Why I Oughta...

That right there is one of the trucks in the fleet of Big Rob and Big Rob Hauling.  The best and most affordable movers in Chicago.   I posted about Big Rob and his crew back when my parents moved out of my childhood home in 2015 .  We've now used Big Rob for a few projects including moving us out of our first house and into storage .  And for moving some big furniture (like a church pew).  And now, most recently, to move us into our #newoldfarmhouse. The team at Big Rob's take great care with your stuff, work hard and are all-around nice dudes.  Need to move and can't believe the prices that you're getting?  Give Big Rob a call.  # NotAnAd.

There's a new view from my spot in the Aon Center on Randolph Street.   For the past few years, I had a south-facing view .  Now?  I'm looking due west.  The view isn't the only thing that changed, but I think I've pretty much adjusted to the new spot.  While this new view has some interest, there's nothing quite like looking south from Aon to see the lake and the museum campus.  I miss it every morning.

Posting this panoramic photo of the backyard at our #NewOldFarmhouse (or...rather... our #NewOldBackyard) of the state of play BEFORE the cedar fence is going in.  That version above is clickable, so you can get a larger look at the yard, but I'll also share this version on Google Photos that allows you to zoom in and take a look at the panoramic that was stitched together from a few photos I took.  If you look closely, you'll see the crew delivering some of the materials like posts to the various locations around the yard.  Also, on the left side of the yard property line, you can also get a good look at the Japanese Cherry Blossom tree that we planted a few weeks back. And, those of you with sharp eyes who have kept up with some of the tree talk here on the blog, might also see the Greenspire Lindens that I am planning on espalier'ing .  They're still in their containers up along the rear portion of the house. You can also get a sense for the density of the

Right on the Stateline is a town called Richmond, Illinois.  To get to Twin Lakes, you drive through Richmond.  There's a McDonalds.  An Ace Hardware.  And a couple of flea markets .  But there's also a Dog n Suds.  And we, of course, had to give it a try.   I had a boss back in the day that appreciated a Dog n Suds and we stopped when we came across one. This one in Richmond is trying to stay true to the original.   From their site : Richmond Dog n Suds was opened in 1963 by a local family and has always been a small family owned business. The restaurant was sold in the fall of 2005 to another Richmond family, with a strong commitment to food quality, friendly service, and the determination to retain the nostalgic atmosphere which made this Drive In such a success.  After 2005, they refurbished the interior and exterior of the business paying close attention to architectural standards used in 1963. They also added many new events. Look for Live Music, Cruise Nights, a

Depending on when you read this, it *might* be Nat's birthday.  I know that the only way she consumes my nonsense here on the blog is via the email broadcasts that go out in the mornings, so I'm posting this on June 11th knowing that she'll end up reading it on June 12th. Or, more likely, she herself, *might* read this.  And her not reading my pithy blog posts isn't a slight.  It is due to the fact that she barely gets a moment to herself and is always in a constant state of movement. I likely don't need to tell you all this, but, because of all that she does for us, as the title of this post states, she's our family MVP. Without her, we wouldn't be here and mostly dressed in clean clothes.  Despite her hating my socks with mandals look and protesting at every turn, she keeps us all on track and the kids looking good and in good health.  If I'm not wearing a tshirt and dirty shorts (with my socks and mandals), that's because Nat had the good

I was out in our #newoldbackyard over the weekend doing some weeding of the various beds along our foundation and came across this four-stemmed set of shoots.  I was mindlessly wandering around the perimeter of the house looking for green shoots in the mostly brown mulched (and empty beds).  I was about to bend over and rip it out when I realized that these look a lot like a young peony plant. Could we have some volunteer peonies?  I don't think they're 'survivors' like our ostrich ferns .  Based on these being right up next to the foundation around our screened porch, I'm thinking that if these are, indeed, peonies, that they hitchhiked along with the mulch when our landscaper put it down before we moved in. Volunteer peonies?  Wouldn't that be delightful.  We still have to move our foster peonies from Nat's Mom's garden in Naperville.  Maybe this is a sign?  Could this bed be destined to house our peony plants?  I'm going to keep an eye on t

Recently, we checked out the new (to us) Classic Cinemas theatre in Fox Lake.  We've come to really love Classic Cinemas based on living so close to the York Theatre in Elmhurst.  They run a first-class operation.  And...the kids popcorn/fruit snacks/icee boxes and booster seats don't hurt one bit.  Not to mention the free refills on corn/soda and the rewards program.   One morning while it was raining up in Wisconsin, we decided to head to see the new Cars 3 movie and instead of going up to the multiplex in Lake Geneva, we decided to drive down to Fox Lake to give the Classic Cinemas Fox Lake a try.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  But it was great!  Based on seeing what Shirley and Willis Johnson have done to the York in Elmhurst and the Tivoli in Downers Grove , I was expecting an old, downtown movie palace.   Instead, the theatre was kind of tucked in the corner of a stip mall about a block or two off "main street" next to a hardware store.  Turns