I received a call this afternoon from Sean's little brother Mike. The message said he'd done something he'd said he'd been wanting to do for the past six years, and he wanted me to see it.
( A brother's tribute )

Oh fuck! I can't tell you what the sight of fire trucks and ambulances outside my apartment did to my head! It was five years ago all over again.

I need a drink. Going to find alcohol now.

One day way back in 1989 I heard the announcement of a radio promotion that would be occurring the next day at a Metro Detroit mall. It was called "Ultimate Payday" and involved cash hidden inside Payday candy bars. It was an announcement that normally would have gone in one ear and out the other without pausing long enough to even tickle my brain ( Read more... )

My grandma told me, of soda bread, that raisins or currants in your bread was a mark that you were well-to-do, and that sultanas (golden raisins) were for really special occasions. She used sultanas whenever she possibly could. I use sultanas in remembrance of her:


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Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away----okay, so it was some fifteen or so years ago in Hamtramck, but I thought I'd try for a little dramatic flair (Why yes, Dear Reader, that does sound fairly reminiscent of the Honeywine you know and love to snicker along with. The evil twin does let me poke my head out periodically.)

* And with a shake of ( Read more... )

Okay. Here's what kept me busy all of yesterday afternoon. I know it doesn't look like it should have taken that long, but I've never done photo weaving before. The one that made it onto the card is the second attempt. The first attempt, woven of 1/2" strips didn't work well. There was too much detail in the photo. The time put into the weaving cut ( Read more... )

Everything went very well with the Dutch painting. I was most pleased, and I did remember to take my camera.


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For whatever reason the Imbolc Tea idea has rather captured my imagination for the moment. While perusing a few books about Brighid and Imbolc my mind started drifting to my trip to Ireland and my own visit to Brighid's Well.

I was in Kildare for Imbolc 10 years ago. Today they hold a festival called Feile Bride as part of the celebration. Having ( Read more... )

I'm dense. It's taken this long to figure out just why I have such mixed feelings about Steve Irwin and his death. It's about my dad.

Most people who read this know my dad was a zookeeper. He worked for the Detroit Zoo for more than 30 years, most of that time spent working with the big cats. In his early time there he spent several years working ( Read more... )

Well now. I'm sure that last post was a little enigmatic for most folks. "Why on earth would a Stevie Nicks song have the woman on the verge of tears? Maybe she really has gone daft."

Only  the few old time friends who drop by here occasionally might remember the reason. Though it was chosen because of mythology not the song, Rhiannon was the name I ( Read more... )