by kimqi | Feb 18, 2023 | Hiking, Illinois, Nature, Winter Hiking
Every February, I long to get away. This year, I took time off work, so I would go, no matter what. I wanted to visit somewhere warm, which didn’t happen, mainly because I couldn’t coordinate it. Last week, I impulsively chose Shawnee National Forest over Hocking...
by kimqi | Jan 29, 2023 | YinYang, Seasons
It was cold, but the snow had stopped, and there wasn’t more forecast. I love the snow. It will only get colder, I reasoned. It was decided. I bundled up and went to a small local forest preserve early Sunday morning. It sure WAS cold. I’ve gained a little weight...
by kimqi | Jan 23, 2023 | Lunar New Year, Taoism
I saw my daughter’s sweet face in a dream and smiled. Other images of her followed, dancing and twirling until my heart felt like it would explode with joy. The vision suddenly shattered and settled, spreading out, arranging itself like a Gustav Klimt painting, tiny...
by kimqi | Jan 16, 2023 | Antiques, Daoism
I always had a studio to paint or build things in, but I let that part of my life slip away as I busied myself with graduate school and building an acupuncture practice. When the pressure from those things eased, I sewed costumes for the Ren Faire, took pictures and...
by kimqi | Jan 10, 2023 | Nature, Winter Hiking, YinYang, Seasons
The soft wail of a train, the familiar rumble, the rhythm as metal met metal, this sorrowful, distant music pulled me from sleep. It was still dark, but I remembered the sunny creek from yesterday. Swiftly moving icy water spilled loudly over the rocky bottom. It sang...
