Monday, June 15, 2009

Last Week - Chicago

ES and I were in Chicago last week. ES was presenting at the NFPA conference which was held at McCormick Place. I was able to spend the time wandering around, sightseeing, knitting, and doing whatever I wanted to do. I also listened to ES's presentation which went very well.

One of the fun things we did, along with ES's co-worker Mark, was attend the Chicago White Sox game on Tuesday night. It was c-o-l-d, 51 degrees at the start of the game, and I was glad that I had brought my knitting with me. It kept my knees and hands warm when the wind got blowing. Mark laughed when I brought the knitting out, ES just took it in stride. He told Mark, "she takes it everywhere."

On Tuesday afternoon, I went looking for a yarn store within walking distance of the hotel. There was one listed in the phone book, but when I got there it wasn't there anymore. So Wednesday morning I went looking for another store which was close to McCormick Place. I took the shuttle to the convention center and then spent some time walking around, Knitwerks didn't open until noon and I was down there at 10:30. Knitwerks was a fun little shop and I might have come home with some pretty yarn.

While walking around and waiting for Knitwerks to open, I happened upon a little park. I had a throughly good time looking at the gardens around an old house, watching a couple of men clean out the fountain and then watching the fountain, but the best thing was watching this dragonfly.
He was really well hidden in the foilage, but caught and kept my attention once I spotted him. I loved his black and blue wings. I think I ended up watching him and the surrounding area for about 15 minutes. I almost took out my knitting right there, but decided I was more interested in finding something to eat.

Wednesday night was spent at the outdoor concert at Millenium Park with ES and his mom. We took a picnic, got some popcorn, listened to the music, then wandered around Buckingham Fountain. After that, it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready to head home the next day.

Chicago was a fun interlude, now it's back to work and everyday life. I'm glad I got the break though, the stress has been getting to me and I needed the get away.

Happy knitting and spinning.