Days at the Beach

The past few days the weather has been absolutely amazing. It feels like spring is already on its way in. Of course, this is Chicago so I don't doubt that another bout of freezing weather is lurking around the corner.
Which is why I have gone to the beach the last two days. What better time to enjoy some sun and sand?
Yesterday the frozen remnants of winter were still clearly visible. The lake was a clear beautiful turquoise colour with giant sheets of ice covering most of its surface. (It was a very funny feeling to be taking pictures of ice while wearing a cotton dress, standing barefoot in the sand.) There was, however, still a strong Chicago wind blowing off the lake.
Today it's a very different scene. All of the ice from the day before is almost completely gone. There is only a few lonely clumps of ice left in the water. And the lake is a completely different colour, it's almost a perfect mirror of the sky. It's impossible to tell where the lake ends and the sky begins. Not quite as mesmerizing as the day before, but beautiful none the less.

FREEEEEDDOOOOOOOMMMM!

They are finally out and I could not be happier. Or, I'm sure I will be once the pain is gone.

Crazy animal, crazy fruit

This squirrel has eaten/ kidnapped over half of the pumpkins my friends and I went and picked in Michigan. BY ITS SELF! The pumpkin its sitting on has a giant hole in it and the interior is mostly eaten. The small pumpkins are gone or are strewn all over the steps. Crazy Animal!


This my friends is Durian. It is a pain the in the ass to open and once its open you you still have to pull out all the pulp and decide what the heck to do with it. Crazy Fruit!

Did you forget to watch the news?

After the opera Ramon and I decided we were thirsty and wanted to get something before we got on the train. So we hopped into an open 7-11 and not only found some liquid refreshment but also an important lesson in business ownership.

If something like say, a presidential election occurs and you decide to stock cups with the losers name on it be prepared not to sell very many sodas.
I really wanted a fountain soda. (fountain Dr. Pepper is far superior to canned) But given that I would have to walk around the city and sit on a train with a bright red cup that said the guys name on it....I decided it wasn't the smartest beverage choice.

Someday...

I will be the proud owner of a miniature donkey.

An Interesting Day

Today was a very busy day. I had my most ambitious plated dessert to make. Gluten/Allergy free dessert. And it turned out great! Not perfect, but good. And Chef Zonka liked it so much she came in to visit me in the kitchen and tell me that I should submit it to a magazine!! I think I would want to spend some time getting it really perfect first but it would be very exciting try and have something put in a magazine.

And then during service I get a phone call from the roommates. They found kittens. And not just any kittens, kittens that were born this morning or yesterday morning. 5 of them. So even though I was drop dead tired when I got home I had to see them. (So cute!) And of course here I am an hour later typing this. Some day I will learn to sleep properly.

Mag-neato!

Of the course of a few days I have finally made a magnetic door!

I finally used the magnetic paint I bought a while back and made one of the doors in the kitchen magnetic. It took quite a few layers of paint to actually be strong enough to hold a magnet but now it can and I can't wait to cover it with my collection of magnets!