300,000 decisions

My parents, still enjoying good health and living independently in their 90s, are sorting through their belongings in their home of nearly 40 years as they prepare to downsize to an apartment.

It is a big job, and my sister and brother-in-law are doing a lot of the heavy lifting, by virtue of them living nearby. In their spare moments, of which they have very few, they go to Mom & Dad’s house and pick up boxes to take to the donation center. They offer moral support. The job of sifting through a lifetime of belongings is not only physically strenuous, but each unopened box holds the potential of releasing a flood of memories, good or bad: a letter from a long-gone relative; Mother’s Day cards on brittle paper with “I love yous” scrawled in crayon; a serving bowl that brings back a long-forgotten detail from their wedding day.

New blooms: a look at the latest plants of 2025

Mary, my adult daughter, and I recently went shopping. Thanks to her patience and good decorating abilities, I now own a few new home décor items. While certainly not extravagant, each time I walk into the kitchen or living room I smile because these new items that seem to make the rooms more inviting and pleasing.

Spring brings the chance for us to add a few new things to our garden. Much like adding new items to the inside our home, adding something new to the outside of our home will often add interest and brings joy. Thankfully, plant growers and hybridizers have spent years researching and developing new plants for our yards. Often times these plants have been growing in trial gardens across America as a way to ensure that when they are planted in our yards, they will thrive.

A burger round-up

Ah, the wild west!!! A time in American history of lawlessness, cattle rustlers, and gun slingers. This was immortalized by such historically accurate TV shows (NOT) such as Have Gun Will Travel, Bonanza, and our personal favorite, Gunsmoke. This show had memorable characters such as the 6’7” Marshall Dillon, the vivacious Miss Kitty (who we always suspected of running a promiscuous business on the side), and comic relief provided by Chester who was desperately in need of orthopedic work. With this in mind, Jim put on his chaps and spurs, which for reasons we won’t go into, he just happened to have lying around the house, jumped on our faithful steed “Mini,” and blazed a trail to Cattlemen’s Burger and Brew in Algonquin.

Money Matters: March 27, 2025

The good news is that most of the products we are watching were the same price on March 15 as they were on January and February 15. The bad news is that the two exceptions are whoppers. Ground beef was $5.84/lb in March, an increase of 25.86% since January 15; and eggs were $5.97, an increase of 43.51%.

Adam Smith devised “The Law of Supply and Demand” in 1776 to explain why some things are expensive and other things are cheap.

Sir Isaac Newton came up with “The Three Laws of Motion” in 1687 to explain why objects either sit still or move around.

Less house, more home

It was 2015, we were in the middle of a pay freeze, and our life was generally chaotic with four little kids, a floppy-eared puppy, and a house that always seemed to need fixing. Toys were everywhere, our savings account was barely worth mentioning, and we hadn’t taken a decent vacation in years.

There were nights I couldn’t sleep, worrying how we would pay for school fees and music lessons and clothing for our children. Something had to change.

Ten years ago next month, we made a big change: we moved into a house half the size of our previous home.

A corned-beef bonanza

Let’s be honest, St. Patrick’s Day is not really known as a culinary holiday. Most people prefer Guiness and Jamesons over boiled potatoes. A perfect example of this is Nancy. If there’s Guiness on tap, she’s there in a heartbeat. She actually survived in Ireland on Guiness and flights of Irish whiskey rather than eating such delicacies as Piggy Cheeks and the delicious blend of oatmeal, pork, bread, and suet known as White Pudding. However, we digress. We found an Irish pub in Downers Grove with an interesting menu with lots of creative and authentic Irish dishes. We jumped into the Mini-Mobile, followed the rainbow hoping to find a pot of gold at Ballydoyle Irish Pub.

Ask an Angel: March 13, 2025

I’m worried about my mom and could use some guidance. She’s always been fairly active, but after having knee surgery last year, she went through physical therapy, made great progress, and then… just stopped. Now she insists she’s fine and doesn’t “need” to exercise anymore, but I can see how much less she moves. She’s more sedentary and complains about stiffness. Even simple things like getting up from a chair are becoming more difficult for her.

