http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/ Everyday meanderings through the landscape of life en-US 2010-12-12T16:09:40-06:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/12/continuing-our-christmas-taco-tradition.html Last weekend, we gathered around the historical tree for our annual Christmas taco party at Jan's. Plus, we celebrated a big surprise involving Erin and Alvin. Congrats parents-to-be! Chuck and I wore matching red shirts under our ugly Christmas sweater... Family Paula 2010-12-12T16:09:40-06:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/11/royal-wedding-in-westminster-abbey.html So exciting to see Westminster Abbey all over the am news today. It's apparently the frontrunner right now for William and Kate's royal wedding - yee ha! Here's how it looked on the morning I arrived in London ... majestic... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-11-19T07:44:52-06:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/11/rory-visits-a-spooky-cincinnati-subway-tunnel-abandoned-in-1925-before-it-was-ever-used.html Film Paula 2010-11-05T21:47:07-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/11/jasons-halloween-costume-homage-to-those-brave-chilean-miners-.html Family Paula 2010-11-05T21:43:35-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/10/proud-to-be-a-tree-indiana-state-universitys-2010-homecoming-parade.html Family Paula 2010-10-09T21:56:06-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/09/lebowski-fest-chicago-2010.html Diversey Rock & Bowl was the site of Chicago's Lebowski Fest last night. I knew it would be an awesome experience and my expectations were surpassed. Here I am in my Viking Maude outfit (sewed on my machine that very... Family Fun Movies Paula 2010-09-19T14:01:25-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/09/my-latest-tv-update-were-all-over-terriers-and-im-getting-really-tired-of-sons-of-anarchy.html First, I want to say I'm not a TV addict. Sometimes I just need to unwind after spending a hard day in the cubicle writing in 3rd person. The final scene at the end of Terriers tonight was a tear-jerker... Television Paula 2010-09-15T22:05:47-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/09/a-happy-tune-to-start-the-day.html The Monkees! While in junior high, I looked forward to their zany, wacky show every week. Music Paula 2010-09-12T07:49:54-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/09/yesterdays-dinner.html This counts as cooking, right? It's my homemade bruschetta on toasted garlic bread made from a tasty tomato and basil recipe. Plus, I'm serving it on my favorite plate. With grilled chicken, it's a meal! I dare anyone to say... Food and Drink Paula 2010-09-06T19:57:19-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/09/tower-of-london.html Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-09-01T07:23:24-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/a-mystery-solved.html I've been trying to figure out the neighborhood where I've spent the past week. It's right next to the busy part of Westminster, but really quiet and fairly deserted at times. Look at this wall ... And this one ...... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-29T15:37:49-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/visiting-the-royals-buckingham-palace-and-st-james-palace.html Got up early this morning to join the day's first group entering Buckingham Palace for a tour of the official State Rooms. A welcome area under large, white tents displayed over-size photos of the Queen greeting various commoners, the most... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-28T10:00:14-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/traveling-by-bus-in-london.html Yesterday's news report on the BBC announced that autumn has officially arrived in London. Well, I'll be darned, I thought it was still summer. Seeing the city by bus has been rainy, windy and sometimes chilly, but great fun nonetheless. Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-27T14:11:24-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/today-a-walkabout.html Mingling with the commoners was so much fun today at the lively Portobello Road market, frequented by more Londoners than tourists. To get there, I took the bus to Trafalgar Square, browsed some of the masterpieces of the National Gallery,... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-27T11:51:25-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/its-thursday-and-i-still-have-no-jet-lag.html The hotel where I'm staying is a few blocks from Parliament in Westminster. Turns out it's a lot more quiet and normal than the crazy tourist areas I've experienced around town ... like a normal neighborhood. There's a bike-rental place... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-26T14:01:37-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/tower-of-london.html Rode the tube to Tower Hill today to inspect the bleak and bloody remains of the Tower of London. Some nice French girls snapped my pic outside Salt Tower and I did the same for them. I discovered that tourists... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-26T12:07:40-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/traveling-on-the-tube.html Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-25T15:02:30-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/roaming-around-westminster-abbey-and-parliament.html Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-25T14:59:02-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/the-british-museum.html I've always known Ramesses II was a badass. He was kind of a hunk, too. I love the 2nd paragraph below where it's explained that he owed much of his reputation to his skills as a self-publicist, erecting more statues... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-25T12:33:09-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/a-few-more-views-of-westminster-abbey.html Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-24T15:10:26-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/08/today-in-london.html After a pleasant journey across the Atlantic that DID NOT include sleep, I checked into my room and literally ran out the door to get myself to Westminster Abbey. I've only waited something like 40 years to get over here... Road Trips & Travels Paula 2010-08-24T11:36:00-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/07/enjoying-newport-aquarium-with-my-boys.html Family Paula 2010-07-27T11:22:35-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/07/tom-petty-rocked-chicago-last-night-.html What a great concert at the United Center last night - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, truly one of America's greatest live bands. Music Paula 2010-07-18T14:03:41-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/07/patrick-pogan-exnypd-cop-avoids-punishment-for-injuring-cyclist.html Ex-NYPD cop gets NO jail time for lying in case in which he injured a critical mass cyclist. Why am I not surprised? News Paula 2010-07-14T21:19:15-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/07/a-little-something-to-ignite-our-minds.html Noteworthy Paula 2010-07-11T20:39:13-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/07/planes-and-primates.html How we spent our day today at our little neighborhood airport and Brookfield Zoo. Family Paula 2010-07-10T22:19:43-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/06/after-the-storm.html Here's the wicked yellow sky that scared the daylights out of us last week - unretouched! Science Paula 2010-06-28T22:21:16-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/06/near-chicago.html Near Chicago Originally uploaded by PaulaPixA terrible storm passed through the Chicago area early this evening. Not sure if you can tell from this photo, but the sky is actually yellow right now. Paula 2010-06-23T20:45:52-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/05/visiting-headstone-friends.html So the guy who created the facebook page for Terre Haute's Headstone Friends said he would kiss the front step if he reached 1,000 fans this week ... and he did! In fact, I think he has something like 1,400... Family Fun Music Paula 2010-05-21T20:48:59-05:00 http://tranquilitypike.typepad.com/tranquility_pike/2010/05/warmhearted-gorilla-reunion.html Noteworthy Paula 2010-05-15T18:13:11-05:00