Chicago Dispatch

It's winter; there's ice and snow on the ground; it's windy, the frigid air is damp and penetrating; it's New Year's Eve; it's New Year's Day; IT'S MARY AND FREDDIE'S WEDDING!!!

My grandniece, Mary, is a versatile professional dancer in Chicago with Invertigo Dance Theater and Chicago Dance Crash. She also teaches ballet and studies physics at DePaul University. Fred is a professional stage and film actor in Chicago. When he wanted his close buddy to meet his new girlfriend, Mary...Mary walked in and discovered her old high school buddy from Interlochen performing arts boarding school in Michigan. Tiny world. The mutual buddy became the very entertaining officiator at Mary and Fred's Fantastic Wedding.

I went to college in Chicago, so I had four years of winters right along the beach of Lake Michigan. I managed to appear at 8:00am history classes and 11:00pm astronomy labs somehow. Clearly, nine years on a beach in Brazil have reduced my winter wherewithal.

Our AirBnb was in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago's near north side. We clutched the wrought iron outside our door to traverse an ice patch, then maneuvered our way over snow banks between parked cars to reach the Ubers we used to go almost everywhere. Newton and I braved the streets for the two blocks to the drug store to buy provisions, but getting stuck at a red light on a windy corner was grim! 

Here is where I give you a quick reference regarding the wedding relatives, before this dispatch is too confusing:

Bill & Dorothy

My Sister Dorothy and husband Bill: Grandparents of the bride; live in Durango, Colorado. 
        (They were near the end of a 8,000-mile road trip in their tiny two-seater Porsche!)
   

Brad & Tracy

Their son, Brad and wife Tracy: Parents of the bride; live in Durango, Colorado
         











Their children:
         Emily: Sister of the bride, married to Chad; live in San Diego
         Mary: Bride; now married to Freddie; live in Chicago
         Nick: Brother of the bride, girlfriend Letticia; live in Colorado Springs
         Bradley: Brother of the bride, girlfriend Laken; live in Durango
Todd: Uncle of the bride, married with two teenage sons (they couldn't come); lives in Manhattan, NY 
April: Aunt of the bride, married to Marty; live in Woodland Hills, California   
         Ryan: age 11
         Addie: age 10

Emily & Mary

Jake, my parents' youngest grandchild, is just three months older than my parents' first great-grandchild, Emily. Soon followed Mary, then later Nick and Bradley. My nephew Brad and I raised our kids together! The first cousins-once-removed are great friends.

Bradley, Elise, Nick, Chad, Emily, Jake, Mary, Larissa

Larry & Donna

While Elise, Jake and Larissa hung out with the once-removed crowd at Mary and Freddie's in Logan Square, Newton and I caught up with my sisters and brothers-in-law: Dorothy and Bill, plus Donna and Larry from Frederick, Maryland. Larry was just a month away from joining Donna in retirement! We were only missing our oldest sister Janet from Denver. 

They were all sharing an AirBnb house with the sister of the groom, her husband and their two little boys, ages five and one. The boys were beyond tired after the family's arduous drive from St. Louis, which included a turn-around after two hours on the road because the bridesmaid dress had been left behind!

The scene was pretty funny, really. There was the usual raucous card game and chitchat around a long oval table, but we needed to whisper so the embattled couple could finally get their boys to sleep. You got that right: Dorothy, Donna and I were supposed to talk (and laugh) in whispers! Dorothy, Larry and I all have a little trouble hearing, so that made its own hilarity. AHHhhhhh, but we were together at last.

With Don Lucas

Our first morning - New Year's Eve day - Newton and I were picked up for brunch by Don and Maxanna Lucas of Cincinnati. Don was my boyfriend in eighth grade, whom I last saw in 1964 in Tulsa. I had never met Maxanna, though we all have been fast internet friends for a few years. She is friends since high school with my best friend, Lenna, at a different school from mine where Maxanna and Don were high school sweethearts. They ended up married after attending their 25th high school reunion, with seven children between them! Don is a semi-retired microbiologist, botanist, photographer, sou chef, professional grandpa, etc.. Maxanna is a retired nurse, pianist, chef, seamstress and professional grandma, etc.. The two of them travel frequently, visiting their numerous grandchildren, including the newest one in Chicago. I follow the blogs they write for travel and cooking, while they are devoted readers of my dispatches, as well. Bowls of hash, reminiscing, book-talk, comparing notes...what a brunch!

Maxanna & Don in their wonderful kitchen

On New Year's Eve, most everyone in town for the wedding met for a Mexican dinner.

