i’ve noticed that pete the cat

is a fan of standing up

 i’m really hoping 

that i’ll come home one day 

to pete and olive and a random cat friend

having a dance party.

 

 

the visit every park challenge

*what began seven years ago

(link below)

* https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/?s=parks+walk

with a walk in the park

 grew into walking

all 152 ann arbor parks

over four months time

and

 recently began again

seven years later

when i paid a visit to talk to the parks team:

https://www.a2gov.org/departments/Parks-Recreation/GIVE365/Pages/Visit-Every-Park-Challenge.aspx

discovering there were now ten new parks

and set off to walk them 

while revisiting many of my old favorite parks

coming away from it

now 162 parks later

with the joy of experiencing firsthand

even more of the beauty that surrounds me 

thanks to the time and energy

that the parks department

and the many caretakers

put into the parks projects

knowing how much the community values them

we are so lucky to live amidst these parks.

—

“city parks serve, day in and day out,

as the primary green spaces for the majority of americans.” 

– bruce babbitt, former u.s. secretary of the interior

 

 

 

“there is a minute in the day, a minute for everyone, though most everyone is too distracted to notice its arrival. a minute of gifts coming from the world like birthday presents. a minute given to every day that seems to create a golden bubble available to everyone.”

-luis alberto urrea

—

today, on my birthday, i am grateful for that minute coming my way, each and every day.

 

 

—

art credit: anastasia trusova, acrylic, canvas, “deer”

 

 

 

jack skellington sourdough loaf 

(even the bread looks happy)

—

who isn’t made happier with homeade bread?

happy national homemade bread day!

—

“there is not a thing that is more positive than bread.”

– fyodor dostoevsky

 

 

 

—

image credit: sourdough geeks

 

an afternoon venture to detroit

on a sunny fall day

for lunch at a delightful tiny restaurant

located in a rescued classic building

in the heart of the city

easy, delicious, beautiful

just what we needed.

—

“people talk about wanting amenities – downtown is the amenity.”

-jack white,

american musician and owner of third man record label and pressing plant in detroit 

 

 

mayor bans cactus plants in buildings 

The mayor of Plettenberg, near Dusseldorf, banned the spiky plants from municipal buildings after a man required medical attention from injuring himself on a cactus in a school building. “What was an injury to the adult man’s arm could easily have been a serious injury to the face for a small child in the same place,” the council said, according to local media.

The council reportedly said the nature of the injury could not be disclosed “due to the need to protect the personal rights and privacy of our staff.’ In a letter to local state workers, Plettenberg mayor Ulrich Schulte wrote: “Due to the current situation, all official and private cacti must be removed from municipal buildings immediately.”

The mayor said the ban was being undertaken because such plants could “cause ugly injuries”.He said cacti would be banned not only in schools and nurseries but from all municipal spaces.

“Even if this order seems adventurous, excessive, superfluous or ridiculous to some employees, it has a serious background in terms of protecting the health of all employees and especially children in schools and daycare centres,” the mayor added. A spokesperson for the council told local media the town had since “successfully implemented the cactus ban”.

one more thing to worry about, consider yourselves warned! )

—

‘i remember very clearly, someone saying, ‘don’t shake hands with a cactus,’

and i thought, ‘well, why not?

what could possibly go wrong?’ shaking hands is a friendly gesture.’

-benedict cumberbatch

 

 

the wine and egg diet from vogue magazine in the 70s

highly likely it was not written by anyone in the health field

maybe you have to stay drunk to get through it?

—

‘the second day of a diet is always easier than the first. by the second day you’re off it.

-jackie gleason

 

 

a few of the apple blossoms

spotting a tree-trimming crew

stood rapt for an hour

checking out the trucks

watching the crew

going up in the bucket

cutting the branches

picking up the leaves

wearing helmets

warning walkers and cars

and then-

they fired up

the chipper.

 like being at the circus

hearing the buzz

squealing

as they 

watched the chips fly

into yet another truck

excitement level 11. 

—

‘if the world is our stage remember our children are sitting in the front row.’

-s. topaz

 

 

 

 

 

 

a reminder that no matter how windy the outside world around us may feel 

we can always seek peace and calm below the surface.

 

—

art credit: windy days, kristina kemenikova

 

Thank you, on veteran’s day

—

‘when the world makes you cynical,

wherever you seek true humility and selflessness,

look for a veteran.’

-barack obama

—

photo credit: New York Times