My street all decorated for the holidays:

A cool theater nearby:

Hanging downtown with friends:

Downtown! Beautiful, even when cloudy:

So far I love it here. I’ve been warned winters are rough, so I bought boots and a parka. I’ll post pics of the first snow.

Here I am near the center of the city, outside the entrance to the art museum (which rocked, by the way, and which Ferris Bueller totally visited). Gorgeous view, huh?

My friend calls this “The Bean.” It’s a giant bean-shaped mirror structure in the park next to the museum. Here we are taking a picture of ourselves taking a picture.

Speaking of movie sets, the semi flipped in this exact intersection in The Dark Knight!

Recognize the scenery?

Finally, my absolute favorite place in Chicago: Second City comedy club. The show was aMAzing. Sketch comedy at its best. I can’t wait to see some of the comedians debut someday on Saturday Night Live.

So, Chicago rocks.

I’m sure I’ve spoiled her, but who wouldn’t?!

All right, that’s the last Puppeh Spam post for a while, I swear.

Points for locating her eyes.

Poser.

Sleeping is her fave thing to do. Little lazy sheepdog. Not that you could tell whether her eyes are open.

New weird things about her:
1. She is afraid of wet ground. Won’t go outside during or just after rain! This will HAVE to change before winter…
2. Two baths a week and daily brushings barely keep her fur from matting. srsly.
3. Happiest dog ever. Evinced by her constant happy barking.

September is when they make hay bales:

Look how tall they are! I was fascinated by how they made them, transported them and stored them. Imagine the giant farm equipment.

Thirty dollars for a bale. Is that a good price?

This quickie mart has been there forEVER. It was there when I was a wee lass going to see my grandmother.

Here’s my grandmother’s old house (belongs to someone else now). It’s awesome… surrounded by acres and acres of beautiful land on all sides.

Here’s one of my relative’s produce stand. He’s sold his produce there for many years.

See, check out the sign! “McDowell Farms” I love it.

This is the building where my dad went to elementary school. Now it’s a home for migrant workers. (Which is clearly of note but a discussion for some other post, some other time…)

Another shot of the migrant home.

Another pretty church with a cemetery out back.

Land!

Farm equipment!

And finally, because they are so cute, a pic of the goat and pig owned by a guy my family knows there in town:

Here’s where my mom grew up, a town called Inman. It’s one street! (Plus lots of beautiful land all around.)

My grandparents on my mother’s side live there, and I got to spend time with them. Here’s me with Mom and my awesome grandmother, who sews and has taught me a lot and sent me home with enough buttons and elastic to last five lifetimes. Love you, Mamaw!

Here’s my grandmother with my grandfather and my uncle. Notice the picture… that’s our ancestor, who was born in 1871. I think he looks exactly like my uncle.

I also toured the town where my Dad grew up. See next post for deets!

R.I.P. sweet Sunspot. You were truly the cutest Cocker Spaniel mix who ever lived, and the best fetcher, too.

Here’s my new puppy, now 8.5 weeks old. Her name is Ginger. She’s a Polish Lowland Sheepdog (an AKC designated rare breed!) and completely silly. When she grows up, her fur will hang over her eyes. So absurd.

Here she is ready to play.

So far she is very weird:
1. She is afraid of the dark.
2. She likes chewing my arm.
3. She will sit still and watch as I do yoga–what dog does that?!
4. She thinks grass is high enough to hide her.

I’ll update as she does more strange things and as her fur gets longer and longer and longer.

I bought a Brother cs6000i, which has 60 stitches, including overlocking and button holes. Then I went to the fabric store and got started.

At first, I tried making something from a pattern, but I quickly decided patterns were too much trouble and wouldn’t fit right. Instead, I’ve been making my own patterns using muslin, pins and a well-marked dress form. It’s the ultimate creative challenge because it has to be wearable and stylish as well as well-constructed. Each garment is a cool puzzle to figure out.

Here are a few things I’ve made this month:

A denim jacket (because it still gets chilly at night in spring in Colorado).

A pink sundress.

A seersucker shirt.

I *love* this new hobby. It’s so much fun to dream up an outfit then bring it to life. I’ll post more pics as I go!

Twenty minutes later, this:

Fog is rare here! And kinda creepy.

Plus, working downtown is awesome. Having a view of these two churches almost makes it feel like I work in Europe. I wonder if there will be chimes?

and

Unfortunately, there’s a Quizno’s in the building. Gah! So tempting. I’m not sure my brought-from-home maple walnut oatmeal can compete with a yummy tomato and cheddar sub.

Movies
In other news, the husband and I went to see Wolfman. We both liked it. It’s well-done, and the acting is great, and it has the perfect foggy, creepy gothic feel. Del Toro is great. Recommended to fans of such.