Carting along

Much moreso than in the past, getting from here to there seems lately to be work. With a walk to the El or bus stop a given, and the wind and snow coming with more regularity, completing an otherwise ordinary task (like going to the gym or to the store) can sometimes make us sigh and consider whether this is really something that needs to happen immediately (unfortunately, we are sometimes successful at talking ourselves out of important activities). But today we decided to take an momentous step to improve one of our regular excursions (to the grocery store).....we bought a cart! If you live in Chicago, you are aware that all women over 65 are required to own a 4-wheeled shopping cart. Not really...but there honestly aren't many folks under that age that you see pushing these things around. But why not??? They reduce shoulder soreness from multiple bags on each arm and they prevent the classic "your eyes are bigger than your biceps" syndrome. With the cart, one can wheel around the store and collect the necessary items--but stop when the cart is full. The full-size shopping cart can be deceptive--Eric and often ended up getting way more than we could carry comfortably for 7 blocks, which is how far we live away from Dominick's. But today, we arrived home with a full load of groceries--and no sore shoulders! We love our new cart!

Despite getting tired of trekking around at times, we are loving Chicago. The current show in our church's gallery space has been by an artist (whose name we don't know) who takes photographs of Chicago. For some really neat city shots of all kinds, check out this website: http://www.dmogalleries.com/index.html.

We have also been reading lots about the city. Eric and I both recently finished reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, an amazing and dark revisiting of Chicago in 1892-93 and its journey toward and through the World's Columbian Exposition. It tells two parallel stories--one of Daniel Bunham, the principal architect for the World's Fair, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer who took advantage of circumstances related to the fair and the changing city to lure his victims. A very intriguing story--and true!

I also just finished reading the 2004 book Never a City So Real: A Walk in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz (I linked the title to the desription that I did because it's by Powell's--the best book store ever in another one of our favorite cities--Portland!). Kotlowitz basically hangs around with some ordinary people in Chicago who have done some really interesting things--and who make Chicago the great and sad and complex and exciting city that it is. There is one section about a guy who owns a diner in Albany Park, on the northwest side. As I read the description of the place and the owner's interaction with the day laborers who gather in the parking lot seeking work each morning, I realized--hey, we've been there! Three years ago, Eric and I participated with Seminarians for Worker Justice in a rally there to support the day laborers as they fought for a Worker Center--on the coldest Martin Luther King Day ever! We stood in that parking lot and we drank hot chocolate from GT's diner (these were the pre-coffee-addiction days) and used their restroom. How cool. Though there are still challenges for the laborers, they have since been successful in opening a Workers Center! Here is a 2005 article that tells a bit about it.

The building right behind us is GT's:

Jenny

It's been about a year since we got rid of our television, but it seems like less of a sacrifice now that we have access to so many entertaining things on YouTube (not to mention full episodes of Grey's Anatomy on abc.com). We don't usually post videos, but here is one from Flight of the Conchords, the "the almost award-winning fourth-most-popular folk duo in New Zealand." If you like this, you should check out their other stuff on YouTube.com. I can't count how many times we've watched their videos and they are still hilarious!

Winter Sky

Today was cold! The "feels like" temperature this morning was minus 6 degrees! But it was such a beautiful day! There was a patch of blue when we woke up, but the clouds took over and the flurries began. Soon the sparse flakes became an honest-to-goodness snowfall, with folks piling on the train and shaking the accumulation of fluff off their shoulders and bags. And then this evening, the sun came out and turned the sky a faded purple color I hadn't seen for so long! This picture just couldn't capture the lovely light and the roaring whitcaps on the lake, but it was so cozy in the apartment I just couldn't bring myself to go outside. But I could hear the waves from where I stood.


Amazingly, Eric rode his bike to work today. And he is on his way home as I write, no doubt excited to come inside and open the hot seitan quesadilla's he's bringing home!

Chocolate and Football and Snowy Days

It's gotten a bit chilly again (in the single digits), and though we haven't seen much accumulation, the snow has been falling...and things are freezing! Here are some icicles on the iced-over pier at the beach down the street. Remember, no diving.

The view from my office a few nights ago.


It has been a full weekend! On Friday night, we finally made it to the Brew and View without encountering any firetrucks (see last week's posting). Josh, Deborah, and Joseph met us there for Borat and the Tenacious D movie. Borat was shocking at times but without a doubt the funniest movie we have seen in a long time. We made it through about 20 minutes of the second show before giving up (sorry Jack Black lovers).

