer buried in creeping greenery. If you pay attention, you find all sorts of curious shapes. I was completely intrigued by the ice - the different colors and textures, and the way it formed on the lagoons and the ponds:
Then we came home, and just hung out until it was time for dinner. The leg of lamb was excellent, as was everything else.
Boxing Day:
We decided to go to the Garfield Park Conservatory, where they are having their annual holiday show. The title this year is "Let it snow, let it grow", with white and silver plants and ornaments in the Show room. I'm not a big fan of poinsettias, but this variety, called "Winter Rose White", is utterly gorgeous!
Then we walked down to the Garfield Park Fieldhouse, a rather exuberant Spanish Baroque Revival building:
(There's some work going on; hence the scaffolding in front of the entrance.)
Lunch at a favorite noodle place in the neighborhood and a visit to Powell's Books, then back home. I made a classic chocolate pudding to take to Victor & Paul's for dinner. Paul had the day off (he works retail at a gourmet wine-and-food shop, so they are always crazy busy at the holidays)! We had Victor's mac-and-cheese (they save up the scrag ends of gourmet cheeses - this is not Kraft!), so it was an old-style comfort food meal all the way around. Victor will be on sabbatical the next academic year (2008-09) and is planning to spend it in Macedonia doing research. So we talked about my sisters and me going over there, perhaps in the spring of '09, and, with V. as a guide and translator, visiting the village where my father was born.
Yesterday:
Cathy headed back to San Francisco yesterday. There was enough lamb left over so she could fix herself a nice sandwich and make everyone else on the plane jealous. ;-)) Before she left, she gave us each a 2008 calendar. It's an advertising calendar for Pearl® Soymilk, with a different drink recipe for each month, all of which Cathy developed.
Then Stacey and I went to visit some friends. We checked out their new digs (they've moved from a big loft downtown to a smaller apartment in Pilsen (ex-Czech, ex-Polish, currently mostly Mexican neighborhood), and we all went out to Greektown to eat. (Stacey doesn't like Mexican food, or we'd have gone somewhere in the neighborhood.)
This morning, Stacey went to the dentist, and I'm home catching up, watching the fluffy snowflakes, and waiting for the 4"-6" to hit. (I had to warn Stacey to move her car, as she had parked right in front of my house - a great spot, except it's a snow route, which means no parking if there's over 2" of the stuff.) I think I'll go run a couple of errands before much more comes down.