One Scheme of Happiness

What Are You Looking At?

 

Mineminemine...mine!

Lighthouse Off of the Navy Pier, Chicago

 

And suddenly I desire a boat drink...

Queens of the Feast

When Mom visited me here on my Chicago assignment, we feasted.  Medieval style, I mean, at the Medieval Times.

 

First we found a castle.

 

Who knew one could stumble upon a castle on the outskirts of Chicago?

 

(well, some of us do our homework and find out about these things...)

 

Our meal commenced with freshly poured "dragon's blood soup (methinks that dragon frequented a tomato patch with some regularity). 

 

Next, spicy dragon bread with garlic.

 

There then erupted much fanfare and smoke...

 

...knights and villains...

 


...and dancing ponies.

 

Soon, roasted chickens baby dragons were plopped before us.  No cutlery.  Some tough little potatoes.  Medieval style, I tell you.

 

(I was sure that the free-flying hawk would swoop in for a sample, but he was far better behaved than that.)

Cheesy and silly?  Yes!  Plot?  Who said anything about a plot?  Or acting skills, for that matter?  No one said this was high theatre or anything.

But fun - such fun.  And exciting.  And a perfect royal evening for my mom and me.

The Food: very kid-friendly.  Easy to eat with your hands (and luckily they provided wet-naps).  Plenty of it.  Don't wear any feast-finery.

The Drinks: Beverages in the lobby waiting area were insanely priced ($25 for a beer????)  Inside, sodas were free.  Our bartender was so very slow that I never got a chance to order my inside, normal-priced adult beverage so I endured this whole shebang dead-sober.

The Show: too much Shakespeare-style prose recited by actors to don't understand what they are saying to children who don't have a clue what they are talking about anyway.  More horses, please!

Another Week: Someone Does Not Approve

 

Oh, Monday.  I don't even know what to do with you any more.

Old Friends and Celebrations

 

Ben, Gabi and Evan have been best friends since the met in Kindergarten.  The last time we were all together was at Evan's wedding to Lisa years ago, out in Santa Monice.

A lot has happened since then.  Gabi and his wife, Jolie, live in Beverly Hills and have two daughters: Sidney...

 

...and Annie!

 

Evan and Lisa moved back to Utah with 6 year-old Mia...

 

...and baby Max!

 

We, of course, brought little Doolin over to meet everyone.  He joined the dogs, Rocky and Adrianne, as we spent the afternoon in long-awaited meet-up in Salt Lake City.

 

We had lots to celebrate.  Doolin turned one-year-old on August 6!  What a big boy he is!

 

Happy Birthday Doo!

He and the other four-footed guests feasted on puppy-cakes studded with cheese and bacon.

 

We two-footers settled for rainbow cupcakes and had an early celebration of Gabi's birthday.

 

(complete with trick candles)

 

Of course, there was pizza and salad and chips and all kinds of other exciting party grub.

 

The boys remembered why they've been friends all this time, while the rest of us got to know each other just a little bit better.

 

Doolin shared his puppy-cakes...

 

What a good boy you are, Doo!

 

The girls shared cupcakes and playtime.

 

I wish these friends weren't all so very far away.

 

FO: Basic Blue Basketweave

 

While on vacation in Utah, we finished another baby blanket!  Good thing too, as the baby boy was born just three days before we knit the last stitch.  Now to get this little treat out in the mail.

(The blanket, I mean - the puppy stays with me.)

This one is all natural slubby cotton, soft and machine wash and dry. 

The Life of a Traveling Pup

Doolin is here with us in Utah for our visit.  He's turned into quite the good little traveler! 

He did just fine on the airplane, but it's car rides that really work for him.

For example, here is some hard-core puppy travel effort in play as we head down from spending a night at the cabin in Emigration Canyon.

 

What form!  Eyes closed, paws dangling over the boy's arm.  Sweet little nose poking out, begging for kisses.  Wee pup snores jangling as background music as the highway skids past under our wheels.

Yes, this pup knows his travel technique these days. Also, I suspect we've completely worn him out.

Sharing the Pizza Love

As soon as my Mommy arrived, I whisked her right away for a Chicago tradition.

 
She doesn't suspect a thing....

Well, what do you think we did?  I suspect you won't have to use all three of your guesses.

Deep dish pizza like this doesn't exist where she's from.  Also, calling it "pizza" is ridiculous - this is a casserole.  A yummy casserole.  You Chicago folk need to come on over to NYC to see what pizza looks and tastes like...

 

She is a brave one and did not hesitate when faced with cheesy, garlicky slabs of pizza-like food.

 

We both nibbled away at it but still had lots to take back to the hotel room fridge for later.

 

Lunch!

Mom loved the pizza casserole as much as I do.  What a fun way to start her visit!

Knit Break ~ Starbucks

So even though my mom was in town, I had to work here and there.  While zooming through the streets of the city, Starbucks was our salvation when work emails attacked, offering an oasis of 2pm discounted coffee drinks, free WiFi and an air conditioned space for mom to sit and relax while I typed away at client stuff.

I did take a break here and there to knit a row while waiting for responses.

 

This thick cotton is tougher to wrangle than my usual wee strands.  And somehow it doesn't seem to be knitting up that much quicker...must knit faster...this baby was born two days ago!  And the blanket is growing far to large for travel knitting.

Mom in Chicago! We Go to Jasper's

Last week, my mom visited me in Chicago, where I'm working these days.  I stayed the weekend there, instead of heading home, so we could explore together.

We had all sorts of adventures, rambling the city and neighborhoods.  I'll tell you all about them in bits and parts, since I'm on vacation again (in Utah this time) and my time is limited.  But let's start with breakfast!

 

One of our first stops was at a little breakfast cafe called Jasper's.

 

We just passed by on happenstance and thought it looked cute.  It was empty inside (which made me a but suspicious, but it was only 6:15am after all) and the food turned out to be absolutely delicious!

I ordered a special house "skillet."

 

Eggs over-easy on top of hash browns, vegetables and cheese.  And it came with a side of pancakes.

 

I could't even begin to finish it all, but I made a dent.  I can't wait to take Ben there whenever he comes for a visit!

Mommy had a waffle and she loved it.  (I had a taste and she ordered well.)

 

More adventures to come!  Wave to Mom!  She's reading over here these days.