8 posts tagged “chicago”

The weather thankfully was not nearly so frightful as my last trip. In fact, less snow on the ground meant more vegetation was exposed... and more deer were around in our first stop - my Dad's wife Carol's house. The deer are not so shy. But then again, they are probably quite hungry.

While at Carol's, the three of us went to Lyric Opera. I just love how the Lyric Opera House is integrated into the bottom of a office tower.

Inside, Dmitri Hvorostovsky did not disappoint. He and the entire production of Eugine Onegin were just stunning.

On Monday, Drake and I moved our base of operations downtown. Tuesday I lead a workshop for a client who is based downtown.

Tuesday night, we had a lovely, lively dinner at Topolobampo. I normally don't take photos at restaurants, but I couldn't help sneak a shot of the dessert. In the middle, those are warm, mole-filled donuts, topped with warm chocolate sauce.

Tuesday morning we were out for a walk down Adams St. to the lake. On the way back, we stopped in at Millennium Park, including the Cloud Gate:

And back now in Seattle, signs of spring--the cherry blossoms are blooming.

Ten more minutes and really... I'll start packing. We leave tomorrow for Chicago--a mix of personal (family) and business. We are also going to catch (the dreamy) Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the role of Eugine Onegin at Lyric Opera.

But enough goofing around...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 12 PM CST TUESDAY.

A MIX OF RAIN...SLEET AND SNOW HAS BEGUN ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING. THIS PRECIPITATION WILL START CHANGING OVER TO ALL SNOW THIS EVENING. TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM THIS STORM WILL BE IN THE 5 TO 7 INCH RANGE. SNOW WILL BEGIN DIMINISHING TOWARD DAYBREAK TUESDAY.

WINDS WILL BEGIN INCREASING TO AROUND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH TONIGHT. ONCE THERE IS SNOW ON THE GROUND...IT WILL LIKELY START BLOWING AND CAUSING SOME NEAR WHITE OUT CONDITIONS.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THIS...COMBINED WITH BLOWING SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS.

A few days after I got back from Chicago last week, I checked recommended feeds from my GoogleReader. Oddly enough, near the top was the Chicagoist blog. Now, I live and work in Seattle, but was born and raised in the Chicago area. Google didn't recommend the Seattleist blog--only the Chicagoist one. It was as if Google somehow knew I just got back from Chicago (similar to when it seemed to know I was both blonde and lived in Seattle--though I can't find that post right now, but it was serving up ads for both Seattle and blond jokes on the same page).

Anyway I've been enjoying news bits from Chicago in my RSS reader. Yesterday it included a video of an old Burt Weinman Ford ad. Anyone in Chicago during the 60s and 70s will remember these.

Image... a 1977 Ford Pinto... just $1888 full delivered price

I arrived to sub-zero temps (-2, -25 wind chill) Sunday night and departed Tuesday in the midst of a classic lake-effect snow storm.

I've been working hard and long but it's OK. My current client provides portfolio management software to financial planners. They've got a great system and we're making it better. The papers on my desk are bits and pieces of the current user interface -- chopped up and recombined. I refer to these fragments as I design the new interface.

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This project, which I started in late September, ends in another three weeks. My next project is already on the radar. I leave Sunday for Chicago, where I'll meet the new client (on Monday). After the meeting, I'll pop on the Metra to visit my Dad's wife Carol. I'll stay overnight at her house and have most of the day Tuesday to visit.

The forecast is not looking very Seattle-like. At all.

A comment on YouTube on this video:

Only in Chicago does the opera come out and support the football team. We were at the Lyric on Saturday night for Fledermaus and for the bows, the entire cast came out waving Bears banners, wearing Bears scarves and hats. Love the Lyric. Love the Bears. Love Chicago.

In 1985 (the last the Bears were in the Super Bowl), my mom had a symphony concert on the Sunday afternoon of one of the playoff games. The Chicago Symphony started the program with a symphonic version of Bear Down Chicago Bears. Needless to say, the crowd went wild.