Crowds

 Back at my computer working on the rewrite of MURDER BY THE HOOK and the Chicago trip is just a memory.  The weather was great.  It was 80 on the day we left.  It was sunny with blue skies the whole time.  The leaves were brilliant colors.  It was all very fallish, 

By chance, I saw there was an event over the last weekend called Open House Chicago.  Buildings all over the city that aren't usually accessible were open to the public.  And it was free.  We skipped the neighborhood buildings and went right to downtown.

We started off with lunch at the Berghoff, which was packed thanks to the draw to come downtown.  It is a very old restaurant that has nicely kept the interior the same.  It's German food and has wonderful side dishes of things red cabbage and spatzle that work for a vegetarian. It was only a short walk from there  My son was excited to be able to the trading floor the Board of Trade which is never open to the public.

It's at the spot where LaSalle Street meets Jackson and I heard was the most photographed block in the city.  I think it has been used a lot for movies.  Normally, it would have been desolate on a Saturday, but it was packed with people.  There were two bridal parties taking photographs in the street who must not have realized there were going to be all these people wandering around.

The line to go through the Board of Trade was a block long though it moved rather quickly. The interior of the Art Deco building was very old school elegant when buildings had all kinds of decorative touches.  First stop was the vault which was huge and then an elevator ride up to the trading floor.  The crowd was very nice and friendly.  The trading floor looked smaller than expected, but my son was fascinated. It was very user friendly.  They had samples of the jackets that people wear on the floor, available to try on and take photos.  There were giveaways of cups and kids' size sun glasses.  

I did sort of write about that area in one of the Writer for Hire books so it was neat to see what the inside of the building was like.

I took a break after that and sat outside while my son went to the money museum and came back with bags of shredded bills.  It was fascinating watching  the crowds of people.  The Chicago loop as it's called used to be a shopping mecca.  I see pictures on Facebook all the time of thick crowds on State Street which was where all the department stores were located.  Between them, were large shoe stores and a giant Woolworthts and weird little stores that always claimed to be going out of business.  All of that is changed.  Only Macy's is left and it's been whittled down.  There are a number of  schools  and more people are living in high rises down there. but the thick crowds are gone--except for that weekend.

There were throngs of people everywhere.  We stopped at one more building before we called it a day.  They had opened a completely empty floor to the public.  There was nothing in it, but great views of the lake, other buildings  and the street if you looked down.

Sunday we hit North Michigan Avenue and the number of  people downtown was staggering.  I hung out in a five story Starbucks while my son did his wandering.  It was mobbed.  I just loved seeing so much life back on the street.  As we drove home, we passed crowds waiting to get into Orchestra Hall and the Auditorium theater which is part of Roosevelt University where I went to school.  People were walking through the park on their way to  Buckingham Fountain and the lakefront. What a great surprise for the weekend.

Lots of Harlequin Romantic Suspense On My Mind

             I’m excited to say that the Harlequin Romantic Suspense Facebook page is getting revamped and will be made more visible and exciting! A few of the HRS authors I saw at the recent Harlequin 75^th Anniversary celebration suggested doing this, and I loved the idea. I’m definitely willing to contribute. Not sure when it’ll go into effect but the latest stories, and their authors, will be featured, and the rest of us will be involved too.

             And yes, the manuscript I’m currently working on is another HRS story, the first in the upcoming new series—although I still have one coming out next year in the current series. I visited a local station of the Los Angeles Police Department yesterday to ask some research questions regarding that story I’m writing now and found the greeter at the front desk to be a really helpful police officer—including answering questions about how to hopefully get a car that’s been parked on our street for many months towed away at last. Maybe. But some of the fictional characters I’m currently creating are with the LAPD, so learning more about how the situation I’m inventing—sort of—might actually be handled certainly was helpful. Oh, and yes, I spoke with that very helpful officer who greeted me about the station’s K-9s, as well as other dogs.

Short Post

 This written under  duress.  I am writing on my son's laptop. There were hassles signing in.  The laptop is on a shakey table and there is a baseball game in the background that someone else is watching.  I am limited to where I can work because the portable internet only works in this room.

I am in Chicago where it was a perfect fall day, crisp, sunny and blue sky without a cloud.  We went to Lincoln Park Zoo.  The zoo is free but parking is only free for 30 minutes.  At 31 minutes to 3 hours, its $30. It was the last hour that the zoo was open and a lot of stuff was already closed, so we were gone in 29 minutes.  I did see the lions.  But I'm not so sold on zoos.  I think the way Linda saw the animals is a lot better.

After the zoo we drove through Lincoln Park.  The streets are from a time when there weren't a lot of cars which means they are narrow, but that doesn't mean there were double buses and bicycles.  It was a relief to get on the expressway where the traffic was clogged, but no bicycles or buses.

We were our way for our favorite Chicago pizza.  Lou Maltnati's is so good.  So good that we'll go there on the way to the airport.

I keep hitting something on the computer that makes a screen come up covering my work.  And then there was a voice that seemed like a ghost.  It was from another program on this computer.

I know I said I could write anywhere, anytime-- But there was just another interruption-- and the leftover pizza is calling my name.

October Is Marching On

             Yes, it’s now the third week of October—getting closer to Halloween. This year we won’t get to visit our grandsons in Indiana for Halloween as we usually do because of some changes in our schedule. We’ll see them later in the year—but I won’t get to wear my witch costume for them. Sigh. 

            But we did celebrate our pups last weekend at a special party. They’re Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and the local Cavalier Club had a fun day! Our babies aren’t show dogs, but some of the events included show-like matches. Fun to watch! But the only contest our girls participated in was the costume contest. No, they didn’t win, but they were cute in their dinosaur outfits. And we did win one of the door prizes, including a nice, big, fluffy doggy bed. Both dogs love it!   

             Meanwhile, I’ve still been working on my latest Harlequin Romantic Suspense story. And enjoying it—unsurprisingly. I’ve been writing for a long time, and still have fun with it. So…Keep on writing!