Obligatory "Sorry for the skimpy posts" post.

Obligatory "Sorry for the skimpy posts" post.

So I've got this thing where I force myself to do at least one post a day during the week. I've been doing it for years, and it helps keep the gears churning, even in dry periods. I am currently not in a creatively dry period, but I am in the middle of a time-strapped stretch.

So yes, you've seen more photos and videos and less words. Why is that? Well, GalPal and I have been searching for a new apartment, and that has been incredibly draining. We spent weeks combing Logan Square and had it narrowed down to two promising properties until last Sunday when a dark horse suddenly entered the race. A friend of ours knew of a 2-story coach house, plus basement, that we would have all to ourselves, that was suddenly available. The only downside? It wasn't in Logan Square, it was in Bucktown.

I had reservations about living in Bucktown, as did GalPal. For my part, I spent a lot of time there in 1994-1998 when it was decidedly less friendly. Danny's was a house party gone punk, the Blue Note was on Armitage, and walking at night without heavy attitude was strongly discouraged. In fact I've spent my whole Chicago life living in the edgier, hipper parts of town, and the prospect of moving to somewhere as, well, safe as Bucktown is now seemed to go against the grain, at least for me. I mean I have a reputation to uphold, right?

Then again, I've spent almost two decades in edgy areas, and maybe it's not so terrible an idea that I could walk to and from the train without having to constantly check over my shoulder or adopt a swagger and up my guard when a crew of kids suddenly appears in my path. Maybe moving to an area with strollers and families would be O.K.

Then other things popped up. We'd be within walking distance of dozens of restaurants, train distance of hundreds of restaurants, and, here's an important one, there's a neighborhood bar around the corner that is dog -- and especially beagle -- friendly. And a huge fenced in park that a certain beagle could run around in. And did I mention we'd have a house to ourselves ... for less than the apartments in Logan Square we were looking at were asking for?

So yeah, sorry the content has been of the more skimmable sort recently, but GalPal and I were busy finding our dream home for the next few years! We can't wait to move in.