Life is Sweet - Smelling the Roses at Chicago Botanic Garden...

Its the weekend again!  Yey!  On the books for today - a trip to Chicago Botanic Garden. The weather had promised to co-operate and hold off til at least the late afternoon, so we were up bright and early to get our gym session in (I know, I know), before heading out to the gardens.  The gardens are pretty close to where I work, so the drive out was nice and easy, just 25 mins northwards up the highway (I wish it was like that during the work week!).  As we were still on our detox (the 2nd round this time - and partly to shift the chubb we put back on during our 3 days off!), we'd packed a super-healthy picnic, so it felt like a school outing! (well, not exactly, but you get my drift..)

The Grand Dame Grand Tram Grand Slam

Unbeknownst to us, today also happened to be World Planet Day (or something similarly right-on and worthy), so there were lots of mildly pointless yet charmingly earnest stalls and vendors sprinkled throughout the garden, wanting to demonstrate various key life skills like chopping wood or farming worms.  Or vice versa.  I dunno - I'm just guessing here.   I didn't actually go over and talk to anyone - the thought of faking an interest in bio-organic chainsaws wielded by locally-grown artisans seemed far too taxing that early in the morning.  That and the remarkable observation that -  despite having obviously gotten up earlier than we had to go set up a stall at the gardens and sit there all day with no-one showing the remotest interest in what they were hawking - they didn't seem to care or even notice!  Unlike those dodgy "craft fairs" that sprout up like festive carbuncles every holiday season where the vendors pounce on you in desperation the minute you come within striking distance, there was an almost Brit-like degree of sang-froid.  Keep Calm and Cultivate On, I guess.

Covered in bee

Disappointed in the lack of retail opportunities at the "fair", we consoled ourselves with purchasing tickets for a ride in the Grand Tram.  Now this was more like it.  No "little tram" for us - oh no, it was the full monty 2.3 mile extravaganza Grand Tram Shuffle round the full perimeter of the gardens.  The tram (OK - it was basically a big electric golf cart with 3 long carriages attached to it - Mumsie and I bagged the back seat of the very last carriage!) was driven by this awesome black lady who didn't take any shit from no-one and who had no hesitation slamming the brakes on, and telling the Korean tourist who'd just gotten up to take a picture while the tram was in motion (gasp) to sit the hell back down!  It was awesome.  I felt like I was on a ride with my Mum.   Oh. Wait. That's right - I WAS!   I have to say, though, that our little lady driver had Mumsie beaten with all the various homilies and Southern expressions that she sprinkled throughout her commentary.   Fortunately for Mumsie, I can't remember any of them (nothing new there, then) so Mumsie is Still Number One Homily Queen.

It was a great trundle round - I don't remember what all the various bits of the park were called that we drove through or past, but it was a really good way to get a great overview of the whole thing (without the effort of having to walk round it ourselves) and to get oriented.  If you are interested, here's the link to the tour that we did and our route: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/tram.  Here are some pics from the tour - its a Vision in Green.

Japanese-style garden island 

Reminded me of those Cornish trees, bent by the wind!

Looks like hail, but these were actually seeds
covering the ground - like the ones you get from
dandelions

Hikers in the prairie style garden section

After our Tram Slam Dunk, our next adventure on our botanical magical mystery tour was the Butterfly house.  Only open during the non-glacial parts of the year (good plan, butterflies, to die off before the winter - you aint missing much), it promised lots of flappy happy, so in we went!  Now, there's not really much you can say about butterflies (they're like the insect equivalent of fireworks I guess - lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" but not much else) but these were very pretty, with one particular beastie the size of a side plate!  If that one decided to flap at ya, you'd know about it!  Mumsie managed to pick up a hitch-hiker for a little while - she said she could actually feel it land on her leg, it was that heavy!  But, other than that, we managed to get round the Butterfly house without incident or accidental splattage or instinctual swattage.  Here are some pics from our favorite Lepidoptera:

Either a very smart butterfly or one who's just tempting fate...

