I'll take you, mock spring, you tease.

With the temperature a balmy 45 degrees today, I was able to downgrade my bundling and comfortably leave the house in pants, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and hooded sweatshirt (go Bears...). Seriously, if I was in Vegas I would be complaining about how cold it is and wearing more than a sweatshirt, but here I've come to understand and live and breathe the theory of weather relativity. It's amazing how quickly I got used to the cold...save for a year and a half in Oregon, everywhere else I've lived has been downright balmy at least seven months of the year. And now...flip the seven months to chilly and you're there. And I love it. I have been in Detroit for three winters now, and deep into the February month of the first two years I caught myself wistfully imagining the feel of the Vegas sun baking my skin (my freckled, skin cancer-prone skin). This year I didn't even think of the heat until writing this, and even then without an ounce of wist!

I love the weather, though it really does make for miserable driving. I love the snow. And I love snowshoeing, a hobby the Husband and I picked up after he gave us snowshoes for Christmas. Even the ice, though treacherous, is incredibly beautiful. Stalactites of ice decorate the eaves of our roof, with those hanging low breaking off with the sound of shattering glass when I forgetfully swing open an outside door.

Nothing more to say tonight. Just happy to be happy about the weather. And just hoping, as much as the winter is beautiful and welcome in its time, that spring brings its own happy stuff...though I can tell you I've lived here long enough to know when I am being teased by Mother Nature and her 45 degrees...

Wedding Dress Blues

I am heading toward dangerous territory…convincing myself that I can make my own wedding dress.  Yikes!  Somebody stop me before I do it!  Really, I went to a dressmaker yesterday in Royal Oak, a funky burb of Detroit, to talk about having a dress made.  Don’t get me wrong, there are many beautiful dresses out there, and many of them would be fine.  If I am going to go beyond “fine,” though, then I will need to be more involved in the dress’ creation.

What I want:  a light, light blue dupioni silk, with creamy ivory or ecru accents…fabric flowers, feathers, ribbon, just some type of accent.  Slightly flared skirt, simple bodice – either strapless or scoop neck.  And a creamy ivory or ecru bolero jacket or shrug to wear during an outdoor ceremony.  Bottomed off by a pair of natural colored cowboy boots.  Sound fantastic to me…doesn’t exist.  So it has to be made or I have to give up on it.  And seeing as how the wedding is still 7 months away, I can’t give up on it just yet. 

Well, on the phone the dressmaker told me the average price for floor-length wedding dresses by her was between $500 and $1100.  But after setting foot in her door and showing her my ideas, it somehow shot up to $1300, not including the bolero/shrug.  The nice thing about this is it includes all alterations and fabrics.  The not nice thing about this is that the dress I have in mind truly is a simple cut, so despite my lack of expertise in sewing dresses I am pretty confident that this would be a simple dress, at least pattern-wise.  I asked her how to get the price down a bit and she said I could get a less expensive fabric than dupioni.  The only problem with that is that one of the reasons those dresses in wedding store display windows are “fine” is the yards and yards of satiny, polyester stuff that does not appeal to the touch or the eye.  So I am not negotiating on that.

Which leads to my Saturday night plans.  I am going to hunt for dress patterns and material.  And then I am going to give some serious thought to making my life slightly miserable for a little while and putting together my own dress.  Stay tuned…

Laissez le Bon Temps Rouler...er, donde esta el sol????

Mardi Gras has come and gone, leaving in its wake 40 days to reflect on death and resurrection, a concept well illustrated by Michigan's kindergarten-strict adherence to the classic four season timeline. We got winter when the official winter season began some time in December. We will get spring when the official spring season begins, some time around Easter, which is April 4th this year. Like Jesus' biblical journey back to life, the tulips and daffodils will emerge from the earth once again. Until then, though, that somber reminder...from dust you came and to dust you shall return.

Well, it's not as if I have literally been reflecting matters of life and death since last Wednesday, especially not with all the recent springy weather. This Friday I had my sunroof open. Today I had my car windows down as I ran errands. I basked in the sunshine. I did not once use the car sunroof when I lived in the desert, but I now use it every so often to augment winter sunbreaks (my Seattle sister's term). This sunbreak is just about over, though, with a winter storm warning to last through the week. The past few weeks, we have had snow during the week, then warmer weather toward week's end, which foiled Fiance's and my plan to explore local cross-country ski trials. So we are hoping this week will not end in weather warm enough to melt all the snow (though this is the last time I will say that this year...after this week, it is all pray for spring pray for spring pray for spring).

