Sorry that the blog has been a bit sluggish lately. I’ve been writing… and writing… and writing for the past month on a lengthy analysis (for CQ Press) of Campaign 2012 so far, and how we got here. I filed the second and final draft today. It clocked in at a mere 17,000 words. And no, that’s not a typo.

At least none of the nice weather we’re supposed to get by now was wasted while I was crashing on deadline, as we had a week that pretty much was unrelenting clouds and rain and fog. And as I wrapped up this monster project today, it looked like I was just in time for spring.

Gracie the Cat seemed to be enjoying the clear view from her perch 300 feet above Chicago.

I’m off Thursday morning for a couple of days at Michigan State, where I will attend my good friend Marc Rehmann’s law school graduation on Friday. Back to Chicago on Saturday, and I’ll try to report then on my adventures.

In the meantime, we’ve gotten way behind again on the Cooler on the Lake Shore Chicago vs. D.C. Weather Smackdown, so we’ll catch up here. According to Weather Underground…

Last Wednesday: Chicago Midway reported a high of 78, a low of 60, and a trace of rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 74, a low of 58 and .02 of an inch of rain. Point Chicago.

Thursday, Chicago Midway reported a high of 86, a low of 69, and .07 of an inch of rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 81, a low of 56 and a trace of rain. That was actually too hot for Chicago this time of year, especially since the central a/c still isn’t on. Point D.C.

Friday, Chicago Midway reported a high of 72, a low of 51, and .27 of an inch of rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 84, a low of 65 and .12 of an inch of rain. A bit more rain in Chicago, but that’s pretty hot and muggy in D.C. So we’ll give this one to Chicago.

Saturday, Chicago Midway reported a high of 63, a low of 53, and no rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 83, a low of 64 and a trace of rain. One of the more springlike days in Chicago, so we’ll take it.

Sunday, Chicago Midway reported a high of 73, a low of 54, and and .40 of an inch of rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 72, a low of 61 and a trace of rain. Point D.C.

Monday, Chicago Midway reported a high of 61, a low of 54, and .04 of an inch of rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 73, a low of 57 and no rain. Point D.C..

Tuesday, Chicago Midway reported a high of 70, a low of 51, and no rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 75, a low of 61 and .03 of an inch of rain. Pretty close to a tie, and ties go to Chicago.

That brings the overall score to 153-125 in favor of D.C.

To borrow from the holiday classic “White Christmas,” our first December 25 as Chicago residents was merry and bright…

… but as you can tell from this photo, it was anything but white.

I haven’t forgotten all the warnings I received about the winter Hell that awaited us when we moved from D.C. to Chicago. It may well come before blessed spring arrives, which I’m also told you can dependably count on occurring sometime in June.

Yet the 45-degree high yesterday — 14 degrees above the historical average and the warmest Christmas since 1994 according to Tom Skilling, this city’s popular weather guru — was pretty typical of the above-normal December we’ve had so far.

Not that there is anything really wrong with that. Unless you live in some lovely romantic time warp in which you really do hitch up the horses to your sleigh and go over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house, your holiday travels most likely involve an automobile, an airplane or possibly both. And while fresh snow can be picture-postcard pretty, there really is nothing good you can say about traveling in it.

We did enough traveling back and forth to Chicago at the holidays over the years to have a heightened appreciation of the term “unseasonably warm” at this time of year. A year ago, the temperature crashed from a near-record 55 degrees on New Year’s Eve to 14 a few hours later, accompanied by gusty winds blowing straight outta Yukon. I am not a bit disappointed to see this week’s advance forecast predicting a high of 43 on Saturday — and on Sunday.

This, however, was topped by our post-New Year’s flight two years ago back from Chicago into the teeth of a full-blown gale at Baltimore-Washington airport. Seriously marginal flying conditions. One of those jittery situations in which the relieved passengers erupted in spontaneous applause when the plane touched down safely. I left the experience with renewed respect for the skills of pilots, and a determination to never travel in conditions like that again unless it is absolutely urgent to do so.

