After a mild month, the last days of December are descending towards winter. Yesterday was the 29th, a cold, breezy day with light icy rain. Our family gathered at our oldest daughters home to remember our grand-daughter, baby Kai Ruby Lewis-King who was born one year ago on the 29th. She was still-born after…
Amazing Architecture versus A Perfect Beef and Mushroom Strudel I traveled to Milwaukee yesterday. The drive north to Wisconsin is enjoyable. Milwaukee is not as sprawling as Chicago, a more user-friendly city by the lake. The cost of parking is reasonable there too. We wanted to visit the Christkindl Market that was situated near…
This tune has always caused me to shiver inwardly. It is Purple Rain by Prince and The Revolution. The lyrics are simple on the surface, but I think it is the image of purple rain and the sweeping, fat and luscious, and sometimes slashing guitar chords that get the job done. For me the…
I always write first thing in the morning. My mind works best then. If I can lay some good words down, doing my best, I face the rest of the day with a “can do” attitude. I did not show up this morning, because Mother Nature kicked my ass. I suffered through the night…
I didn’t post anything on Christmas day. My schedule was tight and I chose to sleep-in anyway, –a Christmas present to myself. Today I have the luxury of looking back at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Do they not belong together? I went for a run in the neighborhood on Christmas eve. I must…
We sang Christmas carols last night. It is a rare treat to sing carols. We have lots of music; it is everywhere, digital. I have several Spotify play lists that I sometimes enjoy. But I miss singing, especially at Christmas time. I could attend church. But I have not attended for years. I have…
Waking before light, shaking off a nightmare–I wanted to write and post this poem by T. S. Eliot, The Journey of The Magi. Life, your life and my life, can be thought of as a journey. If I dare to pay attention the journey is troubled, fraught with hazard. The friction of living can…
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14And he rose and…
I diffidently attended a concert a few days ago. That would be a first for me. I have laid down the purchase price for many concert tickets over the years. Most were expensive, but an experience which I eagerly anticipated. Often the opportunity to see and hear an artist perform live, to feel the…
Brenden asked if I had written yet about “the soup.” I had not. But only because I was working on a larger, time consuming project. At the Long Grove Coffee Shop, Brenden, the in-house chef for the Long Grove Confectionary, brings in a pot of his specialty soup to the Coffee Shop. Arriving later…
