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My Little Town

I live in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Its a town of around 40,000 souls located northwest of Chicago in McHenry County. I live in the downtown area just a block from the Metra Station and about the same distance from Williams Street which is the main street in our town. Many small shops and businesses line this street or are located just off of it. Places like Heisler's Bootery, J. Scott Men's Wear, Le Petit Marche, and the Raue Center for the Arts. There are good places to eat too like the Olympic, Genovese's, Duke O'Brien's, and Christopher's. With the Metra station being so close I never have to find a place to park when I want to head into the city. Life here has many great benefits.

This is a photo taken from the south end of Williams Street looking north during the late afternoon of December 31, 2006. New Year's Eve day. The end of a year for me and the beginning of another.

This has been an interesting year with many good things taking place. Its also been a year where there have been some significant changes in my life including employment. As I look to the days ahead I will be working for a new company soon. One that might allow me to stay here in Crystal Lake or at least the Chicago area. Or perhaps it will take me to a new place, much different that the place I've known the past three and a half years.

It will be interesting to look back on this day a year from now as we prepare to enter into 2008. Many questions will have been answered by then but new ones will remain. As is always the case in life as we move ahead. That's one of the things I like most about it. Life that is. Always different. Always interesting. Full of opportunity, hope and promise.

To everyone who reads this...to anyone who reads this (who am I kidding?) I wish you a happy and prosperous new year. And all the best in the days ahead. From my little town....to you.

Washing the cat

This is probably something that should be titled, "Don't try this at home," but a few days ago when my daughter was home for Christmas break she decided it was time for the cat to have his yearly bath. I'm always supportive of the concept but in the time or two where I've tried it, results were less than successful. Well, actually the cat got cleaned but he got even using back claws and teeth. So in practice I've given up on the process.

But Jourdan is brave and one morning just before Christmas she tossed Nigel Martin into the shower and hopped in right behind him. His experience was similar to those in the past but he was a bit kinder and gentler with her than he'd been with me. After a minute or two of warm water I heard he actually seemed to be warming up to the idea. At least enough to endure the fragrant shampoo and warm water rinse.

When it was over he lept from the tub and ran down the stairs like he could somehow manage to escape the water if his velocity were only high enough. Unfortunately in his case he didn't outrun the wet and had to endure a toweling off followed by a few hours of personal grooming.

Right before that process started I managed a few quick snaps of our regal feline, Nigel Martin. Normally he is a proud and princely feline but when he's wet, he's just a sorry little sack, skinny, scrawny, and not the least regal in stature. But aren't we all like that at some point in our lives. For Nigel's sake, he dried fairly quickly thanks to a small room heater that he got close to and soon he'd returned to his fluffy, furry self. But now his fur is soft and smells so nice. I'm thinking it would be a shame to wait an entire year for this process to take place again. But I'm not brave enough to try it without a full suit of armor.