Donna, Mary, Emily, me

Elise, Emily, Chad, friend, Jake & Larissa

Newton and I celebrated midnight with Dorothy and Bill, Donna and Larry, my niece, April and family, and my nephew Todd. A whole new version of poker ruled the night, with a most able dealer, Ryan. Champagne was popped, and we didn't have to whisper! Our kids celebrated with their cousins and friends.

I love weddings; I love my own family, my sisters, my brothers-in-law, my nephews, my nieces, my grandnieces and grandnephews. I was in paradise. Brad and Tracy's extraordinary family really knows how to create playful-yet-poignant weddings!

Chicago's stately Stan Mansion was the perfect venue for such an elegant couple as Fred and Mary. An opening aria sung by one of their many talented friends already had me in tears by way of it's sheer beauty. Then eleven bridesmaids, bridesmen, groomsmaids and groomsmen, plus the little ring bearer dressed as an astronaut made their way to the stage in front. The very comic officiator, that mutual buddy of Mary and Freddie's, quoted the Beatles in an appropriately serious oration: "Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra, la-la how the life goes on."

And speaking of the astronaut ring bearer: we all remember Todd as the reluctant ring bearer at Donna and Larry's wedding in 1968. He refused to put on the little formal suit and tie because he had understood that he would be the "Ring Bear," wearing a bear suit. He hid under the baby bed in the church nursery where the groomsmen were dressing. Here's the new part of the story I heard from Brad for the first time at Mary's wedding: After much coaxing by his father, Bill, Todd would still not come out. Desperate, Bill turned to Todd's older brother, five-year-old Brad and asked, "What do you think we should do?" Todd bore the rings in suit and tie.

Mary and Freddie had tables with activities set up along the periphery of the stately room. One could write a wedding haiku (Todd, children's author, partnered up with my grandniece Addie to win that one); one could guess the bride's weight; draw the groom; define a made-up word; write a piece of advice for now, one year from now and ten years from now. There was a table with wedding photos of many of the participants, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents - spectacular! A funny photo booth with props added even more laughs.

Here is Mary's handsome brother Bradley with the lovely Laken. He works at Brad's day job/recreational vehicle business:

Here is Mary's handsome brother Nick with the formidable Letticia. He is a wrestler training at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs; Leticia is a blind swimmer training there for the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Her incredible dog, Philly, accompanies her everywhere!



























Brad had us all in tears with his funny and moving toast. Here's a five-minute peek at how to honor your child on her/his wedding day:

I was still a bit weepy (some of us get especially emotional when together, remembering my parents - one of the founts, among others, from which sprang these amazing people). I went to the ladies room, only to bump into my grandniece Emily, who did not hold back on the waterworks at all. I don't know how long it has been since I really sobbed and sobbed, but clutching each other, we wept unabashedly with joy and grief. Thank you, Emily, for not letting me shut down our cathartic crying ritual prematurely.

Freddie's parents gave creative, theatrical toasts. His mother's Fellini-esque performance will live on as a best wedding memory. We see what's in his genes!

How stunning is this wedding couple?

Mary wore her grandmother Scanlon's 1950's wedding dress, in which her mother Tracy and her sister Emily were also wed. Mary evoked for me the elegance of early Avedon and "Madame X" by John Singer Sargent, which comparison was apparently already made by one of her photographers!

Avedon

Sargent

Mary

Tracy & Emily 

Dorothy, Donna and I

Brad, April & Todd

Here are Brad, April and Todd: a percussionist/composer, a horsewoman with her own near-Olympic status, and a children's author.

I can't resist a plug for Todd's latest two books: 

Ryan, April, Addie, Marty

Here is April's amazing family: Marty is a film and television set builder, and both Ryan and Addie are ice hockey players, piano players and musical theater actor/singers!

Jake,Elise,Emily,Larissa

There was plenty of great dancing going on, what with the professionals in attendance. A tap solo was featured, along with exuberant talent funking up the dance floor all evening. I wouldn't discount the enthusiasm of our own crew!

Elise & Newton

What a thrilling wedding.

Mary and Freddie requested no gifts, but I could not deny myself the fun of making them this 'Modpodge' tray, what with all these great photos of Mary and Freddie dancing and acting!

There was an elaborate brunch the following morning, hosted by Freddie's parents. It was somewhat subdued with party-spent participants, but it gave us the opportunity to enjoy book-talk with Nick, Letticia explaining how blind athletes play soccer in the Paralympics (the soccer ball has bells in it, and additional methods of controlling the ball are permitted), to further savor this whole beloved group and bid fond farewells.

