Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.

on the road to discovery.

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when the problem is that

you have to drive and carry all of your equipment

it calls for an unconventional solution.

 

“the intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.

there comes a leap in consciousness,

call it intuition or what you will,

the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

-albert einstein

what to do?

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how to spend a beautiful fall day 

when you love music?

meet up with people who love it too

and make music where you are.

a lovely surprise concert i enjoyed when walking in the park.

 

“music always has the answer”

-wordporn

why not fry a year-old leaf?

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What does a year-old, salted maple leaf taste like? Nothing much, apparently. Instead, merchants use the leaf as an attractive frame for the sweet coating, which is drier and crispier than the tempura surrounding, say, a shrimp. Some cooks also add sesame seeds for an extra pop of flavor.

Vendors first commercialized tempura-fried leaves after a train station opened near Minoh’s most notable waterfall in 1910. Outdoorsy tourists visiting the Osaka prefecture flocked to the site, taking the tasty, iconically-shaped souvenir with them when they left. (The salt preserves the young maple leaves, making them a year-round snack.) The novel delicacy became a symbol of the region, and it remains difficult to find in other parts of the country.

You’ll hear locals refer to maples as momiji, which means “becomes crimson-leaved.” The word also translates literally to “baby’s hands,” but don’t be alarmed: No human babies were harmed in the making of this unusual snack. Baby maple leaves, on the other hand, were not so lucky.


“my first semester i had only nine students.

hoping they might view me as professional and well prepared,

i arrived bearing name tags fashioned in the shape of maple leaves.”

-david sedaris

 

 

credits: bert kimura, gastro obscura

from the heart.

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  a child in my class made this drawing

and there is something about 

 the honest simplicity of it 

 eyes wide open to the world

that i absolutely love

 

“if i create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.”

– marc chagall

every day.

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“heroism is endurance for one moment more.”

-george f. kennan

thank you to all veterans, today, and every day

 

 

 

holland, michigan, usa –  summer, 2021

carry on.

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trying to piece the world back together

Warehouse giant Costco likes to do everything big, from super-sized bottles of ketchup to barrels full of Jack Daniel’s whiskey. Their latest exclusive offering: A jigsaw puzzle with 60,000 pieces that may take up an entire room when it’s finished.

The sprawling What a Wonderful World puzzle is actually 60 interconnected 1000-piece puzzles to make assembly (somewhat) feasible. Each features a painting from the Dowdle Art Studio of a fascinating landmark from different parts of the world, including The Great Wall of China and The Eiffel Tower.

Once each section is completed, it can be connected to the larger canvas. When finished, the puzzle measures 8 feet tall and 29 feet wide. An included legend helps you keep track of which puzzle goes where in the literal bigger picture of things. Costco has declared it the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle, and that’s likely to be true. The What a Wonderful World puzzle retails for $599.

“the world is like a dropped pie most of the time.

don’t kill yourself trying to put it back together.

just grab a fork and eat some of it off the floor. then carry on.” 

-elizabeth gilbert

 

credits: penn news, chris hopkins, jake rosin, mental floss,

*concert!

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“Tonight! A big forest concert under the direction of Musical Director Woodpecker!”

*(just because we all need a fluffy forest concert break about now)

“i’m afraid concerts spoil people for everyday life.” 

-l.m. montgomery, anne of green gables

image credit: Peter Gray’s Delightful vintage art, from an old German children’s book

vote for them.

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“children don’t vote but adults who do must stand up and vote for them.”

-marian wright edelman

 American activist for civil rights and children’s rights,

Founder and President Emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund.

VOTE

rally.

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another day, another rally!

big gretch

our governor

and

pete buttigieg

transportation secretary/new michigander

come to campus

to inspire and rally the troops.

“we can’t slow up because of our love for democracy and our love for america.”

-dr. martin luther king, jr. 

fall back.

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“we must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact

that each moment is a miracle and mystery.”

-h.g. wells

on daylight savings time day once again – fall back 

 

 

image credit: ‘fir forest’ painting by gustav klimt