Row Houses on St. Lawrence Ave, Pullman Historic District, Chicago Chicago is like that: In its farther reaches, bland wide streets lined with strip malls or highways with twisting on- [...]
How can a public place can be so personal? How can I be so attached to a place I don't own, maintain, nor have a say in its very existence? [...]
Yesterday morning I had occasion to walk around the downtown Chicago neighborhood of Streeterville where I used to work eight years ago. It's always interesting to see how much it [...]
Temperatures have soared in Chicago, and so it's fitting that my beach article appeared on kveller today. The idea for it occurred to me many years ago while sprawled on [...]
Today is the Jewish festival of Tu Bishvat, the New Year of the Trees, and in honor of this celebration that seems out of place here, my article How My [...]
From my traditional annual visit to Chicago's downtown Christkindlmarket, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! It's been unseasonably warm here, no snow flakes and icy cold to company my sipping [...]
My year as writer-in-residence at the Hemingway Birthplace Home in Oak Park has come to an end and as I say farewell to my studio in the attic, I treat [...]
My days as the writer-in-residence at the Hemingway House in Oak Park are drawing to a close, and so I decided to document my drive there. I have come to [...]
I miss the Osaka Japanese Garden; now is the time of year when I would seek it out on a spring time walk. My kids consider it "theirs." Goes [...]
Yesterday was the first night of Chanukah, quite appropriate for my family's annual visit to Chicago's Christkindlmarket downtown, thanks to Chabad Lubavitch's giant Menorah. At the Christkindlmarket we stock up [...]
I consider living along the Chicago lakefront one of the great blessings of my life. The other day I went for one of my favorite walks, along Rogers Park [...]
It might look like I traveled to the Middle East to take this picture, but I only traveled to the far South Side of Chicago to peek into the interior [...]
Our Chicago - Eleven Writers on their City - Edited by Annette Gendler | Make Your Own Book I published a book with my students! Our Chicago is a collection of [...]
Drawing Room Lamp, Driehaus Museum Two blocks west of the Magnificent Mile, on Erie Street, there is to be found a marble palace. It is, from the outside, an stately [...]
On Monday I treated myself to a walk on the lakefront. "Treated," because going for a walk is a major operation these days, involving long underwear, serious snow boots [...]
Pierce Hall, in its current state of half demolition For my Artist's Dates these past two weeks, I attended the two-evening Bookmakers program offered jointly by the Smart Museum and the [...]
Open House Chicago is one of those events that delights me to no end because I get to explore and learn and discover beauty I never knew was there. Hosted [...]
Urns in garden wall of Moore-Dugal Residence, built in 1895 by Frank Lloyd Wright Once in a while, it's fun to play tourist in your own town. While my kids are [...]
I took this snapshot while leaving the lobby of the Powhatan - I loved the red of the event shuttle bus as background to the two figures, the woman [...]
Cruising onto Lake Shore Drive at 57th Street at 5:45 a.m. My kids and I biked Lake Shore Drive back in May. It's taken me this long to report [...]
Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, in December a visit to the Christkindlmarket downtown Chicago is obligatory - mainly because I can find favorite German delicacies there that I [...]
My 11-year-old son is off from school already this week, and he wanted to go to the zoo (Who knew?). So yesterday we spent the morning at Lincoln Park [...]
In Chicago you don't have to go to a museum to experience art. Rather, you'll encounter it on your everyday ramblings. Case in point: The other day I dropped one [...]
Sometimes life hands you bliss on a silver platter – but how to capture that joy? I will give it a try here by sharing a recent experience, and [...]