Can You Find Me?

(Hint, 4th row -- click on the photo to enlarge)
One of my facebook friends posted this class picture from first grade. How cute were we?! Amazing how many of these kids I went all the way through high school with. I have so many weird snippets of memory from this. Like the fact that my dad said Miss Skamfer had nice legs. Truth be told, I think there were a lot more dads attending the parent-teacher conferences that year. Then there's the kid to my left who went on to become a drug addicted hoodlum in high school, but I was never afraid of him, because I knew he wet his pants in first grade. And the little bastard right above me who gave me some of his crayons and then told the teacher I took them. WTF?! Paul, The adorable kid to my right said his mom (who still lives down the street from my parents) just posted: "My mom still has this "love note" I wrote to Miss Skamfer on the back of one of my homework assignments. Its funny. I guess I was going for the older chicks..." The two kids to the right of Paul were my partners in crime. We were *not* allowed to sit near each other, and we ran many scams at lunch. The girl one row above me, 2nd from the right, lived on a farm. When we were in kindergarten, we all got to visit her farm, and her effing horse bit me. However, I was the only kid who got to go into the farm house AND I got a yellow band-aid. Yellow!

This is the group shot of crossing guards, of which I was not one, but my brother was (back row, 3rd from right). Since I was not among the chosen ones, they were all my nemesis(es)! Nobody tells ME how and when to cross a street! This attitude resulted in my first and only trip to the principal's ofice, whereupon Mr. Rhodes made me cry by being so grandfatherly and kind that I was overcome with guilt. I'm not sure what the criteria was to be a crossing guard -- my brother, I can understand, because he was shaving by 5th grade, so he kind of commanded respect. But some of these kids I would not trust to guide small children across a street. I'm just sayin'.

A Charlie Brown Legacy

We had a fabulous Memorial Day (4-day!) weekend, but, alas, no photos at this time to post. Coming soon. In the meantime, behold the sweet little blue beach tree planted in Library Springs. The Township board planted it in my name/honor for my years of service on the board. It's right near the bench that Lenore and I donated. We went walking back there to see it, and I was looking up when I should have been looking down! It's a little Charlie Brown-esque, but I appreciate the thought/effort very much. As Liz said, it will get more and more beautiful as it ages, just like us.

Potholder Anomaly!!

I have never had this happen before...I don't know how to explain it. Behold, one potholder with two different sides! Astounding! Also, here's another one I made for one of my cookbook buyers. The FREE Perky-Potholder-with-every-cookbook-purchase special is on through May, don't delay, buy one today!

Better Homes and Miniatures

I did some decorating.





Not really! These are but a couple views from the Thorne Miniatures we saw last week. I love them. I'm trolling the Internet to see if I can find the picture book that sells at the museum for a LOT of dollars.

Take THAT, Secret Squirrel!

I was all excited to hang my new squirrel-proof bird feeder that I got for the bargain price of $12 at the farmer's market (suggested retail, $41!), so I strung it up with some clothesline and a carabener. Lesson #1: you have to hang it *away* from the tree trunk.



A slight adjustment, and we were in business. Now the squirrels can go back to digging up ALL my flower pots and annuals, chewing holes in my bird house, wearing a path in my yard between the maple and cherry tree and eating (yes, eating) my wooden swing.



Not that this has anything to do with squirrels, but I did get these really cute purple and orange (!!) flowers at the market too. Purple and orange are my two favorite colors and they are even better together. Also, yellow is nice (hence Ducky I, II and III -- car, laptop and kayak).

Play Day

I took a day off to go into the city with Lenore and her parents. We took the train in and walked down to Millennium park, then went to the Art Institute. Here are just a few pictures from our day. We saved the Thorne miniatures for last; I never get tired of looking at the teeny tiny rooms. I took a few pictures, but these are much better.




These seagulls seem *really* hopeful.





I call this "Strolling Through Muffins."


Enjoying a post-excursion ice cream cone while waiting for the train to depart.

Delusions of Grandeur

While not stunning in its beauty, my little rock garden always shows great promise. Soon the boat will be overflowing with flowers and the black eyed Susan's will be waving in the breeze.

Yes, this is that delightful time of year when I delude myself into thinking I can stay ahead of the dandelions and creeping charlie, when everything is still relatively neat and tidy while still promising grander things to come. Sigh. I know it won't last, but every year I enjoy the short-lived sense of control I have over my yard. And I'm thankful it hasn't come to this:



While it will be tough to beat last year's sour cherry crop, the blossoms were still thrilling, and I even managed to capture this busy bee hard at work.



And the grape hyacinths are so worth waiting for.



Speaking of new spring growth, check out Lenore's head!

I Know How She Feels!

Sometimes lunch can be the highlight of your day.

Ting-A-Ling!

Lenore's folks are visiting for the week, and yesterday we all went to see the Elgin Symphony play pieces from Leonard Bernstein. I enjoyed the performance a lot -- the ESO is always fantastic -- though of the three pieces (Overture to Candide, Serenade, and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story), I enjoyed Serenade the least. I clapped heartily when it was over because it was over. I guess I'm just not cultured enough to appreciate all that minor key dissonance. But the violin soloist was amazing, and she played the whole thing without sheet music (or maybe she was just making it up as she went along -- it would have been just as effective). However, I don't really like watching people play the violin because I find all the weaving about and faces they make to be too distracting. Rather, I amuse myself by watching the various percussionists through my binoculars, particularly the timpani player, who was hot and looked just like Gale Harold. Also, the guy playing the triangle -- how do you get that job? Do you have to really try out? How does one seriously conduct triangle tryouts? What do you look for? "No, sorry, too much ting, not enough ling. Next!" Anyway, I think if you're gonna be in an orchestra, the percussion section is where it's at. If you click here, you can listen to a resounding timpani tribute in the 30-second clip of "Bugler's Dream" by Leo Arnaud (a.k.a., the Olympics theme). This clip is nice too and demonstrates timpani pedaling, which is something I noticed the timpanist (I think that name is not butch enough for a drummer) doing last night. Fascinating.

There was a guy piccolo player too. I'm thinking he got a lot of wedgies at band camp.

Anyway... that was Sunday. Saturday we went on an extended nature walk through Trout Park and Fox River Day School (formerly Chicago Jr. School), which was great, and I also got a fair amount of spring cleanup done in the yard, which is always gratifying even if it means my hamstrings will be nonfunctional for the next few days.

In other news I had a beauty day Sat. and got some highlights and a haircut. I went to a new person at the local salon this time and am very happy with the results. The last two times were very disappointing, so it was refreshing to be pleased again. I hate spending all that money only to end up crabby about it. Here I am not sporting the new look, but on my way to shred documents. We were one of six walk-ups and the only wagonload. One must embrace distinction where one can.