After hanging out a bit at some place down the street, we caught the bus (it was so stinking cold at that point) and headed home. While we waited, we hid out in a doorway to avoid the wind. Here are Goose, Josh, Deborah, and Joseph.


Eliser brought the ridiculous hat I am wearing as a Christmas present for Eric, but his head is simply too big for him to wear it. The majority of folks I see wearing ones like this are either over 75 or work for CTA (not that there's anything wrong with fitting into either of those categories), but it is the warmest hat ever! You will never see me in any other cap when the temperature is below 27.


On Saturday morning, we met Barrett and Megan, two friends who started attending our church around the same time we did, for breakfast at the Heartland Cafe. We had a lovely time talking about life and eating breakfast burritos and berry pancakes.

We planned to take CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) to our next destination, an informational session on Co-Housing at the Sulzer Library...but it turned out that the library was only 2 blocks from Megan's place, so they gave us a ride! For as much as we support and appreciate public transportation, sometimes it is SO NICE to get in a car!

The presentation was by a group called Prairie Onion Co-Housing. We had come across an ad in a local magazine about this community living project and later joined their Yahoo Group to receive updates. Basically, Co-Housing (check out this website for more info) is a way of living in community that involves individuals and families living in their privately-owned (but small and modest) homes or units and then sharing common space and resources. Decisions from the beginning are made by members through a concensus process, and living areas are constructed with social interaction part of the plan. For example, parking is always located at the periphery of the community and entrances are gathered around a pedestrian area so people see each other frequently. One or more meals during the week are shared (though not mandatory) and a common house, in addition to having a large kitchen and dining area, might have guest rooms, a game room, a children's play area, a library, a workshop...really whatever the group decides to include.

Prairie Onion, the group that has formed in Chicago, is working on getting land at this point, and after the property has been purchased, it would be about two years before people start moving in. So...it's good to have some time to figure out whether or not this would be something we would like to do (and hopefully become a bit more stable financially), but it is definitely an idea that excites us. Co-Housing groups are committed to "green" building techniques and materials along with sustainable practices and seeking overall to reduce our ecological footprint (calculate your own footprint here)...and they are made up of folks who want to really know and live with their neighbors! There are so many people in this big city, but there is also so much isolation.

After the gathering, we took the train back north. This shot is looking south toward the Loop from the Wilson stop.


Justin and Andria, who were married in December in Grand Rapids, were in town for the weekend and Erin and Matt had a fondue party to celebrate! Look at that sweet chocolately goodness. I can't think of anything better than a skewer with a banana slice and a huge chunk of chocolate brownie dipped in melty chocolate!


Eric could not believe that I actually let him eat this last piece of mine (I'm nice sometimes).

Crazy thing. After we met Alex and Emma, who are friends of Matt and Erin, for the first time that evening, we discovered that we had been sitting at the table immediately next to them at the Heartland Cafe that morning. Even Chicago can feel like a small world sometimes!


After church today, we visited the Wishbone restuarant for lunch. So delicious. While we ate, two guys in full bear costumes (with the giant mascot head and everything) and Bears jerseys came walking up the street. They paused for a moment and peered in at us with their paws on the window, then came in the restaurant and had a drink at the bar. Later they stepped out for a smoke break, then moseyed on down the street. Strange.


Speaking of Bears, it was an excellent day to be in Chicago and, in my opinion, inside a toasty living room watching the game on a giant TV! Unfortunately, Eric had to work this afternoon, but I sent him off with an oldschool walkman to listen in his slow moments. While Lewis napped and the snow fell and fell outside, Andy and I enjoyed the game on Lewis' High Definition TV. And, hard to believe, the Bears are going to the SuperBowl for the first time in 21 years!!!! (I'm not going to lie--I've never been this excited about footbal before--I must be hangin out with Eric a little too much!).

Well, I'm off to the el stop to meet Justin Horn, Eric's college friend and perhaps the most spontaneous and carefree person we've ever met. He and his girlfriend, Ruby, are staying over tonight.

