September Season

Sept. 15-21: Rally, Fall Social, Fashion Show, Wine Tasting, Furniture, Food Festival

On Monday, I carved out a little bit of time to attend the rally at Fountain Square. Late afternoon on a workday can be tricky! 

Tuesday afternoon was the Fall Social at our building, so Mr. E and I popped down to see what sort of treats were available and gather a few items for later. 

Our primary event this week was the opening night of the reFashioning History exhibition at the Evanston History Center. We started off the evening with a special three-course dinner at The Homestead Room in The Graduate Hotel with great service and really lovely food with no problem accommodating my dietary needs. At the event, we were able to get close-up looks at each designer's contribution to the exhibit and celebrate the two winners of this year's event. 

On Friday morning, we had an emergency evacuation of our building. It was the first time we had to go through this type of procedure, so we gathered up the kitties in their carriers and traipsed down the stairs along with all of our neighbors and lots of other pets. 

Luckily, we were able to return to the building within less than 30 minutes. And at least Mr. E had already taken his shower and gotten dressed by then! (I was in the middle of breakfast and homework) That evening, we went to an Italian wine-tasting at Binny's, which wasn't quite as good as some of the previous tastings we've done there. 

Mr. E had decided not to go to Madison for the football game on Saturday, so instead he went to go check out a condo while I stayed at our apartment for delivery of our two new furniture items from West Elm: a bar cabinet and angled bookshelf, both in the mid-century modern style that we like. Luckily, Louis XIV gave his seal of approval for the bar cabinet.

We had thought about trying to check out the Busker Festival on Central Street in the afternoon, but the timing didn't work out. So we missed seeing Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss juggling fire!!! But I did find a photo in a local e-newsletter.

After pickleball on Sunday, we met up with friends M & L for the Taste of Evanston event in Dawes Park. I focused mostly on sweets and beverages, since many of the items available were either meat-focused or contained allium. The weather was lovely, and it was nice to have a chance to catch up with M & L, as I hadn't seen them yet since we came back to Evanston.

To wrap up the evening, Mr. E and I returned to The Graduate to check out the bar. We took advantage of the beautiful weather to sit in the rocking chairs out on the lanai and enjoy some people-watching along the sidewalk. 

We learned that this is a popular spot for residents of the nearby retirement community, The Mather, as a trio of folks from there met up for dinner on the lanai. We chatted with them just a bit before leaving and learned that Sunday evening is the one night with no dinner service at The Mather, so the Homestead Room offers them a great option for that meal.

Sept. 22-30: Cubs, Book Club, Celebrating Evanston Latinos, Love Your Block, Bikes, Family Dinner, Woman's Club

On Tuesday, we joined other supporters of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for a Cubs game. We lucked out with taking a purple CTA express that made a special stop near the stadium, which we'll have to remember for future game days. We left after about two hours and avoided seeing the Cubs give up their lead, so that was definitely the right timing.

Wednesday evening was my Better Off Read Book Club at the Public Library. This month's book was Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks, which sparked some really interesting conversations about contempt and the divisions in our country and culture. 

We had a check-in with our Fidelity advisor on Thursday afternoon, and then I headed to the Evanston History Center again for another community event, this time to celebrate the history and influence of Latinos in the city. I really enjoyed the panel discussion and learning more about the community in our new second home.

On Friday evening, we went to a celebration of the Love Your Block program to learn about different improvement projects in various parts of the city. Very inspirational! And another great way to learn about different aspects of the Evanston community. We tried Hokkaido for takeout dinner on our way home and were really pleased with the quality and options on the menu. 

We were supposed to have a walking tour on Saturday morning, but it had gotten cancelled earlier in the week. That gave us more time for breakfast and coffee before we took the train to M & L's condo to try out their bikes. The previous week, after the Taste of Evanston, Mr. E was talking to M about his new bike and asking if he was going to sell his old bike. M told him not yet and then offered to let Mr. E borrow that bike since we still hadn't bought bikes for ourselves. We then discovered that L also has a bike she wasn't using. Such a coincidence! 

