Colorful Chicago

No leaves? Then it must be fall in Chicago!

Even though my Thanksgiving weekend trip to Chicago was really to help celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday, I also wanted to be reminded of one thing: What fall really looks like.

Here in south Texas, most of the trees are still green and lush with leaves. We really only have two seasons here: Hot and cold every now and then. I haven’t spent a changing season in Chicago since 1983, so I was anxious to be treated to the beauty of fall turning into winter up north. I knew there would be plenty of bare trees, like the one shown above, but I was hoping that most of them would be showing their colors.

The leaves have turned yellow.

And many of them did! My little brother, the big-shot Chicago lawyer, lives in the city, where my mom and I visited him and his family a couple times. He obliged us with walks around the area both days, and, of course, I was toting my Nikon D700 and Nikon 35-70mm lens.

That's more like it!

I especially like the trees that seem to burst with color. Some of our local south Texas trees have turned dark red, but none can boast of yellow, orange, and red hues like these.

Dark red leaves make their own colorful statement.

Almost everywhere we walked, trees and bushes sported their colors.

A glorious scarlet maple

All of that glowing red almost made me miss Chicago in late fall . . . well, until I remembered how blooming cold it gets as winter arrives!

I definitely was getting an eyeful of color from the foliage until the hour grew late, and darkness started to descend while we were walking in a park. How could the view get any better?

Sunset in Chicago

Of course . . . sunset! I’ve always said that south Texas sunsets are the prettiest in the world.

The sunset continues in the park.

But these? Looks like Chicago has the second prettiest!

Happiest of Birthdays to My Mom

Me (age 7), my mom, and my sister Helene (age 8)

My mom turns 80 years old today! Eighty years is a long time . . . a lot has happened since 1929 (my mom was a stock market crash baby), both in the world and to my mother.

My mom in 1970

Through it all, my mom married my dad twice (secretly in October of 1948 and “officially” in May of 1949), bore four kids by the age of 26 and raised them (not an axe murderer among us, I’m proud to say), took care of my dad when he had leukemia until he died, married my stepfather Earl, and took care of him when he had lymphoma until he died.

My mom in 1975

Mom learned to drive when she was 36 years old. We had moved from Chicago where she didn’t need a car north to Waukegan, which had little public transportation. She finally went back to work when my baby brother, the big-shot Chicago lawyer, was eight years old. She did without for many years so that we could have new clothes.

Mom walks in Chicago last Saturday.

When I look at my beautiful mom, I don’t see an 80-year-old woman. Instead I see kindness and warmth in a person who is as energetic as someone half her age. Her life is filled with volunteerism. She teaches English as a second language, delivers Meals on Wheels, helps out at a local nursing home, and is active in her synagogue.

Mom reluctantly lets me take her photo.

My mom is an inspiration to me and my sons. She remains young at heart with an appreciation of what every day brings. She says that any years after age 75 are a bonus.

Mom and her twin sister Goldie flank a dolphin friend while on a cruise.

Mom is especially lucky, because she gets to share her special day with her twin sister Goldie. Happy birthday today to both of you! Hope you have many, many more. Love ya lots!!

Here’s Your Sign!

The fateful new gate

I’ve decided that I must have a “kick me” sign on when I fly. From that ridiculous garment bag incident to that long delay leaving Kansas City, I don’t seem to have good karma when it comes to airports these days.

And that sadly continued on Thanksgiving Day. I was flying to Chicago to visit my mother for the long weekend and a celebration of her 80th birthday. I got there in plenty of time and noted that my gate was E15, which, of course, was the furthest gate possible from security. As always! Every time I passed an arrival/departure monitor for Continental, I checked my flight. E15 and on time. Great!

Wish I had seen this sign when I passed it the first time!

I hoofed it all the way to almost as far as you can go and passed a final monitor. Oh, oh . . . now the gate was C44. Which I had already passed! What the heck?

Yes, it was the dreaded gate change back to the C terminal. With sweat dripping off my face, I powerwalked the 10 miles back to C44 and got there with 10 mins to spare before boarding. Whew!

Early on, it wasn't very cloudy.

All too soon, I was on the plane and then on my way to Chicago. Time to relax and take cloud photos. At first, it was crystal clear; not a cloud in sight. But after 20 minutes or so, the puffy stuff started rolling in. And I began clicking away with my Nikon D700 and Nikon 35-70mm lens.