Heart of Gould

The weather has been a bit crummy (the meteorologists like to call it a "wintry mix") but the weekend was still lovely. On Saturday, we met Amy, a friend we met in Guatemala who moved to Chicago in the fall, for Thai food in Logan Square, and had such a nice visit. We didn't take our camera with us, but here is a picture of the three of us making rellenos (plaintain pockets filled with sweet black bean paste) during our time at the mountain school near Colomba, Guatemala:


We sat and talked in the restaurant for so long that we started to get a bit hungry again and the sun began to disappear (in his workplace, Eric calls people like us "campers"), so we re-wrapped our scarves and walked around the neighborhood for a while. Logan Square is north and west of downtown (pretty much straight west of Lakeview, where our church is) and is a diverse and happenin' place. Eric and I have done quite a bit of talking about where we might move (within Chicago) when our apartment lease is up (which will be in July) and Logan Square is definitely a possibility. There is a high Latino population and there are lots of great restaurants and even a discount movie theater! Plus it's along the blue line of the el, which allows for quick trips to both downtown and to O'Hare.

Later, we moved the kitchen table into the living room and played an intense game of Euchre with Lewis and Andy. It was close to the end, but Lewis sealed the deal by going it alone and taking all five tricks! Non-midwesterners, we would be happy to teach you to play Euchre any time (you just might have to come visit us, though)!


After church today, we managed not to be the very last people in the building besides the pastor (like last week)--but only because the Bears-Seahawks playoff game started at noon! We enjoyed the High Definition viewing at the Hidden Shamrock pub and the Bears did not disappoint! It was a close and intense game that ended in overtime with Robbie Gould (pronounced "gold") matching his career distance for a field goal--49 yards--putting the Bears up 27-24! We kept singing this terrible version of Neil Young's song that we heard one of the morning sports talk-show guys sing the other day. Instead of "Keep me searching for a heart of gold...and I'm getting old," he sang, "Got a kicker his name is Robbie Gould...next stop Super Bowl!"

We hung around Lakeview for a while (drinking coffee, thrift-store browsing, window shopping) because we had plans to meet Josh and Deborah at the Brew and View, a cheap movie house that also serves beer (hence the name). We were really excited because they were showing Office Space (an old favorite we had developed quite a hankering to see again) and Little Miss Sunshine, which we have been wanting to see since it came out. Only $5 gets you in to see both!

We approached the Brew and View a bit early to get good seats and a man in a leather jacket with wild hair was standing in the doorway and asked if he could help us. Eric said something to the effect that we were interested in seeing the two movies that would be showing that night. The man said that they were not open. Eric told the man that he had seen on the webpage that they would be open tonight. The man simply replied that yes, they were supposed to be, but the boss had said that they were no longer open for that evening. When Eric asked why again, he just mumbled something. We were a bit confused and disappointed and we walked down the block to call Josh and let him know that the place was mysteriously closed. Suddenly, a fire truck came roaring down the street and stopped in front of the Brew and View. A few moments later, a police car turned down the street, then did a U-turn to block off traffic. While Eric walked around the corner to try to hear over the sirens, three more fire trucks and four more police cars zoomed up. Firefighters jumped out and ran into the building. Curious onlookers gathered. To avoid the cold and decide what to do (and because I wanted to buy some arch supports for my work shoes), we went into the Walgreens across the street. By the time we emerged, only one police car remained. We wandered by the entrance and Eric, through the smoky air, called in to some guy and the police officer, "You're closed, right? Ok, yeah." So...we went home. Maybe another night. Hope everything is ok at the Brew and View.

Film School Application

Eric here. I have to thank Mira for keeping up with the maintenance of this blog--left to my own devices, y'all would be wondering if I ever made it to the "big time" of being a waiter at the BFC!

Anyway, as you know, one of my goals for this year was applying to a film school in the Chicago region. With a January 3rd deadline, I set out early on to get Columbia College's application in on time...and I did! I was blessed to be the benefactor of two letters of recommendation from two beloved friends and former bosses. And, since I have no actual film experience, I also included a proposed film idea that I would be glad to talk to you more about if you so wish. Because I want to make this film and have devoted some considerable time, I won't share exact details, but the picture at left is a "photoshop" creation to give you a clue regarding its potential subject matter.

For Columbia to accept me takes a good amount of faith on their part in my potential, and given the number of candidates that have potential and physical evidence of filmmaking ability, I would not be surprised if they choose not to accept me. I am hopeful, however, that they see my heart and soul resides in helping folks to share their stories in creative and life-changing ways and that I need them to mold me. My future does not rest completely in their hands, however, as I plan to make documentary films regardless of their decision.

