Month: November 2017

Sometimes as a family member of an elderly person you know that you’ve done all you could do to care for them, but that it’s not enough. At that time you realize they need more help than you can provide. Don’t feel guilty or punish yourself, because it can be incredibly difficult to care for an elderly person with illnesses, medical conditions and/or dementia. The average person is not trained to care for those needs. This is probably the time to consider finding assisted living or nursing home care at a good facility. Make sure you go and visit the facility and check ratings online before deciding on a facility. You will also need to provide verification of identity for the elderly person, through a birth certificate and/or passport. Local senior services will also need to do an intake evaluation before admitting. This process could take a long time, depending on the availability of rooms at the facility, so it’s best to plan ahead for this and try to get them on the waiting list as soon as possible.

My Aunt is 87 years old and has dementia and physical limitations. She’s currently living in a senior residence building where she has lived for over 20 years. Although she has managed with the help of Visiting Angels homecare providers that came once a week and me taking her shopping and doing her checkbook; her limitations are now more severe and she needs help with basic tasks on a daily basis. She was on a waiting list for an assisted living center for about one year. We were told last week that a room is available and she can move in within 2 – 4 weeks. I know she will miss her friends at the senior residence building, but I know she’ll make new friends at the assisted living center, because she is a friendly and outgoing person!

Yesterday I visited the Christkindl Market in downtown Chicago. For me, the opening of the Christkindl Market ushers in the official start to the holiday season (and I don’t mind that it opens a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving). This year especially, I think the earlier we start to celebrate the holiday season the better! It runs from November 20 through December 24th and is open daily from Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. It attracts more than one million visitors a year!

This is the 22nd year of its operation in downtown Chicago. It started in 1996 and was held on Pioneer Court, then moved to the Daley Center the following year. It’s also in Naperville and a new Christkindl Market is open this year near Wrigley Field at the Park at Wrigley.

It was inspired by the Christkindl Market in Nuremberg, Germany which began in 1545.  There are now such Christmas Markets held all over the world.

I enjoy strolling around looking at (and buying) ornaments. I was so excited the first year I attended the market and discovered they had fruit ornaments. I’m German and grew up with beautiful fruit ornaments on the tree….I was so excited to get some more! This year I’m looking to purchase a Chicago ornament and bird ornaments. I saw a couple of nice Chicago ornaments yesterday and really cute owl and other bird ornaments. So, I’ll go back next week to purchase those. The bird ornaments are special to me because my Aunt has a Christmas tree that she keeps out all year – she calls it her bird tree, because she has mostly bird ornaments. This year, I’m going to pick out a special bird ornament as a Christmas gift for her. My Aunt is 87 years old and this will be her last Christmas at her senior apartment. By January she’ll be living in an assisted living facility. Even though she probably won’t be able to take her large tree with her, she’ll be able to take the bird ornaments and hang them on a small tree.

Besides the ornaments, I also really like the food. My favorites are German potato soup and brats with sauerkraut. I’m also told the herring sandwich is very good. Although I like pickled herring, I wasn’t quite ready to try a herring sandwich! When I used to take my son there when he was little, he always ordered the potato soup and he loves it to this day! Of course, they also have delicious desserts like apple strudel and chocolates!! And plenty of drinks to keep you warm – such as hot chocolate, hot cider, Gluehwein or beer. Enjoy!

       

    

      

 

This week I visited the Chicago Cultural Center to view the Chicago Architecture Biennial:Make New History exhibition that runs through January 7, 2018. It is the largest architecture and contemporary design exhibition in North America. The theme this year is, Make New History – and expounds on the notion that architects draw from the past and use the past as inspiration for current design.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the photos and installations of incredible contemporary buildings in beautiful cities from around the world! I plan to visit again next week to view the full exhibit. There are three floors to this exhibition, and because I was limited by time, I was only able to view one floor. It is definitely worth a trip to the Chicago Cultural Center to view this exhibit!

