Monthly Archives: October 2024

tell a story.

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‘clothes make a statement. costumes tell a story.’

-mason cooley

happy halloween!!

 

 

photo credit: blue wolf vintage

no rush.

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a slow evening walk by the river

‘there is absolutely no reason for being rushed along with the rush. everybody should be free to be slow.’

-robert frost

 

ann arbor, mi – october 2024, huron river

rally.

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invigorating and inspiring rally in ann arbor last night

‘our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide

how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us.’

-steven covey

 

haunted.

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a trip to the haunted forest

with one daughter

 two pre-teen grandies

and me

hearts pumping, adrenaline spiking

three generations

shrieking and running the whole way through!

“what terrified me will terrify others;

and i need only describe the spectre which had haunted my midnight pillow.” –mary shelley

reminder….

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when you get this message from your car

you have startle response

turn around very carefully

and see this

 ah, just another pinata

clearly my car doesn’t know me well enough yet.

i was picturing one of those scary old tales

we used to terrorize each other with

it would be either a guy with a hook

or a pumpkin head with no body.

look out! behind you!

-ralph waldo emerson

 

 

dress less.

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Women’s fashions at the University of Michigan/University of Minnesota football game

midcentury fashion – October 1954

big rivalry game day in ann arbor

university of michigan vs. michigan state

 dressing for the game has changed a bit since the 50’s.

go blue!

“anyone can get dressed up and glamorous, but it is how people dress in their days off that are the most intriguing.”

-alexander wang

 

 

connection.

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the courtship is on for pete and olive

‘the need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.’

-dean ornish

trashie, not trashy.

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Trashie Take Back Bag


​​If you’ve had a pile of clothes to donate sitting in the back of your car or closet for months (no judgment here), then the Trashie Take Back Bag is for you. You simply buy a bag for $20, fill it up with 15 pounds of clothes, shoes, accessories, swimwear, underwear, sheets, or towels (from any brand, in any condition), then download the free shipping label and mail it back via the U.S. Postal Service. In return, you’ll earn $30 in TrashieCash to spend on clothes, dining, entertainment, sporting goods, wellness, and more on Trashie.io.*

How It Works

‘there is no such thing as ‘away’. when we throw anything away it must go somewhere.’

*annie leonard

*Annie Leonard is an American proponent of sustainability and a critic of consumerism. She created the animated film The Story of Stuff, which describes the life cycle of material goods. In 2014, she became the executive director of Greenpeace USA

wavy lines.

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my book of erma’s columns from over the years

 compiled by her children after her passing.

a writer i’ve loved

since hearing my mother laugh

when reading her column

many years ago

most houses in america

had at least one of her columns

stuck with a magnet on their refrigerator 

a few years back i went to a writer’s conference

at her alma mater

her legacy to past, present, and future writers

 had the time of my life

surrounded by all those creative minds

her children, grandchildren, fans

 writers and comedians from all eras

now her book takes me back through the years

with notes in the back from a wide range of people

all who paid tribute to her humanity and to her writing

 it recently became

‘my relax in the bathtub and read book’

yes, i fell asleep and dropped it into the water

at least five to seven-ish times

not because i was bored

because i was relaxed

it felt like home reading her

 i think she’d love

that i read it that way

 the now wavy lines and pages

are my personal tribute to her.

“as a child, my number one best friend was the librarian in my grade school.

i actually believed all those books belonged to her.”

*erma bombeck

 

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*Erma Bombeck, 1927 –1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. She published fifteen books, most of which became bestsellers. 

Between 1965 and April 17, 1996 – five days before her death – Bombeck wrote over four thousand newspaper columns, using broad and sometimes eloquent humor, chronicling the ordinary life of a Midwestern suburban housewife. By the 1970s, her columns were read semi-weekly by 30 million readers of the nine hundred newspapers in the United States and Canada. Her work stands as a humorous chronicle of middle-class life in America after WW II, among the generation of parents who produced the Baby Boomers.

 

malfeasance?

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A British chestnut-whacking champion was cleared Monday of cheating after an investigation into alleged malfeasance at the World Conker Championships.

Organizers of the nutty annual event said that Dave Jakins, a veteran competitor nicknamed “King Conker,” did not use a steel chestnut to conquer his rival.

The traditional game, played by generations of British schoolchildren, involves players using conkers — the glossy brown seeds of the horse chestnut tree — threaded onto a string to try and smash their opponent’s chestnut.

More than 200 conkers enthusiasts entered the annual competition in the village of Southwick in central England earlier this month. Jakins, 82, won the men’s tournament. But organizers launched an investigation after claims that he might have used a steel chestnut that was in his pocket.

Investigators said they studied film and photo evidence and took testimony from judges and umpires, and concluded that “it would be near impossible for Mr. Jakins to have swapped the conkers unnoticed.”

Organizers said they accepted Jakins’ claim “that he had had the (steel) conker to amuse people and as part of his role as ‘King Conker,’” and had used a real chestnut in the contest.

Organizers also said the losing finalist, Alastair Johnson-Ferguson, had “accepted defeat with good grace and sportsmanship,” after media reports that he had made the cheating allegation.

The overall title of World Conker Champion was won by Kelci Banschbach, originally from Indianapolis. The 34-year-old was crowned “queen conker” after beating Jakins in the final. She was the first American to win the title since the World Conker Championships began in 1965.

“this malfeasance must be stopped,” said flora in a deep and superheroic voice.”

-kate dicamillo,’flora and ulysses’

malfeasance

 

 

source credits: abc news, ap