not Kansas

Finally, I think accomplished: google, internet access, and so forth.  and also a long airplane ride south and east.  We are actually two hours behind London -- so there.  Think on that -- Confuses me too.

Anyway the grandson is very very well, large and happy, no surprises there and enjoys eating and sleeping too.  Will make that toy make music sounds just about all you need to hear too.

Guess who he looks like,-- see below for answer.  Yes at times it is really a very strong resemblance.

 Both of us are very very pleased that he is happy with us, as Raleigh is social and comfortable with us playing and interacting with him and he with us.

We are staying in a historical residential district of Rio de Janeiro that has lots of restaurants, bars, little grocery and service type shops, cobble stone streets, trolly car tracks and is in a word quaint.  

A baby sitter allowed us to go out the first night in town and of course we did.  Very pleasant as you can imagine.  The food so far has been great.

I think I mentioned quaint.  The area is called Santa Teresa.  The trolly unfortunately no longer runs.

 It is also on the side of a mountain.  So going anywhere is a steep uphill or down hill walk

Happy Thanksgiving= a bit late -

This post is a bit late since Thanksgiving has come and gone now by about two weeks - or more --

the post was written weeks ago, but technical difficulties between me and the google have just now been resolved.  All is well now and we are good to go.

We were delighted for the second year in a row to host Patt's family for Thanksgiving holidays.  I reckon we now have a tradition and it has the makings of a good one too.  Brothers and sisters and spouses come spend Wednesday night have dinner, breakfast and then of course turkey and ham.  All in all a big time.

Cory and Melissa also came this year on Thursday which helped fill up the table -- Cory is one big boy.

Also helping a lot around here was a house guest that Patt and I have.  That would be Emily, as in the Emily that I most recently visited in Chicago.  Much to our surprise we have found a college sophomore  that is actually marginally useful.  ( Have you ever in your life heard of such a thing?  Yes I  know it goes against conventional wisdom and all practical experience )

In addition to helping in the kitchen with Thanksgiving food preparation, Emily helped out with some yard work, raking leaves and such.  There was much to do in preparation for Thanksgiving and just in general yard work associated with living in a heavily wooded lot.  

Emily showing us around her town- Chicago

-

Friday before Mark and I went to the Notre Dame Ball game Emily came by our hotel to continue her introduction of Chicago to us.  We of course introduced her to the Deacon Central at our hotel. Em was impressed.

As one who notices concrete trucks, this one caught my eye.  The driver was a woman too.  It would have caused quite a stir at Alamance Ready Mix back in the 60s for sure.

The "Bean" was a new one to me.  It was quite a bit more impressive than our acorn here in my home town, and certainly had a lot more attention.

 The reflective ability was amazing.  That is us there in the middle,  Mark is waving, Emily is trying not to be seen with us and I am taking the photo.

 and here is the same with me just a little closer.  I thought it was a hoot.-- So did lots of others too.

We then went to what Emily said was one of her favorite restaurants, the Signature Room atop the John Hancock Building -- on the 95th Floor-- the photo below shows the view just a little better.

 That would be Lake Michigan out the window - with Navy Pier there in the far distance.

 We had a window table, the better to see the skyline - and it was nice.

 And we think Em has good taste in restaurants.  

Later we went into the Wrigley Building on Michigan Ave where there is a very nice  sore that sold original and copy Audubon paintings.  They had an extensive collection.  A museum would do well do shop there.

 Mark to my great surprise had many factoids to share about many of the birds depicted in the paintings.

 Later we went by the down town campus of the university.  Looked a lot like tall buildings to me.
But I do have the hat and I do remember Mayor Richard C Daley.  Emily knows her city very well.

The evening view over the Chicago River was clear and stunningly beautiful.

 it really was.-  and we had a delightful time there too.

Notre Dame Football

That would be the Golden Dome as in the one at Notre Dame, yes after visiting with Emily, ( and more to come on our visit in Chicago with her) Mark and I went to see Wake play at Notre Dame.  Well the Domers are right proud of them selves and were certainly all over the campus taking pictures and making various pilgrimages to various shrines on campus.  And the Dome is one of several. 