M made sure both bikes were in good condition, and the three of us then rode back to our apartment. So now Mr. E and I have bikes to use at least for the next couple of months. Yay! I purchased a purple helmet for myself and locks and lights for both bikes at Ace Hardware. Mr. E got the registration form and tags from our apartment management office so that we can store our bikes in the secure bike room in the parking garage. For the first few days, however, the bikes were in our office, and Louis XIV was very curious about them.

We were able to use the bikes immediately the next day, for the Sunday morning Bike the Ridge, an annual event when two miles of Ridge Avenue are closed to car traffic so that cyclists can ride along this street that is otherwise off-limits to bikes. 

M met up with us for the ride and then went home to pick up L so that the four of us could have brunch at Mensch's. M & L are fans of this spot, but Mr. E and I still aren't totally impressed with it, primarily due to rather slow service. But the $1.99 coffee that is actually really tasty is pretty hard to beat!

We managed to fit in 30-minute massages after pickleball that afternoon. Since Mr. E's cousin D was in the area for the weekend, we then took the train to downtown Chicago for a family dinner at Minghin Cuisine that evening with his mom, sister, and brother-in-law. We returned home with several leftovers and a small tub of the special popcorn from Mariano's next door. 

On Tuesday evening, I was able to attend a membership information session at the Woman's Club of Evanston (WCE). Mr. E and I have been to several events at the WCE, and it was one of the first community organizations I learned about last year when we started spending time here, primarily because it's just half a block from our apartment building so I walk by it nearly every day on my way to the Lake or the Library or CVS, etc. Everyone was very friendly, and I got a great tour from C, including a look at the backstage area, which I don't think was on the itinerary for everyone. After reviewing more information, including the organization's 990 Form to better understand their finances and their giving, I decided to join. I'm looking forward to getting more involved in volunteer activities and making new connections to start creating a network here.

September Semi-Monthly

We've already had so many adventures and activities since we've been back in Evanston that I figured I should do a semi-monthly update rather than saving everything up until the end of September! 

Aug. 29-Sept. 1: Family Visit to Austin + Two Birthdays

Well, actually, we technically started off the month with a visit to J and family over Labor Day weekend. We got to see their renovated downstairs for the first time and celebrated M's birthday on Saturday with a pool party. Per usual, Mr. E and I helped with the food prep while J took C to soccer in the morning. Some games and reading time in the evening.

Sunday was J's birthday, but she didn't want to do anything special. Mr. E made breakfast in the morning before J took M to church. Then C had another soccer game in the afternoon, which I opted out of given the nasty warm and humid weather. Instead, I met up with everyone after the game for a fun round of bowling. I had the highest score for the string! Then several of us did a few rounds of HORSE with the basketball set-up in their driveway. J was the come-from-behind stealth winner for that game. We had leftovers for dinner and the cake that B had bought for J. More games and reading to finish up the night.

Mr. E and I headed out to the airport before breakfast the next morning, after J had gone to yoga. Both of our Southwest flights weren't completely booked, so we lucked out with no one in the middle between us for either part of the trip! 

Sept. 6-7: Time with E's Mom + Shopping

E rented a car for the weekend so that he could take his Mom to visit his Dad's gravesite on Saturday. Since my grad classes had started up for the semester on Tuesday, I was able to devote time to homework and getting back into the studying routine. Later in the afternoon, he brought her to Evanston so that we could all go out for dinner at Le Tour. Mr. E recognized the hostess as the actress who had played Dulcinea in the fabulous performance of Don Quixote that we saw earlier this year at the Wirtz Center, so we were able to tell her how much we enjoyed the show and how touched we were by the performance, especially the final song.

