colette and a story about an incredible father...

On friday night I had dinner with two of my best friends, my father and two of his best friends at the wonderful Hopleaf. This is a bar that is well known for it's very long beer list (and as the title of my blog suggests... I have an incredible affinity for this barley flavored beverage.) The dinner was delicious, the company was wonderful BUT the BEER. Oh...the BEER!

I fell in love with a particular brew called Colette from The Great Divide Brewing Company in CO. I recommend going out and grabbing yourself a six pack of this wonderful farmhouse ale while listening to this song by Langhorne Slim called, of course, Colette.


I got to spend the rest of the weekend hanging out with my Dad who was visiting me from Ohio. We had a great time watching movies, playing guitar, walking around different neighborhoods in chicago, trying new food and talking about family, love and happiness. I couldn't as for a better father- a sentiment that was echoed by his friends on friday who told me that they have taken to calling him, "the rock."


...not to be confused with THIS "the rock." My dad "the rock" is WAY COOLER... and better looking...

Right now I am working through a book about someone else's father, Mr. March: father to Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo from the novel (and one of my ALL TIME FAVES) Little Women. Geraldine Brook's beautiful book March follows the life of the father from the famous classic who, for the majority of Little Women, is away fighting in the Civil War. I have to admit, March is beautifully written... but hugely heartbreaking. It has taken me at least two months to get through even though it is quite short (only 280 pages long.) I've needed to take long breaks from the racism, torture and the horrors of war that this book describes.. breaks that sometimes lasted for weeks at a time; but I keep coming back for the incredible story, beautiful writing and small glimpses into the family I first fell in love with at age ten.

I recommend this book for lovers of classic literature and history buffs but with a warning: you will be shocked and saddened by this glimpse into our country's past and left wondering... why do we treat people as "others?"