A Visit to Betsy & Bryan's House...

You remember Sarah & Betsy, yes? Last time I went to visit Betsy was when little Owen was newborn! Well, Betsy and her husband Bryan have added another wee one to the family and my friend Sarah set up a visit so we could see the family.

Sarah and Betsy (with little Fern in front). The photos I had with Bryan turned out blurry!

Miss Sophie has gotten big! But she's as charming and precocious as ever.

She's also on the move. This one never stops once she gets going.

Owen is getting big, too! He tries to keep up with Sophie but as I said above, she's a bit of a blur.

And this is the newest addition to the family: little baby Fern! Aww. She's so sleepy. It's exhausting being a new baby.

And finally this is Zoe. She's the family's slightly perturbed kitty. She is on a diet and is not at all amused by the fact that she can see her food but not eat it. Poor kitty!

Old Town Art Fair

A couple weekends ago Dale and I went to the Old Town Art Fair. It's a very busy art fair and one of the oldest in the Midwest. And it's big but not annoyingly so. Best of all? They have some really great artists.

Lewis Tardy does unusual (and expensive) metal sculpture. We thought the sculptures were amazing and you can check out his website here.

Another Tardy sculpture.

My favorite again this year is Nicario Jimenez--a retablos artist with works featured in the Smithsonian! He makes incredible dioramas from potato paste and gypsum powder!

I love these and can't wait to buy one! Anyway, the retablos feature traditional and everyday behaviors as well as political statements. The above feature "day of the dead" figures drinking and singing. Click on the pictures to get a better view!

A traditional retablo.

A spectacular three-story retablo tells the story of immigration to America today. The folks on the bottom are just trying to get into the country, the second floor shows police harassment of immigrants and the top floor shows dueling demonstrations of immigrants protesting and Americans response--with the police caught in the middle.

A spectacular detail of the larger work above.

Another tradition retablo.

More drunk skeletons!

You can check out Nicario Jimenez's site here.

Ultimately, we only bought one piece of art. Some girls at a nearby house were selling "affordable" art--this lovely drawing set us back $3 but I think it was worth it. Dale is a big fan of meerkats and this is a faithful representation of the little creatures.

Hot Rods on a Sunday

Last weekend Dale and I stopped by a BBQ for a car club because Dale wants to take some photos of cars and people who work on cars. So he snapped up a few pics . . .

Check out this hot ride! She goes flat when not in motion!

Inside . . .

Back . . .

Front . . .

Craziest wheels I've ever seen. And I grew up in Buick City, people! We've seen a LOT of custom cars.

A different tricked-out classic!

And another one . . .

Weekend Up North . . .

Dale shot a wedding in Petoskey the first weekend of May and since it was my birthday weekend--and a place where many dear friends live--I decided to go with him.

We stayed with Doug...

and the boys (Oliver and Cole, pictured above).

Dale did everything he could to make it a nice birthday for me. It was great, actually, though this year is filled with painful "firsts" without my mom Dale made it really special and fun. Anyway, Dale had a bunch of people call me (he's sneaky) and got me a new iPod. Sweet! And my friend Rebecca made me cupcakes for the road trip--she's a sweetie!

While Dale was working, Doug & I drove to Charlevoix on Saturday to meet our friend Heather and her little girl Maggie for lunch. We also wandered about Charlevoix for a spell and got ice cream.

Heather is pregnant with baby #2 and is due in a couple of weeks! This is us in Charlevoix. Oh, and I'm wearing my new glasses! As one of the bosses at work told me, "very fashion-forward!" But I think that might have been an insult. Hee!

Maggie is a cutie! And she loves her glass, too, obviously! She lit up like the fourth of July when Heather gave her the sunglasses! Ha!

Then it was back to Petoskey. During the weekend we went to a few of our favorite spots including Roast & Toast (an adorable indie coffee shop/deli) that is situated right next to one of my favorite bookstores in the world: McLean & Eakin (I could live there). Also, we went to the greatest kitchen gadget store in Michigan: Cutler's. It was a very happy trip!

We drove to Harbor Springs on Sunday and had breakfast at Mary Ellen's Diner--an old-fashioned counter grill and ice cream spot.

Doug & I soaking up the atmosphere! We also saw Iron Man. Good times.

Dale and I took the long way home--we drove along Lake Michigan as much as we could and stopped for dinner in St. Joseph to eat on a restaurant patio and watch the sunset. Lovely weekend! It was great to see Heather & Doug! I wish we all lived closer.

Garfield Park Conservatory's Niki in the Garden

Garfield Park Conservatory has the greatest exhibit this summer! Niki in the Garden is the largest display of Niki de Saint Phalle's huge mosaic sculptures ever gathered!