Dorothy and Bill were finally heading to Durango after more than three months on the road! They added in Wichita and eliminated St. Louis to avoid a snowy mountain pass in the Rockies on their last leg home.

Our gang still had another night in Chicago before flying off our separate ways. I had envisioned a visit to the Chicago Art Institute or maybe the Robie House (Frank Lloyd Wright), but we were beat, Elise and Jake were sick, and the cold weather sealed the deal. At least Jake and Larissa had previously managed a subway trip to visit the Anish Kapoor public sculpture, Cloud Gate, affectionately called "The Bean"...the sightseeing sum total. 

We ordered in Italian food and, with a couple of bottles of CVS Pharmacy's best red wine offerings, had our one sit-down dinner together in our charming AirBnb. I cherished our last evening together.

Next day, I was off to Denver to visit my sister Janet; Newton was off to São Paulo to visit his family; Elise returned to Los Angeles; and Jake and Larissa returned to Las Vegas, soon heading to the Bahamas.


Love,
Sandy

Las Vegas '15 Dispatch

Jake drove us home from the airport in his Tesla, so my first impressions this trip to Las Vegas, after passing all those slot machines in the airport again, were revisiting those incredibly graceful lines!

I appreciated the beauty, silence and smoothness of the Tesla throughout our week's stay. Jake gave us a demonstration of the new "driverless" feature...what a weird sensation! We've all been reading the fascinating blog, waitbutwhy, with Elon Musk's story. Besides Tesla Motors, he played his significant part in creating PayPal, Solar City and SpaceX and potentially, the Hyperloop! 

Newton was always willing to run errands in Las Vegas so he could drive this amazing car. Here is a sunset he caught returning from one of his outings:

Larissa and Jake had the house all clean and decorated with a perfect Christmas tree awaiting lights and ornaments.

Here is Newton marching the lights around the tree for ideal distribution!

This glowing TV hearth even had crackling sounds...with subtitles!

After food shopping (including Trader Joes!!), we were ready to pull off our typical Christmas Eve buffet, complete with champagne, pesto/red pepper spread goat cheese, smoked salmon, cheeses we would never find in Natal, Larissa's delectable deviled eggs, plus Jake's addition this year: cups formed of parmesan filled with caramelized onions and feta cheese! You can see that a portion of our gang is vegetarian.

We like to dress-up for Christmas Eve

Christmas morning is our traditional gift-opening bonanza. We started off and ended with plenty of humor provided by our hosts!

We have had a sort of frat-boy tradition in the family where someone unwittingly gets "iced." That is, the person happens upon a strategically placed bottle of Smirnoff Ice and must then chug it on one knee (I am exempted because I would throw up if I had to drink that sweet stuff). We have added a funny addendum to the silliness since we all hate panettone - that Italian/South American holiday craze that is the equivalent of fruit cake in the USA...it tends to be re-gifted until rotting!

Well, Elise opened the first gift - from Jake and Larissa - which looked like a panettone, except inside was a Smirnoff Ice!

After quite an elaborate array of gifts had been opened, Newton opened his last gift - from Larissa and Jake - a high-tech earphone box...except the box held the actual panettone! THAT is called "getting 'toned."

Good going, you two! There were so many fantastic gifts received. Elise gave us countless gifts, including that FitBit watch with which Newton has been monitoring his daily steps, exercise, and sleep.

We had our traditional Christmas dinner: Trader Joe's stuffed turkey breast and cranberry sauce for Newton and me, and a double recipe of my Mother's macaroni and cheese recipe - my one culinary legacy - to insure non-combative breakfasts for the next couple of days.

Jake and Larissa offered three group presents: a mystery gift that we would only discover the next afternoon; dinner at the fanciest French restaurant in Las Vegas, for two days later; and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the VIP theater three days later.

One afternoon we all played one of Jake's five new board games he received for Christmas, as he and Larissa are game maniacs! Elise and the two of them seemed to jump right in more easily than Newton and I, who played "Dead of Winter," about zombies, in a flummoxed state:

Elise had found a rare old favorite game from a collector to give Jake: "Keys to the Kingdom." Too bad we sold our old one at a yard sale years ago. The three of them remastered that game in no time.

The day after Christmas we were to show up at 1:15 at this location on the Las Vegas Strip for the mystery ???????????. 






