Chicago Weather

My back door to my apartment.
And you can see my beautiful Christmas tree through my living room window.

I parked in the snow on my street and then it turned really cold and became ice. My car was stuck for three days. My really nice maintenance guy came one night and helped me. We spent over 2 hours breaking apart the ice under my car with a crowbar and shovel.

My new look?

Should I go curly?

Second Week of Christmas

The giant Christmas tree in Macy's department store. It was quite red this year.
Caroling at the Bean. They had free candlesticks, which were pretty, but in reality didn't keep us very warm.
Out my window. Although, since then, we had a snowstorm and now the streets are all quite messy.
My neighborhood. Actually, this is not a frozen lake or snowcovered meadow. It's just a big industrial lot that has been empty since I moved here. "Hardhat area" though.

Badminton

Did I tell you I love badminton. It's the only sport I'll play. (Yes, badminton is a sport!) I beat Ross three games in a row yesterday. He won the other four games...but I'm doing better I think. Working on my backhand. We play every week at the church. (There are so many perks to being a member of this church!) I tried to find a city league to play in, but all I could find is GLBT leagues. Tempting, but no.

I can't believe my first week of vacation is almost over. So far I've tentatively thought through my courses for next semester, made some Christmas cards, bought a couple shirts for myself, practiced the organ at the church, finished an article I was writing, started another, worked on my cv, went to the library and got a pile of books I'll probably not get through.

Chilly Chicago Morning

I took these pictures this morning on my way to the post office. Close to my neighborhood is a slightly industrial area with this part of the river running through it.