Michigan

  This is the emigration story of William George Sodt. In 1881 he traveled with 13 family members to the port of Bremen, Germany to board the steamship SS Salier. Only 11 of the 13 family members made it the US. We will never exactly know why they made the decision to leave their home in...

Blame it on the Maynard! I've never really been a much of a wine person. For me, its always been about beer. Not really sure why. I guess its sort of like you are a water person versus a land lover. In any case, my relationship with wine changed after watching the movie "Blood Into Wine"....

The Cabbage Looper war in Crazy Charlie's pickle patch! Finding cabbage loopers eating our cauliflower, kale and brussel sprouts was devastating. We built a 4 foot fence to keep the deer and rabbits from eating our greens, little did we know that butterflies were our worst enemy. Ever wonder about...

Running Wild at Binder Park Zoo The kind folks at Binder Park Zoo asked if we would share information about their annual Cheetah Chase 5k on our Facebook page. We were more than happy to help support them and we thought that we should actually go out to Battle Creek, Michigan to experience the...

  Beer, its whats for dinner (and lunch, and well just about any time!) While up in Traverse City for the Bayshore half and full marathon over Memorial day weekend, we couldn't miss an opportunity to check out some great Michigan beer. The Traverse City area has become a bit of a beer mecca...

Building a raised garden where we could plant our favorite vegetables has been on our home improvement list for a while. Chuck and I were also smart enough to know that we do not have the necessary talents or tools to build a raised garden but that didn't stop us. We contacted a professional. When...

WonderFool Productions produced its third FoolMoon event on Friday, April 5th, 2013. And I have to say, each year it gets better! The luminary parade was colorful and creative, Theo Katzman delivered on the Fool's Main stage and the Michigan Beer at Bill's Beer Garden was delicious. FoolMoon 2013...

  My Grandmother, Ruth Cornelia Lewick Sodt (1893 - 1979), was a scrapbooker. I recently retrieved one of her scrapbooks from the "cedar chest" that was buried in my sister Martha's basement. When I dusted it off I was immediately in love. I so wish I could spend the afternoon with Ruth. I'm...

    Great Beer and Great fun at the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Fest For the past four years, we've headed West to Grand Rapids, Michigan with our friends Jeff and Angie, to partake in the annual Michigan Brewers Guild Winter beer festival. Each of the guild festivals have their...

  We were very lucky to have tickets for the Sundance Film Festival USA screening of 'The East'. I bet you didn't know that the Michigan Theater is one of 10 cities selected as an official venue for the Sundance Film Festival USA. Yep right here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Thank you Russ Collins....

    Finding Vegan Friendly Restaurants in Michigan is easy, if you know how to search for them. I typically use one of these on-line vegetarian eating guides: Happy Cow - the healthy eating guide Urbanspoon Vegguide.org Yes, I know these work great if you are in a metropolitan area....

The Detroit Auto Show Rocks! On Tuesday, I went to the Delta SkyMiles American Express preview of the Detroit Auto Show (aka the North American International Auto Show) with my friends Jeff and Rick. For the last three years, Rick has been able to score tickets to the preview for us through Delta...

Chelsea Alehouse Brewery opened its doors to the public on Thursday, January 3 and we decided to check it out! Once inside the Chelsea Alehouse, you are greeted with a wide open and inviting space with lots of windows. We thought all the natural light added a nice ambiance. The only thing missing...

Running in the winter takes a special person, however Michigan winter trail running takes a special kind of crazy. YakTrax may be required!

There are few things that are classic "Michigan" and White Tailed Deer fall into that category. We live about a mile from State Street in Ann Arbor, but if you stand in our backyard you'd never know it. There is a herd of White Tailed deer living in our hood. You can usually see them early...

We officially launched our new Santa logo for our Facebook today. Many thanks to Kate Peterson (pleasantlyprogressivedesign) for the logo Design and thank you Nathan Scheck for the Santa Illustration. New Life In Michigan Facebook Logo                  ...

Turned in my U-M Blue Pass today! OMG … I’m liberated.

Feel like spending some time in the great outdoors and doing good for Michigan state parks and recreation areas? The Great Lakes Gazette posted the following: The Department of Natural Resources has lots of opportunities for volunteers to help clean up, spruce up, and restore natural habitats...

Seriously, why run 16 miles when it was only 16 degrees? Well because it was on the training plan. I have a theory that many runners are recovering Catholics. Instead of going to church religiously, we go for a long run and if we don't run we have something to feel guilty about. Plus you can do...