My stepdad’s sister ice-skating next to Audubon Elementary School in Roscoe Village in December 1963. My mom and friends during the "Blizzard of '67" in Norwood Park. She remembers them all sledding down Milwaukee Avenue because why not?

Christmas markets are held in large pedestrianized areas or public parks across Europe. Yet for some reason Chicago’s Christkindlmarkt is still held in teeny tiny Daley Plaza. Why not just freakin move it!? We allow Lollapalooza to destroy Grant Park every year but we can’t do the same at Christmas?

This is my mom shortly after she survived breast & lung cancer at 20 yrs old. She never dropped out of college, even when she fell asleep in class due to chemo & radiation and had a mastectomy & lobectomy. She’s truly superhuman, especially because she survived cancer 2 more times. Happy Birthday!

In September someone who lives across the street told me about the potential demolition. It will be a side yard for the brand-new home next door. The irony is that 2219 was owned by Ray Capitanini (who died in April), a longtime supporter of Preservation Chicago. His parents started Italian Village.

tax bill of this vacant lot in downtown Chicago 2023: $292,593.15 2024: $70,386.00 change: $222,207.15 decrease is a 76% drop the property owner lost every recent appeal at the Board of Review (the last one was 2020) so this is likely because property values have dropped a lot

Joseph L. Silsbee, born on this day in 1848, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright & other Chicago architects. Here’s his design, with assistance by George W. Maher, for the Chicago Telephone Company (1888) located at the NE corner of Washington & Franklin. Demolished in 1967 it’s now a parking garage.

Yesterday’s sunset was pretty (darn cool). And yes, the left photo was taken while driving on the road next to O’Hare.

My favorite book cover with my favorite outdated information: Chicago on Foot by Ira J. Bach, 1973. Why not take a walk and see the foreign vessels docked at Navy Pier, go shopping at Sears, and conduct some astronomical research at Lindheimer Observatory?

Just found out that the Stahl House is for sale for the first time ever? Of course it won’t be torn down, but it’s sad that the home might end up in private hands and no longer be open for public tours. www.wsj.com/style/design...

A reminder when it all started to go wrong in this country, setting the stage for where we are now. Seriously fuck this guy.

My certified therapy dog is doing her part in promoting literacy by having school kids read to her this morning.

I missed that yesterday was the 100th birthday of Winnetka’s native son Roy Fitzgerald aka Rock Hudson who lived at various addresses in town w/his mom & stepdad (most have been torn down). In the mid-1930s they resided in an apartment at 809 Chestnut Court located just behind Winnetka Village Hall.

It’s hard to pick a favorite Scorsese movie, so here are my Top 5, in no particular order, of his films I’ve probably watched the most times: Goodfellas Taxi Driver The Age of Innocence The Last Waltz No Direction Home

I had to take my stepdad to the doctor today. We are complete opposites. His blood pressure is 155 over 83, which means that if he doesn’t change his lifestyle soon, he’s probably gonna die. While my blood pressure is 88 over 52, which basically means I’m already dead. ☠️

Wasn’t it just snowing? Just saw a shirtless man jogging with his dog as one usually does on a 68 degree day in November.

Why am I not surprised to find out that Nick Offerman, who played hyper-masculine Ron Swanson, loves Merchant & Ivory films as much as I do. And he’s right, Daniel Day-Lewis is so funny in A Room with a View. youtu.be/Ti-nujcoKnk?...

Don’t worry, JoJo the Cyclops. Chicagoland has not forgotten ICE. We never will.

It’s always about private property rights, rather than recognizing that you own a unique piece of architecture and should act as a steward for the present and future community. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/11/h...

Livvy & Bobby = True Love Did you hear that, Cheryl?

I asked my stepdad, who is a teacher, what he thinks of “6-7”and he said he ignores it now, but when he first heard it, his response was “13?”

For Neil Young’s 80th birthday today, here are my favorite songs in no particular order: Revolution Blues Only Love Can Break Your Heart Razor Love Winterlong The Needle and the Damage Done Helpless Don’t Cry No Tears Ohio Pocahontas Dreamin’ Man

The Edith Rockefeller McCormick Mansion was originally designed by architect S.S. Beman for Nathaniel Jones. It was built in 1883 at the cost of $75,000 (that’s about $2.5 million today). The 41-room residence was torn down in 1953 to make way for the high-rise at 1000 North Lake Shore Drive.

I remember once walking in the Loop when tourists approached me and asked “Which way is the Magical Mile?” Real estate developer Arthur Rubloff renamed a stretch of North Michigan Avenue in 1947 to revitalize the area. It’s been almost 80 years. Maybe now is the time for a new name? /s

I’ve never seen an architect as committed to a specific type of roof as Don Erickson. His pagoda-like roofs are said to have been inspired by Jamaican architecture. Wood Dale, Park Ridge, Palatine, Barrington, Libertyville, Winnetka, Johnsburg, Kirkland & now Huntley. www.redfin.com/IL/Huntley/6...