On Sunday, we hung up the three France pictures that we'd gotten during our river cruise in May, as we'd picked up their custom mats for at Blick earlier in the week. Then we took advantage of having the car to do some farther-away shopping and lucked out by finding two pieces at West Elm that we'd been eying for a bit that had gone on sale for the holiday weekend. Sweet! We had to pay extra (too much, IMO) for delivery, but we decided it was worth saving the time and effort to put anything together and risk damaging the new items, a bar cabinet and a bookcase, both in the mid-century modern style that we appreciate.

The sunrises at this time of year are absolutely amazing, with the orb just lifting up over the horizon line during my morning walks. And the colors are breathtaking!

Sept. 11-14: Our First Visitors

We were so excited to welcome our great friends E & C from Sac as our first visitors to our new second home here in Evanston! This was their first time to the Chicago area, and we wanted to give them a great introduction to our city and to the downtown Chicago experience. I think we achieved our goal!

Mr. E rented a car again to have more flexibility in our transportation options, so he picked them up at the airport on Thursday afternoon. After they got settled into their hotel, the Hyatt House that's half a block from us and that we can literally see from our kitchen window, Mr. E and C met up at Tapas Barcelona across the street while E and I finished up our work days. 

Then we all headed towards Dempster Street for the Evanston Wine Walk. We picked up our wristbands, maps, and tasting glasses at Coco Design & Build and then started our tastings along the western stretch of Dempster. We managed to get to the pet store when there was still just enough Veuve Clicquot remaining for E and me! We all admired the axolotl, and one of the staff was kind enough to show us how the creature eats worms so that I could get a video for A's younger son C, who loves these critters.

I was excited by the fresh popcorn on offer at a real estate firm, and the French red from the secret wine cellar at the chiropractor was a favorite of our group (along with the cups of various types of chocolate candies on offer at this location). We got to show off our favorite local stores Stumble & Relish (where E stealthily bought me a pair of black cat Marlene-ish earrings) and Nice Lena and finished off the evening with awesome take-out from Todoroki at our place.

I should also mention that Mr. E had finished off his 3-month sober summer the day before our friends arrived, so the Wine Walk was a perfect way to celebrate this accomplishment and ease back into enjoying some libations!

Friday started off with breakfast at our favorite Le Peep, followed by a short stroll at the Lake for second coffee and then taking the CTA to Wrigley Field for the Cubs game. 

I texted my friend R a picture of Mr. E and me in front of the stadium and found out that she was there, too, with her spouse and his siblings. Wha??!! No way! So after the 5th inning, I headed over to where they were sitting and got to catch up with her until the end of the 7th inning. Very fortuitous, as we had just found out the day before that our planned meet-up in October wouldn't be possible after all, but this way we still got to chat in person during the ballgame. 

After we took the train back to Evanston, E & C returned to their hotel to rest for a bit before our evening activity, which was dinner and a concert by Dominique Fils-Aime at Space. We were a little concerned about having enough time to eat before the show, but we managed to get seated and fed just barely in time. None of us was familiar with this artist, but Mr. E and I had both seen the info about her performance and thought E & C might enjoy going, especially because we know they like live music. I was a little concerned about whether or not we'd like the show, but we were all completely blown away by the experience, as we felt fully immersed in and enveloped by her poetry and music and presence. Just amazing!

Saturday morning brought some heavy rain and thunderstorms, but luckily they passed over by mid-morning. We breakfasted separately before meeting up at their hotel to go to the Evanston History Center for a walking tour focused on Daniel Burnham's time in and influence on some of the houses near the lakefront. 

We had decided to drive to downtown Chicago for the afternoon to save some time and were able to park at E's mom's condo, which gave us easy access to stroll through Millennium Park to visit "the bean" and other iconic sights, including the "people fountains" and wading pool, on our way to the Art Institute.

We had gotten the AIC Family Pass from Evan's mom that allowed free admission for all four of us, and we used Mr. E's and my membership for access to the Member Bar as our starting point, since Mr. E and I were a bit hungry. E & C had shared a sandwich from Mensch's in Evanston before we began our afternoon adventures, but they readily joined us for drinks at the Bar, and we sat on the outdoor sculpture terrace to enjoy the mild weather. 

