march update

It's been way too long since I've checked in. When I looked back in my journal to see what had happened since since the end of Feb when I last wrote, I noticed my life was filled with extraordinary moments: seeing friends and relatives that I hadn't seen in years; girlfriend get-togethers; making soup every week for a friend going through chemo; attending a wonderful poetry slam; getting an overdue massage; meals out with extended family; hunting for - and finally buying - new glasses. 

Best of all, Tim was here for a visit last week! Per his request, we spent an entire day in downtown Chicago. We found a cool bookstore filled with used books where the proceeds went to children's literacy programs in the city.

Bathroom walls in the bookstore...

Tim requested a visit to the new Guinness brewery...

The aesthetics were beautiful! The guys said the beer - some brewed at this Chicago location; others brewed in Dublin and shipped in - was fantastic. I wouldn't know, as I don't like beer.

Good food was definitely on our list, too. We decided to try beef bone marrow ~ supposedly a popular item at this restaurant. I didn't care for it at all. Brian and Tim loved it. I brought the bones home and saved one for my mom's dog and with the others, made a delicious stock.

The burgers were a different story though...holy yum! I'm not even much of a burger person, but with this one, all bets are off. Good thing it's only a once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence!

Another stop was a cool arcade filled with retro pinball and video games, air hockey, and pool. We got there when they first opened, so the place was empty. A few hours later, it was packed with tons of young people. My cousin had joined us by then. I told all of them that I felt like I was in a frat house. We decided it was a good time to leave. ;-)

We wound the night up by sharing a charcuterie plate and appetizers at this rather "interesting" restaurant. As you can see by the photo, the booths have solid doors! They were opened up for us, we slid into the booths, and then the doors were shut behind us. It was rather claustrophobic. And it made the serving of the food and refilling our water glasses by the servers awkward. The food was fantastic though. The meats and cheeses were all sourced from Illinois farms and the sourdough bread was made on premises.

Walking back to our car on the top floor of the parking garage, this was our view.

On the homefront with Tim, he made us the most delicious cabbage soup for dinner one evening. I admit: his soup (at least this one) is better than mine!

Tim's flight going back to California was delayed because of storms, so we spent some time wandering around the local antique mall.

And...that's a wrap. I hope by the next time that I post, it'll be about spring yard clean up and what's blooming. I can't wait! This last half of March has been cold and now we're having lots of rain. I'm longing for warmer days spent outside once again...coffee on the front porch in the morning to start my day and working in the yard and planting flowers. 

For those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter! 

beautiful houses

Spring has been behind here in northeast Illinois. It's been unseasonably cold with lots of rain, and even some snow. Buds are just now forming on the trees and my daffodils are finally up. Otherwise, we've had way too many days of gloom and not much sunshine. So when this past Sunday beckoned with warmer temps and sunshine, we headed to the lakefront (Lake Michigan) for a long walk.

This walking path along the lake was filled with people walking with dogs or pushing strollers, bikers and runners. One of those days where it simply felt good to be alive. One thing to be said about the long winters here: it sure makes one appreciate spring!

I've showed houses in Evanston on my blog in the past. This town has some real charmers. Hope you enjoy the ones I saw on my walk this time as much as I did...

Happy Easter and Passover to those who celebrate!

simple easter decor around my home

As I've mentioned on my blog before, the older I get, the less holiday decorating I do. I think it's a matter of liking less clutter, there's less work digging out holiday decor and putting it away, and it's not as exciting anymore during the holidays without having little kids around. I do have some cute Easter things, so I put simple touches here and there.

In the kitchen, I added a Beatrix Potter teapot (thrifted many years ago) to one of the shelves. 

I suppose I could leave this chick up all spring; it's not necessarily an Easter decoration. I just noticed from this photo that she's facing the wall, so I'm looking at her hiney. Perhaps I should turn her around!

I added a few bunnies to my china cabinet. The vintage one on the top shelf is my favorite.

Tiny wooden Easter eggs in a bowl in the living room "fauxyer". 

Little bunnies on the table next to the sofa.

And, a handmade ceramic egg that I bought at Goodwill a long time ago sits on a stack of books in a basket on the coffee table. Monkey used to love to sleep in this basket. I'd move the books so he could wedge his big body into the confines of the wicker.

A pair of ceramic chicks (they're salt & pepper shakers) and a vintage egg cup graces Brian's childhood cubby in the guest room/my office.

That's it for the Easter decor this year. 

How about you, do you go all out with the Easter decor (or Passover)?

 Or, do you keep it minimal?

a few minutes of diversion ~ decorating

Hello friends, how is everyone doing? I'm definitely going stir-crazy and have moments where I feel sad and/or anxious, but I know everyone else is feeling the same. The main thing is that we all stay well and healthy. I'm enjoying reading on blogs and social media what everyone is doing to stay sane and upbeat...there's a lot of good ideas out there. I've been puttering with decor and rearranging some things, walking every day outside every day even though the weather is still pretty crappy (it feels good to get some fresh air and exercise; grateful we can at least go outside!), practicing yoga, cleaning out drawers and closets (ho hum!), talking every day via text or phone with friends and family members, reading, and doing even more cooking. I even tried my hand at acrylic painting, though it pretty much looked like a five-year old got into the paints.

