When does confidence kick in?

Exactly how long does one have to be doing something to start feeling confident and competent at it?

Forgive me if I’m getting all “what is life” on y’all, but I recently had a big milestone birthday, and as the old Steve Miller Band lyrics say, “Time keeps on slipping … into the future.” The past few months have me taking inventory. What are the things I’ve accomplished? Which life goals need to be pushed to the front of the line? Which goals are probably going to fall by the wayside? Who am I, besides a daughter, wife, and mother?

Let’s set a new seat @ the alphabetic table

Family relationships can be complicated, can’t they? In big families, it can be hard to forge your own identity, or come to grips with the quirky identities of some of your brothers or sisters.

And holiday get-togethers, or election years? Forget about it.

EL DIABLO DELICIOSO

Jim is rapidly becoming the Six Million Dollar Bionic Man. Actually, that price is not too far off after looking at our Medicare bills. He’s had a knee and hip replaced and is now having the other hip replaced. The good news is, this is now considered outpatient surgery and you are in and out in three hours. What can possibly go wrong?

Winter chills

With Punxsutawney Phil claiming to see his shadow, he’s condemning us to six more weeks of winter. Whether you believe in that feat of prognostication or not, the bitter wind and dampness is here to stay for a while. We might as well settle down for some equally spine-tingling entertainment. For those seek this out, you’re in luck. Two films are now in theaters which I highly recommend, regardless of your horrific content.

Sears! Of course! The low-tech Amazon of a century ago, with the mail-order catalog from which you could buy a hat, a hammer, or even a house.

The good, the bad, and the art of conversation

It’s hard to effectively describe what makes a good conversation; what’s easy is to identify when you’re in the middle of a bad conversation. You are acutely aware of it, and you’re desperately trying to save it. When all else fails, you want nothing more than to escape it. It’s boring, frustrating, making you uncomfortable, or even worse, making you angry.

Ask an Angel: January 30, 2025

I’m writing with some concerns about my aging parents. They’re both in their late 80s and still live in their own home, which they’ve always cherished. However, in recent months, it’s become clear that driving isn’t safe for them anymore. They’ve reluctantly agreed to hang up the keys, but I’m worried about what this will mean for them as winter sets in.

Women in crisis

There is one movie that everyone has been talking about in terms of awards buzz and it is not Emilia Perez. The Substance is the second feature from French director Coralie Fargeat, following 2017’s Revenge. Already she has a style all her own, here telling a more gnarly version of a Twilight Zone episode. Demi Moore plays Elizabeth; an actress turned fitness show host that, at least in Hollywood terms, is past her prime. It is crazy to think in this day and age that anyone that looks like Moore is also-ran. Attitudes have changed in the greater public, but not with network producers.

Blast from the past

Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night and suddenly remember something from the past? Such was the case when we were looking for restaurants to review and Nancy woke up screaming about a Baker’s Square her and her girlfriend Sharon used to frequent when she was a travel agent. This brought back memories of the best pie in the world, the chemically enhanced, sugar laden, 790 calories per slice bomb known as the Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme. Never fear loyal readers, there are some Baker’s Square restaurants still around. We hopped into the “way back machine” and sped off to Village Inn/Baker’s Square in Palatine.

The year of the wood snake

My 2025 word of the year came to me without me having to search for it. My coworker mentioned offhandedly that, according to the lunar calendar, 2025 is the year of the wood snake.

“It fits with all kinds of metaphors,” she told me. “A snake sheds its skin, it lives close to the earth, things like that.”

My vote for word of the new year

Although we’re only a few weeks into the new year, let me be the first to suggest that the 2025 Word of the Year should be “Oligarch.”

It’s a fun word to say. Try it. “Oligarch.”

Now you know: Curious in Neighborhood 4

A new column that answers common and maybe not-so-common questions in and around Sun City!

Jabba the Hut-suey

We are proud to say we have survived another round of holidays and things are returning to normal. Our stomachs are also returning to normal size after being stretched out to the point of no return due to all the holiday goodies. We have successfully rung in the New Year, and we hate to brag, but we actually stayed awake until 9:30 on New Year’s Eve. Truth be told, Rosie, aka the party animal, only made it up till 8:20 before falling in a heap in the middle of the living room floor.

