"The Coffin, Earth, and Winding Sheet"

Our friend Sarah invited us to a Sacred Harp singing yesterday (also known as shape-note singing).  And how cool!  What I learned (from both Sarah and the First-time-at-a Sacred-Harp-singing? sheet) is that this is one of the earliest of popular U.S. social events. People would (and still do) get together in churches and homes and sing, at the top of their lungs, church hymns in four part harmony. (Because, frankly, what else was there to do without electricity, rodeos, or gas grills?) And these aren't any old church hymns. They are poetic and often very dark-doomy and gloomy- enough to make you crack a smile on a regular basis. The gatherings were/are nondenominational and, in fact, were considered sinful by many church leaders due to the loud and cathartic nature of the singing. I can't tell you much about the actual music (it takes a while to learn) but there are four basic notes (in different shapes) that represent Fa, Sol, La, and Mi (Old Four-note English System) and after a while of following along, you are learning to sight sing. The sound is really stunning (even babies dig it) and the singing is really fun (and all the pros are helpful and friendly). I'm already looking for another one to go to!

What's a startup disk?

I'm experiencing a computer snafu.  Real blog post tomorrow. 

Word.

Just steps outside of my back door there is a big rhubarb plant. I've become a pie making machine.

(Which is one of many ways to avoid those last boxes to unpack.)

I talked to my man Noah on Skype today. He showed me his new big boy haircut, Elmo, and also, several times, his bare behind. He's doing some potty training and was ready for instant access. :) Cute little growing-up guy.

Visited Our New YMCA Today

Did you know that the YMCA invented both Basketball and Volleyball? Who knew?

My favorite spot in the house

The sunny little nook with a card table.

We got to attend the most stunning wedding tonight. And who, as she got inside the car to head there stopped, and ran inside to get the camera and then after parking, left the camera in the car? Me. In fact, I'm now at home and the camera is still in the car. Congratulations to James and Mara. Your wedding was inspiring and plain old good fun. מזל טוב‎

Things our yard is good for

Mowing.
Bags.
Grilling.
Before.
After.

(These chicks have beer cans filled with beer, herbs, garlic and such, up their, er, rear. Many thanks to Tom for teaching us all the art and zen of beer can chicken.)

Big Move Hats off

In order of appearance:
1. To Adam and Steve for packing and emptying this here truck. (Does anyone else have legs that feel like stab wounds and jello all rolled into one? Those stairs worked muscles that I would only use if I were a hurdle-jumping track star. And I am not.)
2. To Sarah and Charlie for their moral support.
3. To Erin for breaking and entering to let Max (who we sorely neglected during the move) outside.
4. To Chris and Stacy for loading and unloading numerous cars into the wee hours of the night.
5. To Stacy for sweeping our condo the right way.
6. To Chris for blogging the last two days. I had fun reading my blog tonight. (Rickrolled again!) :)

And to all the rest of you for your warm wishes and being excited with us.

Each and every one of you are individually the best.

Ma Bell

GB-CvB again today.

AT&T hasn't come through as they'd promised, so Jessie is still web-less. Supposedly AT&T was at the house yesterday, but nobody can seem to identify what the fruits of that visit were. So, in honor of the mother of all things bell, I offer up this old school TV spot from the folks that claim to deliver our world.

http://bit.ly/mabellcommercial

If you are somewhat confused after watching the commercial, this write up ought to clear things up.

Moving Day

Guest blogger Chris van Benthuysen here (of recent Chicago Public Library poster pseudo-fame), filling in for the internet deficient Jessie. With a little help from their friends -- Adam, Steve, Sarah, Charlie, Stacy and yours truly -- Eric and Jessie have successfully vacated their East Lakeview Terrace residence in favor of their new digs. Congratulations to Eric and Jessie on their completion of the transition into adulthood. They now have a lawn to mow, a driveway to shovel and leaves to rake. Plus they have two full staircases. Sadly they are narrow and not terribly cooperative with box spring navigation. Were there sleeping bags on their registry?

Weathered hands must rest from moving and now typing. 'Nite.

It's beautiful out for one more day of lakeside living.

Well. I forgot to take a camera anywhere with me today. Which is a damn shame since I saw some cool birds sitting on the ruins of an old pier in the lake. Some of them were diving for fish.

And then I saw a stop sign someone had spray painted on. Under the "stop" they put "collaborate and listen." So awesome.

