Author Archives: beth

Unknown's avatar

About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.
May14

the hens hit it out of the house!

Posted on by
Standard

as some of you know, new york blogger/friend/sports/movie/life stories writer, mark (http://markbialczak.com) and i are engaged in a major friendly minor league baseball battle. his beloved syracuse chiefs have played my toledo mud hens for 4 games in his town, (with mixed results and home field advantage). and luckily they’ve made their way back and hens have come home to roost for a 4-game home stand.  see the results of yesterday’s game one below! the hens and chiefs will take to the field again this morning and we shall see who indeed rules the farm in the end)

Image

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140513&content_id=75360256&fext=.jsp&vkey=recap&sid=t512

GO HENS!

 

 

May12

Children remind us to treasure the smallest of gifts, even in the most difficult of times. – Allen Klein

Posted on by
Standard

Image

 

 and even when your special chocolate cupcake melts in the car,

you just stick the candles in sideways,

light them up,

and blow them out.

and you sing in celebration.

and you rename it a molten hot lava cupcake.

and you can then eat that volcanic overflow with a spoon and a smile.

May11

Life is the flower for which love is the honey. – Victor Hugo

Posted on by
Standard

Image

and on this mother’s day,

i am reminded of when my girls were young and we had no money,

but we had each other,.

and they went to the neighbor’s garden to pick flowers for me,

as a very special mother’s day gift.

they knew i loved flowers.

and they did so fearlessly.

and they didn’t worry about getting in trouble.

and they hoped i wouldn’t be mad.

and when they told me,

i hoped the neighbors, if they saw them picking,

understood why, and wouldn’t be mad.

these flowers meant the world to me.

and they were dirty and smiling and proud to have a gift.

and i hugged them and was so happy to be their mother.

to all of the mothers and children out there,

this day is for you.

and to all of their neighbors.

if you see a child picking flowers in your garden today,

please understand and smile,

and wish them a happy mother’s day.

May10

the hill is alive with the sounds of music

Posted on by
Standard

Image

went to the 4th annual water hill music fest, held the first sunday of each may

Image

in a neighborhood filled with artists, musicians, and eccentrics of the highest order, music rules the day

Image

founded In 2011, Paul Tinkerhess (folksman, craftsman, businessman) to spotlight the cohesive personality of the neighborhood as well as its musicians, this un-sponsored event follows only one rule: at least one member of each performing band must reside in water hill.

Image

so excited to see my very talented carpool mate create some jazz with the neighbors

Image

every kind of music and settings and audience members were represented

Image

all in the front yards, back yards, decks and gardens of their homes

Image

people of all ages were welcome to participate

Image

friends bonded together by their music

Image

and a community bonded together by their sounds

Image

and many joined into the drum circle

Image

and they were from all walks of life

Image

and everyone joined in to support the day

Image

and many saw music that was new to them and old to others

Image

and people came on foot, on bike, and by car to sit and listen and take it all in

Image

and everyone had so much fun

Image

and the maypole dance was the perfect way to welcome in the season 

“Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens.”
― Maria von Trapp

—

image credits: peaches, monte fowler, ann arbor.com

 

 

May9

Please Help – We Have To Take A Stand

Posted on by
Standard
Please Help – We Have To Take A Stand

an appeal to humanity.

Jenni's avatarUnload and Unwind

bring back our girls As a rule I try to keep the weekend posts here at Unload and Unwind to more humorous topics as a way of taking a step back from the more serious pieces that I write about politics and the environment.  However I have decided that this issue far out ways the need to step back and in fact I am calling for all of us to step forward, to raise our voice and add our names to the petitions being created around the world decrying the horrendous taking of a number of young girls in Nigeria.

As most may be aware on April 16 of this year 200 girls were kidnapped by an extremist group called ‘Boko Haram‘. This was done so that they would be unable to take their examinations and to call a halt to the education of women in that country. Around the world the…

View original post 382 more words

May8

Romance is the icing, but love is the cake. – Anonymous

Posted on by
Standard

Image

out on a hike around the lake with the kinders,

and a is walking back with c, close by her side. 

a tells me, ‘he says he wants to marry me.’

i ask, ‘do you want to marry him?’

 a says, ‘yes.’

then a says to c,

‘and i will always sleep when you sleep.

and we could go to the park together.

and we can get ice cream.’

c says, ‘okay.’

as we all walk on, i think about how wise a is with regard to marriage.

if we always sleep when the other sleeps, go to the park together, and get ice cream, 

we might have many happy marriages.

===

 

 

May7

“Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child, as it is to the caterpillar”. – Bradley Miller

Posted on by
Standard

Image

what a great day at the farm, where we met farmer chris, who taught us many things.

we learned that eggs come in all colors, and shapes, and sizes.

Image

we learned that the littlest of baby goats will follow us, just to be part of a group.

Image

we learned that even a strong-looking pony, needs to be gently cared for.

Image

we learned that it was nice to have someone waiting there to greet us when we returned back to the barn.

Image

and when the farmer on a tractor gave us a bumpy ride on a wagon,

we learned the world is even bigger than we thought,

and filled with many more wonders ahead,

 yet to discover.

—

“Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment,

and communicate their discoveries to those around them.”

The Audubon Nature Preschool

 

 

 

May5

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.  If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” ‒Nelson Mandela

Posted on by
Standard

Image

after more than a decade spent in kindergarten, i now am proud to say i have developed and maintained a strong kinder-level mastery of the spanish language. thank you so much señora olga, for your infinite patience and humor as you try endlessly to teach me, along with my little friends, and as i do my dances, sing enthusiastically with phonetically sounded out words, pummel the piñata, cha-cha step on the colorful foot-shaped cut-outs, use a fly swatter to identify animals, and try out my spanglish on you. you have taught me well. i know there are times you would like nothing better than to say to me, the following phrase, (below), but you have not, as of yet. (at least as far as i know). and for this, i dedicate this cinco de mayo to you, and i look forward to the piñata frenzy later this morning. 

‘Pocas mujeres admiten su camisa de once’

You’ve put on a shirt made of eleven sticks;

meaning:

You’ve bitten off more than you can chew

Image

 

“A different language is a different vision of life.”
-Federico Fellini

Image

“Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.”  ‒ Dave Barry

 

 

 

May4

happy international laugh day

Posted on by
Standard

Image
nick castellanos/miguel cabrera – detroit tigers

great game last night. 

i’ll be seeing you guys tomorrow.

hope we can share a laugh.

—-

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.
John Wooden

 

May3

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” ― T.S. Eliot

Posted on by
Standard

Image

so very proud to be attending baby daughter h’s graduation,

it has been a long and winding road,

with 2 small babies, a hubby, a career change, charity work, lots of fiestas, lots of challenges,

and pure grit.

no one in our little family takes the easy road to get places,

and i think we’ve been made all the stronger for it.

and i’m happy she’s following her own uncharted paths.

and now she will join the ranks of those who teach the little people in our world,

and they will be lucky to have her, just as we all are.

and she will encourage them to follow their own paths.

here’s to you, baby daughter, h, with much love and bursting with pride.

—–
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

 Charles R. Swindoll