June 7 57th Street Art Fair

We spent the afternoon in Hyde Park, which happens to be President Obama's neighborhood, at the 57th St. Art Fair. Walter & Jaimie met us there. The weather wasn't perfect for a street fair, it rained all morning and the temperature dropped suddenly in the afternoon. But we had a good time checking out the different types of artwork and talking with the artists. This fair requires the artists to work their own booths which I really like. We always try to support the artists whenever possible. Our walls now have limited space for new pieces so we look for that one of a kind gift for people on our birthday & Christmas lists. Afterwards we had a good meal at the Calypso Café, which we highly recommend. If you are looking for something to do in Chicago next weekend check out the Wells Street Art Festival and the Old Town Art Fair. Both are within walking distance of each other. The Old Town Art Fair is more subdued. Wells Street is lined with bars and turns into a block party with really good artwork available.

June 6 Let The Dominoes Fall

I took the dogs for an early morning walk along the single track bike trails at Jurgensen Woods. A couple of kids riding bikes came along tearing up the trail. At first I thought it would be cool to ride with them. Then I realized I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. Later in the day, I headed out to ride the trails but I needed a little energy boost. I grabbed the new Rancid CD for a punk rock blast of power. It worked great for me. I've loved Rancid ever since I saw them open for the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones in 1994. They have a good mix of punk and ska songs on their records. Rancid also follows that tried & true punk adage of writing songs with social & political overtones. The new CD has several great songs about the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and the condition of our country right now. They also place blame where is should be placed and encourage the kids to do something about it. All themes that I love. It got me motivated for a good bike ride through the woods. I even attempted some of the narrow bridge crossings, made two, lost it on one. Nothing like a great punk song to get the blood boiling and a good bike ride to get the heart pumping that boiling blood. Thanks Rancid.

June 5 Happy Birthday Chrissy

First Fluffy had a birthday, now Chrissy. So I started thinking that they have a lot in common. First off, they are both old girls, second after laying around all day, they both get up very slowly and walk with a limp, thirdly(is that even a word) they both sit around the house too much and put on a few too many pounds. So for Chrissy's birthday I made her get up and do some yard work in a bikini so I had something to look at while relaxing in the hammock.
Then I took her out for a birthday dinner and because she brings nothing but pure delight to my life, I treated her to a restaurant that shows how much I care.

I also bought her a cake that shows how much I care.

Chrissy, clutching the counter and surrounded by everyone who cares about her , tries to blow out her candles without falling over. Before everyone starts posting comments about what a dick I am, here's the true story. Chrissy is recovering nicely from her surgery and is supposed to do everyday activities. She was sunbathing in the hammock and when I got home she decided to water the flowers. The Calumet Fisheries for dinner was her idea. We have been wanting to try it out ever since Anthony Bourdain raved about it on his show, "No Reservations". The smoked shrimp were incredible and the smoked salmon was very tasty. Chrissy laughed about the cake and the story about it. The lady at Dairy Queen was so serious about the cake. She told me she only had one with balloons and one with flowers left. I told her I didn't care which one I got. She asked if it was for a boy or a girl. I told her a girl. She said she give me the flower cake. When I told her to write "Happy Birthday Gimp", she disgustingly said I could have the balloon cake. Jesus lady, you sell soft serve ice cream cakes don't take it so fucking seriously. Finally, Chrissy's sister Kimmie did come by for cake with Kennedy but Kristian was sick so I wouldn't let her in my house. Hell she's half Mexican and could have the swine flu for all I know. I did send a piece of cake home for her. The reason Chrissy is laughing while blowing out the candles is because of me. While singing Happy Birthday, I added the line "You pick up poop in a zoo, Happy Birthday to you". Okay maybe I am a dick.

June 4 $64 Pissed Away

Yes, these are unused tickets. Why? Because even though I asked for half a day off, my job fucked me again. I was asked to run one call. No big deal except it was to repair something I had never worked on before. I asked if I could put if off until the next day. That was not possible since the customer waited over 2 weeks for the part. So what's another day. Mark Buerhle is pitching and the minor league phenom Gordon Beckham is making his major league debut. Too bad. So I run the call. I get the part repaired by 10:30a, the game is at 1pm. I test it and the original problem is solved but now a new, unforseen problem is occurring. I trace it out to a defective check valve in the piping and we don't have the part. Now it is 12:30p, I'm in Joliet and covered in diesel. Fuck it, I missed the game. On the plus side, the Sox sucked and lost. Buerhle pitched poorly and the kid went hitless. I ran two more calls and worked until 7:30p.

June 3 Why I Never Wanted Kids

I got this email today from Susie Glasgow. I laughed my ass off because I never wanted and don't have kids. So this is funny to me because it has never happened to me. Here's the text of her email

So, I overheard Grace telling Audrey yesterday, "let me draw a cat on it." I walked in to find.....

and here's the picture.

June 2 Vin Mazzaro

The White Sox were damn lucky I wasn't paying attention to them for the last two months. I had the Blackhawks playoff run to keep my mind off of the poor Sox start this spring. Now I'm back. When I heard that some kid was making his major league debut, I knew the Sox would lose. Sure the White Sox were on a roll recently. Doesn't fucking matter. The Sox always seem to lose to pitchers they have never faced before. Tonight it was Vin Mazzaro. He made the Sox look pathetic at the plate. This kid will probably get torched in his next few games, it happens all the time. The Sox hitters make someone look like Cy Young, then the rest of the league hits him like a red headed stepchild. Can anyone tell me the last time the White Sox beat someone in his first start in the big leagues? I'll bet it hasn't happened in years. I took this picture from the SF Gate website.

June 1 Happy Birthday Fluffy

Our female Pyr is eleven today. Actually we have no idea when she was born. She was a stray that we got from St. John Animal Control. They picked her up on Route 41 and returned her to her owners who didn't even report Fluffy as missing. When animal control found her again they didn't even call the owners. A lady there spent 3 months trying to find a home for her. (You can read about her at the Success Stories from the Pyr Rescue. Scroll down to find Fluffy) When I agreed to be a foster home until someone adopted her, the lady at animal control hugged me and said Fluffy was way too sweet to be put down. We ended up adopting her because she really is the sweetest dog imaginable. She has some hillbilly teeth issues and she always looks like a mess, but she has been the perfect dog ever since we took her in. I sing "She's a very Fluffy Girl, the kind you don't take home to mother, She's so Fluff, that girl is so Fluff" to her on a daily basis. I nicknamed her "Tons Of Fun" due to her weight issues. But I'll admit she is easily my favorite of the 4 Pyrs we have owned. Somewhere along the line we decided June first is her birthday, probably when our vet guessed her to be 3 years old when we got her. She has lived a longer life than any of our others dogs. And if our young male, Oslo doesn't shape up she might outlive him. She has slowed down a bit but just yesterday the old lady hiked over three miles with me, swam in a river and ended the hike going up three flights of stairs to get out of a ravine. Yesterday little Jimmy Drescher said she looks like a cloud. I laughed because it was accurate and I'd never thought of it. But she has been like a big white fluffy cloud in our lives. The kind of cloud you see lying on the grass that floats across a blue sky on a summer day that just puts a smile on your face and makes you feel good. Thanks & Happy Birthday Fluff.