I realize I should be talking about the picture above. The mason jar art I’ve “framed” and hung on clipboards in my basement work space. But I have other things on my mind this Monday morning.

 

More pressing things.

 

You see, I fear Chicago is beginning to lose some of its street cred.

 

I don’t think it comes as a surprise that Chicago gets cold in the winter. I remember my first winter here. My mother insisted I take her mink coat when I moved. She had already relocated to Florida, after all. And, apparently, I was moving to the arctic …

 

or so it seemed; that was everyone’s reaction when I told them I was going to live in Chicago.

 

Which surprised me. I mean, I lived in New Jersey. Worked in New York City. Equally as north of the equator as Chicago. Situated near a large body of water. I figured it would be about the same.

 

Oh, how naïve I was.

 

Especially since my first winter here was one of the coldest in Chicago’s history. I remember watching the morning news on January 18, 1994, only to learn the temperature outside was -21 F. One degree colder than the South Pole. Or North Pole? I can’t remember. All I knew is colder than a Pole couldn’t be good.

 

Not to mention the -60 F wind chill.

 

Brrrr.

 

But the city didn’t shut down. I still went to work.

 

Thankful for my mom’s mink coat.

 

Chicago Public Schools made a rare move that day and gave students a day off. Mayor Daley was famously reluctant to close schools. But faced with -60 wind chills, he buckled.

 

And I understand his decision. Fully agree with his decision. Because I was out in that bone-chilling cold. We even got a flat tire in that cold. Which Mike changed while I sat a a nearby bar, sipping on a Margarita. In between running out to give him hot cups of coffee and cocoa.

 

But that’s a story for another day …

 

Last week, our newest Mayor (Rahm Emmanuel) decided to close the schools on Wednesday. At the mere mention of possible -1 air temps and  -30 wind chills.

 

Small potatoes compared to January 18, 1994.

 

He also set a pretty low standard, Chicago wise, for school closures. Because Thursday called for more of the same. And schools were closed again.

 

So when the forecast for Friday rolled around … and it looked like it could be the coldest day yet … what was the Mayor Rahm Emmanuel to do? He had backed himself into a corner with the Wednesday and Thursday closures. So he took the only logical direction.

 

And declared schools would be open.

 

What?

 

Perhaps he had finally come to his senses. Remembered that we Chicagoans are a hardy bunch …

 

especially those of us who survived January 18, 1994.

Or maybe he realized if he kept up with the practice of closing our schools at the mere mention of -1 air temps and -30 wind chills, our children would end up spending half their summer break in school.

 

And here is where I should have a clever segue to the subject at hand. Mason jar digital art. Two free. One free printable I created. And one purchased through and ETsy shop. All hung on clipboards. In my craft & Etsy shop work space.

 

 

In my basement craft & work space nook under the stairs.

 

But I’m at a complete loss.

 

Maybe my segue could be about my new mason jar 2015 calendar digital art …

 

 

… and how I wonder how many days during the first few months of 2015 our schools will be closed for cold and/or snow days?

 

 

But what I should probably tell you is where I found that calendar. I ordered it from an Etsy shop, Corissa Nelson Art, for $4.00. You can order your own by clicking here …

 

I found the vintage mason jar art at The Graphics Fairy …

 

… just click here to download your own mason jar art free printable.

 

The cool mason jar photo art is from Redfly Creations. I did crop mine using the free PicMonkey photo editing site to make it a vertical image.

 

 

Click here to download.

 

Finally, I tried my hand at making my very own mason jar clipart for Valentine’s day …

 

 

This is new to me, so don’t judge me too harshly …

 

 

You can download the free printable by clicking here: Mason Jar Valentine’s Day Free Printable

 

Oh, and as for the clipboard “frames,” they are so easy to hang. You just need to put a nail in the wall and you’re done …

 

 

Linda

You can find out more about my new craft & Etsy shop work space nook under the basement stairs by clicking here …

 

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