Picture by G. Feiereisel

Wow, it’s been a while… let’s update.

Holiday/birthday season is over for me (husband’s, father’s, daughter’s and numerous friends), and tomorrow our party-hosting blackout month starts. We may be taking a hosting hiatus, but that doesn’t mean we’re not thinking about it. Amidst the celebrating, we started looking for Holy Communion dresses for Abby and planning a lunch reception. We have a little less than two months, which really translates to, I have a little less than two months to reorganize and pull my house back together again.

In the next month, I’ll begin reporting for Craft Critique where I will rediscover and review some of my own crafting supplies and equipment, and be introduced to new and exciting products in the crafting world. I can’t wait! You might imagine I have quite the array of products, but my craft shed is fairly minimal. You’ll see. To jump start my creative juices and “research” current products, I’ve been visiting the local Archiver’s over the last few weekends to see the “make-and-take” projects and see product demos.

Another love of mine is Chicago history and architecture, so to celebrate that my husband and I attended “Chicago in History and Mystery” at our local library. Fabulous guest speakers, wine and hors d’ouevres, too. (Can I tell you how weird it was eating and walking around the library with a glass of chardonnay? God forbid I spill anything!) Back to the speakers: Authors JA Konrath, Gillian Flynn and Henry Perez; Rick Kogan and Charles Osgood from the Chicago Tribune and WTTW personality, Geoffrey Baer.

I’ve never been to an author panel discussion before; it was eye-opening and fun! These authors write mysteries, and being able to hear them speak about their inspirations, how they got started, how they approach their character development was so fascinating. We came home with Afraid by Konrath, who also writes under Jack Kilborn, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading the others. Have to get through my stack of books by my bed first.

It’s amazing enough to watch Geoffrey Baer’s tours of Chicago on tv, read Rick Kogan’s articles and see Charles’s photography, but listening to them when they’re a few feet away from you… incredibly captivating and entertaining personal stories. Sorry to say I didn’t bring my camera, but then again, not many people did. I might be able to link to the library website if they update their event photos. I wanted to tuck every anecdote away in my head to share with friends, but by the time we left (about 4 hours) I was so overwhelmed with factoids and fun stories. I’ll end with a few Chicago tidbits that stuck.

• Louis “Studs” Terkel (Chicagoan author, broadcaster, historian) was one of the oldest people to undergo open-heart surgery at the age of 93. In his own words through Rick Kogan, “I’m a medical miracle!”
• Caldwell Avenue is named for “Billy” Caldwell whose American Indian name was Sauganash which is also the name of the neighborhood that the avenue runs through. I had no idea…
• Park Ridge is not the highest point in Cook County which many Park Ridgians believe. High point is somewhere around Barrington.
• Park Ridge was home to many artisans and craftspeople, and included a workshop called Kalo Arts Crafts Community House where many silversmiths and jewelers started their trade.

Such a rich history in the arts… is it a wonder I feel at home here? We’ll see what happens in the next month since I also applied for a seat on the newly formed “Historic Preservation Commission” in town.