Why I Oughta...

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 ....

As it appears the thing to do at this time of year, I'm sharing my 2025 musical recap.  But, of course, I don't post on social media, so I can't post it there.  It's here on my blog.  And, we're YouTube music users, so my recap is a little different than the Spotify ones you see everywhere.   As for the results, I'd describe this as "not surprising".  Would have thought that maybe Pearl Jam would have edged out John Prine in the top five, but otherwise the other four (The Band, Wilco, Bob Dylan and Radiohead) all check out. Top song being "Jawbone" seems odd, but I *did* write an entire blog post about the song all the way back in January this year .  The day after I posted about Garth Hudson's death.  He was the last one .  Thanks to Big Pink, they'll live forever.   Also, "On a Night Like This" seems strange as #2, as well.  But, I will say that I fell into that record this year in a big way.  It has become one of my fav...

We had our large front porch galvanized 'trough' container done by Churchill Garden Design of Downers Grove this week and Elise delivered a nature-inspired, festive arrangement that feels right for our house and our family.  If you look closely, you'll see a variety of evergreens, some dyed eculyptus, pinecones and branches in greens, browns, reds and even white.  What jumps out to me is not just the variety in terms of palate she chose (the analogous greens and browns), but more importantly:  the texture(s).  There's short, fine needles mixed with broader foliage.  Cascading habit/form mixed with upright, rigid shapes.  Arching tips and draping edges.  Harder shapes and structure backgrounded with softer, organic flows.  Have a look below: Here's a link to Churchill Garden Designs Instagram page where she features the porches she's been doing around the suburbs.   And,  here's her post (embedded below) showing our container: ...

This post is going-up in December, but the photo is from mid/late November (before Thanksgiving).  We had a good storm come through with a couple of days of wind that blew all the needles off of this tree and most of the rest of the trees in our yard.  But, before the needles fell... the Bald Cypress that is planted IB2DWs put on a nice 'fall show' this year.  Below is a photo showing the shape and color of the tree.   8-Year Old Bald Cypress Tree With Fall Color in Zone 6a Earlier this year, I pruned this tree (dormant pruning) for the first time and took some of the lower limbs off the trunk to lift up the canopy .    I'll probably get out there again late this Winter and take a branch of two off in order to raise the canopy up even more.  Hard to remember planting this tree as a tiny whip back in Fall of 2018 when we had different neighbors.  Seven years later, this is (probably) the most-successful small tree planting that we've had on o...