A Handful of Coffee Beans

Kathy and I have this recurring disagreement that, each time we get into it, ends in one of two way: tears, or uncontrollable laughter.  It’s much more enjoyable when we end in laughter, but sometimes one of us (usually me.  Ok, always me.) crosses over some subtle line and the other person (Kathy.  Always.) bursts into frustrated tears.

We live on the fourth floor of a building that is about two blocks east of Lake Michigan.  There is a balcony off of the master bedroom that faces the Lake.

Some may say the bedroom has a lake view.

I do not say that.  I say we have a lake “peek.” I say you can “kinda sorta” see the lake.

In the winter.
When there are no leaves on the trees.
If you look really hard.

We both absolutely love where we live even though when we moved in the place was a DUMP.  It took months of complaining to the landlord, incessant cleaning, and hours of scouring stores and the Internet for inexpensive furniture/decor to finally make the place feel like home.

I will admit it’s not the best floor plan.  There is one looooong hallway that takes up a big chunk of the total square footage.  The fireplace is in a ridiculous location.  It’s technically not part of the living room.  It’s in the little semi-hallway between the living room and the dining room.  Close to the front door. Next to the side balcony.  It’s just ridiculous.  The paint job sucks and previous tenants did a number on the hardwood floors (that are unfinished, so I’m sure it didn’t take much to scratch them up).  It doesn’t matter though, because everything is clean now and we’ve made the place our own, more or less.

So whenever we describe our place to someone, one of the things Kathy usually end up saying is, “…and we have a view of the lake right from our bedroom!”

Now I know, I know I should just keep quiet.  I know there’s no need for me to interrupt her detailed (although somewhat MISLEADING) description of our dwellings. I know it doesn’t matter, and really, these people we’re talking to probably aren’t all that invested in the type of view we have.

But I can’t.  I don’t know what I think will happen if I let it go.  Are these particularly skeptical people who will demand to verify the accuracy of her description?  Likely not.  I just want to be truthful in saying that my opinion is slightly different. Or, in Kathy’s words, I’m just being a jerk.  Potato-potahto.  You say lake view, I say - notsomuch.

We’ve usually dealt with this situation (you know, the one where she lies and I’m a jerk) with humor.  If there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s laughing at ourselves.  If there’s one thing I’m better at, it’s making fun of Kathy.  More than once, we have tried to prove our respective points by running on to the balcony to have the following conversation:

Kathy:  Look out there.  What do you see?
Me:  The tennis courts on top of that building next to us.
Kathy:  No!  BEYOND that.
Me:  Trees.
Kathy:  Behind the trees.
Me:  Sky.
Kathy:  Tali!  What is that right there below the sky?
Me:  Between those big, leafy tree branches?
Kathy:  Yes.
Me:  That small patch of dark blueness?
Kathy:  YES.
Me:  …That’s the lake.
Kathy:  Exactly.  Thank you.
Me:  Yes, but it’s not really a “view” of the lake.  It’s more like a “glimpse” of the lake.
Kathy:  Ok, but all I said was YOU CAN SEE THE LAKE FROM THE BEDROOM.
Me:  … But  not *really.*
Kathy:  Oh my god.

Since living in Chicago, Kathy has decided she wants to always live by the water.  She grew up near Detroit, so she had lived by the Detroit River close by.  When we lived in Florida we lived in Gulfport and our place was about a mile from the beach. And now, with our lake view apartment… she’s decided she would always like to live by the water.  I’m thinking, with her super-human eyesight, we could live in Arizona and she would still be able to see Lake Michigan.

And that, I think, is where I cross the line into being a jerk, and when the tears of frustration begin to flow.

I would post a picture of the view, but there isn’t much to look at.

Three weeks ago, Kathy and I set out on a very important quest. We were searching for a chocolate peanut butter brownie, like the ones sold at Espresso Royale. I had discovered these delicious treats while I was working there, and through my extensive research found that they are best served chilled, almost right out of the freezer.

Before I go any farther, I must explain to you the wonderousness of this item. It’s made up of three layers.  The first and largest is a brownie. Not the kind of brownie that crumbles or can be mushed together, but the cake kind of brownie that you would eat with a fork. Above that is a layer of peanut butter.  I’m not sure if it’s just regular peanut butter or some sort of peanut butter spread (Kathy very adamantly insists there is a difference), but it’s creamy and thick enough to not ooze out the sides.  The top layer, and in my opinion the most delicious layer, is a layer of hard chocolate.  It’s the kind of chocolate that is dark but isn’t bitter.  And it’s solid.  The whole thing is served cold, and when it starts to warm up the top chocolate sweats, little beads of water forming on top.  If this happens, you have to either scarf down whatever is remaining or you have to put it in the fridge to cool it down again.  This is not an easy decision to make.

