An Air and Water Show Baby Shower

Yesterday was our "Stock the Bookshelf" baby shower for Baby Nickels, who is estimated to be around 6.5 lbs and Julie is hoping that he holds that weight steady until his due date in two weeks. Lisa and Rebecca hosted us at Lisa and Matt's "Pub Neenan" (the best pub in town) so we got to enjoy each others' company and the Air & Water Show.

Jeremy, Julie, and Baby Nickels (he's in there, you just can't see him)

Mary, Lisa, Julie, Rebecca, and me

Caren, Julie, Rebecca, and Mary

Lisa and Matt cooked us up an amazing meal of crawfish cakes, a fresh greens salad with walnuts, goat cheese, and new potatoes, and grilled corn on the cob. Delicious. Rebecca made a gorgeous fruit salad and brought the best mini cupcakes I've ever put in my belly. I didn't take any pictures of the food because I was too busy eating it. Sorry.

We ended the night hanging out on the Pub Neenan terrace, eating pizza (that's what happens when your hosts feed you at 2 p.m. and you are still at their house at 8 p.m.) and drinking beer (or white wine spritzers...whatever). It was a perfect day and night and it was just what I needed to relax before classes start on Monday. Oh, wait. Monday is tomorrow. Crap. Gotta go.

Door County, Part One

Greetings!

We got back from our four day vacation to Door County on Tuesday, but since I didn't take many pictures, this will be a mini-posting until I can round up more photos from the Power people, who were better about snapping shots during our many adventures. But for now, here's what I've got.

First, the house we rented, which used to be a church, turned out to be kind of humungous. We had five bedrooms, all with en suite bathrooms (and all bathrooms had jetted bathtubs! [but I forgot to take a soaker before we left and am now kicking myself]).

T, Angi, and John, being great in the great room

 

 

 

The outside of the humungous church house

A close-up of Auntie Me, Sadie, and Uncle Trevy-Trev (photo by Angi)

Of course we took our regular trip to P.C. Junction. Sadie is older now and can truly appreciate the train car delivery service.

Hey-Yo, we're at the Junction!

Rae, Cassie, Destiny, Fran, Sadie, Neill, Angi, and Sean

And our last night in the Door we had dinner at the Square Rigger for their world famous fish boil. Unfortunately, Destiny and Cassie, Neill and Fran, and Rae and Letty had already taken the long road home, so we remaining seven met the cousins--Ben, his fiancée Danielle and their kids, Bladen and Mason, and Daniel and Gabe--to enjoy the great dinner and (my favorite part) cherry pie a la mode.

Fran and John, Sadie, Sean, and Angi, and Trevy-Trev

Some of the Power and Madel Gangs (minus Angi, who is behind the lens)

Waiting for the boil

The Madel gang, wandering near the water

Now, I don't have any pictures of us at the beach (although I'm kind of thankful for that...), us at Grandma and Grandpa Madel's place or at their anniversary party, of us at the family BBQ, or of me and T shopping for some books in Sister Bay. But this is one of the treasures I found for $.50:

Yes, that's right--fifty cents!

And then, Sadie drove us home. She's a very safe driver, though she had a hard time checking her rear review mirror.

 Oh, yeah, and we also accidentally stole these Trivial Pursuit playing cards from the rental house:

T claimed that he thought this was ours. It's not.

I'll start harassing my sisters-in-law for some of their great photos, so hopefully I'll do another post next week.

I'm also starting classes on Monday (ack!) and will likely be procrastinating my lesson prep by writing about the baby shower we're going to tomorrow for Julie and Jeremy. So stay tuned!

Celebrations

Last weekend was full of celebrations. First, there was a party on Saturday afternoon to celebrate Destiny's graduation from high school! Hurrah! We met at a park district party space in Hoffman Estates to get some grub, give Destiny 1,000,000 high fives, and celebrate with the Napier/Power clan.

But we had to scoot out quickly to hop to another celebration, the Bharathanatya Arangetram of my friend's daughter. The Arangetram is a sort of graduation recital to signify the end of a period of Indian dance study, so after a decade of work, the fifteen-year-old Anita below put on a three hour recital that was absolutely fantastic.

It's not a great picture but it should give you a sense of Anita's fantastic costume and meticulous dance style

After the recital we got to eat dinner, and Trevor and I were in heaven because everything on the menu was vegetarian!

Another mediocre picture, but you can see the recital program in the background

Better picture, taken by Trevor (obviously)

We left and got home that night, our bellies full of delicious Indian food and our minds full of happy thoughts about Destiny and Anita, two young ladies bound for success.

