August 2010

"In summer, the song sings itself."

-   William Carlos Williams

The Reason I Don't Believe In Sasquatch

While watching the History Channel show where the "researchers" hide in the remote Canadian cabin and test the tiny, tiny blood samples looking for the mysterious Sasquatch all I could do is laugh. 

If this reportedly eight foot hairy monster was anywhere near that cabin, don't you think you'd see more than a couple strands of hair? I mean really, if anyone has ever lived with a dog (or even some extra, hairy human beings) they know there is a whole lot more DNA hanging around than that.

Case in point, meet Jack, my niece Kristen's dog.

Jack just walks into a room and a million pieces of hair fall out of him. And, if he gets close enough to brush up against you it looks like he rubbed his entire body all over you while peeing on you at the same time. Lots of substance left over to study. 

And, it doesn't blow away in the wind...just into the corners of the room, onto all the furniture, your clothes, up your nose, and into your mouth. Pretty much anything within a mile radius.

So, if the Sasquatch was in that cabin throwing things around and dumping things out, you wouldn't need to scrape off dried blood from a screw head. Nope. Just look at the dust bunnies in the corners.

So, sorry History Channel, but I'm not buying it.

Pure Michigan 2

Only in Michigan (that I know of) when asked, "What did you do this weekend?"  one can say with a wry grin, "I went wine tasting at the insane asylum. Isn't that crazy?"

There are so many great wines in Michigan, and the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas' wineries have found a very unique way of showcasing them.  Packaged with art, food and blues, the tasting takes place in front of a Michigan historical and architectural landmark formerly known as the Traverse City State Hospital and before that, the Northern Michigan Asylum.

The beautiful, century-old Victorian-Italianate style buildings that spread across 63 acres are now owned by the Minervini Group of Traverse City, and have been renamed Grand Traverse Commons. Under their vision Minervini is revitalizing the site into a wonderful community of residential, retail and commercial opportunity. 

What a refreshing approach, when so many other companies would haven't bothered and would have taken a wrecking ball to it, the Minervini Group saw the possibilities and the historical value, and through their careful restoration have honored the memory of so many of our ancestors and friends who lived in the facility. 

So mark your calendar for the last Friday of August in 2011. Then you can walk around saying silly, politically incorrect one-liners like "I'm just nuts for Circa's Improvisation!"

p.s. It's true. While I thought Bel Lago's Leelanau Primavera was my go-to white, along came a couple new wineries (2008) that are giving it a run for its money. Originally when I was tasting this weekend I fell for Forty-Five North Vineyard's 45 White, but after a thorough completion of a bottle of each (not all at once), the Circa Improvisation won out. Not to worry though, I purchased plenty of all three!


http://www.thevillagetc.com/

http://traversecitywinefestival.com/

Jakey Breakey Heart

My baby left for college today.

I feel a chaotic mixture of heartbreak and excitement.

And while new adventures await both of us, 

I can't help but miss THIS little guy.

Life, TRULY IS, a QUICK journey.

A beautiful world.

"Sow flowers,
so your surroundings become a garden.
Don't sow thorns; for they will prick your feet.
We are all one body.
Whoever tortures another, wounds himself." 
-Rahman Baba

Wrapping myself in the flag!

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." -United States of America, Bill of Rights, First Amendment


Just hoping the nonsense will end soon and folks will remember what the first amendment REALLY means, and why tolerance, respect and understanding is truly the AMERICAN way.

Pure Michigan

Have the sunsets in Michigan been extraordinary this summer? Or is it just my advancing age that makes me appreciate them more? I'm thinking it might be the latter, as I certainly feel lucky when I stay awake long enough to see one!

Deja Vu

                                             "Family faces are magic mirrors. 

Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. 

We make discoveries about ourselves."  

-Gail Lumet Buckley

 

Family reunions are a joyful reminder of how life goes on. Children become parents, parents become grandparents. The voids of those we lost are filled by the new arrivals.

Life comes full circle.

 

At this year's reunion, I kept finding myself thinking there goes Jeri's little girl Phoebe or here comes Pennie. But then I'd catch myself and remember this is 2010. They aren't those little people anymore, instead, they have created THESE little people of their own. These beautiful faces, the splitting images of their mommies.

Life is magical.