Jamaica Day 1

Allison drove us to O'Hare Saturday morning for our flight to Jamaica. It's our trip that was postponed in November due to a hurricane. We had a bit of breakfast in the United Club but when we were seated on the plane, the flight attendant asked if either of us wanted to fill an empty seat in first class. Andy, being the gentleman he is, gave the seat to me. (It left him with a row all to himself though). I was in the very first row next to a Jehovah's Witness who was going to Jamaica for a month to rebuild houses damaged in the hurricane. He's an electrician from the Minneapolis area. I might have slipped into "reporter mode" but he had quite the story. Anyway, this was breakfast on the plane. The quiche was good. That stuff to the left apparently is chai seed pudding. I had a bite (it's served cold) and ate one tiny piece of pineapple.

We're always greeted at Sans Souci with a cool, almond-scented towel and champagne.

When we arrived, though, our room wasn't ready so we went down to the beach for a late lunch. Nice view. We also looked in the gift shop, made dinner reservations for the week, visited the library ...

saw a wedding on the beach and waited. At least we got the first floor room we wanted by the pool.

Staff dropped off a small "welcome home" fruit tray with chocolate sauce.

We sat at the pool for a bit but decided we needed a nap. We had both been up since before 4:30 a.m. We napped for about two hours then had dinner. Andy had steak that was too salty for him and I had chicken cordon bleu. It was ok but I had a lot to eat all day so wasn't too hungry.

Couldn't pass up the espresso tiramisu for dessert though. Sunday I plan to eat less.

Flashback pantry puzzle

I feel like I'm being watched which, while a bit creepy, is better than having Ruby sitting on the puzzle.

This puzzle is called "Mom's Pantry." Just labels of food items a few decades ago and some still look the same, unless they have changed and I just haven't noticed. Complete!

Blooming bushes

Our Bridal Wreath looks really good this year. I should have taken a picture earlier before the delicate blooms got battered by rain.

Pretty bushes in our yard.

And the hostas look good. I transplanted some from outside the fence into the yard just a couple of weeks ago and they seem to be thriving. I need to add some more dark green and variegated ones to this area.

Oh, no! The vase of flowers I set on the dining room table got mysteriously knocked over while I was at work Thursday. Pretty sure I know who is to blame. Interestingly, they only messed with one of the vases. The one on the buffet was left alone.

Mother’s Day flowers

Andy came home from work yesterday with a huge bouquet of flowers (and a cute ribbon). Apparently, his office decided to buy a bunch of bulk flowers and let employees take home what they wanted. Andy took enough that they filled not one of my vases ...

but two! Hopefully the cats leave them alone.

He also brought home this cupcake that suffered a bit on the commute.

Early Mother’s Day gift

I never know what to tell the kids I'd like for Mother's Day but this year I asked for a mahjong set. I had the one lesson at Allison's church (and won my first time playing, beginner's luck) but maybe with this I can practice and start going to meet-ups. I do have several friends who are interested in learning how to play.

Cat friends

Our neighbors have three indoor/outdoor cats who apparently are very curious why our cats stay inside.

Make yourself at home, cat. I'm not sure what this one's name is but she's a beauty.

This one is funny with their black cat, Frankie, sitting on our air conditioner. The other cat is just chillin' on the sidewalk. Our cats are in the window checking Frankie out.

House Walk day

Sunday was House Walk day. We sold a record number 650 tickets. We started out at the Sloan house that I was at the other day for the WGN filming.

One rule on the House Walk is that guests can't take pictures inside the houses. I took this when the TV crew was there. Interestingly, it's the only bathroom on the main floor. This bathroom (one of 12) shows the tankless toilet using the patented valve of the Sloan Co., (still in business) which provided the income for the company's founder to build this beautiful house. Most Sloan plumbing fixtures are used commercially today so look for it next time you're in a store or office.

Andy doing his thing. This house has ties to the Chicago Roller Skate Co.

This house was built for Chicago mobster Tony Accardo. Not a lot of construction records could be found for this one. It does have a hidden room in the basement and brick tunnel from the house to garage so neighbors couldn't see who was coming and going.

This 1958 Corvette was parked at a house built in 2958 by the founder of the Radio Flyer red wagon company. It's only on its second owner and maintains a lot of the mid-century details. I wish I could have taken some pictures inside (not allowed) because it was giving "Brady Bunch" vibes.

This was from the WGN shoot too, showing the roller skates, Sloan valve and Radio Flyer wagon that represented three of the houses on the walk. The theme was "American Dream Homes" built by tycoons who started successful businesses.

This house was built by the founder of American (Continental) Can Co. Its can were used for Campbell's soup, beer, paint, etc.

After talking to my boss, he said to try to get pics inside so I snapped a few inside the house, trying to be sneaky. Nicely set table, eh?

After going through the houses, Andy and I went to the museum to set up for the volunteers' party. One of the volunteers brought in baskets of booties that people wore as they toured the houses. That's a lot of booties.

I didn't put the program booklet together, but I did design the cover.

One year already?

See that little gold Mickey pin on L's nametag? It's her pin for being on the job for one year.

Here are her some of leaders celebrating with her. Have you ever seen a happier group of people doing their jobs?

Gas prices on the rise

This has been a crazy week, especially the last few days. Gas in River Forest on April 30.

A few hours later on my drive home. Wowza.

LaGrange that evening (hard to see but $5.29 cash, $5.39 credit).

Forest Park ...

and Berwyn.

TV behind the scenes

I had sent a press release about the Spring House Walk to the WGN Morning News "Around Town" producer back in mid-February and they agreed to cover it! The only thing bad about morning news is that I had to meet the crew at 7 a.m. Thursday.

It was my second time meeting the segment host, Ana Belaval. She's so much fun. This was the first segment in front of one of the five houses on this year's walk.

This is neat shot of the four-person crew in action.

This is what she was showing - a lighted case that displays the keys to every room in the house, labeled with family member or servant the room belonged to or what the room was called. There are envelopes at the bottom of the case with labels handwritten by the home's original owner.

I had to submit a form describing what we'd feature in each segment and figuring out who would subject themselves to interviews. Fortunately, I was able to work behind the camera (with another House Walk volunteer) let the homeowner and my coworker do the talking.

Oops. Here I am in the background talking to my coworker. A volunteer who was with us was hiding in the bushes.

My coworker being interviewed. She's a natural.

Here's the museum group with the host. I'm excited to see how many people come to the House Walk on Sunday. Ticket sales are going very well (even before the TV coverage - I already had it covered in the two local newspapers) and the weather is expected to be nice with a low chance of spotty showers.

What a lovely graphic that aired with the segments. Guess who designed that?