Category: Neighborhood

Parks & Memorial Day Weekend

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Saturday (05/23) morning we headed to Northside Park in Wheaton. We arrived early enough (7 am) that there were hardly any people there at all (it can get really crowded on nice days). I brought an actual camera (my Canon P&S) but I have to say, I think my iPhone 11 took better photos.

We spent about an hour walking around the park and made two full loops around. I would have liked to stay a little longer but one section of the loop had a crazy Red-winged Blackbird who kept trying to attack me. When I first spotted the bird, it was just hanging out on some tall grass a few feet away from the trail, but once it spotted us it started hovering above us, much like seagulls do when they’re looking to be fed. In fact, that’s what Joe assumed the bird was doing until it stated squawking and dive-bombing us. It only did it once to Joe but came at me multiple times. I could literally feel its wings on the top of my head which made me scream. I can only assume it was trying to protect a nearby nest.

We didn’t see it at first on our second loop around, and even though we made a point to veer to the far side of the trail away from where it was hanging out, it still tried to attack me. Not Joe, just me! I took that as a sign we should leave. Other than that, however, it was a really nice visit. The air was still cool out, there were plenty of beautiful birds, including barn swallows, out and about, and it was refreshing to get out of the house for something other than grocery pickup.

Saturday evening I was chatting online with my friend K and was showing her how pathetic my town’s parks page is. It doesn’t even render properly on a mobile device, and the only information it provides is the name of the park, address, and a link for directions which goes to Bing. Bing! Are you kidding me?

In contrast, Carol Stream’s parks page lists each park name, and when you click on it you get the address, a map, the park’s history, and a list of amenities. It irks me we pay so much in taxes and our town can’t put together a decent website. I said Carol Stream’s page looks like something Leslie Knope created and my town’s was done by Larry Gingrich. And if you don’t get that reference, you’re dead to me.

I commented on one of my town’s Facebook posts asking if there was somewhere I can go to see more information about their parks and no one bothered to answer. I mean, why would they? It’s no wonder there’s very little engagement from the public on anything they post to social media.

Also, also, a few weeks ago they posted a list of local restaurants in town they encouraged people to visit to help stimulate the local economy. This list was in NO type of order, alphabetical or otherwise, only listed an address but no phone numbers, and couldn’t be searched because it was a jpeg. For the love of god, someone hire me so I can save them from themselves. There’s no doubt there’s some overpaid lazy person responsible for doing the bare minimum. I only say this because I have to deal with the least friendly, slowest worker, every year when I go into the village hall to buy my parking stickers and pet registration. I dread it every time and was pretty excited to learn I could renew them online this year without a few. Too bad they didn’t send me the pet registration notice! On the plus side I was able to correct the errors in their database that I’ve only pointed out in past years for them to ignore. My last name was wrong and they had my car listed as a Cross Truck (its a Crosstrek). SMH

Sunday (05/24) we headed out early (7 am) once again, but this time to Armstrong Park in Carol Stream. This park isn’t quite as picturesque as Northside Park, but it does have a few ponds where different birds congregate, including a special island where a colony of purple martins live. The park was relatively empty so we could walk around the loop (only once, as it’s quite large) without worrying about getting too close to other people.

Monday (05/25) we woke up to rain so there weren’t any outings in store for us. Later in the day we grilled some ribs we grabbed at Costco the week prior and were thoroughly disappointed.

We’ve had and loved them in the past, and from my quick research they are exactly the same ones they’ve always sold, so I can’t understand why they sucked so much. They weren’t nearly as flavorful, or as tender, as they were before. Needless to say we won’t be getting them again. What sucks is they were only sold in 2-slab packs so there’s more in the freezer that I have no desire to make now. Maybe they’d come out better in the crockpot? I honestly don’t know.

Good Deeds

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After spending way too much time feeling like I wanted to die, just feeling a little better has made me so grateful and wanting to give back. These are the things I’ve done recently to try and be a good citizen. And yes, it does feel good, which makes the good deed not completely altruistic, but who cares?

