“cowgirl courage isn’t the lack of fear, but the courage to take action in the face of fear.”
-j.h.lee
May11
Monthly Archives: May 2024
May10
really close!
The Gordie Howe International Bridge is really close to being connected
Scene from above the Gordie Howe International Bridge (between Detroit, Michigan, USA and Windsor, Ontario, Canada), as the two sides of the bridge are nearing connection. The bridge gap between the two sides is just over 200 feet and will be connected next year. In this case, really close, is still not close enough –
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According to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, construction on the bridge is set to be completed for September 2025 with the first vehicles expected to travel across the bridge in the fall of 2025.
Originally, the more than $4 billion bridge was set to be completed later this year, but officials say the project experienced “unprecedented disruptions” from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for the bridge because of different restrictions in the U.S. and Canada.
“After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted completion date and that we could agree on a reasonable adjustment to the contract value. With safety as our top priority, we will continue to work together to deliver this much-needed infrastructure to the thousands of eager travelers ready to cross North America’s longest cable-stayed bridge,” Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority CEO Charl van Niekerk said.
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‘the best thing is being really close. the worst thing is being really close.’
-joel madden
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credits: wxyz-tv, chopper 7
May9
india, take the wheel!
Wake County Bookmobile driver and librarian India White, July 1966.
White drove the Bookmobile all over the county for over 20 years. Her route changed daily but rotated monthly, visiting mostly rural locations in the county and homes of the elderly or disabled. She had dozens of assistants over the years, many either not able to learn the routes or drive a manual transmission (one of the crucial prerequisites for the job). A life-long resident of Raleigh, she devoted her entire career to the Wake County Library. White died in 2000 at the age of 92.
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“literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. it is a tool for daily life in modern society.
it is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development.
for everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right..
literacy is finally, the road to human progress
and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”
-kofi annan
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credits: vintage america uncovered, state archives of north carolina, news and observer
May8
everything is funny.
if you want to smile
possibly even laugh out loud
spend 40 seconds
watching the clip below
i dare you not to guffaw.
https://x.com/buitengebieden/status/1787924727052251191
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‘everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to someone else.’
-will rogers
May7
unexpected places.
just curious
when waking up in the morning
at my friend’s house
why there was a large frying pan
on the bottom shelf of the nightstand
next to where i had been sleeping?
was this a hint that i was expected to chef our breakfast?
was this a self-defense weapon to use as needed?
had someone forgotten where they set down their pan?
had someone gone on a late-night eating in bed food bender?
when i inquired, one answered:
‘oh, is that the one that is usually hanging in the closet?’
what, there’s one usually hanging in the closet?
another answered:
‘what frying pan?’
host woke up and said,
‘ i was going to give that one away.’
oh, of course.
that’s the perfect place to leave it to remember to give it away.
i loved waking up with a surprise, a mystery, and a smile.
(and there really was an even larger frying pan hanging in the hall closet.)
‘
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“there are almost unlimited possibilities for making discoveries and to uncover the unknown.
it is in the nature of the discovery that it can not be planned or programmed.
-on the contrary, it consists of surprises and appears many times in the most unexpected places.”
-bengt i. samuelsson
May6
living forest.
waking up early
sitting in the stillness of the lake
with the birdsong
of 9 different birds
captivated.
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“your head is a living forest full of song birds”
-ee cummings
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art credit: beth conklin – Song Birds
May5
“No te rajes.” – don’t give up.
let us celebrate cinco de mayo by recognizing the power of determination and the courage to never give up.
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On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army unexpectedly defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. Although not the end of the war, the victory was a testament to the Mexican military’s unshakeable spirit and inspired the Cinco de Mayo celebrations we still see today. Outside of the state of Puebla, where the battle occurred, it’s a relatively minor holiday in Mexico. But many Mexican immigrants carried the tradition with them to America. Today, Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo with festivals, parades, music, food, and artesanía.
In Mexico, artesanía is a traditional craft or folk art piece. Artists of all skill levels produce artesanía, including pottery, fabrics, toys, and other crafts. It often features bright colors and decorative details that date back to the ancient temples, pyramids, and other historical objects found throughout Mexico.
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May4
deep.
coolest rainboots ever
show how deep the puddles are
when you’re
standing/jumping/running/splashing
in the rain
on outdoor adventure day.
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“look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
-albert einstein
May3
the soul of the building.
built by albert kahn and george mason in 1904, one of my favorite places to visit is this lovely glass structure, filled with botanical wonders. during world war II, the anna scripps whitcomb conservatory was responsible for saving endangered cypripedium (greek ‘the shoe of Venus”) orchids, housing them during the bombing of london.
the conservatory has recently been undergoing renovations for last 5 months, and is slated to reopen later in may on it’s 120th birthday. the conservatory/aquarium site had been an old baseball field and remains the oldest conservatory in the united states.
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*The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is a greenhouse and a botanical garden located on Belle Isle, a 982-acre island park located on the Detroit River within Detroit, Michigan. While located near the Canada–United States border, the island is entirely within the U.S. (wiki)
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“an old building is like a show. you smell the soul of the building. and the building tells you how to redo it.”
-sir cameron mackintosh
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photo credit: belle isle photography, mark gade
May2
fairy bread and magic tea.
on may day
it was fairy tea party day in our classroom
we had dragons, and fairies, and trolls, and elves,
and everything you can imagine
two of the special party treats
are magic tea and fairy bread.
the magic tea tastes like apple
and changes colors with each new pot poured
and the fairy bread is a sprinkled wonder
what an amazing day we had.
Fairy bread -A rainbow of flavor that harks back to childhood.
(story and recipe)
This mainstay of children’s birthday parties in Australia and New Zealand has but three ingredients: white bread, butter or margarine, and hundreds-and-thousands, which are better known as “sprinkles” in many parts of the world.
To make fairy bread, dump a layer of sprinkles onto a large plate or other flat surface. Take a buttered slice of white bread and place it, buttered side down, onto the sprinkles. Press gently to ensure sprinkles adhere to the butter. Then lift it up, cut the bread diagonally into four triangles, and you have a colorful and child-compatible snack.
Fairy bread can be served with crusts on or off depending on personal preference. Note, however, that the crust provides a handy, butter-and-sprinkle-free spot for your fingers to grip the bread.
The identity of the first person to firmly press sprinkles into white bread is lost to history, but fairy bread was made as far back as at least the 1920s. Unlike simple foods such as toast and cupcakes, though, fairy bread has resisted the modern trend to artisanal-ize. When a food writer suggested using a different kind of sprinkles and “a nice cultured butter,” Australians took a strong, pre-emptive stance against fancier versions of fairy bread.
“That’s the beauty of Fairy Bread,” the editor of a U.K. food section writes of fairy bread’s egalitarian appeal. “Regardless of how much soft focus lighting or Pinterest-friendly table dressing you throw at it, you can’t escape the fact that it’s a piece of soggy bread loaded with strands of refined sugar, designed to be eaten by someone who hasn’t yet mastered chewing with their mouth closed. It’s simple, it’s nostalgic, and the combo of processed carbs, butter, and E numbers is a match made in minimal-effort heaven.”
Need to Know Fairy bread is rarely served in restaurants or cafes. So if you can’t score an invitation to an Australian child’s birthday party, making it yourself is your best bet.
even one of our knight’s dogs dressed up for the big day
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“those who don’t believe in magic will never feel it.”
-roald dahl
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Recipe source credit:Gastro Obscura
I didn't have my glasses on.... 