Tuesday, April 22, 2025 – Day 252

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Good Morning!

We’re back home after spending Easter weekend up north. We were sent off with a wet, snowy goodbye—accumulating snow and all. The last time we had a send-off like that was in March of 2020. We had left Illinois to escape the COVID lockdowns and, no sooner had we arrived in Fence Lake, Wisconsin shut down its economy. Great! We had just left spring behind in Illinois, only to return to winter… with temps near 0°. Who came up with that brilliant escape plan? Sure, Cindy brought some projects with her, but I hadn’t. We lasted less than a week in isolation before I couldn’t take it anymore.

Just like five years ago, we left northern Wisconsin behind and returned home to green landscapes, blooming spring flowers, and flowering trees. I’ve said it before—it’s amazing what a difference 300 miles makes when it comes to the seasons. Northern Wisconsin runs about a month behind Chicago in the spring and about a month ahead in the fall. For those who live full-time in the Northwoods, the trade-off of a longer winter is the spectacular summer that can’t be matched here in Illinois. So, in a month or so, I’ll forget all about winter—scratch that—I’ve already forgotten. The new memories from this weekend, will last forever.

Lis, I know we missed writing in the cabin journal before we left—sorry about that. Maybe as a substitute, you could paste the last few blog posts into the book?

Now that tax season is officially behind us, it opens the door for reading again—an activity I can still fully enjoy. I love having a real book in my hands and hope to keep that going for as long as possible before switching to an e-reader. At some point, I’ll have to locate the Kindle I misplaced a few years ago. It’s still unused, and I’d rather not replace it if I don’t have to.

A few weeks ago, when I mentioned returning to reading, I got some great recommendations. I really appreciate those—otherwise, I tend to get stuck in a rut with the same genres or authors. Back in the fall, my cousin Mark suggested Nelson DeMille, who wrote a number of suspense and thriller novels that blend fiction with historical events. His books were long, and they kept me hooked right up to tax season. Thanks, Mark—DeMille was an excellent writer. It was sad to learn he passed away in September 2024.

Now that I’m reading again, I just finished Battle Mountain by C.J. Box, part of the Joe Pickett series. It’s the 25th book in the series—I haven’t read them in order. I loved them at first, but I think too much of a good thing has dulled my enthusiasm. I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much. It’s time to park this author.

Then came James, a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim the slave’s perspective. It’s a #1 bestseller, but it didn’t resonate with me. I stuck with it, always hoping it would grab me eventually, but it never did.

Yesterday, Paul—one of Cindy’s longtime friends—gave me a book. When I met Paul back in 2004, he immediately embraced me and welcomed me into their big circle of friends without hesitation. From those early days until now, over 20 years later, they’ve all become my friends too.

The book he handed me is what he called a “bathroom book,” written by Brian Doyle and titled One Long River of Song. I’m not usually one for bathroom books, but Paul insisted it was a perfect fit. To inspire me, he included a heartfelt, handwritten card explaining what the book has meant to him and some of his key takeaways. He said he’d just finished reading it for the third time and was now passing it along. I think he said my daily posts reminded him of the book—it’s a collection of short essays on everyday life, viewed through a lens of love. Honestly, I’m not sure I caught all of what he said. My emotions got the better of me, and I was trying to keep it together.

I thanked him for the book, and today feels like the perfect time to start. I’m ready to open my heart and mind to something new. Thank you, Paul.

Time to head upstairs and read the first essay.

Everyone, have a great Tuesday.

Love you guys! ❤️

Feature photo is of the grandkids holding hands in their Easter Sunday outfits. Something I probably never did as a child.