Back to Mardi Gras. Being one who loves to embrace other cultures, particularly when it comes to food, I made a traditional King Cake...this is a Louisiana thing. It apparently originated in France. I have had delicious King Cake before, and mine came out okay, but like many yeast-based creations of mine, was a bit dense, and by Day 2, a bit brick-like. King Cakes can be shared from the Feast of the Epiphany (always on January 6th) up to Mardi Gras (this year February 17th), and I shared mine 2 weeks before Mardi Gras. It went over well, because even after a ridiculous amount of preparation and baking, it tasted exactly like a cinnamon roll, and who doesn't like a cinnamon roll? But next time, I will follow the recipe I found on some "work smart not hard" person's blog which went something like this: open one of those cylindrical cans of raw cinnamon rolls, shape it into an oval, bake, ice, and sprinkle with some sugar you bought already colored gold, green, and purple (that's right, I used food coloring to custom-color my sugar!). Though if you are a glutton for punishment, check out the Southern Living recipe I used at http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1152929. I actually have a hard copy of the recipe, clipped from my grandma's magazine - the hard copy tells you how to make your own colored sugar: simply add a few drops of food coloring to a small bowl of sugar and wisk until combined.

But since I live in Detroit and not New Orleans, I would be remiss not to mention the paczki, the ubiquitous Polish Mardi Gras treat. I went to the nearby Looney Baker in Livonia (if you are ever in town you must get their apple cider donut...mmmm) to pick up paczki for the Fiance and I to share. The girl who helped me at the counter said they had been extremely busy trying to meet all the special orders for paczki that come in that time of year. Hmmm, I thought, these paczki must really be something! To be honest, I was a bit disappointed, though this should not reflect on the excellent Looney Baker (which sports a blow-up Homer Simpson eating a donut during the Christmas season). The paczek (singular form) is basically a jelly donut, though you can also get a custard-filled. The difference, as far as I can tell, is better ingredients, but I have never been a fan of jelly donuts, so alas, I did not have any point of comparison. I sincerely apologize if this critique offends paczki fans - I have had only one experience with the paczki so far, but will gamely give it a try next year - who am I to pass up a donut?

A Date Downtown

Fiance and I went on a rare date last night (to put it in perspective, before last night, our dating life was scheduled to be placed on the Endangered Species List). He won tickets to a Red Wings game at work, so the destination was downtown Detroit. To begin the night, we decided to take in a word-of-mouth favorite, Slows BarBQue. Apparently, famous people like the Rolling Stones and Bill Clinton consider it a must-go when in Detroit (and I ask you, when in Detroit? Not since I've lived here!). Anyways, I am not so foolish as to ignore a commendation from Bill Clinton regarding homestyle eats, so we Googlemapped our way to Corktown, the Irish neighborhood downtown where Slows is located. Slows faces the deserted and barb-wired Michigan Central Station, a building which never fails to fill me with awe (and regret that it sits there abandoned).

The picture, by yours truly, is shaky, a result of not using a flash or something, I don't know, I am terrible at taking photographs. It's hard to see, but some tagger lacking a fear of heights or an instict for self-preservation sprayed "Save the Depot" near the top of the building. Slows is basically surrounded by rundown buildings and small businesses that don't look too booming...I guess some years ago this is where my Irish family would have congregated, had I grown up in Detroit, but now it doesn't look like too many people consider this as a destination neighborhood for much other than barbeque.

At Slows, Fiance and I had The Best Macaroni and Cheese Ever There Was. I will not accept any comparisons or alternate best-mac'n'cheese comments from anybody unless they first taste Slows' mac'n'cheese, end of story...that is an open invitation to meet me at Slows to resolve any debate. I felt a strong urge to photograph my own plate of mac'n'cheese after taking a few bites, to commemorate the event, but was frankly too embarrassed. So I finished it off, along with amazing ribs and brisket, and washed it all down with some local microbrews. I unfortunately had to change my plans for dessert, due to extreme fullness...I was so disappointed I had to pass on the Chuck Norris, a dessert that will kick you in the face! (If my dear readers would like to see a picture of the famous mac'n'cheese or the much-desired Chuck, check out http://www.slowsbarbq.com/.) The place was packed with red-clad diners who'd had the same idea as us. We finished up and waddled to the car to proceed the mile and a half (can't walk after eating that food!) to Joe Louis to watch the Wings...lose to the San Jose Sharks in a shootout.

I looovve going to hockey games! And it is even better when you have good seats, row 16 in our case, right behind the goal. After pro baseball, pro hockey is my favorite in-person spectator sport (sorry football - though this statement excludes Longhorns football, which actually trumps baseball and hockey). And Red Wings fans are crazy...a lot of them are little old ladies, who fit into the cute but crazy category. Detroit is Hockeytown U.S.A., after all. Though the Wings lost, it was a great time, and a great date! And to top it off, we were able to get out of the Joe parking garage in less than 2 minutes, an amazing coup upon which I still marvel!

