THIS FOLLOWING STATEMENT RESONATES with me, especially considering my lifelong passion for food preparation and the numerous challenges there are in developing great recipes. “Do not fear mistakes, there are none.” Miles Davis, musician I have tried so many different recipes throughout my life. It all started when I was eleven. During my early days, I helped my mother a lot (from my point of view). She had me learn my way around the kitchen centered around her stovetop elect

FIVE DAYS OF SUNNY WEATHER are in the forecast for our area as we enter early October. The blue skies and blue water are absolutely...

MID-SEPTEMBER MARKS THE BEGINNING of my favorite time of the year. It is welcome and brings pleasure and reflections for me. The cooler...

IT WAS LATE NOVEMBER 1966 . Wet leaves were scattered on the ground, and it was already dark by 5:30. I was a senior in high school and had just picked up my new letter jacket from the Varsity Shop in downtown Birmingham. At my side was my new girlfriend, Sue Frank, a beautiful blonde 10th grader. We were tooling around the city’s older neighborhoods listening to WKNR, in my mom’s new Delta 88 equipped with a full bench seat. Our favorite Four Tops song began to play. Now, i

I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVED MY GOAL of losing 25 pounds over the past year and two months. I just had my annual physical at my...

TO MY DELIGHT, I'VE DISCOVERED the great flavor of chicken thighs this summer after a package of two skinless boneless breasts hit $10...

EIGHTEEN-HOLE GOLF COURSE LAYOUTS are not the only option in today’s ever-expanding golf course developments. The NGF (National Golf Foundation) notes the growing trend of shorter courses, such as 9- or 12-hole layouts, and even smaller formats are popping up all over the country. In our backyard, just off M-22, Arcadia Bluffs opened its newest creation this summer, delivering twelve holes under this newer concept. It is called The Dozen, consisting of two six-hole sides (No

I’M TAKING A BREAK from writing about garden flowers and have decided to write about a simple summer salad that has come into my focus...

MY BACK TO NATURE GARDEN has come to a critical juncture here at the end of July. My issue is that it shows lots of green growth and...

FOR A GOOD TEN YEARS in the 1990s, my hobby at my gentleman’s farm in Leelanau County was growing and learning about ornamental grass. I...

BUTTERFLY WEED HAS BECOME POPULAR in northern Michigan, especially in the last ten years, as we have come to learn about the critical...

MY FIRST EXPOSURE to Lupines took place decades ago in northern New Hampshire while visiting my youngest sister. The flowers had...

MY BIRTHDAY WAS MONDAY, the day after Father’s Day . I combined both days for my celebration. Why not! I picked up a couple of plants...

I RECENTLY SELECTED a large print (LP) novel from my library, Sam’s Letters to Jennifer, under the James Patterson brand. I first read the inside jacket and found the storyline appealing. It described compelling love stories in which secrets were shared between generations of women who had spent their summers on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. This had a familiar ring in my own life. I spent summers in Leelanau County, where I tried to charm a few ladies in my teenage and college

MY DAD RAISED DAHLIAS in the backyard of his home in Bloomfield Village, Michigan. It became a fun hobby for him as he moved through his...

MY REFLECTIONS TODAY are about the Detroit Tigers. Their six-week rally at the end of the 2024 season, along with their appearance in...

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND HAS ARRIVED. I made my mom’s potato salad recipe and bought a package of Koegel hot dogs (thank you, Flint!). I’ll...

LOUIS L’AMOUR WRITES ABOUT BOXING - a subject featured throughout his over one hundred novels. If the stories are not about fighters in...

THIS PAST YEAR , I have been reintroduced to cottage cheese and not just virtually through social media. I use it in many recipes,...

MY WRITING TUTORIALS claim that one of the best ways to improve one’s writing is to immerse oneself in reading all types and styles of...