We figured it would be easier to split up for the museum visit, so E & C headed off first while Mr. E and I lingered on the terrace. Since we didn't have anything particular in mind, we decided to visit the special exhibition in the Modern Wing featuring Elizabeth Catlett's work. I was particularly impressed by the variety of media she used and really moved by her paintings and sculptures of mothers and children. She somehow captured the fierce love and protectiveness between mother and child and managed to transmit that emotion through different styles and materials.

E had found out that a friend and her spouse were in Chicago for the week at a conference and staying at the nearby Swissotel. We were able to meet up with them on the rooftop terrace at the London House hotel for drinks and were all quite grateful for a bit of cloud cover, as the sun would otherwise have been brutal.

For dinner, we met up with Mr. E's mom at Avli on the Park, which is one of her favorite spots. Great conversation, great food and drinks, and more leftovers for Mr. E. This became sort of an unexpected theme of their visit, as he had also benefited from leftovers at Le Peep, Todoroki, and Space!  

After we said farewell to Mr. E's mom, we returned to Evanston. I was ready for bed at that point, but the rest of the group stayed up for a bit for a nightcap. Just like our usual routine in Sac, when they linger in the living room after I've gone to bed!

On Sunday, E & C checked out of their hotel and brought their stuff over to our apartment in the mid-morning before taking the train to downtown Chicago for some additional exploration, including pizza at Gino's East and a visit to the Field Museum. Mr. E and I went to the first session of our fall pickleball workshop at the Y, and Mr. E stayed for the league afterwards as well. Then we grabbed their suitcases and drove to downtown Chicago to regroup with E & C for an architecture tour on the River.

We parked at E's mom's condo building again and had perfect timing to catch the 3:45pm tour with no waiting in line for tickets or boarding. The 90-minute tour was fabulous (as always), and luckily there were enough shady spots on the boat to stay comfortable.

The tour wrapped up around 5:15pm, and since we didn't need to leave for the airport until closer to 6:45pm, we decided to go to another nearby family favorite restaurant, MingHin Cuisine. E's mom had recommended it the previous night when they were talking about food and E mentioned that Chinese food is one of her favorites, so it was a perfect way to wrap up the weekend. And more leftovers again! I also made a quick stop at Mariano's to pick up some of their yummy house-made popcorn.

We ran into a bit of traffic due to an accident at an intersection right off the exit we needed to take for Midway Airport, but we still got them to the terminal with plenty of time, especially since they decided to take a chance on the mini-bat in their bag and not check anything. They made it through TSA just fine! Mr. E and I headed back to Evanston and grabbed a few essentials at Whole Foods for the week before winding down with the kitties for the night.

A really wonderful visit with friends, and such a fun way to introduce them to both Evanston and Chicago! 

Awesome August in Sacramento

Our return to Sacramento started off with a matinee of In the Heights at Music Circus on Sunday, Aug. 3, and it was our first time seeing the live musical rather than the film version. We both noticed some differences, particularly the fact that the character of Nina's mom was entirely cut from the film, which seems like a rather odd decision, especially since she's such a strong character and has a fabulous solo song during the musical. We met up with L for dinner that evening by introducing her to Thai Time, and we were so glad that she liked it as much as we do!

We got together with our monthly brunch group on Saturday, Aug. 9th at Bernardo, and then Mr. E and I went to an afternoon showing of The Fantastic Four at the DOCO Cinemark. The next morning, we had brunch with E at Roc & Sol, and I had breakfast with her that Monday as well at Fox & Goose. I also managed to meet up with A for dinner, S for breakfast, and B for dinner over the course of the month, along with my new Evanston Mystery Book Club via Zoom on the 14th, my usual Sacto Book Club at M's on the 17th, and my ongoing French Book Club on the 24th. So great to be able to keep all of these connections and gatherings, both in-person and virtual!

