&@$%!!!

OK, so this has nothing to do with Italy, but this was the sight that greeted me outside today. My car up on a cement block and two whole wheels missing. Apparently early 80s cars are popular amongst the gangsta set for pimping out, and Honda Fit wheels are--well, a perfect fit. I found out today (after ranting on Facebook--thank God for being able to rant on Facebook!) that the same thing happened to a friend with a Fit a year ago, only they took all four wheels. There's a pretty decent police presence in my neighborhood, so they must have been really fast. And in a hurry--they left two lug nuts behind. So I've got that to make me feel better.

I have insurance, but it'll still cost me $250 (on top of shelling out $260 for a traffic ticket this past week), and of course it's a huge hassle. I will be buying a set of locking lug nuts tomorrow.

In the big picture I know this is not a big problem, especially since I have the money to handle it, but it still rankles, of course. Luckily a friend offered to buy me a drink. Alcohol--the solution to, and cause of, life's problems.

la neve

Wednesday morning, February 2, 2011, around the corner from where I live.

It's not very Italy-like around here with all the snow, unless you're talking about the Valle d'Aosta or perhaps the Alto Adige (but we don't have any mountains around here, except for the ones the snowplows have made at every corner). I had hoped we'd sneak past winter this year without a big snowstorm, but old man winter packed a wallop last week. Not sure of the totals, but I bet it was at least 18 inches. 

Chicagoans are old hands at dealing with snow and we've got the equipment for it, but the storm still caused a lot of chaos, especially on Lake Shore Drive, where some drivers were stuck for several hours and even all night when the snow started piling up around them. Firefighters finally had to rescue them and the cars were stuck there for at least a day or so while the cleanup went on. But really, any Chicagoan worth his or her rock salt knows to avoid LSD in rainstorms, much less a major, major blizzard that was forecast for days ahead of time.

The cleanup continues, as does an old Chicago tradition of saving the parking space you shoveled out while freeing your car with patio furniture, milk crates, or maybe some faux-architectural garden decor.

Bet the ancient Greeks never imagined their architecture would inspire so many creative applications.

I opted not to "dibs," as the practice is known, because I think it's tacky. A lot of people are doing it, but fortunately I haven't had much trouble finding an open space in the neighborhood when I get home.

 

Art Institute day

It was my birthday a couple days ago, and since I went all-out last year I didn't do much--a friend took me out to dinner, I invited some friends to a bar, and I took the following day off from work and went to go see a movie.

A lot of my friends have January birthdays too, so on Sunday I went with friend Gwen and some others to the Art Institute of Chicago to get some culcha. Even though I think the high was like 15 degrees, it was a perfect day to go because of the Bears/Packers championship game, and consequently the crowds were light. As in, no crowds. As in, stare at that painting for as long as you want without someone breathing down your neck and getting in your space, causing you to seethe silently and despise all of humanity, then feel guilty for being such a misanthrope. OK, maybe the last part is just me.

We started out seeing watercolors by John Marin, who was also Georgia O'Keeffe's husband. I actually liked his drawings better, particularly one of a boat that was just a series of short lines, really, and then an image of a canal in Amsterdam made of all horizontal lines. Most of his watercolors didn't thrill me but his technique was really interesting--he would scratch lines in the paint, let it pool down, draw little dots around the painting, etc. It made for some very kinetic works and you could see the influence or at least awareness of the same forces that caused Cubism. A lot of movement in those paintings.

I always have to go visit the European paintings from before 1900, although I wish they had more Dutch and Flemish paintings on view. They always have tons of works by Monet and Van Gogh, who are not my favorite. They just don't move me on an emotional level. My favorite work on this visit was "The Maid" by Francois Bonvin, for the bright red coat and the way it reminds me of a Vermeer. The photo doesn't do it justice. It's like a little jewel, small and shiny and precious. I also like to look at the Hubert Robert paintings of romantic ruins. They're not actual ruins--I don't think there are many that oversized in Rome, except for maybe the Colosseum and the Baths of Caracalla. There are four of his paintings in one gallery, and they're so big you get the feeling you could walk into them and chat with the women gathering water at the fountains and other passersby. In fact I vaguely remember a childhood book where the protagonist did exactly that with some murals.

