The vote is in… at least mine. And that might be the only one?!
But, hands-down, the best stairway in Chicago has got to be inside the MCA.
The Museum of Contemporary Art hosts a lot of questionable art in my opinion.
Not a big fan of a lot of their ever-changing collection. However, the staircase
is forever impressive! Plus an occasional silver bunny!

The snow & wind continued through the night. And it was exciting to get outside
today to see what happened overnight. A lot of drifting snow… that’s what!

The streets were covered with snow drifts that covered many of the cars. And then
the snowplows had come through and piled even more up against the sides. Nice, huh?
There were cars everywhere enveloped in a shroud of beautiful white snow.

But then the shoveling began. I tackled my own car with enthusiasm & vigor… and luckily,
my neighbors Mia & Melanie were right there willing to help. We shoveled out enough
to get into the car, start it up, and then I continued to shovel more out. By the time I
finished mine, I felt victorious as the first in a long line of shoveling to come!

Some people have said that I can be a little obsessive-compulsive…
who knew it would show up in my shoveling projects as well? But it did.
And I now have the cleanest and most well-shoveled little parking space on the street!
That is at least until the plow comes by again or the wind kicks back in?! And now
that I’ve shoveled it all out, I’m actually considering the age-old Chicago “trick”
of blocking the space when I pull out with a lawn chair or something else to claim it
for myself. I’ve never done it before – with a storm like this, it might be worth it?!

It was great to see so many of my neighbors out this afternoon working together
and shoveling out anyone who needed help. And after I finished shoveling, it was
still quite beautiful around the neighborhood. Including my now snow-covered,
ceramic Captain America PEZ Dispenser in the back courtyard!

So while I was snowed in at home… making s’mores in my fireplace…
look what was going on just a few blocks away over on Lake Shore Drive!!!

For those who don’t know, Lake Shore Drive parallels the lake shore through
the Chicago area. It’s a major thoroughfare for everyone traveling north or south.
Well, apparently the city was hoping that people would make it home before the
“big” storm hit. And they didn’t close Lake Shore Drive quite fast enough. With the
storm & winds blowing in from the lake and drifting right across Lake Shore Drive,
all it took was a couple accidents and the entire expressway became a parking lot –
and major headline news across the country! Hundreds of cars were stuck in the snow,
people trapped in their cars & buses for several houts before being evacuated by the police.
Well, here are a few shots of what was going on… the day AFTER the big storm.
Including some cars left open during evacuation forced to brave the elements?!

And to think I was riding my bike along the lake just two days ago?!

Okay.. so the storm continues outside. I guess the forecast was pretty accurate?
So the first wave of snow came down, and then the wind picked up to gale force winds!
There are now snow drifts everywhere! But it is more the wind that is kind of freaky.
It’s so windy that the sound is practically deafening… not to mention the tree branches
that keep my living room windows! Guess those should have been trimmed, huh?

So I’m staying inside, keeping warm and enjoying some s’mores in the fireplace!
A little fun online, with some Facebook updates & more, plus some fun shows on TiVO.
When all of a sudden the electricity goes out. Luckily, I have plenty of handmade oil lamps
all around the place. But after some time in the dark… I decided to go outside and play!
Who gets the chance to experience a storm such as this?! And it’s just snow, right?
And luckily, by the time I got home, the electricity was back on! Perfect timing.

So I tried to exit through the front door vestibule… only to find out that that too
has been covered with snow! Yes, the INSIDE of our lobby vestibule is snow covered
as the strong winds keep blowing the exterior door open!!! And not just a little…
there were a couple inches of snow in the drift!

I decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood to see what’s going on. It was beautiful.
So much better than sitting inside in the dark, right? The snow was blowing directly in my face
as I started walking east towards the Lake. As I crossed Broadway, I stopped to help a guy
try to get his car out of the snow drift he had driven into. No dice. He was stuck. The closer
I got to the Lake, the more the wind hurt my face. The gusts were so strong that it felt like
sharp pieces of ice hitting my face. The El train was quiet. As was McDonalds…

Typically it’s so quiet outside during a good snowstorm… but not this time.
The wind was howling, the thunder had died down & there were sirens off in the distance.
I had a great time walking around the neighborhood. Seeing where the snow was, how tall
the drifts were getting… and how bad it was going to be to dig my car out tomorrow!

So here’s some of my neighborhood… the “quiet” serenity without the flash
and the same shot with the flash to show more of the frenzied snow!

So now I’m home warming up… and my clothes is dripping as the snow covering melts!
Who knows what tomorrow will look like if these winds keep up all night?
Regardless, I think tomorrow will be a “snow day” for many of us… which is always fun!!!

So Chicago is in the path of a huge snowstorm racing across the Midwest.
They are predicting about 30-inches of snow & high winds overnight.
I’ll believe it when I see it… I think they’re over-estimating just a bit.

