The Urban Woods

I've been through four blizzards in my life (or maybe six if you count the two mini-blizzards I had to drive through in Wisconsin). That these events were rated four of the five worst snowstorms in Chicago history is, well, mind-boggling.

Growing up, I always thought a blizzard was something that 19th Century pioneers and their ancestors encountered. I had read Laura Ingalls Wilder's account of the winter she and her family, as well as their fellow towners, went through blizzard after another and nearly starved. There had been limited communication and transportation that would had made another Donner Party episode possible in that small (now South Dakota) town where they spent that legendary Long Winter of 1881-82(?). I imagined what Laura and her fellow pioneers went through and knew that we would always have technology and transportation no matter what disaster would loom ahead.

That was until the Blizzard of 1979.( Snowblind )

On Sunday I prayed for Keith Olbermann.

It was something that happened. I went to visit Madeleine Sunday morning because she wanted me to bring her eye makeup, having received the clearance to wear it late the night before. She then called me and asked me to bring it. I also decided to do the laundry afterward so that I wouldn't have to go out during the Bears-Packers game.( a time to pray )

Well, Facebook is down due to site maintenance, so I'm back. Happy New Year. Hope your holidays were safe and happy.

First, a long overdue update on Charlie's condition. He's still hanging on. He was charged with attempted murder of the police officers who opened fire when he supposedly charged them with a butcher knife. He had a pretty low bail for this charge - $50,000 (I guess it's because he's still hospitalized and therefore unable to escape bail) - and his father and my uncle posted bond. This only removed the guard from his hospital room and made it possible for Nikki and other relatives to visit him. He's supposed to be transferred to Stroger Hospital where they have a prison ward, but I don't know when. My mother is spoonfed details when she talks to my uncle and spins her version to me, so I checked the Internet and found out more details for myself. He's brain-damaged, had his spleen and gallbladder removed so it's impossible at this point to know when this case will ever come to trial. Most likely my mother and I will be called as witnesses if it does. We can only tell what happened when we were living there and not the night when it happened, so I don't know if we'll be good witnesses for either side.

Madeleine turned 14 the other day and she's starting to hear from the high schools where she applied. The magnet schools haven't contacted her yet for further interviews and so her counselor has offered to check on that. Since the magnets look at attendance for 7th grade and she missed a lot of school in the last weeks of school due to her hospitalizations, I don't have a lot of hope that they would consider her. I don't know if the teachers disclosed the reasons for the absence when she applied. As for this year, she has perfect attendance and her grades are excellent. She also had perfect attendance in 7th grade before the hospitalizations and her grades were good. Still, I don't know if that will hold water.

She's also taken on more activities at school. This week she has become involved in running the school cafe. Before and after school on certain days the school has a cafe in an art room next to the library, where hot and cold drinks and treats are sold. It's once or twice a week but they're talking about doing it every day because of its popularity. Homemade goods are also sold (I made cookies last night and they're selling well when I checked it out this afternoon and I may make a cake tonight for tomorrow) and money raised goes to fund projects at school. School fundraisers have become more creative in recent years, with efforts ranging from book fairs to fall festivals. With schools needing more money, a simple bake sale or candy sale won't cut it anymore.

I had a rather telling dream today when I was taking a nap. I was back at Jewel, about to work at the deli when I realized I didn't know how to do my job. A customer wanted something and I didn't know how to get it for her. I didn't know how to put on plastic gloves, or how to use the slicers or even how to turn on the deep fryers to make chicken. I knew I had been away for years and I tried to go back to work, but didn't find my name on a schedule, or a uniform that didn't fit properly. The other staff watched me without doing anything to help and, feeling helpless, I gave up and left. Why did my brain freeze at what should have been simple tasks? Even my uniform wasn't right - the shirt was inside another shirt, but no one seemed to care. I haven't had a chance to think about the dream or its meaning, so I can't tell you my thoughts about the dream. Maybe that I'm trying to be ready to go on with my life and resume work, but don't know how.

EDIT: Forgot to mention earlier that I had gone to see the new Harry Potter movie on Tuesday and it's the best of the series. I raved about it on Facebook. Also, Christmas was easy with the family. No fighting, though my mother was in a mood to pick one. Once family obligations were out of the way she backed off. We're trying to get her to seek medical help but she says she won't do anything until after the Super Bowl. I don't think they would have her in the hospital THAT long.

That's it for now. More later.

Still settling into our new home. Went through many papers yesterday and threw out or shredded most of them. Very liberating experience.

