Heading for chicago again and that reminded me of you.  Hope you are doing well and your tulips are up.  :-)

How are you doing these days?  

Oh, yes, there was some condescension.  I suspect that comes from answering the same issues over and over.   Patience, patience, patience....

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday with my brother, and cancelled going to indiana.  Seeing him was the big motivation for coming here.  I took him home from the hospital and talked to the doctors some.  The snow made travel difficult.

Sometimes I like the "echo chamber" concept where I here someone say what I am thinking.  That video was some of that.  You are right, nothing new.  Im secure in my ideas, but sometimes feel isolated.    

Where i've tried to define is where I draw the line.  In reality, our existence is so intermingled with animal agriculture, it is almost impossible to avoid 100%.  We don't realize it, but there can be components of fabrics, plastics, medicines that are made from animals.  Wool is a big issue - those sheep are tortured.  Really, bad.  I've moved the line from time to time.  I really think vegan is better, and have crossed back and forth across the line between vegan and ovo-lacto.  I live with a nonvegetarian, my dogs are not vegetarian (is Bella?), the cat is not vegetarian.  We have chickens in the yard, they run around and do what they like....  so it seems OK to eat eggs.  BUT - for every hen, there is a male baby chicken that was killed, otherwise you would have as many roosters as hens.

Thank you again by the way.  I never would have gone to Devon st, and now I think Im going to learn to cook Indian.  That was much better than my local Indian food.

Hope you are keeping warm. This reminded me of our conversation about being vegan.

vegan chicago.

Thank you for answering!  I'll be there 18th, returning here 22nd.  Staying near Midway but will have a car, driving to Indiana on one day to see some old friends, but it's all open ended.  I lived a year in Oak Park on Austin, commuted to UIC by bike, then 3 years on the N side off Peterson, still commuted to UIC by bike.  But other than the art museum and Lakeside, and eating at all of the Indian and Pakistani places on Devon, never got to enjoy the city much.  I think I'll google on the Botanic Garden, see what that has.  

How is your year starting out?  Hope it's going great!  

How you doing?  Any recommendations about good stuff for a nerd/nature lover to see in chicago this time of year?  I'm visiting my brother in Joliet and thought if there is a good botanical garden or something it would be worth visiting.  I used to live there but was doing my residency and never had time to see things I liked.  I know there is the Field Museum.  Hope your 2012 is off to a good start.  

Beekeeping would be a cool hobby.  I want to as well.  Prob not in the cards this year.   Keep me posted!

urban honey bees

Enjoy your holiday, whatever you may call it, or nothing at all.  If you see your family,I hope it is joyful and affectionate, and they can ignore the beliefs that separate you from them and  there are hugs all around.  - Daniel

I've only grafted apples on apples, and cherries on cherries.   In theory, I think you can combine apples and pears, they are close relatives.  Also with asian pears, which I love. Also, most stone fruit can be combined, like apricot + peach + cherry + plum.  Some may not be compatible.  This spring I might combine a couple of Japanese plums for pollination - each variety requires a different variety nearby in order to fruit, they are not self fertile.  Grafting a branch from another variety accomplishes that.

I've also grafted figs, but they only grew a year, then the graft died the next winter.  I read that figs are hard to graft, so that might be it.

Will look for pic of my biggest ginkgo.  Didn't take one this year and it is leafless now.

Come fly with me!

Oh, sorry, I mean come chat with me. :)
I made an effort to change my sleep schedule and I need an incentive to stay awake the whole day, so I am inviting a few of the people I have met in chat to join me there at all times of the day as I will have my browser open to that page the whole day today. Hope to see you there!
Cane

You might be interested in this group.  I've been lax with it.  New Years' resolution, spend more time with things I enjoy....

Next on the agenda: Monty Python and the Holy Grail :D P.S. Romans go home!

Hey thanks for the comment.   This week is good.  Today I have to be disciplined, lot of "homework" to do (for some reason the "m" is giving me trouble - that line originally said "hoework").  Dog is insisting that I grab his squeaky toy for a game of fetch.  I am his obedient servant :-)  How is your week?

pretty vivid, i was about 13 years old then.  it was one of those remarkably horrible things that you couldn't believe was actually happening.

only 8 out of 10.  i don't visit that website and don't watch shuttle launches (although i used to - i was even home sick the day the Challenger blew up and was watching it live on TV). 

yeah, big Phillies phan!  i can see swearing off the Cubbies.  it's great to be a Phils phan these days.  feel free to jump on board!

where is this quiz you and 1311 are referring to?  i wanna take it!