HEY LOOK… City Olive is #1 on the Andersonville Arts & Design Weekend.

So start your tour up north on Clark Street at City Olive… and remember to snatch up some Fire When Ready Pottery while you’re there buying your yummy olive oils & other treats. Stop by and hit the “BEST” first… they are #1 after all!!!

This weekend is the Andersonville Arts & Design Weekend. And I have been invited to be the Guest Artist for the weekend at City Olive. The festivities begin tomorrow… so I went in tonight to deliver my pottery and set-up. It’s a fun collaboration & mixture of fine olive oils & fancy foods alongside of my pottery.

Andersonville Arts and Design Weekend at City Olive
5644 North Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60660

Friday, October 10th, 2014 – 11:00am-9:00pm
Saturday, October 11th, 2014 – 11:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, October 12th, 2014 – 12:00pm-5:00pm

Karen has a beautiful store full of wonderfully edible & foodie-favorite surprises. For this special weekend, there is now a wide selection of pottery to choose from as well. All completely usable… food-safe, dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe, etc. So be sure to stop by City Olive for some fun this weekend. And to grab yourself some of my pottery – especially if you couldn’t make it out to any of my Summer Art Fairs!

Here’s a quick preview of some of the pottery “up for grabs” at City Olive this weekend…

I hope you can make it in this weekend. If you do, be sure to say “Hi” to Karen for me…
and tell her that your heard about it from my blog. Thanks.

So I shipped off another box of mugs to Pam Kinsmith for her upcoming “Finding Forever Cup Exhibition.” Thanks to some of our Lillstreet potters for donating their work to the worthy cause. The deadline has been extended if you are a potter who would also like to donate to the cause. Check out the “Finding Forever” website for more information.

Adam August

Katie Biderbost

Lester Arguelles

Susan Messer McBride

Steve Acoba

Marian Castro-Palanyk

Lisa Harris

Cassandra Deiters – one of my students this session

 

 

In theory it sounded exciting.
Lots of fire. Lots of flames. Fireworks… and more!!! What’s not to like???

So last night I pedaled downtown with many, many layers on. It was the coldest night so far this Fall. Windy & cold. Somewhere in the low 40’s. Brrrrr… It was the FIRST time for this Great Chicago Fire Festival. So I felt “obligated” to go downtown for the fun!!!

I finally found a location along the Chicago River where I thought I might be able to see some of the festivities. And waited.

It started with some kayaks on the river pulling some floats of fire. Couldn’t see them, but the announcer told us they were there somewhere? Then they lowered flaming cauldrons from the bridges over the river. Each cauldron representing a different Chicago neighborhood… which made me think that these neighborhoods must be pretty darn small if the cauldron size meant anything?! A little anti-climactic with tiny flames in not-so-large cauldrons. Plus, we could only see two from where we were at.

Then they had some band & choir performance which might have been something important, but in reality is was a bunch of people on a Wendella boat driving by making noise. No flames. No fire.

Next they had some floating barges decorated like a paddleboats and a steam engine factory. Little bursts of flame. Mostly seen from the reflections on the Trump Tower. Again, the crowd was underwhelmed. Then we waited… and waited. I waited for about a half hour with nothing happening… so I decided to relocate to see if I could find a better vantage point. A LOT of people had already left entirely since there was nothing much going on. They were tired of waiting. But I wasn’t willing to give up. I had pedaled down just for this. And I was going to see something!!!

I found a better space with a better view of the buildings they had built to symbolize the buildings that were burnt during the REAL Chicago Fire in 1871. They had built three of these buildings barges for three different sections of river to accommodate the crowds. I was at the middle one. Waiting for it to catch on fire and burn to smithereens!!!

I was excited to have a better view… even if my view was obliterated with arms & cell phones!!! Sometimes the better view was to watch someone’s phone as though it were a not-so-jumbo-JumboTron. We all waited for the burning of the barges in the freezing wind. We waited… and waited…

And waited… with little flickers of flames here & there. So we waited…

And waited… so I took some time to admire the skyline at night. Bathed in pink lights for October Breast Awareness Month.

