Roller Coaster Weather

 As always, Chicago is having its roller coaster weather.  One day it's 90 degrees out, the next it's 40.  Buildings go from using air-conditioning to heat in a day.  People go from shorts and tank tops to pants and jackets.
  Right now I have peppers, petunias, and geraniums in my garage, anxiously waiting to be planted in the ground or in a hanging basket.  My tomato plants have the envious spot inside on my windowsill.  I see those little plants staring out the window, wondering when they can go outside and enjoy some fresh air.  Fingers crossed, by the end of this week.  My other veggies are still in seed form so they don't know any better.  Although our area isn't the best for growing oranges, lemons, and palm trees, Chicago has been blessed with many beautiful, hardy tulips and daffodils that still thrive in cold rain and warm sun alike.

Oprah; Now a Permanent Part of Chicago

  Oprah fans can now walk down Oprah Winfrey Way.  Yesterday Richard Daley named a block in front of Harpo Studios, Oprah Winfrey Way.  Her day time talk show is scheduled to end May 25th.

Some Chicago freebies for Mother's Day....

  Taking mom out for Mother's Day this year?  Here's a few freebies for mom on her special day:

--IKEA is offering moms free breakfast before 11am.

--Does your mom love ice cream?  She can enjoy a free cup or cone at TCBY this Sunday.

--From May 6-8, moms get into Medieval Times for free with the purchase of one full price adult. 
http://www.medievaltimes.com/specialoffers/treat-mom-like-a-queen.aspx

--The Odyssey, Spirit of Chicago, and Mystic Blue cruises are offering mom a free cruise on Lake Michigan.  There will be brunch and dinner launches from Navy Pier.  With the purchase of 3 adult tickets, moms get to cruise and eat for free.

--German restaurant, Mirabel, on W. Addison in Irving Park, is open from noon until 8pm for Mother's Day and is offering mom a free glass of wine.

--Rosewood Restaurant in Rosemont offers moms dining on Mother's Day a free $25 gift card for a future visit.

A Taste of Greece

  One of the things I love about Chicago is how cultural it is.  Chicago's people are incredibly proud of their culture and heritage and love celebrating it.  Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the Greek Independance Day Parade on Halsted in Greektown.  People not familiar with the Greek community would be amazed at how many Greek organizations there are in Chicagoland.  Greek churches from Chicago to Elgin were represented in full force.  There were Greek dance groups of all ages and sizes, a Greek Professionals organization, Greek schools, even a Greek motorcycle group called "Gama".  Some villages in Greece were also represented with banners and marchers.  My favorite dance group to watch is Dionysos Dance Troupe.  They perform dances from all over Greece and grow in size every year.  To view some of their dances, check out this YouTube link of their performance at a 2009 White Sox Game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBLZcVJD5A

  After the Parade, we all went to Greek Islands, on Halsted, for a mouth-watering dinner.  Greek Islands has a variety of traditional Greek food at reasonable prices.  There is something for everyone's taste from chicken to seafood to soups to salads to gyros to even different lamb dishes.  We enjoyed flaming saganaki cheese, grilled octopus, calamari, fried zucchini, traditional greek spreads, dolmades (grape leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice), and spanakotiropita (layers of spinach and feta cheese in a filo dough).  I left Greek Islands last night holding my very full belly.