Awhile ago I signed up with Be My Eyes which is an app blind people use to request help. Volunteers are sent a message when someone needs assistance and the first one to respond is connected to the blind person’s phone so they can be their eyes. I finally got a chance to help out a few weeks ago when I answered a call from a woman wanting to check whether her rice cooker was on.

While walking Wookie one day I spotted a pair of purple glasses in the grass near a bank of mailboxes in our neighborhood. They blended in quite well, and if not for keeping an eye on the ground like I do now, I wouldn’t have even noticed them. I didn’t touch them, assuming the person who dropped them would come back to that location looking for them. However, the next day they were still there, so I put them on top of the mailboxes and posted a message on Nextdoor in the hopes it would be seen by the right person. Luckily it was, because I received a reply not too long after thanking me. Apparently the glasses belonged to a neighbor’s daughter and were lost on a walk a week prior. Since they don’t live on the block where they were found they had no idea where to even look. I know from personal experience how expensive glasses are, so I’m glad they were able to get them back (luckily no one stepped on them). I wonder if the girl had to go without seeing clearly that entire week or if they bought a new pair. I guess at the very least they have a backup pair now.

We made a monetary donation to Feeding America after the Parks & Recreation special aired (which was really good all things considering).

We dropped off a full bag of unopened dog food at a local rescue’s donation area. Long story short, it was expiring in July which is before Wookie would be able to eat it all, but instead of shipping it back to Chewy they said to keep it. We bought a new bag with a better expiration date for Wookie so we donated the other bag.

I shipped a care package to my friend K weeks ago which included a toy for her dog and Idiocracy on DVD. (Side note: doesn’t it seem like it’s a prediction of our future?) Yesterday, Joe and I took a drive and dropped off a box of stuff for her by her door. Inside I had gift-wrapped our old copy of The Wedding Singer on DVD (since we now have it on Bluray) and some copied movies (shhh don’t tell on me) she had been talking about wanting to watch. I also gave her a container of Clorox wipes since she was running out, some homemade dog treats, some homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I made on Saturday, and some dog toys Wookie no longer plays with. (Not everything is pictured below since I thought of the dog treats and toys right before packing up the box).

She was over the moon happy with the surprise and said it made her day, and that in turn made MY day. I know it shouldn’t matter, but I really love it when someone shows appreciation for something thoughtful I’ve done. Plus, it definitely makes it more likely I will do it again. My family (Joe excluded) doesn’t seem to get this and doesn’t really show enthusiasm for stuff so I feel let down. I love that my friend was so excited. If someone did that for me I know *I* would be thrilled too.

Weekend Recap

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Couldn’t sleep past 5 am today so the day has seemed endless, but in a good way since the weather was so nice. I made breakfast tacos, and then baked a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. We took Wookie with us on drive around the neighborhood and accidentally made her excited driving through the parking lot of Northside Park. Apparently she recognized it and thought we were going for a walk but there were too many people out so we left. We grabbed Culvers (our second take home meal since this whole lockdown started; the first being Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza last night). After lunch we took Wookie for a walk and then I cleaned the windows while Joe put out the Malibu lights.

Driveway Saga Resolution

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I don’t think I ever wrote an update about the driveway. Apparently the inspector kept failing the apron preparation which was preventing the concrete company from completing the job. I went back and forth in email and on the phone with them, the village, and our property manager since no one was keeping residents in the loop regarding the delay. It was incredibly frustrating because everyone was blaming everyone else; meanwhile nothing was getting done and residents were stuck in the middle without a driveway or the ability to use their garage.

The work was finally approved, supposedly by a different inspector, and the concrete was poured on July 18th. The work began on June 11th so that’s 38 days later and 40 days before we could use our driveways because they kept the driveway blocked from being driven on for a few days after the fact to allow it to cure (and we actually waited a couple of days longer to ensure it was fully dried). That’s 6 weeks we all had to park on the street for something that should have taken no longer than 3 weeks according to their schedule.

What really gets me is had they ripped up the apron at the same time as the driveways it would have all been complete within a week! I still don’t understand why they chose to rip them up at different times particularly because they didn’t do that on any of the subsequent work they’ve done in the subdivision. I guess we were just “lucky”. Ugh, I’m just glad that’s behind us now.