I attended two in-person California Groundbreakers events as well, including a presentation about ICE and another about how technology can help seniors age in place. Both sessions were really interesting and thought-provoking, and I'm so glad to see that this organization's programming has resumed and increased.  

I was able to go to several of the 4:30pm Pilates classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Capital Y while we were in Sac, but unfortunately, the pool temperature was too cold for any regular morning routine. I managed to get in twice in the early evening, but each time, I got really chilled even though I did a shorter workout and wore my wetsuit. Disappointing! 

I'd been toying with the idea of going purple with my hair for some time and decided to finally take the plunge while we were in Sac. The color was darker and not as brilliant as I'd hoped, although it looked really pretty in the sunlight.

The color has faded a bit over time, and I'm thinking I'll likely return to my Red Hibiscus the next time I need to refresh, unless I can find a different purple option that looks more promising!

The kitties resumed their Sacto habits promptly, and Louis XIV even discovered a new spot to hang out in the closet. Apparently, he felt some rearranging was needed...

On Thursday the 21st, Mr. E and I headed to the Crocker for an evening Watercolor & Wine studio art class. It's been awhile since we've been able to do one of these classes, particularly together, and it was so nice to have some dedicated time to be creative and indulge our artistic sides. Mr. E painted a forsythia for me, and I did a more structured painting of the flower display on our table plus a looser painting of just the roses. I think they all turned out pretty well!

The next evening, we returned to the Crocker for the New Director's Reception and were able to bring E & C with us as our guests. We enjoyed some snacks and adult beverages and then headed back to our place for takeout dinner and a round of the "button" fame (aka Michigan Rummy). 

On Saturday night, Mr. E and I attended the Mole Festival at Casa de Espanol. The weather was quite toasty! But we both enjoyed the eight artisanal mole offerings, and I was really pleased that they offered a vegan option so that I could try everything.

Both Mr. E and I had several health appointments that we had scheduled in a cluster for our time in Sac, including visits to the dentist, a stress test for Mr. E, massages and blood donations for both of us, and Botox, a pedicure, and two chiro sessions for me. 

I also took Louis XIV to the vet on the last Saturday we were in Sac to get his annual check-up and rabies booster. Unfortunately, I learned that our ginger boy needs some dental work! A cleaning and at least one extraction. *sigh* We decided we'd try to get the treatment done in Evanston so we wouldn't have to wait until mid December when we're back in Sac. Unfortunately, since we don't already have an established vet in our second home location, we encountered challenges with scheduling anything in a timely fashion, especially since we needed an initial appointment before anything more extensive such as the dental work. Mr. E had the brilliant idea of seeing if our usual Sac vet had availability during the week of Oct. 14th when I'll be back in Sac for 4+ days for work gatherings. And luckily, they did! So Louis XIV will be accompanying me solo for this future trip while Marlene remains in Evanston with Mr. E.

We finally decided that we wanted to move forward with exploring options for remodeling our main bathroom and replacing the flooring in the library and office upstairs. Mr. E reached out to several of the contacts that N had recommended, and we had a couple of consultations with B to discuss the project and options. We were pleased by his bid and signed a contract to get the project going when we're back in Sac for the winter. So in December, we'll be starting to choose all of the finishes (tile, cabinet, countertop, lights, other fixtures, carpet) with the intent to have the demo and construction start up in January. Exciting!

Our return to Evanston was on Tuesday, Aug. 26th, so that we could get settled back in for a few days before heading to Austin for the Labor Day long weekend. The kitties are getting to be pro travelers! Although Marlene still looked a bit out of sorts during part of the trip...

Everything Evanston in July

So... the saying that "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" was definitely reinforced during our month in Evanston from July 3-August 2. And for the last few days, it was also the smoky air coming down from the wildfires in Canada. Yikes! 

