The Farnsworth House, designed by Mies van der Rohe between 1945-1951, is an absolute must-see for anyone interested in Modernist architecture. It is located on 62 acres outside of Plano, Illinois, which is about an hour and a half outside of Chicago. The house, currently a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, sits in…
Category: Writing
Chicago Yesterday and Today
We spent all day yesterday finishing up work that we had brought with us. This was okay. We holed up in our friend Shireen’s apartment and enjoyed the quiet while Ray worked in one room and I worked in another. We were finished in time to visit with Shireen when she returned from work in…
Train Adventure
Ray and I boarded the Santa Fe Chief yesterday afternoon at 6 pm in LA and are now in Colorado 24 hours later. We have eaten in the dining car for four meals already, made several new friends and have relaxed more than either of us has in years. We slept until 9:15 this morning…
A Window into My Day Today
Today has been filled with mundane errands, Romeo and Juliet, and college essays. I headed over to Beverly Hills first thing this morning to retrieve parking placards that were supposed to be sent in the mail but somehow got lost. The City Hall in BH is an impressive building, fitting of a capital building in…
RIP Tom Petty
I am very sad to hear the news of Tom Petty’s death. Close friends of ours saw him just last week when he and his band performed at the Hollywood Bowl. They said he was fantastic. Life feels unpredictable and fleeting at this moment. The tragedy in Las Vegas last night, the hurricanes, the earthquakes,…
Heading Back to LA
We left the orange grove after dinner this evening. We had a very productive few days there and the little house for Ron and Liz has a roof, sides, insulation and even wall covering on almost all walls. The wires are all run for electricity and there is a clear plan in place for the…
Up in Ojai
Hi everyone, I am sitting among my family here at the orange grove, typing while they are talking together. Clearly, I am going to make this a short post. I am posting now because I am using Ron’s “Hotspot,” which is an extra treat versus heading off to Starbuck’s and sitting in my car to…
Thoughts on Lack of Excerpts
Dear friends, Let me address why you have not gotten more excerpts from my manuscript so far this week. The truth is I have discovered that I have more rewriting to do before I can again post. My original plan was that I would take each excerpt and rewrite, one per night. But I have…
Camp Fire Bracelet
Have any of my fellow Camp Fire Girls ever seen the bracelet featured below? I have not, but we are selling two of these on eBay and I did research to find out their origin. That’s when I discovered the ad below. This is a sterling silver Fire Makers bracelet with the Camp Fire motto…
Visit from My Sweet Madison
Today I had the pleasure of seeing one of my long-standing students, Madison Stingray. We have known each other since she was in fourth grade and we’ve been friends and fellow writers now for the past twelve years. She is a recent graduate of Georgetown University and is leaving on Friday to start a Master’s…
20 Minutes a Day 