Soon, quite a strange young woman happened along with a theatrical hat, and our group of nine gathered around for this shot and some information:

Supposedly a huge casino heist had taken place the day before and it was up to us to follow clues and sleuth our way to revealing the culprits. Our first stop provided free drinks and the first clue. That led us to a professional mime in a bitter cold and windy spot who enacted wordless clues. The group had to pay the guy at the cigar store $5 to receive further cryptic instructions, then I recommended Jake as a whiz at deciphering anything. He led the nine of us up two flights of external stairs at the seedy Travelodge Motel. One of our group yelled at a maid cleaning a room en route to the top, where we wondered if we should knock on some numbered door??? It was then that we noticed the 'up' arrows in the clue were actually horizontal arrows on a billboard that led around the corner, so back down we clamored with a traumatized maid in our wake.

We landed in a restaurant for lunch and further clues from these shady characters:

Eventually, after up and down and about the strip and a quite hilarious comedian, we were sent to the Hard Rock Café for another free drink and to discover the Elvis Impersonator who would divulge, by way of a skit, the conclusion to our sleuthing.

The event is called "Alibi," and it apparently employs professional actors who probably outnumber the available theatrical jobs in Vegas. It was a fun afternoon!

                              Late afternoon on the Strip:














We then went to the atmospheric, multi-storied Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan:

Jake and Larissa's instructions on our fancy French dinner invitation said, "No lunch or drinking prior." So we dressed to the nines and arrived hungry and thirsty at Joël Robuchon's in the MGM Grand.

It is a quiet and elegant cocoon amidst the commotion of the casino. After champagne, we ordered the prohibitively expensive tasting menu: eight courses, all with multiple small dishes.

Get ready:

Caviar on king crab

Red cabbage gazpacho; carpaccio of foie gras with black truffles; Maine lobster in daikon

Frog leg fritter; parsley coulis; my favorite!

Flan of sea urchin; langoustine ravioli; lobster with pumpkin/black truffle coulis;

Grilled lobster w/baby spinach; pan-fried sea bass w/ stewed leeks; seared foie gras, sweet& sour grapes & 5 spices

Beef chop on grape vine shoots; bone marrow, chanterelle fricassee; vigneron sauce

Creamy hibiscus emulsion; violet cream, sorbet & blueberry compote; jasmine tea chantilly w/pineapple & lemon confit 

After chocolate (not pictured), coffee and this delicacy cart

Add in fine French red and white wines and...VOILÁ!

The women were presented with gift bags at the end...sweet irony: containing panettone. We got 'toned!!

The dinner seems like a blissful dream now - we were not overly stuffed, but dazed and happy! Thank you so much, Jake and Larissa, for this life-long memory. We're so glad you had a good poker year, Jake!

Of course we went home and finished the evening off in our jammies with cards and Trader Joe's quite good $4.50 Sangiovese!

We didn't have a lot of shopping time, but I was desperate to replace my winter coat as it was cold in Vegas and would be freezing at our next stop in Chicago. Alas, the few stores I managed to check had only one or two coats left in sizes 2xx and 3xx. Here I am on the strip in two sweaters, clutching my scarf to my neck:

Note Elise's new Star Wars sweater, bought expressly for this event! We all had a grand time watching "The Force Awakens" in our comfy seats. 

We returned to the same theater a couple of days later to see "The Big Short," such an excellent Oscar contender.

The marathon effort to get Newton his Christmas light jacket finally ended. We ordered the Tommy Bahama jacket online in size small since the wrong item had been delivered in LA. It arrived in time and fit! We just needed to find a Tommy Bahama store in Vegas to return that mistaken item. On the last night we tracked a store down, then checked several stores around it for my winter coat replacement. Bingo!...a cheap coat that isn't too heavy to schlep on planes, but decent for winter in Chicago, then Colorado, till I find the right one. Whew.

Since we were all taking off the next morning for my grand-niece's wedding in Chicago, we needed to burn the exceedingly dry Christmas tree in Jake and Larissa's fire pit on the patio. We had the cheater-fire-starter and two remaining rosés from my Christmas gift from Newton: four rosés from four regions of Italy.

And for lack of alternatives, the fire pit got 'toned with one large and three small panettones.

What a bunch of fun we had over Christmas! Thanks to all my Darlings.

Chicago, here we come -

Love,

Sandy

Hollywood Dispatch

I got to be Elise, Fluffer and Cashew's Hollywood roommate for some days in December before Newton arrived from his Asia trip. Then the three of us had a week together before we headed to our Christmas fest in Las Vegas.

