What He’ll Be When He Grows Up

May 24, 2011.Reading time 6 minutes.

At 7, my son is in earnest. Gripping the back of the seat as we drive to the grocery store, he asks, “What should I be when I grow up?” This is not a “why is the sky blue?” kind of question. The almost pleading tone in his voice begs me to answer; not a […]

Edges

March 22, 2011.Reading time 5 minutes.

A couple of months back, one thing led to another… I started to follow the blog of Lena Roy, writer and granddaughter of famed author Madeleine L’Engle. Then she checked out my blog. The latest posting just happened to be about her grandmother’s influence on me and the time L’Engle signed my copy of A […]

Ghana must taste like joy and mangos

March 5, 2011.Reading time 3 minutes.

We hadn’t been to Mabovi African restaurant for almost a year (since Mac’s last birthday). When we walked through the door, owner Bea was on her way out to run an errand. She stopped short and exclaimed, “Oh, it’s you! I can’t leave now!” It doesn’t matter that she probably doesn’t remember all our names […]

Part 3: Near and beer to our hearts–Indy microbreweries

February 26, 2011.Reading time 3 minutes.

Part 1–Near and beer to our hearts–Indy microbreweries Part 2–Near and beer to our hearts–Indy microbreweries Our journey continued with a nice brisk walk as the sun was setting on this almost spring-like day. Broad Ripple, the artsy district we especially love to visit in the warmer weather, is hopping at night, even in the winter. Luckily […]

Part 2: Near and beer to our hearts–Indy microbreweries

February 17, 2011.Reading time 2 minutes.

In case you missed Part 1, Near and beer to our hearts. The next stop on our short list of microbreweries took us to the nearby art district of Broad Ripple. With all our visits to this area, I’m not sure how we missed this place right on Broad Ripple Avenue with the giant 3. […]

Part 1: Near and beer to our hearts–Indy microbreweries

February 14, 2011.Reading time 4 minutes.

6 months since our last visit to Indy and 3 reasons to celebrate: 1. The last time we were here, I narrowly escaped having my head severed by a huge herniated disc. I’m now five months into my recovery from neck surgery. Yea! 2. Temps in the 40s are beginning to melt snow from Chicago’s […]

Tesser Well

February 7, 2011.Reading time 5 minutes.

By Amanda Cleary Eastep “Tesser well.” The handwritten words quiver across the novel’s title page, and I imagine the woman, then in her 80s, whose trembling hand penned them. “For Amanda” is written above the strange instruction, and below it, the name of my favorite childhood author, Madeleine L’Engle. In 2004, I mailed my 1976 […]

Snow Day Pictures

February 2, 2011.Reading time 1 minute.

1. 23.0 inches Jan 26-27, 1967 2. 21.6 inches Jan 1-3, 1999 3. 20.2 inches Feb. 1-2, 2011 So, I have now experienced the top 3 biggest snow falls in Chicago history (although I was too young to remember the first one…) Today, Wednesday, February 02, 2011, the College is closed for business and classes. […]

Knit from Dirt

January 26, 2011.Reading time 5 minutes.

[In anticipation of the end of winter–yes, I start anticipating early–I’m sharing something I wrote last spring. Ah, spring…] He made us from this. This darkness, this ancient batter of living and dead and living again things. I like that God made us from dirt, instead of from nothingness. I like that we walk earth’s surface until […]

Quelf with the Family

January 23, 2011.Reading time 5 minutes.

Random mayhem. This could describe our weekly family night on occasion but seemed to be the official theme Thursday night when six of us gathered around the table for a game of Quelf. The rest of the family just didn’t have the energy…and it takes a lot to play this game, the gist of which […]