The Suburbs: What I’ll Miss

There are many things I will love about living in Chicago again. But as I am preparing to leave Bolingbrook, I’m focusing on saying goodbye to the things I’ve loved about this place. What will I miss? Plenty of things. Wide open spaces – cornfields, soccer fields, parking lots, no buildings over 3 stories, vistas across […]

Take 12, October

On the 12th of every month, I (try to) take pictures of the day, then choose 12 to post. It’s called Take 12. Here’s this month’s gallery: October isn’t a very pretty month in a garden. Here is my dead tomato/basil/pepper bed. Some marigolds still determined to hang on, but otherwise, everyone else is in […]

A History of Cheap American Furniture

Some folks complain about the shoddy construction of IKEA furniture. But wait. Shoddy construction has a long history in American society. I ask you: doesn’t IKEA seem like a natural heir to an American legend: The Sears Catalog? Exhibit 1: Sears dresser (circa 1930? 1940?) Made of cheap wood topped with veneer. Styled to look […]

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 […]