Speaking of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” my mom once fell asleep at a Gordon Lightfoot concert in the ‘70s. I didn’t even think such a thing was possible but she said it was very boring. Sorry Gord!

I feel bad for everyone who might not be able to visit family during the busy Thanksgiving travel holiday season. But at the same time I can’t relate because I come from an unambitious Slavic people who all live within 30 miles from where they first landed in Chicago just over a 100 yrs ago.

Checked out some demolitions this morning. Green fencing already up at 1915 North Sheffield and what’s left of 2142 North Seminary (totally insane that a four-flat will be replaced by a SFH).

I remember when I was a kid & lost my step-grandmother’s beloved cockatiel. I spent the next 24 hrs going down alleys trying to find it, and sure enough, it was perched on top of a garage a block away on Seeley Avenue. A man took out his ladder & helped me get the bird. Now that’s community!

It’s exactly sixteen years ago this week that I visited my friend in Berlin/Potsdam who was studying at the Max Planck Institute. What is time? Back when I took photos with a real camera: Sanssouci Park, Cecilienhof Palace, Weißensee Cemetery, Sachsenhausen.

Enjoyed these final days of autumn colors today at the Meacham Grove Forest Preserve in DuPage County.

A time change don’t mean shit when you live a zombie-like, perimenopausal existence 24/7. Big fucking deal.

Halloween timeline cleanse of my dogs dressed up in their costumes over the years.

Does anyone know the backstory of this house for sale? It’s described as an “executive cottage.” I’m intrigued. www.redfin.com/IL/DeKalb/87...

If this were the 1600s, Charles would have had Andrew beheaded, so this isn’t that bad, folks. Look up what happened to King Charles I and Mary, Queen of Scots if you’re curious about British royal history.

What’s the creepiest Halloween picture in your family photo album? Here’s mine. Arthur Tress was a family friend. j/k

Unbelievable! Chicago’s largest cemetery is owned by Dignity Memorial, whose parent company is Service Corporation International. Just read their very long “Controversies” section. Even in death, there will be evil corporate greed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service...

What am I currently reading? My ADHD brain sometimes causes me to read books simultaneously. They’re movie-themed. Sunset Boulevard is one of my fave films and 2025 marks its 75th anniversary. Robbie Robertson’s final memoir is about his relationship with Martin Scorsese in the late 70s. #booksky

All these songs auto-playing on Instagram reminds me of when you had to pick a song for your MySpace profile, which basically means Instagram is probably coming to an end. Now that I think about it, social media as a whole is probably coming to an end. And that’s fine by me.

You know society is truly broken when all the old ladies in my mom’s chair yoga class had to sign a code of conduct form because two of them got into a physical altercation. Isn’t yoga supposed to be peaceful & relaxing? WTF is going on?

This Keck & Keck design is on the market for the first time since it was built in 1957 for Dr. Robert Hohf. In 1966, Senator-to-be Charles Percy called his neighbor, who declared that his daughter Valerie had been murdered in her bedroom. The case remains unsolved. www.redfin.com/IL/Kenilwort...

Here are some more scenes from a pedestrianized Milwaukee Avenue. I always enjoy car-free places and wish Chicago had more areas like this. I was also more than happy that my pups brought smiles to people’s faces when we need it more than ever.

Happy Halloween Week! Peace be with you from the Holy Puppy Dogs, Pope Margaret and Sister Saint Milo. May God bless you. Amen. 🙏

Older tourist visiting from Florida says to me, “You mentioned the first Mayor Daley. Last time I was in Chicago I was tear gassed by his cops in 1968.” My response: “Sorry to say that can happen again while you’re here.”

We’ve been destroying the history & culture of this country for a long time. Highways erased entire neighborhoods, suburbanization turned beautiful train stations into rubble. Pieces of art lost forever, like Adler & Sullivan's Garrick Theatre in Chicago torn down in 1961 for a parking garage. 🇺🇸

As a historic preservationist, it’s interesting to watch people lose their minds over the East Wing. “HOW COULD THEY TEAR IT DOWN WITHOUT ANY OVERSIGHT OR REVIEW!?!” “It’s my property & I can do what I want” is the mantra of every wealthy homeowner across this ‘great’ land. That’s America, folks.

You know the Beatles have truly lost their cultural relevance when no one on Jeopardy knew that they used to play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. It was a lovely run of 60 plus years, lads!

Forget the black and white farmhouse. I’ll take this historic purple farmhouse in Elgin, IL.

If this country survives, we should change our name to the United States of Parking. Seriously. So. Much. Parking. Even parking lots have their own parking lots. Nobody wants to walk here. (Except when people visit Europe & then they love it!)

I’m glad to see that there is a home currently for sale that is celebrating Halloween (unless that giant skeleton is up year-round, which would be even better.) 💀 www.redfin.com/IL/Oak-Park/...