Please don’t call me hon… I’m sure I’ve talked to you about this before, but this morning…yeah, just happened again. And I didn’t feel any better about it. Let me preface that I lived in the south for about 20 years and it is common for southern women to call each other hon and darlin’ especially in a retail setting and I got used to it. It was more in the retail clothing stores and restaurants, not so much fast food. Now, where I do expect it, is if someone has been in that establishment before and builds a rapport with the staff or one particular person, I get it, hon, sweetie, darlin’. I know I have been in places like that and envied that connection and I had it myself in a few places, hey, I get hugs from the staff at the Waldorf Astoria in Chicago, I’m sure some people look at that with a head cocked. The place I did not expect it was at the Dunkin’ Donuts this morning that I have never been to in a city I have never been to by a person I have never met who was apparently trying to speak above the din that was non-existent. Think it just rubbed me the wrong way? Yup. I’m sure the people who go there regularly enjoy it, but let me go at least one more time before we get that familiar. 
Day 19
I love this place!
I discovered Soul Vegan/Soul Vegetarian about two years ago when I was schedule to teach at the site I am at this week. When I was looking for somewhere to go for lunch today, what to my surprise did I find on my Happy Cow app? Majani for one! Do you remember me telling you about going to Majani, the vegan restaurant near DLP? It was about nine miles from the site. Well, Soul Vegetarian is about seven miles from the site, wow! I knew what I was doing for dinner!
I messaged DLP and eventually we worked it out, I had to go into the office, so I picked her up and we headed to Soul Vegan, which happens to be about a 15 minute drive to her house, perfect!
It’s not a fancy restaurant, bare bones, there are tables in the front room and back, a large counter for ordering takeout, an open case that has prepared sandwiches, desserts and some other cold things. Where it lacks in furnishings, it makes up for in energy and flavor. Every time I have been in there, there are a few people eating at the tables, but so many more at the deli counter or online to place or pick up orders.
On the other side is a deli counter, you can get hot or cold food. I was excited because I knew I was getting a fabulous dinner and then, from the deli counter, food for tomorrow! I need lunch in advance as there is not much happening around the site I am at!
We ordered nachos-n-cheeze, no jalapenos for our appetizer and I had the gyro and DLP had the ribs, both orders came with french fries. Once again, the food did not disappoint! That gyro was fabulous and I cannot wait to have the rest of it for lunch tomorrow!
From the deli, I ordered a few prepared salads, cous-cous, both large and small, egg-less egg salad, I know, let it out! and a carrot salad, the last one I tasted, oh boy! I love finding fun and new places that I can frequent and this one is on the list, especially having someone to go with!
If you’re in Chicago and you’re vegan or just curious, I recommend this place very highly. Ok, I have to go to sleep, I’m excited about lunch tomorrow!
Day 17
Order of the day? Ended up Museum, lunch, movie, tv.
So…rouse ourselves about 9am, breakfast, then drive into Manhattan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The Met, for those of you ‘in the know’. There was a David Hockney exhibit and we both like Hockney.
Now, if you’re familiar with David Hockney, it’s most likely paintings of swimming pools, which he is most known for. This exhibit was pools and more, earlier work, later work, portraits, compositions, famous people, wild brush strokes and one or two pieces we looked at with our heads cocked and said ‘Huh?”. The pieces did exactly what art should do, evoke emotion or response, even if the response is one of confusion.
There were some pieces I liked and some that I really didn’t and that’s the beauty of it, I don’t have to! There were some portraits of famous people, like Andy Warhol and Van Gogh and then there was this watercolor of someone named Celeste, dad and I were both drawn to it and I wonder if I was because she reminded me of my mom. Check out the piece that depicts a road, it was actually photographs that he pieced together like a collage of different roads in California. I thought it was fabulous!
Then it was on to the Michelangelo exhibit, much darker, lighting wise than the other exhibits. It was sculpture, paintings, drawings and sketches, oh my! The hard part was there were so very many people, you really couldn’t get that close to any of them and with my lack of stature, it was hard to see some pieces at all!