Shoes & A Visit From E

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Saturday (6/23) we decided to walk around Geneva since it was their annual Swedish Days festival. It was a beautiful day outside and it was fun looking at all the stuff for sale. We picked up these cute little garden animals for $1.39 and put them by our tree in the front.

We also got Wookie a new toy for only $1.50.

As we were walking out of a shop we ran into my good friend, C, with her husband and two of her daughter’s friends. It’s funny how we tend to run into her at fairs, festivals, or just out shopping, more than anyone else we know.

Before leaving we tried a new place called Atlas Chicken Shack and shared an order of fries and a chicken sandwich smothered with ranch dressing. We really liked the dill in the ranch dressing; it gave it a unique flavor.

On our way home we stopped at Old Time Pottery and found a plant stand for outside the front door like Joe had been wanting. It’s already come in handy for setting things down when opening the door (since we STILL can’t use our driveway … more on that in a bit) so I’m not sure I’d even want to put a plant there. Plus, we’re not so good at keeping plants alive. We planted some wildflowers in the planters this year and they just started flowering, but that’s only because they don’t require any care and the rain has been keeping them hydrated.

Joe also spotted that they had a metal baking pan with a plastic lid which I have been searching for to replace ours since the non-stick coating on the inside was coming off. It was on sale too so it was only $7.

Sunday (6/24) we ran to Kohls so I could return a pair of grey Addidas running shoes I had purchased a few weeks back. I’m bummed because I really liked the style but once I started walking around in them (in the house, to keep them clean until I was sure I’d be keeping them), I found they were uncomfortable. I replaced them with a grey pair of New Balance shoes that cost slightly less ($56 after 20% off coupon) so I’m keeping my fingers crossed they will fit better. I wanted a sneaker that wasn’t white yet light in color to go with certain outfits that don’t quite look right with my black shoes.

We also stopped by Costco and I ended up getting a black pair of Reeboks since they were only $20. I’m not positive I’m going to like them but I figured they were worth trying for the price (and their generous return policy).

Joe’s son decided to pay us a visit Sunday afternoon which was nice. He’s been so busy with school and two jobs that we rarely see him. We went out to lunch and then to the mall since he likes the FYE there. He ended up getting 6 Funko POP! vinyl characters (he collects certain ones) and a CD. I’m so glad he’s making his own money now, LOL! But seriously, he was very sweet offering to buy us the Stefon POP character that we got all excited spotting.

I took a picture of it for my Instagram but I don’t want to actually own it. If anything, I want to have less useless possessions, not more.

Back at the house we played The Logo Game and watched some YouTube videos before E took off around 8 pm.

Today I went to Savers to look for clothes because I’ve recently donated all the stuff I don’t wear and replaced it with stuff I love, like leggings and cozy shirts. I scored three items, one of which I think I might be able to wear with leggings to work since it’s long enough to cover my butt. I wish it was easier to find tunics because I don’t feel comfortable wearing shorter shirts with tight-fitting pants.

Despite being told on Saturday by someone who works for the company who is replacing our driveways and patios that they would be filling the driveway aprons with concrete today, they didn’t do it. All they filled was the remaining patios and rip up some driveways on the remaining building. We are both extremely aggravated by this since the last time they did ANY work on our building was a week and a half ago. They have been trying to do too many drives/patios at once and were nowhere to be found for a few days last week. There’s just no reason this should’t be done by now. I called to complain last Thursday but they don’t care.

Meanwhile all these people are unable to use their driveways/garages for WEEKS and it’s getting old. And because they ripped up even more while the two buildings they were in process of working on are still not done there are even less available parking spots on the street. It’s supposed to storm tomorrow so chances are nothing will be done then either. So best case scenario at this point is they will fill the aprons on Wednesday and since you have to wait four full days before driving on them we won’t be able to use our driveway until Monday which is past the last day they claimed this would all be done (June 29th). That last building won’t have to wait as long since once they are done with our two building they only have one left to work on, although at this rate I feel like they purposely drag things out that should have taken a week or less. I’m just beyond annoyed at this point.