And we waited.
When finally they said they were having “Electrical Difficulties” and we should wait as they were going to have to ignite it all manually. And so we waited… and waited… another half-hour went by with a few more flickers. A hint of excitement as we all thought it might catch on fire as promised. And then we waited… and waited…

But then, out of nowhere, these two big “cranes” came up out of the water with firefighters on them and they hosed down the buildings. What? Weren’t they supposed to be burning? Wasn’t that why we were all there? For some real fire?!!! A lot of people were yelling at them to spray it with gasoline instead of water. But soon enough, the little flickers of flame were out. And everyone wondered if it was over.

Finally the announcer came back and said that they were going to move on to the finale of the show. Fireworks. And again we waited… for about 15 more minutes. Luckily, the fireworks seemed to go off without a hitch. And they were pretty darn spectacular. I must admit it was fun having them shooting from the center of the river, between buildings with the crowd pretty close on all sides. “Something” seemed to finally be going right. And the reflections on the buildings were pretty spectacular!!!

Great excitement. Great Fireworks. Fantastic fireworks!!!… some redemption.

But in the end,  we were still left with this little buildings barge… totally UN-BURNT!!!
mwah… mwah… mwah…

Maybe next year will be better? … if there even is a next year for this new festival?!!!

A Facebook update from “Finding Forever” Cup Exhibition
founder Pam Kinsmith… who is watching & waiting for more cups to arrive…

Cups now here from North Carolina, New Hampshire, Florida, Utah, New York, Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas! I hear ones are coming from Georgia, Vermont, Wisconsin and Minnesota!

C’mon you Potters in other states… REPRESENT.
Send a mug for a worthy cause!!! All the cool kids are doing it.

Click here for more information on donating.

My box of mugs finally made their way to Massachusetts to “surprise” fellow potter Pam Kinsmith. She’s been coordinating a wonderful fundraiser called “Finding Forever” where all of the donated mugs & cups represent a child in the Foster Care System. So I decided to send a trio that show how children of “different colors” can still make up a beautiful family if adopted as a trio. Appreciate them each for their differences, love them for their similarities.

I also sent a matched pair of “twins” which I hope will get “adopted” together as well. I would have for these siblings to get split up – which I sure is a problem within the Foster Care System.

You still have a few more days if you would like to donate a mug or two to this wonderful cause. I have also collected a few cups form other potter friends at Lillstreet. I’ll be shipping those soon… and will definitely give you a sneak peek of those ones too!

If you would like to donate to “Finding Forever”, click here for more information.

My friend & fellow potter Pam Kinsmith is raising money on Kickstarter for an upcoming ceramic show. Her fundraising efforts here will help defray the costs of the venue & marketing for the event. Then potters around the country (like me) are donating mugs for her to sell during the event for the Foster Care System. Each cup in the show “represents” a foster kid in the system hoping to “Find Their Forever.” Please consider contributing to this worthwhile cause. Do it for the “kids”…

Click here to donate on Kickstarter... only six days left!!!

Yesterday was my first adventure to the Sandwich Fair. Friends have been talking about it for years… tempting me with stories of animals, rides and food!!! So when my friend Cory suggested that we go for Opening Day, I was in!!! So I drove out to Sandwich and met Cory, and her daughter Deni, at their house in Sandwich. We went over to the fairgrounds and started our adventure. First things first…

Yes.
We started with Corn Dogs and Lemon Shake-Ups.

Then we started going through some of the Exhibit Halls looking at all of the entries and the prize ribbons that had been awarded earlier that day. It was a bit overwhelming. The sheer number of entries. All of the ribbons. And how everything had been so pain-stakingly displayed EVERYWHERE!!! So much time had been taken to spread things out, keep them organized by category and showing off their ribbons!!! Fruits, vegetables, plants, flowers, baked goods, canned goods, quilts, arts & crafts, photography and so, SO much more!!!

And what county fair would be complete with out some amusement rides?!

Then we tackled some of the livestock barns to see the “living” entries.
There were hundreds of sheep…

And hundreds of goats… none cuter than this one…

And a barn full of chickens…
that surprised me by how many varieties and how striking so many of them were!!!

But then there was the Rabbit Tent. A large tent filled with a ton of rabbits. Practically every breed imaginable. And most of them were for sale. My favorite was this one… dark black on the top, and a warm cocoa brown on the underside.

But could this be any cuter?…

Well, apparently yes.
A gray Lion-Haired Rabbit that looked more like a stuffed animal.

