Touring Home: Blog Friends and Pie

One of the pleasures of blogging is having the opportunity to meet up with bloggers you've known online for years. 

This happened with me this week when Annie of Annie Go Lightly and her husband,

 Don, came through Lansing.

They couldn't help the weather, which slowed down some of the activities we might have engaged in throughout their stay, but we made the best of it! 

Annie and Don had been doing mission work for the Catholic church in the past months, 

so one of our stops was Lansing's St. Mary's.

The church is rather old but was remodeled in the 1960s and has a more contemporary look. Still, the stained glass dazzles.

And the statuary and carvings are striking. I particularly liked this one.

 

We drove past my old school, the Grand River (which cuts through town), the capitol -- 

and then headed to DeWitt to have pie at Sweetie-licious Bakery and Cafe.

 

I've posted about this local treasure here and here in the past. I love all the vintage touches.

 

We all loved the pie -- and Don also loved the cherry cupcake! Isn't it cute?

 

Everything about this spot is cute. And mighty tasty, too!

 

(And yes, they mail order, too!)

 

And after all, doesn't pie fix anything? Even the rain?

 

Well, our rain held up, but next post join us on another round of the Lansing tour! 

What Fascinates Me About Plumbing

What fascinates me about plumbing is first, that it works. Well, most of the time. How does it know how to do that and where does it go and why don't we all get sick from it? I don't want details. I just want to live with the fascination.

But then, what also fascinates me about plumbing is how some people just go about fixing it and some people call plumbers.

I would be likely to fall into that last category, but since I had a sink with a stuck stopper, another one or two that leaked and a toilet that we still don't have right (fortunately, there are two), Rick said he'd fix it for me.

Sounds cool to me. So, off we go to Jake's Plumbing Supply.

Jake's was started in 1955, according to Kris, Jake's son and now proprietor. That's Kris with Rick -- he's a one-person shop and I'm thinking he does it pretty well.

I'm quite sure some of the stuff there has been there since 1955. And some predates that!

Want a toilet seat? Kris has 'em. 700 of them. He didn't have the 1964-era peachy brown I wanted, but he could order it. (At $55, we're going for a lesser-priced, fake-oak seat.)

Looking for a planter? Kris can fix you up! He had several similar models outside the front door. With plants.

A little office taxidermy? This bunny seemed to hold his own with a neon clock.

Why waste money on expensive signs with your hours? Frugality is smart!

And there's always a little local color. That Oldsmobile bit might go well on Ebay.

How about some parts -- some screw or washer that hasn't been made in years? Not a problem! Some of the stuff here is probably worth a small Internet fortune!

A little bit of wisdom? Just look around!

If you're in need of some fishing lures while you're looking for plumbing supplies, Kris might sell you some of his.

And it's nice to know, they follow through on their work!

I was fascinated by this place. I kept thinking "If you were a brave assemblage artist, all you'd need to do is come in here, and you'd have every supply you'd need!"

Honestly, there was so much stuff there, it made my art room look downright minimalist! While Rick talked part with Kris, I was just fascinated by everything about it!

And he knew where everything was.

The two bathroom sinks are fixed perfectly -- now we can actually use the one in the hall, and the other one doesn't leak.

The kitchen sink still seems to seep a bit. And the toilet? Well, let's just say, I don't think we've seen the last of Kris!

(I'm thinking Kris doesn't get out a lot -- when Rick spotted a picture on his wall of a whole bunch of toilets outside a building, he said "There's this movie -- I think you'd particularly enjoy a scene in it. It's called 'The Help.'" He didn't have a clue. Too bad, because he'd really get a kick out of it!)

Ukein' It Up!

Saturday was Mighty Uke day in Lansing's Old Town and I never knew ukuleles could be so much fun! All this plus Happy Hour! The place was so packed that the restaurant hosting the open mic had to have had one of their best days ever! (And if Elderly Instruments didn't sell a ton of ukes, I wouldn't doubt that they will!)

My experience with ukuleles was seeing them in movies -- generally with bear skin coats, doing the Charleston and singing "Varsity Rag." Then, of course, there is the Hawaiian sound, ukes on the beach, swaying hula skirts, setting sun, leis. But it is so much more!

The event included open mic periods (that had been scheduled -- more on that later!) and a screening of the movie "Mighty Uke." (You can also hear a Susan Stamberg take on this and some great music from the film at NPR.)

You may or may not be a ukulele fan -- you might be one and not even know you are! But if you watch this terrific film, you may well discover a new passion! You will also discover Jake Shimabukuro (below, courtesy Tiny Goat Films., Ltd./NPR), one of the astounding musicians featured that gives new depth and dimension to the simple ukelele.

