Category Archives: art

Flax

Last year, some folks at the college planted a field of flax with the intention of using the fiber to make paper. The paper hasn’t been made yet, but the artist in residence mentioned to me that they were looking for text … Continue reading

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February

Here we are in February and it’s hard to figure out what to blog. We’re digging deep into the Netflix queue for films, discovering after a half hour that we’re watching things we’ve already seen and barely remember. We’re thinking deep … Continue reading

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The New Old Rockabilly

When I lived in Long Beach, California in the early 2000s, I was determined to walk to as many services as possible. When it was time for a haircut, I stopped in at a little bungalow on Redondo Avenue run by two … Continue reading

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New Year’s with Fred

For me, New Year’s Eve means one thing: Fred Astaire. I don’t know if this is the experience of most girls who grew up babysitting in the Chicago suburbs in the 1970s, but for me the most magical part of … Continue reading

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Christmas Activity

I have so far avoided hosting Christmas Day for the whole family– the count on Christmas Day is 35, and it’s a time when we have an extra 4-6 people at the house already, Steve’s daughters and sundry partners/boyfriends. I … Continue reading

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The Ice Man

Today I have two poems to offer, one my own, but deeply indebted to Wallace Stevens’ poem, “The Snow Man.” Really, that poem could be about the ice fishermen who sit, always alone, on the small ponds and lakes around … Continue reading

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Playing the Building by David Byrne

Saturday we celebrated the start of the holiday season with a cultural outing to Minneapolis. We started at our usual breakfast place, Moose and Sadie’s, whcih always makes me feel like I’m in Chicago. Great cornmeal pancake with rhubarb sauce … Continue reading

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Searching for Sugar Man and finding Jim Croce

Probably one of the most important early music memories I have is of Jim Croce’s death. In 1973, just as his career was taking off, he died in a plane crash in Louisiana. I was nine years old, and my father … Continue reading

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Vatican II 50th Anniversary

On October 11, 1962, the first session of the Second Vatican Council began. Today I finished up some work on The Saint John’s Bible project at 11:35, with time to drive over to Saint John’s Abbey for noon prayer. I … Continue reading

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Stickwork, part 3: Lean on Me

At the end of three weeks, the sculpture is done! Five leaning buildings that started as images of a small chapel on the lake and became a means and representation of community. At the celebration, gifts were given to visiting artist Patrick Dougherty … Continue reading

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