Our Second Month in Evanston: Sac Travel, Cultural Events, Family Thanksgiving (long post!)

Friday, November 1-Sunday, November 3: Back to Sac!

I flew from PDX and met up with Mr. E when he arrived at SMF on Friday afternoon. We had a quick weekend in Sac because we had purchased tickets several months ago to the annual Feast for WEAVE fundraiser, which was on Saturday, November 2. It was SO weird to be in our townhome without the kitties!!! Just didn't feel right at all!!! Neither of us had expected to feel that way, but then we realized that the only other time we've been at home without any feline fur babies is when we've recently had to bid farewell to one of our kits. Definitely an important consideration for future back-and-forth visits.

We managed to fit in an impressive number of activities during our 2ish days in Sac. I got my hair cut on Saturday morning (hadn't been able to find anything acceptably affordable in Evanston -- I just refuse to pay $40+ for my short hair!!!) followed by Book Club at an unusual mid-day time on Saturday and then an afternoon pedicure at my favorite eco-salon, Nature Love. Then we met up with friends E & C for the WEAVE event at Mulvaney's B&L. Sunday was the birthday of friend and fab kitty auntie S, and we were able to gather our monthly brunch group for that event before Mr. E and I headed back to the Midwest on a late afternoon flight. 

Cultural Events & Other Happenings Throughout November

For the rest of the month, we enjoyed really settling into our new home and getting into a new routine. I tried out the Northwestern Wellness Suite for a massage and found a great chiropractic practice, Wellness Revolution, thanks to a recommendation from a neighbor of M & L. I was able to make morning appointments that coordinated nicely with my swim workouts at the Y and definitely benefited from the dry needling treatments. Yay!

We hosted M & L for dinner one evening as a thank you for all of their assistance as we made this transition to our new apartment, and we had a great time chatting with them and playing games. They even brought us an amazing multi-piece charcuterie set as a house-warming gift. Mr. E spent time with his family and other friends during some of the weekend days while I was studying. 

We took advantage of several cultural events and performances during the month, starting with a Saturday evening choral concert, Literary Greats, by the North Shore Choral Society at the Presbyterian Church just a few blocks south of our apartment (we can see the steeple from our kitchen windows). The next afternoon, we caught the final amazing performance of Until the Flood by Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre.

The following week, I attended an evening talk by Cara Romero at the Block Museum, which was really intriguing and inspired me to learn more about her work. I just found out that she and her partner will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Crocker in Sac later this year, so that's definitely something I don't want to miss. I also met up with one of my NYU instructors in person for coffee later in the week, which was such a nice way to make a stronger connection instead of just seeing her recorded video lessons each week!

Throughout the month, Mr. E and I toured a few more condos with L to get a sense of the options and what we really prefer. I'm so glad we started with a rental, because that really helped me better understand the type of unit, building, and directional orientation that I would want in anything we purchase. And we're not in any hurry, so it's good to be particular. If we end up just staying in this rental, that's absolutely fine and better than "settling" for something not as ideal.

In the middle of the month, we went to a matinee of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago at the Steppenwolf Theatre. I first saw this dance company back in 1993 when I was living in Portland, OR, and have been a huge fan ever since. During other visits to Chicago over the years, Mr. E and I never managed to be there at the right time for a performance, so I was thrilled that the company's fall show was during the time we were in Evanston. And it was just as amazing and enthralling as I had remembered. Can't wait to go again! After the show, we took the train to meet up with Mr. E's mom at her condo for dinner. I hadn't seen her since the early October weekend for his dad's photography show, so it was nice to have some quiet time with just the three of us to chat.

The next week, I attended a Monday evening talk about Sudan at the Evanston Public Library. A couple of days later, Mr. E and I walked through some light snow flurries to the Evanston History Center to hear a talk about the history of football in Evanston. Not typically a topic I would seek out, but the speaker was very engaging and it was pretty fun to hear about the evolution of the sport and the role that Evanston played. At the end of the week, we attended the opening night party of the annual Holiday Bazaar at the Woman's Club of Evanston and then hopped over to the First United Methodist Church to hear their Festival Choir's concert of Handel's Messiah Part 1. I always think of Mom when I hear this music, because she loved the Messiah and sang it multiple times with various community groups.

That weekend, Mr. E spent Saturday with M doing errands and watching the Badgers while I worked on my NYU final projects. Then we wrapped up our month of cultural events with a matinee performance on Sunday afternoon of Antigone at Northwestern University. I was familiar with the play from my undergraduate theater studies, but I don't think I'd ever seen a performance of it. Both Mr. E and I really enjoyed the show and the interesting treatment of integrating various aspects of Korean culture into the production design and presentation.

The next week led us into Thanksgiving. Mr. E's aunt and uncle from the Bay Area and cousin with two kids from SoCal flew out for the family gathering. His mom, aunt, and uncle came up to Evanston on Wednesday evening to see our apartment and meet the kitties, and then we went out to dinner at Trattoria D.O.C.. Mr. E had rented a car for a few days so was able to drive his family back to his mom's apartment in downtown Chicago. On Thanksgiving day, we went to a matinee of Moana 2 at our local AMC and then spent time packing, planning, and organizing for our upcoming return to Sac. The family gathering for the holiday was at 7pm at Shaw's Crab House in downtown Chicago, so no one had to host or worry about making anything. Sometimes that's the best way to holiday! On Friday morning, we met up with M for brunch at Lucky Platter, one of Mr. E's favorite breakfast spots in Evanston (my first time). Then the rest of the day was full of laundry and packing.

Saturday, November 30: Final Coffee Kiosk Visit + Return to Sac!

When I headed out for my morning walk, the temperature was 15 degrees but felt like 1 degree due to the wind. Brr! I was so bundled up! But I didn't want to forego a final walk by the Lake before we headed back to Sac for the winter. Mr. E and I both braved the cold again to get our yummy Americanos at the Arrington Lagoon coffee kiosk (see previous post for link). Then we did our final cleaning and packing, bundled the kitties into their carriers, and headed to O'Hare to return the rental car and catch our late afternoon flight home to Sacramento.

I wasn't sure what it would be like to fly with both kitties, but they did great overall! They joined us in the United Club pre-flight, and their new carriers fit under the seats just fine, with Louis XIV at my feet and Marlene with Mr. E.

We had to plan carefully for this trip and change up our usual packing strategy, since each cat counts as a carry-on, meaning we could only have one other personal item for each of us instead of our usual roller board plus personal item. I needed some extra space anyway, to bring back a few pairs of shoes and some clothes, so we checked two bags. We couldn't sit in the Exit row with our in-cabin pets, and we also needed to make sure we got a window and middle seat since we've learned over the years that the aisle seat in some planes doesn't have as much under-seat storage capacity as the other seats. But we managed to figure out all of the logistics, including the removal and carrying of each cat through the TSA screening process! Very helpful and reassuring as we plan for future transitions between our two home bases.