A new life; same as the old life?

What a busy weekend, not a lot of huge note to report, but man I feel my age more, the older I get. I recently picked up this shirt online, and it reflects my feelings perfectly. If you can't fully see it, it says "Its weird being the same age as old people"  I have a buddy heading to Portugal mid July for a 5 year assignment (I could tell you what he does, but I would have to kill you lol).  We have been organizing send off events for him, to see him off in style. I took last Friday off to pay golf with him and the guys, but again, man I felt that round! Let's rewind for a minute, Thursday I played late night hockey, Friday was the golf, Saturday a BBQ with friends and colleagues and then Sunday a BBQ with some hockey friends....by the time Monday came around, I needed to go back to work for a rest! Anyways, back to Friday, the motley crew we were (pictured right) played at Cranes Landing in Lincolnshire. If you have not been recently, you should. They have done a to...

  It's me, I'm back!  Its been a while, but I was in a meeting at work today, and I was recounting some history and my origin story. It made me think about this blog and reinvigorating it. If you can believe it, my last post was in 2012! I think the concept of blogging has died out in favour of Facebook, The Gram, Twitter (I don't imbibe) etc. Maybe I will cross post these between Facebook and here and see what people think. This return may be short lived if no-one finds it interesting.  In the last 11 years, my life has mostly been consumed with kid stuff, coaching their soccer, their hockey, various school commitments, band concerts, three years of pandemic/lockdown, which would have been a good time to start writing again, and of course my own hockey (which I am terrible at, as most of you probably know)  I got a little bit of an old age shock last autumn, with my baby, Addison (Addie as she prefers) going to high school, HIGH SKOOL!. I already knew I was old, bu...

Last couple of weekends I have gone out to take some photographs. I have a laundry list of DIY tasks on my list that I am supposed to be doing, but work is so busy that I don't really seem to have the energy. The family are out of town in the UK for a few more weeks. Yesterday I went to shoot Fabyan Villa, it's Japanese garden and the restored windmill, out in Geneva, Kane County. Unfortunately the garden was closed for three different wedding shoots; so I will have to go back some other time and maybe take the kids. I was able to watch them put up the sails and start up the windmill which was very cool. The guy climbing the wooden substructure to grab the sail cloth and unfurl it, then watch on a windy day how they adjusted the sail to make sure that it wasn't turning too fast. From their website... Fabyan Forest Preserve was once part of the large country estate of George and Nelle Fabyan. They came to the Fox River Valley in the early 1900s and bought a farmhouse ...

Yes I have started another day by day photo 365 project; and I am already behind! The winter hasn't helped me so far, and the weather generally has been blah. Click on the links over to the right and you can see the album and the rejects as I go through the year. Please feel free to leave feedback.

Christmas is a coming and hi tech is the latest thing! Someone told me about this website and I thought it was too cool not to share, so if you think it's lame..bite me! I don't know how much of it is true, partially true or complete BS, but it is an interesting story. Apparently it all started in the 50s , when some store printed an error in their "Call Santa" hotline number, which took kids through to what was then CONAD, later NORAD. According to their website, they have been doing it ever since. Now I definitely don't believe all the stuff about using jets, satellites, etc, but there is no reason why some computer simulation isn't doing it. So I am going to call the number on Christmas Eve and see if anyone answers, right now it is just a machine.

...and apparently it is going to be one of the worst in forever. The weather has been decent this fall or autumn, depending on which country you are from. October has been another busy month, which ended up with waving the family off to the UK for an extended 5 week plus trip. As I write this, it is already 11 days and they have flown by! I have been busy working, and took a couple of weekend trips out to take pictures. Also, as is always the case when the family goes away, I have a boat load of DIY jobs to try to get done. I have already hung two new doors, ripped the trim off the upstairs hall, and put up a new light in the office. The rest of the list is way too long to go through, but it ranges from cutting a new doorway in Cooper's room to simple stuff like touching up cracks, paint dings, etc. I decided to check out the Naperville River Walk and it was excellent. We have talked about it many times, and drove through the city a couple of weeks ago to check it out when we wer...

