16-Feb-2026
This weekend tricked me! I froze myself through a walk at the Arboretum on Sunday, only to have the temp jump up to nearly 60 degrees on Monday.
Way too much chocolate and Japanese sweets this weekend.
Fire Force Ep 14 was amazing. Snapped a few great images.
The tanka in the image below reads:
Bloom and Fall
Then having fallen, Bloom
Asakusa’s Crimson Brawling Blossoms.
The imagery of the waves and sky were reminiscent of historical Japanese paintings. I thought they were hinting at Hokusai. It was gorgeous.
JJK (Jujutsu Kaisen) is burning up all of the oxygen, but there’s a lot of anime this season.
Slowing working through the puzzles…to my shame
8-Feb-2026
I am slacking on finishing the puzzles. I’ll get back to it soon.
In the meantime, I finished the Chicago Blues Dickey and I uncovered an old shawl in a bag that I could not find the pattern for – so I turned it into a scarf. It’s a shame because I liked how it was coming out.
More to come this week and next. I’ve been trying to stay warm.
Anime is popping this season. I’ve been trying to keep up with everything and failing. There’s previous seasons continuing (Jujutsu Kaisen, Frieren, Fire Force, Hell’s Paradise and lots of new stuff: Banished Court Magician, Sentenced to be a Hero, Jack of All Trades, Party of None, and Roll Over and Die). But wait, there’s more. But I’ll have to catch up on those later.
11-Jan-2026
Three more puzzles…Day 11 was fun..they are becoming slightly more challenging as we go..
I am trying not to cast on another knitting or crochet project. Everyone I follow is casting on new projects. I surely have enough yarn to do that, but I want to finish something other than my Into the Hoods Scarf (which I did by the way). So I’m going to stick with Chicago Blues and the Bere sweater. Until one of these is finished, I’m not casting on a new project.
Started Part II of The Calculation of Volume. Absolutely nothing happens in this story, but I’m fascinated by her experience. I think I’ve figured out why I like the books so much: Her experience locked inside the same day teases out insights that are interesting. The meaning we place on objects and how seasons (the activities, scents and foods) are precious to us, for example.
1-Jan-2026
Happy New Year! Advent Madness overwhelmed me and I was unable to finish all of the calendars. In short, I have a lot of puzzles left. The only calendars I kept up with were the Onyx Coffee, Jacquie Lawson’s Paris Advent Calendar and the Hobbii Stationery calendar. I think I will have French christmas carols as earworms for months to come!
Everything else is lagging. I got through the Messiah Devotional up to the day after the Hallelujah Chorus. I will keep ordering the Wentworth Puzzle Calendar – the puzzles are fun. I was a little disappointed in the Raspberry Pi 12 days of Christmas. It’s fun to set things up, but I keep wanting it to be useful. I was very disappointed in the Hobbii calendar and I will not be repeating it – they provided me with a lot of small notebooks, a tiny fountain pen that I can’t find a converter for and lots of tchotchkes that I don’t need.
Favorite Books of 2025
- One Dark Window
- The Stringer
- Service Model
- Positive Intelligence
- Anatomy of Peace
- Inner Compass (A latecomer in the last week of the year)
- Primal Intelligence (Another banger last week)
This new year is going to be an important year for all of us
- Midterms to shift the House and the Senate
- I’m trying a new thing: I’m kicking off a Ghostwriting sidehustle. My niche is supporting craft educators and businesses with Educational Email Courses or Newsletters. Shisso Ink – https://shissoink.com. If you know of anyone that needs a ghostwriter, please send them my link or my email (hello@shissoink.com).
- Finally, I will be turning a big number year (still too afraid to think it %)) and I want to have a good year.
I think for the first time in years, I’m kind of excited about the new year. I pray that 2026 won’t see more backsliding into the past, but we will look to the future and make it a kinder one. I’ll update the puzzle pictures as I solve them. Happy New Year!
13-Dec-2025
I love Christmas! I love Advent! In my Advent Madness this year, I have multiple calendars going at once. I have my standard Handel’s Messiah Advent Calendar Devotional, the Onyx Coffee calendar, Ikea’s Chocolates, a Kawaii Stationery Calendar, a Raspberry PI 12-day calendar and the Wentworth Puzzle Calendar. I love the Wentworth Advent Puzzle calendar. Here are a few of them…I’m behind, but eventually, I’ll post them all!