Anyway, since I have completed the app and we have our weekends off together, Mira and I have gotten more time to spend with each other, just hanging out. Today after our church's wonderful Epiphany service, we actually spent the whole day walking around this beautiful city of ours (for those of you who know Chicago, we went down to Wicker Park, and then up through Bucktown, Lincoln Park and Lakeview), talking about our hopes and dreams for the future. If you haven't done that with your significant other lately, I highly recommend it.

Happy Epiphany!

Hello friends.

If you scroll down past the most recent blog ("Pounding the Mochi"), you can see pictures from the rest of our Christmas week ("Happy New Year") that were just posted. Or you can just click on the "Happy New Year" link in the right hand column.

Pounding the Mochi

Mira here. Unfortunately, Eric had to work today, so he wasn't able to join Maiko, Joey, and me on our excursion to Mitsuwa Marketplace, the Japanese "mall" in Arlington Heights (a suburb of Chicago). It's the only place like it in the Chicagoland area and Maiko (who moved here from Japan about five years ago) was really excited to eat mochi, a doughy rice treat covered in bean paste that is a common treat in its processed form, but is generally only made fresh on New Years Day.

In Japan, some families own their own old-fashioned pounding bowl and mallet for this New Years event and, traditionally, the father figure pounds while the mother reaches in to move around the ball of dough. When the lengthy process is finished, the man offers mochi to each person as a symbol of his ability to provide for the family. We arrived at Mitsuwa in time to see their last "pounding of the mochi" demonstration of the day. First, the bowl is cleaned with a cloth and water, then a tub of steaming rice is dumped inside. One person walks round and round, mashing the rice down with the mallet. Another person wipes the sticky rice off the mallet occasionally with a rag (Joey suggested that they develop a non-stick mallet). It is obviously strenuous work and the men switch places often.

After some time, the pounding begins. There is a rhythm to the work, with the crowd giving a shout (I can't remember the Japanese word now) at each whack, and then an "oy" on the off-beat, when the other man reaches in to fold the dough, just narrowly avoiding his hand becoming a pancake.

Between each session, someone else would pull the dough out and throw it back down.

Eventually, they started inviting men from the audience to pound as well. The folding guy got his hand whacked once by a guest pounder.

The children were enthralled at the beginning...

...but some grew quite bored...

...until they were invited to pound the mochi as well.

It was worth the wait! Mochi is really sticky and gooey and naturally sweet. And the bean paste that they slather on top is so great.

There are now machines that make mochi, and very few families make it the old-fashioned way anymore, so it is quite a treat for lots of folks to both see the process and taste the treat fresh off the mallet.

Here is another blog I came across that talks a bit about the mochi-making tradition in Hawaii and in Japan, in case you are interested.

We wandered through Mitsuwa's bookstore, which had some very *interesting* magazines. This one is almost entirely filled with tiny dogs wearing really elaborate clothing and costumes. A little bit disturbing, if you ask me:

And of course we had to eat some Japanese food! Yakisoba noodles were a must, and I also sampled okonomiyaki for the first time--it's kind of like a big hashbrown patty, but it's got cabbage and egg and all sorts of other yummy stuff mixed up in it before it's fried. Maiko says that people ask her all the time if she makes a lot of sushi, but she says that that is only for special occasions (mostly because it is so much work to prepare!). The Japanese food that she eats most at home is noodles and she tries to eat okonomiyaki every chance she gets--though it can be expensive to make for only one person.

Joey and Maiko have cleaned their plates and have nothing left to feed each other. So sad.

Japanese desserts are also very interesting. Unlike in the U.S., their after-meal treats are not usually super sweet, and they often have a mix of different flavors. Also inside Mitsuwa is the Pastry House Hippo. You've got to go to this website and click on the links to see the goodies. Like かめさん for example. You can't tell me that a turtle-shaped pastry resting on a doile is not cute. And 三色パン -- it looks like an ordinary pastry, but you'd never guess that inside that little bun would be hiding a trio of surprises including red bean paste, fluffy cream, and chocolate cream! It's called "san-shoku-pan" ("san" means three, "shoku" means color, and "pan" means bread)."

For dessert, we opted for the green tea parfait, which combines ice cream, red bean paste, green tea "topping," a "pie" (flaky stick), some multi-colored mochi, and some sort of green jelly made from seawee at the bottom. It was unlike anything I had ever had--and quite delicious (except for the green jelly, I must admit).

Well, Mitsuwa was definitely an experience--and it was so nice to visit lots with Joey and Maiko and learn more about the Japanese New Year!

Arigato for reading through the whole blog. And happy new year to you!