We returned on July 3rd and rented a car at the airport for the weekend, making it easier to deal with transportation with the kitties as well as other weekend plans. On July 4th, we enjoyed the day off to get settled back in and hosted Evanston friend M for dinner at our apartment (the rooftop deck and grills were too busy). Then we strolled down to Frio Gelato on our way to the beach for the awesome fireworks display over the Lake. 

On the way, we saw "mini fireworks" among the plants (e.g fireflies), which is the first time I've seen those amazing little creatures since we lived in Madison. So cool! Once we got back to our apartment, we just sat at the kitchen table with the lights out to watch all of the other ongoing fireworks displays in downtown Chicago and the surrounding suburbs south and west of us. A great vantage point!

The next day, we drove to Mr. E's mom's condo in downtown Chicago to drop off her birthday card and gift (hibiscus plant) before going to the Art Institute for a couple of hours to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition, which was closing the next weekend. It was interesting to learn about her brief but impactful time in Paris and her friendship with Mary Reynolds and other key figures of the art world. I particularly liked one sketch of Mary and her cats (note: not done by Frida).

We also had enough time for the Caillebotte exhibition, which both Mr. E and I really loved. I didn't know much about this painter, and it was fascinating to see how prolific and influential he was during his short (45 years) lifespan. I also didn't realize that it was his collection of works that formed the basis for the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. Incredible! We purchased a poster of the exhibit to add to our gradually growing assortment of art in Evanston. 

To celebrate his mom's birthday, we got takeout at Minghin Cuisine and hung out at her condo for a bit before driving home (with leftovers!). The original plan for the birthday celebration was for Mr. E's sister L and brother-in-law M to host a family gathering at their home in Oak Park, but L was sick so we had a relatively last-minute change of plans. It all worked out for the best, though, since the new schedule allowed for our museum visit. Oh, and also some views and sounds of the Nascar Chicago Street Race outside the windows of the Caillebotte galleries!

The following weekend, Mr. E took a Lyft to downtown Chicago on Saturday morning for the annual Big 10K race (he did the 5K) while I stayed home with the kitties and participated in an ATA webinar. He got home in time for us to check out an open house at noon, and then I met up with my friend R at 1pm for coffee and tea at The Understudy Cafe. It was great to have a chance to catch up with her since we hadn't had our usual virtual monthly check-in in June. Then I took the train to the Alliance Francaise to meet up with Mr. E and his mom for the afternoon Bastille Day festivities, including a quite impressive waiter's race (I got some fun videos but they don't cooperate well with uploading here).

We had dinner again with Mr. E's mom, this time at Avli on the Park, a Greek restaurant just around the corner from her condo. 

On Sunday morning, we had an appointment at Blick to order some custom mats for several of our posters from France, which are all non-standard sizes so need some additional care prior to framing. Then I headed to the airport in the early afternoon for my trip to Portland to help A for a few days with the ongoing process of sorting through and organizing stuff from her mom and other items in storage at the house. I'm glad I was able to help out with this process, as it's still so challenging and emotional for A (and her dad), and it gave us some good quality time together, including for pedicures on Tuesday afternoon once we were done for the day. I also had some lovely conversations with M, and the three of us had a couple of strong Scrabble matches as well. 

I was back in Evanston by the end of the week, so Mr. E and I went to check out one of the events for the multi-day Plein Air Festival. The block party was on a section of Main Street, so we got to peruse many of the works and enjoy some live music as well. We followed this up by stopping by the finale on Sunday at the Rotary HQ just a few blocks from us. We also fit in another open house on Saturday morning and wrapped up the weekend with our First Aid / CPR course at the Y on Sunday afternoon. Both of us had done this type of course in the past, but quite a few techniques have changed, and neither of us had ever learned about AEDs before, so this was a very helpful course to take. We had to complete several hours of online homework in advance and then finished off with the 2.5 hours in-person skills practice session. We're now certified for two years!

