Chicago, the way it should be...and the way it is

The day before Easter, I was breezing through my not-so-local Dominick's grocery store (my local one burned down, no kidding!). As is custom at my family's house, I had been asked to make "the cheese ball" (recipe to follow) and I was scrounging up the few ingredients.

Two bricks of cream cheese? Check.

One bunch of scallions? Check.

Small package of thin sliced corned beef? Um, well, no.

There's a particular brand of corned beef that I've always used and Dominick's was out of it. Strangely enough, they were out of the house brand, too, and any other brand. They had ham, turkey and beef, but no corned beef. It was like everyone on the North Side of Chicago was making the same cheese ball.

Off I went to the deli to see if they had any more in the back. On the way, I ran into the manager and explained my situation. He strolled into the deli and spoke to an older man in a long white butcher's apron.

The butcher came out, walked past me without a word and went directly to the refrigerator that was missing the corned beef. He grabbed a huge, one-pound package of said corned beef and asked me, "How much do you need?"

"About two-and-one-half ounces, please," I answered as he passed me and disappeared behind the counter.

A minute later, he handed me a small, shrink-wrapped styrofoam plate containing about eight slices of corned beef. On the wrapper, he wrote, "N.C. Todd."

No charge!

Last night, Cub Man delivered most of the pieces to the modular storage unit that he built for my new master bedroom. The scheduling of the delivery was somewhat problematic because my Gestapo-ruled condo association does not allow for evening deliveries. So I did what I usually do when rules get in my way.

I ignore them.

Cub Man, his friend, me, Firecracker and FC2 all loaded the pieces from two cars into the back door lobby of my building and then into the elevator. We were about half done when a security guard appeared in the doorway, shaking his head.

"He saw you," said the guard, one of several security people with whom I have a good relationship. I looked up and noticed the camera hanging from the ceiling facing the back door.

Busted.

The security manager at the front desk was new, someone I had yet to charm into looking the other way. If he wrote me up, I'd be fined by the condo association board. Minimum $50, I think.

Cub Man and his friend moved their cars around to the front entrance (to avoid being towed). I had to go the front desk to let them in and face the security manager. He read me the riot act (nicely, though) about moving furniture after hours and wasn't too pleased when Cub Man's friend asked if we could borrow the luggage cart by the door.

"Yeah, okay," he said somewhat hesitantly. "So far, I haven't seen anything."

I smiled.

We finished unloading the unit and when we returned the luggage cart, I brought along some Easter candies and a can of soda...with a$20 bill wrapped around it.

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Oops, almost forgot.

The famous Cheese Ball

2 bricks cream cheese (left out to soften)
1 medium-sized bunch of scallions (chopped with a bit of green, too)
2.5 ounces thin-sliced corned beef (chopped)
1 tspn. garlic salt (more or less to taste)

Mix all in large bowl and shape into ball (use a fork or spoon, for God's sake!) Refrigerate for a few hours. Serve with crackers or toasted bread pieces.

A txt from afar

Well, color me surprised?!??!

My cell phone brrrinngg'd last night and it was a text message from Flight Attendant, home from his trip to London. He said my call made his day, he was sorry he missed my call, and he was home watching the Cubs game with a houseful of Cubbies (I'm guessing he meant friends, not the actual team players 'cause they were playing in Los Angeles.)

I thought, wait till he hears about my encounter with the team!! But I'll save that for a face-to-face encounter.

Anyway, back to text messaging... It's a tough way to get to know someone, but a very convenient and inexpensive way if they live far away (FA's in Ft. Lauderdale). He's much better at this text message stuff than I am, but we muddled through, texting back and forth as we sat and watched the same game, rooting for the same team, about a thousand miles apart.

He's flying to LA to watch tomorrow night's game and I am terribly jealous! Oh, how I would love to have the freedom to hop on a plane and go to another city on a whim! Of course, he did offer to take me with him (but I thought that might be pushing things for a first date!)

At 11 o'clock, I crawled into my freshly made bed in my freshly remodeled bedroom and texted that I would watch the remaining innings from bed because it's a school night.

FA wrote back, "Talk 2 ya 2morrow. Very glad you called. Go Cubs Go! G*Nite."

Although he didn't say when he'd be in Chicago again, I had to smile.

Come fly with me

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Easter with lots of chocolate and a lot (or maybe just a little bit) of family time, too! Everything in moderation, right?

Mother Nature rewarded us with a fabulously warm Friday, so I took advantage and threw the top down (I drive a convertible people! don't get weird on me!) and ran some errands while my contractor FINISHED MY ROOM!!! Yep, it's done! Photos of the before and after will be forthcoming.

Friday night, FC2 and I decided to have a mini-girls night out (because it was just the two of us). We had dinner and drinks atPJ Clarke's, a nice "older crowd" establishment that I used to frequent years ago and may have to frequent again. Cute bartender + good jukebox + interesting clientele= one fun and late evening!

I met a flight attendant who is neither female nor gay nor a child- - so far, so good. He lives in Florida but comes to Chicago frequently and is a BIG Cubs fan. He's also run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, so international travel isn't just a job, it's a lifestyle. Hmmn?

When he mentioned that he's off for a flight to London, FC2 piped up with a request for a Harrod's bag and I asked if he could pick up some of my favorite moisturizer. Of course, the consumption of several Stoli-and-7s effectively erased the moisturizer name from my memory. Apparently the flight attendant (FA) asked for both of our phone numbers so he could make the delivery. I say "apparently" because I don't remember the request at all (oops!)

FA gave me his business card before we left, so I called the next night and left a message. We'll see...

Easter Sunday hit hard. Okay, it was probably the Stoli that hit me. How much will I burn in Hell for going to my mother's house on Easter Sunday with a hangover? Thankfully, it was unusually quiet as the family gathered for dinner.

Arriving at my mother's house before the crowd, I presented my mom with a watercolor painting kit. She seemed embarrassed that I remembered her comments about her forgotten talent, so I downplayed the impact of the gift. I told her that the gift is just between us and no one needs to know if she sets up an easel in the yard and paints the flowers in bloom. She could take her time and let her hidden talent re-emerge slowly.

My brother and his family arrived and my sister with her kids, and the noise level grew exponentially. Fortunately, dinner was almost ready so the kids retreated to the kitchen and the adults sat in the dining room and a relative quiet fell over the room.

Everyone must have been pretty hungry because dinner was eaten in almost monk-like silence. Until, that is, my sister-in-law cut into the traditional lamb cake after dinner. Since we were all a freaked out by the Halloween mask face at the front of the cake, she cut from the other end. Instead of one solid loaf, the cake was made from two loaves of yellow cake with frosting in the middle.

"Look! A bunny thong!"