Bracing for Snowmageddon.

I think this may be the second or third big storm of the year labeled that. But we have short memories. It is a first though: many local schools have closed for tomorrow in anticipation of the snowpocalypse. Even Michigan State University, the first time in 30 years it has ever closed for weather. It is 8:06 pm EST here in Central Michigan. No snow falling yet. Stay tuned.

What lies ahead.

It is January 27th and I've already reached the point of being tired of the cold and snow.  After reading the weather report for the next 4 days - more snow, more cold - I just needed a warm reminder of what lies ahead. All the good stuff that comes after the cold. It can't come soon enough.

Just wait a few hours.

Just last Thursday, it was foggy and 45. The warm weather had melted the December snow in less than 48 hours. But as we know here in Michigan, just wait a few hours and it can all change again. So, over night and today, we were rewarded with a new blanket of snow. Ahhh... pure Michigan.

After The Storm.

Forty-eight hours later, looks like we will get our white Christmas. 
So beautiful!
(Remind me of this enchantment in February and March!)


"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event.  
You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?  
~J.B. Priestley

October 2010

"As autumn returns to earth's northern hemisphere,
and day and night are briefly,
but perfectly,
balanced at the equinox,
may we remember anew how fragile life is ----
human life, surely,
but also the lives of all other creatures,
trees and plants,
waters and winds.

May we make wise choices in how and what we harvest,
may earth's weather turn kinder,
may there be enough food for all creatures,
may the diminishing light in our daytime skies
be met by an increasing compassion and tolerance
in our hearts."

-   Kathleen Jenks, Autumn Lore

Morning Glow.

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."
-  Nathaniel Hawthorne

It's Good.

I don't need fortune and I don't need fame, send down the thunder Lord, send down the rain
But when you're planning just how it will be, plan a good day for me. -Don Williams

I have a sign in the house that teases "Lord I hope this day is good."  My daily reminder that each day brings a new opportunity. It is even more meaningful on a Monday, for obvious reasons. 
This was today's sunrise. 
A beautiful reminder that the day and week are off to a pretty good start.

September 2010

Big Sky MICHIGAN

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back 

and realize they were the big things.” 

- Robert Brault

I wonder how many days in my lifetime I've forgotten to look up? 

Thinking about little trivial things, and missing the big ones. 

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/