The sculptures are both indoors and out.

These are three of Niki's "nanas"--oversized women that epitomize the joy of living.

The skull is the best! You can go inside it.

And the inside is spectacular! Mirrored and tiled.

Another of the spectacular nanas.

This is Dale's favorite photo of the day. Isn't that flower spectacular?

Date Night

Dale and I had a date night last Saturday night. We headed downtown to Oysy, a very cool, modern sushi place. Dale has become nearly obsessed with sushi rolls in the last few months. It's his favorite thing! I'm actually almost sick of sushi. How can that be?

Anyway, Oysy was delish!

We then took a walk along Michigan Ave., where we saw an array of odd things (only some of which you'll see here). The oddities included butterflies twitterpating (and the one above, who mostly stuck to trying to hide from Dale's lens). We also saw Hare Krishnas singing and dancing on one side of the street (they had a good beat) and fresh-faced Amish gals singing for the Lord on the other side of the street. Very odd but both groups sounded lovely!

Near the Art Institute is a gorgeous garden featuring a water feature and a fountain, pictured above.

I thought the garden was especially beautiful. It felt like the sky was made of branches. So pretty and peaceful there--and right on the busiest shopping street in the city!

I'm a dork.

And we wandered past the reflecting pool at Millenium Park--a favorite stop of ours for people watching. Met a nice lady that was helping her daughter move into the city. Hope she had fun visiting all the Frank Lloyd Wright stuff we told her about. We spotted an adorable area where a couple on a big stage were teaching dance lessons for free and hundreds of couples were learning some traditional dance moves. It was great!

Finally, we saw the strangest thing: a line of port-a-potties burned to the ground (except the one of the right and three on the left end.

A gentleman walked up and Dale told him that the other ones were occupied but he could use this first one since it had three and a half walls. The guy jumped in after Dale said he'd capture the moment! Ha! Don't look at this one too closely or you might see more than you bargained for!

Oh, and the port-a-potties were in place because of the Taste of Chicago and related activities.

Brian & Hilary

Last weekend our friends Brian and Hilary were in town enjoying a nice weekend trip in honor of their anniversary and Brian's birthday. We had brunch with them on Sunday and got a chance to catch up. Very good to meet up with friends from out of town. They live in Grand Rapids and Hilary has her own jewelry-making business. Check it out by clicking here.

St. Louis Gateway Arch

We went to Memphis last weekend to see my mom and to lend some support to my stepdad, Gary. Along the way, we opted to take I-55, which cuts right through St. Louis. Unable to resist the chance to stop and see the Gateway Arch up close, we pulled off the highway and Dale took a few shots of the landmark arch.

A view from the waterfront, looking up to the park that serves as the base of the arch.

The sun shining behind the arch, looking up the stairs.

A view from the side of the arch.

I thought it was pretty cool that there is an underground area where you can learn all about the arch and watch a movie, get a snack, and, of course, pee.

Woo. Freaky angle.

From our parking spot near the river, the arch is pretty spectacular.

Friends Visit in Chicago

I had a nice weekend with friends from Michigan! Dale worked on Saturday so he didn't get to go to the park. Here's a glimpse of the weekend festivities:

Introducing Miss Maggie! This was my first chance to meet my dear friend Heather's baby girl and it was very exciting! She's quite a sweetheart and very well-mannered.

And here are the proud parents! Heather and Ryan. They are standing in front of the "bean"--a neat silver sculpture in downtown Chicago.

And there's the rest of the clan! That's Brent & Cindy and little Isabella--not even two years old! I had them stare into the bean! Ha!

Cindy and her son, Benn, play in the reflecting pool at the Millenium Park right next to the bean!

Benn was a little cranky in the big city but his mood improved when we got to the reflecting pool. It's a great place to people watch and to get your feet wet.

Or, if you're anything like Benn, you'll get your whole body wet when the fountain turns on!

Auntie Ree helps little Isabella. She was fascinated by the water and it was very cute. She seemed to take the reflecting pool quite seriously! She meant business.

Hey! Who's the huge dork doing a self-portrait? That's right, as usual, it's me.

Body Worlds 2

We're going to see Body Worlds 2 tomorrow morning and I'm a bit nervous. I've heard that it's really fascinating but I'm a bit squeamish. Not that I can't handle seeing displays of human anatomy but this isn't just a display! These are actual bodies and actual bones and skin and muscles and tissue and eeeeek!

The above picture wigs me out a bit and that's just one thing! Anyway, we're heading to the Museum of Science and Industry for the first time so it's sure to be a full day! Dale's been wanting to go for some time!

Sunday in the Theater District

Dale and I went for a long walk around Chicago's theater district that culminated in a trip to the public library. We found out Chicago's public library is the second largest in the world, behind London's public library. The photo above is the main rotunda!

