My first experience as a Chicago Permit Seeker. We need a new backyard fence. So I put on my happy homeowner's hat and scouted out fence builders. A few estimates later, I fenced a deal. Construction would start the middle of July. At the end of June, customer service informed me I needed a fence … Continue reading Chicago Permit Seeker
Chicago
Chicago Traffic: You’re Not the Boss of Me
Traffic in Chicago has been beyond bad. How bad is beyond bad? Really. Bad. Every day during the week, Cole and I provide transportation to and from camp for our day-camp pups. We travel about 100 city miles through Chicago’s neighborhoods. Daily, we overcome the trials and tribulations of city traffic, including countless detours due … Continue reading Chicago Traffic: You’re Not the Boss of Me
Homeless: The wetness of my pocket dollar
Homeless. The wetness of my pocket dollar. Tented shelter. It's often said that "Chicago is a city of neighborhoods." This may seem redundant—isn't every city a city of neighborhoods? But Chicago really is a big, wonderful combination of unique enclaves. There is a neighborhood for everyone! And the housing ranges from modest to opulent to … Continue reading Homeless: The wetness of my pocket dollar
Well Watchers Deep Subject
Well, Well, Well... Well, late Saturday afternoon my teen and I were at loose ends. It’s rare these days that we’re both at loose ends at the same time. So with time to spare and a bag of semi-nuevo apples in the fridge, we decided to spend some quality time together and head over to … Continue reading Well Watchers Deep Subject
Parking the Chicago Way
Parking The Chicago Way. . . When we moved into our home seventeen years ago, there were still lots of old-timers living in the ‘hood, and the parking rules were clear: you did not park in front of anyone else’s house, and a snow-shoveled spot was yours until the snow melted. If circumstance left you … Continue reading Parking the Chicago Way
Chicago Rooster Number Two
Look closely. Cole would have gotten a better picture outside the car, but he said the honking behind us and yelling discouraged him. He's cute tho, isn't he? The rooster, not Cole. It’s legal to raise (I’m pretty sure you don’t rear them) chickens, both hens and roosters, in Chicago. Hens are more popular because … Continue reading Chicago Rooster Number Two
Chicago Loves Winter
Chicago Loves Winter Today's snowy preview remind me that it was going to get cold again in Chicago this year.... Ah, Chicago winter. Yes, it will come again this year. That notoriously bleak sludgefest, bone chilling and impenetrable. Ice scrapers and road salt stains, moldy boots and slippery driving, lumpy gray snowdrifts punctuated by flaxen splashes of dog pee. … Continue reading Chicago Loves Winter
Chicago Northwest Side Tales
Chicago Northwest Side Growing up in the great state of Texas, we did not have “sides,” as in the south side or the northwest side. We had TALL fences. Then I married a Chicagoan who navigated the CTA with his eyes closed, understood what the heck 6400 West/3200 North meant, debated citywide ward politics, and … Continue reading Chicago Northwest Side Tales