But it wasn't over with Destiny, because as part of her graduation gift, we treated her to a back-to-school shopping spree (with just me, not Trevor; that would not have been fun for him at all). So Dest and I headed to State Street on Sunday afternoon for some shopping.

Shoes!

Clothes!

Shopping Queens

 And now this weekend we're heading up to Door County for four days of vacation with the Power peeps and to celebrate Grandpa Madel's 90th birthday. I'm sure we will have an account of it once we return. Until then, happy August!

Summer Cold

The end of my summer semester has brought me a lovely little summer cold. I think my body held it off until I was finished teaching my class and had a couple of days without any grading to do so I could just lay about the house, a sneezy, lumpy mess. My students still need to take their final placement test next week (three of them took it after class Thursday and passed with absolutely no problem [yahoo!]), but our official class meetings are over. Here are my fantastic stus:

These are nine of the hardest working students I've ever taught

So next week I'll be on campus, organizing my god-awful mess of a desk and waiting for the remaining six students to come in and tell me how they did on the test. They need to score a 6 but I told anyone who scored a 7 (the highest possible score) that I'd buy them a soda (I already bought a Dr. Pepper for Ali, lower right, blue shirt)

Next week also brings the end of my summer's session of volunteering with Open Books, the fantastic literacy organization I've volunteered for the past two years. Since May, I've been helping out in the office with typing students' stories and poems, putting together maps for a flyering campaign, and doing some data entry. I've really enjoyed going there, just for a couple of hours a day twice a week, because not only is the cause worthy, the people wonderful, the work quiet, soothing, and tidy, and the most common water cooler gossip about what books are on everyone's nightstands, but I am also forced to walk past the amazing Open Books book store on my way to the office and spot something I need (want) to buy. Here are my two most recent purchases:

 Three weeks ago, in addition to helping out in the office, I started the Buddies program, which is a program that assigns big buddies (me) with little buddies (the two lovely ladies below) to be reading partners.

My little buddies

I helped with this program last summer and fall, too, and I hope to keep doing it each summer for the future. It's so much fun to hang out and read with kids who are excited about books and reading.

Me and my buddy Ajani

I'll make sure to take a picture of the whole group when we meet for our last day next week.

To cap off this week, we went to Greg & Paula's house for a bbq to celebrate Bosco turning 2 years old. It's kind of nuts that he's already this old (remember when he was this small?) Look at him now!

Hi, Grandma!

Bo and Cousin Jack (and Jack with his eye on that cake...)

Oh, I'm just reading my new book. Ain't no thang.

And now it's the weekend! Trevor is riding the bike out to Elk Grove with his friend Sarah while I continue to sink into the couch and use up our household supply of Kleenex. I might scrape myself together to leave the house later, but in the meantime, a nap sounds good.

Get Outta Town

Trevor and I decided to hit the road this past weekend and drive up to Sturgeon Bay for a preview of our longer getaway with the Power Clan in a couple of weeks. We visited with Jim, Grandma and Grandpa Madel, Uncle Doug and Jean, and we had an all-around lovely time.

One of the most significant things we did was visit a "new" bookstore (it's been there about a year, so we hadn't seen it yet) in downtown SB. It was fantastic. We walked in, quickly realized that we'd need to spend at least an hour there, so we left to get a beer at Poh's Corner and prepare ourselves. We returned thirty minutes later, refreshed and ready to browse.

Heaven

T, checking out some art books

They also sell vinyl, but I didn't have time to go through this: another day

Clementine, the cat, hanging out with her books

 We ended up with a total of five books: T got one, I got the other four (surprise, surprise). I'd found a lot more than that but had to sit down, spread them all out, and decide which ones I really, really, really needed. It was not an easy decision. These were my spoils:

New members of our biblio family

The I Am Legend is not only an excellent book and a great cover, but it's also the book T and I read together, listening on dual headphones, while we took the train ride from Madrid to Barcelona on our honeymoon almost five years ago. The Cujo is my newest King (I collect his hardcovers--really just the ones I read as a kid--and try to get as many first editions as I can), and because I found this one I can get rid of my paperback copy, so it's an even trade and barely counts as an additional book (although since the paperback is a tiny mass market, I might keep it around until I need the shelf space [or I'll take it to campus and use it as an example of "frequently banned and challenged books" for my annual celebration of the ALA's Banned Books Week, and then it'll count as a teaching tool!])

Cujo's new friends

And yes, I did just get a copy of Paco's Story a few weeks ago during my book filled adventure to Evanston, but this one is another first edition in great condition, and because it was only $10, it practically doesn't count at all.

