The truth about tree trimming

Commonwealth Edison recently hired a contractor to prune several trees in front of the grandparent’s house. A representative from ComEd made a point to stop by and tell us that they would be doing the work the following Wednesday and the trees were clearly marked. One of the men who was supervising the tree trimming also took the time to explain what they were going to do and how they would go about it. These are trees that I drive past many times a day, and I knew that they were going to be pruned.

Double feature — mixed results

Outside of family events, there are a handful of dates that are indelibly stamped in most of our memories. December 7, 1941, November 22, 1963, September 11, 2001, and the date this story is about, July 20, 1969. And what an incredible day it was: we won the space race to the moon. The world watched in awe as Neil Armstrong stepped off the lunar module onto the surface and uttered one of the most famous lines in history, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Where is it??

While we were scouring the countryside in search of new and exciting eateries, one restaurant in particular piqued our interest. In researching this restaurant we became very confused. Its address is listed as St. Charles. It’s located across the street from Niko’s Tavern and Mel’s Diner in Campton Hills, which we recently reviewed. The website address says Wasco, but the name of the restaurant is Old Towne. So, where is it??? We’ll tell you how to get there, but the world may never know its exact location. We are referring to The Old Towne Pub & Eatery in Wasco.

Getting jolted by a lightning bolt (or two)

You would think that almost being struck by lightning in the morning would be the most exciting part of your day, wouldn’t you? I would have thought so, too — until it happened, and it wasn’t.

Fall into an adventure this season

On September 12, I received a text from my daughter Sarah. It read ‘A few of my friends and I are thinking about going to a concert this weekend.’ Without hesitation I responded ‘Great! Have fun!’ as soon as I hit the send button, I realized I should have answered a bit more cautiously. I quickly texted ‘Where is it?’

‘Colorado’ was the answer that followed.

The Wife: Stay home

This gets one star only because of Glen Close, who gives us an Oscar worthy performance as the wife, lost in the throes of a forty year marriage slowly going astray. This might have been a two star movie because of the fine acting all around, but the profanity blew the story out the door for us.

Gifford’s… not Kathy Lee

“What’s in a name”?

“You can’t judge a book by its cover”.

These two sayings apply to the restaurant we are reviewing today. The building’s exterior does not do justice to the beautiful wood accented interior. We are referring to Gifford’s Kitchen & Social in Elgin. Dining Duo Useless Information: This restaurants namesakes, Hezekiah and James Gifford, founded the city of Elgin in 1835.

Ask the Woodchucks: October 4, 2018

Our garage door keypad is not working. It has worked fine for six years but last week when I enter the code nothing happens.

The Craftsman hammerhawk lesson that will outlive Sears

When I read that Sears was closing still more of its stores nationwide, my nostalgia gland ached just a bit, because once long ago I learned a valuable life lesson in a Chicago Sears hardware department.

When I was a kid, my philosophy of life was: “Let Someone Else Break It.” It worked like this.

Keep in mind that this was in the mid-1950s, when snapping a photo was a big deal that required loading film into a camera, screwing on a single-use flashbulb, driving to a photo shop to have the film developed, and going back a week later to pick up the prints. It was faster to make a Thanksgiving turkey than a photo. I don’t think more than a dozen snapshots of me were taken before I entered high school.