Now You Know: March 13, 2025

We moved into Neighborhood 3 a little over a year ago. During our orientation we learned about the Del Webb neighborhoods, and we have a question about the neighborhood numbering. Whenever we meet someone at tennis, or in the Prairie Lodge, one of the first questions that comes up is “What neighborhood do you live in?” Once I’m told, I still have no idea where they live; the neighborhood numbers make no sense to me. Am I missing something, is there a secret decoder ring that will clue me in to where a numbered neighborhood is?

Havana, Cuba

Recently, I walked the streets where Che Guevara, Jose Marti, Fidel Castro, and Ernest Hemmingway walked. Havana, Cuba. Here, it is called Habana, Cuba, and it is where I met my six fellow travelers and our wonderful guide, Daryl Hawk. I highly recommend his Cuba tours. I did not mind waiting for everyone at the airport, for it gave me more time to admire the classic cars that drove around the airport picking up arrivals. Or just showing off their luster from the ever-present sun. Well, almost ever-present sun. Flowers do need rain sometimes.

Spring dreaming

For the first time ever, I decided to put up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Usually, I wait until a few days before Christmas to decorate our home and most importantly the tree. After hauling from the basement box after box of tinsel, ornaments, and lights, I came to a disturbing realization. The decorations weren’t going to do me any good, because we didn’t have a Christmas tree. During our move last summer, we had made the decision to give away our old Christmas tree and planned on purchasing a new one. The problem was, we never purchased a new one. Thankfully a few trips to local big box stores and some shopping online helped us to ensure that we were still able to decorate the tree by Christmas Eve.

No words

Ever since the advent of sound in the 1920s, the very idea that we would go back to silent pictures seems ludicrous. But this style of filmmaking isn’t completely dead. We had a Best Picture back in 2011 called The Artist that was largely a visual film with no dialogue. Many independent directors such as Todd Haynes, Guy Madden, and Pedro Almodóvar have dabbled in the art form; breathing in new life. Some of the best animated features are as such. So, it would stand that there is still gas in the tank for this engine to keep going. And, to be honest; with the chatter online, we could use a little less squawking.

Struggle, struggle, struggle … click

It’s not that I enjoy watching my kids struggle — I really don’t. All the motherly instinct in me wants to run in, sweep them up in my arms, and rescue them from pain, frustration, embarrassment, or fear. But I learned a long time ago that you can’t wrap your children in bubble wrap; the more we hover around them and try to catch them before they fall, the less likely they’ll know how to get up again by themselves.

How many roads can a man walk down?

It’s been a long time since I saw Cory — two or three lifetimes at least — and I wonder what sort of shoes he’s wearing now.

It’s not reincarnated lifetimes I’m talking about here, though it might as well be when it comes to Cory. The last time I saw him he had lived three full lives at the least. By now he must be well past five.

Scrumptious spaetzle

It’s so much fun living in the Midwest. You can experience every type of weather known to man all in one day. It can start off as a bright sunny day followed by fog and finally snow. The same is true with dining out. Almost every cuisine in the world is available only a hop, skip, and jump away. You can enjoy Italian, Asian, Mexican, and just about anything else you can think of. One day I said to myself, “self, let’s get some German food.” After a quick search on the Dining Duo computer, we hopped into our German car and took the autobahn, otherwise known as I-90, to Renate’s German Restaurant in Hanover Park.

Money Matters: February 27, 2025

Our Huntley Walmart store brand prices and Thornton gas prices remained largely unchanged from January 15 to February 15.

Look a-live

After the last Valentine’s chocolate has been eaten, it will be time to find some new joys to get us through. With the last gasps of winter claiming these weeks, there won’t be much frolicking outdoors for a while. So get cozy with some friends or a loved one with something to laugh at or listen to for a bit.

Ask an Angel: February 27, 2025

I’m struggling to help my wife, who has dementia, get the nutrition she needs. She has little to no appetite most days, and I suspect her medications may be playing a role. Unfortunately, she needs them, so stopping or adjusting them isn’t really an option.

When does confidence kick in?

Exactly how long does one have to be doing something to start feeling confident and competent at it?

Forgive me if I’m getting all “what is life” on y’all, but I recently had a big milestone birthday, and as the old Steve Miller Band lyrics say, “Time keeps on slipping … into the future.” The past few months have me taking inventory. What are the things I’ve accomplished? Which life goals need to be pushed to the front of the line? Which goals are probably going to fall by the wayside? Who am I, besides a daughter, wife, and mother?