My father, Carl Dierksen, tried very hard to become a veteran. And I guess he technically would qualify as one, though he never claimed the honor. He was 22 when he and my mother married in 1940. The following year, during World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, both to serve his country and to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. Dad reported to a base in Florida, where he had completed […]
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 […]
There are several gauges that can be used to measure the growth of our community. The two most obvious are based on simple mathematics. What is the number of homes that have closed? What is the number of residents who call Maples at the Sonatas home? But there is another measure too, a less precise, more symbolic one. And that is the progressive movement of the construction gates. Until last week, there have always been […]
All summer long, a planter full of petunias and vinca vines sat on my patio. It was pretty for months, but as we got deeper into October, the plants grew long and scraggly and unattractive. Then they were nipped by frost. And so, a few days ago, I decided it was time to let them go. I slid the planter away from the outside wall of my home and lifted it to carry over to […]
Look who just came trick-or-treating! Three of my favorite canine neighbors. Happy Halloween from Bam Bam, Oliver, Bandit — and me!
It’s a gloomy, rainy Halloween here at Maples at the Sonatas. But the weather isn’t likely to dampen the spirits of the two couples who are closing on their new homes in Building 3 today. That’s right. A Canterbury and an Abbey are finished and ready to welcome their owners. The other two homes will be done in about two weeks. Here are some of the finishing steps that have been completed in the last […]
It was frightful. It was delightful. It was chilling. Well, make that chili. It was our Maples Halloween Chili Fest. It featured 12 different kinds of homemade chili. It featured 31 homeowners and four almost-owners who will close, appropriately, on Halloween. It featured costumes ranging from the gruesome to the ridiculous, with a lot of spooky creativity on display. It was fun, Maples style. And speaking of the Maples, check out these most appropriate costumes. […]
Home Sweet Abbey 