The Art Institute itself is actually a beautiful Beaux Arts building constructed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Today the Modern Wing gets all the attention, but I love the old building, with its pretty courtyards and arches. There are some lovely and peaceful little parks with fountains on either side of the building as well, which never seem to be that crowded.

We finished the day with wine (a Rosso Conero from Le Marche region of Italy) and delicious food at Purple Pig, which I had wanted to visit for a while but it was always too crowded and rather noisy. Thanks to getting there around 4 PM and the Bears/Packers game, they had plenty of open tables and we had a fun, peaceful meal. The pig's ear is the thing to get, but we passed on it for this visit. We did have bone marrow on toast with salt, capers, and parsley; anchovies with arugula, puntarelle (a green that is really rare on these shores) and orange; caponata; whipped feta with cucumbers; fried balls of butternut squash and sage; and jamon serrano with wild mushrooms and a fried egg on bread. It was really delicious and I highly recommend this place.

The day made me wish I worked downtown instead of having to drive to the suburbs every day! There are so many little parks you can relax in and the lake gives a great feeling of expansiveness. In fact I'm coming to realize that living near a large body of water is more important to me than I had realized.

and thus endeth the gluttony

...well, almost. There's still tonight!

My Christmas Eve dinner was a success. I decided not to make the homemade pasta though. Or rather, I did make a batch of dough, and then I realized that my pasta machine is really terrible. I never thought it was that great anyway but I couldn't even get it to cut the flattened dough effectively--I ended up with a mass of not-quite-completely-cut strands that stuck together. I tried to hand-cut a few but it was too labor intensive. I would have had to make another batch for my guests and I knew I would be too stressed out, so I jettisoned that idea. There was more than enough food already anyway. Which included this beef tenderloin, potatoes mashed with parsnips, and these brussels sprouts. My friend brought triple-cream cheese with fig jam for an appetizer, then we had vin santo (which I carried over myself from Tuscany last May) and cantuccini. The meat turned out really well. I was concerned about overcooking it--I made a leg of lamb last Easter and it cooked faster than I expected, so it ended up being medium to medium-well. It was still good, but I was disappointed. So with the tenderloin I probably checked it with the meat thermometer about five times. All my guests were pleased. I had a lot left over so I sent some home with people and have been eating it cold too. Unfortunately I was too busy cooking to get some pictures.

After everyone left, I realized it had snowed, and I took a bunch of photos of the snow-covered limbs of the tree outside my building.. Then I just sat on my couch with the lights off staring at the Christmas tree. I was really in a state of zen joy that I can't really explain. I didn't want to stop looking at it, so I ended up sleeping on the couch!

And now it's New Year's Eve. I'm not a huge fan of going out and kind of wanted to stay home. But now I'm going to stop off at a friend's for a drink on the early side and then may hit another friend's party later if I'm up for it. It's just as well--I bought some pre-prepared foie gras that I was really excited about eating, and it was terrible. Totally inedible--it had a really pronounced metallic taste. At $35 for two slices, that shouldn't happen. I'm going to call the little wine store I bought it from and see if I can get a refund. But the wine--a bottle of Petite Syrah 2007 from Vincent Arroyo that I bought in Napa last year--was, is, excellent.

And fortunately it's been unusually warm today--50s during the day (although rainy) and only going down to the 40s tonight, so maybe I can wear a short dress without freezing.

Happy New Year!

Christmas decor

I was pretty pleased with my efforts at Christmas trimming this year, especially the wreaths, which I made myself (ahem).

"What is this thing doing on my napping spot?"

