Coffee, Rugs, and Shades...

Early spring, and we have been settled in a one bedroom apartment for 9 months.  Wow!  It has been a while since we were on the move.  It is hard to believe, or get use to having a place this big, and a WHOLE lot harder to keep it clean.  With spring here though, we went to get some nice roman shades and a rug from World Market. When not on the road, World Market is one of my top shops to visit. With so many styles and choices it was not easy but quickly we settled on the Kimono Rug and the Henri Floral Roman Shades.  Now with new rug down in the living room, the old plain rug under the dinning room table, and the Henri shades up with the cool spring evening air blowing in, it is starting to feel more like a home than just a temp apartment.

Back at home, we settled in for an evening of coffee and home work; this past week was mid-terms and with having been ill the weeks before, we are still behind on homework.  Blah!  But, as soon as this last paper is done, we are planing to watch Iron Man 2.  Yes, it is good to be home... at last.

Shikaakwa

Called Shikaakwa, meaning wild onions, by the Mihtohseeniaki and Illiniwek, but it became known as Chicago, a mispronunciation of the original name for the place.   Based on Lake Michigan, it has always been a natural port location, and remains such to this day.  After the devastation of the Chicago Fire of 1871, the city rebuilt to become now in 2011 the third largest city in the USA.

In my journeys, my husband and I settled for 14 months in Chicago, doing inter-city and homeless ministry.  We dwelt in an old 1920's hotel in Uptown Chicago, and were a short walk from Graceland and Saint Boniface Cemeteries.   It is well worth touring on foot the cemeteries, to see up close and personal the lasting monuments of Chicago's history and periods of architecture.  If shopping is your thing, check out the Unique and Salvation Army thrift stores and the shops of Little Thailand, Little India, and Chinatown.  Lakeshore's bike paths are a joy, and the Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free, is a blast, but for two travelers with a heart left in Dine Bikeyah, Shikaakwa is no place to stay for long.