This little boy waved his hat around the whole game to get on the Jumbotron, mission accomplished toward the end of the 3rd period...hooray!

Back in Business

It's been over a month since I posted, and this time I am not going to make that empty promise to post more frequently, because right now, I know that is unrealistic. What I will say is that I will make an effort to post more than once a month, and hopefully write at least once a week (again, possibly unrealistic). So there. My explanation for slacking is that I've started working more often-balancing my chosen career with the waitressing job-and have actually begun the process of really working on our wedding.

The wedding planning so far (after already getting a caterer and venue) has entailed fun stuff like looking for a dress and figuring out decorations, but this coming week is about locking in lodgings, and officiant, and entertainment. Scary stuff, but we're ready! So there, B, that is the wedding update! Not so exciting yet, but I hope to post some good stuff soon (though the best place to look is the wedding website, or the phone of course!).

To catch up since my last post, the month started with a trip to D.C., courtesy of my dad. We met there for an annual meeting of his specialty professional group, and I learned a lot about a very interesting area of work (that he thinks would be great for me to get into, and that is quite a hot-button issue in Detroit-labor unions). I enjoyed the meeting, though I struggled at times to understand what was being discussed. You think you know what's what about things, that you can wrap your mind around anything given a few minutes to digest it, until you step outside your little patch of the world and find seemingly infinite worlds of information, practice, and belief; which leads me to my favorite quote to sum up living in this universe: "The complexity of things - the things within things - just seems to be endless. I mean nothing is easy, nothing is simple." Apologies to Alice Munro if I misquoted!

I throw that one out there when I need a wise soul to commiserate with over our overly-complicated world. Maybe a simpler quote, from a certifiable wise soul, is "There are more things in heaven and earth...than are dreamt of in your philosophy." (If unsure of origin, drop everything and read Hamlet now.)

When I wasn't participating with my father in meetings, or contemplating the cosmos (see above), we sure made good use of our time. A VIP tour of Congress; a trip through the National Gallery (see an art critic contemplating, below); an (always fun) train ride to and dinner in Alexandria, breakfast at the Mayflower; touring of Ford Theater (where President Lincoln was shot, and where Dad and I did our best to blend in with the enthusiastic Japanese tourists); chamomile tea with the Dolly Madison (or a very good historical reenactress); not to mention our awesome launching point at the Hay-Adams Hotel (the only better place would have been the White House a hundred yards to the south of where we laid our heads after a long day).

I went to D.C. once before, with my older sister. We stayed in Maryland and took the train in that time. I have some words of advice when it comes to touring D.C. Stay in the city because it saves you that travel time, especially if you are a chronic morning dallier, like me. And if possible (and by the way, I did not pay for my own flight, so take this advice with a grain of salt and a peak into the pocketbook), fly into National (a.k.a. Reagan, if you thought trickle-down economics worked). You can take the train to the city in fifteen minutes from National! Try that from Dulles or Baltimore, just try it! Final word of advice: see the Mall in daylight, sunset, and at night. But especially at night, when those miles of white marble shine through the darkness, when Lincoln's temple looks its most lincoln-y, when the Washington Monument shines with possibilities reaching to the stars, and when the energied rush of the city has taxied off to the suburbs or to heat up the streets of Georgetown, allowing you to contemplate your country at its symbolic and political beating heart.

D.C. has an Eastern Market, which we did not go to, but that apparently bears some similarity to the farmers and artisans market of the Eastern Market of Detroit, one of my favorite places in my home city. Yesterday, the Fiance and I took his sister and her two children, and his brother and brother's girlfriend to the market. They all seemed to like it - what's not to like? There is something for everyone! I bought some butternut squash, swiss chard, and a big basket of carrots for about half what it would have cost at the grocery store (all told maybe $3.50). And shopping accompanied by live music and people-watching rather than cart-bashing. But alas, Good Girls Go to Paris was not at the market (maybe because it's getting chilly?), so instead of crepes we ate at the Russell Street Deli right by the market sheds, which was awesome! I had an Avocado Melt, continuing my trend of ordering my meal around the inclusion of either avocado or goat cheese. This deli was right up my alley: real maple syrup and no high fructose corn syrup!!

