Saturday, December 24, 2011

Comfort & Joy

Old Country Roses mug, a past gift from Terry!

Merry Christmas! I can't believe how time flies. It's been three weeks since my last post!

Tree ornament

I'm just getting over a nasty cold/sinus infection that's kept me down for the count for several weeks. 'Tis the season to get sick!

Writing out my Christmas cards.

I finally sat down last weekend and wrote out my Christmas cards.

This year's Christmas cards.

I put on some Christmas music, and fixed a delicious mug of cappuccino and some chocolate almond biscotti to get myself in the Christmas spirit.

Cappuccino.

Terry bought me this Old Country Roses mug years ago for Christmas. He didn't know it was one of my favorite patterns, but he instinctively knew it would make me happy.

IMG_9019

My taste buds had started to come back! Yay!

Terry decorating the tree.

I usually set up the Christmas tree and decorate it, but this year, Terry did it for me! He did a wonderful job. It looks beautiful!

Tree ornament

Ordering gifts online is a joy, especially when you're too sick to go to the mall.

Santa Cat.

2011 was not a good year for us. This past June, our sweet little cat Penny died suddenly. It was a shock, and saddened us for many months. So many of my blogging friends also were writing about losing pets, and I stayed away from blogging so as not to read about any more sadness.

A Gift For You!

But time does heal, and life goes on.

Great message!

I wish you all a beautiful holiday season.
Cherish your loved ones. Celebrate life and make merry!

And, in my next post, I'll tell a much happier tale!


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Sunday, December 4, 2011

An Early Birthday Present

Train Station

This weekend, my sweet husband Terry took me out for an early
birthday present! We hopped on a train to downtown Chicago...

Train Station

We passed through the Christkindlmarket for a quick
glance at all the pretty things for sale...

Christkindlmarket, Chicago

Christkindlmarket, Chicago

The food smelled SO GOOD!
But there was no time to eat anything today...

Christkindlmarket, Chicago

Christkindlmarket, Chicago

We had a little time to kill,
so we walked around the mall awhile...

Mall, Chicago

Oh, the Apple Store! But no, that wasn't in today's plan...

Apple, Chicago

The Allsaints Store! Oh, I just HAD to stop and gaze at
the wall of antique sewing machines!

Allsaints, Chicago

Allsaints, Chicago

I mean WALLS of sewing machines!

Allsaints, Chicago

Steampunkers would absolutely love this store! Pricey, but fun!

Allsaints, Chicago

I had to make a stop to visit with my pals, the carriage horses!

Carriage Horse

And gaze upon the famous Chicago Water Tower...

Water Tower, Chicago

Finally! We're here!

Peninsula, Chicago

The Peninsula Hotel!

Peninsula, Chicago

I paused to pose by the piano...

Peninsula, Chicago

Then climbed the grand staircase to...

Peninsula, Chicago

Afternoon Tea in the lobby!

Peninsula, Chicago

Doesn't Terry look dapper?

Peninsula, Chicago

We love that the Peninsula serves a vegetarian tea on request.

Peninsula, Chicago

We both ordered a pot of Earl Grey decaffeinated.

Peninsula, Chicago

Then our 3-tiered server was placed on the table,
along with a basket of scones and the jam,
lemon curd and Devonshire cream!

Peninsula, Chicago

We enjoyed our finger sandwiches first...

Peninsula, Chicago

Followed by these scrumptious three cheese and leek quiches...

Peninsula, Chicago

And finally the scones and the sweets!

Peninsula, Chicago

A warm chocolate chai moelleux was a delicious bonus!

Peninsula, Chicago

Peninsula, Chicago

We sipped, and ate, and sipped some more...

Peninsula, Chicago

Until everything was gone.

Peninsula, Chicago

Peninsula, Chicago

The darkness fell over our view from the window.

Peninsula, Chicago

We took one last look at the tree, and were on our way back home.

Thank you, Terry, for the elegant and delicious birthday present!

______________________

If you've never walked down the streets of Chicago at night,
come along with us as we leave the Peninsula and
walk back to our train. We cross the Chicago River in two
spots, pass the Christkindl Market at Daley Plaza, and
happened upon PuppetBike.com... and I gave the puppets
a dollar bill!




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Sunday, November 27, 2011

World's Columbian Expo, Continued

This week, I'll give a brief summary of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and set the tone with some photos taken from books and archives.

Statue of The Republic
Statue of the Republic

Planning for the Columbian Expo started in late 1889. It was to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's 1892 landing in America. The Fair opened late, in May 1893, and closed in October the same year. 27 million people attended.

Columbian Fountain
Columbian Fountain

The Fair's major buildings were designed in the neoclassical Beaux Arts style, and was soon nicknamed "The White City." The major buildings in the "Court of Honor" were constructed of iron and steel, and covered in a material called "staff," a mixture of plaster, cement and fiber. Most of the buildings and statuary were constructed this way, and were not meant to last.

