Category: everyday life

I Can Do It!

I use this new bag for a while now, but Boris didn’t see it in use yet, so I guess he didn’t believe me when I said that now all my shopping needs are satisfied. When I told him that I needed to go to the Devon Market and took my shopping bike bag from the shelf, he was about to go along. I told him there is no need, and he looked at me suspiciously and asked whether I am sure. Last summer, I used his presence here to stock up because I could not bring all I need on the bike at once.

I reassured him that now I could indeed do it alone, and I only called him from downstairs when I returned, and then I asked him to come down and “unload the donkey.”

He had to carry the bag upstairs, and when I parked my bike and also came upstairs, he told me very enthusiastically that now he believes me that I can bring all the groceries home by myself. “Hight Five to Swedes!” he added, meaning that this bad was made in Sweden :).

But seriously – the best bag ever!

My Girls In Chicago

On Sunday, we had a short visit with our girls. Boris didn’t see them last time he was in Chicago, and before that, it was a very short visit, so I think he didn’t see them since December. It was good that they could make it.

I suggested that they go to the Crown Fountain first – It would be the first time for Kira, and Nadia didn’t go there since she was one year old. The girls loved it so much that if Anna would let them, they would splash there for the whole five hours they had :).

As I mentioned before, it was challenging to navigate the Loop on Sunday because it was the last day of Lollapolooza, but after a couple of unsuccessful trials, we found a place to have lunch with no line hanging outside the doors.

After lunch, we went to the Art Institute, and we even visited the Sezanne exhibit (although very briefly). I know Nadia would spend way more time there, but she won’t stay without Kira, and Kira has a way shorter attention span :). The rest of the time was spent in the Ryan Educational Center. This time, they offered several weaving projects, and Nadia stayed focused for the entire time and finished her piece.

A staff member helps to finish the weaving project

Lollapalooza In The City

When Anna and the girls made plans to come to Chicago today, Anna nor I realized that it would be the last day of Lollapalooza!

We survived, though it was not easy; the most challenging moment for us was getting to the Art Institute because we had to navigate through the crowd with very different intentions 🙂

Jesus Christ Superstar

I could never imagine that any Broadway in Chicago show could be a disappointment, yet it happened! It seemed, however, that Boris and I were the only two people in the audience who were disappointed. I checked several reviews – all of them are very positive. Only two of them mentioned imperfect sound mix, which made it difficult to understand the lyrics. In fact, it was so bad, that if I won’t know most of the lyrics by heart, it would be impossible. I do not want to go into details of what was bad, but I think that pretty much everything didn’t sound it’s best. Maybe, it was just that performance, because I hate to be in a disappointed minority :).

Sunday Morning

Biking to the Windmill sculpture
So what was the reason we bought this tray?…
Flowers From the Farmer’s Market

Boris arrived on Friday, so there is a lot of life going on, and so far, we have done most of the things we planned to do in these first two days. And we have another week ahead of us!

House Painting

I just finished the second round of painting in my house (well, not “I” , but the painters). I did not have the money or time to repaint the whole apartment when I was moving in; there were too many expenses. But I knew that eventually, I wanted all the avant-garde colors to be gone.

Now, I am one step closer to that goal: the only room not repainted yet is the kitchen, just because I didn’t quite figure out yet what color I wanted there. But the hallway and both bathrooms got a new look. I took the “before” pictures after everything was already removed from the walls and the painters marked the walls for repainting with white, so it’s not exactly “before”, but just to remind what the colors were.

Before – hallway
Before – small bathroom
Before – master bathroom
After – hallway
After – small bathroom
after – master bathroom

I love all the new colors, especially the small bathroom. Each time I walk in, I am amazed of how spacious it looks now!

On a sadder note: when mom came on Friday (my hairstylist came to do both of our hair), she said that she did not remember what were the colors of my walls before. I often do not remember the colors in my friends’ houses as well, but 1) she is in my house a least every other week, if not more often, and 2) the “before” colors were hard to ignore…

Thank You, Universe, For The Lake!

The days were hot, but I could not get any break from work neither Thursday, no Friday, and it was raining on Thursday evening. Usually, I do not go to the beach when it is getting dark, that’s Igor’s thing, but I didn’t get a chance yesterday until close to 8 PM. So I went when I could because I could not let one more summer day waisted, and there I was when the sun was almost set.

It could not be more perfect! The water was warm, the air was warm but not stuffy, and there were a lot of people on the beach. And the clouds were pink 🙂

Juvenile Intruder

After the latest incident with a mouse, I called for an inspection, and when an inspector came, he found one more mouse in a trap under the kitchen shelf! God knows how long it was there – probably since my last European trip. I told him, I did not want to see it, and he was: are you sure? It’s such a little mouse, just a juvenile! I had no desire to see the dead body, so he deposited it into one of the boxes he had with him, put new traps, and recharged the bait. Now, I need to check the mouse traps again, and I am afraid of mice!

I guess I have to pay for my independence and for living in the city 🙂

After The Meeting With An Author

Today, the Chicago Public Library hosted a meeting with Toya Wolfe, and my goal was to finish Last Summer on State Street before this event. (by the way, all library copies were taken, including the audiobooks, so I purchased it).

I am glad that I could attend and be a part of the conversation with the author. As someone who actively participates in the work of several volunteering organizations which service underprivileged communities, I was deeply touched by the events described in this book. Way too often, I see similar stories unfolding: no matter how hard we try to help the youth in crisis, in most cases, we can do nothing.

Answering one of the questions from the audience, Toya Wolfe made the following analogy: if you go to the war, you might return alive, or you might die; it’s often the question of chance. But if you go to war malnourished, there are higher chances that you won’t survive, although there is still a chance. In the same way, growing up in an unhealthy environment or in a broken home increases the chances of a youth getting into trouble, but at the same time, there are still chances for a good outcome. After today’s meeting, the book feels a little bit less depressing:).

Another New Mac – My Own

I got another Mac, and it is my own, and not Mac Air. I never thought I would purchase a Mac for myself, and the most recent model, but here I am.

There were a couple of things that I did for the first time with this Mac. my first trade-in (I traded in my old Mac Air), my first time applying, and getting an Apple card – for the sake of getting 0% financing for a year. They also said that I could order a physical card for this account – a “titanium card.” I ordered it; to be honest, I thought that the usage of the word “titanium” had no more to do with reality than multiple “gold,” “diamond,” or “sapphire.” But when the card arrived, it turned out that it was titanium! Which means it’s too thick to put her into my phone case.

But I guess, it’s OK since I have it in the Apple Wallet 🙂

Or and also, that was the first time I completely restored my new laptop from the time machine, and I was surprised that it actually worked (like I didn’t have to look for all the passwords and licenses one more time :))