Category Archives: Life

Feb14

peace by chocolate on valentine’s day and every day.

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This is a true and incredible human story, of a refugee family losing everything, leaving their home, and finding a new home and new life in an unexpected place and in unexpected ways. I’ve been following their story since their arrival in Canada and they are a wonderful example of will, grit, tenacity, family, compassion, overcoming odds, and a sheer refusal to give up. They are paying it forward by giving back to the people in their new community and beyond. Supporting those who welcomed them and may need the help that they so generously received when they were in desperate need. Plus, their chocolate in incredible.

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So exciting!

We are so happy to announce that the movie based on our story, Peace by Chocolate – The Film is coming to theatres, exclusively at Cineplex across Canada on May 6th and the official trailer of the movie was finally released. This movie is a platform to share hope with Canadians and the world -something we all need more than anything these days. See you all at the theatres this spring. (no date yet for u.s. or international openings)
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“generosity is not giving me that which I need more than you do,

but it is giving me that which you need more than I do.”

-khalil gibran

Feb10

to shoe or not to shoe?

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yes, these are my glitter shoes again, brought out for special occasions. 

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while i do so love to be barefoot or in sandals whenever possible

there are times when shoes are needed,

like novemeber-march in michigan

and sometimes on small holidays or dance party fridays.

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“when I die I don’t want to be wearing shoes.

i want to have just enough notice so that I can pull them off and get comfortable.

shoes mean death snuck up on you.

shoes mean you had other plans.” 

-jason buchholz, a paper son

Feb9

passage.

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 passage into early evening calm

 

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“snow

while falling it hides your passage

when finished it documents your path” 

― richard l. ratliff

Feb6

zoom out.

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just as i was thinking about it being so cold in ann arbor

that the water bottle in my car froze,

my friend sent this pic 

saying it’s so hot in perth

that the cadbury bars melted.

i said, ‘at least it’s warm there,’

she said, ‘at least you have snow there.’

zoom.

 

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“life is about perspective and how you look at something… ultimately, you have to zoom out.”

-whitney wolfe herd

 

Feb1

tiny bumblebee.

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One of classical music’s most virtuosic piano pieces, expertly played on a tiny toy piano…(via Julian Clef)
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“a mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.”

– Dante Alighieri

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credit: classic fm, uk
Jan31

pop.

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happy national bubble wrap day

celebrate in style. 

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“therapy is extremely expensive. popping bubble wrap is radically cheap.”

-jimmy buffett

 

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credits: designer craig green, london fashion week show, 2019, reuters, henry nicholls photo,

play create explore

Jan30

sorry.

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this film, an oscar winner, was shot in 30 minutes

though it may not be voiced in your language

 all people will understand it

 at under 4 minutes, it is very short

but will stay with you for a very long time.

 

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Sorry means you feel the pulse of other people’s pain as well as your own, and saying it means you take a share of it. And so it binds us together, makes us trodden and sodden as one another. Sorry is a lot of things. It’s a hole refilled. A debt repaid. Sorry is the wake of misdeed. It’s the crippling ripple of consequence. Sorry is sadness, just as knowing is sadness. Sorry is sometimes self-pity. But Sorry, really, is not about you. It’s theirs to take or leave.

Sorry means you leave yourself open, to embrace or to ridicule or to revenge. Sorry is a question that begs forgiveness, because the metronome of a good heart won’t settle until things are set right and true. Sorry doesn’t take things back, but it pushes things forward. It bridges the gap. Sorry is a sacrament. It’s an offering. A gift.” ― Craig Silvey, Jasper Jones

 

Jan29

listen carefully.

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“have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? or perhaps you know the silence when you haven’t the answer to a question you’ve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you’re alone in the whole house? each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.”

-norton  juster, the phantom tollbooth 

 

 

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huron river, ann arbor, mi, usa – january 2022

Jan26

a day to remember.

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the great blizzards and a birthday – michigan history!

today is the anniversary of two of michigan’s greatest blizzards.

which both started on the same date January 26th, one in 1967 and the other in 1978.

 also on this date

my brother scott, was born in 1965 under clear skies.

happy birthday!

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The 1965 birthday. Scott was born, he was cute, and I wanted to bring him in for show and tell, but my mom refused and made me bring a picture, which I was really mad about. He did not like shoveling snow, but he did enjoy playing in it, sledding on our school hill at recess, and throwing it at us.

The 1967 storm. The big Blizzard went down as one of the all-time worst blizzards in Michigan’s history mainly because of the way the weather conditions quickly changed drastically and people were caught off guard. In the days leading up to the blizzard, some areas had temps in the 60s, quickly plummeted, and the skies dumped 1 1/2 feet of snow in a very short time.

The 1978 storm. Snowfalls for the entire storm included a whopping 30 inches in some Michigan locations. There were already 4 to 6 feet of snow on the ground before the storm started, and there were many drifts of over 15 feet.

In both storms there were wind gusts up to 65 MPH and both had several periods of thunderstorms with the snow, (thunder-snow).So far there has not been a storm that has come close to the intensity of either of the storms since 1978.  My brother still enjoys playing in the snow and celebrating his birthday. And I’m glad for all of this. 

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“apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.’

-mark twain

 

 

 

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credits: michigan history, clarence white

Jan24

‘this is the great secret of life.’ – michael beckwith

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written by one of my idols-

 for her writing, her wisdom, and in how she chose to fully live her life.