makielb

Disasters – past, present and future

I have been interested in learning about the Spanish Civil War ever since I first saw Guernica by Pablo Picasso. This painting embodied the horror of war. The town of Guernica was essentially obliterated by German air-strikes as Hitler was supporting Francisco Franco, a fellow fascist in the 1930s. The complexities of the Civil WarContinue reading “Disasters – past, present and future”

Snowy cold walk in Ann Arbor

We walked to where Susan gets her hair cut. There was a fresh inch of snow, the temperature was around 14F and very windy, resulting in a wind chill of -2F. So it was a brisk walk. Apparently not everybody made it through the night. After her haircut we headed over to Cosmos for lunchContinue reading “Snowy cold walk in Ann Arbor”

Thinking about Christmas and other things

As we approach Christmas I was thinking about Christmas traditions and which of them had biblical origins or origins in other non-biblical societies. I managed to find a spot that covered this topic decently. The the way that my mind works this took me to the Santa and kids concept and a strange Venn-diagram. ObviouslyContinue reading “Thinking about Christmas and other things”

Brush Monkeys – 2024

For at least the last 10-12 yearsI have photographed window art all over the United States. This started in nn Arbor with getting excited about winter window paintings. The majority of this winter art is done by the Brush Monkeys. Here’s some from this year with the businesses that have the paintings. Well, we allContinue reading “Brush Monkeys – 2024”

Creal MicroGallery – December, 2024

Just a few blocks from home in Ann Arbor is a delightful art instillation that changes approximately every 30 days – The Creal MicroGallery. This wonderful spot to view a variety of art projects from all over, not just Ann Arbor or Michigan is easily accessible to both adults and children. This month’s art featuresContinue reading “Creal MicroGallery – December, 2024”

A fun start to the week

This is really funny, especially since it occurred on December 1st, which is Bunny, Bunny day. In our house this is a tradition that Susan introduced Alexis and me to in 1985. The way it goes is if you say Rabbit, Rabbit first on the last day of the month you will have a luckyContinue reading “A fun start to the week”

The end of November

We had dinner at Amadeus an Eastern European restaurant that features some wonderful Polish food. We’ve been eating here for over twenty years. It was our Thursday night retreat when we were both teaching. We would have a long leisurely meal as my week would be over but Susan would have a final Friday ofContinue reading “The end of November”

Thanksgiving, 2024

The past couple of days have been wonderful and packed full of people and places. We spent two days in Petosky with Mike and Deb, also getting to see Susan and Isaac. Great meals and games. We spent a morning in downtown Petosky where we went to the watch shop, kitchen store, book store andContinue reading “Thanksgiving, 2024”

Travel day thoughts and humor

Yesterday make 165 years since Darwin published On the Origin of Species. Perhaps nothing has affected my life more than Darwin’s writings. This, along with the Voyage of the Begal, and his theory of evolution have allowed me to evolve into what I am today. Which often makes me look at events through the eyesContinue reading “Travel day thoughts and humor”

November at Whitefish Point

November is when we start burning wood in our stove. We’ll see how well I did spliting kindling and smaller pieces to get the fires going and how long it will last. So far it’s looking like we might be set for the Winter and Spring. What a difference a year makes. The photo onContinue reading “November at Whitefish Point”