Money in the Bank

OK, it's November and I live in Chicago....poor thing, right? No Way! Not only have we got the most amazing weather today, but I work outside on Tuesday and it's downright spectacular! Sun is shining, sky is deep blue, light clouds on the horizon, wonderful early century homes across the way.  We'll put it in the bank for the miserable days.

Busted!

Another great day for summer fun. I met Addie after her tennis lesson with my racquet and we played for an hour a half.  This, I suppose, may have been why I decided to have kids in the first place...after all, I used to get frustrated years ago when I hit with Peter, something about him making fun of my overhead and too many drop shots. Fast forward twelve years, wow! This is so fun!  So after two and a half hours of tennis in quite hot sunny weather, I thought about what sort of treat we might purchase. The only retail establishment between the courts and home is 7-11, so now, loyal reader, you might guess where I took her. Not to be overly dramatic, but the squeal of joy that the kid let out highlights the very fact that we don't visit our local store often...more like...never.  So what a surprise do we find when we walk into the store but Ashby and J & V.  We all burst out laughing....talk about busted...but it is summer, after all.

Busted!

happiness.

Mom...you said anything in the store!

Illinois Wildlife, Again

Solstice came and went, and it's time to start loading on a bit of volume, particularly on the run. Went out midday and the winds and dark clouds were grim but not hot and no threat of thunder--perfect long run weather! I've come to accept that summer around here involves crazy weather. Sometimes, it's worthwhile to take pause and notice how surreal it all is. Like this scene I approached about four miles into my run. A solitary young deer, standing at the corner of Thatcher and Greenfield, as if waiting for the traffic to pause so that he/she might cross back into the Cook County Forest Preserve. The deer stared at me for a long while and a few drivers slowed to gaze. Finally a break and Bambi was off like a shot. I continued for another hour-plus, aided by my little bottles of sugar water and Pandora Radio.

What is a catch basin & why do I care?

The tornado alert siren went off a few nights ago. Meanwhile the kids were already in the basement getting ready for an episode of The Next Generation, and I was getting ready for an hour of jigsaw puzzling. Yes, it was the solstice and high summer was upon us.  The rain and wind started pounding, and soon after I got comfortable, I realized we were flooding.  The catch basin had risen rapidly and we were caught offguard.  Peter was in DC and here I was, in a stinky basement, with two kids and possible threat of damaging storm coming through. The unencumbered woman knew that she was in over her head...thus rescued with a call for help. Mark raced over to help me clean the area. The man actually showed up in leyderhausen!!! The wonders of my friends never cease.  Today my catchbasin guy came by with one of his daughters helping him.  Dale was wearing a fabulous shirt that I had to get a shot of.  And, by the way, if you're scratching your head wondering what in the world a catch basin is, all I can do is shake my head, chuckling my favorite refrain: "only in Illinois".

Another run in beautiful...

Today, the day before Father's Day, a sweltering, hazy, Chicagoland day.  Weekend of the epic Father's Day (youth) swim meet in the blistering sun and heat. I had already ridden a hearty fifty miles this morning, and then between swim meet responsibilities I ran for forty minutes, then another forty minutes after dropping Addie at her final event (that would be four hundred meters of freestyle).  Here I am, admiring the scenery from the overpass over the so-called Eisenhower Expressway.  Temp? Most likely about eighty with a heat index of about eighty five (don't worry, in another month it'll be ninety and we'll be wishing for this temp!

Tell me about cycling in the Western Suburbs

Yesterday Jim and I experienced long distance cycling at it's best. It was the first truly hot and humid day of the year and we both wanted to ride at least a hundred miles. We took our time, stopping repeatedly to hydrate and adjust ourselves. Here are a few shots at the fifty mile turnaround.  Fifty miles from home and here we are, in the great wide open plain.
Stats: 93 farenheit
Humidity: 75-85
Miles: 105
Hours out in the world (including stops): 9
Gatorade: 3 large bottles apiece
Other items: two large bags m&m's, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, trail mix, three carb-protein filled bottles (me), 4 water bottles (jim), two bananas, starbuck's iced tea, half-caf-coffee, and a turkey/swiss sandwich.

look carefully, brisk wind out of the southwest which was a headwind up until our turnaround.

there are those who take time during the last weekend of may to meticulously mow lawn.

That way back home.  It looks perfectly do-able now, but by the time we go over about twenty train tracks and stop at a thousand signs and lights, it's a little exhausting.

Heat Index is What?

OK, OK. Enough is enough! We sure put up with a lot around here.  Exactly one week ago I was standing on a play yard blogging, wearing hand-knit gloves and hat. Go ahead and see for youself! This week Mama Nature blasted the heat and threw us all into an utter state of shock. Today we were somewhere in the high eighties with a heat index of at least ninety. After teaching today I trudged out to the Forest Preserve and went for a run in what felt absolutely sweltering, although it was slightly cooler than yesterday and nice tree cover provided shade and beauty.
And so it goes. Life in Chicagoland...ya gotta work for it, here.