Browsing: Lifestyle

Picture a precious log cabin, almost dollhouse-like in its proportions. A campfire sits outside, with a pile of wood on the small porch, next to a comfy wicker love seat. Inside, a little wood stove and snowshoes are tempting draws for a return visit come winter, when guests can read the Nordic literature at the little wood table, pages lit by the cabin’s twinkling string lights.

Dear Amy: In a response to the “Testy Traveler,” the traveler who was bothered by her chatty seatmate on an airplane, my response to talkative seatmates is, “I hope you don’t mind pausing our conversation, but I must rest my mind, now.” I then close my eyes and relax.

Dear “You’re My Mom”: Your son says this to you because it is true. Furthermore, you have obviously raised him very well because you have encouraged him to find his biological family members, and, having done so, he recognizes how challenging this is for you. He sounds sensitive and kind.

This is what happens when the entire neighborhood shows up (virtually) for what people might think is a block party, but which quickly devolves into a snip-fest. Reading comments posted there can be like overhearing the conversation at the “mean girls” table in the middle school cafeteria, only to realize that they’re talking about you!

Do get to know your equipment. A wide variety of sprinklers, hand nozzles, soaker hoses and other devices are available, delivering water in many patterns and at different rates. “Use a sprinkler or a nozzle often enough so you are familiar with how it delivers water,” Yiesla said. For example, water with a hand nozzle for what feels like an appropriate time, and then dig down a few inches. “You may be surprised to see the soil beneath the surface is still dry,” she said. “Experience will teach you how long you really need to water to have an effect.”

If the children request something that you don’t have on hand, you can say, “Oh, we don’t normally eat Malted Chocolate Power Puffs for breakfast so I don’t have any in the house, but I can toast a mini-bagel for you.” If this becomes more of an issue, the parents and grandmother are on hand, and you can readily defer to them.

The remainder of the funds were distributed with the assistance of a dozen, diverse external advisers who helped the Foundation focus giving to a majority of organizations that are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led or -serving. Chicago-based grantees include (among others): The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Latino Policy Forum to support Illinois Unidos, a collaborative COVID-19 vaccine access and public health initiative, and the Barack Obama Foundation who received $5 million to develop programming space within the Obama Presidential Center that will focus on leadership training, racial healing and civic engagement on Chicago’s South Side.

The remainder of the funds were distributed with the assistance of a dozen, diverse external advisers who helped the Foundation focus giving to a majority of organizations that are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led or -serving. Chicago-based grantees include (among others): The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, the Latino Policy Forum to support Illinois Unidos, a collaborative COVID-19 vaccine access and public health initiative, and the Barack Obama Foundation who received $5 million to develop programming space within the Obama Presidential Center that will focus on leadership training, racial healing and civic engagement on Chicago’s South Side.