Stowaway!! 

Yes.  It really was THAT big.  A pukka big Bug-ger.

Sleepy butterfly, just woken up..

The final activity on our frenzy of fun was a visit to the Railway Garden!  Thomas - this one was for you and Eren!   This garden was built around famous landmarks and cities - all, of course, powered and supplied by the wonder of the locomotive engine!  As with the Fair, again it was time to cue nerds as the whole operation seemed controlled by the..um.. controllers, a bunch of retirees with full on sock-sandal combo, armed with impressive looking remote controls for the trains.  As we gazed in awe upon these , we saw one spring into action to respond to an emergency situation with the Amtrak train, which had apparently stopped for no reason (no change there then).  With some skillful wiggling and jiggling (and pressing of buttons on his remote control box too), crisis was averted and Fake New York's commuters were *ahem* back on track.

San Francisco!!  My ex-home town with Coit
tower at back, and Lombard Street zig-zagging
down the front!!

Look at the picture closely - the people outside the lodge should
be looking a little more alarmed than they are!*

Although I dunno what is up with the fashion of the guy on the far left.
Designer duds and a draped scarf?  I think he must have escaped
from the Manhattan exhibit...

Its right above you!!

It took me a loooooooong time to drag Mumsie away from
 this part of the garden...

Yes.  Yes, it does.

So, with that final homily of the day, our little sojourn at the garden drew to a very pleasing close.  We had our little picnic of hard-boiled eggs, homemade blueberry muffins and fresh fruit in the little picnic areas (as you do) before heading back to the car and wending our way home.  A most lovely day was had by all.

Next up, Eddie!!!

Scooby Robie Doo!

Poor old Mr. Robie.  You've got to feel for the guy, really.  

Stunning view of the exterior of Robie House

Its really quite a poignant story.  There he is, riding high on top of the world, a wealthy industrialist at only age 30, rich from the family firm, with a beautiful wife and two young kids, commissioning what would become a landmark piece of architecture.  No sooner has the house been finished, then the patriarch dies - and leaves his son with a huge mountain of debt.  The sum of money owed was enormous and left Mr. Robie bankrupt with no choice but to sell the house he loved and had only lived in for 18 months, as well as his prized automobile collection.   His story doesn't have a happy ending, unfortunately - he and his wife divorced, with the now ex-Mrs. Robie and kids moving back to her home state.  He then spent the rest of his life sadly grubbing away as a salesman, just to getting by, and never again achieving or regaining the status and comfort in life that he'd enjoyed in his earlier years.  But his name would be forever associated with the spectacular Priarie-style house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for him - which was either a consolation or profoundly irritating.  And - by the time he died, he'd managed to pay back all his father's debtors, so I guess there was some degree of redemption in the end for him.

Anyway, enough of the depressing stuff!  To rewind, Mumsie and I had decided to treat ourselves to a fat dollop of cul-cha at the weekend, which is how we found ourselves at the Robie House at 8.30am on a Saturday morning.  Well, we can't spend every weekend shopping at DSW and Marshall's now, can we?  (Wait?  What?  We can?  Dammit!)  Mumsie has always had an affinity for both Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles Rennie Mackintosh - we'd hit up the Macster many years ago on a trip to Glasgow (before the recent fire) so now was the perfect opportunity to "do" it Wright during her visit here to Chi-town.  There are a plethora of FLW (as those of us in the know like to call them) buildings in and around Chicago, notably in an area in the city called Oak Park.  We weren't in Oak Park but were instead in Hyde Park, a beautifully leafy green part of town on the South Side of the city where part of the main campus of Chicago University is located.

