Thursday, January 14, 2016

Kedzie and Elston


A photo from two years ago still at the beginning of a camera card I haven't totally cleared off (it has 2014, 2015, 2016 photos on it now). The building on the right is completely gone and the one on the left drastically changed into a mattress store, but these vacant buildings were a sight I enjoyed passing.

This is Addison (E-W street) / Kedzie (N-S) / Elston (diagonal), the border of Avondale and Irving Park neighborhoods/community areas. Within a block or so of this corner: a 24-hour Jewel supermarket (a great thing to have in walking distance, I like Tony's better and it's closer to me but not open very late), a fancy coffee place/bakery (Sugar Hills, other locations are in suburbs), a burrito place and a Chinese buffet I've still never been to, a White Castle that was my first White Castle I ever went in before I moved to the neighborhood, then didn't get back to until it'd been completely torn down and rebuilt (and is quite nice and still 24 hours), a Chipotle, a diner that's pretty cheap and good and I'd visit more if it didn't close at 2 pm (and is completely closed Tuesday, which often seems to be the day I get the urge to go) (I didn't make it in in 2015 at all), a 24-hour Dunkin' Donuts that's my favorite of the 3 closest to me (not just because it's open late)...and this is four blocks south of another corner of 24-hour businesses (Walgreens, another cheap diner). And two blocks north of Revolution Brewing's excellent brewery and tap room.

Anyway. I like having a walkable neighborhood (aside from a few horrifying intersections) and walking or biking a lot is how I happened to get this photo. Not a spectacular sight but something you may miss a little when it's gone.

Thursday, January 07, 2016

Happy New Year


From a Walmart in Ames, Iowa (the bigger Walmart on Duff Avenue, Ames has two) the day after Christmas. I liked the Christmas bear all tired out on the display of trinkets for the next holiday. I'm a little late with this (and my 2015-in-review posts) but I'm far ahead of blogging last year, since I only managed a sad post on 12/31 (it should have ended on a hopeful note, I forgot that!)