Belated Birthday Cake

Bernie had his 93rd birthday yesterday, and the cake was from his mother’s family recipe. They had a family-only event at the house yesterday, but we were very touched to have gotten two slices of cake the day following.
Bernie had his 93rd birthday yesterday, and the cake was from his mother’s family recipe. They had a family-only event at the house yesterday, but we were very touched to have gotten two slices of cake the day following.
Made good progress on the other one. Hard to believe that we just painted these three years ago. And even harder to believe that we built these guys seven years ago.
I came out to the backyard tonight to see that Liz had taken off the screens we’d put up, around our apple trees.
One thing we haven’t done much of is visit nearby Jackson Park, located just south of the Museum of Science and Industry. For Liz, she’s been wanting to visit the Japanese garden in the park for a long while now. And after work, we decided that today would be the day.
The two of us have been dealing with discomfort, back aches, and things we feel fairly confident are tied to our bed being super, super old. So Liz decided that today… we’d focus on going out, trying out some mattresses, and finding an official replacement.
An old light, where the electrical had been disconnected long ago. Of note: that middle pipe is a gas line, a throwback to some earlier time when this light was likely powered by gas.
Of note: Liz has been getting into Linseed Oil Paint, and was using this for the planters. And also making good use of some of our takeout containers.
I was out running errands at the end of the day, picking up some medication at the nearby Walgreen’s. On my way home, I realized the Hyde Park Garden Fair was setting up, in preparation for their first day (tomorrow).
Found out today that I’ve actually got access to the Browsing and Plugin features, for ChatGPT. Tried out a few things, and ended up asking it about the type of content on my site/blog. The answer was… fine. Not great, but a decent summary of the most recent posts. But the thing I’ve been most excited about… I still don’t…
Walking around the neighborhood after work, Liz and I noticed that the Wisteria we spotted last week has gotten a little… ambitious.
We, unfortunately, have some noisy neighbors that have moved in above us. This photo shows two, but I actually saw three squirrels (and possibly a fourth) moments before.
Hanging out with the bunnies tonight, I caught Hugo getting a little aggressive with the tunnel. I’m not sure if he was just bored (probably), but he really went at this thing… more than I’ve seen him in a while.
Late in the evening, Liz was finishing out the day power washing some of the planters that sit at the base of our front steps.
I can’t help myself: every time I break out the pressure washer, it feels to me like I’m putting together a sniper rifle. And soon after, anytime I see it being used… I hear the “pew pew” sounds in my head. I’m a five year old.
Interesting tidbit 1: I think a while ago, Liz got to meet Joe for the first time at this very restaurant. And it’s also where she got to taste different scotch whiskies that were outside of the peaty/smoky realm. And I daresay that’s when she got the spark to start exploring scotch whisky a lot more, and started going down her sherry bomb phase.
I’ve been getting late 80’s/90’s content in my Facebook feed lately, and was reminded of the movie Aliens (the sequel). I was also reminded of one of the great characters in that cast – Private Vasquez, played by Jenette Goldstein.