Chicago! A helluva town!

Last month, upon invitation to a wedding, I ventured all the way to the windy city of Chicago...but since I chose to let Killer Diller do the photo editing this time, it's taken a bit longer to get the resulting blog published.  Never again!

 The wedding was in downtown Chicago, so I headed out on a Friday night, on a half full flight, with a row of seats to myself and THIS AWESOMENESS as well:

SouthWest serves Dr Pepper!  I savored the essence as I coasted over the fly over states.  Once in Chicago, I was pleased to see that my hotel had prepared by bed in style:

Yes, that is DP - who insisted on sneaking past security and coming along.  The following photos of the hotel will not excite anyone but me, who appreciates history. Original Brass doorknobs and plates:

 Golden elevators with original clock style floor dials!  I loved getting into these elevators!

 But I digress, here is Chicago in all it's glory the following morning:

 Before heading to the wedding, I had time to explore the area a bit.  Here you see the famous "Married with Children" fountain.  I am almost positive it is actually called something else, since it dates about 100 plus years prior to Kelly Bundy.

 DP, ever the tourist, can not resist getting a shot with such a cultural icon:

 Naturally, MY PHOTO is never quite as good:

 But wither, I had to prepare for the wedding - here I am pulling one of those annoying "camera phone in the mirror" shots - how low can I go...

And finally here you see the actual reason I was in Chicago:

A gorgeous ceremony and party!  Here is the daughter of my friend and boss, who also traveled to the wedding:

 Someone, I WON'T SAY WHO, could not resist slipping in for a photo as well:

 I had 12 hours the next day to further explore the city - so I thought I'd take in the Chicago Art Institute - DP enjoyed it as well:

I pulled a "Cameron" and stared at the "Sunday in the Park" painting for awhile (look up the reference, movie heathens!):

 Here's me, proof I was actually in the museum:

Then I had to pull DP away from the "Sunday in the Park" painting, as DP was intent on finding out why the hell Cameron was obsessed with the painting:

 Time for a few more shots of downtown before heading back to the airport:

 I see statues in Chicago are just as disrespected as ones in San Francisco:

 Here's me, excited to be back on the plane, heading home, after a TWO HOUR DELAY at Midway.

Hooray for the Red White and Blue! And Fireworks, too!

Summertime!  And the living is....the same as every damn day.  But anyway, we've got the Fourth of July to liven things up, and the holiday falling in the middle of the week did nothing to damper local spirits.  Our city still allows the "safe and sane" fireworks, so of course...

SOME PEOPLE... I WON'T SAY WHO...insisted we purchase the big ones:

Ahh, what's more patriotic than a 100 year old doll kicking it with the flag, while the cat sneaks in:

I'll tell you what is...ME ACTUALLY COOKING!  Yes, I threw off the microwave shackles, tied on the apron and headed outdoors to BBQ some hot dogs and sausages.  True, I was scared, as there were things like fire, and smoke and bees and such in the air...but I sucked it up:

 I also bought a mini watermelon and when I sliced into it, was freaked out to see no black seeds:

 Of course, since I fired up the BBQ, I figured why waste all that heat and smoke and ash and stuff?  TIME FOR SMORES!!! (with patriotic marshmallow shapes, of course!)

 The end result...pretty tasty, but very messy.  This Virgo does not appreciate such foods:

Then we headed to the beach, the only one that allows fireworks on it.   SOME PEOPLE, I WON'T SAY WHO, were a little anxious to light up the sky:

Once our awesome "wind protection" pit was dug, I took the annual photo of the firepower.  SOMEONE, I WON'T SAY WHO...thought they would gross me out with a "foot in photo" bomb:

My friend's favorite firework to burn - need I explain why?

Here's a little one I found that turned out to be pretty cool - once lit, it sparked from the top, then finished off with fireworks coming from the spout.  Not bad for a $1.99:

Time to relax while awaiting the sun's exit from the sky...check out DP and the phone DP uses....how narcissistic can you be!