The Rendell was just a great cover by a great writer and I can't wait to read it as soon as I've finished the Rendell I'm currently reading, The Bridesmaid. Although I first have to read the books Grandpa Madel loaned me, two short story collections from Roald Dahl. Thank goodness I still have two weeks until fall semester starts. I have a lot of reading to do.

T already put his spoils away, so I will find them this evening and show them off in a separate post.

All in all our mini-getaway was great. We're already making a list of things we have to get done when we go back in a couple of weeks. And I might have to add another trip to the bookstore.

The Barn

I've been on campus each Tuesday and Thursday this summer to teach one class, and it turns out that this is just the right amount of time for me to be on campus working and still on "break."

While I was at the college yesterday, a student from my Spring 2012 creative writing class stopped by to pick up her journal (they'd worked on them all semester long and turned them in the last day of class). Well, this student was a favorite of mine (but as teachers, like parents, we never pick official favorites, so forget that you read that, and just never you mind...) and she was an excellent student all around. In addition to being a dedicated and talented writer, she is also an artist, and during the semester, unbeknownst to me, she was working on a painting inspired by our class.

One day last semester for an in-class writing activity, I adapted an exercise from our book and asked the students to describe a barn using the third person point of view of a man who had just lost his son, a soldier, to combat. But the description couldn't mention the son, it couldn't mention death, and it couldn't mention war. It was an exercise in setting and atmosphere, and the passages turned out quite well. But this particular student was so inspired that she decided to paint a barn during her campus studio time. And yesterday, she gave it to me as a present.

It's small--only about six inches squared--but I think it's marvelous.

I have, occasionally, gotten gifts from students at the end of a semester, usually gift cards that are in low denominations, very thoughtful, and always appreciated (who'd scoff at a free latte from Starbucks? No teacher ever, that's who). But I've never had a student spend such time and effort to produce something that is so lovely and so connected to our class. And although this is the barn seen through the eyes of a grieving father, I see no death or war in it. I see life, work, family, and tradition.

I kind of love my job.

Thrifty Friday

The owner of my regular hair-cutting spot, Salon Moda, went east to live with her parents in Philadelphia. This left my hairstylist, Mike, salon-less. So he is, for the time being, cutting hair out of his adorable house in Evanston. I used my appointment yesterday as an excuse to have an Evanston Adventure, and it was was hugely successful.

Here's what I got for $120:

A new haircut and the promise of a photocopy of a rare J.D. Salinger chapbook of previously unpublished stories ($60 for the haircut [including tip] + nothing for the copy)

A benefit of having my haircut in Mike's house is that I got to meet his dog, Augie (cutest face since Henry) and his partner, Andrew, who's an anthropology professor at Columbia College and offered to send me a photocopy of a chapbook he'd had as required reading in college. The price, written on the cover in pencil, was $3, and the book itself was saddle stitched and apparently unauthorized. Andrew said he's going to mail me a copy of it and I cannot wait.

A vegetarian sandwich at The Cross Rhodes diner ($5.25 + tip)
The sandwich came within three minutes of me ordering it so I only got to read about five pages of my book (Life by Keith Richards [for book club]). I ate well and cheaply.

A skirt, scarf, and soccer ball throwing device (for Trevor...) at the Junior League Thrift House ($10)
 The Thrift House is across the street from Cross Rhodes, and I was compelled to stop in. I was rewarded with a great second-hand JCrew skirt ($6), a little red scarf ($2.50), and a soccer ball on a string ($.50).

A butterscotch shake from Andy's Frozen Custard ($5)
This shop and Cross Rhodes were both recommended by Mike and Andrew, and I say a hearty "Thank you" to them for the deliciousness and the three pounds I surely gained.

A paperback copy of Geek Love by Katherine Dunn from Market Fresh Books, where they literally sell books by the pound (they're $4.99 per pound, but my book was just under an lb so I got it for $4.25).
The only reason I didn't get more pounds was that I had to feed the meter (another reason to adore Evanston: they still take nickels and dimes for their parking meters! quarters, too, but I used my spare change all day and parked for less than $3 for three hours!)

