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.
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