Category Archives: Life

Flocked

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

The near-blizzard snowstorm over the weekend left city streets a mess, with gigantic piles of snow at intersections so tall that it’s hard for someone in a compact car to see oncoming traffic. But I just stopped off at Starbucks … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged Downtown Milwaukee, flocked Christmas tree, Milwaukee, Red Arrow Park, Slice of Ice skating rink, Starbucks | Leave a comment

Deco on Rye

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Okay, my title is like a bad pun. But that’s what I thought of when I saw such a tiny building squeezed into the space between two larger and older buildings. A sandwich 🙂 This somewhat out of place Art Deco building is part … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, History, Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged architecture, Art Deco, Art Deco architecture, Downtown Milwaukee, historic preservation, Milwaukee, Moorish Revival, Water Street | Leave a comment

Coffers and Corinthians

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

A trip to the dentist took me past City Hall again for the second time in a couple months. In December it had been probably a few years since I’d been able to get up close, thanks to the scaffolding … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Art, History, Life, Milwaukee, Photography | Tagged civic architecture, classical architecture, coffer, Corinthian columns, hidden cherubs in Corinthian columns, Milwaukee, Milwaukee City Hall, Pantheon, sandstone | 2 Comments

The Northern Soul Project – The Father-Son Shredded Wheat Commercial (Post #5)

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

Warning: this television ad (or, “advert,” as they apparently say in England) will make your heart melt. Apparently just released within the past week, this Shredded Wheat cereal commercial profiles a father and son who go out dancing at the all-nighters together. In Post … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Learning, Life, Music, Northern Soul, Popular culture, Television | Tagged all-nighter, culture, dancing, fathers and sons, lifelong learning, Northern soul, self-education, self-taught, Shredded Wheat, television commercials | 14 Comments

General Tom Thumb rescued from deadly Milwaukee hotel fire!

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

In doing some class prep I came across a book titled Vintage Milwaukee Postcards, by Larry Widen, which talks about, among other interesting pieces of Milwaukee history, the famous (in its day) Newhall House Fire. The Newhall House was a sprawling six-story, wood-framed luxury … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, History, Learning, Life, Milwaukee | Tagged General Tom Thumb, luxury hotel, Milwaukee, Milwaukee history, Newhall House, Newhall House fire, Tom Thumb | 2 Comments

Be my Facebook friend?

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

In a comment at the end of a post a couple days ago Kitty Barran (KittyBarran.com) mentioned that she’d rather receive my blog posts through Facebook than either email or Twitter. So I’ve done it. Joined Facebook. I now have a “profile picture” and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Writing, blogging | Tagged joining Facebook | 5 Comments

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

On my way to work this morning I saw this fragment of litter lying on the ground. Obviously, it’s the outside edge of continuous-feed printer paper. Anyone younger than thirty may not know what that is, so here’s a photo for reference. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, Popular culture | Tagged childhood, continuous feed printer paper, nostalgia, printer paper, roll caps, sprocket holes, sprocket wheels, toy guns | 5 Comments

That winter quality of light

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

People who brave winter in the North know what I’m talking about: the strangely bluish quality of cold air and golden flash of low-angled sunlight. When we say we appreciate the change of seasons, this “quality of light” is almost always … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Milwaukee, Nature, Science | Tagged winter sunlight, winter trees | 3 Comments

Resolved: To Be Good Enough

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Katherine Wikoff

You’ve surely seen the motivational posters before. Possibly you’ve also seen the “demotivators” from Despair.com. This one has always been my favorite, mostly because of the contempt I’ve always felt for people who practiced mediocrity. Ha! What’s that saying about … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Popular culture, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer), Writing, blogging | Tagged D is for done, despair.com, kindness, Margaret Edson's Wit, mediocrity, mythology, New Year's resolutions, parable of the talents, perfectionism, personal achievement, personal best, personal growth, Steve Jobs | 8 Comments

Christmas shopping in “The Village”

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I don’t like shopping malls at Christmas. Too crowded. Too many harried people with too many gifts to buy and too little time. My husband and my younger daughter don’t mind all that. In fact, for years now they’ve had an annual … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Books and reading, History, Life, Milwaukee, Travel | Tagged boutiques, Christmas shopping, downtown storefronts, historic preservation, living history, old-fashioned Christmas, shop local, traditions | 2 Comments