mojosmom

Let's see now . . .

I took Tuesday and Wednesday off work. I had an interview on Tuesday, midday, in the city, unexpected timing, so I "worked from home". (The interview was for a possible job. I'm not at all unhappy where I am, but this opening happened and it would be a good fit. Nearer home, more money, more interesting cases. However, it's going to someone who, well, if I were hiring, I would hire him, too! C. did say she'd definitely keep me in mind for future openings, though.) Wednesday, I had a dental appointment in the morning (cleaning and check-up, nothing major) and was meeting friends in the late afternoon for dinner and a play, so I had decided a while ago to take a vacation day. After the dentist, then, I went to the Art Institute (a favorite place to stop in for a visit). I was carrying my camera, as usual these days, and was feeling rather linear and black-and-white, hence:

(I've actually now created a set on Flickr for b/w photos.)

The new Print Galleries are open, and there is a wonderful exhibit there, "Collecting for Chicago: Five Families Build Collections of Works on Paper for the Art Institute of Chicago" (a/k/a "Suck up to the donors" exhibit). Seriously, there was some kick-ass stuff, ranging from 16th-century Dutch works to Warhol and Westermann. No photos allowed, though. Sorry.

I also stopped by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, which is having an exhibit called "Green With Desire: Can We Live Sustainably in Our Homes?"


The play was "Ain't Misbehavin'", and one of the actors was John Steven Crowley, whom I have seen before in a couple of other plays, notably "Crowns". He's one of these big men who can dance like a dream, light and graceful, and with a great voice, too.

We had dinner at 312 Chicago. They are featuring a Locavore menu on Wednesdays, and though we did not have the full prix fixe, some of the items were also served as specials, so I had as an appetizer a goat cheese and spring garlic flan with a radish/asparagus salad, which was lovely. The full thing is four courses, far too much for a pre-theatre dinner (I'd fall asleep!), but I'd like to go back one day just for that. The chef goes to Green City Market in the morning, and the menu is based on whatever he finds that day.

In keeping with the "green" theme, I went this evening to the Museum of Science and Industry, where the MSI and Time Out/Chicago were sponsoring a "green evening", basically drinks and noshes and an opportunity to visit the Smart Home:
(No interior photography allowed, unfortunately.)

It was actually quite interesting. They used things such as solar panels and sustainable woods and recycled rainwater, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So lots of ideas. Of course, most people are not going to be spending close to $500,000 (not counting the lot) to build a house, so I would really like to see an exhibit like this that focuses on retrofitting existing structures, particularly for people like me who live in 100-year-old multi-unit buildings with condo boards that aren't likely to put solar panels on the roof. But there were certainly some ideas that I came away with that I might look into doing. I was particularly interested in the re-use of bathroom wash basin water to flush the toilet! And if I ever get around to replacing some of my flooring, I would definitely consider bamboo. However, you can keep my share of a moveable, ethanol-fueled fireplace.

The buffet was set up inside, at the Henry Crown Space Center, which really took me back! Particularly when I realized that just about everyone there was too young to even remember the Apollo 1 fire or the moon landing. Most of them probably hadn't even been born then! Whereas for me, these were major events.

I'm going to a picnic on Sunday and I said I'd bring corn. I have a bad feeling that I might not be able to find any! There was none at my produce market the other day, and the floods have really messed with the crops. I have a back-up plan, though: grilled veggies. If I can't find corn, I'll get bell peppers and zucchini and yellow squash and onions, and fix a nice vinaigrette with which to baste them.