Browsing: Lifestyle

Under the same ownership as Vail, Breckenridge, Alpine Valley and Brandywine and just over an hour drive from downtown Chicago, Wilmot Mountain is primed for a day trip or an impromptu getaway from the city. Day passes start at $70 with early-bird pricing through Nov. 21. Once you get your bearings, shoop down four green trails, seven blue trails and seven black diamond trails, or test out freestyle terrain parks with ramps, fun boxes and halfpipes.

Marzena Przeszlo, a staff chaplain in pastoral care services at the University of Illinois Hospital leads daily music and prayer for healthcare workers and patients at the hospital. After years comforting patients, like many chaplains, she has found herself increasingly supporting exhausted and struggling staff during the pandemic, from dispensing communion to, on a recent weekday morning, strumming a rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” as nurses sang along and her Toms shoes tapped the hospital floor.

“Without them being vaccinated, we’ve been moving forward with play dates, mostly outside, and often in large groups with masks,” she said. “Now that it’s getting colder, and outside play dates will be harder to move forward, I’m open to doing play dates inside.”

If you are paralyzed, you might want to rent a small storage unit to house items until you are ready. Understand, however, that this can bring up its own set of challenges. If you rent a unit, set regular goals to continue to go through and pare down these possessions.

Chenille Lawrence, a UIC sophomore in computer science, is an alumna of Girls Inc. of Chicago’s Bold Girl’s Society, a program that hopes to equip members with the knowledge and power necessary to advocate for freedom and lead boldly as they work together in service to others — work that includes STEM careers. (Girls Inc. of Chicago)

Just as your family has struggled through the pandemic, he has not had access to the familiar routines, services and support he might receive in school. He has missed a year of social growth, during a very important developmental phase of his life. And while your children might roll with the punches, he hasn’t mastered these skills.

Start with leaves. Leaves, like all dead, brown plant matter, are rich in carbon. A compost pile should include carbon-rich plant materials as well as nitrogen-rich ones — fresh, green things, such as weeds you’ve pulled, end-of-season annuals, and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. “If you can, stash extra leaves away in autumn so you have carbon-rich material to add all year,” Yiesla said.

Dear Amy: This holiday season, my cousin and his wife will visit after five or six years. He and I are close but the wife, apparently an introvert, enjoys her own space, which is fine. The times we have been together she is always on devices, also fine. However, she has an annoying habit of “fact-checking” everything anyone says. It really grates on me.

I see increasing shade in many gardens affecting the performance of full sun-loving plants, resulting in reduced flowering and thinning foliage. On the other hand, the foliage of shade-loving plants, such as hosta and pachysandra, in too much sun will typically start to yellow and burn (turn brown).

Megan McCann retrieves decorative items from a storage unit for her upcoming wedding reception, Nov. 5, 2021, in Chicago. McCann and her husband, Mike Hynes, were married in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their formal ceremony and reception for family and friends have been delayed until next month. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)