Blessings of a Chaotic Christmas

green-victorian-christmas

Whenever possible, we wait to put up our tree on the morning of Christmas Eve. This year, December 24th falls on the fourth Sunday of Advent, entailing morning services and two Christmas Eve masses for those singing in the choir. Clearly, that won’t be the … Read more

A Gift of Recommendations

St. Nicholas

By the time we send next week’s digest, St. Nicholas Day will have come and gone. Consequently, I’ll say a word about it today, and then tell you about an idea that came to me. First, we’re approaching the date (December 6th) for the commemoration … Read more

The Discipline of Beauty

degas-ballet-discipline

A shower of sounds comes from under the door of Studio 610, the space where my ten-year old granddaughter has her classes on Wednesdays. Focused on the laptop while waiting, I do occasionally rise to peek through the high, narrow window of the door, trying … Read more

Sailing into Light

We are embarking on the last stretch of this voyage through the Great European Rivers (Danube, Main, Rhine). As I write, sailors are pulling away the ropes that tied us to Dock 9 in downtown Cologne. Our next port? Amsterdam. By the time this essay … Read more

The Riemenschneider Altar

My phone has thousands of pictures on it. By way of justification, a goodly percentage of the shots were taken in museums. These I made to help me recall images of art works and capture their explanatory labels. Before cell phones changed our lives, I … Read more

Lessons in Vienna

vienna

I try to imagine growing up in Vienna. In fact, I’m penning these words perched on a bench in Marie Theresien Platz, a glorious square that unites Vienna’s huge Natural History Museum with its equally large Old-Masters’ Art Museum. Both of these buildings stand directly … Read more

In Praise of Diligent Reminders

diligent-homework

I am the homework-enforcer in our family, partly by default, but largely because homework is a topic I get worked up about. Don’t get me wrong: I am not an advocate of homework, especially for younger children who are exhausted by a full school day. … Read more

Memories From My Desktop

wedding-reception

My desktop is a mess. “Desktop” once meant the top of one’s writing table. Surprisingly, that surface in my office isn’t messy. My laptop’s desktop is the problem. (It’s hard to say those two words together.) Whenever I am at a conference or setting up … Read more

Stowaway

stowaway

The bus lumbered across a bumpy stretch of gravel, tires hitting in and out of large ruts. To the left stood a set of gas pumps. Long lanes marked for bus parking filled the right side of the graveled lot. Several men were milling about, … Read more

Waking Up in Zagreb

stanislav-vjera-crop

Today, waking up in Zagreb, Croatia, I thought about the people arriving tomorrow for a tour through Croatia and Slovenia. Most of them are embarking on the same trek I made yesterday, gathering last-minute items, tugging suitcases closed, and getting to the airport to fly … Read more