Man, it was gorgeous.  I didn't realize this part of town was so beautiful - especially as all you usually hear about the South Side is preceded by the words "don't go to…".  It has a reputation (rightly so) for being rough - very rough in places.  Anyway, this part of the South Side was not rough but was stunning - it was very reminiscent of Cambridge, with the old University buildings and magnificent churches and gardens.  As we walked past one church with a garden tent being installed on the front lawn, it only needed a duck pond and a cricket team and we could have been transported back to the heart of Wessex country.  Made both of us feel quite nostalgic, actually.

Anyway, i'd booked us in for the "Private Spaces" tour in which you could get to see parts of the house that were not normally included in the regular tour.  So, of course, I had to do that one.  Get to nose around more?  Yes, please!  As it turned out, it was a very private Private Spaces tour as there were only 3 of us booked!  (by contrast, I'd tried to get us in there the previous week but - because it was a holiday weekend - it was completely booked out).   Our guide was a lovely chap who's name I shamefully can't remember (and not sure I knew it back then either) and obviously devoted to all things FLW.  He was extremely knowledgable and did a great job explaining the history of the house, pointing out the important design and construction features and all the little details you'd completely overlook unless someone told you about them.  It did take a while to get going, though, as we spent the first 15 mins or so outside the house as he told us all about the construction, the zoning laws - which was all very interesting but just let us into the house already!!!

Stunning art glass windows on the second floor from the living room,
 overlooking an outside patio, under a big cantilevered overhang

After what seemed like FOREVER (but probably only about the same amount of time that your parents made you wait before you could open that first present in your stocking on Christmas morning), we went inside the house, firstly into the lobby foyer part, then gradually working our way through the various rooms and levels of the house - the children's playroom, the billiards room, the living room, dining room, master and guest bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen, pantry and servants quarters.  I'm not going to narrate you through each part of the house, I'm afraid - my lame commentary would be a very poor imitation of our Nameless Guide's tour.  I took quite a few pictures    - most of them were a bit dull, so I've just picked the few that I thought were half decent and give you a bit of a sense of the interior of the house.  It doesn't have any furniture in it, so its mainly big open interior spaces (with the exception of a single sofa) - all the interesting detail is in the materials used in the construction, the different colors of the cement used in the brickwork to emphasize the horizontal line of the bricks, the angle and placement of the wooden beams, the light fittings and the shadows cast upon the ceiling, the art glass windows and the patterns used that both let light in but kept prying eyes out, the revolutionary (for the time) central air system, the extensive use of electricity rather than gas and - finally - the internal triple garage instead of a stables that was the first of its kind anywhere in the US.   After the tour, I finally understood why this was such an important and distinctive building and had a new appreciation for the sheer amount of thought and attention to detail that FLW poured into the house.  Here are just a few more photos from our tour:

Decorative ceiling treatment, with lights behind the
parchment, lending the room a soft, diffuse glow

The main living room area on the second floor 

State of the art bathroom in 1910.
Also a state of the art bathroom in modern day NYC 

One of the guest bedrooms with stunning art glass windows

Mumsie wondering how she can fit the house into
her hand luggage

Surround sound shower.  Dunno about you, but i'd
still be impressed with this today!! 

Spectacular view from the far end of the living room,
all the way down through to the dining room

So that was Robie House.  The pictures don't really do it justice, I'm afraid so if you are interested and want to see more (and better) pictures and explanation, check it out these links:

http://www.flwright.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robie_House

By the time we were done with the tour (and the gift shop shopping!), it was just before 11am so we had a bit of a wander around in the glorious sunshine, before deciding that it was coffee time.  Not being able to find a coffee shop after a 5 min amble about, we unilaterally upgraded our needs to "lunch".  We headed into the main strip of Hyde Park, got lucky with a parking space behind McDonalds, then lucked out again with a completely random choice of restaurant for lunch, a place called A10.  Remember - Mumsie and I were enjoying a day off (or two) from our Detox Diet with the rules of engagement being - if it ain't nailed down or oinking, its fair game.  Like the troopers we are, we proceeded to demolish three different variants of Bread Product during "lunch" - and was only sorry that we were too full to enjoy a fourth - the beignets!  And, with a rueful glance at the menu and a vow to "start with dessert first" next time, we waddled out of the restaurant and wended our overly-stuffed way home.  Carbo-loading for the 5K race tomorrow?   I think I got that one covered….

