Articles

This sign is above the door in the sacristy at Holy Name of Jesus in Sheboygan, where I serve as a lector. In a Catholic church, the sacristy is a room, usually near the altar, where vestments, supplies, and sacred vessels are kept, and the priest and attendants prepare for Mass. It’s kind of like Read more

Sometimes living a better story requires making a big, hairy, scary change. Like moving across the country or taking a pay cut to do what you love. But most of the time, we just need to be open to the art of tinkering. The dictionary says that to tinker is “to repair, adjust, or work Read more

Yesterday, we held what may be the last Wonder & Whimsy Society Family Reunion in our backyard. I’ve learned to never say never, but for now, Kim and I have decided to tie a bow around the W&WS, feeling called to move on to other things. A project born of the pandemic that lasted five Read more

The upcoming Wondernite auction will be filled with unique items. (The one-day auction is open to everyone, but you can also buy a virtual ticket to watch the livestream of my presentation.) Among the items available are two original paintings I did while exhibiting at the Midsummer Art Fair in Sheboygan. I like painting live for a few reasons. Read more

How hard could it be? It was a very calm lake, and I’d been kayaking a few times before. Spending an afternoon with my family on glacier-fed Eklutna Lake in Alaska seemed like a great entry into our vacation portfolio. Then the guide started giving her super casual safety presentation, and I suddenly wondered if I was Read more

Kim and I are well-known for encouraging people to be more childlike and act more like kids. A few brave souls have asked (although I suspect countless others have wondered): How does this philosophy impact our role as parents? In other words, how does a parent walk the line between teaching kids to break rules that Read more

“Yep, they’re dead.” The confirmation came from the woman at the nursery after seeing the photos Kim shared of two of our cherry trees. It wasn’t a surprise, but it also cemented the fact that we’d lost even more time. A few years earlier, after our majestic wooded backyard was reduced to a violent pile of Read more

Are you sabotaging your own success and happiness? We recently exhibited at the Midsummer Festival of the Arts in Sheboygan. I’m no stranger to this sort of thing, between participating in art fairs and the gift shows we did in the early days, selling prints and greeting cards to retail and gift shops. I’ve noticed Read more

Kim and I were on our way to San Diego. For reasons known only to Delta, our seats got reassigned, and we were split up. Considering that part of the reason for our trip was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and because we still actually like each other, we looked for an opportunity to Read more

I am an art nerd. Many guys in Wisconsin count Bass Pro Shops as their happy place. Me? I’ll take a good art supply store any day of the week. Oh, I have a few tackle boxes, they’re just packed with paint tubes, pen nibs, and drawing pencils of varying lead grades. When I was Read more