Author Archives: beth

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About beth

Ann Arbor-ite writes about enjoying life with all of its ironies and surprises.
Jul9

the souls they never knew they saved.

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i love the library
i’m there at least a couple of times a week
an unending source
of knowledge, humor, wisdom, drama, community, films, music, and life
the librarians are the lifeblood of the place and somehow keep it all going
in elementary school
i volunteered to help our school librarian, miss hoopengarner
where i had the incredible joy of seeing new books come in before anyone else
proudly getting them ready for the shelves for others to enjoy
i’ll never forget
i unpacked, wrapped, made up a card, glued on a pocket, checked out to myself, and stamped a return date
on the very first copy i had ever seen of ‘charlie and the chocolate factory’
 i was the first one in my entire school to read this book
how very lucky was i?
it was a level of magic i’ll never forget.
—
and now, i have a little game for you to try:
your librarian name is the first name of the oldest person you know
followed by a last name composed of the adjective that best describes how you move through a room
combined with the main ingredient from the last sandwich you ate.
mine is: eleanor stumblecheese
(i rather like it)
let me know how yours turns out
—
‘i’m of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path,
on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.’
-barbara kingsolver
—
image credit: pinterest vintage, santa fe library, the laughing librarian (game)

Jul8

tea haus.

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 tea haus

calm, pretty, peaceful, lovely, sun and music streaming in

sat in soft chairs

for conversation and a tall chilled pink grapefruit green tea

all so refreshing on a very hot day

saw the note below up by the counter

 loved it even more.

—

Have a cup of tea and select from our delicious pastries, savories, and other treats. Our sunlit space has comfy nooks—or you can sit around a table or at the bar. And yes, we now serve tea cocktails, n/a cocktails, tea-infused craft beer, and other drinks in addition to over 200 fine teas!

We encourage engagement, so you’ll find puzzles, games, and books in our inviting space. In this spirit, we ask that you refrain from using electronics, there is no wi-fi. Let’s reconnect with each other!

As always, all our products are made fresh in-Haus, in small batches, by hand, with a European twist.

French macarons, cake, cookies, savories, tea cocktails, and MORE!

—

‘come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.’

-chaim potok

 

 

 

 

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photo credit: tea haus, ann arbor, mi, usa

Jul7

‘what you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate. ‘-Katharine Hepburn

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Vik Muniz. Action Photo, after Hans Namuth from Pictures of Chocolate. 1997. Chromogenic color print. The Museum of Modern Art. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Adriana Cisneros de Griffin through the Latin American and Caribbean Fund. © The Estate of Hans Namuth and Vik Muniz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

—

‘As part of the Artist’s Choice exhibition series at the Museum of Modern Art, Muniz curated a show drawn from the Museum’s collection, and MoMA has recently added to the collection a key picture by Muniz, Action Photo, after Hans Namuth from Pictures of Chocolate, and we hope to continue our exploration and appreciation of this leading artist’s work.’ -MoMa

To make his work, Muniz renders familiar images drawn from pop culture and art history in a variety of materials, and then photographs them. He has fashioned the Mona Lisa from peanut butter and jelly, Elizabeth Taylor from diamonds, Caravaggio’s Narcissus from junk, iconic news images from wet ink, and his self-portrait from dice. Muniz has referred to himself as an “illusionist,” and, with characteristic humor and ingenuity, explores the nature of representation in an image-saturated world.

One of Muniz’s most well-known bodies of work is a series of pictures rendered in chocolate sauce. Action Photo, after Hans Namuth (1997) is made after a 1950 photograph taken by Hans Namuth of Jackson Pollock frozen in mid-dance as he was making one of his paintings, Autumn Rhythm.  Muniz’s subsequent appropriation and translation of this image into chocolate is a perfect marriage of subject and material. The viscous chocolate syrup (incidentally, he used the brand Bosco) is a perfect stand-in for Pollock’s wet, shiny paint drips. This new acquisition not only strengthens the Museum’s Muniz holdings, but is a welcome complement to MoMA’s rich Pollock collection .

Vik Muniz is a Brazilian artist and photographer. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim, and has been exhibited worldwide. In 1998, he participated in the 24th International Biennale in São Paulo, and in 2001, he represented Brazil at the 49th Biennale in Venice, Italy. He currently works in New York City and Rio de Janerio.

 while this is not me,

this is my exact style of painting with chocolate

while not quite as celebrated as vic’s

they are not as in demand 

and have not yet been exhibited in public.

—

on world chocolate day

—

‘i’las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso.’

(ideas should be clear and chocolate thick.)

-spanish proverb

 

 

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source credits:MoMa, Inside/Out

Jul6

counting sleep.

