I just finished Alicia Keys book, More Myself and I keep being struck at how similar what she is talking about sounds to the current tension going on in the US.  She talked about an article she helped go viral about 23 ways a Black person can get killed, which was written in 2016.  2016 was 4...Read More

I was on a walk yesterday and I noticed a woman weeding her yard right next to the alley.  To be honest, I have a fairly nice yard and I don’t always care about the weeds by the alley so I was impressed by her immaculate clean yard.  The home had anything a house in Tosa...Read More

On a walk around our block yesterday, Mae asked me why there are loafs of bread hanging on the fence on 9th Street.  I told her it’s because some people who live around here don’t have enough food to eat so people drop off donations.  She knew the bread wasn’t for us and scootered off....Read More

I have loved living in the innercity and haven’t thought realistically about moving out of 53206 in the last 10 years.  I love my neighbors.  I love seeing how our neighborhood has improved.  I love our community garden and orchards.  But sometimes it is hard.  Hearing police sirens and wondering how close they are is...Read More

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of helping Jabria plant her first garden. One of my passions is teaching kids about gardening. The first reason is because kids will try any veggie from the garden which expands what they like. The second is that we live in a food desert which means people in the 53206...Read More

The other night we went up north camping. It was really nice to get out of the city and be in nature. The stars were incredible at night. My kids were able to run and bike around freely (which they can’t do in our neighborhood) and there was a sense of ease that we all...Read More

Over the past months I have made an effort to read more Black authors.  It started with Ta-Nehisi Coates new book, The Water Dancer then Trever Noah’s book, Born a Crime and I just finished Alicia Keys book, More of Myself.  I have enjoyed reading each of these books and learning from them.  I think being...Read More

We went by the new mural on Holton to memorialize George Floyd yesterday. We stopped and talked about why it was done. It is a beautiful mural and I would encourage you to go and see it. I was struck by Dex saying someone put down flowers and not trash. I was struck by that...Read More

I have found such joy planting things and especially having my kids be able to eat things in my yard.  When we bought our rental, I told myself we would also grow food in those backyards too.  Most people who live in the inner-city live in a food desert, which means that a grocery store...Read More

Last night we ran into one of our old neighbors.  We have known her family for the entire time we lived in our home (14 years) so I have known this woman since she was in middle school and have seen her grow up.  She got pregnant when she was 20 years old and while...Read More