We looked at some of the impressionists, Rodain, Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Cezanne, Matisse, so wonderful! Unknown artists, known artists, a joy! I love going to the museum with my dad, not only does he have a wealth of knowledge of art, he has a passion for it! There were advantages to going to the museum with both of my parents. With mom, she was very knowledgeable as well and we liked a lot of the same painters, ones that dad doesn’t care for, but she wanted to read every single placard!
With dad, he and I love a lot of the same pieces and we have an affinity for the modern, a way of viewing that might not gel with some people. And…he doesn’t want to read every placard, so we could see more of the museum in less time! He was great when I was in high school and had art projects, he and I would go into the city and go to the different museums together to help me get what I needed.
Next it was, you got it, modern! Picasso, Leger, O’Keeffe, Chagall, Rockwell, Davis, Miro, just makes me happy. Some of it is bizarre, but some of it, pure genius, fun, frivolous! Sometimes I look and wonder how it would be possible, not to be happy looking at this much wonder!
When we were done, we had a hunger! So back to Staten Island to a Turkish restaurant we both like for appetizers that fill you up! Babaganoush, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, lentil soup, shepard’s salad, couscous, all delicious! We were stuffed, just like the grape leaves! A little grocery shopping and then back to the house, but then turned around and went out again, I decided I wanted some new boots and away we went!
Back home, it was time for a movie. Blade Runner 2049. Um…yeah. The popcorn was good and we got to see Harrison Ford. Yeah, the popcorn and Harrison Ford.
Then we needed something fun, so we watched another episode of Brokenwood, which was really good and so was the Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy Caramel Almond Brittle. O M G!! Yes, it is that good!
When the episode was over, it was time to talk to you and then crash, my alarm is going off at 4am, back to Illinois!
I hope your weekend was as fabulous as mine!
That was my day, a good day at that!
No alarms, just waking up. It helps to get in and crash about 1am, then you sleep until about 8am, from sheer exhaustion, I’m not complaining!
Dad and I got up, got ourselves together and then headed to Z One, a local diner/restaurant for breakfast and good conversation. We talked about travel, life, work, all sorts of things. I do love one-on-one weekends with my dad, it’s special.
Then back to the house to regroup and head out again and see Star Wars, FINALLY! I may be the only person on the planet who hadn’t seen it yet! Oh my! Dad saw it and was up for going again and enjoyed it a second time, I enjoyed it, I’ll tell you about it in another post! I did, however, finally get to tell BG that I saw it, he’s finally quite pleased!
After the movie, some errands and then back to the house to chill, we watched an episode of Brokenwood, a detective show on Acorn TV, out of New Zealand, enjoyable and interesting.
Then it was time to meet friends for dinner. More like family, these are people that have been in our lives for years. My mom worked at the same school as both Mrs B and KS and Mr B was my teacher of French. I always looked at all these other women as moms, ‘all the moms are coming over’ that sort of thing. KS’ husband, dad and I made 6 on the group.
We went to Brunos, it used to be Bruno’s Patisserie, but lucky for me, who was having the hardest time saying that, it’s now just Bruno’s! http://brunosnyc.com/
The bakery counter, which is what they’re known for, is impressive. The food, matches the bakery counter.
We had appetizers and then the main course, I had spinach and potato gnocchi, yum! With spinach, garlic and cooked in garlic and olive oil. For dessert, there was tortufo, sorbet, an assortment of cookies and mousse.
Overall, aside from the noise level, there were quite a few large parties, the food was good, the service…not as good, it was crazy busy, so understandable, but the server was charming and funny. Same opening line at every table “so, four burgers well done with fries?!” Ha ha.
What was great was the conversation and the company, it’s always good to be with family. Maybe you can join is next time!
Day 15
Have I mentioned it’s not easy being vegan on the road? Nah, I’m sure this is the first time you’ve heard it, ha ha.
