How do I write a poem for a statue? That was the question Emma Lazarus posed in 1882, when she was asked to donate an original work to help raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Her first response was no, despite her own immigrant story: The …
While we traditionally recommend a weekend read, we thought a roundup of places for free ebooks, audiobooks and yes, even magazines, might be more helpful. Many have their own apps for reading on a variety of devices. Here are some of our favorites: Scribd, the world’s largest digital library, is …
I learned to really love crafting years ago when a family vacation at the lake came with terrible weather. First was the rain and lightning, then the tornado warnings that kept us inside for most of the week. Distractions weren’t as plentiful as they are today – no internet, cable or videogames – but …
Today is the first day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. We’re very bad at menorah-lighting in my house, where we celebrate both Jewish and Christian holidays. But we try. Every year we google the proper order for lighting the candles, the menorah shining brightly against the explosion of Christmas …
And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight “Merry Christmas to all. Next stop Davis Street.” For years I’ve watched news reports of Chicago’s CTA Holiday Train, the cars zipping through Chicago lit with thousands of festive holiday lights. Sightings of the train in person eluded me, …
Today’s Day 12, the halfway point of our holiday countdown. To celebrate, we created our own Halfway There holiday playlist featuring twelve of our favorite songs by women artists that will have you humming along while you drive, wrap and bake all those holiday memories. It’s available on Spotify to …
You may remember our friend Trudy from Monday’s story about Bim Willow’s tree-making workshop. Trudy was our neighbor and sister in arms that morning; we shared laughs and suggestions while struggling to coerce our willow branches into anything resembling a tree. (Reminder: It takes a village to make a holiday …
I think it’s time we talk about Santa. Because honestly, I love the guy. I love him as St. Nicholas, aka Nicholas the Wonderworker, a fourth-century Christian saint and protector of sailors, orphans, prisoners, and everyone in between, whose prayers brought about miracles and whose secret gift-giving is the origin …
It’s Giving Tuesday on Day 3 of our holiday countdown. Here’s a look at just one of the women’s arts organizations making a difference in our world. The morning light slanted through tall windows that lined the second floor of the 1903 Renaissance Revival building, spilling down the marble staircase …
Snowstorms to the east, windstorms to the west, there’s still so much turkey left and someone brought all their leftover pies to the office. If you’ve fled Holiday Day 2 reality for the online storm that is Cyber Monday, here’s a lovely photograph of a meadow in summer. Make it …