Bloggin' at the Woodside

Lori, Marlis, Glenn (not pictured) and I met at Fitzgerald's, our favorite nightclub about 1/2 mile from our house, for an evening of big band jazz with the Brienn Perry Orchestra. He's a Chicago-native singer/trombonist who's now based in Kansas City, and he was back for this big to-do with a 17-piece band (5 saxes, 4 bones, 4 trumpets, guitar, bass, drums and piano) plus his new fiancé Precious Taylor, a talented (if a bit overwrought) singer in her own right.

We had dinner in the club--pulled-pork sandwices and collards for Lori and me--and had a very nice early Sunday evening of about 3 hours of music.

For those of you who have not visited recently, Fitzgerald's hosts a big jazz band almost every Sunday evening from 6:00-9:30. All the Chicago big bands play there, they're all good, and there are about 10 to a dozen of them. If you're interested in seeing a show like this, plan to stay over a Sunday when you come.

And then now and then we get a treat like Perry come in from elsewhere. His band, though, was Chicago musicians, five of whom had played with Count Basie in the later years of his career.

Here are a couple of pix and some video clips.

Xmas Morning

Lori was up early today, as is usual for her. By 10:00, she couldn't take it any longer and got Sam, Cam and me up. We opened our presents, then Cameron cooked us eggs and bacon, and we had Lori's coffee cake and my fruit salad for brunch.

Red and Green Dinner

Our traditional red and green dinner on Christmas Eve was a success. We had lasagna, salad, and cherry pie. And we wore our silly crowns.

Red Beans and Rice Night

We got our tree last night, and today Sam, Cam, Glenn and Marlis came over for dinner (red beans and rice, salad with homemade buttermilk/blue cheese dressing, cornbread, and chocolate/pecan pie) and helped us decorate it. Here are some shots from the event.

Plus, one rhetorical question: Is there anything in the world better than a sleepy kitty-cat?

Day in the City, Pt. 3 of 3

Finally, the German Village in front of Daley Plaza. We did a little shopping, admired the giant Christmas Tree, had a cup of mulled wine, and checked out the pigeons warming themselves by the eternal flame. What a day. Even the pigeons were exhausted by it.

At home, Lori and I took naps, then went out and got our tree. More on that soon.

Day in the City, Pt. 2 of 3

Next, we went to our favorite restaurant in the city, Heaven on Seven. I had fried oysters, and Lori had the jambalaya cakes. There is no better Cajun food in the world than here!

Now on to the German Village.

Day in the City, pt. 1 of 3

Today was our annual Christmas season day in the city. We went in on the Blue Line in the late morning (after I shoveled the heaviest snow I have ever encountered), and went to Macy's (neé Marshall Fields).

The windows were pretty lame this year, but there's a shot of one of them here. We went in and did some shopping for Cam and Sam.

Then I tried on some hats. I think some worked better than others, but you can be your own judge.

Part two is coming soon.