Little household tasks

Spring and summer in Northern Illinois come with a whole spectrum of bugs, critters and insects. Some we were used to see in Holland, such as ants, bees, wasps and dragonflies, but here - stereotypically American - they are clearly bigger in size. Big wood bees, huge bumblebees, and lately we have gigantic ants occasionally marching through our kitchen.

Next to the supersize versions of bugs seen in Holland, we are also encountering more exotic critters around here. June bugs came early this year because of the mild winter and pleasant spring. Their little dome-shaped bodies flocked the street lamps in the evening for a short two weeks early May. I've spotted the first fireflies this season further away from the lake, but we are still waiting for these big butted love seekers to start hovering in our front yard. Nothing beats their mystical fluorescent flickering lighten up a balmy summer evening.

What we do have are several wasps nesting on our back deck. And these critters, either small or supersize, make a fascinating subject for macro photography.

GABROEN's 20th.....

Believe it or not, but this week was GABROEN's 20th birthday. And it has been a great ride. Twenty years ago to this very day: one broken ankle and one eerie green face in the middle of an intersection during morning rush hour, in front of all of GABROEN's coworkers.  Exactly ten years ago: gone down on one knee in front of all of Gabri's coworkers. And 9 years ago on this very day: a joyful but uncomfortable backward bend of one back in front of the lens of an obsessed Sienese photographer and in front of GABROEN's family and friends.

Yes, it has been a great ride indeed, and GABROEN is very much alive and kicking. The stars are aligned, the Big Dipper is watching over us. Looking forward to the next 20........  

Big Dipper over GABROEN

On the road again - southbound

Guess who's playing in Atlanta's Chastain Park tonight...........? Willie Nelson! He's on the road again, this time southbound. We could have known, because to me the best song of his concert in Waukegan IL was "Georgia on my mind". I'm sure he's playing that tonight as well, and I'm sure the roof will be going off when he does.

And guess who headed there yesterday.........? Gabri! She's spending the long weekend with Jeff, Jo, pineapple margaritas, shopping in Lenox, dinner in Decatur with Sara and Matt, hanging out on the porch at night with a orchestra of cicadas on the background, etc, etc.

Sounds pretty darn good to me. Guess I still have Georgia on my mind. Guess I should be on the road again some time soon. Southbound.


GABROEN on behalf of Jeroen

On the road again - northbound

In stead of all the concerts in outdoor Ravinia Park or in the beautiful theaters in downtown Chicago over the last year, GABROEN went northbound for a change for the most recent gig. This time to Waukegan IL, four towns north from us along the lakefront, and more or less the last town before the Wisconsin state line. We have seen some gents and dames perform over the last year or so, such as now 80-year old "coal miner's daughter" Loretta Lynn and 85-year (!) old Tony Bennett, but this time the performer was "outlaw country" superstar Willie Nelson. He turned 79 in April, and didn't look one bit older than 30 years ago when he duetted with Julio Iglesias - but then again, he has looked pretty worn for the last 3 decades.

Sign outside Genesee Theater, from Sonya Leigh's blog

Willie performed in Waukegan's Genesee Theater, and he more or less played the roof of the pretty building, certainly one of the few pretty buildings in town. It was pretty much packed, and downtown Waukegan looked like an appealing and lively place. Apparently that is a rarity - 'appealing' or 'lively' are not the typical terms people use to describe this rundown industrial town, which, on all the days that Willie is not town, only has the unblocked views on Lake Michigan going for it. But anyway, we picked the good night to explore our northern neighbors. And we had plenty of time to explore, looking at the Genesee Theater audience during the show. The best way to describe that audience? Well, it all felt a little bizarre, out-of-this-worldly, the hairdo's, the clothing style, the characters. As if GABROEN was caught in a rerun of a 1980s American Funniest Home Video-episode. But at least we had way, way more entertaining hosts than Bob Saget. Opening the evening was Georgia-bred country rocker Sonia Leigh, who got the crowd going with "Porkchop marijuana" and some other instant classics. After that, Willie was rockin' and jammin' as if indeed nothing had changed since Julio, crankin' out song after song. "On the road again", "For all the girls I loved before", "Always on my mind", "Whiskey River", "Shotgun Willie", "Crazy", and of course "Mama (and the crowd yelled/repeated MMAAAMMMMMAA), don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys". In his 1,5 hour gig, he probably paused his guitar play for 5 minutes total. And when he was finally done, he shook hands and handed out autographs for at least another 15 minutes, while his little sis' Bobbie Nelson (she is 80, has played with her baby brother for the last 40 years, and released her debut album at age 76!) and band continued to jam the night away.



I definitely raise my bandana for this guy, and my cowboy hat for Bobbie. Great performance. They show us how to be on the road, again and again.