Summer is wrapping up and I have mixed feelings about it. I always want a reprieve from hot weather at this time of year. I'm especially looking forward to cooler nights. But I will miss the trips to the beach and walks through the prairie (see below). My girls start school next Monday. It will…

Lately Claire gets on the swing after dinner and asks Brian to push her and then Brian sits in a lawn chair and they chat. And I can see them from the kitchen while I do dishes. I like it.

I feel like my grandma Dice has been getting lots of mentions on my blog lately. I've been trying to go through stuff in our house and get rid of things I don't need. Things that I didn't want to take to Switzerland and yet couldn't seem to part with when we moved. And now…

I was so happy to be back to the Chicago Botanic Garden earlier this week. Because of the coronavirus they are limiting the number of visitors and you have to reserve an entrance time, but it was really no problem. The flowers and the bees and the butterflies and the sweet goldfinches don't know a…

These are the old, bur covered, shoes that I wear in my garden. I've been wearing them a lot lately trying to get my garden pruned back. Next spring I'll see what comes up and focus on making it pretty again.  Stay tuned.

We're going to call this the before and after even though the real after will be when Claire has her furniture and her things in her room. Our shipment is supposed to arrive right at the beginning of September. I know once our things are delivered things all over the house will be chaos for…

We went for a little walk on Saturday morning. I wanted to explore a park and an old school in Winnetka. The school is called the Crow Island School and it's just few minutes drive from our house. It was opened in 1940/41 and it's significant because it grew out of a new progressive style…

Woo – I have been working hard on Claire's bedroom renovation. This old house is not easy. The walls require so many steps to get them smooth and ready to paint. This morning I've been sanding doors and window frames and I'm a dusty mess. But I don't want to complain too much because I…

I've been busy around the house this week. Thanks to jetlag I've been getting up early to hack away at our overgrown yard. So many tall weeds choking out the perennials! And today I got my little garden plot under control and planted carrots, beets, basil and radishes. We also have a mysterious puddle in…