Also went back to Oak Lawn with my mother. We were supposed to have the car checked again, but we left too late and the mechanic is closed on weekends, so I'll have to return next week. My mother did have to go through and sign some documents with my uncle, so while she did that I busied myself with errands for the car. I cleaned it thoroughly for the first time in a long time, taking it to a self-serve car wash near my uncle's house, and then I took it for gas. When we finally left for the city, the car ran better than it has for a long time, and became a big gas saver for us. Happy cars = Happy people. Can't wait for a road trip - to Wisconsin this month to cast an absentee ballot for election day.

I'm coming out of my shell more. Next week I'll try a couple of groups to help me better cope with my depression. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a meetup with Terra Incognita people featuring Inara de Luna. I heard of her return to Chicago via Damana on Facebook, and this morning read an e-mail from Avidd about it. So I'm committed. I'll be taking the bus this time, since it's straight down Milwaukee Avenue, and leave the car at home now that I got parking passes from the 35th Ward Office. They should last until I get the yearlong parking permit.

Also on my to-do list: Find an Internet provider, so I don't have to schlep the laptop everywhere or go to the library all the time. Sign up for a tax preparer class or test out of it so I can work as a tax preparer next year (H&R Block classes are $199 - ouch!). Get certified as a notary public so I can do some real estate work. My cousin did that, and she told me I can get work at title companies with the certification. But this weekend, break down the boxes in the kitchen so they won't be in the way anymore. Maybe I can get that done tonight.

Oh, and renew my paid LJ subscription so I won't have to wait awhile to update, visit friends' pages, or run into banner ads. I can do it with a gift card.

Moved in the new place on Monday. Still unpacking and tending to the business of settling in. My mother keeps saying that it will take time and that we have until Thanksgiving to settle in. Well, I want to be settled in by the end of next week.

There is a bonus. We came upon a queen-sized mattress that somehow would up in our stuff. We can't figure out where it came from, but I'm making good use of it. It's very firm, clean, and I'm adjusting to it. Still having a difficult time waking up and staying up in the mornings. Then again, it could be the weather or being exhausted from moving.

I'm readjusting my diet. First few days we've been eating junk and I've been more than eager to resume my new habits. Today I had a salad for lunch (with a Whopper from BK, so I'll probably eat very light at dinner). Been drinking water and iced tea, and glad to say that the Pepsi we have is largely unused. Bought green teabags, which I'll be making the same way my cousin Chris does. Priced Stevia at Trader Joe's, and it's a small fortune. When I buy it I'll have to use it wisely, so I'll have to e-mail Chris and ask how she makes her iced tea.

Feeling a little better today. The last few days, in addition to my exhaustion, my feet and face have puffed up. I didn't get around to picking up my water pills until today finally. I'm wearing my sandals and they're helping, and I can feel the puffiness disappear. Despite the season change to fall, today has been pushed back to summer so we'll probably get some storms tonight as we did on Tuesday.

Waiting for the DirectTV person to come, or my mother to call and find out what's up. Meantime, we've been watching DVDs. Last night was horses (Hidalgo with Viggo Mortensen) and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen with Helen Mirren. Heard that her Prime Suspect series is out on DVD, so I have to see where I can get it.). I'll be glad when we have the satellite hooked up.

Have to go now. Back soon.

All media outlets can report on political races and elections, but the CANNOT influence the outcome. Yeah, I know it would apply to everybody from Fox to MSNBC, but let the voters decide, not the media.

We have a few days left before we can move to our new place. Luckily, we're spending them at my cousin Chris's house in Orland Park.

Madeleine has been staying with our friends Joe and Maura while she goes to school, and it's been good for her. she eats three times a day (two times at school), and she reports she's less hungry. The food there is relatively healthy. It's also a little more stable and quiet than if she stayed with Daniella.

Chris and her family live in a large home with five bedrooms and three baths. My mother and I are staying in the basement and we come and go as we please during the day and at mealtime. It's very quiet and peaceful during the day and fun at night when her two youngest daughters are home from high school. Last night we shared a pleasant and healthy meal of vegetable lasagna, salad and the girls baked a chocolate cake with fresh strawberries for dessert. They like to bake, and I will have to buy them the latest issue of Taste of Home magazine.

My mother yesterday gave Chris a hundred dollars and told her to go grocery shopping. She went to Aldi and did quite well, getting fruit, veggies, healthy snacks (and even a little bit of junk food, including pop, which I told her I no longer drink to her surprise.). She's quietly encouraging us to eat better and exercise, and it's well appreciated. When we were at the motel last week, I was eating sandwiches with mustard and mayo and it was very tasty. Today, I decided to experiment a little and tried tomato and basil hummus on a turkey sandwich with whole grain bread. That was very tasty - I will have to buy sprouts and maybe more tomatoes as needed. Then last night after dinner, I went on the treadmill for thirty minutes while watching tv. The little tv doesn't have MSNBC, so I have to watch Rachel Maddow on the other tv in the basement living room. But I'm not complaining. :)

The relaxed atmosphere is what we desperately needed after the last several weeks living with Nikki and Charlie, and then in the motel. Chris makes green tea with stevia, chills it and we drink it with lemon. The antioxident properties work wonders on us and I spent the last day sweating out toxins. Chris says I can find stevia at Trader Joe's or any health food store. The sweetness is just right. As for my mother, she hasn't felt the need to drink as heavily as she has for the last several months, and she admits she's looking forward to cutting down when we move. This morning, instead of going for the scotch, she went for the tea.