The official “winter storm watch warning” started at 3:00pm this afternoon
and continues through tomorrow at 3:00pm. Everyone in Chicago is on high-alert
in anticipation of the storm. Lillstreet Art Center has already canceled all classes
for tonight & tomorrow morning. Which means my students get to stay home tonight
instead of fighting the elements. They get to hunker down & stay warm.
We can all play in the clay another day…

I literally laughed out loud this morning when I was listening to the radio
and someone referred to the storm as “SNOWMAGEDDON.” Really? C’mon…
Then the official weather report came across the wire and they referred to it
as “potentially deadly.” Again?… really?… it’s only snow. We call it Winter!!!
Of course there were other creative names that followed throughout the day…
“SnowPocolypse”… “SnowPalooza”… snow-MG…  and now we wait for some snow!

The art & architecture in Chicago is amazing.
And so often, I’ve walked past it for years and never quite stopped inside.
Well, today I visited the Palmer House in downtown Chicago and was amazed!

The story of downtown Chicago’s Palmer House is one of romance
and undeniable charm. Potter Palmer was a well-known Chicago business magnate.
She, a stylish socialite and philanthropist.

An introduction by his former business partner, Marshall Fields, sparked a romance
that led to perhaps one of the most extravagant wedding gifts of all time –
a Grand Chicago Hotel destined to take it’s place among the most luxurious hotels
in Chicago and the world.

Tragically, just thirteen days after its Grand Opening, the Palmer House fell victim
to the Great Chicago Fire. Determined to rebuild his luxury downtown Chicago hotel,
the Palmer House namesake secured a $1.7 million loan – negotiated on his signature alone.
On November 8, 1873, the new Palmer House welcomed its first guests, marking the
opening of what would become the nation’s oldest continually operating hotel.

Shortly after befriending Claude Monet in France, Bertha Palmer began decorating
the Palmer House with artistic treasures inspired by her French heritage, eventually
accumulating the largest collection of impressionist art outside of France.
The Palmer House was bedecked with garnet-draped chandeliers, Louis Comfort Tiffany
masterpieces, and at its heart, a breathtaking ceiling fresco by French painter
Louis Pierre Rigal, which was described by columnist George Will as “a wonderful protest
of romance against the everydayness of life.”

Yesterday was my first morning bike ride of the New Year.
Sadly, the sunrise was pretty anti-climactic… gray & dreary!
Just another “Hazy Shade of Winter”… cue music… you choose…
“The Bangles” or “Simon & Garfunkel”?

But today was another story… and a better sunrise!
It was also a lot colder this morning. But when I got up early, stepped out onto my back porch
to check the weather, I could see that there was something beautiful brewing over the lake.
So I threw on the layers again and went out to brave the elements. And pedaled off…

It was beautiful, and a great “2nd” kick-off to my morning rides… even if it was a day late?!
And pay no attention to that chunk of cloudy “ugliness” moving off to the north!

So the cool clouds were moving off, but the temperature was still in the mid-teens!
And for the first time I found myself riding with frozen ice crystals on my eyelashes actually
scraping against the insides of my glasses every time I blinked. Seriously! It was that cold.
Even with a double-layer of gloves, my fingers were freezing too! But still worth it…
to start the morning off with a bit of exercise, a lot of fun and an incredible sunrise like this!

Okay, so the original plan was to work all day today “finally” taking down the
“Home Show” pottery & shelving. The back stairs are finally clear & dry… so it’s
been a busy morning of shlepping stuff down there flights of stairs! Fun, huh?
I had been pretty focused – but then the sun peek out. Uh oh… The weather is nice,
the streets are clear & dry, and my bike was calling to me for its first ride of the
New Year! So I decided that I “deserved” a break from the shlepping.

And since I had missed my 2010 mileage goal… by a mere 130 miles…
I’m bound & determined to make the mileage goal this year! So I’m off to an early start.
And it was a beautiful ride! A few frozen puddles. A few sections of ice & debris strewn
across the bike trail. A long stretch of huge potholes just south of Fullerton. But still,
the subtle beauty of Winter was only matched by the joy of being back on my bike.
Even if it is just for a day or two before Winter strikes again!

And now back to the dismantling project.
It’s been over a month and a half since the first Home Show,
and a month since the second Home Show. I’ve been living in my own retail store
in my condo for almost two months now! So what’s the hurry…

The weather has been incredible for the past few weeks here in Chicago.
Unseasonable warm. And with the recent time change, the morning bike rides have
had a rejuvenated sense of seasonal fun! So this morning I got up a little earlier
and pedaled a little further. All the way down to Northerly Island. Which is beautiful
this time of the year with all of the spent wildflowers & native grasses… and three incredible
metal sculptures out there gracing the island. Looking like they’re dancing in the wind…
and the fact that they look like rusty metal… even better!!!