So, back to the quest.  See, I had a cold that day, and I was admittedly being a little cranky.  All I wanted was some chai and a peanut butter brownie.  I usually make chai at home with ginger and my mom’s homemade chai masala, but we were out of fresh ginger and I don’t like to buy ginger from the regular grocery stores around us because they keep the ginger moist and all that does is make it moldy and gross. I didn’t want to go to the Indian store for just one item, so instead we decided we would buy some coffee-shop chai. And a peanut butter brownie.

The only place I had ever found these brownies was at Espresso Royale, and since moving away from Michigan five years ago I’ve had them only when we would go back to visit. When we moved to Chicago, we found ourselves unemployed for quite a few months and spent our days finding cheap entertainment. On the rare occasion we decided to treat ourselves to a splurge, we would try out the different coffee shops in our neighborhood and spend the afternoon with a cup of coffee and cards (Uno and Phase 10, if you must know. I know you were curious.  It’s coo’.). We found a coffee shop two blocks from our apartment that SELLS THE SAME BROWNIES. It was a sure sign we were meant to live in this city.

So three weeks ago. I’m sick.  No ginger. Craving chai and a brownie.  Being the wonderful girlfriend she is, Kathy decides she will take me to the coffee shop to pick up the goodies. For some ridiculous reason, they don’t have any brownies. None.  Sold out? Discontinued?  The woman behind the counter doesn’t know. Clearly, she doesn’t appreciate the severity of this situation. Anyway, thus began the quest for a cup of chai and a brownie.

We went to a restaurant on Clark Street that serves various bakery and dessert items. They had a blondie with pecans that Kathy thoughts I might enjoy, so she picks that up for me along with a cup of “chai.” Said “chai” was disgusting.  It was a bag of various tea leaves steeped in hot water, with no other spices. The blondie was likewise gross.  We try a different coffee shop. They have no desserts that compare to the brownie, but we always like their drinks so Kathy gets me a chai from there. It’s tasty, but we still have no brownie.

At this point, I’m ready to call it a day and go home to sulk about my stuffy nose, my headache, and how all I want is a brownie and why is that so much to ask. Kathy is not ready to quit.  We drive around for about an hour, buying and trying a plethora of bakery, but none of it is satisfying. We go home, sad and defeated.  And a little sick from all the sampling. I decide I’m just going to have to wait till we go to Michigan and go to Espresso Royale.

I would like to point out here how wonderful Kathy is throughout this whole process. She is patient and puts up with my “this is crap!” proclamations each time I taste something new. She let’s me be cranky and demanding, and allows me to sulk and complain like a petulant child. What can I say, I’m not fun when I’m sick.

Three weeks go by and I’ve pretty much forgotten about the lack of peanut butter brownies. We’ve both been putting in some crazy hours at work, and we decide to spend this weekend relaxing and enjoying the warm weather. We ran a few errands yesterday and stopped in at a Mediterranean restaurant for lunch. Lunch is delicious and we’re both stuffed. As the server is taking away our plates, he offers us dessert.

Server: Would you like to try some of our baklava?

Us: Oh no, thank you, we’re pretty full.

Server: Sure?  Tiramisu? Cheesecake?

Us: No no, we’re all set, thank you.

Server: Ok then.  Peanut butter brownie? (He starts to walk away)

Me: WAIT.  COME BACK. What did you say?

Server: Uh… peanut butter brownie?

Me: Describe this brownie.

Server: (a little nervous) Um, it’s a brownie, with a layer of peanut butter on top.

Me: So it’s layered?  With a brownie on the bottom and peanut butter on top? Is there chocolate on top of that?

Server: Yes, I think there is, and-

Me: I’ll have it.  And I’m not sharing.

This is what he brought me:

I would never have though to look for this at a Mediterranean restaurant. Or any restaurant. I was perfect. It was huge. I didn’t share.