But before our foray to the Eastern Market, and after returning to Detroit from D.C., my mom came to visit me here. I don't think she was exactly impressed with the city, but we had hard time with some logistics. We go to a store on Monday to read a sign "closed Mondays," etc., etc.! And she bemoaned all the driving that had to be done in the suburban sprawl of Motor City. We did get to the U of M v. Purdue game. That was fun. I love college football - if pro football had marching bands I might say the same of it. Other than the game and a brief foray into Detroit (with a stop on the interesting Belle Isle - I definitely will go back), we mostly hung out and talked, always a nice thing to do! I was sad to see her go, and look forward to another visit from family, though I'm not holding my breath on seeing anyone else before the wedding next October. Below is the conservatory at Belle Isle. There was no docent (no sign of anyone in charge until we came across a man watering some plants about 30 minutes in), though that just may be during the fall/winter months. It was very peaceful, but not nearly as well kept as the active Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor (institutions attached to the powerhouse university seem to weather the recession better that most). However, the slightly unkempt Belle Isle conservatory had a deserted, wild, and melancholy feel that seemed to fit the city it inhabits.

I end this post with a note on Thanksgiving: I am thankful for the year that has passed so far, with a change from a steady income but no time to spend with family, friends, or my new surroundings, to a life that is less economically certain, but heading in the right direction in all possible ways. I went from what I still see as a dead end to a world full of possibilities (if not the security I desire). I was able to spend more time with many members of my family than I have in years. I have done new things in my career, in artistic endeavors, in exploring Detroit and other areas of Michigan, and I have learned good things about myself in the process. So, if I don't say it again, thank you to all of you who had a part in my ever-changing, ever-interesting life! I hope I have had a positive effect on your year (and life) as well!

Renewed Vigor

I have not posted for a while: I fell into a midsummer's inertia for the past two weeks--doing too much thinking and not enough doing--that I've finally been able to shake. Still looking for jobs, mining my resources, and getting closer to opening my own shop, which has great appeal anyway--the only reason not to be my own boss is for the security of a steady paycheck to shrink that pesky student loan. My area of work becomes more competitive every day (no different than any other I guess), so it seems I can forever deal with rejection and/or settling for less than favorable work circumstances, or I can take control. Instead of struggling with how things are, I can carve out my own niche and enjoy the process...in a home office with pink walls. This is me in a confident moment.

While I have been pondering my life's direction, my corn crop's direction has been decidedly up. It is now waist-high, save for one knee-high straggling stalk. Today I noticed scratch marks on two stalks. I think it is a squirrel looking for food and then realizing the stalks are not quite edible. My sister in Seattle thinks the night invader is a raccoon, which freaks me out--where do they go during the day? Are they watching me admire my cornfield and laughing, then coming out at night and trashing my garden, while mocking my efforts and gossiping a la The Great Outdoors (what was it with those '80s movies featuring pivotal animal roles-Caddyshack...Trading Places...)? I've also noticed half-eaten tomatoes in the dirt. At least eat the whole tomato, it's delicious!

Above is the flower paintings I did for my younger sister, who just had a baby girl (hooray!). It was fun. I used acrylics, which are the most user-friendly paints as far as I'm concerned. I think they came out well, but now I notice other acrylic paintings with perpective, light, and texture--doing my own painting and then seeing the more polished work of talented painters inspires me to learn how to add realistic depth to a canvas. In the meantime, until I can afford the paint supplies with which to experiment, I will happily paint my cutesy, one-dimensional pictures. The lovely gallery wall is my office floor (the one with the pink walls).

Tomorrow the fiance and I head to Eastern Market, the big farmers and wholesale market district downtown. It should really be going off this time of summer, so I am excited to see what they've got. After shopping for fresh fruit and veggies, Fiance plans to indulge in smoked ribs that we've passed up on several occasions-we will sit at a plastic table, eat some ribs and drink some sugary soda while watching a blues band play. Not a bad start to a Saturday. After that, we'll head to the big used bookstore downtown-John K. King Rare and Used Books. That is, assuming we can find it. Vegas spoiled me on logical, square street blocks. Detroit is a little more curved and slanted. When leaving the Eastern Market, we generally drive in potholed circles for 5-10 minutes until happening across a freeway launching point. The good news is that all big roads end downtown, a ground zero with the roads radiating outward to the distance suburbs and beyond. So we can always find a main road, and go from there. So what if you have to drive to the riverfront to find the highway entrance ramp in the opposite direction? Anyway, finding another downtown destination is a different story, one that I hope will end well.

Finally, and speaking of downtown, there are some interesting living spaces designed by Mies van der Rohe in the downtown area, and some interesting people living in them, one being the author of Sweet Juniper!, a great blog started by a person I consider Detroit's Hipster in Residence (I am guessing the guy would hate this reference-sorry!). The site has great pictures of and commentary on Detroit, showing many beautiful, interesting, and uplifting sides to the city (among other great things), a rarity in the face of a ton of one-dimensional bad press--hooray! See for yourself at http://www.sweet-juniper.com/.

I hope to post again tomorrow, what with my renewed vigor.