Now You Know: February 13, 2025

A new column that answers common and maybe not-so-common questions in and around Sun City!

Ask an Angel: February 13, 2025

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’m seeking advice on how to make this holiday a little easier for my grandma. She lost my grandpa last year, and I want to be sensitive to her feelings during this time. I know she will be feeling the loss, especially around Valentine’s Day, and I want to ensure she feels loved and supported.

Oh, give me a home from catalog by phone

My son lives in a century-old house he has been rehabbing in Crystal Lake for the last four years or so. It’s a solid little house with great bones — and he recently told me that it’s a Sears house.

Sears! Of course! The low-tech Amazon of a century ago, with the mail-order catalog from which you could buy a hat, a hammer, or even a house.

The good, the bad, and the art of conversation

It’s hard to effectively describe what makes a good conversation; what’s easy is to identify when you’re in the middle of a bad conversation. You are acutely aware of it, and you’re desperately trying to save it. When all else fails, you want nothing more than to escape it. It’s boring, frustrating, making you uncomfortable, or even worse, making you angry.

“It fits with all kinds of metaphors,” she told me. “A snake sheds its skin, it lives close to the earth, things like that.”

My vote for word of the new year

Although we’re only a few weeks into the new year, let me be the first to suggest that the 2025 Word of the Year should be “Oligarch.”

It’s a fun word to say. Try it. “Oligarch.”

Now you know: Curious in Neighborhood 4

A new column that answers common and maybe not-so-common questions in and around Sun City!

Jabba the Hut-suey

We are proud to say we have survived another round of holidays and things are returning to normal. Our stomachs are also returning to normal size after being stretched out to the point of no return due to all the holiday goodies. We have successfully rung in the New Year, and we hate to brag, but we actually stayed awake until 9:30 on New Year’s Eve. Truth be told, Rosie, aka the party animal, only made it up till 8:20 before falling in a heap in the middle of the living room floor.

An audience of one

I’m handling my heart with kid gloves this season. I’m typically a newshound, but for the past month or so, I’m choosing my news carefully. TV news is completely off the table for now, and I’m being selective with print news, too. This won’t go on forever, but for right now, my heart is too raw, too tender to take on the pain and hurt of the entire world. I’m giving myself a break.

Waiting to exhale over holiday greetings

With Christmas lurking just behind the next snowflake, I find myself waiting in breathless anticipation for The Arrival.

No, it’s not Santa’s arrival that I find my heart a-flutter for. It’s not the Star of Bethlehem or midnight madness sales or Bing Crosby film reruns. “It’s a Wonderful Life” would have been a good guess, but it’s not that either.

Holidaze

Like all hectic Christmas seasons, plans can be dashed in an instant. Sadly, dear readers, this was the case with this review. The allure of a Barbenheimer experience with Wicked and Gladiator II is just not in the cards. And unfortunately, some of the latest awards hopefuls were a week or two away on streaming to catch in time for deadline. But, regardless of those setbacks, no fear here. Upon browsing through the annals of Netflix, I found a couple appropriately themed movies and specials just in time for a night-in with friends or a slow evening alone.

Ask an Angel: December 19, 2024

As the holidays are fast approaching, I’m struggling to find the perfect gifts for my aging parents. Although they are still independent, they are not thriving as much as they used to. My mom has a passion for gardening, and my dad loves to tinker with various projects. They used to be avid adventurers, but they’re not traveling as much these days.

2024 B.E.L.C.H.

Another year bites the dust. It is a time for reflecting on old times and fond memories. Being the foodies that we are, our thoughts go to past tasty dishes. We remember the good old days, when breakfast cereals didn’t try to hide the sugar, such as Sugar Pops and Sugar Smacks. We remember past food fads, such as when anything and everything could be encased in a Jell-O mold. We reminisce about food favorites from our childhood such as fried baloney on Wonder Bread. Since Wonder bread is no longer available here, our neighbors Mary and Bruce on their trips back to the East coast bring us a loaf. And if that’s not enough, even our son sends us loaves by Fed Ex from Florida.

To the dad who loves us

I am fortunate to still have both my parents, who have been married for 66 years. Mom is 89 and Dad just turned 95.

Back in November, finishing up Dad’s birthday cake at my sister’s large dining room table, we reminisced about our childhoods.

