I thought I’d see how it feels to not mention the week count since stay home began… pretty good so far! This week was momentous because, with Miles and Ashton here rather than away at school, we got to see year 1 of college come to a close. Here’s Miles hitting send on his final paper, with help from Nyx. Since then, he’s received some really positive feedback on the paper and has been encouraged to enter it into a competition, which is really wonderful to hear and well deserved, so he’s already been back in writing mode this weekend. But at the time, on Thursday, this was the big moment!
His paper was on the effects of WW1 on the Australian homefront, and how Gallipoli became part of the country’s self-image. Did you know more Australians died fighting Germans on the western front than at Gallipoli? Hit us up if you want to talk WW1 and the British Dominions, it is a big topic around here!
Also on Thursday we got a shipment of masks from Mom, who’s really perfecting the art of mask-making and very generously donating them to groups who need masks in Kansas City – plus some groups who need masks in Chicago. Thanks, Nana!
The photo of our mayor, Lori Lightfoot, watching over us sternly was blown up to a life-sized sticker on this door near our house. It was pretty startling to walk past!
We had very chilly weather during the week, described by the weather experts as a Spring Polar Vortex. No kidding – a May walk at noon in a wooly hat, puffy coat and grateful to have a mask over my face. We are meant to wear masks when we can’t distance from others, and since it’s pretty hard to distance on a sidewalk, most people around here have been wearing masks while out walking.
We went back to the Dunes for a walk on Saturday afternoon. Wedged in between the spring polar vortex at the end of the week and a day of rain on Sunday, we got in a very nice walk around the West Beach park.
Liam came over for a visit on Saturday and brought a cake for Mother’s Day! Thanks, Liam, it was really yummy!
Two items of note here – first, the brick repair works that we had done during the week included removing a really unsightly white strip of caulk from above the door that’s been annoying for the last 20 years. And second, John took this picture because my outfit was really funny (he thought, seeing it here, I can agree!) We needed coffee on Sunday morning and I grabbed a jacket on the way out of the house, not realizing I was putting on a “Canadian Tuxedo” of denim jacket with denim jeans. And my hair was really messy, hence the hat.
A neighbor down the street has arranged a lot of little objects into this grotto in the parkway – it’s been there for years but seems larger lately.
Barry’s birthday was over the weekend, and we did a round the world birthday call with him. Happy birthday, Barry!
John and I have a new COVID-friendly hobby – bird watching. We have been noticing a wide range of birds in Humboldt Park due to the migration that birds are making this time of year, and it’s been really interesting to see all the bird life there since we are able to go to the park a lot more often and also earlier in the morning than on our old schedule. We have downloaded a birding app and have started identifying birds. Here’s some of what we’ve seen. The app also has an audio feature so you can play the bird song. Nyx gets very alarmed when we play the bird song in the house!
I also have more of this in my schedule than I used to – midday check-ins with my coworkers!
And sorry to end on a sad note, but we just got word that Bruce, our family friend who lived in Evanston, passed away yesterday. Bruce had been ill for some time but despite struggling with a body that cooperated less and less, he was still the same very warm person with a keen interest in the world and sharp wit when I saw him last November. With Covid-19, visits to the care center were very restricted the last few months but his family was able to do a wave parade past his window 2 weeks ago which he greatly enjoyed. We’re lucky to have known you, Bruce. You’ll be missed.
Sorry to hear about your friend.
That’s great that Miles’ paper on WW1 has been so well received. It really did have a huge impact on Australia… it only had a population of 5 million at the time and a huge proportion of the male population enlisted (google tells me 600,000). The whole “spirit of mateship” all stems from then really (altho is well used by advertisers now!)
That’s a great selection of birds you’re seeing!