In the middle of the next week, I was fortunate enough to have an in-person GALA event at the Rotary HQ, which was a fabulous way to get a better understanding of this language services association and make some local contacts. I've already had a virtual meet-up with one of the presenters and will be connecting in person with another attendee when we're back in Evanston in the fall. All small steps towards my encore career transition! The event ended with a reception on the third floor, and I got to spend some time on the outdoor terrace that offers a partial view of our apartment building (in the middle of the photo, tucked behind the tall dark grey building).

During the week, I also attended a Land Use Committee (LUC) meeting related to the proposed high rise building that is anticipated to be constructed on a lot to the south of our building (yes, it will eventually block much of our view). The proceedings definitely reminded me of my time on the Planning Commission here in Sacramento! I left after about an hour and watched the rest of the public commentary with Mr. E through the live streaming services.

On Friday, my old friend and ex K came to meet me for lunch at Le Peep. I think it's been about eight years or so since we've seen each other! He and his spouse, C, and their twins live in Geneva, IL. We had a lovely time catching up, and I'm hoping we can continue to stay connected more often as Mr. E and I spend more of our time in Evanston. That evening, our apartment building hosted a resident's BBQ on the rooftop pool deck, so after doing some bike shopping in the afternoon, Mr. E and I stopped by to check out the offerings. Not too much for me except a bag of Fritos, but Mr. E was able to grab enough for his dinner later that night.

Saturday afternoon, we practiced our pickleball skills during the open gym time at the Y dedicated to beginners and families. Oof! I definitely need more practice! I'm glad we'll be taking another beginners skills workshop series in the fall. Mr. E met up with M in the afternoon to hang out with him as he got his UW Madison Terrace chair tatto, and that evening, we all went to the Out of Space open air concert festival in nearby Skokie to see Gabriela y Rodrigo, a favorite duo of M & L. Mr. E and I got to test out our new beach chairs (excellent!), and luckily the sun was mostly down by the time we arrived, so the weather was actually quite pleasant despite the warm and humid temperatures from earlier in the day.

On Sunday, we went to two open houses (not impressed) and finally made it to the beach in the late afternoon. Of course, our timing was just perfect to arrive at Clark Street Beach as the clouds rolled in for a couple of hours in what was otherwise a sunny and clear day. Too funny! We still enjoyed wading in the [surprisingly warm] Lake and reading on the beach. Next year, we'll need to do this more often, especially now that we have our comfy and easily-portable chairs.

The following Friday was Mr. E's birthday, and we met up with his family for an early dinner at the Oyster Bar at Shaw's Crab House. We had spent most of that day preparing and getting organized for our return to Sac. So on Saturday, after brunch at Le Peep, we packed up the kitties and did our final cleaning chores before M picked us up for the trip to O'Hare. The nice thing about the return trip is that we arrive at a much more reasonable time thanks to having the time difference work in our favor (and thanks to being so much closer to SMF than to ORD)! We were able to unpack and pick up takeout dinner in a reasonable time and start to get settled in for our month-ish here in Sac.

Other items of note for July included visiting two "new" restaurants, attending two Book Club meetings (for me) and several more amazing sunsets, including a very weird almost-fake looking red ball o' sun due to the wildfire smoke (photos below). 

The first restaurant was Tapas Barcelona just across the street from us (which we realized we'd actually been to years ago with M & L... oops), and the second was Kuni's Japanese Restaurant (which only Mr. E had been to once with M & L). Tapas had some wonderful seafood offerings and were unhesitatingly helpful in accommodating my allium allergy, so we'll definitely be making that part of our regular rotation. Kuni's was only meh, and considering how many other Japanese options we have even closer to us, we've pretty much taken that off the list for a repeat visit. 

We returned to Sac Aug 2nd and will be here until the 26th. So nice to be out of that nasty humidity!!! The triple digits here really aren't bad at all when the air stays clear and the temps drop nearly 40 degrees at night to the mid-60s.