I hope your travels, whether across town or cross-country, have been event-free (though feel free to comment here if you need to vent), and happy motoring to you if your return trip is yet to come.

Here’s a little photo album of a lovely Christmas sunset, and I’ll wrap by catching up on the Cooler on the Lake Shore Chicago vs. D.C. Weather Smackdown.

According to Weather Underground, Chicago O’Hare on Friday had a high of 34, a low of 24 and no rain. Washington Reagan National had a high of 53, a low of 44 and .29 of an inch of rain. By the Cooler on the Lake Shore rules, rain trumps cold as bad weather. Point for Chicago.

Chicago O’Hare on Saturday had a high of 37, a low of 24 and no rain. Washington Reagan National had a high of 46, a low of 36 and a trace of rain. O.K., we’ll bend the rules for a trace of rain. Point D.C.

Chicago O’Hare on Sunday had that high of 45, a low of 30 and no rain. Washington Reagan National had a high of 48, a low of 34 and no rain. Here we have to give the point to Chicago because that temp is so much above normal, while 48 is actually pretty close to average for a Christmas in D.C.

Overall score is now Chicago 74, D.C. 70.

After several pretty low-key holiday seasons, we’ve been more jolly in our first Yuletide as Chicago residents. Fortunately, the rather imposing artificial Christmas tree we purchased for the occasion drew virtually no interest from Gracie the Cat, except as a comfortable thing to sleep under from time to time.

But over the past couple of weeks, as the floor beneath the tree became populated with wrapped presents, Gracie found something that drew her rapt attention: bows. Turns out, as the following “surveillance” photos reveal, she has given a new spin to the term “bow hunter” by stripping them off just about every package.

There are also a couple of nice shots of her under better behavior, and some of those Chicago sunsets of which I never tire.

Hope your Christmas weekend is off to a lovely start… In keeping with a tradition of Christmas eve celebrations, I’m off to make a ham and trimmings as soon as this is posted.

Sometimes, the ever-changeable weather here on the Third Coast provides photo opportunities that require me to just shut up and get out of the way. Today was one of those days — with gale-force winds sending waves crashing over the lakeshore, and scudding clouds giving space for a “God sky” this morning and a pastel sunset this evening.

Enjoy the pretty pictures…

Catching up on the Chicago vs. D.C. Weather Smackdown…

According to Weather Underground, Chicago O’Hare on Sunday reported a high of 44, a low of 35 and .09 of an inch of rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 72 (seriously?), a low of 46 and no rain. Even the biggest Chicago chauvinist would have to give that point to D.C.

On Monday, Chicago O’Hare reported a high of 39, a low of 33 and no rain. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 71 (seriously… again? Trying to make up for that miserable August?), a low of 51 and no rain. Doubleheader sweep, cutting Chicago’s overall lead to 66-51. We’d be sweating it here if it weren’t so cold.

A day can make a big difference in the weather in Chicago. Yesterday brought a rainy gale that almost knocked me off my feet. Today, a nearly perfect fall day. Crisp and cloudless, with abundant sunshine illuminating everything that is beautiful about Chicago.

It’s been a busy day and evening, and I’ve got to be good to go for another of those dreadful 11 a.m. kickoff times for tomorrow’s Michigan State game against Minnesota. So I’m going to let another pair of sunrise and sunset photos carry the blog for today.

For the record in the Cooler on the Lake Shore Chicago vs. D.C. Weather Smackdown… according to Weather Underground, Chicago O’Hare on Thursday reported a high of 48, a low of 46, and .08 of an inch of rain. Washington Reagan National and a high of 64, a low of 44 and no rain. One of the clearer wins so far for D.C., cutting Chicago’s overall lead to 56-36.

Just a little photo essay from a sunset walk by Lake Michigan last night. And yes, we gotz bunnies!

Today’s weather, from Weather.com….