Sometimes I think buying Christmas gifts online is cheating, because it’s so easy.   You don’t have to go through the process that is wrestling your way through the crowds, finding each gift in the right color/size/flavor that you (and apparently everyone else in the state) need, waiting in an endless line that rivals the one for the Mantis at Cedar Point in the middle of the summer when all the kids are out of school, and then finally getting to the cashier to hand over your entire paycheck even as he tells you the store is out of gift boxes and you’ll have to find some other way to package and wrap and make these gifts presentable for the people you love (and maybe even some that you don’t really love, but if you didn’t get them anything then you’d feel like an ass), finding your car in the sea of vehicles that all look JUST LIKE YOURS and then trying to make it home through traffic, all the while knowing you should be filled with joy and holiday cheer but all you can think is “WHY THE HELL WON’T THAT GUY IN THE BMW DRIVE ALREADY!!!  You have a nice car, but if you can’t prove to me that it can go over 25mph it’s a waste of money!!!”

Holiday shopping online is so much easier because you can almost always get what you need, you can shop even if you’re short on time, and they deliver everything to your door and everything has its own box that you can wrap and make pretty.  Plus, you can get some pretty good deals online, which means you can get people more presents that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.  Wins all around, right?  Not always.

See, if you live with someone and you’re both doing your shopping online, it can get a little tricky.  This is because you’re both expecting packages for the other person but you don’t want the other person to see the package at the door and bring it in since the packages themselves or where they’re from sometimes give away the contents and you don’t want to ruin the surprise.  You start making rules for the other person.  You say things you wouldn’t otherwise say, such as:  “You’re not allowed to get the mail this week!  Don’t even look at the mailbox!  Don’t even look in the general direction of the mailbox!  Ignore any and all packages.  I don’t care if you can tell it’s just this month’s supply of cat litter - DO NOT TOUCH ANY PACKAGES!  Even if it’s right by the door and you have to take a giant leap to get in the house.  Go ahead and leap in, but don’t even consider moving the package.  I don’t care if it’s a tort waiting to happen.  Don’t touch, look at, rattle, sniff, lick, or even THINK about any type of mail this week.  If you do any of the above, I WILL LEAVE YOU.”

And this, really, is where online Christmas shopping can get dangerous and violent.  It may even elicit threatening text messages such as the following (true story, people):

“If you even look in the direction of any package tomorrow I will break your face.  If you in any way whatsoever gain any sort of inkling about what it may contain from any source however innocent, I will run away.  Though it will have your name on it, it is not for you.  If you in any way without limitation try to figure out where the package is coming from or what might be in it, you will never receive what’s in the package and I will break your face.  Do you accept?  You hereby unconditionally accept these terms. Type your name!”

That’s the holiday spirit.  Just try and tell me you’re not scared.

These are the items that get me through each day. Well, these and the camera I used to take the picture.

I’m happy to say that I can now consider myself a productive member of society, even though I’m not doing the kind of work I want to be doing. Seeing as the job market is so tough right now, I signed up with a few legal temp agencies, and have been working on projects through them.  So clearly, this isn’t what I want to do long-term, but it gets me out of the house and brings home a paycheck, so I’m extremely grateful.  That being said… I’m so happy I have a plethora of technology and entertainment at my fingertips to help get me through each day.  It’s not the most fascinating job, lets just put it that way.  Still - grateful to have it.

The phone in the picture is my brand-new iPhone.  Kathy got it for me as an early birthday present. I know… she’s pretty fantastic.  She meant to get it as a surprise, but Sprint wouldn’t let her buy the phone and walk out the store without activating it.  So she called me at work and asked if it would be ok if my phone didn’t work for the rest of the day, but as a consolation, there would be a present waiting for me when she got home.  Of course, that gave me a good idea of what the present was, but I was just as excited.  She even got me a fun case with a little stand so I can prop the phone up (see pic).  AND, she called Sprint and got a fantastic deal on the price.

I know what you’re all thinking, and I agree, she’s a keeper.

I am sad about giving up my Palm Pre though.  What a fantastic phone.  I know it was dying a slow and painful death, but I can’t help but be a little upset about having a different phone now.  I’m going to miss having actual buttons and a keyboard with the “.” and “,” (and all other punctuation) easily accessible.  Mostly though, I think I’m going to miss having “cards” and hearing the satisfying “swoosh” sounds when I swipe them away.  Yes… I’m going to miss that phone.  Join me in a moment of silence.

Ok, moving on.  Onward and upward, as Jenny says.

You know it’s Fall when you’re on your way to your new favorite breakfast place and you stumble across an apple festival.

I’m a sucker for all things Fall.  It’s my absolute favorite time of year.  So of course, we had to stop and wander around.  Which in turn lead to Kathy deciding it’s the perfect time to decorate the house for the new season - an idea I would never have come up with myself, but also one that makes me happy.

