The year

[mojosmom]

January
"The moving finger writes;

and, having writ, moves on." Where the heck did the year go? If I were a resolution-making sort of person, I'd resolve to read more, be on the computer less, except for being on it more. That sounds like it makes no sense, but I started the year with all good intentions of keeping up my LJ and my book blog, and then lapsed. I'd like to do better at keeping them up, but I make no promises.

February
Waiting for La Tormenta

Sounds like an opera diva's nickname, like La Divina or La Stupenda, doesn't it? But it's Italian for "blizzard". I went to work today, anticipating that I would leave just a bit early, or whenever I saw it starting to snow, and not go in tomorrow. (I'd decided that the other day, particularly after I checked my calendar and realized that I had nothing scheduled for court.) However, at about 12:30 my boss stuck his head in my office and suggested that I head home right then. He said that the courthouse was likely going to be closed at 3:00 and would be closed tomorrow. So I threw a file in my bag and left.

March
A variety of things . . .

I went to a pre-retirement workshop earlier this week, with a speaker from our pension system as well as someone from Social Security. Much of what they told us, I knew, but I did learn some things. I'm back and forth in my head about whether or not to start taking SS now, or wait until full retirement age. I'm leaning towards the latter, as, fortunately, I don't need to take it now.

April
Lovely weekend!

I think winter might be really and truly over. (Having said that, it will probably snow.)

May
Washington and other things

I had a marvelous time in Washington!

June
Ducky day!

After a cold and rainy weekend, Memorial Day did, indeed, turn out beautiful. After running an errand on North Michigan Avenue, I went back south to the Art Institute, planning on just wandering a bit in the Japanese galleries (which I did). However, I discovered that it was the last day of the exhibit of French Renaissance art. I'd had it in mind to see that again, but thought it had closed, so when I discovered that it was still up, of course I had to go through it. I also visited the exhibit Altered and Adorned: Using Renaissance Prints in Daily Life. People stuck things in books and forgot about them even back then.

July
Free at last!

Today is the first day of my retirement.

August
Catching up

Wow, I just realized that I haven't posted anything substantive since I talked about my New York trip.

September
Another week's worth

How did it get to be September already? Gosh, the summer has simply flown. The Chicago Jazz Fest starts tonight (well, actually, last night with the Jazz Club Tour), and I'm planning to hit tomorrow night's concert, as well as the day and evening events on Saturday and Sunday. Rain is predicted, so I will take my umbrella - to ward off sun and rain as required.

October
Odds and ends

Did the Mandel Legal Clinic seminar as always in September. The last weekend of September/first weekend in October, friends and I drove up to Wisconsin to do some Frank Lloyd Wright sightseeing.

November
I'm being very lazy today

but I am using the excuse that I was out very late last night. I went to the Jeff Awards (a Teatro Vista ensemble member was up for Actress in a Principal Role - she didn't win, but the competition was stiff), and didn't get home until well after midnight. So this morning, I woke up, fed the cat, and went back to bed. The fact that it is gray and dreary and raining was further incentive to catch a few extra winks.

December
Busy-ness

The holiday season is now in full swing, with lots of shopping opportunities. The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust has a shop in The Rookery, a Burnham and Root designed office building with later renovations by Wright. They had an event a few days ago with choir, champagne and sweets, and tours, so how could I pass that up? I used it more as a photo op than a shopping op, though.



I didn't take a lot of photos in January, but I did take some of book piles for LibraryThing:


The big event in February was the Groundhog Day Blizzard:


I didn't take any photos in March! But I did test out a video camera:

In April, I went to Washington, D.C. for the BookCrossing Convention, and visited a lot of monuments, including the Vietnam War Memorial:


May saw an impromptu visit to the New Salem Historic Site as I drove home from a meeting in Springfield:


More travel in June, as my sisters and I gathered at my older sister's place in Cleveland. She has the best porch! Here are my younger sister and cat enjoying the sun:


And what's the Fourth of July without politicians?


I also celebrated my retirement with a trip to the Big Apple:


August was a good month for strolling along the lakefront:


Music of the jazz persuasion at the Chicago and Hyde Park Jazz Festivals marked September:


Architecture took center stage in October, as I traveled with friends to Wisconsin to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin:

and took a cousin on the Chicago Architecture Foundation's River Cruise:


In November, everyone was getting ready for Christmas, including the dancers of the Joffrey Ballet, perhaps rehearsing here for The Nutcracker?


And so we end in December, with a partridge in a pear tree:


Happy New Year, everyone!