3-Dec-2025
I bought another pair of decks from Jon Acuff. Soundtracks decks (one for Entrepreneurs and one generic) – they are an offshoot of the book he wrote, Soundtracks. In the book, he writes about stopping the negative self-talk that keeps us from achieving our goals. They are wonderful.
Here’s an example of the questions on the back.
29-Nov-2025
Gratitude for 2025
- Thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family in a trip to Houston.
- Thankful that I got to see another Meow Wolf Exhibit
- Thankful for the unlikely gift of a connection from someone who did not wish me well. Her recommendation led me to Personal Capital and the very real possibility of a secure retirement. Never underestimate the power of a connection and be grateful for unexpected gifts.
- Thankful for the beauty I saw this year.
- Thankful for the experiences that helped me grow.
- Thankful for the life lessons from books and movies.
- Thankful for the gifts others shared with the Universe in blogs, Substacks, links and novels. I hope to return the favor next year.
I’m looking forward to Advent. This is my favorite time of year.
12-Nov-2025
Fall was wonderful for the two weeks we had of it. The trees were gorgeous this year…
It seems as if winter has bogarted Fall the hell out of Chicago. I woke up to a light layer of snow two days in a row. We’ll see if the frigid cold continues. At least the snow has not returned. Yet. It seems like just a month ago, the trees were budding and I could smell green. Spring and Summer went so fast.
I’m unpacking the long underwear and getting ready for Thanksgiving. My heater is on high already.
21-Oct-2025
I found an interesting tarot deck: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days. Made by Maria Popova, the creator of the Marginalian. The cards are audubon-style paintings of birds with poetry written by her.
On the Flamingo card she wrote the following:
“under the surface /of the present/ exists a sea/ of possibility
to reach it/ a person must/ wade in the muddy/ rivers of change/ and traverse the uncertain/ without sinking.”
7-Sept-2025
I saw the musical Hamilton at AMC Theatres yesterday. It made me sad and furious at the same time. I am one of the few people on the planet who had not seen it. I was amazed at the talent on display throughout. There were no weak links. Everyone knocked it out of the park.
I got a kick out of actor who played Jefferson. The actor who played George Washington reminded me how far we’ve fallen. King George was hilarious if hard to look at because he spit at least a tablespoon every time he sang. Aaron Burr was tragic. Angelica was heartbreaking. And Alexander Hamilton reminded me 1) Never give up your shot 2) Let others know what you think 3) You don’t have as much time as you think and 4) Be careful – so many times in our lives we are our own worst enemies.
It was the 10th anniversary of the show (hard to believe, right?) and I felt that it was a once in a lifetime chance to see it. I saw Encanto and was blown away. Hamilton reminded me again how amazingly talented Lin-Manual Miranda is.
Earlier in the day, I drove to the country. It took me 50 some minutes to get to the country. The REAL COUNTRY, where there are 2 lane roads, cows in paddocks and field after field of corn. No suburbs. I went to the Honey Hill Orchard where I picked a bag of Blondies and a couple of Galas. Fall is here, but I’m still trying to enjoy myself.
1-Sept-2025
Summer is over…but I definitely enjoyed it. If you go to Houston, check out the Museum of Illusions, Butterfly Center at The Museum of Natural History and Meow Wolf: Radio Tave. Meow Wolf in Santa Fe had a more developed story, but I had the same OMG moments at Radio Tave.
I picked wildflowers this weekend and had a huge dose of 70s music from the singer at the Wildflower farm. I’m still dealing with the earworms😊There was much awe, curiosity and mystery this summer as well as lots of nature. I only wish it could have gone on longer.
Gearing up for Winter. I need to finish up my winter knitting. We’re going to need it.
14-Aug-2025
Woot. It’s been a hard month. I’m going to hang onto summer as long as I can. I have been loving the sunshine and the early morning walks at the Arboretum.
Today I went my favorite Japanese grocery store and bought a book, another tenegui to add to my collection of cat-patterned and funky looking scarves and another packet of cat stickers. It made my day. As an aside, I have become what I always said I would not be: A cat person. I have so much stuff covered in images of cats. If you hear of a Cat Tarot deck, let me know. I’ll add it to my collection of tarot decks. More on that at another time. Baki and Beckett have assimilated me.
