Forever Blowing Bubbles

by | 10/23/2022 | Kids@Heart - Before Now | 2 comments

Doing dishes can be boring. But not when you use the detachable rim of your smoothie cup for a bubble wand! Even my cabinet pulls and handle were fascinated!

I adore bubbles. They are totally magical.  They defy gravity. They’re iridescent. A bubble is a perfect sphere sandwich of water and soap molecules. When we were nine, my cousin Sharon taught me how to blow bubbles using my hand as a wand.

1. Submerge your fist in soapy water.
2. Open your fist slowly, keeping your fingers pressed together and your index finger and thumb in contact.
3.  You should see a film of soap in the circle formed by your forefinger and thumb.  Blow gently and magic! Your first hand-made bubble.

 photo credit: Martin Darvick

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Double the Pleasure

by | 06/26/2022 | Kids@Heart - Before Now | 1 comment

Last weekend my son took me out in his family’s new vehicle — an electric bike/people transporter. Imagine a souped-up 21st century rickshaw where rider and passengers have traded places. Olivia and I nestled ourselves in the passenger bucket while Elliot rode us along Chicago’s lake shore. It was totally cool, a lot of fun, a little bumpy and we definitely drew looks and quite a few thumbs up. I don’t know if she’ll remember this maiden ride, but I will never forget it.

 

 

photo (edited for privacy) courtesy of Martin Darvick

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Feed the Birds

by | 02/20/2022 | Kids@Heart - Before Now | 1 comment

We stopped at the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Farm outside of Tucson to feed all the creatures. Ostriches bite. Bunnies nibble. Goats lick. Donkeys snuffle, wetly. And the larakeets? Oh, the larakeets peck at the seeds in your hand, fluff their rainbow wings and tweet.  It was heaven.  Pure kid heaven. I  could have stayed all afternoon. How lucky am I to have a personal photographer who delights in capturing my own delight as it takes wing!

 

 

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Let it Snow!

by | 02/03/2022 | Kids@Heart - Before Now | 6 comments

It has been snowing since yesterday morning. The news inflates and catastrophizes the forecast, “Biggest snowfall in 35 years on its way! Fourteen inches!” Not even close. This is Michigan.  It’s winter.  A six-inch snowfall shouldn’t be astounding or frightening. Snow is what should be happening.

This girl’s been outta the South for more years than she wants to count.  But snow will always be magical. I love how it hushes the world. How the sky is so white, and full of what’s to come. I don’t know if there’s a weather-word for a sky full of snow, but pregnant comes to mind. Even last night, as we got into bed, the sky was pale with snow to come.

We’ve shoveled and have taken out the snowblower. Our sweet young neighbor bought a huge snowblower last year and blew our driveway clear last night and this evening as well. Martin and I have just come in from another quick sweep and shovel.  It’s light snow now.  Not laden with the ice and weight of this morning’s fall.

When the snow chore was done I laid down and made an angel. The sky, having snowed herself out, was darker than last evening’s. The tree limbs spread in a tangle above me. Two leaves, brown and crisp yet still hanging on, rustled as the winds passed through. It was such a glorious moment — exhilarating, cold, and cozy all at the same time.  Sixty-five years on the planet and I’m grateful I can still get down and up to make a snow angel. I’m even more grateful that such a simple thing can still bring me such joy.

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I’m a Magpie at Heart

by | 12/15/2021 | Kids@Heart - Before Now | 2 comments

Martin and I visited Como on our recent trip to Italy. After a wonderful boat ride around Lake Como, we and our guide began a walking tour of this lovely town. As Francesca shared with us Como’s history and landmarks, a shop window caught my eye. Quicker than you can say George Clooney, I veered in. Francesca followed. Martin did too, although with less excitement.

Sparkly sparkly sparkly!Everywhere we looked were elegant tablescapes featuring gilt tea sets, rainbows of crystal goblets and aperitif glasses, and vintage dresses. Against a huge white ostrich fan, A sea of jeweled earrings, rings and strands of pearls nestled  against a white ostrich fan. A Victrola and a small TV from the 50’s stood guard beneath a stone arch dating back to who knows when. Perhaps even back to 1400 when Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, planted mulberry trees around Lake Como to feed the silkworms. Everywhere I turned was another fantasy of color and sparkle. Every item had been arranged with a superb eye for design.

Owner and curator Maria Grazia Lopez, hosts small concerts, poetry readings and other cultural events in her shop . Taking inspiration from her merchandise, she might offer an evening on the theme of pearls or even a color. Imagine attending amethyst night, sipping violet liquor from a violet crystal glass and listening to music and/or poetry inspired by the same hue.

Maria Grazia making our cappuccinos.

Maria Grazia insisted on making us cappucino, strong and delicious and the perfect foil to the cookies she served with it. An added bonus to the utter charm of the experience: Maria Grazia’s 92-year-old father bakes the cookies every morning.

It was soon time to leave. There were sites to see and gelato to sample. But not before buying a pair of amethyst crystal glasses and a small bottle of violet liquor.

 

Victrola, please meet Philco!

 

 

 

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