You will also "meet" numerous uke players from around the world, including an amazing class of high school students from near Vancouver, Canada, where every child learns the ukulele as part of school. The things these kids do simply defies belief.

Filmmaker Tony Coleman introduced the film and did a Q&A after.

He and Margaret Meagher, his co-producer on the film, then staffed the t-shirt/DVD table. Rick bought a DVD -- on the back Leonard Maltin says everyone should also watch every single on of the 10 shorts after the movie -- they are wee movies in themselves and simply wonderful.

The movie introduced us to a number of uke players and one I was familiar with, Kimo Hussey, who played the Great Lakes Folk Festival last year. I had a chance to spend some time speaking with him and he was such a geuninely nice guy. I was glad he was featured.

Then came the local performances -- in the two-hour mic segment we saw (there was an earlier one) about eight area/regional groups performed. They were all fun and there was a lot of singing along. This one is the MMUGS (Mid-Michgian Ukelele Group Strum).

This MMUG is my work buddy Mike Mihalus.

Rachael Davis is pretty much of a local star in our region of the folk world. (You can see her performance on WKAR's BackStage Pass here -- or perhaps in your community, on your PBS station!)

This isn't the best photo -- but it really captures her joy at playing this wee little instrument!

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was Magdalen Fossum. I think she's 10 and had just recently played at the Ark in Ann Arbor, introduced below by organizer Ben Hassenger.

As Mike said, "I wouldn't have wanted to follow her!"

She sang several songs, including a Boswell Sisters scat number called "Heebie Jeebies" and at times sounded just like Billie Holliday!

Another favorite was The Fabulous Heftones with Brian Hefferan and Lynn Hershberger. Lynn is also a terrific knitter, pattern designer and yarn-dyer making some of the loveliest wool ever!

They played old-time, 1920a-style uke -- fast, furious, fun! Dressed to the nines and playing everything from songs like "Shine on Harvest Moon" to ragtime, they were a wonderful way to end the day.

So, was it uke overkill? No way! The thing I learned in the film about the instrument (and also watching the acts) is that almost anyone can play it. Sure, like every instrument, there are degrees of difficulty and if you are fortunate enough to see the Mighty Uke film, you'll see exactly what I mean. (Imagine the fastest classical piece you know on a uke.)

It's the people's instrument. You can play it alone, you can play it with friends. You can teach a four-year-old, you can be like one fellow in the movie still playing -- 101. You can play as easy or difficult music as you choose to practice. You can accompany yourself singing. Add a kazoo or slap the wood of the uke, and you're a band!

And perhaps best of all, it makes people smile.

Musings

It's summer in our little city. You wouldn't know it by the temperatures -- it feels more like June or perhaps even late May.

But my basil is looking good.

And the little hosta garden my friend Kate planted in my back yard is, too. (That was my best deal ever -- I bought her gardening services at a charity Auction in February and she delivered with lots of perennials for front and back!

The farm markets are looking good, too.

I love supporting the local/regional farmers, and it is great fun to see others carefully picking and choosing their veggies.

I loved this sunflower merchant and bought enough for a bouquet.

They are pollen free and not supposed to drop bits of yellow pollen on the table. So far, so good.

Sometimes when I see bouquets like the ones below I wonder why they are so expensive. Then I think about my luck growing flowers and that thought flies from my mind!

Apart from the basil, my own veggies aren't faring so well. My pepper is about the size of a ping pong ball.

I have one -- count 'em -- one yellow grape tomato (and you don't want to see the pix of the others, most of which look like large, green marbles, with only a lone red one to give me hope). (Note: I am pre-posting this before I leave for a mini-vacation, from which I return soon! I hope I have a few red ones by the time you read this!)

Only the banana peppers are thriving.

This rose is OK.

And my hanging basket is still hanging in there.

But overall, it's disappointing.

After a wonderful summer dinner on an unseasonably cool summer night last week (We enjoyed fabulous salmon, potatoes, corn and blueberry pie), Rick and I decided to go to our favorite cafe to play scrable, listen to music and have a cuppa. To our chagrin and despair, we discovered it had closed (alongside one of our favorite "nice" restaurants, which had ominous notes on the door in legalese about payments not being made).

We opted for a place we'd not been. It was almost like a study hall -- our game was one of the more lively, interactive activities (but it was very nice and we'll probably go back). Rick beat me by 100 points, but I had more complicated words. He played smarter, though. Oh, well.

But the really sad thing was that on the way home, we passed by one of the oldest car dealerships in Lansing -- an Oldsmobile dealership (Oldsmobile was invented here and until the brand was discontinued, operated from here). It, too, had closed.

That really brought home our sad economy to me. This place lasted through everything; it was an institution. Gone.

How long can this one go on?