A Filling and “Colorful” Weekend

This past weekend was a fun one and we were fortunate to have beautiful weather Sunday after a not so good Saturday that was rainy, damp and somewhat cold. Saturday I debated about driving to Geneva for dinner with friends from WSGA at Claddagh’s, a great Irish pub restaurant. Last time we were there, people raved about their fish and chips dinner so I had that, along with their vegetable soup. As I drove out to the western suburbs, the temperature started rising higher and higher. I was actually glad I wore shorts. But just in case, I also brought a jacket with me. And thank goodness I brought it. We were seated in the shade where it got a tad bit cold. Cold enough to get the coat from the car.

We had two new men who joined us for the first time. They found out about the dinner from our website, which always makes me smile when I hear that, given that I am the webmaster for the organization. It’s good that people are able to find our website easily. Both of the guys were good conversationalists and it looks like they are here for the long haul. One guy is a doctor and when he knew where I lived, he stated that he has relatives here. It turns out when he mentioned his cousin’s name, I knew her quite well. When he made mention of where the family lived, it brought back memories of when I used to walk his cousin Lisa home back in grade school. She lived only a half a block away from the school and I walked the same route she took. It would be nice to see these two new members at the luau party next weekend.

Close-up of Jell-o

Prior to going to dinner, I thought of an additional item to bring to the Pride Brunch that I was going to be attending Sunday. I was already going to be preparing a spinach quiche, which was delish by the way. But I thought of the idea of making a rainbow jell-o mold with the six layers of the pride flag colors. But I also recalled how tedious it was and how long it took to prepare. But I came across another recipe for the rainbow jell-o recipe where there were only three layers of colors used: red, yellow and blue. I won’t delve into a lesson of primary and secondary colors, but when these colors are stacked upon each other, they create other colors. Only three layers were used, but when the red and yellow layers touch, you can see orange; and when the blue and yellow layers touch, you can see green.

Sunday morning, I cut the jell-o mold into finger-sized pieces where you could really see all the colors, with the exception of purple. But this recipe was not labor intensive at all. At least in comparison to the seven layer mold I once made with a bundt cake mold.

After church Sunday morning, I got home right away and started making the spinach quiche. I didn’t have the best of luck making the pastry crust for the quiche, so I ended up making a second crust. Luckily the crust held up well without cracking like it did earlier. And as late as I thought I was (45 minutes) there were still many that had not arrived. What I liked about Sunday brunch party was that it was at a couple’s house who live only about 20 minutes away, unlike many other parties where they’re, on average, about an hour away.

After leaving the party, I had the unfortunate circumstance of driving by an accident that happened a few minutes earlier. I decided to take a detour and headed east where I eventually took the scenic route through some of the wealthy suburbs. I came by Fort Sheridan and decided to take a drive through there. It was an army base closed through the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) process, now used strictly for reserves. The rest of the military property was turned over for private residential development where the homes and townhomes all mimicked the older homes that were residences for the high-ranking officers. The weather was perfect to capture some shots of Fort Sheridan’s water tower and the surrounding grounds. The water tower was designed by the architectural firm of Holabird & Roche and is a classic example of military architecture. It was built in 1891 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior on December 4, 1974. I made it home by about 6:00 PM.

Before heading home, I thought I would check out the Fort Sheridan cemetery. It was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but still just as moving; particularly after coming across a certain headstone. It wasn’t someone that I knew, but the headstone indicated he was a bronze star and purple heart recipient. He died at the young age of 24 from an IED on Christmas Day. He was born the year I graduated from junior high. I “googled” his name and it was amazing how many sites recognized him. It was also sobering seeing a photo of him; putting the name with a face.

 Additional photos are below in the gallery. Remember to click on the photos in the gallery to enlarge them.

Close-up of Jell-o

Accident Scene #2

Accident Scene #1

Fort Sheridan Cemetery