Love the marshmallowy clouds!

If there wasn’t a wing right outside my window, I might think I was in marshmallow land. Or Antarctica, for that matter. It seemed so calm and serene.

Lake Michigan

As we started our final approach, Lake Michigan finally appeared. Almost time to see my mom!

Art hangs from the airport ceiling.

O’Hare had interesting artworks hanging from the ceiling as I walked through the airport.

More hanging ceiling art

Not only could you look up to see art, but . . .

A drawing hangs over a window.

. . . there also were drawings of Chicago landmarks hanging over windows. Very eclectic!

It was a neat sign that I was back at my midwestern home.

Giving Thanks, Part III

The #2 son’s fountain of youth

As I finish these several blog posts of Thanksgiving, I can’t forget one thing I’m immensely grateful for:

My two sons when they cooperate by giving me great photo ops.

The #1 son is all wet.

Just wish it would happen more often! Thanks, guys!

Giving Thanks, Part II

Looks like the #1 son is thankful for the Wii!

On this day of giving thanks, this is what I’m especially thankful for:

The Mister is thankful for a sport that he can play with his sons.

• My family. I have three amazing men in my life. The Mister is a great provider and father, usually a terrific role model for our sons (well, except when he forgets that we own a dishwasher and garbage can).

The #2 son seems thankful for our iMac.

Our sons are growing up to be fine young men with interesting personalities and encouraging futures. They’re the light of my life every single day. I can’t imagine not being a mom; it’s the best “job” ever!

Mom and me

• My “original” family. I’m very thankful for my wonderful mom, who turns 80 on Tuesday, and my two older sisters and younger brother. They keep me grounded. I’m especially grateful for some terrific DNA—volunteerism, warmth, and a love of family from my mom; love of photography and my sense of humor from my late father.

• My extended Texas family, which includes my very giving and understanding sister-in-law Carol and brother-in-law Mike and his wife Paula. The Mister has great siblings (Paula is very much a sister to him)!

• My fantastic neighbors and friends, who accept me for the way I am, which is about 15 degrees left of center. Gotta be thankful for that!

• Our wonderful public school teachers who have prepared one son for college and are working on getting the second one ready, too. I’m grateful that these women and men are unselfishly giving of their talent and time for our kids. They’ve been a great influence on my sons’ lives.

• I’m also thankful for mild south Texas winters; Nikon photo equipment; Apple computers, iPods, and iPhones; the internet, which is my favorite addiction; and running, which is merely jogging at my slow pace. And, of course, for all of my readers. I’m so glad you join me on my life’s journey; just wish y’all would comment more so I’d know what’s on your mind!

Hope y’all have a wonderful Thanksgiving that includes counting your blessings!

Giving Thanks, Part I

There's my boy!

On this day before Thanksgiving, I’d especially like to express my gratitude to our local public library for employing the #1 son. He’s been working there for three weeks now, and he’s been gaining so much more than a paycheck.

Of course, what he likes best is the paycheck.

The books are the thing.

We hadn’t seen #1 in his new habitat yet, so the Mister, the #2 son, and I decided to visit him last night while he was working. #1 had specifically asked his younger brother to come see him.

No, not his mother, who went through 15 hours of excruciating labor pains to bear him. Just sayin’.

Hmmm . . . curious headgear

When we arrived in the children’s section where #1 works as a shelver, we could see him working at his cart putting books in order. As we got closer to him, I couldn’t help but notice something odd—what he was wearing on his head. The other day he had asked me if we had any ear warmers. Thinking he wanted one for a video, I gave him one I was able to find quickly.

Apparently, he did not want the ear warmer for a video! For there it was around his head. On closer inspection, I could see he was trying in vain to cover up a wire snaking from his ear through his shirt.

Me: “Are you listening to your iPod Touch?”

#1 son: “Why would I do that? It’s against the rules.”

Yes, it is against the rules! However, #1 is used to music filling his ears as often as possible. He doesn’t have to converse with anyone there, so he figured why not listen to tunes to make the time travel faster. Hope it doesn’t get him fired!

Two of my favorite children's books

Lovin’ the library

I’ve always loved the library. Back in the day, my two older sisters, my little brother, and my mom would walk what probably was three miles to the library, check out books, and walk back home. It’s one of my favorite memories! There was no money to buy books, so we were very grateful for the library, because we loved to read.

