Jan27

michigan penguins.

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saw this group hanging out on the ice on the river

 my first thought was,

‘michigan penguins’

“plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. they prepare. they adapt. they perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.” 

-Katherine May – Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, 2020.

 

 

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huron river, argo park, ann arbor, michigan, usa, winter 2025

 

Jan26

more fun.

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(not me, but we both have glasses and enjoy candles, coffee, and blogging)

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‘blogging is different from both journal-writing and writing for print. 

it’s more fun than either of those.

the freedom to write whatever I want

and the unmediated connection with readers are the payoff.’

*kate christensen

* Kate Christensen is an American novelist.  Her essays, articles, reviews, and stories have appeared in many anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, Bookforum, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Food & Wine, Cherry Bombe, and The Jewish Daily Forward.

 

 

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image credit: pinterest

 

Jan25

’tis the season for quafftide.

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best-hot-cocktail-recipes-2023

.word of the day is: ‘quafftide’ (16th century): the season for drinking.

also a pithy way of declaring that it’s time to relax.

works for hydropots (water drinkers) just as well.

*suzy dent

*suzy dent is an english lexicographer, etymologist, author, and media personality

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photo credit: elizabeth villanueva

Jan24

blue girls in motion.

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so great to take my daughter and granddaughter to a women’s basketball game

to see firsthand that all things are possible 

‘

‘a girl didn’t get an athletic scholarship until the fall of 1972 for the very first time.’ – billie jean king

‘courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts.

that’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.’

– bethany hamilton, surfer 

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january 2025 – at the university of michigan, chrysler arena

let’s go blue!

Jan23

snow fairies.

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deep within the winter forest

among the snowdrift wide

you can find a magic place

where all the fairies hide.

-author unknown

 

 

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nichols arboretum, ann arbor, michigan, usa – winter 2025

Jan22

go to a library.

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whenever and wherever you need a library

look closely

you may find one in the most unlikely of places

whether deep in the woods, alongside a curb,

or myriad other places

they are all around you just waiting to be discovered. 

 

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‘when all else fails, give up and go to a library’

-stephen king

Jan21

maze!

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When the cold hits, why not just embrace it in a crazy-mazy way?

This year’s ice maze at the Minnesota Ice Festival is more than just the perfect way to freeze your buns off while getting lost — it’s officially the largest ice maze in the world, per Guinness World Records. Boasting over 18,000 square feet of twists and turns, the maze uses 3,452 blocks of ice, each weighing around 425 pounds. Watch a video of the icy labyrinth. 

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‘it’s a lot easier to complete a maze if you start at the end.’

-dale watson, american musician

 

 

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source credits: Minnesota Ice Festival, Nice News

Jan20

“what’s going on” – on mlk day.

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Gem/Redfern – Getty Images

January 20, 1971

Marvin Gaye releases hit single, “What’s Going On.”

In early 1971, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement and in the midst of the Vietnam War, soul singer Marvin Gaye first crooned the words “Mother, mother, there’s far too many of you crying / Brother, brother, brother, there’s far too many of you dying” — heartbreaking lines that would resonate with millions of listeners, then and now. ​ The powerful protest ballad “What’s Going On” skyrocketed to No. 2 on the Billboard charts, the first tune of Gaye’s to overtly tackle political themes and a far cry from his earlier love songs. Produced by the singer himself, the track paved the way for other Motown artists to claim more agency in their careers and helped reinforce the genre’s potential to be a mouthpiece for social justice issues. Listen to the song and learn more about its making.​

January  1960 – Washington D.C., U.S. – Reverend MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. preaching at an event; Photo © Keystone/Zuma

 

Jan19

‘whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.’ albert einstein

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‘it is not what a lawyer tells me I may do;

but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do.’

-edmund burke

 

Jan18

surprise me.

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 in the same day

an good fortune landed in my hand at lunch

with a bit of a dash

  later at another restaurant

a table-available beeper was in my hand

with a warning

not the kind of adventure I was looking for

is this my bold adventure?

I thought about it.

would I boldly go on the lam with this?

what would I do with it anyway?

I think there must be something else ahead.

‘do not know yourself. i want to continue to surprise me.’

-arielle dombasle, rench actress