Today and tomorrow, I’m in Kankakee, IL and it’s not a hotbed, so to speak, of choices for me for food, especially as a vegan, either grocery store or Burger King, I do love their veggie burger! Now, I’m not disparaging any of these areas, but there generally isn’t a lot around the offices that I am supporting, even the people that work there tell me that!
I went out for lunch and on my way to Burger King, I saw Stefari Cafe and hung a quick louie, that’s a u-turn for anyone not in the know! I pulled in front of the building and went in.
It’s in a charming brick-front building, you can tell they are trying to revitalize the downtown area. You walk in and you are transported to a small hometown cafe with a modern air. You can tell they are trying to keep it small town, but the touches have a modern feel.
When you walk in Stefari, https://www.stefaricafe.com/, you feel like this is a place you can hang out. As one reviewer said, a great meeting place.
The decor is kitschy/ country sheik. Hand written menus on a chalkboard behind the counter, comfy chairs to sit it, all of this warm and welcoming.
There were some people working at the few tables in the main room as well as the dim back room. A group of ladies were playing mahjong, it looked like their weekly get together. You almost wanted to ask if you could join.
Turns out, they are not all fluff, the food was good as well, happy to see that! I had the veggie sandwich panini style, yum! Hummus, eggplant, zucchini and red pepper. Admittedly, it would be better with the feta, but a tasty treat overall. I chose the fresh food versus the chips. Well worth ita With it, I had apricot loose leaf tea, yummy.
I have to say, Stefari Cafe is here to stay, I hope it’s widely discovered! And i, for one and thrilled that I discovered it!
Tonight we bid a fond farewell to another team member at a fabulous restaurant.
I believe I’ve told you about team or project roll-off dinners. Basically, when someone new joins we call it ‘roll-on’ and then when someone has been there a long time leaves we call it ‘rolling-off’ a project. Then…we have to have a party! There is usually a roll-on lunch or dinner to welcome them to the project or, in this case, say goodbye and wish them well during their roll-off dinner.
The first place we had a reservation decided to close for the evening, so quick thinking, we ended up at Sepia, http://www.sepiachicago.com/, and well worth it!
As the name might tell you, the theme was sepia color filter, there was a sepia filter feel to the entire restaurant. And, as I did some research, it was built from an 1890’s print shop, go figure! There were interesting photographs on the walls, some sepia, some black and white, even what looked like book plates, but arranged as a photo display on a wall. Even though it was a large space, wherever you sat, it felt intimate, you could have a private conversation if that was on the menu for you.
It feels rustic and farm to table and creative and organic. They had things for every taste, the less than adventurous, chicken, swordfish, scallops and then for the curious, venison, rabbit, duck, goat, just to name a few things. The portions were the proper size, not too much but leaving you satisfied.
I called earlier, you know when I looked at the menu, I had to ask and they assured me they could feed a vegan, I’m good with that. The appetizers I had to skip, but that left more for me to eat my dinner and let me just tell you, no leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
The chef made me coconut tortellini, fresh sliced coconuts, sweet potatoes, carrots and a few other vegetables in a coconut milk sauce. It was light, delicate, delicious and filling. I was quite happy! Y U M!
Dessert looked delicious, but unfortunately, the most I could do was have a taste of someone’s and what I tasted was fabulous! Sesame cake with grape sorbet, frozen grapes and asian pear and tahini. Someone else got the cheesecake, which I didn’t taste, but the beet sorbet that I did taste was out of this world! Look what they did for JW’s dessert!
Overall, it was a great evening, a good meal, good friends and a fine send off for a great co-worker who will be missed.
Day 12
It’s been a while since we had a work happy hour, we were overdue. Guess what we did tonight!
We met at Cactus Bar & Grille, https://www.cactuschicago.com/, it’s where we have had all the project happy hours I have been to. It’s a laid back place with a bar, a bunch of wooden high top tables and corrugated metal walls. We were there for happy hour, drink and food specials.
I finished at the client site about 5pm, so I decided to walk over, it was about half a mile, and it was a nice, crisp, chilly walk through the streets of Chicago. Wow, that sounded so much like a Dickens novel, ha ha!