We’re very different that way… Kathy loves to decorate and coordinate and generally make things pretty (and as long as that doesn’t involve glitter, I’m all for it).  I never think to do that.  My focus is always on making things less cluttered, neat, and organized.  It never occurs to me to switch the candles to the Fall-scented ones.  I like to plant flowers and watch them grow, but Kathy’s the one who will find a cute pot in which to put them.  I’ll take pictures that make me happy, but Kathy will think to print them, frame them, and put them on the wall where they will hopefully make others smile.  If it was just me, our place would just be an apartment.  But with her… it’s our home.

Bailey loves the corn!

 I found a caterpillar in the corn!  Cool, but also a little gross.

Bailey also loves the gourds…

… and she loves me!

Kathy and I have been trying to find the exact right time to go for our walks.  This is a very tricky task because we have to make sure it’s not too humid, not too sunny, and not too late because there still needs to be enough light out for me to take pictures.  Kathy probably doesn’t care too much about all these things - she’s pretty easy-going.  I’m a giant wuss, and if it’s hot outside I will whine like a child and make everyone miserable.  I’m working on it though, I promise.

There has been some crime near our neighborhood lately, and I told my mom about it a few weeks ago.  The last time Kathy and I were out for a walk, my mom called and was not too happy that we were out after dark.  But really, what city DOESN’T have crime??  We can’t just live our lives staying in and never venturing out after dark.  I know she just wants us to be careful, and not make ourselves easy targets.  It doesn’t really matter what time you go out though, because crime happens in broad daylight too.  I’m glad we live in a fairly safe neighborhood.  I’m also glad Kathy and I are so buff and threatening.  Right.

I do like going for walks, because we get to hang out in our neighborhood and get some light exercise.  Plus, what a great cost-free activity!  There is a lot of interesting art and architecture around, and that means my camera gets quite the workout!

My favorite part about where we live is the bricolage under each of the two Lakeshore Drive overpasses.  Every time we take the exit to come home, it’s there to welcome us back.  It’s the first thing we noticed the first time we drove to our place.  We figured, any place that has such pretty things must be a place that makes us happy, right?  Right :)

So I had this idea about something I could make for a potluck: pastry puffs stuffed with potato.  Then, Kathy came up with the idea that we could stuff half of them with chicken.  Now keep in mind, I do love to cook, but I’m not always good at baking, and I usually just stick to the things I’ve seen my mom make at home.  Still, I ventured out of my comfort zone for this one.  I made the chicken and potato fillings, and then Kathy and I stuffed them into the little pastry sheets and set them to bake.  We had some extra sheets and so Kathy made a mixed cheese filling.  I was pretty nervous about how it was going to turn out, but everything tasted so good!  I was so proud of us!  I know it wasn’t anything gourmet, nor was it a very complicated procedure, but still, it was something new for us and so it was exciting.  In addition to the yummy food, we had a ton of fun hanging out and being creative :)  This will definitely be a repeat dish!  And best of all… I now feel extremely motivated to try a whole bunch of new things!

The stuffing and sealing:

Baking!

Let ‘em cool…

Deeeeelish!

I think Shane and Bailey are excited to have their cubes back.  We had forgotten to bring them with us from Tampa in December, but we got them after our last visit.  The kitties got used to all the wildlife in Gulfport, and they would spend hours on end staring out the windows and chattering at the birds, lizards, squirrels and ducks.  Of course, we were on the ground floor there, so there was more for them to see.  Now, being on the fourth floor, all they have is the occasional bird and sometimes an overly-adventureous squirrel to watch.  It’s a little sad… but I think they’ll be ok.  Especially since they have their cubes back :)

Ribfest - best ribs were from the Piggery!  So good we checked out the restaurant.  We’ll be going back again :)

Andersonville Midsommer Festival - chimney cake!  This festival is right in our neighborhood so we could just walk to it and back home.

Roasted duck leg from Taste of Randolph… Mmmm…

Pride!  Wish I were taller so I could have taken some better pictures, but oh well!  We got to meet a lot of fun people during Pride weekend, which was exciting.

We went to the Taste of Chicago on two days.  The first day, we almost got heat stroke, but the second day was fantastic!

I love that we can see fireworks right from our balcony.  If we go up the one flight of stairs to the rooptop, we get a whole 360 degree view of all the fireworks around Chicago.

We now spend a portion of our evenings playing Life.

K’s family:

My family: