Odds and ends
Did the Mandel Legal Clinic seminar as always in September. The last weekend of September/first weekend in October, friends and I drove up to Wisconsin to do some Frank Lloyd Wright sightseeing. First to Madison to check out Monona Terrace: 
and drove by some other buildings there. Then to Spring Green, where we did the estate tour of Taliesin. No interior photos allowed, but I got a slew of the exterior. (See here.)
Then my cousin came in from San Francisco and my older sister from Cleveland, and we did the town. Took the Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise, went to an Esperanza Spalding concert, took Betty to a bunch of bookstores (yes, it runs in the family!) The night Betty arrived, she and I had dinner at an Italian small-plate restaurant near her hotel (she couldn't stay with me as her allergies won't tolerate my cat), and had a really yummy salad: Brussels sprout leaves, Granny Smith apple slices, and pumpkin seeds, with a very light vinaigrette. I plan to try to replicate it.
The next week, I drove down to Springfield to speak at the semi-annual Public Defender Association meeting, got back Saturday afternoon, and flew off to Washington, D.C. the next day for a program put on by the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Center, designed for senior board members and staff of non-profit arts organizations. It was totally amazing, both in terms of content (lots of good information and advice) and organization (probably the best organized conference I've ever attended). Then this past weekend, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers had a meeting here in Chicago. At least that one I could take the bus to!
I'm thinking about a quick trip to NYC. More people have been raving about Warhorse, and I could do that and something at the Met (maybe Rodelinda for a Handel fix).
And I need to change some other theatre tickets. The BC convention in Dublin starts on April 13, and I have tickets to both parts of Angels in America on the 11th. So I wouldn't be able to fly out until the 12th, which means I'd arrive on the day of. Either before or after Dublin, I want to go to Scotland (particularly Glasgow, to have tea).
My sister wants to go to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which I'm always up for, and I just got an email that Casa Italiana is planning a 13-day trip to Sicily in late June.
I think my luggage is going to get a work-out!
I was supposed to be taking a class at the Newberry on Renaissance "How-to" books, but not enough people registered, so it got cancelled.
The Chicago Jazz Fest and the Hyde Park Jazz Festival were both amazing, despite a bit of rain at each.
My vacuum cleaner, which was 35 years old, bit the dust, so I went out and bought a Dyson. I like the machine, but the instructions are awful. I cannot stand owners' manuals that are entirely (or almost entirely) in line drawings. I actually had to call their support number in order to get the thing assembled properly.
American Express is certainly on the ball. They called this morning about what appeared to be unauthorized charges that had just occurred. (They were right - I never shop at either of the two places.) So they cancelled the card and are overnighting me a new one.
Teatro Vista's production of Momma's Boyz just opened in previews. We're having a party after next Sunday's performance. One of our members has been nominated for a Jeff Award, so I'll be going to that party. A lot of ensemble members are doing shows around town, and I'm trying to get to as many as I can. On top of that, if anyone subscribes to the Starz network, watch Boss. Unlike many shows and films purportedly set in Chicago, it's actually filmed here, and is giving a good deal of work to Chicago actors, including some TV ensemble members and our artistic director's girl friend! So go help the ratings!
Yesterday, I went up to the Chicago History Museum to check out the most amazing exhibit: Charles James: Genius Deconstructed. They actually gave some of the pieces CAT scans to see how they were built. Also saw the Out in Chicago exhibit, a walk through the history of LGBT Chicago.
It's a good thing I'm retired and can sleep late. (Well, not so late. Lilith is better than any alarm clock. 7:00 a.m. sharp, she's patting my face, demamding that I get up and feed her!)
and drove by some other buildings there. Then to Spring Green, where we did the estate tour of Taliesin. No interior photos allowed, but I got a slew of the exterior. (See here.)
Then my cousin came in from San Francisco and my older sister from Cleveland, and we did the town. Took the Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise, went to an Esperanza Spalding concert, took Betty to a bunch of bookstores (yes, it runs in the family!) The night Betty arrived, she and I had dinner at an Italian small-plate restaurant near her hotel (she couldn't stay with me as her allergies won't tolerate my cat), and had a really yummy salad: Brussels sprout leaves, Granny Smith apple slices, and pumpkin seeds, with a very light vinaigrette. I plan to try to replicate it.
The next week, I drove down to Springfield to speak at the semi-annual Public Defender Association meeting, got back Saturday afternoon, and flew off to Washington, D.C. the next day for a program put on by the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Center, designed for senior board members and staff of non-profit arts organizations. It was totally amazing, both in terms of content (lots of good information and advice) and organization (probably the best organized conference I've ever attended). Then this past weekend, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers had a meeting here in Chicago. At least that one I could take the bus to!
I'm thinking about a quick trip to NYC. More people have been raving about Warhorse, and I could do that and something at the Met (maybe Rodelinda for a Handel fix).
And I need to change some other theatre tickets. The BC convention in Dublin starts on April 13, and I have tickets to both parts of Angels in America on the 11th. So I wouldn't be able to fly out until the 12th, which means I'd arrive on the day of. Either before or after Dublin, I want to go to Scotland (particularly Glasgow, to have tea).
My sister wants to go to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which I'm always up for, and I just got an email that Casa Italiana is planning a 13-day trip to Sicily in late June.
I think my luggage is going to get a work-out!
I was supposed to be taking a class at the Newberry on Renaissance "How-to" books, but not enough people registered, so it got cancelled.
The Chicago Jazz Fest and the Hyde Park Jazz Festival were both amazing, despite a bit of rain at each.
My vacuum cleaner, which was 35 years old, bit the dust, so I went out and bought a Dyson. I like the machine, but the instructions are awful. I cannot stand owners' manuals that are entirely (or almost entirely) in line drawings. I actually had to call their support number in order to get the thing assembled properly.
American Express is certainly on the ball. They called this morning about what appeared to be unauthorized charges that had just occurred. (They were right - I never shop at either of the two places.) So they cancelled the card and are overnighting me a new one.
Teatro Vista's production of Momma's Boyz just opened in previews. We're having a party after next Sunday's performance. One of our members has been nominated for a Jeff Award, so I'll be going to that party. A lot of ensemble members are doing shows around town, and I'm trying to get to as many as I can. On top of that, if anyone subscribes to the Starz network, watch Boss. Unlike many shows and films purportedly set in Chicago, it's actually filmed here, and is giving a good deal of work to Chicago actors, including some TV ensemble members and our artistic director's girl friend! So go help the ratings!
Yesterday, I went up to the Chicago History Museum to check out the most amazing exhibit: Charles James: Genius Deconstructed. They actually gave some of the pieces CAT scans to see how they were built. Also saw the Out in Chicago exhibit, a walk through the history of LGBT Chicago.
It's a good thing I'm retired and can sleep late. (Well, not so late. Lilith is better than any alarm clock. 7:00 a.m. sharp, she's patting my face, demamding that I get up and feed her!)