I got there before everyone else, so I checked in at the podium, was taken to our tables and ordered an amaretto on the rocks, yum! It was ‘let’s pretend to be a grownup night’! You know how crazy it got? I actually ordered another! The first was only half a glass, so I decided to go crazy! I can’t even remember the last time I had one!
With my first drink I ordered guacamole and chips. I wasn’t sure what anyone else would want, but I didn’t want to drink on an empty stomach, I was hungry and I knew people would show up eventually to help me out. Oh, later, the cauliflower bits, yum!
My co-workers showed up, some of the client team showed up and we were on! Even a co-worker who left the project eight months ago. Eight months? Where did the time go?!
It was great catching up with everyone, just seeing everyone! I haven’t been in Chicago since mid-November when I was sent into the field to do onsite support. I’ve missed seeing my co-workers and friends, I was used to seeing them at least every other week, well, at least once a month, since we went through re-training over the summer.
Happy hours and work gatherings are a great way to blow off steam, catch up with friends and co-workers, maybe make new friends or connections, talk a little shop and relax.
It was just what the doctor ordered.
Day 11
Sleep in, interviews, games, movies. Sound good? Yup, to me too!
I got to A&N M’s house yesterday, after a great day on the slopes! We ordered in Chinese food, hung out, watched the end of the Saints/Vikings game and then after their daughter, AM went to sleep, we watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World, interesting. It was amazingly awful! I think I loved it!
This morning, I got to sleep in, well, 8am or so, I’m good with that. I got my laundry out of the dryer, went upstairs eventually and hung out with AM, we interviewed each other, that was fun, we asked each other about our interests, hobbies and poisonous vs venomous snakes! Then we played games, made clay shapes that we painted and then we watched Ocean’s 11 since I hadn’t seen it, they were tickled at my reaction.
Then some lunch and I headed out to the airport a little earlier than I normally would have, it had been snowing since before I got up and the streets were slick all morning. By the time I left, the roads were dry, thankfully! My only concern, was my flight going to take off? The weather is crazy in Chicago!
It was so great to be with them yesterday and today, very relaxed and enjoyable, like being with family and they are.
At the airport I went to Cantina Taqueria and Bar to get some food and had a good salad that had lettuce, jicama, which is a root vegetable, avocado, cucumbers, pepitas, cabbage with a tamarind dressing.
I got on my flight, it was simple, only left nine minutes late, took off and landed in the snowy streets of Chicago. I have a new driver that picked me up, took me to the hotel and here we are, sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace talking to you.
Tomorrow is a new day, who knows what the weather will be like!
Day 10
I probably should have blogged about this yesterday, but I was too excited to tell you about my day on the slopes!
I didn’t know what had happened back home until I got a text from ST telling me he posted something to my Facebook wall that was scary funny and could I imagine waking to something like that. I had no idea what he was talking about so I looked at my Facebook wall and there it was!
If you don’t know what happened, an emergency alert message went out to everyone with an 808 area code “Ballistic Missile threat inbound to Hawaii, seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” This was a little after 8am Saturday morning. Think some people were a little shocked? Scared? Panicked? Just to name a few.
About 38 minutes later, the retraction came out, it was a false alarm. More and more has come out about what happened. Apparently, it was a slip of the finger. During shift change, there are certain buttons that have to be pushed and this button was pushed by mistake. Uh oh.
There were news reports, briefings, discussions, talks, stories. Oh my! It was a mistake and the person who made the mistake wasn’t fired, this person was reassigned. And now, they are re-evaluating processes and procedures. Oh, I heard there now have to be two people to push the buttons!
I was touched, I can’t tell you how many people reached out to see how we were doing in Hawaii with what happened. Thank you everyone, we’re ok. PSM didn’t flinch, he knew it was a mistake and if you think about it, as some folks said “if this is the end, I’m going to enjoy the last few moments” and watched the sun, ocean, just enjoyed the paradise they were in.
Someone on the chairlift today said there was probably going to be a baby boom in September!