Cambridge, much?

Carbo nirvana.  Just don't tell Dr Hyman….

I run for pastries

Before

The VERY best thing about getting up at 5am on a Sunday morning to go and do a 5K run is that you are then 100% justifiably allowed to be a complete lazy arse for the rest of the day and do nothing but sit on your bum and have an evening BBQ with friends.   Word.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Back to the start line.

As you know, over the last 6 weeks or so, I've started getting serious about getting in shape and dropping the Considerable Chubb and Stalker Fat I put on over the last 18 months or so.  Mumsie and I just finished another round of our 10 day Detox diet (my second round, Mumsie's first) and lost 8.7lb and 7.8lbs, respectively!   That means that, since I got back from my trip to Zurich in mid-April (the one filled with choccy bunnies aplenty), I've lost a grand total of 19.8lbs!!

I can't believe I'm UNDERCOSTUMED
 for once!!!

CUE RAPTUROUS APPLAUSE

I do still have about the same left to go, but its not a bad start, methinks!!  As well as the Detox Diet (a frigging miracle, if you ask me), I've also been working out three times a week with Christopher (who's been enjoying kicking my flabby butt into shape!) and I've started using this 10K running app on my phone to supplement some extra cardio.  Its one of these Get Your Arse Off the Sofa and Start Running STAT apps that gradually builds week on week, and moves you away from your life of sloth and couch Cheetos towards a new existence of neon sneakers and smugness.  The program to take you all the way to 5K without stopping is an 8 week affair - and, as of this morning, I was only halfway through week 5! (I'd miscalculated when I needed to start to be ready for the race - oops!).  So, I wasn't completely ready for the race this morning, but I wasn't the slovenly shambling heap I would have been 6 weeks ago either, so I figured i'd probably be able to shuffle my way round OK.

Anyway, race day rolls around and I'd spent most of yesterday, ahem, carbo-loading as Mumsie and I had just finished our Detox and happily awarded ourselves 2 days off to recover and re-tox before the next round.  This involved eating our body weight in Bread Products at this very nice little restaurant in Hyde Park, after we'd spent the morning touring round Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House (more on that in my next blog post).  I'd also treated myself to a glass of wine (or two) on the balcony last night as I lay out in the late afternoon sunshine and worked on MY TAN! (yes!!  A TAN!!  After three San Francisco summers, I've joyfully rediscovered pigmentation!).  I'm not sure if a bellyful of bread and a skinful of wine is altogether the best way to finish up your training plan for a running race, but it is what it is.

Proof!!!  

 One of the things about these races (obviously I'm now an expert, having run one and hung overly shuffled round 2 others) is that they start fiendishly early.  Which was why I found myself, on a Sunday morning, hauling my ass out of bed at 5am, ready to go and pick Lauren up at 6.15am for the drive into town.  Mumsie was coming with us too (but had declined to run) to serve as our security staff as well as personal valet and coat-check.  The drive into town was straightforward and took about 20 mins or so, so before we knew it, we were pulling into the car park for Lincoln Park Zoo (which was verrrry looooong) and heading into the Zoo itself to pick up our race packets.

The Scene.  Just hangin' with my fellow
athletes, as we athletes do.
Alphabetically and athletically.

It was all very well organized and the lines weren't too long - this despite the main sponsor being United Airlines, which has to be a first.  I thought about asking where the 1K Premier line was - but it was way too early for such douchie-ness, so I kept my smart-arsery to myself for once.  Much to my chagrin, there were a few people in animal costumes (dammit!) so I made a quiet mental note to myself not to be so shamelessly outclassed next year.

