Meanwhile,

Time continues to pass quickly and Stefan leaves on Monday evening. I feel sad, worried, panicked and clingy -- and I hate feeling clingy -- but there it is all the same.

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The numbers and species of birds at the bird feeder continue to grow. I sit with my binoculars at the kitchen table where, through different windows, I have a view of both the suet and birdseed feeders. Suet straight ahead, birdseed to the right. I added thistle seed to the mix and the birds really go crazy now. Still no sign of squirrels, but there are plenty of deer tracks every morning. The latest counts are:

12 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers (one male, one female)
2 Downy Woodpeckers (one male, one female)
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 American Goldfinch
2 Northern Cardinals (one male, one female)
3 Tufted Titmice
2 Blue Jays

and last but never the least

6 Black-capped Chickadees

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On Tuesday we went to Chicago. It was windy, snowy, and cold, of course, but it all makes for good memories. Sears Tower, Art Institute, Marquette Building, The Rookery, The Water Tower, Hard Rock Cafe. Michigan Avenue. I bought a pair of suede boots at Aldo's, and it was nice to know my European shoe size without having to ask anyone about the conversion.

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And I hate to admit it, but I broke down and bought a Nikon D50, which is a digital SLR. I wasn't using my N6006 very much because of the broken part that I never had fixed like I had planned. It's still usable, with the help of Duck Tape, but I was tired of the whole taping process and I felt kinda silly while doing it. Yeh.