And then we were dancing in dangerous territory…
and I “almost” came home with a rabbit. Almost… but look, can you blame me?

Luckily, good sense prevailed and I avoided the adorable fuzzy companion.
Cory and her daughter Deni however did not. Too adorable… too cuddly… and SOLD.
They got a very cute tri-colored Mini Rex rabbit… very similar to the black cutie I was playing with, just a different color. You could tell very quickly that “at least” one rabbit would be going home with them.

For the record… they ended up with just one rabbit…
and a hermit crab, and a goldfish… but who’s counting?!!!

At some point evening started to set in… and there was still more food to be had…

Part of the Carnival Midway was traditional games. Plastic rings on plastic pop bottles. Ping-pong balls into goldfish bowls. Squirt guns into clown mouths to inflate balloons. But I had never seen THIS one before…

Be afraid… be very afraid…
And yes, that is a REAL mouse being tossed onto a spinning roulette wheel. Whichever hole the mouse decides to disappear through indicates the roulette winner. Yes, a REAL mouse!!! The real concerning part was the crate of mice under the wheel. They said they bring about 60-80 mice with them for the five-day fair. So the question is why?… because the mice get smart and run away?… or die? Neither option is a good one.

But the highlight of any County Fair is always the food.
And I was more than ready to indulge… had had skipped lunch in preparation!!!

And ya’ gotta love a good typo…

So, what did we eat ???.. and by “we” I mean mostly ME…

We started out with Corn Dogs and Lemon Shake-Ups.
Followed by a cinnamon-sugar dusted Elephant Ear.
And then a deep-fried Onion Blossom, deep-fried Pickles and deep-fried Green Beans.
Then I couldn’t make up my mind…

So I had them all…
a deep-fried Twinkie, a deep-fried Snickers AND some deep-fried Bacon with Chocolate.

Washed down with the Vanilla & Strawberry shakes that Cory & Deni couldn’t finish.

And since we still had more fun at the Fair… eventually I was ready for more food. Sure, I might have been in some sort of a sugar-coma-haze, but LOVING every minute of it!!! So we kept the train running on the tracks…

And followed up with deep-fried Cookie Dough.
Never heard of it, but let’s just say YUM!!!

Night had settled in. The carnival was spinning full speed. And we were nearing the end of our time at the Sandwich Fair. We had had a long day, and it was still a “school-night” for Deni… and a late night for her new bunny!!!

As we were leaving… we needed one last treat for the road…
Everyone said that the Cream Puffs were spectacular… but they don’t have chocolate in them…
so I went for the Chocolate Eclair instead… wrapped up to take home.

Let’s just say… it didn’t quite make it home.                 

 

                                                                                                                          burp!

 

It’s always a dark & early start on Triathlon morning. Everyone starts loading into the Transition Area around 4:30am. Finding a place to put your bike, shows, helmet, running clothes, shoes, water, and EVERYTHING else you’ll need for the next three events!!! You kind of set-up a little mini campsite with all of your gear. You and the 9,000 other people out there doing the same thing!!! Luckily, they separate & label the racks by Wave number. So they’re a “little” easier to find later. At 5:45am they kick everyone out of the Transition Area as the race begins at 6:00am with the Elite Pro athletes!!!… which is definitely not me!

With wetsuit and goggles in hand, we made our way down towards the Swim Start. Still a dark & cloudy morning… sadly, no sunrise! Just a lot of anxious athletes waiting to get started.

Unfortunately, you also need to pack away your stuff at Gear Check – so I had no phone for pictures. And my camera was back in the Transition Area with my running belt. So… the race itself is always picture-free. Just me swimming, biking, running & sweating!!!

The Swim portion of the race is about a mile and a half. We start in Monroe Harbor across from Buckingham Fountain. Your wave jumps in, and at the starting horn swims south to the Field Museum, turns around and then swims all the way north to the Chicago Yacht Club. Today the water was a bit choppy and there was a LOT more seaweed to swim through than previous years?! The second half of the swim got even choppier… with waves so big that you sometimes couldn’t even see the people swimming next to you. And trust me… it’s such an incredible feeling to finally see the floating orange pylon at the end that indicates you’ve made it to the end. Whew… and yes, I swallowed a LOT of lake water today!!!