8-Jul-2025
Just finished Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It was very depressing, but a good read. I could not put it down. I wanted to know what happened to Uncharles and the Wonk. Let the book surprise you. It made me sadder about our current world. But Uncharles and the Wonk didn’t give up – they just decided to build the world they wanted. That what I need to remind myself. What we see is not the end state. We can build something better.
6-Jul-2025
Summer is summering. I’ve been kayaking, hiking and trying not to get heatstroke. I read the most interesting article about how we’ve become detached from the technology we use. It is like magic to most of us. Longish, but good article – The Re-enchanted World
That article reminded me of Are You Really Here Now? Until this morning, I didn’t even know where the water that flowed out of my tap came from. I also didn’t know where it went after I used it…..So, I’ll be spending some of my time this summer trying to get a better understanding of where I am.
In June went to a Oneness Festival near Glen Ellyn. It was so-so. I visit the Quest Bookstore and the Theosophical Society so much that the Festival was disappointing. The only thing I enjoyed was the tour of the Viking Ship that was built and was transported to Chicago for the 1893 World’s Fair. They sailed to New York and then the ship was transported via the Great Lakes system until it reached Chicago.
In 90+ degree heat, I was cranky and close to heatstroke, but I listened to the tour guide give us an amazing recounting of how some crazy Norwegian guys rebuilt a Viking Ship, sailed it to Lake Michigan and then to Chicago. They did it all to prove a point: That Columbus was not the first to reach the New World. No one believed a Viking ship could make the trip. In this century, some local history fans found the ship in a lot and decided to restore it.
I also did a fun thing at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art. They hosted a Mosaic Workshop run by the Chicago Mosaic School which was surprisingly fun.
This was before I set each piece into the cement. My final piece did not end well🤣, but it was a *lot* of fun. In case you can’t see it (I can’t) it was supposed to be a snail with two antenna at the top of its head. Maybe I’ll take a course next year.
Back to my summer. Hope you’re enjoying yours!
19-Jun-2025
Took a Smithsonian class on Dr. Samuel Johnson earlier this month. The lecturer is a fan. Johnson seemed like a very complicated person, but he had a way with words and great insight. Following was a quote shared in the presentation.
Not much has changed.
30-May-2025
Great show on Hokusai near me. More than his artwork, the show had sections with the Hokusai’s career, history of Ukiyo-e, manga, and a section of the exhibit where visitors can walk through Edo.
18-May-2025
My parting gift from the conference was a weakened immune system. I think I may have enjoyed myself too much! That, combined with running the immune system gauntlet of airports and planes, took me out with a cold that is hanging on in spite of sleep, cold meds and lots of water.
I was able to get out to see one of the “Vivid Creatures” at the Arboretum. Her name is Cadence. Kids love her. It was hard to get a picture of her without a kid hanging onto her legs.
11-May-2025
Nearly a month. This is not daily. I’ll try to do better.
Last week, my department held a face to face mini-conference in Tarrytown, NY to get to know each other better. We are remote most of the time, so it was fun and relaxing. The conference center was surrounded by trees older than anyone in the group. I was so overwhelmed by the trees and their delicious smell that I apparently only remembered to take 1 photo 🤣. The smell reminded me of being at summer camp.
It was rainy 3 out of 4 days, but the spots of sunshine were amazing.
Books I Finished in April/ May:
- Continuing the Miss Sherlock Holmes mysteries
- Murder on Cold Street – I didn’t like this as much as the previous. I think the plotting sometimes gets a little complicated. I feel as if I need a diagram. But it’s Sherlock Holmes.
- Miss Moriarty, I Presume? I liked this more than Cold Street. You get more background on Moriarty.
- The Power of Writing It Down – A good read for thinking about life as well as your writing. I Recommend It.
15-Apr-2025
It’s been a while. A couple of quotes:
“Coming from a self-ironic and humble character, the ethical demands of the Mr Cogito poems remind me of an insight I got from reading Joe Carlsmith: a good way to think about the root of ethics is in terms of faithfulness to what your heart tells you. Ethics is about seeing yourself more whole so you do not betray what you love through confusion or cowardice. It is not an external authority that demands things of you. It is not a list of commandments you have to follow. Ethics is care.” From a good Substack
From A good book: True and False Magic:
“God enters your life through challenges.”
