Dr. Frankencookie

Jason is the Tim Burton of Christmas cookies.

Natural Beauty

A yellow-rumped warbler is hanging out on the ledges of the herbarium windows this morning. He or she has been chirping, pooping, pooping, chirping on them since about 8. It is now 9:30. I got very close to the window and watched her until she flew away; she’s come back a few times since.

In consequence, all the electrons in my body have gone crazy-wild with excitement. My brain is filled with curiosity and awe. What a feeling! And the best part: it’s going to last for hours. One little bird! I guess the things I find most beautiful and special in the world reside in nature….

But there is one exception:

Whenever I’m with Kelly, similar feelings tend to arise in me. She is the first, and only, person to achieve such a distinct level of my admiration. Some people call their significant others angels from heaven. Kelly is not an angel from heaven. She is an angel from God’s green earth, as unique and beautiful as anything Mother Nature has ever come up with.

Brews Brothers

Went to the Two Brothers Microbrew, Warrenville's best kept secret. The place is buried in a weirdly placed office park, no sign out front, only the beer trucks and the grain silo give it away (and the fact that our friends Jamie and Joel called to tell us what to look for). It was a good time. Had a delish lunch followed by a brewery tour where Joel asked weird questions like "Have you ever had a stuck sparge?" and afterwards we tasted. Kelly's favorite was the Avalon, more of a hard apple cider. I think Jason liked the Domaine DuPage best, but he can correct me. The brews mostly had neat local-sounding names. I asked our guide what you need to become a brewmaster, and he said, "A lot of money." Very interesting tour.

Geneva Christmas Walk

We met up with Jamie and Joel for dinner at Old Town then went to the annual Geneva Christmas walk. It was so cold that we saw a polar bear migrating south. All the shops were open late. We tried cinnamon roll and cranberry tea from the new tea shop in town. And we snagged some roasted chestnuts. I had to get an explanation of how to eat them (good thing, because I wouldn't have known you're supposed to peel them). We went and checked out the holiday tree in front of the courthouse and met up with Scott and Kim.

Then we headed directly the Graham's for the highlight -- candy cane pull. We obsessively watched the entire process, which probably for the most part involved staring at a giant lump of molten sugar while it cooled to just the right temperature. We got to try some of the wares, hot off the press. The video below is funny because you can hear people speculating about what the candymen are doing. The dude in the white coat is basically pulling the candy about a zillion times on a humongous hook mounted on the wall. We figure this is what gives candy canes their distintive satiny texture. Then they take this lump, stick green and red stripes on it, and you get this huge candy cane that's the size and thickness of a loaf of bread. Then they stretch it, which looks like the fun part.

We caught the very tale end of the live nativity (basically the cast walking back into the church), but there was in fact a pony. Sweet. And then we hit a few shops, the most fun being the Little Traveler, in which Kelly got lost.

Book Signing, Chalk Drawings, Turkey, Spoons, Dim Sum

The Saturday after Thanksgiving. I went to pick up Jason at his first book signing gig. It was at the Geneva Historical Society. When I arrived I got the most handsome author there to sign a book of his own poetry, gushing the entire time how much I loved his poetry. The author asked me out on a date. Jason did not get jealous, because this was of course him. I arrived a little early and Jason suggested I go for a little walk up and down the main drag of Geneva, to see some interesting chalk drawings on the sidewalk. Apparently during the night someone had come and written anti-commercialism messages on the sidewalks in pink chalk. Many of them had been erased, but they left "Love is Free" and "Save the Planet -- Save Your Money".

From there we drove to my aunt and uncle's house in Lansing where we Thanksgiving-ed with my dad's rather large and boisterous family. The night ended with the family tradition of playing spoons around the super long table in the basement. There were minimal injuries this year, though one person did leap over the table and do a nose-dive to grab a spoon off the floor that had fallen.

Then on Sunday we went to Chicago to meet up with some old/new friends. Kelly got reconnected with an old high school friend using Facebook, and we met up with her and her husband in the city. We got a "This Old House" style tour of their historic home that they are in the process of restoring, met their two sweet cats, and headed to Chinatown. We had Dim Sum for the first time, Sara's husband leading us through the ordering of delicious dumplings and such including the mysterious "shark fin" flavored ones, and then got a taste of Pearl Tea with tapioca pearls, yum. Sara and Brooke also introduced us to their Wii. Jason won boxing Kelly, and she thought the pain of losing would be the end of it, but the next day her arms hurt a heck of a lot. A good time was had by all.

Life is Good

Rascal skascal enjoying his freedom after Kelly had to leave town for work. He just loves having the whole apartment to himself!

P.S. - Come home soon Kelly, we both miss you. :)

Monster Bash

We had a little Halloween party for our friends. Every single guest came in costume, perhaps due to the subtle hints included in the invitation. Jason sadly couldn't make it. But I met this awesome bass-ass long-haired drummer guy and asked him to be my date for the night. I was most proud of the kick-butt brownie graveyard. I came up with the idea from the internet and long-hair executed it with pizazz. Apparently myself and Jason are buried together (although I die first) and also Mitch Hedberg is buried just one row back. Hopefully that means we all hang out in heaven.

