Last night Mary Beth, Kerri, Kelly, Jill, and I had Game Night at Kelly's place. We got to Skype with Joanna, Tom, and Alejandro. It's always so nice to see and hear them...but I'll sure be happy when they're all back home from Guatemala! We got to spend a little time with Evie & Sophie before they went to bed. And we even played some games (CatchPhrase, Blurt!, and Imaginiff). It was one of our shorter Game Nights, but it was still really fun.
Friday night, Lisa, Rebekah, Carrie, Sara, Matt, Mike, Cindy, and I went to Nancy King Mertz's art opening/reception at her gallery/framing shop, Art de Triumph. She does beautiful paintings, many of spots in Chicago. After the reception, we headed to Duke of Perth for beer, scotch, and appetizers, and then we went to Baladoche for incredible desserts. (Some people had the gelato; I had a waffle with Nutella.) Mmmm....
Today is my dad's 60th birthday. Happy Six Decades, Dad! Here's to many more wonderful years of weirdness to come.
Tonight Lisa came with me to see Beatrice et Benedict at the Chicago Opera Theater. It was a great show--creative staging, beautiful singing; very entertaining all around. This was the last opera of the season--it was a great way to close!
I've accepted Kelly's invitation to participate in Post Pics of Your Pet Day tomorrow. Check back for shots of my furry offspring!
I got home tonight from a weekend with friends and family in my hometown, Grand Forks, North Dakota. In case I had any doubt, I was reminded that yes, my family is still crazy--especially my WAFF ("Weird Aunt From Florida"), Candy--in the best possible way. Saturday night the family convened at Grandma's place for hotdish, and we lau
ghed so hard, my stomach actually hurt. This family doesn't pull a whole lot of punches--and they sure do love to talk (and laugh) about death! And medical stuff (phlegm, wounds, etc.). Fun! On 
Sunday, Mike and Renee had us over for a cookout. Our challenge became to get a picture of friend-of-the-blog Michael. (Throwing hot dogs does not deter us!) We played Shanghai/Shangri-La and Skip-Bo, and I was able to show o
ff my fabulous game-playing skills. The way I did that was by letting other people win. On Monday 
(Memorial Day), Brenda and I both paid tribute to our grandfathers by visiting their gravesites. (The last time I was in Grand Forks was for Grandpa Tack's funeral in March 2005.) We had lunch at LaCampana (always a favorite spot of mine), and that night we went out with our moms for our traditional Girls' Night Out. This time around we went to the Eagle's Crest, where I enjoyed a walleye sub (not 
something you usually find in Chicago), and we celebrated Mom's birthday with wine and ice cream before heading back to Barb's house. Tuesday I spent the day with Mom, Candy, and The Grandma-nator. We made a trip to Widman's for Chippers and other treats. Mmmmm..... We also drove by the buffalo farm. That night, Brenda, her boyfriend Chris, and I had dinner and drinks at the Green Mill. I don't know when I've had so much food in such a short amount of time.... 
But it was all worth it. It really was great to see everyone again, and I enjoyed my relaxing stay at The Oasis with Brenda. The time always just goes by too quickly.....
o wash them down), an eclectic array of gifts (including a sweater vest), and
Jessica (who came to work in a formal dress and flip-flops) and Jim (in sparkly glasses) being named Prom Queen & King. We topped it all off with a trip to the Bringer Inn. PIL's going to be a lot less fun and interesting without Jessica 
around....
Last night, Lisa, Carrie, and I had dinner and drinks at the Duke of Perth to celebrate Carrie's birthday. We ate fish & chips and drank Scottish beer, and Carrie shared stories of her time in Scotland. (We've decided we're going there next year!) Carrie and Lisa split a flight of scotch; I couldn't even h
andle the smell. The evening was topped off with a fabulous slice of flourless chocolate cake. Mmmm.... I think Carrie had a good birthday. And we had a great time celebrating with her!
Here, Paul Kelly shows his loyal support for Doug Sohn, former PILer and proprietor of Hot Doug's, the Sausage Superstore and Encased Meats Imporium. As you may have read in any number of international sources, Mr. Sohn was the recipient of Chicago's first fine for serving foie gras after the duck-liver delicacy was made illegal in the Windy City. We're all hoping Hot Doug's will make it through this troubling time....
Today for lunch, I met up with Kelly, her brother David, and her twin daughters, Evelyn and Sophia, at Taco Bell. I don't know if it was because they were wearing their fabulous new suede shoes or what, but those girls did not want to be confined to their seats. They wanted to sing and dance! Definitely performers in the making....
Last night, Connie, Joleen, and I went to dinner at Volo Restaurant & Wine Bar. (The three of us go out every other month and take turns picking where we go; each time we try to go somewhere we've never been before. This time it was Joleen's turn to choose.) It was warm enough that we got to sit outside--and what outdoor seating it was! Like being away on vacation somewhere. The food was a little more chichi than we're used to, but it was delicious. And so was the wine! We also got to congratulate Connie for finishing nursing school. Cheers!
The multi-talented Gina Gershon has been very busy lately! She's got a new album, In Search of Cleo, coming out this summer, and she and her brother just cowrote a book for kids called Camp Creepy Time. AND she's been on Ugly Betty (love!) and will be appearing in the upcoming season of Rescue Me, another of my favorite shows. (The new season starts on FX on June 13th.) To learn more about what she's been up to, check out these interviews with Tavis Smiley, The Advocate, and TimeOutDubai (yes, really!).
Last night, in an early celebration of Carrie's birthday, we, along with Lisa, Maria & Diane, and Eric & Mira, went to the see the Windy City Rollers i
n Cicero (and dressed accordingly). It was a lot of fun to cheer on those butt-kicking women--one of whom (Kara, aka "Typhoid Mary" of the Manic Attackers) is a fellow editor at PIL. (If you go to the Web site, be sure to check out the injuries page.) After the derby, Carrie, Lisa, and I headed to the Globe. It was a fun c
elebration all-around.
Yesterday afternoon, Lisa and I headed downtown to the Obama '08 headquarters to train for our upcoming trip to Iowa. We'll be canvassing in Dubuque to encourage people to caucus for Barack in January. We all hope and believe that we're finally on the road to a positive change in our country with Obama at the helm. There was a great article in the New Yorker recently about Obama the Conciliator. It's long, but well worth reading.
Last night Nicole, Mandy, and I had dinner and drinks at Cafe 28. Delicious! Then we went back to Nicole's house and met her husband, Justin, and friend Jim, her menagerie of dogs (Mr. Furley the Pomeranian, Hank the chihuahua, and Marty Feldman the pug), and her adorable baby boy, Grey.
Thursday night, Scott and I met up for dinner at Caffe Baci, then headed over to watch Chicago Opera Theater's "Bluebeard's Castle" (starring the amazing Sam Ramey) and "Erwartung." Both were fascinating pieces with psychological symbolism; I especially loved "Bluebeard," even though I didn't fully understand it. We got to hang out with Adolfo during intermission, and it was nice to catch up with him, too!