Time for some rounds of the classic game PassWord - this game set is from the 60's (it was my grandmother's) and is based off the popular TV show of that time - Unfortunately, this set did not come with an "Allen Ludden".

 Well, here it is barely dark and DP was all "give me the matches, give me the damn matches!!"

So I thought I'd distract everyone by taking some photos as the sun went down.  This one of my friend is the best of the bunch.  Tragically, as I backed up to take this photo, my dignity was killed as I fell backwards over a rock and fell, camera and all, into the sand. My "friends" almost died laughing.  All night.  WHATEVER!!

My other "friend" did well with this pose as well.  

 ME?  Oh no, I posed and ended up looking like a guy peeing in the ocean!  Not the photographers fault mind you - MINE.  RETAKE needed! So here, instead, is a photo of the sunset with a sailboat under it:

FINALLY - the sun set and the matches were out - This first firework is my favorite to light up, as it has bees on it and anything that causes bees harm is ok by me:

 Nice effects by the camera, despite the traumatic sand landing it had earlier:

This here is a Roman Candle - I get these instead of those new piss-ant sparklers they sell nowadays.  The ones we had as kids were better and lasted longer, too.  Look as Miss BravePants here:

 Ahh...a final image of the beach...commonly known as "The War Zone" on the Fourth of July:

Prepping for Easter and PAAS

Ah, Springtime and Easter...a time to think of lovely, farm fresh eggs...

...and little bunny rabbits...

...and fine candies to nibble...

 

OR, AS IN MY CASE...the annual DP vs. chocolate bunny smackdown...

The attempt to take "artsy photos" of Easter deco being interrupted by Smoky, the stalker cat:

...the amusement of watching Killer Diller attack the Easter grass...

and finally...the boiling of some 8 dozen eggs for dyeing and deviling:

Sadly, not all eggs could take the pressure of the holiday:

Now, each year, my friend and I like to celebrate the holiday by purchasing the "latest and greatest" inventions for dying and decorating Easter eggs. This is because we have no children and can do this without too much mess and drama.  Each year, we are treated to abject failure and copious amounts of rage and indignation as these kits fail to deliver the advertised results.

Was this year any different?  Well, here's the 2012 scorecard:

While we struggled with our "fancy kits", DP took charge of the "normal process" - dye, vinegar and water:

 DP's results were pretty good:

 DP is so creative with that tape:

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table...several eggs were attempting to escape as we tried desperately  to tattoo them...to no avail...

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS EggToos
PRICE: $1.99
RESULTS: Eggs broken by our pathetic attempts to transfer tattoo designs onto the egg.  Not one tattoo transferred.

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS Stencils kit
PRICE: $1.99
RESULT: Another perfectly dyed egg ruined by the paper stencils that don't stay in place and the runny paint that didn't stay on the (provided) sponge wedge.

More evidence of Tattoo kit "egg abuse" (that's the stencil stuck on the egg below the crappy "transfer"):

Now on to better results:

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS Neon colors
PRICE: $1.99
RESULT: Awesome! Easy! Dye tablets in water, 3 tablespoons vinegar and you are ready to go! Colors very bright.

The hands down winner of the day is this kit though:

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS Eggarounds
PRICE: .99 cents for 12 Eggarounds
RESULT: AWESOME! EASY! Place plastic wrap around egg, dip in hot water and in 2.5 seconds...plastic cover shrinks down to cover egg. Next year maybe I will do just these.

NOTE:  we were unable to test the "Molten Magic" kit.  When reading the instructions on the back, step two indicates the eggs must be freshly boiled and still hot.  We'll save this one for next year...

After the arduous task of testing pathetic PAAS kits passed...it was time to denude some 6 dozen eggs:

A short time later, band aides protecting my raw thumb, the eggs....were...ready.

Let the deviling begin!

Finally!  It was time to pack up the car and head north for an hour's drive with 2 dozen colored eggs and 150 deviled eggs.
Next Blog:  The Easter party... the kids, the eggs, the food, the baskets, the horror and humor of the holiday in all it's glory!