This sounds so much like Process Theology. I love it.
“God is interested in the evolution of the human race.”
What if all of this is just a way to get us to evolve? Pull the curtain back on violence, malice and greed and ask us if we think there is a better way to live?
Random quote:
- “Life is a suicide mission that you’re treating like a training run”
- Zach Pogrob (I don’t know who this is, but I found the quote in one of the hundreds of newsletters that come into my inbox every day)
28-Mar-2025
What a couple of weeks.
More beauty…
16-Mar-2025
This week’s beauty
16-Mar-2025
I have finished the Uaalach Sweater!
I am super happy. I still need to block it and weave in the loose yarn, but I’m counting this as done!!
I thought I wouldn’t get a chance to wear it until later this year. But Chicago pulled through with another batch of winter snow.
I have decided to work on a dickie – Chicago Winter Blues.
24-Feb-2025
Buying flowers and focusing on things I love helps me stay calm.
22-23-Feb-2025
This weekend, I took a fabulous course on Influence. The course is given through Maven – a website that provides courses on multiple aspects of professional development. The course was for Product Managers, but I swear it was tailored made for Project Managers. Go check out the next cohort of Influence without Authority given by Satish Mummareddy. Areas of focus included:
- Building Relationships
- Influence 1:1, Groups, Organizations
- Presence
It was two days of feeling like I was learning 20 years of insight through a firehose. I will be going back to the videos through the rest of the year. I highly recommend the course.
16-Feb-2025
Readwise feeds me a daily list of 5 highlights from books, tweets, websites that I’ve added over the years. Today it fed me a highlight from Toni Morrison’s The Source of Self-Regard. I did not finish it, probably because I was attracted to another shiny object. Now I will. She was prophetic.
- “Much of the alarm hovering at the borders, the gates, is stoked, it seems to me, by (1) both the threat and the promise of globalism and (2) an uneasy relationship with our own foreignness, our own rapidly disintegrating sense of belonging.”
- “Fascism talks ideology, but it is really just marketing—marketing for power.”
- “The forces interested in facist solutions to national problems are not to be found in one political party or another, or in one or another wing of any single political party….It changes citizens into taxpayers—so individuals become angry at even the notion of the public good. It changes neighbors into consumers—so the measure of our value as humans is not our humanity or our compassion or our generosity but what we own. It changes parenting into panicking—so that we vote against the interests of our own children; against their health care, their education, their safety from weapons. And in effecting these changes it produces the perfect capitalist, one who is willing to kill a human being for a product (a pair of sneakers, a jacket, a car) or kill generations for control of products (oil, drugs, fruit, gold).”
- “When our fears have all been serialized, our creativity censured, our ideas “marketplaced,” our rights sold, our intelligence sloganized, our strength downsized, our privacy auctioned; when the theatricality, the entertainment value, the marketing of life is complete, we will find ourselves living not in a nation but in a consortium of industries, and wholly unintelligible to ourselves except for what we see as through a screen darkly.”
15-Feb-2025
Snowy day in Chicago. I took a walk.
9-Feb-2025
Great quote found in Mechanics of Poetry by Su Falcon
“When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” – John F. Kennedy, (1917-1963) 35th president of the United States
We need a lot more poetry.
8-Feb-2025
Is it too much to ask to go to an afternoon movie without having to sit through 3-5 horror movie trailers? I don’t like horror. If I’m going to sit in a theatre for a Rom Com – I think I shouldn’t have to suffer through trailers for movies I don’t want to see. I went to see Kraven a few months ago and I swear I sat through 15 minutes of horror trailers + a trailer for Wicked. Today I went to see Love Hurts and I sat through 3-4 trailers that were the opposite in tone.
6-Feb – 2025 – Ualach Progress
Ualach will be my first sweater that actually looks reasonably ok. A big knitting milestone. Woot!
26-Jan-2025 – Lego Event at the Morton Arboretum
Picture of lego horses of various characters lined up on a table: The Cat in the Hat, Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and Big Bird to name a few.
Shisso 