We'd arrived pretty early and had about an hour to wait before the off, but it was fun to people-watch and also have a look at the animals who were up already, wondering what all the noise was about.  After a while, it was time to head over to the start line which was a couple of blocks outside of the zoo, so we left Mumsie in a fool-proof Find Again location and headed out of the Park.  There we met up with Lisa, another client - and friend - of Christopher and Lauren's who looked super fit and as if she could eat up this 5K without breaking a sweat!!  We all decided to run together which was fun and - after watching a hapless car get towed from the starting line - it was time for the off!!

Now, fortunately for you, I'm not going to recount every step for you but the course itself was pretty straightforward, mostly flat with one or two little hills and on a gravel path that just did a big loop away from, then back towards the zoo.  We only ran probably the last 5 mins or so actually in the zoo itself (puffing a hello to the Alpacas and zebras on the way) and I'm very glad the run was so early cos  out of the shade, it was HOT even at 8am!  I won't fib and say that I did the whole thing without stopping, BUT all together, we probably only had about a minute walk break, so we pretty much did run the whole thing!  (I'll have no excuse for my next 10K app run though when it tells me to run for 8 mins and walk for 3!).  It really wasn't that terrible - I certainly got a good workout and my legs were tired by the end (as well as my face matching my shirt) but it was absolutely do-able and,what's more, I bloody well did it!!  So, huzzah for me - and huzzah for my two trusty running mates, Lisa and Lauren!  I even think, for fleeting moments, I might have - gasp - enjoyed it.  Who'dve thought it?

 So… how did I do?

Well, as it turns out - not too terribly.  I did precisely just below average - which, for me, was a winner!  Here are my stats (for all you running junkies out there - this will make you feel very superior but we've all got to start somewhere, right?)

Finish: 0:36:58
Pace: 11:54/mi
Overall: 1452 out of 2302
Place in gender: 820 out of 1431
Place in age group: 79 out of 136

Key takeaways (as we say) from these results:
My age group are lazy shits (where are the other 40-somethings??!)
THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE SLOWER THAN ME!!
I can DEFINITELY improve for next time!
WHAT?
NEXT TIME?
YES!!  I'm going to do it again!
OMG.  YOU ARE CRAZY!
Yes, yes, I am.
Bring on the 10K in September….

One of my shoes gets a little frisky.

No tongues, please

Even the tiger came to (sleepily) wave us off.

Ready for the off and raring to go!

And finally, here's what my pot of gold looked like at the end of my sweaty rainbow… (steady)

Just rewards.

Anyway, that was my day in the park today.  Since getting home, I've done sod all except put a bottle of champagne in the fridge and watch the weather out the window, hoping that the clouds and thunderstorm holds off long enough for some grilling action to go down on the rooftop.  According to my Sky Motion app, all looks well for the next 119mins, so if you'll excuse me, I've got to go get my grill on!….

After.
Over….and out.

Exploring Evanston...

What a lovely day of pootling its been.  The weather was absolutely perfect - low 70's with clear blue sky and sunshine and Mumsie and I spent the day wandering around Evanston and getting to know my new(ish) home town better.  After our regular morning stint at the gym (Mumsie is doing the 10-day detox diet - more to come on how she's doing in a few days!…) and our regular yummy smoothie breakfast, we caught the train into town at around 10am and happily rattled along the couple of stops until our station.  We could have walked really, but its always fun to take the train - especially after watching (and hearing!) it coming and going all day from the prime view from my balcony.

