downtown snowman, safe and sound
—
“snowfall rouses your inner child to dream and play once more.”
-angie weiland-crosby
Feb1
Jan31
cocoa.
happy international hot chocolate day!
time to cozy up with your favorite mug for a day that’s devoted to the delicious chocolate beverage
ancient Mayans drank chocolate made from crushed cocoa seeds mixed in water in 500 BC
they knew a good thing.
—
“watch the sunrise at least once a year, put a lot of marshmallows in your hot chocolate,
lie on your back and look at the stars, never buy a coffee table you can’t put your feet on,
never pass up a chance to jump on a trampoline,
don’t overlook life’s small joys while searching for the big ones.”
-h.jackson brown, jr.
—
image credit: bon appetit magazine
Jan30
living.
saw this beautiful, moving film yesterday
slow, quiet, understated
but, oh so incredibly powerful.
—
“i am delighted to experience the beauty of life.”
-lailah gifty akita
—
studio credits: lionsgate uk, darkside cinema
Jan29
hell level.
today, on national puzzle day
i’m reminded of one of my most memorable puzzle-solving adventures
(sounds like an oxymoron, i know)
years ago, when in grad school
my sister sent me a very special puzzle
i’ve always been a huge fan of challenging jigsaw, crossword, and sudoku puzzles
after reading the description, i thought this would be right up my alley
the puzzle was all black, with a pale, delicate, and finely drawn vine winding through it
it had no straight edges, pieces were mostly all the same shape,
just slightly different sizes, and had no picture to use as a solution
i finally decided to tackle it one snowy day
that turned into three
as we were in the throng of what turned out to be a full-out blizzard
i cleared my large square coffee table, sat on a pillow on the floor,
put on some music, brought over a big cup of creamy coffee
and began
what turned out to be the most challenging puzzle of my lifetime
determined to solve it
my back was hurting, my hands were hurting, my eyes were hurting
by the end of day one
all the lights ablaze to detect any slight differentiation
only stopping for brief breaks or to sleep
at one point
i felt like jack nicholson in ‘the shining’
holed up, shut off from the world, snowed-in, and involved in an insane enterprise
but
solve it i did
with the gift of those three long days
when it was impossible to go anywhere
the local world pretty much shut down for the snow
not going to let this puzzle beat me
after i put the last piece in place
i tore it apart and put it back in the box
making a decision to never make this puzzle again
i passed it on to a friend at school, told her it was a gift not a loan, and wished her good luck.
—
about this item:
- 🧩Black puzzles for adults – 1000 pcs. hell level difficulty jigsaw puzzles are made from premium quality materials, the size of each puzzle is different, each is precision made so that every piece fits perfectly, touch smooth, full of detail, Special surface film treatment. It’s a game to enlarge your brain capacity, a game to strengthen eye-hand coordination and your imagination. It’s not so easy to complete the black puzzle, but once finished, you will be proud of yourself.
—
puzzle history timeline:
2300 bc- early puzzles
before modern puzzles, labyrinth puzzles were popular in ancient egypt.
1767 – jigsaws
mapmaker, john spilsbury creates the first jigsaw puzzle
1908 – puzzle-mania
puzzles become a full-blown craze in the united states
1933 – peak popularity
during the great depression, puzzle sales soared to 10 million a week
—
“a puzzle with a solution is a game. a puzzle without a solution is a work of art.”
― m
Jan28
peanutters.
planters is looking for “peanutters” to drive its nutmobile
America’s highways will now play host to Planters’s NUTmobile. The 26-foot-long “peanut on wheels” ferries Mr. Peanut around the U.S., promoting the brand at various local events. And the company is currently on the hunt for three enthusiastic “Peanutters” to drive it.
Actually operating the NUTmobile is but one small part of a Peanutter’s role. They’re also expected to plan and execute events for Mr. Peanut and the NUTmobile to attend across the country. This includes things like booking hotels, communicating with local media to publicize the events, managing the NUTmobile social media accounts, and even dressing in costume to entertain visitors. The gig, which kicks off in June 2023, is quite literally a full-time job: 40 hours a week over five days, with plenty of variation in your weekly schedule depending on what events are on the agenda (and where).
It’s a one-year assignment, after which you could score an interview for a more long-term job in Hormel’s food sales department. If you have a bachelor’s degree, a valid driver’s license, and a hankering to cruise around in a giant peanut (and sometimes dress up as one), you can apply here by Tuesday, February 14. In addition to a résumé and cover letter, you’ll also have to upload“short video describing why you would make the perfect Peanutter.” Now’s your chance to turn your peanut butter obsession into a career.
—
“in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. “
-mary poppins
—
sources: hormel foods, ellen gutoskey, wdiv-tv
Jan27
scam likely.
who is scam likely?
an old friend from elementary school?
someone i went to camp with?
an indy band?
someone i met at a carnival?
sam likely’s twin?
i’m not sure, but scam calls me often
he/she must feel rejected
as i never take their call.
—
“cats have a scam going- you buy the food,
they eat the food, they go away;
that’s the deal.”
– eddie izzard
Jan26
naliqqaittuq.
snow day yesterday at last
a really good day to stay home from school
—
Inuit in Canada’s North have their own unique names for the months of the year. Aseena Mablick, an announcer for CBC Nunavut’s Inuktitut-language radio program Tausunni, has been collecting information on the names of the months in Inuktitut for years.
Mablick says one of the reasons she’s sharing this now is to “keep the language.”The names in Inuktitut are interconnected with the environment and wildlife surrounding the Inuit in Canada’s North.”It’s a truthful and honest calendar for people who are living over here, everyday, like us,” she says. “We just follow mother nature’s ways for naming the calendar.”
Each region in Nunavut has its own unique names for the calendar, and Mablick shared with us just two of the regions she’s looked into — Baffin region (also known as the Qikiqtaaluk Region) and Nunavik (northern Quebec).
January In Nunavik, January is “Naliqqaittuq”, literally meaning “nobody’s able to compete with it,” says Mablick. “It has to do with the coldest weather in that month.”
January is called “Qaummagiaq” in the Baffin region. It means “bright day coming back.”
meanwhile in ann arbor…
==
credits: cbc news (north), aseena mablick, deadline detroit
Jan25
b.r.
why is it that my children were shocked
when i told them that i was born ‘before ranch’ (b.r.)?
shock and awe that i was alive when
cap’n crunch, doritos, $100,00 bars, pop tarts, ding dongs, cool whip, count chocula, and more
came to be
back in the day when food fell into the
quick, easy, greasy, crunchy, sweet, and fun category
and lived to tell.
—
“my mouth doesn’t want to be quiet.”
-greta, age 4
Jan24
poles apart.
yep, not me.
—
just wondering why my fitness app
is willing to measure
pole dancing but not pole vaulting
both involve strength and flying.
—
“i have tennis shoes with little rhinestones that I slip on if I exercise.
but I always wear heels, even around the house.
i’m such a short little thing,
i can’t reach my kitchen cabinets.”
-dolly parton
—
photo credit: naviant health
Jan23
rock out.
when you’re little
walking around the museum
see a big old bumpy boring rock
walk around to the front of it
find an amazing, amazing surprise
that is inside of it
you just have to touch it
there are no words.
—
“sometimes the most shocking surprises are the most beautiful surprises.”
-lori wilhite
I didn't have my glasses on.... 