No, it’s not Arbor Day. Nor is it Earth Day. But it is definitely a tree-mendous day here at Maples at the Sonatas. It’s a perfect day to hug a tree, as Dave demonstrates. •••••• When I got up this morning and looked out a window, I couldn’t believe what I saw. “OK, who ordered the forest?” I asked my cat. She just stared at me. Of course, it was our builder, Wilcox Communities, who […]
Maples at the Sonatas is located in northern Illinois, just 10 miles from the Wisconsin border. We are right smack at the intersection where Bears territory and Packers territory overlap. If you can picture a Venn diagram, we are at dead center. So it is no surprise that our neighborhood is split in loyalty to the two teams that played last night. Nearly 25 of us met in the neutral territory of our clubhouse to […]
Look who just came trick-or-treating! Three of my favorite canine neighbors. Happy Halloween from Bam Bam, Oliver, Bandit — and me!
…she came into my life softly and unexpectedly and briefly, but inspired a metamorphosis. – from The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen It was a banner day for our Maples Book Club—the biggest one in our two-year history. Nineteen women gathered around a large table—our guest author, Amy Gail Hansen; 16 members; another guest/prospective buyer; and our sales assistant, who came in on her day off. It was our largest turnout, our first visit […]
Today’s third annual Maples at the Sonatas Pooch Plunge made a big splash. Warm, sunny weather welcomed us as we gathered around noon. Nearly 50 people and about a dozen dogs mingled poolside with nary a growl or yip, though there was a fair amount of butt sniffing going on. The big dogs, like Darby, swam in our pool… … while the little dogs had their own wading pool. Cookie came dressed for swimming, thanks […]
This is another in my series of posts detailing how neighbors found their way to Maples at the Sonatas. Thomas Wolfe’s book title was wrong. You CAN go home again. However, it may be a long, painful journey getting there. Just ask Gloria. She and her first husband spent 30 years in Woodstock. They worked here; they raised their family here; then they left to retire in Mountain Home, Ark. She was happy there but […]
Most of us here at Maples at the Sonatas would not use adjectives like peaceful and easy to describe our neighborhood this summer. When we hear the word growth, we think of sales and construction and closings—all of which have been fast and furious. But quietly, unobtrusively, another kind of growth is happening. This is the sweet, silent, delicious growth of plants in our community garden. Located near our parking lot—and directly across the street […]
The heatwave continues. So do my posts trying to combat it with cool thoughts, pictures, places, and people. Here is my heat-beater for today. Tipsy stays cool(er) on her afternoon walk by hitching a ride with her human, Ray. This smart pooch will not be setting one paw on the hot sidewalk or asphalt driveway.
It was 92 degrees of hot and humid in Woodstock today. In other words, it was a perfect afternoon to watch a good movie in our cool, dark clubhouse. Last week the Maples book club met to discuss Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. Today we gathered to watch the film of the book. Our timing couldn’t have been better, as 11 members and two husbands spent a comfortable, companionable afternoon together. Wouldn’t you […]
Our Maples Book Club is not exactly what you might expect from a group of, um, shall we say, rather mature women sitting around a table talking about books. We do that, of course. We have great discussions. It’s just that during the discussions, we often take interesting little side trips. Yesterday afternoon, for example, Sue arrived at our meeting carrying something in addition to her book. She held up a well-worn box bearing the […]
…be alive and be outdoors. The sun is bright, the air is a comfortable 69 degrees, the breeze is very gentle. It’s a beautiful day to cruise the neighborhood in a golf cart, like Dee and Carol did. It’s a beautiful day to read a good book by the pool, like Sue did. It’s a beautiful day to swim in Grandma’s pool, like Sue’s grandchildren and their friends did. It’s a beautiful day to lie […]
It was a far out, groovy morning at Maples at the Sonatas as we gathered for our third annual Flower Power event. It’s no secret that we love a reason to share a cup of coffee and socialize. And if there’s one thing we love even more, it’s getting something free. Yesterday, that was flowers. It was our sales consultant, Carol Lyons, who started this event and nicknamed it Flower Power. The name is catchy […]
It’s hard to say who enjoyed yesterday’s Maples at the Sonatas Spring Tour of Homes more. Was it (a) the visitors who toured the five private homes and four models? Or maybe (b) the sales staff who created another successful event? Or possibly (c) the owners who opened their homes? Carol and Kathy, our sales staff, were certainly happy. An estimated 120 people walked though the homes, resulting in a number of good prospects and […]
It was mid-afternoon of a beautiful, 70-degree day. But I was inside yesterday, on the phone with my brother and sister-in-law, talking long distance, as we used to call it. As we chatted, I glanced out a window and saw four neighbors and three dogs gathered near my patio. I rather abruptly ended the phone call, telling my family I needed to go outside and talk with some neighbors. Needed might seem like too strong […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Home Sweet Abbey 