Some treasures from Bookman's Alley, which is closing and selling everything at 50% off. So I got these four books ($35):

• A first edition of Paco's Story by Larry Heinemann, who was the best professor I had during graduate school. I already have two first editions of this fantastic novel, but this copy is in immaculate condition and it was only $12.50 (after discount)
• An early book club edition of Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger, and yes, I already have two hardcover copies (a 35th and a 37th printing) and three paperback copies, but it's one of my favorite books and it was only $12.50 (after discount)
• A 1984 paperback copy of The End of the World News by Anthony Burgess ($3.50 after discount)
• A first edition of The Bridesmaid by Ruth Rendell ($4 after discount)

 But my adventure wasn't over. After Trevor got home we had another suburban adventure, though this one was a bit more serious. We desperately need a new water heater (we fear that our twenty-year-old water heater will go the way of our upstairs neighbor's: splitting open and flooding our apartment [but because our neighbor has two units below her own, her heater also flooded our next-door neighbor Sarah's unit and a bit of ours]) and had made plans to venture out to Glenview and Abt Electronics to do some recon and possibly make a purchase. Within twenty minutes we had found a great deal at Abt and scheduled a delivery for new heater next Saturday.

But our purchase was so easy and quick that we had to get our money's worth out of the trip so we wandered around the store for another half hour, playing with satellite navigation units, car speakers (there were three teenagers trying out sub-woofers and I wanted whatever they were getting), stationary exercise bikes, adjustable kettlebells (I want them), and irons. It was very exciting stuff.

We eventually got hungry and left Abt for our final adventure: dinner at Red Lobster. Trevor had two gift cards to the restaurant from my Aunt Irene (two Christmases worth) so we decided to put them to good use. We ate our fill of cheddar bay biscuits (OMG they're good and each tastes like it's make with five sticks of butter), rainbow trout (Trevor) and king crab legs (me and Trevor). And all of it only cost us $26 (with tip). Trevor documented some of our dinner experience.

Waiting for our table

Lobster beer

Lobster powder

So this dinner put me over the $100 mark for the whole day, but it kept me under $120.

And it was all worth it.

Spring Means...

...new jobs!

Last month Trevor started his new job as photo editor for the Modern Luxury publishing company, which publishes, most notably around town, Chicago Social (or CS as it's know to the cool kids) magazine. Trevor's working on four of the magazines: Manhattan, Washington D.C., Miami, and Hawaii, in addition to some of the special "brides" books each of those cities do each year. As soon as he knew which books he was working on I said, "so you'll get to travel to these wonderful cities, right? Right?!" And he said, "No. All of my work can be done through the Internet." And I said, "booooooooo."

But, this is very exciting. As he put it, he's worked in studio photography, fine photography, and now editorial photography. It's a great move for him and we're really excited about it. Plus, he gets a full hour for lunch! And the fact that we're so excited about that says maybe a little too much.

...a mini-vacation, courtesy of Greg and Paula Bork!

For Christmas, 2011, Greg and Paula got us a ridiculously wonderful gift of a weekend away at the American Club in Kohler, WI. We finally used it this month and went away the weekend after Trevor's birthday (April 12, in case you don't already have it on your calendars). When I made the reservation I told them that it was his birthday, so there was champagne waiting for us in the room when we checked in, and everywhere we went people wished him a happy birthday. He was both embarrassed and pleased.

We didn't do much on Friday night except check in and eat some dinner.

Friday night we ate dinner at the Horse & Plow

The hallway to our room

On Saturday we had a lovely breakfast in the Wisconsin Room

 
and then drove to Sheboygan to check out the John Michael Kohler Arts Center for a dose of culture.

I didn't see the sign about not taking pictures: the security guard made me delete all of them. I only pretended to delete this one.

Trevor snuck this one to avenge my honor. Silly security guard.

And he couldn't resist taking this one. Another T. Power

After the arts center we popped over to beach and pier in Sheboygan to enjoy a bit of the lake.

The birthday boy

We headed back to the American Club to get ready for our spa day, which included amazingly soft robes, a whirlpool, all the almonds and yogurt-covered raisins, lemon water, and tea we could consume, and a couples massage. Oooh, yeah, baby. That's luxury.

There were no pictures taken.

That evening we had a nice dinner and then drinks at the hotel's library. Fantastic.

On Sunday morning before heading out we visited the Kohler Design Center to check out the stunning kitchen and bathroom designs and, of course, the wall of toilets.

...the end of the semester!

This semester my students have been up to some cool things, so I thought I'd share some with you before the semester ends.

My creative writing students got to hang out in MCC's Black Box Theatre while they worked on their 10-minute plays

Here are two little videos from the day my learning community students watched our ceramics instructor firing raku ceramics. They're doing their own projects this week (and writing about them), so they got to see the process first.

This is what the pieces started as:

And this is what they looked like when they were fired:

Cool, huh?

So, that's our spring update. Two more weeks of classes and finals week. And then. Nothingness. For two whole weeks before summer school. Nothingness. Fantastic.