Here is "Band Practice" and  10 to 20,000 people have gone to one end of the campus to listen to "band practice and watch the Irish Guard clear a path for them to go to the stadium.

and touchdown Jesus on the library - also seen from the stadium - hence the name

 and we just lucked into "trumpets in the rotunda" or some such tradition.  This is under the Dome as the Golden one we went to and trumpeters from the band play on several levels of the rotunda.  A few people do stop by to hear.  We just were in the building to see what was there and find a restroom.  Went up to the top floor to avoid the crowd.

Trying to load the  video I took here -- if it does not work google trumpets under the dome or something like that. I did Notre Dame trumpets and google did the rest.  There are a lot of youtube videos and it really is something to see and hear.  

Well the stadium is large, it was full, Notre Dame had won 10 games prior to the contest with the Deacons this year and were as is evident from the sky, it was one beautiful day for a football game in Indiana.

Here Notre Dame is about to score once again on this rather hapless edition of not so Demon Deacons.

 The sunset was beautiful, if the game was not for those of us Wake Forest fans.

 but we did have a good time for the occasion of being at a big deal ball game.

-

Mark and I are in Chicago to see Emily.  As is obvious, the buildings are tall, I am impressed.  That is the Hancock building and the Water Tower for those of you who know these things.

 and this would be the Chicago River

and this would be a demonstration outside Macy's - 

not sure of the grievance but the demonstrators were loud

 and at DEPAUL University where Emily is studying.  We got a DePaul hat for da Paul.  Emily showed us around campus, talked to us about her studies, classes, living arrangements and how much she was enjoying Chicago.

 Next year Emily hopes to live in something like this.  It is a little expensive, well actually it is quite expensive, Em expressed concern about asking her Dad about renting this for the next two  years.

Mark and I said  not to  worry because we could hear Charles say as we have heard him say so often,  "don't worry about the cost, whatever it costs does not matter, what matters is what make you happy"  And Mark and I reassured Emily that we were certain that next year she would be calling this little walk up her little apartment.   Em was so happy knowing that cost was no object.

 Nearby is a historic site, the Biograph theater, the site of the the shooting of John Dillinger in 1934-- so you know DePaul is in a nice safe neighborhood -- now.

 Also nearby was the filming --you teevee watchers should recognize this -- of Chicago Fire.  Actual filming was going on while we were walking by as in lights, camera, action.  Tons of trailers, police, guys standing around doing nothing and in this house lights and the action.

 here is Mark and Emily and more of the stander around people associated with carrying around and fetching the TV stuff I reckon.  Anyway they tied up a lot of parking spaces for big trucks full of TV filming equipment.

we had a nice afternoon and evening with Emily and seeing her university and city and getting 

da Paul a DePaul hat

I like my new hat

Tree trimming - as in major cut down trees in the yard

-

That guy in the top of the tree  is a little hard to see, but he is indeed up there, way up there, tying off limbs and lowering them to the ground. 

Late last week, we had a crew of six men here trimming some major limbs and cutting down some trees in our yard.  Made for one really interesting day.

The roping and careful lowering was to avoid taking down the telephone and power lines to the house.

There was a cherry picker or bucket truck with a guy in the bucket who wielded a chain saw like he enjoyed it.  And traversed the sky in that bucket like he enjoyed that too.  Notice in the photo below he is pushing the cut section of the tree off to fall to the ground.

 Here in lower center you can see a falling section of the tree - and swaying remainder of the now getting shorter formerly rather tall pine tree.

 There was also a wood chipper along with the bucket truck -- the tree climber and the man in the bucket ran the chain saws, and the other four put the cut limbs through the chipper.  We are talking a noisy operation.  (I had in my ear plugs)

 The bucket guy went out over the house

 and up high

 and sent a lot of stuff to the ground to be ground up - some crashing to the ground

 and some rather carefully by rope networked around tree notches and controlled from the ground

all in all it was a very interesting day and running that chain saw and riding in that bucket did look like fun but it is not something I think I will take up doing even though I am retired and do have some time.