sidewalk wisdom {december 20, 2022}

The last week before Christmas...coming down the homestretch.  

It's also the next shortest day of the year and the last day of Fall 2022.

priceless {december 18, 2022}

A Christmas treasure.

Just a few years ago (I’m not going to tell you what a few is), my dad was in the Army and stationed in Germany. I was born there. My parents bought this hand-carved creche in Oberammergau for 39.50 Deutsche Marks. I was curious as to what this would cost in today’s US dollars and the conversion came to just a little under $22.00. I can only imagine what it cost those “few” years ago. It is priceless to me.

wright brothers day {december 17, 2022}

119 years ago, at 10:35 AM, two brothers, bicycle mechanics from Dayton, Ohio, lifted from the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to achieve the first manned, heavier-than-air flight. I love living in Dayton, Ohio and feeling as though I am a part of the Wright Brothers’ history.

Dedicated to the Immortal Spirit of Daytonians Orville and Wilbur Wright

christmas tree {december 16, 2022}

When my kids were born, every year at Christmas my parents bought ornaments for them. When Dad died in 2002, Mom backed off the buying ornaments and instead downsized her Christmas ornaments by giving her grandchildren the majority of them, keeping a special few for her small tree. I picked up the yearly ornament buying tradition and by the time each child graduated from college and moved out of the house, he or she had a nice collection of ornaments to put on the tree.

I like to look at Old World Christmas for ornaments. Large assortment, nice quality, reliable and prompt  service. The other day an Old World Christmas ad popped up, giving advice on how to decorate a Christmas tree. 1) Group similar ornaments together. 2) Choose a theme. 3) Focus on cohesion. Hmmmm. I don't do any of those.

My tree tells my family's story. It's a walk down memory lane. 

Christmas tree 2022. The tree topper is a nice warm mitten that belonged to my dad when he was a young boy living in Chicago.

T had an old sweater that he liked to wear to get our daughters fired up. "Dad, that sweater is so old. Throw it away." After it wore out, I made ornaments out of it and gave one to each of the kids for their trees. It has a place of honor at the top of one of the daughter's tree.

One of the ornaments T and I bought before we were married. I was at his family's house after Christmas and his mom mentioned that DeHaven's, a very nice garden center, was having its after Christmas sale. We went there and bought a few ornaments in anticipation of our first Christmas tree.

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A very special ornament for 2022 😊

My dad collected Waterford ornaments. Each year it is such a treat to take them out of their boxes. And then there's my little Dayton alligator. Quite a juxtaposition to the elegant Waterford egg.

In 1985, I had a curious 14 month old. My brother made some ornaments out of wood, I painted them, and put the ornaments on the lower branches for inquisitive little fingers.

My parents purchased this when they lived in Germany for a short while. Not many left from this collection.

To mark the turn into the new millennium. 

orange {december 15, 2022}

Driving back from Chicago, the GPS routed us through Indianapolis versus taking the construction-laden I-465 beltway. The sky was gray, a little bit of drizzle going on, and my butt was getting numb from sitting. I was fidgeting. An hour and a half 'til we got home. I looked out my passenger side window and a little sliver of orange sun peeked through the clouds. As we got closer to Indy, the clouds lifted from the horizon and a full fledged, great ball of orange fire sunset lit up the sky, and reflected off all the western facing windows. Quite the light show.

My fidgety mind started thinking about orange. 

Where can we find the meaning of the color orange? 

In the bright orange from the crackling campfire or in the muted orange from the fall foliage.

We can find it in a soothing sunset or in this case, a very vibrant one.

It’s associated with danger and warning, as in the orange construction barrels or road signage.

It’s a color of change, movement, and transformation, as seen in nature, sunsets, vegetables, and fire.

The color orange is strongly associated with tropical landscapes and summer, yet it is the color of harvest and fall.

It is the color of Halloween, pumpkins, and cozy weather.

Orange is more than a color, it is a fruit. And because of that, it conveys health and vitality too. Orange is associated with the refreshing taste of citrus, Vitamin C, and healthy eating. 

People also commonly describe the color orange as bright, happy, and joyful. 

Orange, the second color in the rainbow, is sandwiched in between red and yellow. Orange is happy, joyful, and enthusiastic like yellow, but it also is a physically stimulating color full of energy like red.

An hour on I-70 quickly passed with these orange centric thoughts and now it's time to share. "Orange" you glad? 

wordy wednesdsay...jolabokaflod {december 14, 2022}

In many ways, books are the quintessential Christmas gift. They offer infinite variety, they are easily wrapped, and can be tailored to the recipients.

In Iceland holiday book buying is very popular. It is called the jolabokaflod, or “Christmas book flood.”

Jolabokaflod started during World War II, when paper was one of the few things not rationed in Iceland. Because of this, Icelanders gave books as gifts while other commodities were in short supply, turning them into a country of bookaholics to this day. Ever since 1944, the Icelandic book trade has sent out a book bulletin to each household in the middle of November when the Reykjavik Book Fair happens. People use this catalogue to order books to give to their friends and family on Christmas Eve, the main gift-giving day in Iceland. After all the presents are open, everyone grabs a cup of hot chocolate and cozies up to spend the rest of the evening reading their books. 

English Icelandic

Christmas jólin

Book bók

Flood flóð

Merry Christmas Gleðileg jól

When my kids were young I bought Christmas books, wrapped each one, and put them in a basket. Starting December 1, one child picked a book, unwrapped it, and I read it to them. We did that every night until December 24. I didn't need to keep track of who had chosen and unwrapped the book. They handled that. And fortunately, I had four kids, there were 24 books, and the math worked out perfectly. (Kids not arguing about who got shorted was my Christmas gift 😊🎄)

guardians of michigan avenue {december 13, 2022}

Iconic guardians of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Lions have stood at the Michigan Avenue entrance since the building's inaugural year. The site became the museum's permanent home at the conclusion of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, where the new structure had hosted lectures and other events for fairgoers.

I’ve looked for the lions’ names but haven’t found a given name for either. (As an aside, Fiorello LaGuardia named the lions at the New York Public Library Patience and Fortitude). The sculptor Edward Kemeys gave them unofficial names, with the north lion poised as “On the Prowl.” and the south lion standing “In An Attitude of Defiance.”

Just down the street from the Art Museum, the Mounted Patrol Unit conducts daily patrols in several areas of downtown Chicago, including the lakefront, the Museum Campus, Lincoln and Grant Parks, and the shopping areas of North Michigan Avenue and State Street, as well as at special events that occur around the city all year long. The horses in the Chicago Police Mounted Unit are named after fallen CPD officers to honor the memory of the men and women who died in the line of duty.