Then you exit the lake and run a quarter mile to the Transition Area. You’re barefoot and still in your wetsuit “running” on some slippery carpet. In the Transition Area, we were greeted by mud, mud & more mud!!! It was s sloppy transition into my biking gear, grabbing my bike & helmet, then out the other end the Bike Start.

This year the bike route was different. We started the first half on Lake Shore Drive riding north up to Hollywood and back. Then we turned in towards the City and rode on mid-Wacker Drive & lower-Wacker Drive all the way down to McCormick Place and back. The first half seemed pretty normal on Lake Shore Drive – including the headwinds as we were headed south. Once on Wacker Drive, it was fun to be on the new route and riding somewhat underground through the “tunnels” of lower Wacker Drive. Very fun… and nice to have a different route for a change!!! There was however a bad bike accident in one of the tunnels down south by McCormick Place. It must have just happened before I got there as they were quickly trying to slow down all riders and divert the flow of traffic around the guys & bikes still laying on the road. Chris & Pam saw the same accident a little while later and they were on flatboards being placed in to ambulances. Hopefully they both came out of it okay with just some scraps, roadrash & stories to tell.

Then it’s back into the Transition Area again when you ditch your bike & bike gear, switching everything to running gear.  A bit more mud, another swig of water and it was time to start running south towards Museum Campus. By now the temps were going up and the humidity was getting a bit crazy. The run continued around & through Museum Campus down to 31st Street Beach and then back in to Grant Park for the Finish Line!!!

Did I mention the humidity?… and the SWEAT?!!!

So it was great to turn that final corner and see the Finish Line ahead. One last kick and your done!!! And my fourth Chicago Triathlon is once again history. All that was left was waiting for some friends, some more Gatorade, a little recovery “fun” and then a walk back to the Transition Area to reclaim all of our stuff.

Crossing the Finish Line shortly after me was my friend Chris… still looking pretty fresh & happy! And apparently thrilled to be done!!!

Next up was my college friend Pammy who was still in fine shape at the end. And she better be… she’s in training for her first Ironman race. Crazy Pam!!!

With the sun, heat & humidity, it was great to be greeted at the finish Line with some ice-soaked towels to cool off with. And always fun to get your Triathlon Finisher Medals!!!

Chris and a few of her training friends…

Pam and her husband Jeff who was also celebrating his birthday today!!!

After the Finish Line, there’s a lot of water, Gatorades, bananas, vendors, t-shirts and more. We found this wonderful tent that had some crazy sort of recovery system. It was free… so why not give it a try?!

So uyou sit in this reclining chair, put your legs completely in these zipped-on legs. And then the operator hooks you up to a compressor and control unit. The legs inflate, pulsate and pressurize all around your legs. Hitting all of the right points and it felt great!!! We did it for about 10 minutes… and it may have been the best 10 minutes ever?!

And then of course, “someone” had to make the joke about them inflating TOO much!!!

On our way back to the Transition Area, Chris and I stopped for one last photo-op in front of Buckingham Fountain. The day started out gray & cloudy, some sort of wind & clouds passed through while I was biking, and then the sun & humidity came out. All in all, I think it was a beautiful day for a swim, bike & run through the City!!!

So here’s what you’ve been waiting for… MY RESULTS.

SWIM – 1 mile – 49 minutes, 17 seconds… one minute faster than last year.
BIKE – 25 miles -one hour, 14 minutes, 26 seconds… 40 seconds longer than last year...
which I “blame” on the accident down in the Wacker Drive tunnels that slowed us all down!
RUN – 6.2 miles – one hour, 15 minutes, 11 seconds… 5-1/2 minutes faster than last year!!!

So my 2014 Chicago Triathlon “official” race time was 3:29:48.
Not quite my “personal best”, but still over 5 minutes faster than last year’s race. I’ll take that. And only 2 minutes longer than my “personal best” which was back in 2012. So there it is for another year… my fourth Chicago Triathlon!!!

And let me just say one last thing… I FEEL GREAT.
No soreness. No tender joints. I feel surprisingly great right now. Hungry, but good.
So either I’m in better shape than I though this year…
or that inflatable leg recovery system REALLY works?!!! … or could it be both???

Checked-in. Carbed-up. Tattoos on.
And ready for “three kinds of fun” tomorrow. Gotta sleep fast.
I’m in Wave #8 which starts at 6:38am.
Looks like I’ll be making an early splash. Yikes!!!