Today’s assignment is to write a post in the form of a letter. I am writing to my maternal grandmother, Hilda Hagen Hahn (1892–1957). My Dear Nana, You chose to end your life in 1957. I was 10, old enough to understand some of it, but not as much as I do now. Craig was 7 and has only vague memories. Though it was 60 years ago, I remember our phone ringing early in the […]
Note to my readers: I’m finding that creating a post worthy of publishing every day is more time-consuming that I expected. So I am going to spread out the assignments and take some days off. Today I’m going to take another liberty and combine yesterday’s topic, which was to write about a photo, with today’s, which is to write about a quote. You are looking at an original copy of the First Folio of […]
To my readers: I’m continuing my blogging class with today’s assignment of writing a list. Things I like about being 70 At 70, when I meet someone new, I no longer get suspicious glances when I tell them I’m retired. That was not always the case when I retired at 55. If I uttered the R-word 15 years ago, faces looked at me with a combination of surprise, envy, and resentment of my good […]
To my readers: I am beginning the new year by taking a class on blogging. For the next three weeks, I will be writing responses to daily assignments. This WordPress icon will identify posts that are part of my coursework. Today’s topic: Why I write. I write because I like the challenge of pulling an intangible thought from my brain and recording it in tangible form, whether on paper or a screen. I write […]
You are invited to a Book Signing for my new novel, TEACHING MYSTERIES 201: THE STRIKE. This coming Sunday, Dec. 10, from 1 to 3 pm, I will be talking about the book and signing copies at Read Between the Lynes on the Woodstock Square. This is a busy time of year, but if you have a few minutes and care to stop by, I’d love to see you. If you can’t make it Sunday but […]
Editor’s note: I usually don’t believe in rerunning posts. Perhaps I should say, it’s fine for others, but I prefer to come up with something new for my own blog. But… it’s Veteran’s Day, and I want to acknowledge it. Because I haven’t come up with anything I like better, here is the post that I published four years ago today. I hope you’ll like it. My father, Carl Dierksen, tried very hard to […]
Maybe 7 is a lucky number after all. It was 7 years ago that I moved into my new Abbey, which eventually led me to begin this blog. It was also 7 years ago that I began the first draft of a new novel that I expected to be quick and easy to write. After all, it is a sequel. I already had developed most of the main characters, the setting, the genre (cozy mystery). […]
This isn’t the end, but you can see it from here. Work has begun on Phase 4, the final phase, of Maples at the Sonatas. I know it’s too soon to get all nostalgic about this. So I will spare you those posts until later in the journey. For now, I’ll just share a visual progress report. Here we are—Maples at the Sonatas—from the air. Three pictures taken from three small airplanes in three different […]
Where do you get the ideas you write about? Readers sometimes ask me this question. More often, though, I ask it of myself. Where did that idea even come from? And where can I find more of them? It’s a good question because it doesn’t have a simple, clear cut answer. Sometimes, my topic comes from a reader’s suggestion. Other times, I stumble into a situation and realize it would be fun to write about. […]
My neighbor, Sue, is too modest to allow me to call her a wine expert. So let’s just say, she has pursued an interest in the field for quite a few years and has learned a lot along the way. She and her husband, Mike, have a large collection of wines and a large library of books related to it. When they began planning their new home here at Maples at the Sonatas, they knew […]
Downsizing. It is one of the most common reasons people give for buying a home in Maples at the Sonatas. Once the children are on their own, many find there is no longer a need for as much living space. And then there is maintenance. Our buyers also come looking for less upkeep, both inside and outside the home. After they settle in, they realize they are living comfortably — luxuriously even — in less […]
It was over a year ago that my brother, Craig, and his wife, Rosie, came to visit to help celebrate Mom’s 95th birthday. Mom (Marjorie) was living in memory care but was doing fairly well, considering. During that visit, we three “kids” began to talk in general terms about some day taking a cruise to Alaska maybe. The idea was planted but needed time to grow. On future visits for Mother’s Day and Mom’s 96th birthday, […]
One of my favorite parts of spring is all of its new beginnings. Flowers reappear from the soil and bloom again. Or they are planted for the first time, sharing color and fragrance from their very beginning. Baby animals come into the world. Trees begin another year by putting on their loveliest blossoms. Like this one. And it’s not only nature celebrating new beginnings. The Maples is all about new beginnings too. For as long […]
Tomorrow will be a red-letter day here at Maples at the Sonatas. Actually, make that a red-box day, according to my calendar. But however you highlight it, the day will be significant. Tomorrow is Turnover Day, the moment when our community takes its next step toward completion. At a meeting tomorrow, our builder, Jamie Wilcox, will officially turn over the homeowners association to us, the homeowners. As is customary with construction, the builder […]
Shadow is a seeker of light and of heat. During the daytime, I often find her napping in a pool of sunlight on a bed or a rug. On cold winter nights, she will sit quietly in front of the dark fireplace, waiting for me to turn it on. She understands what it means when I walk over and flip the switch. The word ambience is not in her small cat vocabulary. She doesn’t know […]
Fable: A short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters. Once upon a time, not too long ago, Joe and Sylvia adopted their sweet dog, Bandit, a loving, trusting soul. I already had Angie, an outgoing cat who loved to play. We decided to introduce them, hoping that a friendship would develop. In the beginning, it looked like we would get our wish. The two were curious about […]
There’s no better time of year to celebrate connections than the holiday season. Physical connections, social connections, historical connections—all seem to carry more significance as we approach Christmas. And here at Maples at the Sonatas, we have our share of celebrating to do this year. Physical connections first. Our growing community is now connected in a new way: Our last street, Verdi, has joined Handel and Schumann as officially completed streets. The view, which not […]
For the past two months, I have wanted only to think or speak or write about two things: my mother’s death and the Chicago Cubs. I have talked a lot, maybe incessantly, about the Cubs, mainly because it’s easier on me and those around me to think about winning than dying. In the quiet places of my heart, though, I will remember the summer-turned-fall of 2016 as the time that Mom slowly, painfully failed, while […]
Happy October from Maples at the Sonatas… Where we are lovin’ our World Series-playin’ Cubbies. Our mascot, Healy the Bear, says, GO, CUBS, GO! And so do most of our residents.
My neighbor Tom prefers living off the beaten path—taking the road less traveled, if you will. Sometimes that even means constructing the trail himself. And that is fine with him. He and Brenda moved into their Portico a year ago. Their Phase 3 lot nestles along the treeline at the edge of the Maples. A few steps beyond their courtyard is a low stone wall marking the line between our property and undeveloped land owned […]
Home Sweet Abbey 