Why I Oughta...

The past few days, we've had some melting of the snow around here.  We've already experienced 17" of snowfall thus far and Winter hasn't even started.  The snow came fast and heavy.  That created a couple of issues for me:  the piles next to the driveway were getting pretty tall.  And...the plants were covered.   That's actually a good thing.  And, potentially a bad thing.  Snowcover is a good thing in terms of insulation.  We're headed into a period of very cold temperatures soon and having the snow down for insulation is a positive thing for plant health.   But, on the negative side, the heavy snow weighs down limbs.  And, for boxwoods, that's potentially a problem.  With enough weight, the evergreen shrubs will splay open.  And, if held there long enough, creates the potential for wreaking havoc on the shape of these shrub balls.   The two sets of boxwoods that are the most mature (ones out front of ...

Earlier this year, I wrote this post calling early 2025 the "Salad Days" for my Fighting Illini 1 .  That was coming off the Citrus Bowl victory over the SEC (and betting favorite) South Carolina Gamecocks on New Year's Day while the men's hoops team was ranked #22 and beat #9 Oregon on the road the next day.   Those Salad Days are still here.  And, that's a new feeling for this Illini fan.   The football team is heading to the Music City Bowl to play the *other orange* team (a worse orange, to be sure) while the hoops team is in the AP Top 15 after beating the SAME TENNESSEE team and are set up to continue winning as they head into conference play. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Illinois Men's Basketball (@illinimbb) After a number of tough years, it feels different.   We've swapped spots with Wisconsin in football. And, being ranked #13 feels right.  Why?  Because when you look at the list of "Blue...

Up on the seventh floor of the Marshall Fields on State Street building sits the recently renamed "Marshall Fields Walnut Room".  Someone at Macy's finally figured out they were sitting on a goldmine of nostalgia and local equity that they were wasting.  That has changed this year with an increased investment in the 7th floor, a renewed Walnut room experience and a whole investment in telling the history of Marshall Field's over in the area with the bathrooms. On one of the walls sits this sign that explains "The Marshall Field and Company Idea". Here's what the sign says: To do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way; to do some things better than they were ever done before' to eliminate errors; to know both sides of the question; to be courteous; to be an example; to love our work; to anticipate requirements; to develop resources; to recognize no impediments; to master circumstances; to act from reason rather than rule; to be satisfied...

We went to see Zootopia 2 last week at the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove.  While I was on my way back to the concession stand to refill the pair of "kiddie combos", I noticed this plaque in the lobby that claims The Tivoli Theater (opened in 1928) was the "Second theater in America designed and built for talking movies".  That's wild.   When I went home, I found this page from the Downers Grove Historical Society (the same folks who put the plaque up) and it has a few more details.  And, it included this photo (below) of the original marquee on opening day (Christmas Day, 1928).  The family behind Classic Cinemas have done a great job with not just the Tivoli in Downers, but with historic, mainstreet theaters across the suburbs.  We previous lived in Elmhurst and the York Theater was one of our favorite spots in town.  I wrote about the York a number of times when we lived in Elmhurst.  Here are those [York Theater] archives .   ...

Posting this about a month later than I took the photo, but documenting here in my pizza oven building journal that I did start the final exterior of the oven this year - in 2025.  Below you can see the first few test brick veneer pieces (do we call them 'tiles'?  bricks?) that I attached to the far back corner of the oven.  I figured that it was best to start where NOBODY WILL EVER SEE THEM.  Also, since NOBODY WILL EVER SEE THEM, I opted to NOT use 'corner' pieces of veneer.  They sell these L-shaped pieces that provide the 'look' of brick depth at the corners, but they're more expensive than the normal pieces.  I'm using the L-shaped corners in all visible spots.  But, not back here.  The last time I posted about the oven was when the soapstone landing was installed three weeks ago .  I started at the top and am working down using a veneer-specific mortar.  I set the first seven courses from the top and went two bricks-in on the top a...

A little bit over three weeks ago, we planted three Blossom Peacock Amaryllis bulbs in a single container proceeded to tuck them in with a little bit of moss to cover the soil.  These were slightly smaller bulbs than the ones we get at the local garden center and they weren't showing any signs of life, so I wasn't sure what we'd get from them.   After arranging them, we brought them over to my Mom's house where she proceeded to tend to them and put them in a bright spot.   Fast forward three weeks, and these have taken off: All three bulbs have straps of foliage that have arrived and two of the bulbs have a bud that is gaining height.   When they're this tall is when I typically shift to the 'poison phase' of watering.  Instead of pure tap water, these will now get about 10% alcohol mixed with the water.  To (hopefully) stunt the height a little bit (without burning the roots).  Here's a post about how I did this Paperwhite bulbs ....