Gondola  at the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building
Gondola at the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building

Horticultural Building
Horticulture Building

The only surviving building within the fairgrounds, which was built to last, is the Palace of Fine Arts, now Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. In downtown Chicago, the World's Congress Auxilliary Building also survives, and is now the Art Institute of Chicago. The Norway Pavilion was dismantled and taken to Wisconsin, where it now stands in Blue Mounds.

Palace of Fine Art Building
Palace of Fine Arts

While it stood, The Columbian Exposition was a beautiful sight to behold! There were promenades, canals and fountains at every turn. In addition to the main Court of Honor buildings, there were 19 foreign government buildings, 38 state buildings, several individual exhibitors, cafes, restaurants, tea houses and refreshment buildings... a total of 200 buildings to visit! It would take weeks to cover the entire fair.

Interior, Agricultural Building
Agriculture Building interior

Bohemian Glass Exhibit, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building
Bohemian Glass Exhibit, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building

France—Sevres Vases, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building
France—Sevres Vases display, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building

The Court of Honor buildings included Administration, Machinery, Agriculture, Manufactures and Liberal Arts, Electricity, Mines and Transportation. Some of the other large buildings were U.S. Government, Horticulture, Women's Building, Forestry, Anthropology, Fisheries and the Palace of Fine Arts.

Court of Honor, looking west.
Court of Honor, looking west

Walking toward the Admin. Bldg.
Walking toward the Administration Building

from atop the Manufactures Building roof
View from atop the Manufactures Building roof

Electricity Building
Electricity Building

Electricity was a new an exciting phenomenon at the Fair. The Electricity Building showcased a telephone, electric lamps, gramophones, elevators, fans, burglar alarms, stoves, irons, and engines of all sorts. The world's first telegraph and seisomgraph machines, Edison's Kinetoscope, and a moving sidewalk were also new electric inventions at the Fair. Electric trains brought people to the Fair. The entire Fair was lit with electric lighting both inside and out.

Administration Bldg. at night
The White City

Administration Building at NIght
Administration Building at night

A popular area of the fairgrounds was the Midway Plaisance, a carnival-like street one mile long. It was a lot like Disney's Epcot World Showcase, in that it featured exhibits from foreign lands, with supposed native people brought over to represent the exhibits.

Sudanese Performer at the Midway
Sudanese Performer at the Midway Plaisance

Countries represented displayed an Irish village and goods (with a replica of Blarney Castle), a German village, Old Vienna cafe and shops, Chinese village, Dutch village, Japanese bazaar as well as exhibits from Egypt, Persia, Turkey, Algeria, Tunis, East India, American Indian, Lapland, and Bedouins and Dahomeys. Egypt's "Street in Cairo" featured the most lucrative exhibit at the entire fair: the dancing girls, most famously, "Little Egypt," who did the hootchy-cootchy dance!

Irish Village on the Midway Plaisance
Irish Village and Blarney Castle replica on the Midway

German Village and Ferris Wheel, Midway Plaisance
German Village on the Midway

The Midway also had the Libby Glass Works, Hagenbeck's Animal Show, the Ice Railway & toboggan slide, an International Beauty Show, a Captive Balloon, and Eadweard Muybridge's Zoöpraxographical Hall (early motion picture animal studies).

Tethered Balloon & Ferris Wheel on the Midway Plaisance
Captive Balloon ride on the Midway Plaisance

But the most impressive exhibit was erected to rival the Eiffel Tower that was built in Paris for it's 1889 World's Fair. A contest was held, and George W. Ferris was given the honor of constructing his giant Wheel. It was 250 ft. in diameter and contained 36 bus-sized cars that could hold 60 people each! Two revolutions lasted 20 minutes and cost 50 cents. Boy, would I love to have ridden that very first Ferris Wheel!

Ferris Wheel
Ferris Wheel on the Midway Plaisance

bottom of Ferris Wheel
Base of the Ferris Wheel

On the Ferris Wheel
Riding the Ferris Wheel

Things introduced to the public at the Columbian Exposition were:

Soda pop, hamburgers, Juicy Fruit Gum, Cracker Jacks, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, Quaker Oats, Cream of Wheat, Shredded Wheat, Aunt Jemima syrup, elongated coins, picture postcards, the Pledge of Allegiance, Columbus Day, and Scott Joplin's ragtime music! Dvorack composed his New World Symphony in honor of the Fair. And L. Frank Baum was so impressed with the Fair, he based Oz on it!

By the close of the fair, many buildings were already decaying, and some had already tragically burned to the ground. All the treasures were taken back from whence they came. The people went home. All that was left were souvenirs and memories.

1893 World's Columbian Expo — Building on fire
Fairground buildings on fire

the Fair in ruins
Ruins of The White City


Here are some great links I came across while researching the Columbian Exposition of 1893:

FREE Digital books from the time of the Columbian Exposition of 1893. A fantastic source for original material!
ERBzine —Nice collection of images from the Columbian Exposition
Idea, Experience, Aftermath —an excellent overview
some Photos
more Photos
UCLA digitally simulated tour of the World's Columbian Exposition fairgrounds! Rough outline, but they've made progress. View updates on UCLA's site here. I think this project is fascinating!
For more on Muybridge's work, click here.


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