What else we will miss about Chicago

Today the boys had their last art classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music. This has been an excellent venue for us over the past three years with the kids attending various art classes, Wiggleworms French classes and piano (although this last one wasn't as successful!)

The wonderful Laura Reyes has seen both boys for art. I love the way Laura begins each class with a physical exercise to get the kids in tune with their bodies, this is followed by a story, then a multi-media artwork representing a theme from the story. Artworks are assembled using a variety of media with quick changes between each media type to ensure the children do not become bored. Artworks might consist of modeling dough, beaded pipe-cleaners, sparkle paint, crayon, markers, paints using a variety of brushes, found objects, etc. All children are given the same materials and I love the way artworks are expressed in many different ways depending upon the child's predilection. No child is ever told what to do or guided towards completing their artwork in a defined manner. The class ends with a clean-up. Children immerse their hands in a tub of soapy water, filled with toys and objects relating the the theme used in class. This is a fantastic ploy as the children get cleaned without even knowing it! Classes were super motivating for Master 5 (who wants to be an artist when he grows up) but just a really fun opportunity to eat play-dough, drink paint and be reckless with a paintbrush for Master 3.

Something else I will miss from Chicago is Argo Tea. For someone schooled in the world of independent coffee shops and who really does not like Starbucks coffee (and only goes there in an emergency), Argo Tea has been a very welcome alternative. Originating in Chicago, there were only three Argo Tea stores when we arrived in 2006. This has recently grown to 15. Argo serves a good cup of coffee as well as their substantial range of tea drinks (using white, green, black, red and herbal tea varieties). I particularly like their Mojitea iced tea on a hot day. I dislike drinking coffee from paper cups unless it is to-go. I give full marks to any business that serves coffee in a ceramic cup - this seems to be a rarity in the States. Whenever we attended classes at Old Town School of Folk Music, we would patronize Argo Tea's flagship store at Armitage and Sheffield for a coffee and snack.

What we will miss about Chicago

We trekked along to Chicago's Green City Markets this morning - for our last family visit. I love being able to walk to these markets, grab some wonderful produce and have picnic snack with the kids (mostly a croissant or danish, perhaps a berry smoothie, some sorbet, fruit, tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers or anything that catches our collective eye). We then have a lunch using our finds when we return home.

The kids are really going to miss their 'hot cheese' from the Brunkow cheese stand. I am going to miss their delightful horseradish raw milk cheddar - so creamy and tasty on a crusty Bennisons baguette*. The Brunkow man is going to miss the boys asking for 'hot cheese'. He always makes them repeat their request as he likes to hear their accent! We always have a block of this 'baked' cheese in our fridge (plain, jalapeno, garlic or the new tomato and basil flavor). Served warm, I fry it in a pan for a 'bits and pieces' dinner, throw it on a warm chicken salad or thread it on vegetable kebabs (marinated with fresh herbs).

As we are attempting to empty our fridge before our move, I had to make some prudent purchases today. We walked away with two quarts of peaches, a punnet of super sweet tomatoes, two punnets of blueberries, an epi loaf, 'hot cheese', curd cheese and fresh mozzarella, a bunch of basil, a bunch of coriander (cilantro) and a couple of cherry scones (devoured on site).

*I had to have a quick break after writing this - to have said snack - as I was salivating rather severely.

More than meets the eye...

Master three comes into the room dressed as a Transformer. I say to him "Oh, I just saw your Mummy and she said you should be having a nap." "I don't have a Mummy" he responds. "She was power-cuted."

Summer on the go... Part 2

Our second Summer vacation included a road trip out east in July. We really enjoy taking road trips to explore our surrounds. We like to get off the interstates wherever possible to witness a more ‘authentic’ and less-franchised America. We missed out on a road trip last year due to my appendicitis and pregnancy with Mietta, so this trip felt way over-due. One of aims of this road trip was to catch up with friends that live in Virginia, namely: David and Bernadette and their kids, Aiden and Mikayla (great friends and our road-trip companions in ‘06 and ’07) and Gabrielle and Craig and their kids James and William (our best friends and school buddies who recently moved from Chicago).   

Leaving after one of Paul’s phone conferences, we had a short travel day down to Madison, Indiana. We arrived at our hotel and I was immediately disappointed. The hotel was located in ugly-Americana-strip-mall-parking-lot-dominant-anywhereville. I had specifically chosen Madison as it was touted to be one of America’s best preserved towns. A trip downtown restored confidence with a brilliant and historic main centre, devoid of chain and franchise stores (I did notice however, that a Subway had snuck in).  Arriving late, we had a choice of precisely one eatery in the downtown precinct: the Hong Kong Kitchen. Thankfully, the owners were very welcoming and accommodating for our little ones. In the morning, we had more of a look around and visited Roger’s Diner and Soda Fountain for a milkshake in a retro and long-established diner. Madison would be a lovely day-trip or weekend destination from Chicago. Full of lots of boutiques and curio shops, the stores opened late and closed early. 

