This summer, I went on a day-trip to Tossa de Mar. My best friend, Patricia, lives in Barcelona and she and her husband make the hour-or-so-long trek to Tossa in the summer months when they are both on holidays. These small beach towns are a favorite with native Spaniards to escape the tourist crush on the beaches closer to Barcelona. She had been talking about the beauty of the beach, the quaintness of the village, the slow, relaxed atmosphere of the whole place. She’d also mentioned the local seafood and wine a time or two, and all of these details had stacked in my mind to create some pretty lofty expectations.
Changing leaves, cool days, football games, trips to the cider mill … fall is here! Something else about fall that makes us happy – besides the cider mill donuts – is the fashion. It’s time to get cozy and embrace the fall trends and must-haves!
Most people have seen “Independence Day,” a 1996 film about an alien invasion. If you haven’t, here’s a spoiler alert:
For those who choose to observe it, it’s “spooky time” again. Each year in October, many of us do our darndest to scare the willies out of each other and ourselves. We watch scary movies, visit “haunted” houses, and search for the most frightening costumes with the goal of experiencing a little bit of that most universal of emotions: fear.
Did you know that breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States? According to michigan.gov, approximately 287,850 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 43,250 will succumb to this malignancy in 2022.
This summer, I took my son to Spain. It was my first time returning since before he was born, and his first time meeting his godmother who lives in Barcelona. Traveling alone is not for the faint of heart; but a trip abroad with a small child as your companion is only for the truly insane.
I don’t know how I made it this far in life without knowing what a Dutch Baby is. I’ve certainly never heard it called a “hootenanny” until I checked for some history about it while writing this column. But whether you know it as a German pancake or either of the above monikers, you need to make one – because it’s just delightful!
Thanks to Facebook, I have reconnected with friends I have known since grade school. I know what is happening in their lives, and they know the latest details about mine. I know where some of them stand on politics and current events, for better or worse. We message. We joke. We comment on each other’s posts. We just don’t see each other very often. Most of my oldest and dearest live in Louisiana, which makes getting together in person tricky … and expensive.
Real gross domestic product (GDP), which is the inflation-adjusted final value of all goods and services produced in the United States, declined by 0.9% in the second quarter after declining by 1.6% in the first. Two consecutive quarters of GDP decline is the definition of a recession found in any “introductory economics” textbook, despite the attempts by some to redefine the term. Since the end of World War II, a recession has been called by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee every time the economy has contracted for two consecutive quarters. Consistent with the traditional definition of a recession and past practice, the economy is in a recession.
It’s never too early to start thinking about fall fashion, which is arguably the best time of the year for dressing. It’s cold enough to wear all of your fave pieces at the same time (helloooo, layers!), but warm enough to actually go out and about to show off your fit. Exciting, right? So, why wait?! Plus, with so many clutch deals and stylish finds available in stores, now’s the time to get a head start on fall clothing and accessory shopping.
In my July column, I mentioned that when I was a kid, I saw Creedence Clearwater Revival at a campground bandshell, long before anyone ever heard of them. That was just one of my early musical experiences.
For 15 years, Steve Wood displayed his exceptional, detailed portraits at Art at the Market. “I was a vendor and artist there since 2006,” he remembers. “In 2009, I became board president and I continued in that position until April of 2021.” His dedication to the gallery was appreciated by his fellow artists. Recently, he left the gallery and his position due to new family and work obligations; but there was one more thing he wanted to do. “I’ve been painting murals for nearly 25 years and when the gallery moved to its new location in the Flint Farmers’ Market, an opportunity presented itself.” A new room for the gallery was built, complete with a blank wall – or to an artist, a canvas. “It was a giant space and I felt it would be a sin to leave it empty,” he explains.
