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Due to the big traffic mess that is Washington, I've become a devout Naper Boulevard-er. (Or Boulevardier. Or even Boulevardiere, since I'm female. But I digress.) So how is it that I have overlooked this library sign. Was it really here before Feb. 18th when I left on vacation?

I need to slow down and pay bettter attention.

PS With a little help from Ralph and Grace's Mom, I have tweaked how you leave comments at Naperville Now. I hope it is now easier and that you will be inclined to comment your brains out.

Bagged

Bridges, the city of Naperville's quarterly newsletter, has announced that the city will resume its yard waste pick up the week of March 15. That's just 18 days from  now.

I am so happy.

We Got Outta This Place

Naperville Now will be taking a few days off to thaw out with the Lit Chix, a group of extremely erudite women, on the Gasparilla Peninsula.

Passez un bon weekend, everyone.

Appreciate the Weather?

I guess one could try to appreciate all of this lovely grey and white by sledding down Rotary Hill or dusting off the cross country skis.  But I've decided to do all my appreciating from the warmth of our family room. And while my cardiologist might disapprove of my watching all of that Olympic activity rather than doing it, I am making progress on a quilt for Daughter No. 2. Bob Costas and the moguls are the perfect accompaniment as I applique at least nine million leaves on twelve quilt squares. I should be done just about the time they're lighting the torch in Sochi, Russia.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Over By Der

My sister in law gave me this frame made from wood salvaged from an old house. It's splintery and rough and has traces of white paint on it. She probably paid extra for the metal knob on the right. It is quite cool and matted for a 4x6 picture. As it is, Baby cannot be contained in such a small space, so I pasted him on top of the mat. Perfection.

This is what the frame makers have to say about their product:

In search of a yesterday, this frame was built from the wood of an old house in southeast Georgia. It was the front porch of gossip well-told. A wall piece of sweet remembrance from the room of a child. The ceilings and floors of echos heard, the comfort and contents the kitchen cabinets stored. From this wood a reminder of moral excellence stood -- comfortable, unchallenging places of our past. When old meets new, wisdom and hope come face to face.

Like that bit very much and the picture even more.

All Shook Up

I thought our furnaces had exploded at 4 a.m., but it turns out it was just an earthshake that started near DeKalb and exploded toward Naperville in order to hurl me (nearly) out of bed.

Okay, so it wasn't quite this bad, but it did its best to give me a major swirly for maybe 10 seconds.

Are these guys next?

Anime Trees

City crews have been around town trimming up the parkway trees. I noticed that there were icicles hanging from the areas where they pruned the branches. It struck me as anime meets post-apocalptic landscape.

Speaking of which, we now await the killer snowstorm, dubbed Snowmageddon on the radio tonight.

Sigh.

Toys with Taste

It was observed that the Cardboard Chaos epsiode of Naperville Now was lacking a very important component -- a picture of a wooden spoon.

I finally got around to reading the directions on my new camera (thanks, Honey!) and voila!

Super

I hear there's some sort of sporting ritual being held this afternoon.

Candy Ban

While Illinois is still wondering how it elected an alleged prostitute-beating, steroid-consuming, knife-to-the-throat-wielding pawnbroking candidate for Lieutenant Governor (would someone pleeeease tell me what is wrong with Illinois?), the Tribune tells me that the Naperville City Council has banned the tossing of candy from parades.

Naperville is home to a LOT of parades. Not only have we spent our formative years waving to kids and friends marching through the streets of Naperville, but our girls have kept safe running after the occasional Tootsie Roll. But the City Council voted 5 to 3 to ban the launching of anything.

I imagine people walking along the sides of a parade route could hold baskets and strategically bestow Jolly Ranchers, but it won't be nearly as fun -- unless parade-goers decide to buy candy and aim for the parade. As this could be a problem for the musicians, I guess we'll just have to hang on the curb and keep waving our flags.

Blue Fingers

It would appear that most of you did not listen to me and avoided the polls on Tuesday.

Civic duty, my friends. Civic duty. Just think of all those poor starving children in ...Wait. Wrong lecture.

Just think of those poor starving people who STAND IN LINE TO VOTE OVER BY DER IN IRAQ.

Consider yourself admonished.

Vote -- Or Else

VOTE ON TUESDAY

or you lose the right to bellyache about Illinois politics.

I'm Naperville Now and I approved this message.