Our second day saw us drive through northern Kentucky and into West Virginia. We were really taken by the lush, green and very dense forests - just beautiful. We would love to explore the Glen Ferris area a little more - looked gorgeous with the wooded hills, winding roads following a river and sections including swimming areas and rapids. We found our hotel at Fayetteville and went in search of something to eat. When I researched and discussed possible destinations with Paul, I asked him “Who would eat at a place named Dirty Ernie’s Rib Pit?” “I would!” he answered without hesitation... so this is where we had dinner. What an experience: a very full car park was a good sign; a very basic building (not unlike a barn) with screened porch with a number of would-be patrons waiting for tables. The interior was festooned with flags and sports pennants, the floor covered with peanut shells and walls plastered with signed one dollar bills. It had DIVE written all over it - and it was great! Fayetteville is extreme-sport central, with whitewater rafting, mountain biking, rock-climbing and, once a year, bungy-jumping and base jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge. Fayetteville sported its fair share of Nimbin-types!  We had breakfast at the very comfy Cathedral Cafe in the morning. We were super-impressed with the cafe’s toy chest - where children were invited to select a pre-loved toy and take it home with them. This helped keep the boys amused for some time over the long car journey.

Our day’s journey saw a re-emergence of Luc’s motion sickness (had not seen this for some time!) We arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia around lunchtime and we headed straight for Monticello, the house, gardens and plantation of America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson. We had a highly-organised tour of the house and learnt a little of how incredibly brilliant a man Jefferson was. We enjoyed the gardens and stretching our legs for a bit. The boys tried their hand at writing with a quill and ink. Back in the car, we headed for Fredericksburg to stay with David, Bernadette and family. 

Photo: The boys try their hand at writing old-fashioned-style with a quill and ink. 


POST NOTE May 2013: 
This post originally appeared in my previous blog: gearon.org 

Watch out planet Earth

Master 5 says to me this evening "Do you know what I am going to do tomorrow Mum?" "No" I respond "What are you going to do tomorrow?" "I'm going to conquer a planet!" "Do you have a planet in mind?" "I'm going to take over Earth". One must admire the confidence and fortitude of the younger generation.

Hello Blog World

Hi all, It's me - Anne - here. As if I didn't find myself stretched enough, I have undertaken to write another blog!

I am launching this with the greatest of intentions - hopefully I will be able to find a little time to update this blog from time to time. If nothing else, it should serve as a record of our move from the city of Chicago to rural Virginia.


POST NOTE May 2013: 
At this stage, I was writing two blogs. gearon.org and rum sum mum
I began gearon.org as a means of keeping family informed about our move from Brisbane Australia to Chicago USA. 
I thought I would start a new blog, rum sum mum, with a more global appeal - including updates about rum sum sum projects, items that I found of interest, food we were eating and a means to document our move to Virginia. I have slowly been updating rum sum mum to include my earlier gearon.org blog entries. There was some overlap, but all posts made before this date were made in the gearon.org blog.

Summer on the go... Part 1

Summer in Chicago has been somewhat disappointing. After a very long and brutal winter, Chicagoans were waiting... and are still waiting, for Summer to begin... preferably before it is officially over. 

To offset the lack of Summer, we have made a couple of trips away. The first trip, in June, was to San Jose in California while Paul attended the Semtech Conference. We stayed a night at the Argonaut Hotel San Francisco on our way there (great for kids with themed rooms and a gift from the ‘treasure chest’ when the kids checked in). We did the obligatory cable car ride, look around Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, saw the seals and ate crab at the ultra-touristy Crab House - made all the more palatable with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and stunning views of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. 

After making our way to San Jose via Caltrain, we checked into the Fairmont Hotel. This hotel has an excellent location, we received a nice big room, but we found it to be incredibly unfriendly towards families. A series of unfortunate events soured our opinions of this establishment: We had to request a crib (cot) a number of times (despite it being requested in our booking and again on check-in); we had to pay to have the mini-bar removed (took around three attempts - and then all items ended up being charged to our account); we had to request extra towels despite the booking being for 5 people; no kids menu or smaller kid-friendly portions on the room service menu; officious concierge service; convoluted process to organise a sitter; then it took three calls for someone to investigate the leaking toilet in our room; housekeeping rudely exclaiming “Oh, you’re still here” as we prepared to leave our room (well before our check-out time) but delayed a little as we didn’t wish to wake our sleeping baby.... AHHH! On the upside, the kids and I were able to have some really good outings, including seeing a live Sesame Street stage performance, visiting the Children's Museum, eating a burger at Johnny Rockets, playing in the Plaza de César Chávez fountain, the hotel pool and visiting the excellent The Tech science museum. With a little reluctance, we decided not to hire a car while we stayed in California. We were happy with this decision as it was so very easy to get around both San Francisco and San Jose without one.  It would be nice to spend a little more time in and around San Jose to explore a few more sights - such as the Winchester Mystery House and some of the theme parks including Great America, Gilroy Gardens or Raging Waters. 

While we were in San Jose, I was struck by how unfriendly the people seemed to be. Perhaps I have become too accustomed to the friendliness of the Midwest? It seemed that everyone was a little too preoccupied or reluctant to let their guard down. I gave a few mothers that ‘knowing look’ so often shared amongst caregivers when kids are running amok or just being kids. This was more than often ignored or overlooked. It made me feel very isolated and cemented the notion that I never want to live in the Silicon Valley: it seemed just too hostile.  

We checked into the San Francisco Hyatt Regency on the way out of California and couldn’t be more impressed after our bad experiences at the Fairmont: crib send straight to the room (with extra towels - no need to ask), special welcome package for the kids, kid-friendly room service menu; a concierge that called to see if everything was OK... so fantastic! ....and the people smile in San Francisco. The unfriendly attitude must be quirk of the Silicon Valley. 

Photo: Family standing on Pier 39 with Alcatraz in the background