Swimming against the grain
I work for a big fancy university. The powers that be there conveniently provide a shuttle from the thoroughfare at the end of my road straight to my office. It’s a very lucky thing and saves me untold mental strain and dollars during hustling rush hour commutes. But because it’s on the busiest street in … Continue reading
Travel Tuesdays: Revival
I recently came across my Travel Tuesday stories: a short-lived weekly ritual exploring places I had been as we waited (and waited and waited) for the uncertain future to transport us to America. I felt strangely jealous. Delighted to revisit places I fondly remember, surprised and rather chuffed at being transported by words I don’t … Continue reading
Let there be light!
Be still, my heart: it is February 9th and I leave my office in very overcast yet decidedly daylight. How quickly it has come! I hardly think winter’s been at all in these parts. Apparently somewhere else is bearing the brunt of it this year, for in England there are daffodils and here there is … Continue reading
Winter has come
Winter has finally arrived. While later than usual, I still welcome the stillness such wild weather brings. Slipping on seasonal habits and familiar sensations like clothes brought of out storage. My daily walks by Lake Michigan are now deeply solitary, most folk avoiding the icy sea spray and blistering burn of thighs chaffed by frozen … Continue reading
Serendipity
A new year so often signifies a fresh start; a clean slate; a second chance. But I find starting over easy, the promise of new adventures exhilarating. It’s the staying which can be hardest. I opened so many new cans of worms last year it would be simplest (and shallowly gratifying) to throw them all … Continue reading
Soft summer mornings
By now, dear readers, you know I’m part-selkie; that my quality of life is directly proportional to the distance between me and my nearest bodies of water; and that there are some magnificent things about our neighborhood beach. I like my predictability in these things. Knowing what matters makes it much easier to prioritize. Knowing … Continue reading
Things I Like — Green
Verdure is remains one of my Top Five deal-breaker necessities for a comfy home. The grape ivy is spilling across our windowsills, the kitchen romaine is spritely sprouting. Moss tufts luxuriously everywhere it can find purchase and the sand dunes are bursting with butterfly friendly growth. Is there anything more delicious than lolling in soft … Continue reading
Things I Like — Dappling
Dappled things speak of peace. The warm flank of a milkcow. The fuzzy mottle of a black and white bunny. The mix-and-mingle of light and shadow streaming through an apple tree in full bloom. My favorite: the shimmer of refraction skirting a pool floor or sand bar, twisting tendrils of brightness against the cool depths. … Continue reading
A sense of seasons
The crisp-apple air of autumn has begun blustering about. Tiny cold and warm fronts battle in eddies above my tea mug; on the window sill; at my upper lip. The invisible becomes tangible in this shifting season, and as the birds rang in the dawn an epiphany woke within me. Autumn will forever be scented. … Continue reading
Chicago Botanic Garden
One of the true hidden gems of our Chicago explorations so far. Despite the first part of the name being slightly misleading — the Gardens are a full 25 miles north of downtown, on the edge of a pretty suburb named Glencoe, I can attest it is absolutely 100% worth the journey. A traditional Botanic … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 