Visiting Equine Escape, a horse farm and equine therapy facility in Goodrich, brought back fond memories of my childhood growing up with horses in rural Maryland. We lived in a beautiful farmhouse that was built in the 1800s, located on 14 pristine acres of land surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. There was an old barn on the property, a summer kitchen, chicken coop and a stream-fed pond in the back near the woods.

One of my fondest memories is a hot air balloon ride I took on a calm, summer evening a few years ago. The first time I took to the skies, I was more than a little nervous. I have a fear of heights and wasn’t sure how I would react once the balloon was high in the sky. I mean, there are so many unanswered questions: Where will it go? Where will it land? What if I want to bail out? But it was a beautiful, balmy day at Seven Lakes Park in Holly – perfect conditions for a balloon ride, according to the captain who assured me there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

When I first moved to Michigan back in the ‘70s, I was petrified during tornado season. Where I lived in Maryland, tornados were unheard of. So, whenever I saw even a hint of a tornado threat, I ran to the basement! Nowadays, after living in Michigan for so many years, I am no longer petrified but I do have a healthy fear of tornadoes and I stay well prepared.

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11, with ceremonies held at various locations at 11:11am. It is a day when Americans pay tribute to our veterans, the fallen, and their families.

Get ready to enjoy one more hour of sleep on Sunday. It’s time to set your clocks back one hour as Daylight Saving Time (DST) comes to an end on the first Sunday in November, this year on Nov. 4, at 2am! DST is the practice of setting the clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months, and back again in the fall, in order to make better use of natural daylight. And while we all love that extra hour of sleep as we gain back the hour we lost over the summer months, the downside of DST is we lose an hour of natural day light in the evening.

Did you know that October is National Pizza Month? Who doesn’t love a piping-hot slice, fresh from a brick oven with a crispy, golden crust covered in rich tomato sauce and melted mozzarella? According to pizza.com/national pizza month, the soldiers returning from Italy during World War II brought with them a hunger for pizza pie and pushed its popularity over the top. America has been in love with it ever since.