Chicago Skyline...oooh

Look at this awesome picture that my brother made. While we were in the city a few weeks ago, we were standing in Millennium Park by the Bean...excuse me 'The Cloud Gate'...and he took a series of photos of the buildings along Michigan Avenue. Then he used his computer savvy and some fancy program (I'm sure he explained it, but I've forgotten) and made this panoramic photo.
Feel free to ooh and aah.

Christmas in Chicago

This past weekend I was able to head into Chicago on Saturday to share some shopping and site-seeing with my MI and IL friends. We hit the Art Institute gift shop ('cuz it's free), and Millenium Park, and walked the Macy's windows, and shopped in Macy's (which is seriously overheated for people wearing long underwear), watched a little of the 5 o'clock CBS news through the studio windows, hit the Christkindlmarket (where some of us purchased hot chocolate in a commemorative boot - awesome), and ended the night with dinner and drinks at the Crepe Bistro.
Great fun was had by all. Here are some pics of the day.

Sheep!?

This past weekend I rode the train down to Galesburg, IL for a day of baking with my Augie buddies Melissa and Larisa. (I bet you didn't know taking the Amtrak from Naperville to Galesburg is actually faster than driving). When I arrived in town Larisa and I stopped at a local bakery to get a treat for a mid-morning snack. Besides the sticker-shock of buying baked goods outside of the Chicago area (a good-sized cinnamon roll cost only $1) I walked into the attached small grocery shop next door and had another unusual experience.
This is a goat or a sheep or something like that...made of seeds and beans. He's completely covered, and dressed for the holidays. It was so avant-garde in such an unexpected place. Of course I took a picture.

Door Decorating 2009

We've done it again. USF is decorating our doors for the holiday season and the Archives is no exception. You may remember my Narnia door from last year. This year the offices in the Library got together to have a theme through-out the building. We all decorated our doors with a different Christmas movie, and then did a display on the first floor for a "Library Movie Theatre".
My movie is A Christmas Story, and in true Linnea fashion, I went way overboard. Here are some pictures: (For those of you who haven't been to my office, it's a door set in a wall of windows).
And this is the display by the front door that I did for the "Library Movie Theatre":
My job rocks.