Time's sure have changed

Arianna was able to enjoy her 150 month birthday at home today. 

The snow storm that dropped a foot or so of snow in and around our old digs -- KCMO -- was such a threat, that we received the call last night before a single flake had fallen. Of course, since the District 300 leadership decided their school buses wouldn't be able to brave the elements, St. Catherine of Siena had no choice but to close too.

Kinda nutty for a Catholic school to be aligned to the state-run school for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is transportation. 

Since Sharon had decided to do her grocery shopping yesterday, we were all home today. I worked remotely, Arianna goofed off, and Sharon and Bruno were into their typical give-and-take day. Sometime this afternoon, they steeled themselves, and ventured out into the world of our immobilizing 3-4" snowfall to visit the Dundee Library. Astonishingly they safely arrived at and returned from their destination without having any altercation with Ol' Man Winter.

Ping Pong

Bruno's spontaneous purchase of a Ping Pong table is ever popular during Winter, when we're cooped up inside the house.

Flat Stanley, Arianna, and I played a game or two this evening.

Flat Stanley readies to serve . . .

Returning the ball to me . . .

Tuckered out . . . Flat Stanley collapses . . .

A trophy shot . . .

More excitement than you can imagine

Yes, another evening with the Rudorfs. While Grandpa worked on another puzzle, which he received from us at Christmas, Arianna decided that Sharon needed a new hairstyle.

The last few pieces of a map of Chicago at the center of which is where Bruno lived as a lad: 2139 West Chicago Avenue.

From this . . .

Bruno's father, a harness maker, with their horse at or near their Chicago Avenue residence, circa mid-1920's.

To this . . .

Bottom floor gutted and converted to a hair salon.

Heaven forbid Arianna should decide that's where she wants to work . . .

Flat Stanley's New Friends

Flat Stanley might have come to town closer to Easter and enjoyed Spring Break with Arianna. His arrival is welcome, but our ability to entertain him is limited due to day-to-day schedules. Stanley hasn't been deterred. He seems to be enjoying his time just 'hanging out' and today spent time with a number of Arianna's small friends, who've taken up residence in her bedroom.

School dance

Another dance tonight . . . . This time at St. Joe's in Elgin. It's supposed to be a "formal" dance. Meaning, girls were asked to wear a dress, boys a tie. As a consequence, I found myself running an 11th hour errand to JCPenney. Although Sharon and Arianna had had a successful shopping trip to Woodfield a week or so ago, upon reflection, Arianna believed the skirt too short. We went online and arranged for a larger size dress to be delivered to the neighborhood JCPenney. But, as is often the case, delivery dates are flexible. So, off I went on my lunch hour to pick up my daughter's dress for tonight's dance. 

We'd hoped more of the girls would have come to the house before the dance, but everybody seemed to have settled on plans prior to Arianna's having invited them.

Peyton J and Arianna before I drove them to the dance . . .

  

Ash Wednesday

And so begins Lent.

This morning, considerably more people joined the early morning crowd at Our Lady of the Wayside. It had been a couple years since I received ashes prior to work, so I didn't remember that a good number of people get up and out to get ashes.

At the office a few Indians (Hindi? Muslim?) took notice of my appearance. Lunch with a lapsed Catholic resulted in conversation. But, by and large, nobody said a word to me. Surprisingly -- or maybe not -- I only encountered one other person who had received ashes prior to coming to work. And this was a fellow from the sub-continent. 

CCD this evening was Mass and the reception of ashes. Insofar as attendance is concerned, it went better than previous years. By this I mean, the kids were (relatively) quiet and respectful during the Mass. 

Of course, Arianna received ashes this morning with her classmates.

Easter is early this year. --March 31. I look forward to the season the penance.

Book report

Arianna's school projects just keep on coming! No sooner is she caught up with one than another instructor gives her more work to do. Next on her TO DO list? A saint report. In casual conversation about her subject I mentioned a number of saints about whom she might write. For whatever reason -- perhaps because she is a 20th century saint -- Arianna decided upon Edith Stein, Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross.

With Flat Stanley in tow, we spent time at the library today. An apropos activity in my estimation, given that it was grey and rainy throughout much of the afternoon. A day, one might even go so far as to say, better for ducks than people -- which were in abundance near Jelkey Creek.

Arianna is compelled to research two texts -- that is, books.

We were fortunate to find the local library had one book available, and equally fortuitous was our discovery of a biography at the Gail Bordan Library in Elgin.

After we found Arianna's book, we roamed a bit for me. Arianna and Flat Stanley seemed to enjoy a moment or two of hide and seek, while I perused the shelves for a gardening title.

After we finished at at the Dundee Library, it was off to Elgin. While passing through East Dundee, I noted to Arianna that the Dairy Queen had opened recently.

Yes, the sign may read OPEN, but the snow on the ground is hardly inviting.

At the Elgin Library I had to register my library card before we could borrow any materials. This didn't take long, but I was surprised at how many more people were at the Elgin Library than at the Dundee Library. All in all, our excursion didn't take too long. And, as luck would have it, whenever we were outside the car -- walking to and from the library -- the rain let up.

Life's certainties

What's so interesting?

Sharon and Arianna were scouring the Web for a dress Arianna might be able to wear to a "formal" dance next Friday at St. Joe's in Elgin.

As is often the case, finds pose challenges. Size. Price. Availability on short notice. So into the so-called brick and mortar world they went: Woodfield Mall. 

Hours passed before Sharon, Arianna, and Grandpa arrived back home -- package in hand. 

And in the meantime . . . I faced the unpleasant task of doing my income taxes. Although I hadn't planned on completing them in one sitting, given that I was all but alone for most of the afternoon -- save of course for Flat Stanley and Pepper -- I figured I'd press on until they returned home.

A stomach churning task, income taxes are. But, in the end, at least my bill is $300 less than last year. 

WFH

Mystery why I felt as lousy as I did yesterday. Sharon and I thought I might be coming down with flu. Perhaps not, but the aches and pains kept me from sleeping well.

Thankfully, I was able to work form home today. And, my day's schedule was light.

Snow continued to fall throughout the night. On the way home from driving Arianna to school, I heard that in eastern Lake county communities received as much as 9" of snow. Kane county was not hit as hard.

The view from the front yard, looking east to Lake Sharon, aka "the pond". . . .

The fen east of Lake Sharon . . .

The tangle of rushes and shrubs in the fen . . .

Canada Geese scrounging for bird seed that falls from the feeders. Side yard, west side of house outside my bedroom window . . . .

After Sharon and Bruno returned from grocery shopping they unwound by working on the puzzle. What a treat for Flat Stanley, who, I'm certain is bored out of his pancake mind, to witness the completion of the 2000 piece Sistine Chapel.

And speaking of Flat Stanley, what a mensch! I had some additional snow to clear from the driveway and he came outside to keep me company.

Long commute

What is typically an hour and a quarter commute turned into a four hour trek. The snow began to fall around 2 o'clock. My manager, who lives closer to DeKalb than Northbrook, walked the floor and assured his team that it was fine for us to leave early. At 2:50 pm Sharon telephoned, at which time I told her I intended to leave early -- probably no later than 3 o'clock -- due in part because of the snowfall, but also because I thought I might be coming down with something. 

As is always the case, it takes more time for me to 'wrap up' than I anticipate and I didn't leave the building until 3:20 pm. Walking to my car, I could see it would be a wait getting out of the parking lot, but I'd never have imagined it would take as much as an hour.

When I finally was able to get on the road I had no choice but to turn north, instead of south. Traffic was backed up so much that north was the only direction for me to go. So, traveling north . . . another hour or so. In other words, two hours had passed and I still wasn't heading west!

Dundee Rd was excruciatingly slow. As luck would have it, and rather apropos I had a copy of Peter Schreier's performance of Schubert's Die Winter Reise in the car with me. That melancholy song cycle served me well as I white knuckled my way from Northbrook to Wheeling, Arlington Hts. to Palatine, and burgs farther west.

Having arrived in my neighborhood, my thoughts turned to 'the driveway'. The incline of our driveway is not the steepest one might encounter, but when covered with a wet snow, it can be difficult getting up it and into the garage. I do have a method. An approach that typically allows me to get sufficient momentum. But, it was not needed. Sharon had spent two hours clearing the driveway for me!

I am grateful to her for that. Had she not, given how poorly I felt, it would have taken a lot of effort to shovel the driveway were I not able to get to the garage.

After a hot bowl of chicken soup, I went to bed. I didn't even see Bruno or Flat Stanley.

Earlier this week the Chicago Tribune published a story having to do with commuting and Chicagoland being the 7th worst drive in the United States.

I guess it could have been worse.
  

New acquaintences

Flat Stanley accompanied me to CCD this evening. 

With Arianna back to school -- but still recovering from her cold -- she had a lot of catching up to do. So, I gave Stanley the option of hanging out at home or tagging along to class with me.

Since I had scheduled our mid-year review for tonight, it may not have been the best night to be a guest in class. While the kids took their test, Stanley quietly observed and did a little coloring. After the kids turned in their tests, with the remaining time, I put in a Davey and Goliath video and passed out treats.

Although not Roman Catholic, the Davey and Goliath videos invariably capture the attention of the kids I teach. They are positive, Christian, and a touchstone with my childhood. Like all of the kids I teach, Stanley had never heard of Davey and Goliath, but on the drive home after class he said he liked the video and hoped to see more someday.

Stanley with the my CCD class . . .

   
Perhaps this evening was not as exciting as Disneyland, but it was still memorable.

House Guest

Today the family received Flat Stanley as a house guest. He traveled from Redlands, California - not too far from where my Goddaughter Lorelei lives. In fact, Stanley explained, Lorelei recommended that he could spend time with us. He's more than welcome, of course. However, I am concerned for Stanley's health. None of us want him to catch Arianna's cold, which she's slowly getting over but could still pose a problem for Stanley.

Stanley thanked us for our concern, as well as our hospitality, and assured us that he was fit as a fiddle and was not in the least bit concerned about catching cold.

Due to his late arrival today and the dramatic change in the weather, Stanley let us know that he preferred to relax this evening and contented himself with helping Sharon and Bruno with the Sistine Chapel.

I don't know what Stanley has in mind for his stop in Illinois, but I hope we can show him a good time.

Home

Woke to an over night snowfall. A bit more accumulation fell than on Saturday. But it was still a dry powder. So, no difficulty clearing the driveway.

Although I hadn't planned to work from home today, since Arianna wasn't going to school, but Sharon had to teach, I did.

Arianna and Grandpa watched a little television before lunch, but I don't think Arianna enjoys being home when she's as congested as she is today. Eventually, she returned to her bedroom and tried to sleep.

Arianna was glad when Sharon got home from teaching.

Gone Fishing

As the day progressed yesterday, it became obvious that Arianna had caught a nasty cold. Sharon emailed Peyton J.'s Mom and advised her to give her daughter plenty of vitamin C.

For most of the day Arianna moped around the house. 

After supper, she happened on an old game and invited Bruno to participate in a fishing derby.

Groundhog Day

Woke this morning to the sound of an engine, a snow blower engine across the street. Mr. R.'s son had arrived early to clear the snow that had fallen over night. A nice snow fall: dry powder. 

Only 2" or so fell so I was able to clear the driveway in short order, but not quick enough to get off to church by 7:30 and pray the Rosary, as is my habit on Saturday.

Upon arrival home, Sharon already had breakfast on the table for Arianna and Peyton J., who spent the night. The girls were especially quiet this morning. Could it have had anything to do with their staying up until 1 am?

After breakfast I ferried Peyton home and then got down to business . . .

Desert! The last of the frozen pumpkin having been consumed in a pie, a cake would be a nice change of pace. And, since Sharon was away from the house . . . and Arianna caught up on sleep, what better way to spend the morning.

Into the oven . . .

And out . . .

Frosted with chopped walnuts. But this wasn't just a chocolate cake. Oh no I added a secret ingredient.

Later that evening, before cutting into the cake, Arianna and Sharon added a finishing touch.

Now it's officially a Groundhog Day cake!

Oh, the secret ingredient . . . a banana, which neither Sharon nor Arianna tasted until half finished with their piece of cake.