To take your mind off the pandemic for a few minutes, I thought I'd share some of my latest putterings with you...

I didn't do much decorating for Easter. If we can't get together with family or friends, I feel there's not much of a point. I do like some of my bunny decor though, so I made a vignette on the dresser in the guest room.

I lightened up the china cabinet for spring and used washi tape to line each shelf.

The washi tape was such an easy, quick way to add a little cheer, so I stuck a couple of strips on the shelves on the kitchen wall, as well.

This yellow spring chick that I've had for years adds a little whimsy under the spider plant.

That's a new philodendron plant on top of the china cabinet. I grabbed a couple of plants when we had to run to Home Depot a few days ago for specialty light bulbs.

Here's the other plant - some sort of succulent - on top of my fridge. 

 The console table in the living room got a couple of small changes. The blue bottle used to be on the ledge of the wall cut-out, and I also added a couple of little bunnies.

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Do you remember my lamp dilemma in Brian's office? I couldn't decide whether to keep this lamp, as it wasn't the right height with the "window" above the black cube unit. Well, once I put a couple of books under the lamp and added decor to the cube and the shelf, I decided I liked the lamp after all. Brian likes it, too and said the lamp gives off the perfect reading light for when he's sitting in the arm chair. We still need a rug for this room, but I haven't found "just the right one" online yet.

Back to the Coronavirus (my few minutes of decorating diversion are up), Brian and I have been playing cards and board games on the days he's home from work. He's in the emergency services field, so yes, he's still working outside the home. Clementine loves to be wherever we are, which often means right in the middle of one of our games.

Lastly, I'll leave you with this piece that I just read on Facebook.
Love to you all!

******************

We (all of us) are currently going through

a collective traumatic experience.

Trauma is often thought of as "too much, too fast“…

which is exactly what’s happening.

Of course you’re exhausted. Of course you’re afraid.

Of course you’re overwhelmed. Of course you’re

clinging to certainty in the midst of so much unknown.

Of course you aren’t as productive, feeling foggy,

or wondering how you can possibly go through

so many waves of emotions all in the same day.

This all makes so much sense in the context

of our circumstances. Be gentle with yourself.

Have compassion for your process.

Give yourself grace. You are good,

no matter how you are managing

this completely new experience.

(Lisa Olivera)

playing catch-up

Hello! Sorry I've been gone for awhile. It seems that there just isn't enough time to blog when I want to, or else I haven't been in the mood to write. I'm still struggling with this back pain on and off (I finally start PT next week) and I recently had a horribly infected stye on my eyelid which made me feel cruddy in general. I've noticed a lot of blogs haven't been very active lately. I think Instagram is taking over. I do like IG and it's definitely a lot easier to post a quick pic with a few words, but I also miss the stories and warmth behind regular blog posts.

It's been a crazy weather ride here in northern Illinois, but that's typical for April. Last week, there were a couple of days that were actually warm enough to sit out on the front porch in the morning with my coffee (which I never take for granted - it was glorious!) and for a couple of beautiful, sunny walks in the State Park. And then a few days later - this past Sunday - we had a snowstorm that dumped six inches of wet, heavy snow on us. Two days later, it was 70 degrees and all the snow was gone.

So now everything here is finally exploding into bloom...I take a walk around my yard and see hostas, clematis, sedum, lamb's ear, bishop's cap and clematis all coming to life. Chives, fennel, red leaf sorrel and mint are growing in the herb garden. Some of the buds on my lilac bush have gently opened, revealing tiny purple flowers that will soon burst into heavenly scented blooms. I even saw my first butterfly the other day! This red admiral  was on a dandelion in my next-door neighbor's yard. His side yard joins up with ours on the south side of our house. The neighbor's side yard gets direct sun, so the dandelions love that area. The bees and butterflies need the dandelions in the early spring for pollen and nectar. I'm so glad our neighbor is like us and doesn't spray any weed killer on his lawn. Did you know that weed killers not only kill butterflies and bees, but in us humans are linked to cancer, kidney, liver and nervous system damage, endocrine disruption and reproductive toxicity? So, please - leave the dandelions alone! And hey, if it's your thing, you can use the dandelion greens in your salad or make dandelion wine with the flowers. 

We haven't begun yard clean up in earnest yet. And there is so much to do. All the garden beds are filled with wet, dead leaves; there's blown wood chips all over the back yard; piles of dead pine needles from the arborvitaes that line our back yard; perennials that need to be cut down; bare patches of ground that need grass seed...the patio furniture will need to be uncovered and the patio cleaned...and on and on. I've only done a little raking around the yard so far because of my back and because of the weather.  I read on a gardening site that if you start cleaning out your garden beds before the daytime temps are at least a consistent 50 degrees F., you risk throwing away butterflies, bees and other pollinators that are overwintering in the dead leaves and hollowed out stems of last year's plants.

I finally got my old, chippy window on the buffet painted (I do want to distress it a bit though) and the decor in my living room lightened up a bit for spring.

This weekend is a holiday celebration for both Jews and Christians. However you choose to celebrate, I hope you have a blessed weekend with your family and/or friends.