Illinois Update

So much has happened since I posted last ... and then again, not so much! For the most part, our weeks go by in a typical pattern, just like they did back in California. It's just a different pattern - VERY different. Normally, we work 8-3 Monday and Thursday - Saturday, and 12-7 on Sunday, with Tuesday and Wednesday off. We have found a great Calvary Chapel where we are very comfortable worshipping in Carpentersville. We go to church on Sunday morning, to the Farmer's Market in Woodstock on Tuesday morning and to Bible study on Wednesday evening. We do laundry a couple of times a week, and basically relax when we aren't working. Like I said, sort of normal.

What is far from normal is the fact that we are in Illinois! Even after over two months, it just feels so weird being in Illinois and not California. We miss our family and friends! However, Illinois is beautiful ... green everywhere you look. The corn is probably about as tall as I am now, and we should soon be able to buy fresh corn at the Farmer's Market. Looking forward to that! Although Illinois is beautiful and green, by far the most striking aspect is not what we see, but what we DON'T see ... litter! Illinois is almost completely devoid of litter. Of course there is the occasional water bottle, and there are unsightly cigarette butts here and there, but that is the extent of the litter here ... and graffiti is almost non-existent! Apparently, the people in Illinois respect not only nature but their fellow human beings, far more than those in California. It is quite refreshing. Living in CA for the past 30+ years had produced an assumption that littering was rampant all over the country. Well, I am happy to say that is incorrect! Even Chicago is clean! Riding the train in from Crystal Lake, I paid particular attention to this. No litter behind industrial building, around the train tracks and stations ... virtually nothing! What a nice surprise.

Okay, off the pulpit and on to other subjects! As I mentioned, we took a trip into Chicago this past week. What a beautiful city. While there, we took an "Architectural Tour" by boat up the Chicago River and learned quite a lot of Chicago history. The most fascinating thing we learned was the fact that the Chicago River used to flow the opposite direction, INTO Lake Michigan rather than AWAY from Lake Michigan. The guide explained it quite thoroughly, but I can't do it justice. Look it up on the Internet for yourselves!