We hopped off the train at the Foster stop and then had a very pleasant walk to the market.  Evanston is known as a town of a thousand trees (or something - I haven't counted them all!) and I'm still amazed at the radical difference from when I first moved here in February and everything was coated under a thick thick layer of ice and snow.  The trees are still in full blossom and some of the gardens we walked past were absolutely beautiful - vibrant tulips, delicate violets and intoxicatingly perfumed jasmine.  A treat for the eyes and a feast for the nose.   After about 15mins, we found ourselves at the local market - it was OK - lots of stalls selling plants and flowers, and also lots of stalls selling very yummy, non 10-day detox compliant food!  Local cheeses, artisanal breads, tasty snacks and sweet treats - nom nom nom!   Feeling the need to avoid temptation (some of the smells were very enticing), we hightailed it out of the market and wandered along the high street, checking out the shops and stores.  We came to one particular store, World Market - which I hadn't been into before - that looked interesting, so we decided to check it out.

O. M. G.

We had inadvertently stumbled into a veritable Temple of Brit Food, the Church of Cadbury's, a Pantheon of Picnics.  It was incredible.  The store was one of those fascinating places that sold pretty much everything you could think of (my shopping basket at the end included a stainless steel ornamental plane along with maple candies, metal skewers and old-fashioned kids toys) and that you could spend hours browsing in.  The foodie bit was towards the back of the store, so we only discovered it after about a half hour - first just spotting some biscuits "ooh - look!  Cadbury's Fingers!" before realizing the comprehensive array of old favorites that was on offer!  It was very exciting - each new aisle brought a new revelation "Spotted Dick!" "Ambrosia Devon Custard!" "SALAD CREAM!!!", not least of which was Mumsie realizing that she would never have to bring me over Brit food from Northern Cyprus ever again!!  And - probably not surprisingly - all the brit food (exported directly from the UK) was MUCH cheaper than you can buy in Cyprus too!  Loopy - at this rate, I'll be bringing stuff over for you!!

Flower stall at Evanston local market.
Just add Eliza Dolittle

Anyway, that was a real treat - nostalgia mixed with the future promise of chocolatey gluttony!  We were pretty restrained on this trip (I couldn't resist buying a tin of Heinz beans though) but its great to know where i can get decaf PG Tips and Tunnocks Caramel wafers from!  All that drooling over food had got us feeling quite peckish, so we headed over to Art Smith's new place in town, a very health conscious restaurant called LYFE.  Mumsie got all New Yorky with her order and was asking lots of questions about whether her salad contained corn or GMOs (I was very proud) and I ordered a grass-fed steak with tomatoes.  Both dishes were absolutely delicious, so it was definitely a good lunch spot.  It was a bit noisy inside (but, then again, I'm probably turning into a grumpy old fart) but there was also a big outdoor patio dining area, so we could have moved outside if we'd wanted.

The eminently tempting Evanston market

After lunch, we ended up moseying on home and walked the mile and a half from downtown back to the apartment.  By this time, it was about 4pm but the weather was still so lovely, it was a very pleasant stroll.  After we got back, I artfully arranged my new purchase on my new entryway table and was very happy with the result. The new apartment is now officially "done".  

And with that, day 1 of the long holiday weekend drew to a very chilled out close.  I sat out on my little patio balcony, catching the last afternoon sun and reading the book I'd just bought about Pies (also from the UK, so full of absolute classics that I am dying to try).  Tomorrow, we head into the big smoke and a full day of touristy sightseeing in Chicago awaits!   Yey for holiday weekends!  Here are some more pictures from our day:

A hyperventilatingly exciting shelf

Loopy - this one is for you.
(licking the computer screen won't work, I'm afraid)

JAMMY DODGERS!!!  All ready for the Doctor
Who premiere in August….

I bloody love mushy peas.  Am a very happy bunny right now….

But obviously not quite
as happy as this little bunny….

Get a life?  Moi??

The alternate lunch spot, just across the street, for when
we're off the detox diet….

Parks and churches abound in Evanston... 

But no guns allowed
 at the Bread of Life Church…. no, sirree

Latest - and last - addition - perfect little
 entryway cabinet

The roaming IKEA cabinet finally lands
in its new home!

New home for the Delia chair too!

Kick-ass sunset