I took my fourth trip to Montreal this past week. On the previous three trips, I had not had much opportunity to go out and shoot photographs. Two trips were with Steve and so we spent most of the time out eating and drinking, the third trip it rained pretty much the entire week, and I thought this was going to be the same this week. For the first two days it rained pretty solidly, although I managed to sneak a few hours one evening. I had been checking out many of the fountains on previous trips, and so I decided that would be good subject matter. Click on the picture above for shots from that evening. On the last night I decided to check out what is supposedly one of the best attractions in Montreal, the Bio Dome in the old Olympic stadium. I have to say that whilst I thought it was kinda fun, and the exhibits were good, I really didn't think it was all that! The one thing I did do when I was there that impressed the heck out of me. I went up to the botanic garden, planning to ...

and I am a blogger, it has been over a month since my last post! Seriously, where does the time go? September has been a super busy month, with the end of summer and everyone trying to squeeze in their events before the weather starts to turn. WARNING; monster post, lots of pix, grab a coffee/G&T! Every year, the rules are that everything opens up for summer on Memorial Day and closes on Labor Day (this year Sept 5th). With this in mind, I took a day off work in the middle of the week to do some stuff with the family, including a day trip to Six Flags Great America. Well I guess Labor Day came early in Gurnee, because the Wednesday that we went to Six Flags, August 31st, they were closed! WTF! Fortunately they were still open weekends and holidays, so we used our season passes to spend a couple of hours there on the Monday night of Labor Day. We even managed to get Addison onto one of the water rides, twice! Only a few pictures of the fun and games as it was a short evening. Wauke...

Growing up these VW campers were all the rage. If you had one you were definitely cool. They were better than caravans, more spacious than cars, almost like the original mini van. Well now you can buy a piece of this nostalgia in the shape of a four man tent.

Watching the new season of Top Gear on BBC America, and they just announced this really cool web site . It is designed to tell you how many of a particular make and model of vehicle are left on UK roads. I have no idea if there is a US equivelant, but how cool is that. So think of your favourite car you ever drove and look it up.

I cannot believe it is the end of August already and officially the end of summer here in the US next weekend. It has been a strange summer, lots of storms, oppressive heat and mosquitoes! As is always the case at this time of year everything is being squeezed into the last few weekends. Last weekend I went to the only golf outing truly worth it's salt. The Timothy O'Tooles 14th annual outing. It was our first time, but the pictures of previous outings convinced us. They promised an all in experience with all the food and liquor you could drink, free samples on every hole, etc. Well they came up a little short of every hole, but probably at least 14 or so out of the 18 had free liquor and some nice sights too. Click here for a few shots from the day. This weekend we have already seen Tony Bennett, last night, at Ravinia Festival. Always a good time, the picnic, the lawn, camping out on the station platform waiting for the train. This afternoon, we are off to an "ope...

We went to the botanic gardens again today, this time for their 7th annual kite festival. We watched the skilled flyers take their kites in very little wind and do amazing stunts. Unfortunately it was VERY hot and we were sitting in full sun, so we were not able to stay very long. It was like watching an air show though, these folks could fly their kites in perfect formations, just like the jets and bi planes due in the air and water show. Click here for some shots from the little time we stayed there. Click here for full event details if you want to see more about the event. We are hoping that this one is a little cooler in September!

I am sitting in the hotel bar in Montreal for the second time in three weeks, wondering if my friend and colleague Steve still believes business travel to be something he was missing out on. Don't get me wrong, you cannot beat a good steak or a nice glass of wine, especially when someone else is paying, but the "shine or glamour" of business travel wore off for me a long time ago. On the plane on the way up here, I was browsing the inflight magazine as I am wont to do on occasion, and there was a story of a guy (Tom Stuker) who had just reached 10m miles with United; a landmark they believe for any airline. Now obviously the perks of being a 10m miles guy are pretty cool, including things like getting your name on the side of 747, and I do love to fly, so the thought of flying the miles doesn't bother me as much as the though of all those destinations for work, for make no mistake, most of it was for work, and it has all been done since 1982!! Next time I think ...

Last weekend there was a classic car show in our local town, one day only. I was looking at it as not only an opportunity to indulge my passion for photography, but also for old cars, and I even saw a couple of MGs! A very rare MG PA Airline coupe was one of the stars of the show. The blurb on the event said.. Auto Historica XI, is the most elite exhibition of rare and unusual automobiles and other motorized vehicles in the Midwest. This invitation-only event is considered to be one of the finest automotive exhibitions in the United States, thus the nickname “Little Pebble Beach”. Auto Historica XI invites a select group of collectors to participate with vehicles that are specially chosen each year to create a themed exhibition. This year’s theme is Woodies, classic American wood-bodied station wagons from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, as well as unique European wooden skiff-bodied touring cars. Approximately 50 cars will be on display, including such rarities as a supercharged Duesenberg, an...

