Jallie Beans' Beanz: Schwindy

So, this weekend is the annual Maryland Sheep & Wool festival AND the return of Sean & Val’s (blankity blank) de Mayo party (it doesn’t always fall on the 5th). This year, it will be Tres de Mayo. And, of course, Kentucky Derby. So much to do in one day!

Actually, depending on the weather, I may skip Sheep & Wool. I know! Can you believe it??? It’s the festival I look forward to most since I discovered it three years ago. The first year was very overwhelming. I was still new to knitting, probably not far out of the scarf knitting stage. My main goal was to find a nostepinne, a very low-tech tool used to wind yarn into balls. The second year, I had a bit of experience with what to expect at the festival. This was also the year of the first knit blogger’s meet-up. I showed up at the designated place and time, but mostly to stalk the bloggers. It was kinda cool to recognize the ones whose blogs I read. Last year, I think I mainly just wanted to get some soap and some Ribbon Chips. They’re deep-fried spiral cut potatoes topped with cheese, bacon bits and jalapenos. Delish!

This year, there isn’t really anything I need or want to see. OK. There is, but I’m not waiting in line that long for sock yarn. There’s sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts called “Socks That Rock”. It’s supposed to be really awesome, hand-dyed sock yarn. I want to see how it feels, but it’s one of those things where people literally line up before the festival opens and run like the wind to the booth selling this yarn and buy it all up. Last year, I don’t think they ran out within the first half hour like years past. I did see a very long line coming out of one of the barns. Apparently, it was the line to “see” the yarn, not the one to pay for it. Crazy sock knitters.

So, that’s about it.

Oh. You came here to read about all the FUN we had last weekend and not Sheep & Wool???

FRIDAY: John and I headed off to Chicago to visit Cousin Kara and to celebrate Johnny’s 43rd birthday. Freddy, Mike and William picked us up at the airport and off we went to grab some lunch. We found a place (Bernie’s) across the street from Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs. After a little walk around the stadium and souvenir shopping, we hopped back in the car and headed towards US Cellular field to get tickets for the White Sox-Orioles game. Two stadiums in one day!

We chilled out at Julie’s place (a really awesome condo in a renovated warehouse) for a few hours and we all headed into town for STEAK. Cousin Kara was already waiting for us at Gibson’s. What can I say about the steak? It was fabulous! I got 5 meals out of that thing! And we saw Jesse Jackson at the restaurant. I didn’t get my picture taken with him. I should have though. I’m a wuss.

After dinner, Johnny, William and I parted ways with the rest of the group to go to Kara’s place for the night. She lives west of the city and we took the train. Since we had an hour or so to kill, we stopped into Dublin’s (an Irish pub) for a few beers. The train ride home was about an hour. Poor Kara and William didn’t think to use the bathroom before we got on and didn’t want to go find the car with facilities. I think William was a little scared we had missed our stop and he’d have to use the train’s bathroom.

SATURDAY: We went to pick up Greg, Kara’s BF, at Midway. Second destination on our itinerary for the day was to meet up with Julie, Freddy and Mike at Millennium Park to see the “Bean”, which is actually named the “Cloud Gate” but looks like a bean. It is such a cool sculpture. I love it. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel at peace. Third stop was the Navy Pier. We walked. And walked. And I think an hour later, we were still walking. I’m certain I got a year’s worth of exercise in one day.

As it was getting late in the afternoon, we were trying to decide how best to get to our fourth destination -- the White Sox - Orioles game. So we walked some more and landed at PJ Clarke’s for a bathroom break. Oh, and more beer. We decided to cab it over to where Julie had parked, as she had our game tickets. From there, we took the train to the stadium. So convenient!

We left the game during the 5th inning. It was getting a bit chilly! Here we are on the 500 level of the stadium with the city in the background:

We hopped back on the train and grabbed -- MORE BEER -- at Miller’s Pub. It was an exhausting day. But so much fun! We bid Julie, William, Freddy and Mike adieu as the guys were heading home Sunday morning. John and I still had another day and a half with Kara.

SUNDAY: Happy Birthday, Johnny! After a delicious glass of fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast, we headed to the little town of Geneva so I could check out a YARN store. Wool & Company is the BEST yarn shop I’ve been in so far. It was like the Queen’s Ink of yarn. I loved how it was set up and how they had other gifty things besides yarn, fiber and knitting stuff. We sent Greg and John off to the Old Towne Bar & Grill while we shopped. I found leather purse handles that I’d coveted and only seen online. I didn’t want to buy them without seeing them first, as they cost more than a sweater’s worth of yarn. I bought them with no project in mind. I think they’re going to have to go on a purse I keep for myself, for sure!

We went to pick up my aunt (Kara’s mom) and to see her new “mansion” on the south side. Greg was flying back to Indiana later in the afternoon, so we had an early dinner at Giordano’s. John’s favorite way to spend a birthday -- eating pizza! We got the “thin” crust and a “stuffed” pizza, their version of Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza. Delish! After dinner, we dropped Greg off and went to Wat Thai. What’s a trip without a visit to a temple?

Back at my aunt’s mansion, John helped replace a light fixture. My family loves that I married someone who is so handy!!!

MONDAY: A cool and rainy day. Kara wanted to take us to her favorite pizza place, Lou Malnati’s. I’d rate it higher than the Giordano’s. The crust was a tad bit thinner and lots crispier. I hate to say it, but it was like Uno’s, which until this past weekend, was my only experience with Chicago-style pizza. So delicious. We went to a chocolate shop and a soy candle shop before realizing we needed to get home, grab out bags and head to the airport. While John printed our boarding passes, I wrapped up the leftover pizza and packed up the purchases. Good thing John’s suitcase zips open to expand an extra few inches!!!

Our flight was delayed about an hour due to the rain. It was nice to get home after long day, but a fun-filled trip. Thanks so much to Kara and Greg for having us over! We love Chicago!