07/31/15: I took a little staycation this week, but we didn't have a chance to go away because of other things scheduled this week, like Stephie's art class or the Berwyn Library Writer's Group. We did take a ride today to check out The 606, the new park in Chicago that has been in the paper lately. The idea of a park built on an abandoned rail line just seemed like something that we should see. So we tossed Kisu in the Escape and drove to Wicker Park, where we found parking near one of the access points.
It's an interesting idea, a long, narrow park that runs for almost three miles through several neighborhoods. The web site calls it a "recreational trail and park", which makes me think of following a trail through the woods. It's actually a long cement ribbon with some nice landscaping along both sides. We walked maybe a half-mile or so of it, and it was a little harrowing with a dog, because of the frequent bicyclists travelling along the path. Kisu is fairly well-behaved on leash, but we do allow her to explore a but, and I was more than a little nervous to let her do that, for fear a passing cyclist would get tangled in her leash. We didn't see too many places to stop and sit, and there was very little shade, a problem which will resolve itself as the trees along the path grow in.
We walked roughly from Damen to the eastern end of the trail at Ashland. There we found a nice, shady park to sit and relax, once we navigated the construction fences at that end. Since it was a hot, sunny day, we decided to walk at street-level back to the car, and I'm glad we did, because we stumbled on a nice neighborhood restaurant, Club Lucky in Bucktown, with an outdoor patio where we could have lunch with Kisu. Well, we almost had lunch with her, because she had to sit outside the fence around the seating area, but she behaved and we had a nice time, and the food was great. I'd definitely go back if we were in the neighborhood. And the 606 was pretty nice, too, but maybe not on a hot, sunny day with an elderly dog.
07/08/15: I went to the Brookfield Library today for a special event, and on my way out, I stopped at the New Books shelf, and look what I found. I had donated one copy of each of my four books to the library several weeks ago, but they were in the process of changing the database used to track books. They couldn't put the books in the system until the conversion was complete, and they couldn't put them on the shelf until they were in the system. The conversion is done, the books are in the system, and as of today, the only on on the shelf is The Hidden Message. I guess that means that the other three were taken out! If your library subscribes to the Swan system, as I believe most Illinois libraries do, you should be able to reserve one of my books and read it for free. How cool is that?
07/04/15: I have conflicted feelings about the Fourth of July holiday. While I enjoy having a day off from work, and I love waking up in the morning to see flags posted on everyone's lawn, courtesy of our neighbor, the illegal (in Illinois, anyway) fireworks continue to bother Kisu. She never was fond of loud noises, but as she's getting older, they bother her more and more. As we did last year, we got some tranquilizers from the vet and doped her to get her through the evening.
I know I'm a curmudgeon about this, but consumer-grade fireworks never interested me. We were never allowed to have them when we were kids, so they've never been a part of our holiday celebration, and now that Kisu is so sensitive that she's freaking out a week before the day, when the casual idiot usually starts making noise. I just wish there was some place we could take her so that we'd be away from them.
07/03/15: We're back to being a one car family. I had to take my beloved Focus in for a brake issue, and the estimate was more than I was willing to spend, at least for a "band-aid" fix. Oddly enough, the estimate was roughly what I spent last week, and we spent a few weeks ago on the Beetle. So we said that enough was enough. We did some Internet research and checked a few dealerships, and wound up with a brand new Escape. I've always been against owning an SUV, but as we traded in both cars, we needed something that would hold all of Stephie's art setup for when she does shows, so an SUV just made sense.
And as SUVs go, it's pretty nice. It rides more like a car, it handles well, and it has the amenities we need. We didn't get the one with the powered lift gate and keyless start. Just the basic model, and so far it's working for us. The one issue is that the back seat is too high for Kisu to jump into. We went on Amazon and bought a ramp, and she's getting used to that.
Stephie misses her Beetle, I miss my Focus, and we don't like having a car payment again, but so far, I think we made the right move.
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