Bottom line, thank you to everyone who reached out and everyone I’ve met that asked me how things were going and how PSM was back home. This was a scare and now, the government is working on ways to right the wrong and move forward.
Day 9
I so love Colorado! And swishing and swooshing!
For those of you not in the know, that means I went skiing for the first time this season today. I got in to Denver last night, got my skis from A&N M, hung out of a bit and then drove up to Breckenridge, CO.
I am staying at the Doubletree hotel, which is ski-in/ski-out. What that means is that you literally walk out the door, put on your skis and ski down to the chair lift and then when you’re done for the day or ready for a break, you ski down the slope, take off your skis and walk into the hotel, not too shabby, huh? I got spoiled staying at a ski-in/ski-out a few years ago and I’ve loved it ever since.
The only hard part is remembering which run takes you back to your hotel! Sometimes I have to take extra runs to figure it out!
I got up leisurely, it was nice to sleep to 8am, then I got some breakfast, back to the room to pile on the ski gear and head to the valet who had my skis. After I got my skis, I walked across the street, put on my skis and woosh.
Since this was the first good weekend for skiing and a holiday weekend, it was a bit crazy on the chair lifts. The runs weren’t too crowded, just the lines to go up were long. I think I waited almost 10 minutes each time, normally you don’t wait more than 5 or 6. They haven’t gotten a lot of snow this season so far, last night 13″, not too shabby!
I got to the top, put on some tunes and away I went! It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day and the snow started, a light flurry. Ah…
I did a few runs, and it was a few because of the time waiting to go up. After a few hours, I went in, remember, ski to the hotel! I made a sandwiche, chilled out and then went back out, walked across the street and swoosh, swish for a few more hours, then I was done for the day.
As I said to myself “one more run and I’m done”, that trick a ski instructor gave me a few years ago, I see the run that goes by the hotel and I thought, “good deal, I’m done, let’s go”. I walked the skis to the valet and then into the hotel.
I went into the hotel, walked into the bar and saw a few minutes of the Eagles/Falcons game and ordered some brussel sprouts on the happy menu. The brussel sprouts and I headed up to the room to relax and talk to PSM
A few hours later I took a shower and then walked into town. It’s a nice 10 minute walk, the streets are covered in snow, it even started snowing while I was walking and then I joined the other folks strolling up and down Main Street Breckenridge, Colorado. The holiday lights are still up, warm and inviting and the air started to get chilly. Nice.
I went into a few shops and then I headed into my favorite pizza joint in town, it’s plant based, vegan and I love it! Piante, https://piantepizzeria.com/. I don’t know if you remember me telling you about this fabulous place. I sat at the bar, my server told me I was his first customer as a server, he usually just takes orders over the phone, he’ll be great at it.
I ordered bruschetta that had cherry tomatoes, cashew cheese and basil, yum! I then ordered the rosemary pizza that had cashew mozzarella, parmesan, truffle oil and let’s just say, y u m again!
I started talking with the chef, Wes, he remembered me from last year because we talked about the white pie which has arugula on it, which adds color, making it not a white pie!
I like the little touches; the open kitchen right on the other side of the bar, the books they have in their ‘library’ for anyone to read while they are there, bringing the check in a book, the ‘Greenbox” pizza box, where it’s perforated in four parts so that you can have your leftovers on an instant plate! It’s not a very big space, but it’s warm, inviting, friendly and cozy.
The Pats/Titans game was on and I was surrounded New Englanders, oh brother! And check out the t-shirt Wes was wearing! I talked to PSM a bit, he was at home watching and it’s cool, we’re only 3 hours apart while I’m here this weekend!
Then it was back to the hotel, relax and talk to you. Tomorrow I’m going to go out for a few runs, come back, pack up my stuff, the valet can put it in my car in the heated garage and then go back out for a few more runs, then back to A&N M’s to hang out, dinner and who knows what kind of trouble we’ll get in to!
At the moment, just loving looking out the window at the view from my room. Sigh.
Day 8
Peaches Prattlings 