NOTICE: Blog closing due to lack of interest

We regret to inform you that we will be shutting down the site, effective immediately. The main cause is lack of interest. It has come to the attention of the contributors to this blog that it can no longer compete with other blogs which highlight big girl achievements and get 6 comments in the time it takes this blog to get 1 (one very nice one - thank you Grandma & Grandpa B). We regret to inform you that if you wish to get an update on how the plants or Fran are doing, or even what the sites contributors are having for dinner, you will have to call them and talk to them personally. Ultimately, the blog just needed more comments to keep it going.


Who am I kidding - we could never stay away.

My day as a tourist......at least its not another blog about plants.

This Saturday I went for a walking tour of Chicago's modern skyscraper's by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. It was pretty funny. We were all given a headphone and a receiver......and away we went.

We saw the Chicago library. Fun fact: The things that appear to be gargoyles are actually owls.

Here is the happy (and cold, it was 30ish degrees that day) group of walkers. They came from as far off as New York, Paris and, er, ah, Chicago.

We went to the civic center area which was designed by Mies van der Rohe. Fun fact: This piece of art was not originally in van der Rohe's "vision" of this plaza area and it is supposed to be a.............flamingo.

As we turn the corner from the civic center we see this fantastically interesting build. But what is this building????

Oh, you, know.........a prison. Fantastic, a prison in the city, I feel safer already.

Turning quickly down LaSalle St we get a good shot of the Sears' Tower. Soon to be Willis Tower........... Fun fact: the "dull" midsection is where all the AC, water pump, etc. are housed.

Looking back down LaSalle we get a shot of the Chicago Board of Trade. Definitely not a "modern" skyscraper, but a great looking building none-the-less.


Taking a quick warming break we see a tapestry of what the original design of Chicago was going to be. Please note the diagonal streets and the small buildings. How interesting that we get the "more confusing then imaginable" street design (honestly coming to a light and having to make 5 choices........very irksome) and then not getting the "cleanness" of the short buildings. Oh well.

Ok, ok, this next picture is clearly not a skyscraper. However, this is the First National Bank Clock that is still standing even though the old First National Bank building is no longer around. For those who are trying to place this clock it is in the Chase building plaza. Fun fact: the city of Chicago gives buildings tax credits for creating plaza space.



This next buildings was actually one of my favorites on the walk. The appearance of the building "just made sense" to me. It was stainless steel with a really cool looking green glass. It was done in the "international" style, i.e. raised building so lobby can be "see through" with support pillars on the outside. The part I like about this building is that it was built in the 50's, but looks "modern" today.

Here is a view of it from the side. It apparently doesn't met current safety codes, but was grandfathered in. Please note the grey colored part on the back of the building. This is where the elevator, bathrooms, etc. are housed. Yes, it doesn't met code as there is only one way out......d'oh. Not to worry, the tour guide says it is a very safe building. Sigh.....what a relief.

The next picture is also not of s skyscraper, but of a piece of art by Picasso. It stands in front of the Daley Center. I can appreciate that Picasso was a famous painter, sculptor, etc. and that art is always open to interpretation. However, I wonder if Picasso had a big laugh after making this sculpture. Who knows. I personally think it looks like an orangutan. Others thought it looked like a dog, an angel or any other manner of being. Fun fact: The tour guide mentioned that some people think this was a sculpture of Picasso's wife. I got a chuckle out of that one......I suppose this is one way of showing someone you care.....ha, or what you really think about them.

Now on to the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Honestly, I think this is a very nice looking building regardless of what I think of the man whose name it unfortunately shares. It is now the 2nd tallest building in Chicago and if you haven't seen Chicago in a while it certainly changes the skyline.

This next building was not covered in the tour. I seriously doubt if it could be considered modern, but during my 8 years here I've never noticed this building and what appears to be gold on the roof. Truly a stunning building.


This is a picture of the Aon Building. It is the 3rd tallest building in Chicago. Fun fact: when they first built the tower the exterior was marble. However, due to the severe Chicago winters they had to take it all down and put in a more durable material (granite). Doing this, supposed, doubled the cost of the building...........

This building was not covered on the tour and honestly I'm not sure what it's name is, however, I've always wondered if you could slide all the way down the slanted part. You know, with some sort of potato sack or something..........weeeeeeeee.

This is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Such a cool looking structure.

Here is another shot of it, this time looking at the performance stage.

And here is the famous "bean" in Millennium Park. Fun fact: the sculpture was suppose to represent mercury.

Here is the new modern wing of the Art Institute. Fun fact: the roof has controls, so that as the sun moves the roof adjusts the light in the galleries.

Looking back towards the Aon Building there is the Blue Cross Blue Shield building. Note it appears that they are building on top of the building......because they are. When the building was first built they only built 30 stories with the idea that they might build more. Note that the building doesn't have anything on the exterior which would fade or rust....thus making it easier to add and not have the building look weird.

This is the fountain in Millennium Park. During the summer, no joke, water comes out of that guys mouth. Lots of fun.

A view looking north bound on Michigan Ave. by the Art Institute.

Hope you've enjoyed the tour. I'll leave you with a saying from ol'blue eyes, "Chicago, it's my kind of town."

Spring has Sprung!

The first sign of Spring: New green growth on our blackberry bush! Come on blackberry pie!

Second sign: Cat grass fever! I joked with Andrew that we might need to buy a lawn mower.
This week we literally watched grass grow, and it was interesting! There was little movement in the pot up through Wednesday. Then little nubs started poking out. I am kicking myself for not taking pictures throughout the process. But the nubs were a very eerie neon green color - we had called it our alien grass. Wednesday morning I decided to move the pot back into the sun. When we got home from work the grass had broke out of its casing (the clear base on the picture below.) and had grown an inch. It seems to be growing now at an inch a day.
Andrew agreed that we should give it to Fran.

So far she seems interested - but only from a safe distance.

So as not to seem to be playing favorites with our green children. Twiggy appears to be liking his new home, and is still doing well.

And no name plant is doing well - despite Fran taking an interest in eating his leaves. Here's hoping this is a safe plant for kitties!

The Waggoner's World Goes Green

A while back we purchased a money tree to help make our house a home. Since the purchase the tree has flourished with all the great care it received in our home. So since it looked like Twiggy (the name we have given the money tree) was going to be with us for a while, we decided to buy him a nice pot.
So one weekend we decided to make a trip out and purchase a pot. We ended up with two pots out of our shopping trip, but once we brought them home we discovered that neither were going to be the right size for the tree. So Twiggy remained in his plastic home, and we just sort of placed the planters around the plastic bin he was in.
Today, we decided Twiggy had suffered too long - and that we should get something to go in the other planters. So we measured Twiggy and the two planters and headed down to Home Depot. Here is what we got:

Twiggy's new home:


The new plant for our mosaic planter purchased on our earlier shopping trip:

So what to do with the second planter?
How about a berry garden?

Andrew and I are going to test are thumbs and see if they are truly green. The plant on the left is a blueberry plant, while the one on the right is a blackberry plant. The roots are soaking for the night. We will plant them tomorrow.

One last purchase: Cat Grass!

We couldn't leave Fran out of all the fun could we?

And lastly - we didn't purchase these today - they were a gift from Lindsay, but they are such a pretty color - especially with the color of our apartment, we wanted to share the picture. Absolutely lovely!