Farewell to Bolingbrook

In a week, the moving truck will come and a crew of Chicago bruisers will load all our earthly belongings into a truck or two and haul it into the city. We’ll leave behind a bed of ripening strawberries, a renovated bathroom that still flutters my heart, a wheelbarrow, four kinds of iris, rampant mint, […]

On “Aloha”

Adam and I just got back from 9 days in Hawaii. It was… amazing. We stayed on the remote side of Maui in a rustic little cottage with an outdoor shower, propane fridge and cooktop, cold water sink, and just three tiny LED lights. A compost toilet was down the path, with separate seats for #1 and […]

The Suburban Life For Me

I’m going on sabbatical in two weeks (two weeks?!?). We’ll be visiting places like Rome, Jerusalem, and Seattle. It’s hard to promise that we won’t just stay in one of those places, right? Like, isn’t there an Episcopal Church in Rome? Do they have any openings? (Asking for a friend.) And the reason I feel […]

Elegant Little Things

Every home has a miscellany of elegant, useful objects that make life better. I don’t mean big stuff, like a hot water heater, refrigerator, or sectional sofa. I’m talking about little things – often inexpensive – that enhance our everyday lives because of their simple but elegant practicality or beauty. St. Benedict says, “regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as […]

Other People’s Homes in Mexico

In October, Adam and I spent a week in Cancun with his mom and brother, Luke. We stayed in a resort and had a lot of fun. One of the interesting things about visiting other places, at least for people who geek out about domestic and civic landscapes like me, is seeing where and how […]

Funerals at Home

Episcopal Cafe’ ran this piece I wrote as “The Daily Episcopalian” last Friday. Funerals at Home Recently, I presided at a tiny home funeral. Twenty people gathered in the living room of a mother and son, approximately aged 90 and 60, who had died on the same day. I’ll call them Leona and Joe. They had […]

Lincoln and His House

You don’t really know someone just because you’ve seen the inside of their home. But maybe you know them better. A few weekends ago, Adam and I went to Springfield to see the Lincoln Museum. If you haven’t heard yet: It’s amazing. You should go see it. While you’re there, have yourself a “Horseshoe,” which […]

Foreclosure

This are two foreclosed homes on our block, down from three. Will County has had one of the highest rates of foreclosures in the state, and Bolingbrook has been one of the epicenters. Some foreclosed homes are kept up well, but this one was pretty neglected. The front door looked like something out of a […]

A Tearoom in Corn Country

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit a tearoom in the middle of nowhere. Clotted cream, lemon balm jelly, finger sandwiches, the whole bit. We’re in Iowa this week, spending time with Adam’s family while he does some work out here. His grandmother invited me to join her “Red Hat” group for a trip to […]

Home is the most important place

Bolingbrook is a community of stores and homes. There’s no town center, no special landmarks, and no remarkable geography. (Although, to be fair, there are a few small, muddy rivers and some cornfields). For most of us, the landscape of life is what’s inside our houses and inside the stores nearby. “Home is the most important […]