all that's past is prologue...

Do you have a will? If you don't, you should stop writing this right now and go start putting together one. A Power of Attorney is not a will. It expires the minute that you do, so if you want someone to deal with everything after you pass, you need a will. If you only have one "next of kin" person and so you think everything will easily go to them, you still need a will. If you have "nothing," you likely have more than you think, and you need a will. If you have only debt, you need a will. If you have a home you want to pass to someone else, and everything else is minimal, you can employ, depending on the state, a Transfer on Death Deed — but you still need a will. My mom had a will, written in the 1980s and updated periodically. When she passed, things actually transferred relatively smoothly because of it, and I didn't think much of it. After she died, Patrick and I ensured we had wills. My college roommate, Molly, is a brilliant estate attorney and so we...

So before I was obsessed with light, I was obsessed with glass — and still am, to some extent. I would love to take a glassblowing course at some point!  Last summer, I was able to get a tour slot for the 3 of us at the Cafesjian Art Trust — for February! (let's just say they book out a ways in advance...).  This was the first show for the collection, which is a place to display the over 3,000 pieces of art that Cafesjian collected, and continue his legacy. It's mostly glass, but keep an eye out for "Art"... This inaugural show's theme was the friendship that formed between Gerard Cafesjian and Dale Chihuly as Cafesjian began to collect his art. It was a small but powerful exhibit, and I learned a lot about Chihuly and how he designed his work. It was fascinating and highly recommended! We already have our reservations for the next show, Highlights of the Collection — in August!

So if you know me, you know that 99.9% of my clothing comes from clothing exchanges and I almost never buy anything new. However, much of my clothing is beginning to look like that, and so, inspired by my success with Pacas socks (they really are the best things ever), I decided to succumb to some facebook ads. The first item? I badly needed a long black sweater to replace a long merino wool one that I wore to bits. So went to Quince I picked up a Mongolian cashmere duster , and I am pleased to say I love it! It was under $100, shipping was quick and easy to track, and though it's lightweight, it's warm and well made. It wraps nicely and looks cute. I've had a lot of people say good things about Quince, and I think I may now also be a convert. Let me know if you want a referral code — I think you get $20 our your first order, and I get a $20 credit too (that's 2/5 of the way to the cashmere v-neck I am now coveting!). I had had a previous good experience with some han...

For years, I've wanted to go to the Luminary Loppet. And right now I'm thinking a lot about light (my word for the year is SHINE), so it was the perfect year to go. The perimeters of the event have changed a lot and so I was able to get some free tickets, so Patrick and I headed out (Beatrix is not a fan of the cold, so ix-nayed it; she had come to see "Tar" with us earlier that day so had earned herself some non-parent time). And it was even more wonderful than we had hoped. From fire dancers to an enchanted forest to ice luminary everywhere, the lake was beautiful. Any my date was pretty enchanting too. Light PLUS penguins? I'm in. We walked along the whole path, ending in the "party" area sitting on a hay bale by a fire pit with an Utepils (where we watched Mayor Frey got booed when he went onstage, listened to a fairly mediocre cover band, and ran into former CJ rigger Ty and his wife). It's hard to take a selfie with gloves on. We ended the nigh...

  Adventures in state politics this week (subtitled "Why @epmurphymn and @leighfinke , along with many others, are the absolute best"). http://www.gladhillrhone.com/whose-house-and-senate-our-house-and-senate/

 (100 points to the people who got the Rent reference) Yesterday we got to open our home to a couple of fun events. Beatrix had a tea party birthday party with plants and some of her closest friends (pics of just the food rather than said friends because this is on social media). It was truly a joy to hear them talk and laugh and have fun. Up to now, at least, no parents have called to object to them playing Cards Against Humanity. That night, we hosted our friends Robert, Emily, Elyse, and Heath for a dinner party. We started at Elyse and Heath's place in Irvine Park, left our teens there to babysit their kids, then came up here for dinner. Elyse and Heath's is beautiful. Patrick knocked it out of the park with a gluten-free dinner, and Emily made a delicious pear-pistachio cake. And the wine was top notch.  For both Beatrix's party and our dinner, though, the best parts were spending time with good friends. We're incredibly lucky that way.

Like everyone else apparently, I loved episode 3 of The Last of Us . This is the point for me where the show actually became a story, and one about people, not just situations. But I'm surprised at how many people I know, while raving about it, seem to think that it's an unusual story. For me, this was the kind of relationship I saw every day in the almost 50-year relationship of our friends R and J; after R died earlier this year, I don't think there's been a day that J has not missed him to the point of breaking down in tears. Something that particularly struck me: they were together for so many years that, when gay marriage became legal, they did not get married (for any number of reasons). Our protagonists Bill and Frank could never legally marry; the events of the show begin in 2003, and gay marriage did not pass until 2004. There are a lot of people in our friendship group and especially our neighborhood, though, who exhibit that kind of partnership and inspire Pa...

Marc Heu is moving, and the internet has Some Feelings about it. They are moving from their original site at Western and University to a spot at Selby and Dale (so close I can see it out of my back window!). They will have a larger space, adding expanded coffee service, seating, an outdoor patio, and then light lunch and dinner. For the record, I am beyond excited about this! There are three main responses on the internet about this. The first seems to indicated they have "sold out" in some way by moving the 1.2 miles out of Frogtown, and in the press release, the owners indicate the emotional pull of that move in a quote by Gaosong Her: So, leaving Frogtown is crazy emotional for us. Half the fights Marc and I have ever had are: Leaving Frogtown, could we ever? But our customers keep asking: Could you get some chairs and somewhere to sit, please? And we’ve got other dreams, with savory, breads, a café like you’d fine in Paris. I still remember the first Marc Heu pastry I ha...