Chicago Pictures...some of them anyway

The face artwork in the Millenium Park, real people from Chiago's faces on these big screen things.
Sears tower etc view from the stairs of the Field Museum.

The back of the face artwork and the other face artwork (face all glowy white because I managed to snap this while it was changing - crazy) Plus some buildings and such.

The MASS EXTINCTION wall bit which was just to the left and above the...

MASS EXTINCTION bit on the floor. Unfortunately, the massive amounds of red light around these didn't show up so much. But you still get the idea.

Picture Error and Skiing

I tried to post some pictures of the Chicago trip, but blogger's photo hoster is not playing well with others right now. I'll have to try again later.

I am very sore right now. I went skiing this weekend - Saturday, and ouch. Yes...I did go skiing at the end of March in Minnesota. I can't really believe it either. When I was younger I would not have thought twice about the skiing season extending this long, but the last few winters have been so piddly that I wasn't sure we'd see this much of a ski season. Still, for 3 canned goods and 5 dollars, one could obtain a lift ticket at Afton Alps on Saturday, so off we went. It was 40 degrees, the snow was more slush than anything else, but it was still fun. I skied from about 10 until about 6. Eight hours of skiing when you haven't gone since January is hard on the calf muscles. I'm not sore when I'm walking around, but earlier today I had 5 hours of class and had a hard time walking to the bus afterwards. I decided to take the day off today from working out, mostly because I had a lot of homework to finish. I'll workout some tomorrow hopefully, and then Wednesday I'll skate and perhaps climb on Thursday.

It was nice to get out on the snow one last time...now I'm ready for spring and Thunder-storms!

Spring Break

What a week. Last week was spring break. I spent Monday snowed in the house, and Tuesday doing homework and then going to Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater. Wednesday through Friday was a trip to Chicago with Karin, Friday night a party at Katie and Chris’s place, and then it was the weekend already.

Chicago was great! We drove down Wednesday morning, stopping in the Dells for lunch at the Moosejaw, and I bought some beer bread mix there. I just finished the last piece (made yesterday and consumed) and it was major yummy. After lunch we decided to drive to the Wollersheim Winery. We took the tour and sampled all the yummy wines (but not enough that we couldn’t keep driving, heh). So, after a much delayed – in a good way – start to the trip, we drove the rest of the way to Chicago. We paid the toll people with nickels, dimes and (once or twice) pennies, and made our way to our hotel downtown. We settled in, freshened up, and went hunting for cider. Let me tell you, cider hunting is not very fruitful that time of year. One would have though, being just about St. Patrick’s Day, that the Irish Hard Cider would be a bountiful drink. But, just like deer at deer hunting season, there was none to be found. We settled for finding fish and chips and having other drinks. By the time we finished walking around, eating, and unsuccessfully hunting, it was almost 11 and we were exhausted from driving and our other adventures, so we went to bed.

Thursday we woke up early so we could get to the Field Museum of Natural History to see the Pompeii exhibit and the just-opened Evolving Planet exhibit. We spent over 1.5 hours in each, and after those too, and of course Sue the T-rex, we were mentally spent. I was very impressed with the Pompeii exhibit. They did a really great job blending the history, tragedy, hope, lessons learned, etc together. The history of what happened was very interesting to read, we all hear of Pompeii, but there were other cities affected in the area. The tragedy of that many deaths, I can’t even imagine. And, it could happen again on an even larger scale. There are over three million people in the area directly below Vesuvius, and from what I gathered, no true evacuation plan other than the ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude. There was hope in that exhibit too. People had grabbed their wealth. We know they were hoping for rescue; they expected to be able to start a new life with what they brought with them. They also grabbed art, things of sentimental value. This shows me the people then are like the people now, basically kind, and interesting in art and beauty. Nice to know we’re not so different. They also looked to their families, and we can hope, neighbors in the crisis. People were found huddled together in places of (they hoped) safety. It was all for naught with the gas clouds, but they were gaining hope from each other. The lesson learned is that it can happen again, will happen again, and that people must be ready. Unfortunately, even with all the monitoring of the mountain, it could just go. Then nothing people plan will help. Hopefully though, that will not be the case, and little earthquakes will tip people into moving out of the area for a while. The Evolving Planet exhibit is great if you are a science geek like me. I have some pictures I’ll post later on it. I have none of Vesuvius b/c cameras were not allowed, but the Field Museum’s website has some if you are interested. The evolving planet takes you through a fossil history of the planet from earliest known fossil to today. It shows the 6 MASS EXTINCTIONS (really, it needs to be capitalized. I’ll explain more when I post the pictures), including what caused them. And it includes things you can touch. Touching is good. Some of the touching had weird textures though. Eep.

After going to the museum we took the bus up Michigan to Marshall Field’s looking for the Lush Store. We went to the wrong Field’s so we walked up Michigan to the Water Tower one. On the way we passed a handbag store with a sale. I found a new purse, as did Karin, for a nice deal. Then we headed to the mall area where Field’s was, and found a Teavana store. Anyone who is as in love with tea as me needs to visit this store! I fell in love with the teapots, but the larger size was $160 or so. Cast iron or great quality, but unfortunately for me I can’t afford that right now. Some day. I bought a bunch of loose tea instead, and some little tea bags for making my own on the go tea. After that we went to Lush, and got wonderful bath products. Karin did most of the buying, but shared her goody bag with me because she rocks! It was getting time for dinner so we decided to walk back to the hotel, even though it was 1.5 to 2 miles.