We enjoyed the company of old friends and new. About 18 people crammed into a tiny apartment. And zero noise complaints from the neighbors, so I guess next year we'll have to try harder. Jason put together an excellent Halloween music mix that included Thriller, heavy metal, and Nightmare Before Christmas and Dexter tracks. Some people visiting from Spain totally dug our pumpkin art piece.

Pumpkin Picasso

So after I posted that gloriously plump blank canvas, I'm sure you've all been waiting with much anticipation to see how this one turns out. Well, we started out getting our creative juices flowing by sketching out some ideas, and then we dove in. Since we had no Halloween music to listen to, I picked out the closest thing possible. That's right. Sheryl Crow's "First Cut is the Deepest."






So you know who is responsible for what travesty -- Jason did the right eye, nose, and eyebrows. I did the right eye and the mouth. Then Jason signed it. This jack with preside over our Halloween Party, the Monster Bash, this weekend.

Celebrating Fall

This weekend we went on the extremely terrifying Haunted Hayride at Sonny Acres in West Chicago. Just before we boarded that hayride from Hades, we picked out an orange canvas on which to express our imagination. The selling point, as you can see, is the superior handle. According to my bathroom scale this engorged gourd weighs 19 lbs. Although I am sure this is a crude overestimate considering how much this scale informed me I weighed only a minute previously.

Door County

Our first sunset in Door County. We shared this little cove with a bunch of ducks while we watched the sun drop below Green Bay on a perfectly clear evening. That night clouds rolled in and rained on our tent, but we woke up to a perfectly dry campsite.















We took a pleasant hike around Eagle Terrace where the limestone bluffs of the Niagara Formation meet the bay. We saw common mergansers, double-breasted cormorants, and even a Bald Eagle made an appearance to confirm that we were indeed on his terrace.















Fall colors were in full bloom.














Here's some of those common mergansers. They had red heads and liked to pop under water.















Here I am at the Eagle Terrace overlook. We actually had to wait a while for the massive crowd of people to move so we could get a clear shot. I can't blame them -- the view was amazing. Also amazing -- the lady bug infestation. If you look closely in this pic you can probably see at least a million of them.















Some fall color and a view of the bay.




















Here's Jason at Cana Island, lookin' studly.















Exploring the cliffs on one of our hikes. Jason checks the ceiling to make sure it is sound for our new waterfront cave home.

This is the U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse in Sturgeon Bay. We walked waaaay out on the breakwater and saw giant monster fish that could eat Chicago.

Rohini and Jeeri's Wedding

The year 2008 has given us only one wedding, a well-earned respite after the 8 we went to last year! And it made Rohini and Jeeri's wedding today all the more special. Rohini is a friend of Kelly's from university.

It was the first chance Kelly got to see Jason in his studly suit this year. So she was definitely looking forward to it.

The day began with a comedy of errors for poor Jason. He started off the morning by stepping in dog poo, not realizing it, and tracking it into his apt. Then, on his way to Kelly's to go to the wedding, a screw with a bad attitude jumped off the pavement and impaled itself in his tire. Jason realized that his car "got screwed" and managed to make it home. Kelly drove to Geneva to pick him up to save some time. When she arrived, she discovered Jason's car now sporting the comic puny spare, the door to Jason's apt flung open and all fans going, his boot upside down in the sink with water pouring like Niagara down its sole and sides, and Jason struggling to remember the tie knot that he had perfected last year.

With a little help from YouTube, we were off. Only half an hour late after all that, we managed to slip in the back. Luckily Indian ceremonies are long, so we still got to see a lot, and sprinkle holy rice on the bride and groom. Many of Kelly's school friends had come in from out of town, and it was very special to see them and catch up a bit.

Kelly and Jason were seated at lucky table #18 (we needed it), which turned out to be unlucky because it was called dead last for dinner. But in the mean time, we enjoyed very much the dance routines performed by the couple's friends and family. Of special note was the neat ice sculpture, Rohini's beautiful red, gold and white saris, and the delicious dessert table that included a chocolate fondue fountain.

Kelly's favorite thing about Indian weddings are the saris. She thinks that there is nothing more festive than the kaleidoscope of a room full of people wearing them.

Beach Party

Our friends Susie and Tony invited us to a party at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Now, Gary Indiana is not the most wonderful (safe) destination in the Midwest, but the dunes are really nice. We started out the day with a nutritious breakfast at the Crispy Waffle in Romeoville. The prophetic writing on the wall was correct, it really is Wafflicious. Note -- do not look at the waffle chef mural too critically or you will realize there are many artistic problems with it. Then, off to Indiana. This was a brave journey for Jason and Kelly, since we have had nothing but bad luck in Indiana, every time we cross the border. But today was much improved.

