Road trip!

Entering the city

We took a road trip to Chicago in early January to see the holiday lights.  Ok, the trip was originally planned before Christmas but got snowed out.  So, my sweetie and I headed north on I-65 to the Windy City shortly after New Year's Day.









It was cold and snowy and bleak, but that didn't slow us down.  We were on a quest to explore the city!    From Water Tower Place to Michigan Avenue to Andersonville, we saw the sights...

Empty piers

Deserted lake front

Division Street

We enjoyed lunch at a little Italian restaurant called Rosebud on Rush.  Next we headed to the hotel a block off of Michigan Avenue and were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to a corner suite!  Hey, if this is a sign of things to come in the new year, I'll take it!  We were amazed at the view from the 33rd floor from Lake Michigan to an ice skating rink on top of one building to 2 large cow statues on the top of another.  They were on some type of grass roof...hey, I couldn't make this stuff up!

Grass fed?

We stopped at the adjoining Irish Pub for a couple of drinks to fortify us before some shopping.  Next we headed to Michigan Avenue and our first stop was Tiffany's.   Got to say that I love that place, and Mike surprised me with a beautiful necklace as a late Christmas gift.

Next stop was Water Tower Place which was still decorated for the holidays.  It was magical!

Escalators into Water Tower Place

And have you ever been in a Lego store?  Somehow Legos have come a long way from the tube boxes of Legos we had as kids.  The storefront was an amazing city scene!

And then there all these bins of different color Legos.  Who knew?

Bins of Legos

We bundled up and headed out for a long walk along Michigan Avenue to see the city lights. And they didn't disappoint...

Chicago skyline from Michigan Avenue

Chicago in winter whites

Toy soldier on display

And then there was a toy soldier and ornament...and a crazy Mikie and ornament!

And I don't know why...

The next day we headed North to Andersonville which had its' origins as a large Swedish town.  Nowadays it is a diverse community with beautiful old townhouses, lots of antique shops and eclectic restaurants.  We ate at a wonderful Persian restaurant with flat bread "as big as your head".  And we acquired a great antique bench which Mike squeezed into my Tiguan alongside the luggage and winter gear.

Speed hump?

Flat bread at Zera's

And we finally headed towards home at night fall enjoying a final view of the city.

After a busy holiday season, it was a great to have some time just for us!  It was a refreshing and fun start to the new year!

Diane

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

We enjoyed a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner with friends at the Possum Trot Restaurant near Danville, Illinois.  I know, I didn't want to eat there either after hearing the name, but the rack of ribs and pinot noir...Lovely!









We spent most of New Year's Day outdoors in a beautiful wooded property our friends just bought near Marshall, Illinois.  It was a cold, grey winter day, but we bundled up and enjoyed exploring the woods.  We hiked through the crunchy snow and found a beautiful creek at the back of the property.  I also experienced 4-wheeling in snow for the first time.  It was a blast!  We finished the day at Kim and Harley's house with a hot bowl of chili.  I can't think of a better way to start the new year!

Kevin and Mike

Ok, Taylyr wasn't really driving...

Kevin, Mike and Kathy

The next day we built a little smorgasbord in the backyard for our feathered friends.  And they love it! Never saw so many birds and so few squirrels (none so far).

We are resisting taking down the outdoor Christmas lights, but I notice the neighbors lights have been turned off.  I suppose we should at least turn them off.

Mike and I recently talked about our wishes for the new year.  Health for family, friends and ourselves was at the top of the list.   We are very happy to be closer to family, and look forward to great visits with family and friends.  Mike is excited about teaching at Rose-Hulman again in the Spring quarter.




And I look forward to writing, working in my studio and staying open to whatever new opportunities come my way.  And about the blogging, I think I'll keep going.  It's not exactly what I expected ( I thought I would be writing more about retirement stuff), but it's been such a great way to chronicle my daily life with a camera and a few words.  And when people tell me they smiled or laughed or enjoyed my writing, it's all worthwhile.  So thanks to my readers. I appreciate you joining me on this interesting new journey!

I hope you are excited about all the opportunities of the new year!
Diane

Wonderful family Christmas

Santa Mikie at work

After a whirlwind week of family Christmas fun,  I took a quick look back through pictures...

My gift from Santa-studio coming together

A few creations from my new studio...

Blizzard in Evansville

Evansville got about 11 inches of snow the day after Christmas, their 3rd highest snowfall in one day.    Mike, mom and I stayed inside and relaxed with a couple of games of Scrabble.  

Family in Cincinnati...Alex, Diane, mom, Pam Adam and Ange

Dane's favorite white elephant gift

We had a great white elephant gift exchange at Pam's.  We laughed  a lot as a few gifts were traded including the Snickers bar and the gumball machine.  Hopefully no hard feelings...

