Stories by Daniel Hautzinger

Marian and Walter search for a way to save Laura by proving her identity and begin investigating the secrets of Sir Percival and Count Fosco, hoping to make them confess. Surprising ties are revealed and lives are risked as the mystery wraps up.

The arrival of a traveling circus in town provides Larry with a new prospect and the rest of the family with distractions. Margo and Leslie suffer difficulties in their relationships, while Louisa finally seems to have found a new partner. 

Starting the day after Thanksgiving, the CTA Holiday Train will begin bringing joy to "L" riders, and the Holiday Bus starts service the next week. Find their schedules here so that you can get a chance to enjoy the lights and take a photo with Santa!

The holiday season is upon us, as going into any store and hearing the music will inform you. If you want to make sure that the most wonderful time of the year is truly full of wonder, Chicagoland offers plenty of magical opportunities, from tree lightings to markets to parades.

November is Native American Heritage Month, plus it includes the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice and, of course, Thanksgiving. Explore the rich legacy of America's first peoples, learn the stories of forgotten participants of WWI, and get some Thanksgiving cooking advice.

Sir Percival and Count Fosco conspire together to get money by means of Laura, and include Anne in their scheme. Laura's predicament worsens as Marian is suddenly taken away, and Walter returns to help Marian investigate whatever happened to Laura. 

The two men Louisa loves most on thei sland, besides her own family, are in trouble. Spyros is mired in a depression in the wake of his wife's leaving, and Sven is in the targets of the police for his homosexuality. Leslie is unfortunately drawn into the case.

After their removal from the region around Chicago in the early nineteenth century, Native Americans began returning to the city in the 1950s under the federal government's ill-planned relocation policy. Chicago has the oldest urban Indian center, and the third largest urban population of Native Americans.

Not that mashed potatoes aren't delicious on their own, but sometimes you want to spice them up a bit for something a bit more special. Try this version from Christopher Kimball's Milk Street​ that incorporates a technique learned from Indian cooking. 

Sir Percival begins to try to assert control over his new wife, but Laura refuses to fully submit. She and Marian try to continue investigating Sir Percival's past but feel increasingly penned in as Count and Countess Fosco seem to scheme against them. 

Louisa is determined to celebrate Gerry's birthday with a festive party, but Gerry is becoming a moody teenager and doesn't want all the fuss. Spyros is also in a glum mood, thought he won't tell anyone, not even Louisa, why.

Marian and Walter try to investigate the warnings of the mysterious woman in white against Laura's fiance, Sir Percival Glyde. But any obstacles to the marriage are soon removed, although its ominous terms don't bode well for the happiness of the marriage.

The arrival of an Italian family on Corfu leaves Louisa jealous as they take up Spyros's time and leads to an argument between the two friends. Plus, Larry joins a volunteer fire brigade and Gerry meets a nature-loving girl.

Vivian Howard's A Chef's Life has ended after five seasons, so celebrate the seasonally focused cuisine of the series with a simple recipe perfect for brisk fall weather: pickled beets. Plus, stream the finale of the show here.

In celebration of the opening of Chicago's first subway transit line 75 years ago, the CTA is sending out two vintage train cars that ran from 1923 to 1973 and are the same model of car that was among the first to run on the State Street subway line.