We checked out the visitor center, where we scored another stamp in our National Parks Passport. Then we hit the state park for a hike on the dunes (hike #9). Note to selves -- next time bring bug spray. On the hike back we passed through some low-lying lands and were eaten alive by mosquitos. Kelly even got a bite on her palm. Yick. But the lake was beautiful. We saw butterflies and slid around in the sand.

Afterward, Susie had an ice cream craving and we all thought this was a fine idea, so we stopped in at DQ. Susie and Tony ordered the exact same items as us, which we didn't realize until they were delivered to our table. Maybe we are spending a little too much time together? ;) Then we had some time to kill before the party, so we went to Bass Pro Shop. This place is kind of like Disneyland for outdoors people, especially hunters and fishers. Jason got a new water bottle and Kelly a tarp to put out on her balcony for when she does stained glass, so that glass shards don't fall through the cracks and land on her downstairs neighbor's head.

Then it was off to the party, thrown by Susie's brother's friend. So Jason and I were pretty much crashers, though we met the host and he was very nice and welcoming. He had rented out the Gary Aquatorium, this historical concrete bath pavillion right on the Lake Michigan shore. We got there on the early side and scoped it all out. The place was built by one of the fathers of the prairie architecture movement, and it was a memorial to Chanute, one of the fathers of aviation. He had tested out his prototype wings on these very dunes, the same wings that were used by the Wright Brothers soon after on their first sucessful flight.

Three bands were lined up, all with friends or family of the host as members. The sun went down and the music cranked up. The party got lively. A kiddy pool was filled with ice and brewskies. The music was just about all covers, each band different. The last was the coolest. They had the most energy and they went for hours. They were called Liberty's Teeth. Susie and I got our boogie on. We especially liked this one guy, Tippy, that played the bagpipes for several songs. He was super friendly and joked around with everyone, and walked around in a bright red kilt. And, none of the band members felt particularly tied down to the stage area. They all wandered around and played and danced with people in the "audience". The party host wandered around with cans of bug spray and randomly sprayed the whole place down, keeping out the other uninvited guests. And we saw a very dramatic fight between two women that was a bit scary for a few moments, until one was dragged out kicking and yelling.

That night we slept on the beach, just outside of the Aquatorium. The party host had gotten permits from the city for people to do this. Jason and I sat out on the dark beach for a while, watching the moon reflected in the dark water, staring out into total pitch darkness. It was lovely falling asleep to the crashing waves, though a bit clammy. And we woke up to the sun baking our tent. And we got sand everywhere. Our conclusion -- camping on the beach is not as romantic as it sounds. But it's still fun.

Marion's Bday Party

Today we went to a birthday party for Jason's grandma, Marion. The only thing was ... Marion could not attend because she passed away when Jason was very young. So this was a memorial party, with pictures, special memories, and family coming in from out of town to get together. It was a pleasant day. We hung out in Jason's mom's botanical garden which should be profiled in a magazine or something. We got to play with Jade and Jasmine, the resident cats. And we met a couple of Jason's aunt and uncle's dogs, one a very barracuda-like chihuahua.

Later that evening we went to see Wall*E, the Pixar animated movie about the little trash compactor robot that saves the day. This was a really good movie, although a bit sad, because it shows how humans destroy the earth with their consumption.

Carnival of Carnivores

This was our 18-month anniversary day! We went out that night to Naperville Ribfest. We met up with our friends Rodney and Christina there.

It was still incredibly hot, but C and R had managed to score some prime real estate in the shade. Jason and I split a delicious rib sandwich and a huge plate of cheese fries. Yummers. We drove Rodney and Christina crazy using our "What's deep but not profound" riddle. We'll be surprised if they ever want to hang out with us again after that ... ;) Then we went to check out Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. We got up very close to the stage to the standing room only area. We were surrounded by people in leather, with tattoos and spikey hair. As we were listening, we all realized that we only knew one song by Joan Jett -- I Love Rock and Roll. Although a couple others rang some faint bells.

After they sang that song (wildly successful with the crowd), we ran off to see Foghat. We watched them for ages but those dorks never sang any of the songs we knew! Although we did thoroughly enjoy watching the lead singer sing into a fan with his long hair blowing around. Now I wonder -- why didn't his voice get distorted by that fan?

So we left -- and realized that we were going to need to wait like 2 hours for the line to get on a bus back to where we parked, so we walked back to our cars. Thanks to Rodney's super iPhone which provided us with directions.

We started out this day with an 18-month anniversary breakfast at the Egglectic Cafe in Wheaton. Then we headed to Batavia to save Jason's mom's cats from starving while she was visiting her sister out of town. The kitties were very happy to see us. Then we went for a bike ride around the Danada preserve in Wheaton. It was 85 degrees, no shade, we forgot water, and there are some good-sized hills. Desperately, we sought out a soda machine at the Danada equestrian center for some liquid refreshment, but it denied our dollar bills! We almost committed vending machineicide. We turned around pretty quickly, but we did do 6 miles total.