...and when they say heat wave here they REALLY mean it. We are running into our 4th day of temperatures in the 90s with a heat index in triple digits, and the forecast is for more of the same until the weekend. Today is the hottest of the week with a current Highland Park temp of 98F and a heat index of 107F, although the heat index in other areas is expected to reach 120F. Fortunately, the folks that lost power last week have all been restored. The final count was 868,000, a record number of households affected. There were crews from several different states here to help, and not just Wisconsin/Indiana, but from as far afield as Georgia and Florida! In all the comed repair bill was in excess of $80m. We have had a quiet week, mostly hiding from the oppresive heat, although we did hang out with our friends Amy & Kevin last weekend, where we played a new game call Kubb . First time I played I was pretty good, but it went down hill quick. I might have to build a set of my own to pra...

After an excellent weekend of family time (although Lorraine still says I spend too much time "playing" on my phone) we find ourselves in the grasp of another serious storms system, but I am getting ahead of myself. One of the things we enjoy about the summer here in the US is the predictability of the weather (snort). Whilst it is true that the weather is generally more predictable and lends itself to planning outdoor activity, this summer in particular has made a mockery of that. Firstly it was super late in getting started this year; with the rainiest April on record and May not being much better, whilst all the family were here; culminating in having to move Lorraine's birthday party indoors due to a last minute rainy day! June started to improve to more normal temperatures, before it got crazy hot for a couple of days right after the family left. The last few days here have been in the 90s, typical July weather, and then the big storm today. We have had a couple of p...

As a Brit, I probably should not be celebrating Independence Day this weekend. However as Scot, I can sympathise with the desire for Independence, and as a visitor to the country, I continue to try to adapt to fit local customs and pastimes. I will be posting later to fill you in on what we actually did over the 4th July, including some great pictures. Through the later half of the 18th century, the relations between the Brits and the Americans became increasingly strained, and the phrase "No Taxation Without Representation" was born. A network of groups called the Sons Of Liberty formed to resist the various taxes that the British were placing on the colonies, starting with the Stamp Act . Although through subsequent years the Quartering Act , the Declaratory Act and the Townshend Act all increased the sense of frustration at laws being passed by a remote legislature for the benefit of a remote country (sound familiar my Scottish friends?). Following the Boston Tea Party ...

I know I have been missing from this blog for a while, and largely because life really is just the "same as it ever was" to quote Talking Heads. I don't know that I even have any readers any more that care, or if the 30 or so people that drop by every week are finding me on some random google search. I have been continuing to work on my photography and maybe when I am done with the Photo 365 project, I will move back over to here and post the photography work over here. In the meantime here is a quick update of what I have been doing. Family : all well and getting ready for summer Phrase of the week (Addison) : "I totally can't do this!" Cooper's favourite word : Car! Cubs : suck Golf : mediocre, with some flashes of brilliance Kitchen : done, looks awesome Weather : getting hot Photography : having fun with it Work : busy as heck This weekend is 4th July weekend, and I reposted an item I did from way back in 2005. Addison's school have a group in o...

Just got back from the annual Jolly Boys Outing to Vegas. BTW anyone who wants to come any of these years is more than welcome. Obviously the details are sketchy because after all what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but here are a couple of the highlights. The most beautiful golf course we have ever played on; Wolf Creek Resort in Mesquite. 90 minutes from the city, but worth every minute of the drive out there. True desert golf, sand and rocks all around, advisories not to seek lost balls for fear of snakes! Johnny Bravo (Steve) and Rusty Bedsprings (Gordy) winning $200 a piece on the same penny slot machine one after the other. I shouldn't have stood up! The fabulous fountains of the Bellagio. I didn't know until recently that Steve Wynn actually built this property for Mirage until the sold out to MGM. If you have never seen these live, then you need to, they are incredible! Only in Vegas! A fully detailed Statue Of Liberty, made from Jelly Beans! Click here if you would...

Earlier this month I went on a business trip to Montreal. I have been to Toronto a number times, but this was my first trip to Montreal. I have to tell you that I was not impressed. It was the end of winter and so there was a lot of slush and melting snow revealing winter trash and dirt, but equally there was a lot of litter generally and tons of graffiti on the many churches in the area. Don't get me wrong we had some fun nights out, late night drinking and apparently the women there are rated as the 5th most beautiful in the world, so that was was interesting. I am sure that the timing wasn't the best, and in summer I am sure it is a much nice place to visit, but overall, it is not on my list of places that I will hurry back to. Here are some photographs from the trip.