The success of our “Mondays with Mike” feature has a lot of you blog readers wondering: what does my husband Mike Knezovich do for a living? An online article in the Chicago Tribune helps explain. (The print piece is scheduled for Sunday.) The Tribune story profiles architect Katrin Klingenberg, co-founder of a non-profit called Passive House Institute […]

Most of the time I walk the mile-and-a-quarter to and from work. But when the weather here in Chicago turns extreme, or I’m running late, I take the Red Line subway. The Red Line runs from the South Side, through Chinatown, to the North Side, so the cars are full of human diversity. White people, […]

We were carless in Urbana during our visit last week, and relied on the kindness of friends (Thank you Jean, Milton, Nancy and Judy!) — as well as Zipcar and cabs—for transportation. Each ride was a nice chance to chat, and on one trip with Steven (of Steven and Nancy who are Hanni’s companions), he and […]

Growing up, World War II was in the movies, on TV and in our classrooms. It felt close. Everywhere. I knew my dad had served in the war, as had his three brothers, uncles on my mom’s side, neighbors. It fascinated me, it was exotic, a grand adventure. It was scary but not really scary […]

I don’t know about you, but the election campaigns have me exhausted. Back in 2012 Illinois really wasn’t in play in the presidential election, and there weren’t particularly hot, high-profile races, so we got off easy. Not so this time. The governor’s race is a dead heat, and there are some house races in play. […]