Nathaniel Vieux 1st Birthday

Philip, Nathan, Julie, and Ray.

 To see our full set of party pictures, click HERE.

cupcakes from More.

Birthday party for Nathan on February 19, 2011 at Marc and Juilie's home on Sheridan Rd.  Cousins from out of town (Marc's siblings and families from Ohio and Kansas.) The theme was Popeye the Sailor 
Man, because Nathan is becoming a regular sailor man.  He travels the oceans on his mom and dad's boat.  Spinach was an ingredient in some of the appetizers, and Wimpy hamburgers for dinner, with Popeye cartoons to watch.  But oddly enough, no bottles of Olive Oyl!   And the world's  best cupcakes from More.

Land of Painted Caves

32 days until Jean Auel's next book is released!

Earth's Children Series  The Land of Painted Caves.

Bridge To Forgiveness

A am reading another amazing book: The Bridge To Forgiveness, by Karyn D. Kedar.

On the second page it says, "The first twenty years, you grow up.  The second twenty years, you heal from growing up...By the time you're forty, get over it.  We are human, and many mistakes were made in your growing up.  Take the next twenty years to heal, and then move on.  By the, you are what you are and you aren't what you are not."

I have actually spent the first forty years growing up and making mistakes.  At an age when I should be accepting myself and moving on, I am trying to heal from the first 59 years.

I remember learning that if you do not learn the lessons of the first Saturn Return, your second Saturn Return will be worse.  I didn't, and it was.

I need this book.  The only person I am having trouble forgiving is myself.

Valentine's Day 2011 cont'd

See's chocolates..the best!

very cute things on North By Northwestern:





13 sad, sad ice cream flavors to smother your Valentine’s blues

Beautiful roses, and rose wine

Heartbreak or lovin’? Pick a Valentine fate

Black Kitty enjoys his valentine ribbon

my favorite romantic recipe...from Gourmet, January 1994

 Ray and I prepared our traditional Valentine's Day Dinner, pasta with scallops mushroom, and spinach.

Vaalentines Day 2011

Philip paid us a surprise visit for Valentine's Day...the best possible gift!  He brought a special treat from the Swedish Bakery.

We had a great dinner at Semiramis Restaurant.  The food is really tasty and extremely afforda ble, and within walkimng distance.  Semiramis is a very pleasant place  with a comfortable and welcoming  ambiance, perfect for any occasion. After dinner we made coffee with orange peel and cardomom, and shared the best red velvet cupcakes, white champagne truffles, and strawberry almond heart pastries.

Next morning we wanted to try Prince Creperie, a new restaurant  a couple doors north of Semiramis.  We thought they open at 6:30.  Ooops, that is only Monday through Friday.  On Sunday they are supposed to open at 10 a.m.  We stood outside with one of their waitresses until after 10 a.m.,, and finally headed off to Ann Sather Restaurant, where the food is always delicious and they never keep you waiting outside  in the cold.

We had a lovely visit with Philip, and took him back to school after brunch.

Thank you, Philip, for a wonderful Valentine's Day celebration!

February 14, 2011 will be the first Valentine's Day in years that I have not taken the day off for a Valentine's Day Dinner.  Guess it will be Ray and me this year, enjoying our traditional Valentine's Day pasta dinner with rosé wine.  I dropped off valentines and candy with Aunt Doree and aunt Ev. on Saturday after work.  Alek is in North Carolina, and Philip is extremely busy at school.  We are looking forward very much to reading his Valentines Day stories at North By Northwester.  Ray and I look forward to a quiet Valentine evening and a DVD.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

May the blessings of Eros and Aphrodite be yours.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Currently reading Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

Lisbeth reminds me of Maris. 

I will let you know how it goes.

Year of the Rabbit 2011

Click HERE to see pictures from our trip to Chinatown for this year's lunar year parade.

We met Helen and her Aunt Alice for a tasty dim sum brunch at Three Happiness Restaurant.


It was cold, snowy, and damp.  Philip covered the parade for a photojournalism class assignment.

After being outside for a couple hours, we felt chilled to the bone.  We  had to leave suddenly without visiting all the shops because Aunt Doree called to say Aunt Ev's furnace was not working.  

Thankfully we had managed to visit Hoypoloi Gallery, what a fun place!  I love the glass quotation plates by Steve Schlanser.  But I did not see the very cool, very mystical  huge gold one we saw the day we went to Chinatown with Alek and his friend Jeff.


Hot Irish coffee at the Fire House Grill in Evanston made me feel better.  The furnace was easily started by popping a couple AA batteries into the thermostat.

We took Philip back to Rogers House.  The campus is beautiful in the snow.

Glenview Library Article

In the February 2011 Illinois Library Association  magazine, The ILA Reporter, there is an article about the Glenview Public Library where I work.

Click HERE to see the magazine.  That is our picture on the cover, and other pictures are scattered throughout the issue.  But the actual article starts on page 8.

Blizzard 2011

I came to work at 1 PM on February 1 because I was planning a Tuesday evening genealogy discussion group.  We wondered if the predicted blizzard would really come, or if it would just bllow over.  At 2:30 pm, it began snowing hard and blowing hard.  At 3 pm, we were told the library would close at 4 pm.    I got home around 5:30 pm.  The next day it snowed and snowed.  I was not feeling so great (flu?) so I slept most of the day.  Someone rang the doorbell and said they would shovel my snow for $15.  Diane (my boss) called around 6:30 and said we were going to stay closed another day because the furnace was not working, and also the sidewalks needed to be plowed.  I was so grateful   By Thursday I was feeling better and ready to go back.

See the rest of my blizzard 2011 pictures. 

Nathaniel Vieux

Here he is at holiday time! Julie and Marc's baby.  Guess this makes Ray a great uncle! They are enjoying winter in the tropics.  (Postage stamp from the Philippines.)

The Lacuna

Currently reading The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver, one of my favorite authors.  She takes images from nature and uses them as metaphors for conundrums within her characters that they need to explore.

A lacuna is a (...)

Yes, that!  a mysterious space.  An underwater cave through which you are pulled by tides.

Or the part of the story which is left out, which is of course the most important part.

Frida Kahlo and Leo Trotsky are characters in this book, which is partly set in Mexico in the 30s and 40s.