California Dreaming
Do you ever have these vivid little childhood memories pop back into existence? Never anything drastic or exciting, but those deeply human moments where the world turns differently or the sky is out of focus and life grows. For some reason, tonight, I thought of my first trip to California. When I was small, not … Continue reading
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
Questing
I spent the summer I turned twelve doing four things: reading, keeping a journal of every book I read and film I saw, practicing my violin, and mowing the lawn while belting show tunes (secretly dreaming I’d be discovered by a talent agent over the drone of the mower). The summer I turned twelve I … 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
Iowa
Imagine for a second the state of Iowa. Probably you see farms. Perhaps a church. Almost definitely wide open land and big skies. Even if you have never seen the endless fields of the American breadbasket, the region’s reputation precedes it, and by a wide margin. My own Iowa memories center on my great-grandmother’s attic … Continue reading
Bus
Friday morning: Been away; work-traveling. Weekend of more work ahead. Dull, misty skies. Mouse in the kitchen. Clothed wrinkly, cupboards bare. Late. Groggy. Frizzy hair, make-up streaks. Almost miss the bus. RUN to make it, last one of forty to pile in, the front half full to standing. Push through. And there, right in the … Continue reading
Things I Like — Free Music
I may bemoan the lack of free museums in this city, but summer heralds a cornucopia of affordable musical fare. Finally attended the Dame Myra Hess Concert series under the beautiful Tiffany dome at the Chicago Cultural Center. Bite-sized classics, today a cello sonata, for lunchtime listeners. (You can tune in live on WMFT‘s website … Continue reading
Kitchen Tour
I love our apartment. I love it hard. Even if we were millionaires I’d be hard-pressed to change much about it (excepting of course my burning desire to build a terrace hanging garden and outdoor cafe seating area on the back deck. THAT I will splurge on as soon as I am able.) Our apartment … Continue reading
One Year
One year ago, we took a one-way trip to America. Since leaving Heathrow that morning we’ve been rather busy. We’ve clocked 15,000 miles by car, plane, bus, train, boat, bicycle and ferry. We’ve visited 5 states and 19 North American cities (not including driving through dozens if not hundreds of one-stop-light towns and villages). On … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 