This is my symphony

What I read & what I lived …

The times they are a’changing. Nights have been in the fifties, summer’s humidity is gone, and last week my home town even squeezed in a few rain showers. Next week our temperatures return to summer, but it’s clear the end is near. I went to a greenhouse last night for “Mums and Merlot,” a little …

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It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life. J.R.R. Tolkien My morning pour-over, the cat on my lap, and a peek of the sunrise over the field out back. Teaching my grandson how to play Scrabble, bending into a stretch at the YMCA, a stack of books waiting. That, my friends, is magic. …

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Last month we had one of those Midwest snow storms that closes schools, interrupts travel, and keeps many of us shoveling every few hours to keep up with the drifts. It is only my second winter living alone, and let’s just say I’ve never been more happy to have the companionship of a little fur …

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In many ways it’s been a typical holiday season: decadent food, festive gatherings, cozy nights. Friend Mary and I took in our town’s new Christkindl Market and it didn’t disappoint. Although it’s only a sliver of the size of Christkindl Market on Daley Plaza in Chicago, the folksy wares, yummy food, and–of course–gluhwein were spot …

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