Curious George . . . on steroids, apparently

When I was a kid, I pretty much lived in the children’s section of the library. My mom would go off to the adult side with its books filled with tiny print and no pictures. Intriguing but not as much fun.

Everyone loves Franklin!

Walking around the young adult part of our local library showed how much it was still the same (there’s no changing that Dewey decimal system) yet so different (computers are a hot ticket for the kids to use, plus there are audio books and videos to check out as well as books).

#1 looks at a Nicolas Flamel book that he's about to shelve.

It’s still a fascinating place for the kids, as well as the perfect spot for my #1 son to learn and gain confidence as a worker. And for that I’m extremely grateful.

These two characters

I’m also giving thanks that my sons get along so well . . . most of the time. Like any siblings they fight, occasionally with wrestling. But for the most part they enjoy each other’s company and like hanging out together.

Brothers who genuinely like each other? It doesn’t get any better than this!

An Attitude of Gratitude

Red and yellow flowers start to bud.

I was struck by something that another blogger posted yesterday. Nate, who writes Confessions of a CF Husband, had this to say (as taken from yet another blogger):

“What would it look like if I ONLY spoke words of gratitude the entire week of Thanksgiving?”

And that got me thinking. I’m planning to write my blog post of thanks Thursday. I feel so fortunate that I have so much to be thankful for. But maybe I need to speak words of gratitude this entire week, just like Nate plans to do. Even in the most difficult of situations. Like yesterday at lunch.

I was at Chipotle, which I’m kind of the mayor of because I eat there so often. I was sitting next to a table with three boisterous women, one of whom had a loud, booming, annoying laugh. And how often was she laughing? Only at everything her tablemates said. And they were talking a lot. Here I was trying to read my “Reader’s Digest” magazine while enjoying my delicious (as always) veggie bowl, while this gal was disturbing my concentration with her grating guffawing.

When the trio finally left, I remembered what Nate had written, and I thought, “I’m so thankful that they’re gone!”

I'm especially thankful for beautiful flowers that I can photograph.

Of course, that’s really not the true spirit of being thankful according to Nate. Definitely not a true attitude of gratitude.

What should I have been thankful for? That I don’t have that annoying laugh! And I am!!

Movie Review: “New Moon”

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Fair warning: If you’re not a “Twilight” series fan, you probably should move along to your next-favorite blog. The movie I’m about to review, “New Moon,” is best viewed by Twihards.

Sidebar: I fervently wish that I had been the one to coin the name “Twihards.” It’s so punny!

Yes, I count myself among not only the Twihards but also the Twimoms. And I can thank not only my #1 son but also my friends Kathy L. and Paula D. for that. The #1 son started to read the “Twilight” series based on the recommendation of another pal, Katrina, who owns a local bookstore in our small community. I had wanted a book for him that would take the sting out of the impending end of our beloved “Harry Potter” series, and Katrina recommended “Twilight.” She noted that it was really a young adult chick book, but she said that boys loved the vampires. I was sold and bought the paperback.

Really, which one? Team Edward or Team Jacob?

The #1 son enjoyed “Twilight” so much that he asked me to buy “New Moon” for him. Which, of course, I did. Then when the “Twilight” movie was about to come out last year, Kathy and Paula told me I had to read the book. Both of them were Twihard Twimoms; I almost noted a golden topaz gleam to their eyes.

In essence, those two became my book crack dealers. I read “Twilight,” and I was hooked.

Sidebar: And, of course, I mean “book crack” in the nicest way. When I was finishing up “New Moon,” #1 had already read “Eclipse.” I was flying through book two while lying on the couch. As I got to the final page, I said to #1 in an urgent, do-this-or-you’re-grounded tone, “Please get me the ‘Eclipse’ book right now!” I just had to see what happened next!

Gotta love Jacob's abs.

The #1 son and I saw “New Moon” yesterday at the $5 show, of course. It was packed. The short version of the review? Thumbs up! It was much better than the “Twilight” movie. Jacob and his pack turning into werewolves was wonderful computer-generated imagery. They did look a little more cuddly than scary at times, but that works for me, a stuffed animal lover.

Edward's abs "pale" in comparison.

Here’s what I liked about the movie:

Favorite line: Said by Jacob to Bella, who obviously still preferred vampire Edward: “Am I the wrong kind of monster?”