Chicago: A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High 59. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph… Tonight…. Partly cloudy. Low 42. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph… Tuesday… Partly cloudy early followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers later in the day. High 53. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Washington: A mix of clouds and sun. High 73. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph…. Tonight… Partly cloudy. Low 56. Winds light and variable… Tuesday… Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 71. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.

This evening, I am going to the ThinkArt gallery near downtown Chicago — owned by Laurie Glenn, a new-ish friend — for an event that will pair an exhibition of modern art works with a sampling of whiskeys and other distilled spirits produced by Koval, the first distillery in this city since Prohibition ushered in the Al Capone vs. Eliot Ness Smackdown.

Admittedly, while I have a great appreciation for art, I have over the past few years developed a more personal knowledge about whiskey.

I don’t mean that in a bad way (a disclaimer I’m required to include just in case any potential future employer happens to stumble on my blog). It’s just that I’ve gone to enough tasting events — including the annual Whiskey Fest staged by Malt Advocate magazine in Chicago early each spring, with similar events in New York and San Francisco in the fall — that I know a little bit more about brown liquor, and its different varieties, than the average bear.

I have tasted some of Koval’s products, and they are pretty nice, especially given that there is only so much aging that a distillery can do if it has only been in business since 2008. I look forward to spending some time chatting with the Koval folks and learn more about their plans.

I don’t mean to slight the art exhibit, which I already visited at its opening a couple of weeks back. The featured artists are John Miller, whose works are a riot of colors and shapes and designs, and Adam Clement, whose works are just the opposite: cool, linear, sharp-edged. As one who has always struggled to understand modern art, I favor the Clement approach, but to each his or her own taste. In art as in whiskey.

If you’re in Chicago and interested in something a little different, stop by ThinkArt at 670 W. Huibbard between 6  and 8:30 p.m.

A little late with the blog today because I had the delightful opportunity this morning to spend a couple of hours visiting with my longtime friends Doug and Lee, who were in town to deliver to the University of Chicago one of its most brilliant freshman students — namely, their daughter Bri, who was the only high school senior in Delaware to receive a perfect SAT score last year.

Doug and Lee are no strangers to Chicago themselves, having met when they were students at Northwestern University in nearby Evanston and then lived in the suburbs for a few years after that.

Doug and I both grew up in Yonkers, N.Y., and met when we entered 7th grade at Walt Whitman Junior High School. That means that we have known each other for 44 years (gasp!). Doug had the distinction of being elected class president during 9th grade at Whitman and all three of our years at Roosevelt High School. I have the distinction of having voted for Doug to be class president four times.

There are some disadvantages to being 44 years older than you once were. But it is pretty cool to know that there are friendships that can last you a lifetime.

I wish Doug and Lee could have stayed longer, but at least they got some beautiful weather to start out their long drive home.

Maybe Chicago can get back in the win column today in the Cooler on the Lake Shore Chicago vs. D.C. Weather Smackdown. Yesterday was very, very close, but being exceedingly fair, I gave the point to D.C. because it had no rain and we had some, though most of it occurred while we were sleeping. That brings the overall score to Chicago 35, Washington 13, though I wonder if D.C.’s three-day winning streak is an ominous trend.

According to Weather Underground, Chicago O’Hare yesterday reported a high of 69 with a low of 54 and about a quarter-inch of rain, most of which fell overnight on Monday morning. Washington Reagan National reported a high of 70, a low of 60 and no rain.

The forecasts for what’s left of today, from Weather.com….

Chicago: Through 9 p.m.: Partly cloudy with temperatures slowly falling to near 66. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph… Tonight…Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Thunder possible. Low 59. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%… Wednesday… Sun and a few clouds with gusty winds. High near 70. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph.

Washington: Through 10 p.m.: Partly cloudy with temperatures steady or falling to near 69. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph… Tonight… Overcast. Slight chance of a shower through the evening. Low near 65. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph… Wednesday… Cloudy in the morning with scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. High near 75. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.