Even relatively new communities like ours have a history, albeit a short one. When I get curious about the good old days, I turn to our pioneers, Bud and Elly. They moved in five years ago last month, when only one other home was occupied. Those very first residents are no longer here, leaving Bud and Elly our longest tenured homeowners. Like many of my neighbors, Bud and Elly moved to Woodstock to be near […]
Maples at the Sonatas is usually a nice, quiet place. Visitors and newcomers often comment on it. The rest of us have come to take the tranquility for granted. But we shouldn’t. Being able to hear yourself think is a wonderful thing and all too rare. We are a peaceful enclave, 24 acres carved from The Sonatas, a larger, separate subdivision of mostly two-story, single-family homes. But once I drive down Schumann St. into our […]
Our Spring Brunch potluck yesterday produced several firsts for Maples at the Sonatas. We had our largest turnout ever for a social event—42 people. Planned and hosted by our sales team of Kathy and Carol, it began as an expanded version of our monthly Coffee and Conversation and grew into a sprawling, sociable gathering that overflowed our seating capacity. But everyone was having such a good time that no one seemed to mind. When our […]
It was obvious that something big was going on. So often during the past month, I would look out a window and see a lot more cars than usual in the parking lot by our clubhouse. There were also more people walking around the neighborhood, either with Kathy, our sales assistant, or on their own, studying maps and heading from one model to the next. Yesterday, near the end of her workday, I finally managed […]
I was looking for something else in my pantry when I found the package of pumpkin spice muffin mix. Not just any muffin mix, it looked high end, probably from a specialty shop. It was a Christmas gift that I had decided to save for a special occasion. Then it kept getting pushed farther back on the shelf until I forgot I had it. I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty when I saw it, […]
I met Jamie Wilcox in August 2010. I had returned to Maples at the Sonatas to take pictures of the Abbey that I would buy within a month. When I walked into the clubhouse, I expected to find the sales rep Jon, but he wasn’t there. A young man greeted me, said that Jon had the day off, and introduced himself as Jamie Wilcox. I looked at him blankly. After a pause, he said, “I’m […]
Today’s post is another in a series of stories detailing how my neighbors found their way to Maples at the Sonatas. In 2009, retired librarians Joe and Sylvia were happy with their living situation. Their primary home was a townhome in Hoffman Estates, and they also owned a vacation home on a lake in Wisconsin. That March, they took a trip to Tucson, Ariz., and fell in love with the area and the climate. One […]
from Maples at the Sonatas–at the end of the rainbow. I wish I could say the rainbow ends right at my Home Sweet Abbey, but it doesn’t. The pot of gold is hidden in a neighbor’s home. Photo credit for this beautiful picture goes to my neighbor Sylvia.
Most mornings, you’ll find me sitting at the bistro table in my sunroom. I’ll be sipping my Keurig Dark Magic coffee, reading the newspaper, and watching my neighborhood begin the day. My cat Angie keeps me company, dozing on top of her cat tree. And best of all for this retired teacher, I’ll glance out a window, see a school bus go by in the distance, and remember just how sweet my life is. I […]
Here in Woodstock, we take the minor holiday of Groundhog Day very seriously. We are proud that the movie, “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, was filmed almost entirely in our town. Since the film was released in 1993, there has always been a celebration on Feb. 2 on our town square. Every year the highlight is Woodstock Willie, our local groundhog, emerging from a tree stump and making his prognostication. With Groundhog […]
After I wrote my first post on how I came to buy my home, some of my neighbors began sharing their experiences with me. I soon realized there is a good story behind almost all of our purchases. From time to time, I plan to share their stories with you. Here are the first two. First, we have Art and Lynn, the couple I wrote about in an earlier post. Lynn remembers their many, many […]
When Diana and Bob moved into their Portico, they couldn’t find just the right spot in their new home for the large stuffed bear they had brought with them. So their furry brown conversation piece moved to the entryway of our community clubhouse. I have to admit, the bear was rather intimidating at first, standing over five feet tall on his hind legs. Many of us were a little startled when we walked in the […]
It was nine o’clock on a hot July night. My neighborhood was quiet except for the hum of air conditioners. I was opening a window to check if it had cooled off enough to open up the house, when I spotted movement across the street. In the shadows cast by a streetlight, I saw two of my neighbors slowly emptying buckets of water onto the roots of a spruce tree. I called to them from […]
It was Kathy, a friend and former teaching colleague, who filled my head with dreams of owning an Abbey. Five years ago, she moved into her Abbey in a nearby Epcon community, though not Maples at the Sonatas where I live. After settling in, she invited me over to see her new home. I went, stayed long enough to fall in love with it, and left promising myself “someday….” But as I was driving home, […]
Home Sweet Abbey 