A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to make a short trip to Chicago in my home state of Illinois. The Lake, Michigan Avenue, the Art Institute, deep dish pizza, the Blues, the buildings etc. What a great city!
I haven't a flower garden, but I have two magnolia trees and they are a lovely sight in bloom. Their flowers are cause for pause, appreciation and reflection. Ah, refreshing beauty.
One evening I noticed a pool of water on the floor in front of the fridge. This perplexed me since the older child in the household knows how to use the toilet on his own and the other child is still tightly wrapped in Baby Dry diapers. Hmmm..... so, I was able to determine that it wasn't THAT type of accident and quickly suspected that it was our GE Fridge acting up again. (Thankfully, this time it was a silent pool of water on the floor instead of ice cubes spontaneously clinking and clanking out onto the floor during the wee hours of the morning.) Shortly after cleaning up the puddle, I realized that it was feeling quite balmy in the both compartments of our large GE appliance. Almost everything had to be quickly moved or tossed. Mini fridge and deep freezer to the rescue! Finally, three service calls and $350+ later our fridge was back in the freezing and cooling business. Hearing the ice maker rumble again was music to my ears!
"...Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby (oh-oh) vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla
Ice ice baby vanilla ice
Yo man let's get out of here
Word to your mother
Ice ice baby too cold
Ice ice baby too cold too cold (x2)
Ice ice baby..."
It was shaping up as a warm and beautiful early spring day, but a dark cloud now hangs over the campus and town. During the lunch hour we found out the identity of the young woman who was murdered and was found lying in a residential street early Wednesday morning. She was the student body president who was a model university representative with a promising future. Why did this happen? We don’t know yet (there are currently no suspects), but, really, even an answer wouldn't make the situation better.
May her spirit find peace.
During this week of Mardi Gras, I pay tribute to the great city of New Orleans and share photos taken on my first trip to the Crescent City more than two decades ago. 
More than two years after Katrina, we are still reminded by news stories that the city has yet to get fully back on its feet. But, despite the struggle, the people who are there and who are returning keep moving forward. One day I hope to enjoy New Orleans again in person and reacquaint my senses with its rich sights, smells, sounds and tastes. 
Two weekends ago we finally got a light blanketing (equivalent to a crocheted blanket) of snow that was accompanied by temperatures in the 20s! When it started falling on late Saturday afternoon, the kids were mesmerized by the clumps of white stuff coming from the sky and actually sticking on the tree branches and the lawn. After running around the house to check the view from nearly every window, I paused and thought about the snowy Midwestern winter weather I'd grown up braving. For a minute I felt silly marveling at the inch of snow on the ground, but then I gave in and decided to enjoy our version of a winter wonderland while it lasted!