          

          

The Chicago Theatre is a Chicago landmark located in the Loop at 175 N. State Street. It was built in 1921 and was then known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre. It was designed by architects Cornelius and George Rapp in the Neo-Baroque French-Revival style, and is the oldest surviving style of this architecture in Chicago. The Chicago Theatre marque has become an emblem of the city itself and has been shown in TV shows and movies about Chicago.

From 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was famous as a classic movie theatre. It also hosted many jazz performances from the 1920s through 1930s. It is now primarily used as a venue for live plays, magic shows, stand-up comedy, live concerts and speeches. I’ve gone there to see Lilly Tomlin perform and we went there to see “Showboat”. And I once awaited the arrival of Jennifer Hudson, who was going to appear outside the theatre, but I never got to see her because she was running late and I had to go back to work (I was on my lunch break).

The Chicago Theatre building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1979 and was designated as a Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983. The Chicago Theatre underwent numerous renovations over the years. It was completely redecorated in preparation for the 1934 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago.

             

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a walk in downtown Chicago

            

    

   

   

Last Thursday, November 2nd was a sad day for me (and for many other readers). When I first heard DNA info had shut down, I didn’t understand what it meant. I thought maybe there were technical problems with the website or improvements were being made. Instead, sadly, I learned it was discontinued.

DNA info was started in 2009 and reported on Chicago neighborhood news in a way that had never been done before. The journalists/reporters at DNA info were on the scene in the neighborhoods they reported on. They were immersed in the pulse of the neighborhoods. It included detailed reporting on issues we would never hear about otherwise.

What primarily drew me to DNA info when I became a subscriber in 2015, was their reporting on Chicago crime and how to try to solve the crime problem in Chicago. I loved reading the posts and posting on the DNA info blogs. It was my first experience with blogging and it was very positive!

I subscribed to every neighborhood’s feed, because even though I grew up in the Avondale neighborhood, I love reading and learning about all the Chicago neighborhoods. I learned so much about Chicago policies regarding crime and education, but also about Chicago architecture, restaurants, events and history.

I liked it that it was very current information, since most neighborhood feeds came out three times a day (morning, Noon and early evening). My favorite feed was the morning feed at 9:20 a.m. I made sure I accessed my email at 9:20 every morning to see the latest Chicago neighborhood news!

The CEO of DNA info said it was taken down because of financial reasons. I think not enough advertising dollars were brought in and they said reporters for Gothamist (which is the NY City version of DNA info) were going to unionize, thereby raising operating costs.

My only hope is that DNA info is somehow able to make a comeback financially or that another similar media organization can deliver the same quality neighborhood reporting. In the interim I’m using Twitter more than ever to try to gain some of the Chicago neighborhood information and close the void left by the closure of DNA info.

So, Thank You DNA info staff for all I’ve learned about Chicago and it’s neighborhoods in the last two years. I really appreciate it!

Marina City (aka Marina Towers) is a bulding complex located in downtown Chicago at 290 N. State Street. These two 65 story circular towers occupy almost a full city block on the north bank of the Chicago River. It also contains its own small marina for boats.

This complex was designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg in 1959. Construction started in 1961 and was completed in 1968. At the time of completion, they were the tallest residential buildings in the world. The complex was marketed as “a city within a city.” At the time it contained several stores, restaurants, a theater, a gym, swimming pool, ice rink and bowling alley.

Marina City was one of the first post-war high rise urban residential complexes in the U.S. It ushered in the start of a resurgence of Americans moving back to the inner cities. This model of mixed use residential, office and business use with on-site parking became a model that many cities adopted.  It’s also unique because the towers are completely circular. There are about 896 parking spaces and approximately 450 condos (used to be apartments) in each tower.

The complex currently contains The House of Blues concert venue/restaurant/bar; bowling lounge and restaurants such as Dick’s Last Resort and Smith and Wollensky steak house.

Marina City was seen in the opening sequence of the Bob Newhart Show and in several movies.