Cubby on Painting

This week I painted my bedroom "aloof gray" by Sherwin Williams.

Modeled here by Cubby, who cried outside the closed door while I was painting until I let her in - then immediately rubbed her body all over the nearest wall of wet paint.

"Are you painting? Let's get some of my fur on that wall forever."

Gray paint, gray dog.

Cubs-Reds June 24

It's been so foggy and hazy in Chicago lately, and last night's Cubs-Reds game was no exception:

The Cubs must have had trouble seeing out there. They lost 6 to 1.

Casey watched with me:

She likes a plain dog.

I felt that I needed to add extra condiments to compensate, which resulted in an impressive mess. 

I got mustard everywhere, including my dress!

Cubs 1, Reds 6.

The One about Quitting

A guy went home from work one night and heard a voice.
The voice whispered to him, "Quit your job, sell your
house, take your money, and go to Vegas."

The man was disturbed about what he heard and ignored
the voice. The next day when he got home from work,
the same thing happened. The voice whispered to him,
"Quit your job, sell your house, take your money, and
go to Vegas."

Again the man ignored the voice, though he was very
troubled by the event. Every day, the man was
tormented by the same voice when he came home from
work: " Quit your job, sell your house, take your
money, and go to Vegas."

Each time the man heard the voice he became
increasingly upset. Finally, after two weeks, he
succumbed to the pressure. He quit his job, sold his
house, got together all his money, and headed to
Vegas. The moment the man got off the plane in Vegas,
the voice told him, "Go to Caesars Palace."
So he hopped into a cab and rushed over to Caesars Palace.
As soon as he set foot in the casino, the voice
echoed, "Go to the roulette table." The man did as he
was told.

When he arrived at the roulette table, the voice
firmly told him, "Put all your money on 17."
Nervously, the man cashed in his money for chips and
then put them all on 17. The dealer wished the man
good luck and spun the roulette wheel.

Around and around the ball caromed. The man anxiously
watched the ball as it slowly lost speed, until
finally it settled into number... 21.

The voice said, "Damn..."

An afternoon at the driving range

I am not a very good golfer, but I am trying to improve.

I spent an afternoon at the Lake Bluff Golf Club driving range, working on my swing and getting the feel back.

Geoff is good - he's nice about giving me tips (and buying me a beer afterwards).

I can get easily frustrated about golf, and sometimes it's very hard to keep a positive attitude. I am hoping to work up my courage and patience to actually go play a round soon - maybe for 9 holes at twilight, when the pace is a little slower. 

I'd love to find a group of ladies at my same skill level who want to get better together. 

A Father's Day Wine Challenge

My dad is very much a oenophile, so my sister and I devised a wine tasting challenge for father's day. A holiday is not considered a real holiday in our house without a little competition.

We blind-tasted five varietals, all red, all domestic: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petite syrah, zinfandel, and pinot noir.

We covered the labels with brown paper, numbered one through five. At stake was a small prize - some steak spice from the new spice shop in town.

(we removed the foil, too, after I took this picture.)

We let the wine breathe for half an hour and then everyone tasted and tried to guess... 

And guess who won... 

Big surprise. Showing off his prize. Note the t-shirt.

Happy Fathers Day to my dad!

Peonies are here!

Peonies are blooming all up and down the North Shore right now in shades of peach, blush, hot pink, and even dark fuchsia. 

I have a few in my own yard. Mine are white with the faintest kiss of hot pink inside:

I love watching these huge flowers bloom. I hope to cut a few for a bouquet inside the house this week.

The Summer of Shish: The Pacific

Continuing my obsession with shish kabobs, here's the newest in the summer of shish:

The Pacific

-Cubes of tuna steak (sushi grade)

-Red pepper

-Mango chunks

Brush lightly with soy sauce, season with salt and pepper, and sear on a very hot grill for just a moment. Mango has such a high sugar content that it will burn if you leave it on there too long, and the tuna should still be hot pink inside.

Sandlot on the Green in Lake Bluff

We drove through town on Thursday night and noticed this:

In a move that can only be categorized as totally awesome, Lake Bluff had blown up a giant projector screen on the village green. They were showing the movie Sandlot (American classic!) We parked the car, sat on the lawn, and watched the last 15 minutes. 

The best part was the audience reactions to Squints and Wendy Peffercorn getting married and having nine kids. The whole lawn of middle schoolers squealed "OHHHHHHHHH!"

"You're killing me, Smalls!" - The Sandlot

Cubby on the World Cup

Cubby Dog weighs in on the World Cup:

"Sounds tasty."

Cub somehow removed this ball from Geoff's closed soccer bag when we weren't looking. So far she has punctured it and eaten off three of the leather panels. Oh boy. 

A Picnic at the Beach

Sometimes the best dinners aren't fancy at all. We packed up a small loaf of bread, some cheese, some raspberries, and a little aged grape juice and carried it to the beach for a picnic dinner.

The lake was calm:

And the air was fairly still:

Can you spot the sailboat race in the distance?

I snapped a picture of Geoff and Cubby on our picnic blanket.

And when I looked at this picture later I realized they were holding hands. How romantic.

Think you could get a little more sand on your nose there, Cub?

Undoubtedly begging for cheese.

Confetti Couscous

This is a staple recipe for me because it's so easy and versatile.

It reduces what I waste each week because the "confetti" acts as a catchall for whatever lonely vegetables I have in my fridge. Carrots, zucchini, peppers, onions, or tomatoes will all work. 

Here is the basic recipe:

The One about Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini.

The bartender says, "Olive or twist?"

Cubs-Marlins June 7

The rain mercifully held off for the entire game.

The troops were honored.

Cubs 5, Marlins 2.

The One about a Hot Dog

I guess I have hot dogs on the brain this week.


What did the zen master say to the hot dog vendor?

"Make me one with everything."

Burger Night at Inovasi

I always see posts and stories about awards for "the best burger in town" or "best burger on the North Shore." But I think people are confused about what best means. Best does not mean biggest. Best does not mean the most expensive. Best does not mean "comes with really great fries." For my money, the best burger, the one I keep coming back to, the one I love, is at Inovasi in Lake Bluff.

They only make them on Tuesday. They only use the tastiest grass-fed beef. The menu changes almost every week, and every time I leave, and I mean every time, I say, "that was a really great burger."

My go-to burger (even when it's not on the menu) is the Hobo, where you place your trust squarely in the hands of the kitchen staff. They give you whatever they feel like. Sometimes it's pretty normal... cheese and browned onions. Sometimes it's not - once they gave me a burger with watermelon on it. And it actually worked. 

We went to Inovasi on Tuesday this week with friends:

 

(what an attractive pair!)

And of course we ordered the burgers.

And as usual, I loved it!

Anybody else have a favorite burger on the North Shore? Email it to me at northshoreamour@gmail.com.

 Cheers!

Cubs-Mets June 4

I had the pleasure of going to last night's Cubs game with my friend Kayte. Just a couple-a gals at the ballpark.

She took this awesome panorama of the field:

And we had hot dogs:

One of my favorite things about watching baseball with a friend is that you have the time to just sit and talk while you watch. Sometimes life is so frenetic - the slow rhythm of the game lends itself to conversation that you might be otherwise "too busy" to have.

Cubs 5, Mets 4.

Cubby on Hunting

Our back yard is overrun by chipmunks and other various small creatures. And spiders.

Here's Cubby's take on hunting (or even chasing) any of them:

"Cubby, look! Over there! A chipmunk! Get it!"

"No thanks."

Make Misteaks

It's true.