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trying to learn to sleep in and sleep longer 

 always a lark, never an owl

 for many years i went to sleep early and woke up early

   want to see what my body will naturally do

accepting that i’ll always be a morning person

i’d like to compromise

be a ‘bit later in the morning’ person

last night/early this morning i was dreaming

about putting together a jigsaw puzzle

then i found a chunk of all white pieces still stuck together

so curious to see what would happen

and bam!

awake and it was early morning.

this may take a bit more practice.

—

 

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source credits: kristen m. from twitter, bbc, aardman animations, shaun the sheep

Jul5

buttered noodles.

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buttered noodles
are the most frequently mentioned favorite food
through all of my years 
living with, knowing, and teaching children
and universally
what many, many, many adults still choose 
 in fact
the exact food i was craving last night after all the holiday food.
—
recipe:
boil noodles until tender.
drain.
 put noodles in a bowl and toss with butter until melted.
add salt and pepper if you’d like.
put in a bowl or on a plate.
add even more butter on top.
—
what is it about them the makes them a favorite?
For some, it’s the gobs of butter intertwined between each strand of pasta that brings joy. For others, it’s the comforting nostalgia that takes them back to the good old days. The thing about buttered noodles is that you really can’t botch the meal.
what is their origin story?
The origin of buttered noodles is disputed. Everywhere from China to Rome to Germany claims to have invented the simple dish. What we do know for certain is that buttered noodles embody the simple everyday comforts so many seem to enjoy—no matter their cuisine or culture.
‘

—

‘noodles are not only amusing, but delicious.’

-julia child

 

 

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image credit: cuinary hill

Jul4

beauty is born.

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Happy 4th of July!

 

‘in the midst of chaos, beauty is born.’

– The Glassblower, Petra Durst-Benning.

 

 

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art credit:Dale Chihuly,”Boathouse 7 Neon” (2016), in glass,

at The Boathouse in celebration of the 2016 Seattle Art Fair

© 2023 Chihuly Studio

 

Jul3

invincibly young.

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‘lots of good, cheap food, and dozens of beers’

—

celebrating four family birthdays

 12 to 73 years old

at casey’s tavern

neighborhood favorite

 historic building

once a lumberyard

casual, relaxed, friendly

nothing fancy

eclectic menu

we were happy, loud, full, laughing

a win for the day and a win for the birthdays.

—

‘nothing is inherently and invincibly young except spirit.’

*george santayana

 

—

*Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as Geroge Santayana, (1863 – 1952), was a Spanish-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist.

 

Jul2

an instant out of time.

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The first candid photograph of a person was taken in 1838.

Before the 19th century, photography did not exist, so people who wanted a lasting image of their home, their family, or themselves had to have one painted, sculpted, or drawn. In the early 1800s, inventors in France and England were at the center of the effort to create photographic representations of objects and people. In France, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce stunned the world in 1827 when he released what is believed to be the first photograph ever taken, titled “View from the Window at Le Gras.” Niépce rendered the image using a camera obscura combined with a light-sensitive metal plate, a process he called heliography. Despite its success, the heliograph required several days of exposure to capture the scene, eliminating the opportunity to photograph any people who may have been on the street

In 1829, Niépce met artist and printmaker Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. Each man was familiar with the other’s work. Niépce admired Daguerre’s rotating diorama that had captivated Parisian audiences in 1822. Daguerre, like Niépce, saw the potential of improving upon the camera obscura to create clear and permanent images. They entered into a business partnership that resulted in the creation of the daguerreotype, an innovative photographic process that required only four to five minutes of exposure.  The quicker shutter speed allowed Daguerre’s camera to capture an image never seen before: a photo of a human being. In 1838, he debuted a daguerreotype of a street scene on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris. In the lower left corner of the photo we can see a man having his shoes shined; remaining stationary allowed him to be included in the photo, something that would have been impossible using the multiple-day exposure that heliographs required. This anonymous stranger on Boulevard du Temple was not simply the subject of the world’s first candid photograph— he’s also believed to be the first human being ever photographed.

—

“photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”
– dorothea lange

 

 

 

 

 

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source credit: historyfacts

 

 

Jul1

pining.

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something special about being in the pines

—

 

 

‘between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life.”

-john muir

Jun30

conspiracy theory.

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no, this is not a giant hairy spider

it’s just a conspiracy of ring-tailed lemurs

having a snack at their mobbing  planning session.

 

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A group of lemurs is called a conspiracy. Lemurs are social animals and live in mini communities of around 10-25 members. As a result of this, they often work together, or ‘conspire’ to outwit predators using a technique called ‘mobbing’.

 

 

 

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image credit: nature is amazing