It was fun to pretend I was part of the neighborhood with Elise, what with the walk past the loaded orange tree to the post office and the impressive YMCA, where we took a Pilates class together. I discovered my yoga has missed entire families of muscles!

We also walked to Elise's neighborhood sushi place, the organic coffee place, Javista, then branched out to a scrumptious Indian buffet (can't get Indian in Natal) and a charming Peruvian restaurant, Los Balcones, complete with delicious octopus and pisco sours. I cannot survive comfortably without hitting the first available Trader Joes when I arrive in the USA. I stocked up on celery (can't get celery in Natal) and that incredible yogurt/KALE dip ("when in Rome..."). I introduced Elise to my new craze from the summer in Europe: dry rosé, never more affordable than at TJ's. I was able, finally, to resist the Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, which I had mainlined the previous Christmas and had then spent much of the year trying to winnow, cup by cup, from my torso. 

Elise was swamped with free-lance video editing, but still found additional time slots for making the best egg salad in the world and for heading to Mission Cantina for "Taco Tuesday." The $1 tacos were fantastic and the margaritas were the best I've had (from scratch - no sickly-sweet mix!).

We had an entertaining evening with our old Nyack, NY friends, Aaron Camper and his wickedly astute Brit wife, Kat, and Nadja Hoyer-Booth - now an actress in LA! Kat captured the holiday spirit with mulled cider. 

Newton arrived from China and joined me on the living room pull-out sofa for a long sleep. Fluffer and Cashew were good sports about staying in Elise's room till we awoke, though Fluffer's "strike a pose" attitude kicked in after a few days of altering her routine for us! The cats are simply adorable, attitude, shyness and all.

Elise had arranged in advance for the three of us to dine at a Hollywood institution: Musso and Franks, where Marilyn Monroe and dozens of studio luminaries from the Hollywood heydays used to meet and negotiate over perfect martinis. It has a great ambiance, good food and excellent service from original cast waiters.







We started an evening out at another Hollywood landmark, the beautiful old Roosevelt Hotel. It was a sensory feast to have a holiday toast in such a grand setting, bedecked as it was with snowflake projections:

We couldn't let Newton miss "Taco Tuesday" at Mission Cantina! 

Good pizza with an entire plate of sautéed Brussels sprouts the waiter gave us from someone's miss-order; my perfect semi-annual burger; and a Hollywood Boulevard pub completed our food adventures - our favorite kind, obviously. 

I was determined to find Newton a light jacket for Christmas. He has needed one forever. I took myself to the famous, upscale Grove shopping center, where the holidays are elaborately noted. After four hours there, I had the perfect jacket being shipped to our door by another Tommy Bahama store location with the correct size. It turned out that the delivery was mistakenly a sweater, not a jacket, but there was no time left to run around and fix this. The story takes up later in Las Vegas.

Newton and I became quite familiar with a particular song from the young pop artist, Justin Bieber, during our stay. Elise was editing a "lip sync" video for Radio Disney, which obviously is an entity with visuals. It was a tremendous amount of work, even for our quick Elise, and Newton and I frequently found the song in our heads after hearing it on and off for hours! The video, featuring young up-and-coming Disney talent, turned out well:

We are so proud of Elise's formidable talents, which she can apply to work she enjoys, sans commute, home with her cats and sometimes in pajamas, if she wishes!

Elise also had numerous videos to complete for the DanceOn company. Newton and I even spent a morning at the local organic coffee café while a production woman came over from DanceOn to work with Elise. Elise had so much work that she had no chance to solve my repeated inquiries regarding my winter coat I had forgotten last trip. She was sure it was located in her large closet, but I was forbidden to check as I might have happened upon our gifts in there. She couldn't check till late on our last night when she was packing for Christmas in Las Vegas and New Year's in Chicago. That is when she remembered that she had placed my coat in Jake and Larissa's extra suitcase she was storing for them until the recent hand-over at Thanksgiving...to protect it from the cat hairs! Unfortunately, Larissa and Jake didn't know why that was in there and gave it to Goodwill in Las Vegas. I had just had twelve days out and about in LA to find a new coat, but didn't know I needed one. The story takes up later in Las Vegas.

The weather in Los Angeles could be rainy, sunny and mild or more chilly at night, but the holidays in December felt just fine there! Thank you, Elise, for finding the time to have some fun with us during your heavy work schedule ("you gotta eat!").

Next stop: Jake and Larissa's house in Las Vegas. 

Love,

Sandy

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