Other than that I can't say much except "I've been packing" but that's boring, so I won't. And now I think we are going to curl up to some cop shows. Ten-four.

Costco Wholesale

We got sick of packing today so for fun, yes, fun, we drove west and signed up for a Costco membership. We wandered through the warehouse just dreaming of the places we would now be able to store a year's supply of toilet paper and a trunkful of Cheerios. We resisted all the large packages for now (as our place is brimming with them at the moment) and ended up just buying dog food enough for a sled team and one gallon of milk. It was thrilling.

Have you guys heard of Blitzen Trapper?

Our friend Tom introduced us to this band not too long ago. I've been rocking out to them. This is my favorite song of theirs, but I'm putting it on my blog because this is an awesome video and has inspired a few new ideas for our next stop action movie (coming soon to a computer near you).

Sinister Old House

If it hadn't been a lovely spring day today, I would have had the heebie jeebies.

I think there should be a sci-fi thriller where boxes and packing paper and tape rolls take over the home of an unassuming thirty something couple's home and drive them and their dog out in fear. Their only chance of survival would be to relocate. 

I'm Crying

Um. Yes. That is a cement ET looking over the balcony of that condo. No I do not know who lives there. I wish I did.

2001

You know you're in for quite a movie when the host at the theater gets up and says, "If anyone has any acid, now's the time to drop it." We made our way to our very loved Music Box where we saw 2001: A Space Odyssey. Neither of us had seen it before and yes, WOW, it was indeed a trip. I couldn't take my eyes off it. It was killer on a big screen if I do say so myself. Just to see this opening up close and personal was worth the ticket.

We went on a secret bike mission to spy on our new house. It's still awesome. What I also found awesome was that right around the corner in the forrest preserve there was loads of green grass and bike trails. I guess that I knew that they were there but I didn't know they came in such abundance! Woo-hoo!

Raw

To celebrate Allison's completion of her month long raw juice fast we ate out at a local raw food joint called Cousin's. I was stoked for the chance to experience raw food art but a little skeptical that I would maybe want to stop for some chicken nuggets afterward. I was so very pleasantly surprised. We shared a whole platter of good things like guacamole, stuffed mushrooms, fruit salad, etc. and man was the food flavorful and delish. Not to mention that as I sit here blogging I am still contentedly full but don't have that gross sick I ate too much feeling. In fact I have loads of energy to boot! The whole thing about this raw food is that it keeps intact digestive enzymes that go to work once you eat them-allowing the body's own enzymes to work on the other metabolic stuff that they usually do, not only keeping you from tiredness but giving you bootfuls of energy to sit awake and blog as your husband tries to snooze between the sounds of clicking keys on a computer. :)

I'm going to have to try some recipes. This may be as habit forming as crack.

Now this is what I'm talking about...

There was an actual warm breeze in the city today. A warm breeze. And plants are blooming hard.

Can't talk now!

Lost is on.

Two of life's greatest comforts

A man's best friend.

A girl's reading nook.

Sensational

I know the that the Swine Flu was/is serious to many people. Especially in Mexico. Totally not a laughing matter. But if you thought that things were overly alarmist this time around (I can't say really- I didn't follow any of the story on tv and I read only a little about it online) then you should check out the 1976 swine flu vaccination adds. Sent to me in an article from my pa.
Now for the second installment of Vintage Video Will Split Your Sides:

Sunday in the Park

I loved this article passed on to us from Adam. It resonates with me. Also great about it are the old technicolor Americana photos, which inspired us to get photoshop so that we could make our photos look retro. Ah, yes. We're one step closer to traveling back in time where we belong.

World's Columbian Exposition

I just got done reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson and also had the great pleasure of going on Weird Chicago's "Devil in the White City" tour last night. The Museum of Science and Industry is the only (main) building still standing from the great fair. (I did not know that!) So we got to take a look at that fine building in an all new light (for me). It was the only building not built to be torn down right after the fair because it housed the finest and most famous art in the world at the time. And we got to walk around on the wooded isle and imagine the gondolas and Chinese lanterns that would have decorated the lagoons during May through October of 1893. We also got to explore some of the seedier sites from the book where the serial killer H.H. Holmes did some of his dark and vile work. Even though none of those buildings still stand (I would have voted to tear them down too!), that part was quite spooky. Here, here! to quirky Chicago tours and to Erin for the good idea.

About out of time to blog today. I'll catch you tomorrow.