Ever since my space-walk at TinselTown in Houston, I have been handi-capped -no pun. Still, I am on a mission to get my house clean by this upcoming weekend. The mission is a greater challenge due to multiple layers of fine mortar dust that cover all surfaces with a cloudy mist. The clouds of dust came from extensive facade work and seeped through every opportunistic crack or crevice. Now, I really understand my mother's term "dust-collector." The many that I have have been busy collecting.
Some of my friends are helping me celebrate my birthday this upcoming Saturday. There will be six/seven of us - all women. It should be fun. Great restaurant, great food, great conversation and lots of laughter. That's why the house really needs cleaning. Two of the guests are from Michigan and will be my guests for much of the time. We didn't celebrate last weekend because - yep, you guessed it - the house needed cleaning.
I defrosted my teeny, tiny freezer section yesterday of ice at least two inches thick. I had not much room for my frozen items with the icey invasion. And I wondered - just where does all of that ice come from? I'm still wondering.
On Monday, two of us attended an annual research symposium here on campus. The surprise guest speaker was Bill Rancik, the Apprentice. Of course, his presentation had nothing to do with research but was peppered with anecdotes and behind-the-scene musings about the Trump competition. He shared that Amarosa is worse than portrayed. Bill is very well packaged, has clearly had professional teeth whitening and is much better-looking in person than on television....a real charmer.
That was the highlight of my week. Things are busy but not exciting.
On Saturday, Theresa Jacobi and I attended the ceremonial commissioning of the refurbished German submarine, the U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry. Bill Curtis was the Master of Ceremonies, the Navy Band played and the Chicago Children's Choir sang, Mayor Daly spoke as did a survivor of the boarding party that captured the submarine exactly 61 years ago. I had participated in the 28 million dollar effort to completely renovate the sub and to move it into a permanent, indoor pavilion. Fifty-one years of exposure to Chicago's freezing, blustery winters and hot, humid summers had taken their toll on the national war memorial. I was a member of the Presenters' Bureau; we presented a canned, slide show to various civic groups and then answered questions in order to inspire pledges of support. The ceremony was impressive and the sub's new digs are even more impressive. I found my name on the wall of contributors. I guess I'd better remit the remainder of my pledged amount.