When life gives you lemons, make mullets

Let’s face it, there’s really no excuse, is there? If you want to get from point A to point B, just follow the directions and everything will come out alright.

That turkey you want to roast? Just buy the right bird, season it according to the recipe, check the temperature and the time, and you’ll be fine.

Ask an Angel: December 12, 2024

Sunrise special

Jim is the king of all procrastinators. We have a fluorescent light fixture in our closet that has been flickering and probably sending out Morse Code from some alien civilization. The messages finally stopped when the last bulb burned out. Time to get Jim’s lazy butt up on the ladder to replace it. First step is to go to a big box store on Randall Road to buy light bulbs.

A taste of Oscar season

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as we head into the thick of holiday season. Gift shopping and festive gatherings mingle and jostle for our attention amid a flurry of friends, family, and significant others. And with the shortened time span between the last shindig and the next, it’s enough to leave your head spinning. Plus with the polar blast we had this past week, you might not want to leave the house in the bitter evenings. For that, I have some viewing recommendations that are both entertaining and seeking some awards attention.

Holding close, then letting go

The old adage says that if we love something, we should set it free.

That saying runs through my mind these days, as I take my high school daughter to tour prospective colleges. For one day, she tries each campus on like an outfit, checking to see if it’s the right fit.

The sucking makes all the difference

I blame the good people at Empire Flooring for sucking all the joy out of vacuuming.

To be clear, I found the Empire team all to be good people when they came to rip out the carpets in my house and replace them with laminate flooring. Those weary, well-weathered carpets were long overdue to be replaced, and just watching the Empire team pull them up made me want to call a hazmat team as a backup.

Mixed emotions

It was a beautiful fall afternoon. The leaves on the trees were changing colors and the air was fresh and crisp. We just finished taking down our Halloween decorations and our stomachs started to grumble. Our friends told us about a restaurant in Sycamore. We sped off to Nat’s on Maple to have lunch and check out the fall colors.

Step into escapism

Hello, dear readers, I expected to be writing a very different topic this week. But due to events out of my control I wasn’t able to get to the subject I had in mind. That being said, the emotionally heavy story of Disclaimer also became a deterrent. However, I may get back to it in the future. But, for now, I would like to touch on something that has been speculated over and over again: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Ask an Angel: November 21, 2024

I’m an elderly husband caring for my wife, who has dementia, and I’m facing a challenge that I hope you can help with. Her condition seems to be worsening, and one of the difficulties we’re encountering is getting her dressed each day.

Outside in: Growing herbs and vegetables in your kitchen

Recently, I visited the home of my niece and nephew. Their home is full of love and vibrancy. They have two children under the age of two, a handful of chickens running around in their backyard, both work full time and still found time to host a party. As is frequently the case, we spent much of the time talking in the kitchen. While in the kitchen, I couldn’t help but notice a beautiful vegetable garden. Yes, inside the kitchen. As our outdoor gardens have stopped producing vegetables, fruits and herbs their hydroponic gardening system provided us cherry tomatoes for lunch.

Is it possible to care while not caring?

It was a weeknight, and I was chopping vegetables for dinner when my husband burst through the door. “I thought of a new concept for my students,” he told me.

As I continued chopping, he described that during band rehearsal, he wanted his students to “let go” and get a louder, fuller, freer sound.

“I told them, ‘I need you to care while also not caring,’” he said.

I stopped chopping. My knife hovered mid-air, while I tried to make sense of this phrase.

Heaven and hell

Secret societies have always held a special place within our imagination. The notion of something being withheld, that denial ignites curiosity. Countless movies and TV shows expound on these subjects ranging from the CIA to the Illuminati (the thirst is there whether it is real or not). But recently the papacy, in particular the Vatican, has been the target of increased fictional interest. With “The New Pope” and “Spotlight,” these sacred cloisters have been opened up to us in a multitude of ways.

Ask an Angel: November 7, 2024

Hi there, I’m a senior veteran reaching out for some guidance on how a homecare company might be able to assist me with my unique situation.

I’m currently managing several health issues, including mobility challenges and the need for careful medication management. While my family does their best to support me, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to manage everything on my own. I’m in need of more consistent and professional help to handle daily activities, monitor my health, and provide personal care.

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