Unfortunately Christmas shopping makes me cranky and now I'm getting sick. Still, I seem to have more Christmas cheer this year than usual, a good thing since I'm having people over for dinner Christmas Eve. I have been looking longingly at recipes for pot-au-feu, which would seem to be a terrific special-occasion dish, but I know all the shopping and preparation on my own is a little too ambitious. Instead I'm thinking of some type of rib roast, plus homemade pasta. And then vin santo and cantuccini for dessert.

Wherever you are, Joyeux Noel, Buon Natale, Merry Christmas, Auguri, and Happy New Year!

Seeing France in New Orleans

Poor ignored blog! I have meant to put something up for a while if only to push that picture of the dead pig further down.

My friend and I were talking about possibly going to France with her husband's band this fall--well, that ended up getting downgraded to a weekend in New Orleans.  New Orleans is kind of like France--but with more crime and to-go cups!

The good news is that the city really is coming back, albeit largely due to the blood, sweat, and toil of the residents, who are really dedicated to their home. And rightly so. New Orleans is a true cultural treasure. There is no place like it in the United States thanks to its history--which I learned a lot about thanks to Cassady, my guide on a Confederacy of Cruises bike tour. Check them out if you go--NO is a great place to explore on two wheels.

We didn't go into the lower 9th Ward, which I understand is still in kind of bad shape, but we did go into other areas of the 9th Ward where some houses were boarded up and you could still see the spraypainted symbols from emergency teams as they searched for survivors and bodies. Still, the area seemed lively and upbeat, which was nice to see.

Cassady, our tour guide

Cassady was a rolling encyclopedia of all things New Orleans. I mentioned I had stopped to get coffee and a muffin at a cafe near the meeting point and he told me about the history of the name of the cafe and probably knew the owners too.

I didn't take too many pictures of food, unfortunately. We did eat a lot of oysters, and our best meal was at Cochon, a contemporary Cajun place that several people recommended to us. I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I don't care much for Creole food--it's not my favorite. Cajun, yes, but most traditional restaurants in New Orleans (Emeril's, Commander's Palace, etc) are Creole-inspired, not Cajun. But as you might expect, the town excels at French and French-inspired fare, so our second night we went to Lilette and were not disappointed.

People are so friendly down there too. Cassady said if we got lost or needed a restaurant recommendation to ask a local: "He might mug you later but he'll give you good information!" We didn't get mugged but we did meet a lot of nice folks.

A mobile barbecue smoker

It was the middle of November, but it was quite warm and sunny--in the mid to upper 70s, maybe even 80 our last day there. Of course, facing the onset of real winter weather at home, I thought about how nice it would be to enjoy mild temperatures through the colder months. On the other hand, summers there must be a challenge.

My next house? I wish.

It's all about taking it easy and enjoying life.

I'm too old and mired in the bad housing market to consider moving anywhere else at this point, but if I had a good reason to I'd definitely move to New Orleans. At least I'd like to visit it more often. Actually, I think I am just a little jealous of New Orleanians, the way I am jealous of Italian or French people. It must be nice to be born into that culture and live it every day--something I'll never be able to do no matter how much I try to emulate it.

sick day

A little summer cold has caught up with me so I decided to stay home from work today. Sometimes I think these short little illnesses are the body's wait of telling us we need to take a break and slip out of the daily grind, so I try to listen. It's nice to be able to lie around all day and nap without feeling guilty about it. Unfortunately, deadlines march on so I do need to do some work, but at least I can do it in bed.

Here are some photos from this summer:

Micheladas are all I want to drink lately.

A turbulent sky over Lake Michigan.

Writing on the balcony. Why yes, that is a manual typewriter. I prefer to use it for writing fiction in the early stages--seems less like work.

Family members from various generations at our reunion in Lake Geneva this summer.

 Reader, I ate it. This is a roast pig we had last night at a friend's house. They didn't barbecue it themselves though--they left that to an expert. 'Twas tasty. I should have taken an after photo too.