April Adventures in Evanston

After returning from our trip to Singapore, we settled back into our Evanston routine and discovered how amazing the coming of Spring can be here -- so many flowers (forsythia, tulips, hyacinth, lily of the valley, azaleas, etc. and bunnies! I started doing a daily bunny count, and our record so far is 16. We've also seen some adorable baby bunnies and some chipmunks, not to mention lots of robins and brilliantly colored cardinals. All of the Spring flowers make me think of Mom, so it's lovely to feel as though she's all around and experiencing this with us. (heart : smiley)

Saturday, April 5: Rally & Pickleball

We joined our friends M & L and a few thousand other folks at Fountain Square in downtown Evanston for a Hands Off rally against the current federal administration. It was heartening to see so many people who are similarly aghast at what's happening in the country and want to take a stand against this disruption to our government and our society. 

In the afternoon, we started our 8-week beginners pickleball workshop series at the Y. So fun! Until... I stopped suddenly as I was turning and wrenched my ongoing problem area in my left leg. Ugh! :-( The pain was truly excruciating, and I was very glad to have a chiropractor appointment already on calendar for Monday.  

Thursday, April 10-Tuesday, April 15: E to DFW, J Open Houses & Parsons Dance, J to Nashville

Mr. E headed to the Dallas area to visit friends G & G for the weekend while I stayed here with the kitties. I went to three condo open houses on Saturday morning before the afternoon pickleball class and wrapped up the day with a performance by Parsons Dance Company at the Auditorium Theatre. I went early for the pre-show talk, which was a panel with the founder, David Parsons, and two of the dancers. It was fascinating to hear about their creative process as well as the company's proactive efforts to be inclusive and break barriers in their work. The performance included one of the troupe's signature pieces, Caught, which was absolutely breathtaking. (check out this link for a video of one of the first times the piece was produced).

On Sunday morning, I enjoyed the slightly nicer weather to have coffee by the Lake while chatting with A. I also continue[d] to marvel at the amazing sunrise and sunset views of our new home.

Mr. E and I crossed paths at the apartment for about 45 minutes as he returned from DFW and I headed off to Nashville to present at the AACC Annual Conference. The session went well, and I had enough time to make a visit to the Frist Art Museum during my short trip (any museum time is always a value-add!). I came home to Mr. E and the kitties on Tuesday. Louis XIV was ready to help me unpack...

Thursday, April 17: Stolen School film screening at Evanston Public Library (I didn't stay for the entire panel discussion because one of the speakers was a bit too long-winded).

Saturday, April 19: Afternoon massage + pickleball

Sunday, April 20 (Easter): Lunch with Mr. E's mom. His sister and brother-in-law were supposed to join us as well, but unfortunately she was sick. We still had a lovely visit with his mom and brought home a bunch of smoked salmon for the freezer! 

Monday, April 21-Sunday, April 27: Work + Family Travel (see other blog post)

Monday, April 28: Unite Against Racism panel and community discussion at YWCA

Wednesday, April 30: Better Off Read book group at Evanston Public Library. This was my first time attending the group, and the selected book was Long Island by Colm Toibin. There were about a dozen folks who attended along with a very enthusiastic facilitator from the library staff who has been hosting book groups for 10 years. I'm definitely planning to continue participating in this group, especially since it will help me to meet people and make connections and read things I likely wouldn't otherwise choose.

 

April Travel: Work & Family

Monday, April 21-Sunday, April 27: Sac + Austin 

I had an in-person team retreat for work in Sac in late April, so I headed back on Monday to have some extra time to meet up with friends during the week before the work activities began. 

My colleague J and I had a great dinner (Thai Time delivery) and chat chez JEMS on Monday evening. Then I had breakfast with S on Tuesday morning (Fox & Goose) and dinner with L on Thursday evening (Drunken Noodle). I was supposed to get together with B for dinner on Wednesday, but unfortunately he caught something nasty from little R, so we had to cancel. That ended up being for the best because A had a hard day with some medical tests, so I was able to be available for her to talk that evening. And at the last minute, I was able to meet up with E at Cafe Xocotatl for a coffee walk and talk on Friday morning. Yay for catching up with friends!

We had a team dinner on Tuesday at Maydoon and then the group retreat was all day Wednesday into early afternoon Thursday. We wrapped up with our leadership team strategy session on Friday and finished just after lunch (takeout from Jack's Urban Eats). Unfortunately, my mid afternoon flight to Austin was delayed until the early evening. At least it wasn't a full flight, so I had an empty middle seat in my row. And the flight attendant comped my gin & tonic to make up for the 1.5 hour delay. Sweet! 

I took a [somewhat pricey] taxi to J's rental house so that I didn't have to wait for a Lyft, given that it was already after 10pm by the time I arrived. One of the advantages to this temporary location for the family is that it's much closer to the airport. J was still up when I got there, so we could chat a bit and she could show me around so I didn't get lost in the unfamiliar space. 

J went to 8am yoga on Saturday morning while B hung out with the boys and I did some homework. Then J, C, and I headed to his soccer game, and B took M to his swimming lesson before meeting up with us for the end of the second half. J and I got some great sister Starbucks time since we could drop C off for his practice and warm-up before the game, giving us a good half hour or so to chat and enjoy our [second] coffees.

After soccer, J took the boys to a local art fair, but B and I went back to the house so we could each get some work time. I spent about two hours working on part of my transcreation class final project and then joined the family out in the backyard after J and the boys got home for some hanging out and card games with C. He won both Casino and Monopoly Deal!!

Saturday evening we decided to have a family movie night. B picked up food for the group, and then we all snuggled on the couch to watch Clue. C had gotten the game for Xmas last year, which we had played a couple of times during Mr. E's and my holiday visit, and they had gone to see the musical earlier this year, but only B and I had seen the film version. It was a great choice for everyone, and even M seemed to enjoy it and stay engaged.

On Sunday morning, J went to 8am yoga again, and afterwards she and I repeated our sister Starbucks socializing. Once we got back to the house, we had time for 3-way casino with C (I won) and another round of Monopoly Deal (C repeated his win), and then the entire family -- including canines K and P -- loaded into the car to take me to the airport and then head over to their "real" house to do some work in preparation for the upcoming renovations.

A quick trip but really fun, and more sister time than usual, which was truly lovely!