I think the relaxed atmosphere and healthy lifestyle are why my cousin Rocco (Chris's younger brother) chooses to stay with ehr when he needs a break.

I'm in the library now because I had to meet Madeleine today, but we are in a much better place and will be home soon.

While many of us are recalling Hurricane Katrina, which hit five years ago this weekend, I'm recalling a different weather event that hit the Chicago area twenty years ago today.

In Plainfield, Illinois, close to Joliet, a F5 tornado struck the town as well as neighboring Joliet and Crest Hill. It became the only F5 tornado to ever strike close to Chicago, and the only F5 tornado to strike in the month of August. Twenty-nine people were killed, making this storm the deadliest storm to strike northern Illinois since the Belvidere-Oak Lawn tornado outbreak of 1967.

No warnings were issued with this storm, accounting for the high death toll. After the storm, it was determined that the Chicago office of the National Weather Service had such a heavy workload at the time that it did not view the potential of the deadly storm. Indeed, severe thunderstorm warnings went out after the tornado hit. Now other NWS offices, including a newer office in Romeoville, Illinois, have helped with the workload. Additionally, Doppler radar has been developed to detect storms with rotation, vastly improving warning times.

More information about this storm may be found here.

Beautiful day today. It's why I love August. Wish I could spend it at the beach.

I left the trashy_eats community. Nothing personal, but I'm trying to eat better and reading about weird food combos leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Spent Tuesday with my uncle working on my car. Didn't realize how replacing a headlight and fog lamp would involve painstaking work, but it had to be done. Replacing a brake light was much easier, and we topped my fluids and cleaned my battery. Next time I get an oil change, I'm sticking with the oil change. They NEVER replace the fluids they say they would for the extra cost. But at least I know how to check the levels and replace them when necessary. My uncle is a natural at teaching, and he should get his own show on DIY. He actually enjoys doing these things, which hopefully takes his mind off mourning my aunt's loss last year.

Spending too much time on FarmVille. I have tog et a break.

Also cleaned Madison's room and let Madeleine have the dresser for her clothes. She's really looking forward to going back to school now.

See ya soon. Have to go now.

Okay, I'm so ready for this heat to end. They're saying this is going to be the warmest August in a long time.

Usually by now things are starting to change. Maybe as it gets closer to school time. I can remember when we were living in Des Plaines and Madeleine and I were swimming in the pool on a cool night. I think this was like five years ago. And I can remember swimming as dark clouds gathered and the lightning held off until after the pool closed and we got one hell of a storm that night. But now all the rain is going to Madison (Wisconsin) and all we see is...heat.

I've been trying to give up soda for a week. My cousin says you can lose ten pounds that way, but I don't feel any lighter...well, yes I do - a little. I surprised myself by walking nearly a mile on Tuesday. Overall I've been doing well but the last couple of days I accidentally drank my daughter's soda (just a couple of sips, really). I went back to flavored water, iced tea and lemonade. Now I just feel blah.

Tonight I was supposed to go to the showing of the Midnight Syndicate film "The Dead Matter". The DVD is available at Hot Topic in a package with 2 MS CDs, but I wanted to see the movie because Edward Douglas will be there. But I'm running low on cash and the weather is just too hot to go anywhere. I'm in the city right now because Madeleine and Daniella had appointments. We'll go back when it's over. Meantime I'm typing this in the nice cool library.

This morning we had to drive around roadblocks. A firefighter died this week in the line of duty (the first in twelve years - makes me wonder if it might be any safer to be a firefighter than a cop these days) and he was waked at a funeral home near my uncle's house. As I went to retrieve his trashcans and make sure they were turned over to ward off possums, I saw a Chicago Fire Department vehicle block off a street. More Oak Lawn police cars crawled through the neighborhood nearby and there was a helicopter hovering overhead almost like a swarm of bees. As we passed the street the funeral home was located there were numerous vehicles on the street and cops closing off the street. I know it was a temporary inconvenience but it was sad. The firefighter was 31 and engaged to be married. Now his fiancee has to carry on without him and she won't see any of his benefits because she wasn't married to him.

Will end for now, but I'll see if we can get in on any of Madison's t-storms today. I know it's Friday the 13th, but I'm not holding much stock in superstition right now. Again, I'm so ready for this heat to end.