On Tuesday evening (Dec 23) we had tickets to see the film It’s a Wonderful Life at the music box. We’ve done this Chicago tradition many times and it is a pure delight every time! We had empanadas at nearby Tango Sur after and chatted about the movie.
We dropped Liam off at his place after and dropped Miles on Western where he was meeting Dylan – and we caught her to say hi on her way in too!
On Christmas Eve, I baked chocolate cookies (no photos but they were very nice, with some big salt flakes and chocolate chunks on top!) then drove to Union Station to meet mom’s train. I got there early (no traffic!) and gave myself a gift of a walk around the loop and over the river. Always a pleasure!
After regrouping at our place, mom and I went to the Garfield Park Conserbatory. The winter show was all pointsettas, but what variety! Orange, different reds, pink, and some with a holly-like leaf.
Meanwhile back at home, John was prepping for dinner. Bronwyn’s mom and uncle were in town, and they came over with Bronwyn and Kalee, and we had a very nice time with them! On the menu: butternut squash with a bright citrus dressing, arugula salad, sourdough bread, and a beef tenderloin with horseradish and a chimmichurri sauce. Yum! Btw the chimmichurri sauce is an herb oil that is a specialty of Argentina, and we got it for takeout while at Tango Sur! That’s some Christmas synergy.
We had 2 dessert courses, which was delightful. First a Harry & David gift box that they brought us, with chocolate covered cherries, caramel corn, cookies and chocolates. Then we moved to the living room and had the chocolate cookies mentioned earlier with ice cream. It was great to spend the evening with Kelee and Erin and look forward to their next visit!
On Christmas we woke up to gifts and stockings in the living room, and once everyone was up and coffee was made, we opened presents. John got me a chemex cosy – wow does this keep the pot of coffee hot!
Liam gave us prints that I’ll feature here soon, they are on the framing table at the moment. Hint: some good lake propaganda!
We had baked eggs with smoked salmon then split into two groups – Liam went to meet Bronwyn and family for their Christmas Day tradition of baking cookies and eating crab cakes, and the rest of us drove to Naperville to visit everyone there. We had a nice visit with grandpa first then went over to Debbie’s, where they were relaxing after a trip to Hawaii.
We drove back to the city, ate tamales, then met Liam and Bronwyn at the cinema and watched Marty Supreme. Very intense and good movie!
On Stephen’s Day, Liam and Miles watched a movie at Liam’s, and John and I walked to Wicker Park. We all bumped into each other at the Barnes and Noble bookstore there in the afternoon. On Saturday, we went to the MCA to see the Yoko Ono exhibit. It was really good, with a lot of participatory pieces toward the end. This room, and boat in the room, is covered with notes and messages from museum visitors.
Miles rounded out the week with Saturday night out with Lane friends and also later Dylan and her dad. We got up early on Sunday to take Miles to the airport for his flight to Austin (coffee and a snack in the car again!). Enjoy your visit with Max and Caroline, Miles, it was great spending a week with you! Merry Christmas to all!