Alice Cullen

Favorite character: Alice Cullen, as played by Ashley Greene. Gotta love a perky, upbeat vampire!

Favorite theme: I like the compare and contrast to “Romeo and Juliet,” which Bella just happens to be studying for senior English. Bella and Edward definitely are star-crossed lovers!

Favorite part of the movie: The ending! No, not because I was glad the flick was over, but because I like how it segues nicely to the third movie.

The Cullen vampire clan and Bella

Here’s what bugged me about the movie:

Soul train of thought: Even though the discussion about whether or not vampires have souls was interesting, they never said that the reason they’re damned is because most of them have murdered humans for their blood. An important point.

Here’s your change: The movie starts out with Bella begging Edward to “change her.” If you haven’t read the books, you probably wouldn’t know that she means to change her to a vampire. That’s not made clear until near the end.

Otherwise, I thought the film did a good job of dealing with all the material in the book. Didn’t Dakota Fanning, who plays the torturing vampire Jane, look innocently evil? The Volturi were especially well-cast. In fact, the entire Italy sequence was well-done.

Edward says goodbye "forever" to Bella.

You’re probably wondering one important question: Whose side am I on—Team Edward or Team Jacob? Having two sons means that I try to never take sides (I usually just send both to their room for a dual timeout). I must say that Taylor Lautner, who plays best friend/werewolf Jacob, does have a set of abs on him. He’s buffer than the thinner Edward whose abs “pale” in comparison.

Here’s a fact that helped me make my final decision . . . for now: Lautner is a mere eight days younger than my #1 son!

Team Jacob all the way for this Twihard Twimom!

Arrrrrr! Fun With Facebook

Arrrrrr! It's Facebook in Pirate English!

Thanks to my high school friend, Sue, I’ve really been enjoying Facebook lately. She passed along the information that if you go to the bottom left side of your Facebook page, you can change the language it’s viewed in. There are lots of choices! There’s even upside-down English (very odd!).

Sue’s sage advice? Opt for experiencing Facebook in pirate English. Great call! Immediately after you click on that choice, you’re transformed into a world that might cause Johnny Depp to be “People” magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. Suddenly your Facebook page is so funny that you can’t wait to read it.

As you can see from the top screen grab, almost everything is translated into pirate-eze. “Live Feed” becomes “Cap’ns Log”; “View News Feed” now is “spy common talk.” That “What’s on your mind?” that encourages you to shout news to the Facebook world first before you tell your closest neighbors? It’s become “What be troublin’ ye?” A very-fitting sentiment for me today.

Pirating your vital statistics and recent activities. Me, saucy?!?

I especially chuckle at how when you friend someone, that you “now be matey’s.” The time that a comment was posted? “’Bout 3 turns o’ yer hourglass ago” or “3 shots o’ rum ago.” If you want to comment, you “weigh in.” To show that you like what’s on the original poster’s mind is “Arrr, This be pleasin’ to me eye.” Videos are called “bewitched portraits” (sounds almost Harry Potterish). You might be notified that a friend “flapped gums ’bout your recent tales.” Love that “flappin’ gums” line!

Even the notifications you get from Facebook via e-mail are in pirate. E-mails, which say that “mutterin’s were made at yer wall post” are sent from “Ye Olde Facebook Master Crew.”

The bottom of a pirate Facebook page

I must admit that sometimes I have to revert to good, old American English to figure out the pirate translations. But most of the time? I just wish I be wearin’ an eyepatch while at me iMac. Arrrr!!

Fall Arrives in South Texas—in the Next Community

The view down my street in the front

See all that green? That’s what our neighborhood in the Houston area looks like right now.

Our Bradford pear tree remains green and lush in our backyard.

A check of the backyard? Green as spring. Makes it hard to get into the holiday spirit. I thought the family might have to drive to Lost Maples State Park, which is almost 300 miles west of Houston and known for its leaves changing color, to experience fall.

It's fall nearby!

But, thankfully, all I had to do was run in the community that borders mine. Where I was pleased to discover that fall is a mere half-mile away!

It's beginning to look a lot like fall!

What a difference in the way the trees look! It was great to see the orangey color among the everpresent green.

Fall is reflected in the lake.

Not only do the trees look great, but their reflections in one of the community’s lakes also is fall-like.

Reflecting on fall

So now when I need a reminder of what season we’re in, I just jog over to the next community. Wonder if it’ll snow there, too!