An audience of one

I’m handling my heart with kid gloves this season. I’m typically a newshound, but for the past month or so, I’m choosing my news carefully. TV news is completely off the table for now, and I’m being selective with print news, too. This won’t go on forever, but for right now, my heart is too raw, too tender to take on the pain and hurt of the entire world. I’m giving myself a break.

Waiting to exhale over holiday greetings

With Christmas lurking just behind the next snowflake, I find myself waiting in breathless anticipation for The Arrival.

No, it’s not Santa’s arrival that I find my heart a-flutter for. It’s not the Star of Bethlehem or midnight madness sales or Bing Crosby film reruns. “It’s a Wonderful Life” would have been a good guess, but it’s not that either.

Holidaze

Like all hectic Christmas seasons, plans can be dashed in an instant. Sadly, dear readers, this was the case with this review. The allure of a Barbenheimer experience with Wicked and Gladiator II is just not in the cards. And unfortunately, some of the latest awards hopefuls were a week or two away on streaming to catch in time for deadline. But, regardless of those setbacks, no fear here. Upon browsing through the annals of Netflix, I found a couple appropriately themed movies and specials just in time for a night-in with friends or a slow evening alone.

Ask an Angel: December 19, 2024

As the holidays are fast approaching, I’m struggling to find the perfect gifts for my aging parents. Although they are still independent, they are not thriving as much as they used to. My mom has a passion for gardening, and my dad loves to tinker with various projects. They used to be avid adventurers, but they’re not traveling as much these days.

2024 B.E.L.C.H.

Another year bites the dust. It is a time for reflecting on old times and fond memories. Being the foodies that we are, our thoughts go to past tasty dishes. We remember the good old days, when breakfast cereals didn’t try to hide the sugar, such as Sugar Pops and Sugar Smacks. We remember past food fads, such as when anything and everything could be encased in a Jell-O mold. We reminisce about food favorites from our childhood such as fried baloney on Wonder Bread. Since Wonder bread is no longer available here, our neighbors Mary and Bruce on their trips back to the East coast bring us a loaf. And if that’s not enough, even our son sends us loaves by Fed Ex from Florida.

To the dad who loves us

I am fortunate to still have both my parents, who have been married for 66 years. Mom is 89 and Dad just turned 95.

Back in November, finishing up Dad’s birthday cake at my sister’s large dining room table, we reminisced about our childhoods.

When life gives you lemons, make mullets

Let’s face it, there’s really no excuse, is there? If you want to get from point A to point B, just follow the directions and everything will come out alright.

That turkey you want to roast? Just buy the right bird, season it according to the recipe, check the temperature and the time, and you’ll be fine.

Ask an Angel: December 12, 2024

Sunrise special

Jim is the king of all procrastinators. We have a fluorescent light fixture in our closet that has been flickering and probably sending out Morse Code from some alien civilization. The messages finally stopped when the last bulb burned out. Time to get Jim’s lazy butt up on the ladder to replace it. First step is to go to a big box store on Randall Road to buy light bulbs.

A taste of Oscar season

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as we head into the thick of holiday season. Gift shopping and festive gatherings mingle and jostle for our attention amid a flurry of friends, family, and significant others. And with the shortened time span between the last shindig and the next, it’s enough to leave your head spinning. Plus with the polar blast we had this past week, you might not want to leave the house in the bitter evenings. For that, I have some viewing recommendations that are both entertaining and seeking some awards attention.

Holding close, then letting go

The old adage says that if we love something, we should set it free.

That saying runs through my mind these days, as I take my high school daughter to tour prospective colleges. For one day, she tries each campus on like an outfit, checking to see if it’s the right fit.

The sucking makes all the difference

I blame the good people at Empire Flooring for sucking all the joy out of vacuuming.

To be clear, I found the Empire team all to be good people when they came to rip out the carpets in my house and replace them with laminate flooring. Those weary, well-weathered carpets were long overdue to be replaced, and just watching the Empire team pull them up made me want to call a hazmat team as a backup.