i think i wouldn't mind retiring early. if weekends are any indication of what retirement is like, i am in favor. this weekend was rather lazy and what i hope every day of retirement will resemble.

-dinner at ignotz's
-drinks at honky tonk
-coffee on the porch with a visit from our next door neighbor, dudders
-farmer's market with a stop at the nicecream stand

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

i'm back

i am going to begin blogging again. join me. i hope i don't get lazy and stop writing.

i went to cleveland this weekend. i went to see poppa.






i took these photos of him over memorial day...last time i was there to see him. this time things were finally changing. finally getting better for him, though perhaps harder for others. he spent 5 days in hospice for a respite stay. one moment stands out for me from the weekend, and it had little to do with my grandpa.

i had stepped out into the hallway. while i was there, a young man was wheeling down the lane in his wheelchair. not being able to take my therapist/work pants off, i struck up a conversation with this man. in addition to being in his 30's and in a wheelchair, he was experiencing other effects of whatever was ailing him...drooling, paralyzed hand, and impaired vision.

me: what's your name?
him: johnny, what's yours?
me: kaye. where are you headed?
johnny: back to my floor. i just came up here to pray for all of these people. i will pray for you too, kaye.
me: thank you, johnny. i will do the same.

[exit johnny]

i don't have too much else to say about this, except i am sure that every moment in life happens for a reason. i can't even say that i am religious...but what i can say is this is not an experience that i will forget. poppa moved into a nursing home today and now i can finally breathe a sigh of relief. but, i can't tell you how challenging it is to have my professional and personal life coincide. in one life i get paid to deal with it, and in the other, i can't pay people to listen.

a wonderful dream.

i dreamt i was at the grocery store. looking for something easy to make because justin was going out of town, when i stumbled upon a sale on kraft macaroni and cheese.
but.
this was not just any kind of macaroni and cheese.
no.
the noodles were shaped like bunnies!!!!!!
and - - -
they were buy one get one free.
the best dream in many nights.

norwood park bungalows

i acquired a new appreciation for the chicago neighborhood in which i work, today. norwood park. still within the city limits, but only by a hair, this nested neighborhood is filled with houses built around wwII. tiny, cute, and just right for a young couple and a bunny. eh-hem.

today i was meeting my former supervisor, eden, for dinner (around norwood) at 6. i get out of work at 4:30, so i thought my hour and a half to kill would be the perfect time for a run. best decision in a long time.

as i ran through the neighborhood, a variety of dinner smells came across my nose...i wondered if the people eating dinner inside their tiny houses appreciated their neighborhood and their home-cooked meals. i felt nostalgic for something i cannot put my finger on.

a bungalow. this image makes me a bit queasy, but that aside, the house is adorable. i can just imagine myself saying, "i live in a BUNGAlow." can't you?

ps - if you would like to see the real bungalows of norwood park, click here...
http://www.trulia.com/property/1048755965-6650-W-Raven-St-Chicago-IL-60631

pps - i could look online for houses for HOURS. when i was little my mom and i used to watch the realty one tv show on sunday mornings...the show displayed house after house after house (inside and out). sometimes after the show we would go and look at the houses in person. so fun. member, les?

september has brought...

...a visit to cleveland,






...and some exciting news from this one.

ho-hum.

my two favorite things in an extra gigantic version. reminds me of a few weeks ago when i suggested to justin that we rent "honey i shrunk the kids." he said no.

do you remember the scene in "honey i shrunk the kids" where the kids are eating oreo-like cookies while sitting in the legos? i remember thinking what a perverse and sexual scene it was. i was 8.

this is what is really going on in the pic...

Aug 5 2010
A worker sprays paint on a three-wheeler car in the shape of a ladies handbag made with steel plates at a workshop in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad August 4, 2010. The handbag and shoe is part of a ladies series of creations by Indian car designer Sudhakar Yadav and the cars can run at a maximum speed of 45 kph (28 mph). Picture taken August 4, 2010. REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder (INDIA - Tags: SOCIETY TRANSPORT)