People with Beards

Beards take time; beards take devotion. Abraham Lincoln, John Muir, and a rather dashing man I like to call my husband: they have at least one great common bond - a love of beards. Oh yes, beards take time for some. My dear husband likes to spend a winter growing and cultivating his. He's striving for one like John Muir, Walt Whitman, or Samuel Beam, the singer from Iron and Wine.

I like beards to a degree - they recall a simpler time; the frontier. I, on the other hand, take out my looking glass and tweezers searching the map of my face to be sure I'm as far away as possible on that frontier!!! I so miss going to the salon and having them wax my worries away.

Oh well, there's always the circus.


Photo of John Muir - a wonderful man.


Photo of my man - a wonderful man.

Simply Music

"Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin" on a local Chicago radio station, WFMT, is a wonderful place to learn an listen to beautiful Classical music. Bill's voice is soothing and his commentary on various types of Classical music are thought provoking and inspiring. He plays his own piano to help illustrate the music he is studying. Very cool.

You can find his programming on www.wfmt.com, under "Programs." Take a moment to listen to the simple beauty of this radio program.

Simple Treats

The cake is in the oven, a day late. As far as going to bed early last night...well, 10:30 pm was the bewitching hour! Like I said...baby steps. And I always try and remember Murphy's Law.



Simplicity could easily be at our fingertips. It's abstaining from the extras that we think are so necessary and important. Yes, we have to fulfill our responsibilities. But it's filtering the responsibilities that are a need and not a want. Oh, it's a hard task. And here I am blogging away!


I can't wait to try a slice of this delicious Meyer Lemon Rosemary Cake. Thank you Jenn! I plan on making the red wine chocolate cake by the end of the week.


In the meantime, I know a few people who love cake. Think outside the box; think of others. There's a neighbor or two who could use a slice!

Simply February

Ah, it's the 1st of February! I love February. Although upon waking up this morning, I knew my 2nd post wouldn't be focused soley on love...I must simplify! I know, and why did I add a blog to my list of to-dos? Is it because I love the mania of it all???

I've never been one to journal. But I thought this would be a type of homework for myself. So my first assignment for the month is to simplify. And if you're up for the challenge, please join me in this quest!

1) I am going to go to bed at 8:00 pm tonight (unless my baby is crying and needs to be fed!).

2) I am only going to check my email twice today...uh, this is going to be hard!

3) I am going to make a Meyer Lemon Rosemary Cake (see the recipe from In The Yellow House)

4) I am going to focus on my family and enjoy a nice meal and a yummy cake with them (and probably play Barbies and Dinasours who hang out with Thomas The Tank Engine - it's a busy world)

Good luck, and live simply (baby steps).

Irene and Grace Debut

Irene and Grace. Hope, simplicity, love, and laughter. Four things I constantly strive for in this complicated little world.

Irene and Grace were two very special people in my life. One I knew well; one I never met. My two grandmothers.

Irene was a World War II war bride from Cardiff, Wales and traveled the Atlantic Ocean to live with my strikingly handsome grandfather in Lebo, KS. She was a grand lass. Her Welsh accent and tender ways are something I love to remember.

Grace was a woman with a great sense of humor, she was a hard worker, and a survivor in the sense of taking things as they came. She married my grandfather during the end of The Great Depression. My mother remembers Grace sitting at the kitchen table, smoking a cigarette, and talking for hours. You could talk with Grace. It's something I never got to do as she died before I was born, but I occasionally find myself consulting her opinion in my thoughts.

I chose the title name "Irene and Grace" because they lived with hope. They lived simply. They loved. And they sure as heck laughed. I'd like to take the time and write about these themes.

I'd like to thank Patricia van Essche of "pve design" for urging me and acting as a mentor in the blogging world!