International Taste Fest - a dream come true

I am sitting at the Flint Farmers’ Market enjoying a tasty bowl of chicken pho from MaMang Vietnamese food counter.  Finally.  I've watched people eat it and heard many friends rave about it.  And finally I tried it for myself.  Yes, I like it.  Very much.

I love this place.  This farmers' market.  Since the first time I set foot here I have been impressed with the vitality and diversity of the place. The variety of food options - whether fresh and raw or already cooked. 'Tis a beautiful place. So colorful - both literally and culturally. Perhaps especially today as flags from 80 countries flutter in the air around the atrium - in preparation for the International Taste Fest this week.

I am excited.  I’ve been waiting for this event for a really long time - without even knowing about it.  

Here’s the thing.  We moved to this city to hang out with Internationals.  We had hopes of getting acquainted with people from all over the world.  I imagined International dinners and other happenings to celebrate the cuisine of other cultures.

It seemed like there were quite a few Internationals around Flint, but how to find them turned out to be a little tricky.  When we first came to the area I had to get pretty creative to make connections.  I knocked on a lot of doors (well, not literally) and made a bunch of phone calls before eventually finding people who pointed me to other people who worked with International students and we were finally able to connect.

But here we are now - living in this diverse city - and here I am volunteering with two different organizations serving immigrants and International students.  What fun!!!  Turns out the timing was great; we got here just in time to get in on the ground floor of the brand-new International Center of Greater Flint.  It has been my privilege to set up their Facebook page and to promote this very cool kick-off event, The International Taste Fest. A dream come true.

Eighteen countries are represented at this event - providing food, beverages and entertainment.  

Today while I was slurping my bowl of Vietnamese pho at MaMang, Tony told me that he would probably be serving Saigonese salad for the taste fest.  I’m told that it contains noodles, lettuce, chicken and cucumber and other good stuff.  I look forward to it and many other samplings as well.

If you live in central or southeast Michigan, you should come!  

The taste fest is Thursday, January 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Ramsdell Room at Flint Farmers' Market.  

And it's free!

Will I see you there?

Two natures

Two natures beat within my breast

The one is foul, the other blest

The one I love, the one I hate

The one I feed will dominate

- Author Unknown

Year-end letter

Consider this our year-end letter to you - with greetings from our house to yours for a prosperous and healthy new year.

...

What a year this has been!

January 2017 found us safe and snug in a little apartment where we had parked to enjoy a whole year in one place - that place being just north of Flint, Michigan.

After traveling for four years, I had been missing Michigan winters.  Yah, crazy; I know. So we came off the road - at least for awhile.  We had chosen the location because it was somewhere between our moms and a couple of our daughters and sure enough, it was convenient for those reasons.  Plus with the proximity to the universities in Flint, an old dream to welcome and serve International students had been awakened within us and we had begun to connect with some of them.

A few days into 2017, Bob started saying that he might be ready for some projects again and started talking about buying a fixer-upper house.  So we began house-shopping and quickly narrowed our search area to be near the universities. 

It wasn’t long before we found a place that is just right - located between Kettering University and UM-Flint and with enough space to host events and even overnight guests - AND with enough “projects” to keep Bob the Builder busy for the foreseeable future.  We made an offer in February, closed in March, moved into the house in April and by fall we were able to host several different events - for neighbors as well as for International students.

We really love our new neighborhood and our new city.  The move has brought so many happy surprises for which we are grateful.  The area is rich with culture and diversity and so many wonderful people. During our life on the road, there had been very little opportunity for community and I can admit that it got a little lonely, so I totally love the abundant opportunity for community and connections that we have now.

So here we are.  Bob has his projects. He moves steadily along, starting and completing one after another. I am working my way through my own set of projects and am loving the range of options and opportunities.

We often hear ourselves commenting about how much we love our life and this place.  We are grateful indeed for this new adventure of the past year and can’t help but wonder what the coming year will bring.  By this age we are well aware that there are any number of things that could mess things up so we plan to appreciate and enjoy every moment we have in this chapter.

Maybe not a writer that day

(Written on December 12, 2010)

Tis a lovely day in the neighborhood. 

There's nothing quite like the view outside my window. 

Amazing.

Inspiring.




I sit here in awe, wishing to describe the beauty, but the words won't come together adequately.  

Maybe I'm not a writer this morning. 

Maybe it's a day for rest. 

A day for wonder.

For peace.

A day to breathe deeply.

Maybe I'll just sit and bask in the beauty. 
Ahh...

November

The NaNo project is being wrapped up and filed away for safe keeping until after the holidays.

Hubby's photo art is being packed away to await another show.
The outdoor work has been completed for this year.
Our bikes have been loaded into the trailer for winter storage.

November draws to a close.

NaNoWriMo is done.  

The art show is done. 

And it would seem that bike-riding is finally done.

November is done for another year.

...

So how did it go?

Was it a good one?

Successful?

...

NaNo was a success again this year in that I wrote 55 thousand words of new material.  

Is it a jumble?  For sure.

Is it usable?  I think so. I hope so.  I feel pretty good about this year’s project and rather hopeful about its potential. In fact, I have even noticed a sense of urgency and timeliness in getting it ready to publish in some form as soon as possible. 

The art show was a success in many ways.  

It was fun.

It was well-received by the cafe crowd.

And it was profitable in terms of sales.

An all-around success.

             Thank you, Good Beans Cafe.

And bike-riding...?

Well, we never expected that we'd be able to ride in November so every excursion was bonus.

So November is done.

Our focus shifts...

To the Christmas season and to the winter beyond.

There is much anticipation for both.  

New adventures await.

Farewell, sweet November.

You’ve been good to us.

You have created a whole new bunch of memories for us.

You have even surprised us with some bike riding weather.

You have introduced us to new friends and invited us to new discoveries. 

We are grateful.