It's 17 degrees in Chicago

I arrived last night meeting my parents, Bec and cousin Sarah in the airport. We cabbed to Aunt Michelle's where we received a warm Schwartz family welcome (consisting of a lot of shrieking, squeeling and hugs) from Aunt Michelle, Uncle Andy, Uncle Scott, and cousin Alex. We then sat around on couches and nibbled on bread, cheese and mushroom soup for several hours before the cookies came out. We complained that we didn't like the italian cookies but still insisted on sampling all of them and leaving crumbs on the plate. This is the Schwartz family.

We're all here for the memorial service of Elizabeth Jacob, my grandmother's closest friend, and a long time friend of the family...like an aunt to my dad and his siblings, who grew up with very few relatives outside their nuclear family. So, the 9 of us are here, for the weekend, camped out in Michelles 2 bedroom loft. Despite the close quarters, there could be nothing more comfortable than being trapped in here for the next 48 hours.