Ange, Gary and Peggy opening gifts at mom's

Mikie at the craft table

 Beads + cookie cutters + toaster oven = fine works of art

Beads

Beads in cookie cutters

Melting beads in toaster oven...what is wrong with this picture?

Bead Art

We thoroughly enjoyed the game "Catch Phrase".  We laughed so hard at the descriptions of songs and artists.  Eric's impression of Stevie Wonder will forever be etched in my head...

Adam 's turn at "Catch Phrase"

And I thought often about dad over the holidays. ...seeing the Pepsi ornament on the tree (dad was a route salesman for Pepsi for many years) and the "schmoo"(his favorite 'Lil Abner character)  ornament on his wreath.  When we heard one of his favorite songs, "Whiter Shade of Pale" while shopping at Jungle Jim's, it felt like he was with us...











And looking back at 2012, it was a great (though not always easy) year!  After months of hard work remodeling my house it sold within 2 months!

After 4 years of being married and living in different cities, I finally moved to Indy to live with my sweetie!  And I am starting to learn about this retirement thing...

We got to see the world this year...from Temeculah, CA to La Salina, Mexico to Big Sky, MT  to Kinsale, Ireland, each beautiful in its' own unique way.

California sunset

And we stepped forward into new technology...smart phones and smart television.  As Mike says, hopefully they aren't smarter than us.  And Direct TV entered our house in Brownsburg!  YEAH for the the Weather Channel, CNN and HGTV!  And then there is watching Mike text.  I never thought I would see the day he would type "LOL"...

We had some wonderful visits with family and friends throughout the year.  And whether folks live in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Montana or Mexico, we are fortunate to have such great people in our lives.   Thanks to all of you for making this such a great year!

Happy 2013!
Diane

Busy holidays

Like most folks, it's been a busy holiday season.  Mike and I are blessed this year to be in one house in one city which gives us lots of time to spend with family and friends. And that's what we've been doing.

Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL

We toured the Fischer Theatre in Danville, Illinois where Mike watched movies as a kid. It's on the National Historic Register and will take millions of dollars to restore, but it wasn't difficult to imagine this building in its' heyday.

The theatre is said to be  haunted, and when Mike's friend Jake gave us a tour under the stage, it seemed about 15 degrees colder than the rest of the building.  I don't know, something about being led on an underground tour with flashlights and cell phone lights made me a bit nervous...

We also attended Jake's book release party at the local library.  I am reading one of his books now, an historical fiction book about D.B. Cooper.  He is an up and coming author, and this year one of his books was a runner up for a national book award and is being considered for a movie.

We celebrated my mom's 81st birthday at our house...

Mom and Alex busy with cookies

Pam and Alex

and baked cookies with sister Pam and niece Alex.













We visited my niece Diane and her daughter Alice.

Mom with her great grand daughter Alice and grand daughter Diane

We attended the Indiana Wind Symphony's Holiday Concert and enjoyed our friend John playing percussion.  We planned to hook up with our friend Ed and his daughters after the concert. Imagine our surprise when we realized they were in the seats right next to us, and other friends were in the seats in front of us.

And I joined in the final "Boys Night Out" dinner of the year at a local dive called The Red Key.  Hey, you can't go wrong with chili and cheese burgers!

And a Chicago weekend with Kevin and Kathy to see the Christmas lights was derailed by our first blizzard. Funny how snow and 50 mph winds can convince you to stay put in your own home.  We made the best of it with a movie, great meals and shopping.  For the first time I watched an Iowa blizzard from a distance, and it felt really weird.

So the gifts aren't wrapped yet, and there's lots of cooking to do for Christmas, but hey there are a couple of days left for all of that.  We wouldn't trade a single moment with family and friends...

Diane

Enjoying the holidays

Christmas cactus

I love this holiday season filled with family and friends...

During a lovely Thanksgiving celebration at Pam and George's house in Cincinnati, we had a wonderful sojourn to the arboretum...

Me and mom

Thomas theTank Engine

Amazing orchids

Me and Mike

And then there was also a great Thanksgiving Day with George's family...

Mom and Joan (George's mom)

Scrabble with George, mom and Pam


And some craft work...

Pam, Alex, mom and me

Felt trees with beads

And then decorating for Christmas...

Christmas tree hoisted out of the attic (Mike's idea, what can I say?)

Decorated tree

Mantle...including reindeer by Craig and trees by me...

Outdoor decorations

And as if if Christmas decorating and gifts and parties weren't enough, I decided on some painting and decorating...

Wendy making a decision on fabric

Seems like there is time this year to enjoy family and friends and decorating.  And if we don't get it done today, there's tomorrow. Somehow this is how I expected retirement to be...

Diane