This is the top floor of Chicago's Public Library. It's a beautiful space that can be used and rented out for private events. It's quite spectacular.

This was a controversial building when it was built as it was very modern and stood in stark contrast to the surrounding buildings. Check out the super-modern sculpture front and center.

A lovely shot of the front of the Opera House. It was a windy day but we saw lots of pretty buildings and sites.

A statue that sits in the courtyard area of the Chicago Board and Trade.

Oooh! Pretty door! That the Chicago federal reserve something or other. Hee! They have a money museum! Isn't that odd?

This is an electricity substation with a very strange art deco architectural flourish!
Pretty building.

Downtown Chicago.

Theater district McDonald's--very fancy!

Theater district.

The Color Purple is showing downtown.

Relaxed Weekend in Chicago

We love Chicago! Dale and I were contemplating how to waste a perfect Saturday when we noticed that Food Network's Alton Brown of Good Eats (which just so happens to be Dale's favorite cook on his favorite cooking show) was appearing at the Crate & Barrel flagship store on Michigan Ave! Very exciting. We didn't get to meet him--the crowd was insane--but we did get to see him talk about knives (Dale loves kitchen knives and I love gadgets) and quality.

Alton Brown is famous for being as much a teacher as a cook and his show is populated with silly visual gags and props. To demonstrate the elements of a knife, Alton brought out a huge foam rubber knife. Very amusing. He made jokes and talked about how much he loves the pricey Japanese Shun knives.

We also wandered around Michigan Ave. for a spell and wandered in and out of a few shops and had a light lunch. I had fun checking out the kitchen gadgets at Sur La Table and had a cheap and delicious salad for lunch. We also always enjoy seeing folks performing on the street.

This gentleman was beatin' it out on his drums. Dale used a couple of different processing techniques on these shots and wanted to share them!

Sunday in Chicago

Today, we took a train downtown to go to one of the few free museums in Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Dale was quite excited to check it out. There were three exhibitions, each of them interesting and well worth making the trip. The three exhibitions:

Robert Heinecken 1932-2006: Sex and Food, a Memorial Exhibition: An interesting exhibition about women, sexuality, and their place in visual cultural. Larry Sultan: The Valley: A sampling of photos from a porn shoot! But not what you'd expect. Odd imagery; some nudity but nudity isn't the point. It's just the odd everyday lives of sex industry workers. Misty Keasler: Love Hotels: This was my personal favorite! Images from the amazingly bizarre Japanese "Love Hotels" --themed hotels catering to young couples looking to get away from the prying eyes of their family! Young people live with their parents until marriage and finding a place for "fun" can be tricky! Wow. No nudity. Just images from the rooms themselves. Fascinating glimpse into a different culture.

After enjoying the museum, we decided to wander down Michigan Ave. and see what was up and grab a coffee. It was chilly! They installed new bike racks--how cute are they?

In front of the Chicago Institute of Art, we spotted an anti-war/anti-Bush demonstration and I snapped a couple of pictures. The signs read 'Honk to Impeach' and the horns were blaring! There were three groups of folks wandering about, handing out fliers and such so it appears more dispersed/empty than it was.

Across the street from us on Michigan Ave. was the Big Bean and the commons area that turns into a skate rink in the winter. You can't see their toes, but the folks above are sliding about on skates, under the spectacular silver cloud.

Finally, we ended up at Intelligentsia coffee house and enjoyed a hot cocoa. They had neat tiny plants on the tables. I took a picture because I'm a dork.

While Dale's Away...

Dale is driving with his good friend Chase this weekend--all the way to Arizona! I'll be sure to share pictures of his trip when he gets back! Chase is moving to the Phoenix area and we wish him well! We will surely miss him. He's been our most frequent guest since moving to Illinois!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, you'd think I didn't know how to shower without Dale telling me! Ha! Anyway, I spent a good portion of the day getting crafty! How happy this had made me! Of course, I completely lost track of the day but I have some proof I did something with it:

I made these pairs of earrings from a kit, sadly. I didn't want to learn on expensive pieces or on the antique beads I plan to work with. I was lucky to have a lot of jewelry from family members and while much of it is not my style (four heavy strands of beads for one necklace is too much for me) the colors are pretty. So I want to make some contemporary jewelry with my antique pieces. This is my first attempt to make jewelry and boy was it challenging--but totally fun!

I like the bottom middle ones best, I think. Though the top left ones are also a favorite! Cheapies, but still cute!

A Silly Side Trip

Dale I went to the First Ever Franchise McDonald's in Des Plaines, IL.
You can read about it here.

I try not to clutter up our friends & family blog with my stupid obsession with Roadside Americana!