Seeing the city Christmas Tree being installed at +75F is… surreal 🙂
When We Have Summer In November…
Seeing the city Christmas Tree being installed at +75F is… surreal 🙂
Hettie’s Reflections – Blog Posts
Weekend Baking
I want to complain about how I didn’t have time for the book writing this weekend, but I probably shouldn’t. After all, there were many other things which I did, although I didn’t have to do. this includes baking.
Although baking was in my weekend plans even before the election results were announced, I decided that it was in honor of our victory 🙂
I baked these two cakes:
The recipes are not super-complex, but both require a lot of time, especially the Apple cake which takes about four hours from start to finish (this includes three hours of wait :), but still)
Both cakes are delicious – i can’t even describe to what extent! You can’t stop till you are done 🙂
Christmas Card And Christmas Cookies
Whatever happens with the world, my Christmas cookies are here to stay:). This being said, it might be my 10th cookies giveaway campaign, but only the second one on the WP platform.
Here is it. First, I will be happy to exchange to Christmas cards with anybody in the world who would like to.
Second, I will be shipping my holiday cookies all over the world, as I’ve done for the past ten years.
- First 10 requests from any country in the world, not including Canada
- First five requests from Canada
- Unlimited requests from the US not including Chicago and suburbs (I just have to know you, al least virtually:))
- For Chicago and suburbs: unlimited pickup either at my house in Palatine or in Chicago Downtown on the week of December 14
Please send me a DM if interested 🙂
What Finland Has To Offer
My daughter sent me this link yesterday. She commented that one of her friends considered it as a backup plan if Trump would win. As for that statement, both she and I agree, that fleeing the country in difficult times is not right, and if Trump would win, we would stay here to fight.
But I also agree with her, that is is an example of excellent marketing, and moreover, both she and I know that it’s all true.
I am not saying I will never ever move to some other country; after all life proved I can’t ever make the “never” promises, but one thing I am sure about: I will never ever move somewhere for pure economic reasons. I like a lot of things in Finland, and I want many of them to happen in the United States, and I will work on making them happen here. At least now, there is ahope that some of thet will be possible:)
Deer Grove Natural Area Volunteers
On Saturday, I was invited to a special gathering of the Deer Grove Forest Preserve Volunteers. We celebrated the twenty-five years of Deer Grove Volunteers. It would be a huge celebration at the times of peace, but because of the pandemic, it was a really small group.
I felt honored to be invited because most of the people present at this meeting were there from the start, or almost from the start, and I have been with DGNAV for only six and a half years.
There were lots of stories told, and a representative from the Cook County Forest Preserves told us how we are the best group of volunteers and how they are not telling us what to do because we are self-guided and only need to coordinate with FPCC.
And it was a beautiful day, just like this whole week, and it was 75F, and I do not even know what it was in the sun 🙂
After-Election Thoughts
Thinking about what had happened yesterday… First, it still does not feel like it’s all over. Still can’t put my guards off. Still, I feel like – “is it really over?”
Make no mistake, I know better than anybody that at large, it is not over. But the first obstacle on the way to normalcy is removed, and I still can’t internalize the feeling that I can let this anxiety go.
Yesterday, when I listened to Kamala and Joe, I could not stop thinking about Obama’s speech twelve years ago. I remember this speech very well; I saved the recording and listened to it multiple times. In that speech, Obama practically laid down all he was going to do in the years to come, and he told his audience that there would be things they won’t like. I remember how people were getting angry at him at some point in his presidency and how he was often not understood. I am sure the same will happen with Joe, and I am mentally ready for that.
There are even more chances that people will be unhappy. After all, he is a centrist. Yes, that was a calculated move; any candidate just a little bit further left could hardly win. Even Biden was called a socialist by the Trump supporters. But I can see how the left wing of the party could become unhappy with him pretty soon. Not like this is something new or avoidable.
I also thought that this happiness was very different from happiness twelve years ago. Back then, it was excitement about great things that would come; it was “we will do so much better!” Now it is more like, “OK, now we can start rebuilding what is ruined, now we can start planning how to clean up this mess.” Happy thoughts, but at the same time, pretty sad thoughts.
Like most people, I am thinking about how to approach bridging the Big Divide. Too many people whom I know personally voted for Trump. Too many people understand nothing about BLM, and worse – do not even want to try. I am torn between the feeling that I do not want to talk to people on the opposite side of the spectrum and that I need to talk to them because things won’t change otherwise.
I am hopeful, and I worry, and I am relieved – all at the same time.
YES!!!
Anybody has anything else to add :)??? We did it! We all did it!
Summer In November
Last week, I wore boots and gloves, and just last weekend, I moved all outdoor furniture into the basement and folded the big outdoor umbrella. And then, the Universe gave us this incredible gift: not just one day, but three days of summer in November, and three more days to come!
Yes, I pulled my sandals back from storage, and I biked, and I had my kitchen door opened for the whole day. How much of summer those who above is going to give us, I will take it all!
Election Day In Pictures
On Indoor Dining Ban And The New Metra Schedule
It’s not because the indoor dining closer hurts Vlad; after all, his place is probably the least vulnerable of all in the city. But in general, I find it hard to agree with the governor on this particular measure. I truly believe (and he himself said it previously) that the infections spike comes mostly from the private gatherings (where nobody enforces anything!) rather than from indoor dining. And I think that the ban on indoor dining will make things worse because there will be more private gatherings, where nobody controls the number of people, mask-wearing and such.
Last week, a day before the governor banned indoor dining in the city, Metra announced that they increase the number of trains on our line, “adding more express trains and addressing the service gaps.” Which was good; as I mentioned earlier, as Metra enforces 1/4 of cars capacity, there were some days when I could hardly find a seat on a train on my way back from the city.
However, I was wondering – more people to the city and fewer places to have lunch? And just when the weather became colder! I was wondering what the situation will be at the train station in the city. I found it out on Saturday when I went for my clinic escort shift: the food court was open, and there were tables and chairs just as they were for the last several weeks: at 6+ feet distance, one chair per table. Which made me realize that the station has effectively become an indoor dining place, and it’s an option when I want to feed Igor 🙂
On the same note: on Saturday, I was leaving pretty early, and I had all intention to grab a coffee at the Palatine Train Station Starbucks. To my astonishment, they were closed, as we used to say, “without any declaration of the war.” It was a chilly morning, and I had to wait till I got to the city to get my first cup of coffee. The ad on the door said: temporarily closed, sorry for the inconvenience, with no reason provided.
I was wondering how long it is going to last, but last night when I checked the Starbucks app, I found that not only this location is open again, but moreover, they now operate insane hours: from 4-30 AM to 8 PM on workdays (Friday till 8-30), from 5-30 AM on Saturdays and from 6 AM on Sundays. Which again signals that the station will be effectively the indoor dining place.
We shall see. Vlad hopes that the ban won’t last long, and I hope the same.
