A change...

is a coming.

Having been thru more-than-I-care-to-number winters here in Chicago, I know when it is around the corner.

We go from no-jackets-required-weather to gloves-hats-heavy-coats-demanded-weather.

This morning's strong, brisk winds were my reminder....


in addition to the putting up of the little white holiday lights.....


in the trees along the river.

makes me shiver

"You have to just let it go!"

I heard a woman say to a female companion as I passed them this morning.

Do you think guys ever say that to each other??

Anyway....what she said reminded me of an email that I recently received - a very long-rambling email, but sections of it are worth repeating.

So here are some of the “Let it Go” parts:

"By T. D. Jakes

There are people who can walk away from you.

I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone.

People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay.

LET THEM GO!!!

And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead.

If you are holding on to past hurts and pains .......

LET IT GO!!!

If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth.....

LET THEM GO!!!”

It goes on and on, but I believe for today’s Susan’s-Overheard-Snippet that is enough heavy stuff.

let's get tough

It is 2-2-2 Tuesday!

My "favorite" number continually keeps popping up. As I have written before...it might be like buying a new "only-I-own-one" car and then suddenly seeing 100's more every time you drive.

but this is where I arrive

Belted In!

Some three months ago, while in the religious-zealot-like-throws of the Watchers of Weight program, my belts became too big.

So big in fact, I took my favorite ones to the local shoe repair shop and had some holes put in, making them once again wearable.

I am now unhappy to report that in my falling off the Watchers of Weight Wagon (WWW) and being run over by Giant Chocolate Glazed Donuts (GCGD) I am now to the last hole of my favorite belt....but not in the direction of being smaller.

if only I were taller

It's Left for Me to Find Friday!

As I wander around this great City of Chicago...I come upon all sorts of interesting things that are left behind for my viewing by kind, generous, not-at-all-self-centered or lazy folks.

****Warning...some pictures may not be appropriate for those with "touchy" stomachs.****

Here are this week's finds:


Busch? Honestly....but then I remembered the economy is going to Hell in a hand basket and I understood the frugality of it.


A gum smile – how creative!


So...they couldn’t find the garbage can 50 feet away...Hey, maybe they were driving blind!

AND last...but not at all least......


Thirsty? Thanks for leaving that bottle of urine on the street for Susan Snippet’s to find....another unselfish display of caring.

and sharing

Catechism

For years during my childhood I would spend Saturday mornings at St. John the Apostle sitting at an old wooden desk, while a fully-habited nun taught me and my classmates Catholic biblical stories and rules.

One such Saturday was spent telling us impressionable 4th graders about THE END OF THE WORLD.

I don’t know about the other kids in my class, but for me, Miss Worry Wart, who also right about that same time, overheard adults talking about spinal meningitis and how it can kill a person - so immediately my back started ACHING; thus assuring my overactive imagination that I would shortly be succumbing to the disease, but I digress.

That particular Saturday morning just about ruined my year.

The nun said that when the end of the world was upon us “the sun, the moon and the stars” would appear together in the sky.

So you can imagine how I felt when shortly thereafter on a bright sunny day, I saw something similar to this:


I ran straight to my parent’s bedroom and fell to my knees beneath the scary-looking crucifix they had hanging on the wall, where I proceeded to cry and plead with God that it not be the end.

So this morning on my walk to the office as I spotted that beautiful moon, high up in the sunny sky, it made me think of 4th grade CCD and being scared/scarred with stories told by a nun.

it wasn't fun

A Rainy FUN Lunch....

was had by me today.

And ironically it is, in part, a continuation of only-happens-to-Susan-Snippets lunch walk of yesterday (which will be another blog post).

On this rainy Chicago afternoon I wandered to the Merchandise Mart and took the catwalk over Orleans Street to the Apparel Center, where I ended up on the south side of the lobby looking out at the rain and contemplating walking further.



It was then I noticed a guy with an earpiece, the kind the Secret Service wear...so, of course, Susan Snippets had to walk outside and investigate.

The doorman asked me "Do you need a cab?" "No, I am waiting for a friend." I responded (pretty slick, huh?)

Within minutes two black limos pull up and out of the front one steps Mayor Richard M. Daley, along with his security entourage.

As he walks past I say "Hello Mayor" while stretching out my hand. He shook it as I told him how long I have worked in Chicago. He then asked my name, I answered and he headed into the building.

I followed them partially thru the lobby in all my Mayoral-giddiness while heading back to the office. It was in the long hallway leading to Orleans Street that I spotted this just sitting against the wall.


What?

Too funny! The paper it is on says "this painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often" followed by www.bataclan.com.

It is now mine and I have already emailed the artist and sent him this picture.


Check his site out....how fun is this to do during these times of financial gloom and doom?

So I told Artist Bren I would definitely pass along smiles.

And for my whimsical painting.....he is going to be encased in a black shadow box and added to my collection of art at home.

it pays to roam