Lola at the Lake near Diversey

What a good girl.

More Spring in West Lakeview

One of the trees in our backyard has little buds and it is in the upper 70's today. I went for a run along the lake for the first time in a very long time. It is a little nicer than running on a treadmill in the gym.

Max on Our Back Porch

Max thinks birds are fascinating.

(really) Spring in West Lakeview

It is in the 70's today and signs of Spring are popping up all over the place.

Quimby's in Bucktown

Instead of walking around our neighborhood with Lola, for a change of pace we took Lola for a walk in Bucktown. Normally on a weekend we stop by Chicago Comics, but today we went to Quimby's instead and Alan bought issue 5 of La Perdida.

Sweet Thang in Bucktown

Since Lola was with us, we picked up sandwiches at Sweet Thang and ate in a park nearby.

Berghoff in the Loop

Last night we had the classic Chicago dinner at the Berghoff and then saw the movie "Purple Butterfly" at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Michael and Alan liked the movie more than I did, but I don't like spy movies that much even if they are Chinese. All three of us thought the Gene Siskel Film Center is terrific.

Taqueria Azteca in Pilsen

Yesterday we had a terrific lunch at Taqueria Azteca and then headed over to the Mexican Fine Arts Museum Center. The museum building is unimposing from the outside, but the exhibition space inside and the collections are outstanding. I thought this was among the best museums in Chicago.

Cafe Jumping Bean in Pilsen

A terrific coffee shop.

The Brown Line by Paulina

I took this a couple of weeks ago on my way to work on the El. It is just a picture of my backpack taken on my Treo phone. I transfered the photo from my phone to my Powerbook using Bluetooth. Geeky coolness!

Whole Foods in West Lakeview

I stopped by Whole Foods today on the way to work to find that they've had their license revoked. Eeks! I wasn't the only one who found this amusing. Notice the other photographer (and that it was snowing).

Lola and Max in my office

Wow! For the first time, Max and Lola are sharing Lola's bed in my office. I'm afraid that if I get up from my chair that they'll get up too, so I had to take this photo on my Treo phone.

Spring in West Lakeview

hmmm...

The Green Line at Ashland

On our way to dinner in Little Italy we say this terrific El stop. Taking photos while driving is fun! Dinner at Cafe Viaggio was also really good. The food was great, I love the poster of Dean Martin they have on the wall and you can never hear the song, "That's Amore" too often.

Spring in West Lakeview

Today was the first full day of spring. In Chicago it isn't too easy to tell. At least the days are getting longer, but it was in the mid 30's today. Alan tells me that today is meant to be the nicest day of the week.

Fantastic Sam's in West Lakeview

I finally got my haircut yesterday. Considering that Fantastic Sam's is right around the corner and they always take walkins, I should really go more often.

She She in Lincoln Square

Yesterday was our 5th anniversary and we went to She She for a celebratory dinner. This used to be one of our favorite restaurants. It used to be that the food was original and delicious and the atmosphere was fun and lively. Last night our food was okay and everyone there seemed depressed.

57th Street Books in Hyde Park

After lunch we stopped into 57th Street Books. It is one of my all time favorite bookstores. We just browsed for quite a while and then I ended up buying Grace Land and Talking to Strangers.

Noodles Etc. in Hyde Park

For lunch we went to Noodles Etc. I had pad thai and Alan had tofu fried rice. Both meals were good, but my fork smelled funny, kind of like mildew. I decided to eat with chopsticks, although in general I'm opposed to eating Thai food with chopsticks.

DuSable Museum in Hyde Park

In the morning, Alan and I went to the DuSable Museum of African American History. It is a small museum with several very good exhibits. The exhibit of photos of Martin Luther King was outstanding.