On the way home, we passed the Disney Store and went in, yet another stop in my quest for a new Eeyore. (My old Eeyore had been with me for years, and slept with me faithfully every night, even going to GB with me for trips, or (depending) on longer trips too. Eeyore was not keen on airplanes, so generally didn’t fly, but most road trips he came along. Then one day this past summer, being older and not so stiff at the joints, he split open and dumped his stuffing onto my bed. It was a traumatic experience, and left me without a cuddle friend for bedtime. I have been hunting for a suitable new friend ever since. Not exactly the same, because that would have been painful, but something like.) Inside, we headed directly to the plush section, and to my delight I found the perfect Eeyore for me. Just the right size, squishiness, and softness. Plus, he was available for not so much dinero. I adopted him then and there, and he’s slept with me from that night till now, and from now to the foreseeable future!

Having procured an Eeyore, I was in great spirits and Karin too, for she had helped to end my quest. We were now on the quest for the holy sake cup. Actually, it was the quest for dinner. Dinner was procured at the Park Grill, and it was WONDERFUL. Yup, capital wonderful. I had lamb, Karin had Tuna and Fennel, and all three were superb. We also had a starter, and an appetizer, and a side and dessert, and wine and coffee. It all added up, but the prices were good for what we got, and we were quite content. We complemented our chef through our waiter, who went to get the chef so we could compliment him in person. We talked for 15 or so minutes about one thing or another, and then he gave us his card so we can get a table anytime we want…score! I know that place gets really busy in summer.

Friday it was back on the road. We drove to Madison to have lunch with my cousins, then back to the Winery to pick up the wine we liked (not wanting it to sit in the car over the last few days…) and finally got back on the road. We got back to the Cities about 7, had supper at Panera Bread, and then unpacked. Katie and Chris had a bit of a St. Patrick’s Day get together, so I stopped up there for a bit, and then I went to bed. Long post with lots of links...whee, I’ll post pictures soonish!

On Space, and time, and snowstorms

I am not sure what happened. I believe it could have been a hole in the space-time continuum, centered around the geographically important Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and radiating out in a galaxy-like whirlpool at 25 degrees diagonal to the x-axis (that being 794 feet above sea-level). Suddenly it is March the thirteenth, at 9:25 PM, and I feel as though I’ve just woken from a somewhat foggy dream happening in fast forward. Or I just could have been insanely busy.

In either case, I have taken the time to sit down at my desk in the corner of my blue bedroom, with my sun-light on and the wind howling mournfully outside, to write this post. March has, in typical fashion, gifted us with our ‘spring’ snowstorm. This occurs every year around this time. My mother has a friend, who for as long as she has been alive, states there has been a snowstorm within 7 days of her birthday. My mother shared this fact with me a few years back…I believe I was in high school…and I’ve half-heartedly kept track since that time. Going on 8 years now and I believe that we’ve always had a storm wherever I’ve been at this time of year. Today was no exception.

Last week it was in the 50’s, shirt sleeves weather. Today and this week will be in the 30’s. There is also a rather astounding amount of snow on the ground. I believe the weatherperson stated that this was our largest snowstorm of the season. (This, by the way, is rather disappointing being that I live in Minnesota, and the upper-Midwest should have snowstorms of more than a foot.) Really, I expected more out of winter when I moved here for school. I desired enough snow to have snow-days from school, and build snowmen, and go tobogganing, but the last 7 winters have been rather disappointing. It snowed all through the night and I woke to a few inches on the ground. I slept an hour or two more, and there were quite a few more inches on the ground. I shoveled the snow this late-morning, and lifted anywhere from 1 to 18 inches – depending on drifting. It wasn’t a fun type of snow, either. It was water/slush on the bottom, followed by packy snow, followed by powdery stuff. The bottom stuff insisted on sticking to my shovel and trying to shovel me with the snow, and the top stuff blew everywhere - into my eyes, down my jacket and caked into my hair.

The last week was spent house and dog sitting for some friends. I do enjoy doing it, because the dogs are wonderful, and the house has a hot tub for my use while I’m there. They also have cable TV – a luxury I’ve never had in my home. I discovered something wonderful this time, I am no longer allergic to their dogs. This doesn’t mean that I’m not allergic to any dogs, but it’s a step in the right direction. I hope it means I’m starting to ‘grow’ out of my myriad allergies, everything from pets, to plants, to molds and dusts, but I’m not going to hold my breath. One, because holding one’s breath is an exercise in futility, and two, because I really will have to wait until allergy season hits full-on to determine if they are worse or better than previous years.

My project moves towards its completion, slowly, lumberously, perilously? I’m not sure about the lumbering or the perilous part, but like Sir Galahad, I believe I can handle a little peril. I am on the last edit of my Abstract for the poster session at the national conference in May, and hope to send that off tomorrow morning. Then it’s off to Chicago Wednesday – Friday for some spring break action. I plan on seeing the Pompeii exhibit at the field museum, perhaps doing a cruise of the river, and maybe going to the Aquarium as well. Karin will be accompanying me and I’m sure we’ll find something entertaining to do.

So, hopefully any and all space-time warps have been minimized and I’ll be able to find more time to post to this wonderful web space, but as space in generally (as well as time) can be tricksy.