Polar vortex!

So what do we do when the temperature is hovering around zero, and we're not scheduled to escape to Arizona for another month?

Pile-o-kitties

Sleeping garden

Happy hour in front of the fire

Happy hour special drink:  Pineapple jalapeño
from Wolfmoon mixers and Bombay Sapphire gin
with lots of fresh pineapple

Laying out next summer's garden at www.growveg.com, and ordering our first seeds

 What is your strategy?

Happy birds

Maybe we'll see you at the Folk Festival or Science cafe?

Comfort food!

Around town

Maybe you noticed, Retired in Ann Arbor has taken a break from posting online.  But we have not taken a break from enjoying Ann Arbor!

I collected some stats from the last 90 days (from Quicken and my calendar), and here is where we have been:

First of all, groceries-- We love to cook and bake, and now make almost everything from scratch, so we spent a lot of time and money in Plum Market, Busch's in Dexter, Sparrow Market, Meijer and Hiller's, as well as Farmer's Market, Monahan's and Biercamp.

One benefit to being retired is that we are not pressed for time, and we can grocery shop like the European's do it-- one specialty store at a time.

We had many Friday night dinners at Knights, Saturday lunches at Northside Grill and Star Cafe, and met friends at Cafe Zola, Ashleys, Weber's, The Last Word, Jolly Pumpkin, Red Rock (in Ypsi), and Vinology.



For entertainment, we went to a Science Cafe at Conor O'Neils, went to Hill Auditorium for The Messiah,  Brandenburg Concertos, and the UofM Men's Glee Club.  We saw Mr. B at The Ark, and I also attended several excellent classes through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

We stocked our bar at the Wine Seller, A and L Wine Castle, Everyday Wines, and Plum Market.  We went Christmas shopping at Downtown Home and Garden, Great Lakes Chocolate, Zingerman's, The M Den, Elephant Ears, Cherry Republic, Nicola's, and Hollander's.

Our snow was plowed by Last Minute Lawn, and we got our Christmas tree from Urquart's Tree farm, the only spot with German-looking (untrimmed) trees.

We truly believe in shopping and living "local"-- it's more fun, and keeps the money in our community.

A nice walk in the Christmas tree fields--BEFORE snow

Altogether, we had a wonderful holiday season, and hope you did too!



And what's on tap for tonight?  A fire in the fireplace and a Netflix movie, after we happy hour with some friends at The Quarter.  Cheers!



PS:  We also spent some time in Italy.  See pictures of our walk in Chianti, Tuscany HERE.

Glass Box

The other afternoon I decided to head down and check out the new Arbor Hills shopping center on Washtenaw.  I did a tour through the shops that were now open, especially enjoying Sur La Table.

At the end of my stroll, I spotted a new coffee/juice bar called the Glass Box.  Check out this Sprudge.com interview with the owner to get an idea of why this coffee bar is so different and excellent!

The space is clean, airy and modern, and my cappuccino was perfect.  To make the experience even better, I was also served a bottle of ice cold water, without asking!

I am not really a juice person, but after reading the juice menu and seeing the fresh fruit next to the juicer, I decided the next time I wouldn't resist.

Another nice touch is the power strip under the bar seating for plugging in all the MacBooks that will also be enjoying the space!

Dam to dam walk-- September

It seems that spring and fall are my favorite times to do the dam to dam walk-- the first day without heat and humidity, I'm usually out there--
For a map on where walk goes, check out my last year's post.  Feel free to post directions under comments!

This walk is also fun to do early or late in the day--

Elderberries

Cascades by the Argo dam

Signs of rail improvements:  a long rail, ready to be installed.

The Big House

Excitement is in the air!  

2013 Football schedule:

AUGUST 31 VS CENTRAL MICHIGAN 3:30PM
SEPTEMBER 7 VS NOTRE DAME 8:00PM
SEPTEMBER 14 VS AKRON  12:00PM
September 21 at Connecticut
OCTOBER 5 VS MINNESOTA 3:30PM HOMECOMING
October 12 at Penn State
OCTOBER 19 VS INDIANA 3:30M
November 2 at Michigan State
NOVEMBER 9 VS NEBRASKA TBA
November 16 at Northwestern
November 23 at Iowa
NOVEMBER 30 VS OHIO STATE TBA
December 7 Big Ten Championship game

Mark's Carts and Bill's Beer Garden

My favorite Mexican food

I've never tried to shoot pics and
 hold an umbrella at the same time!

A couple of nights ago, we were downtown around dinner time, and needed a light supper and a beer.  We are frequent shoppers at Downtown Home and Garden, (their selection and prices can't be beat), and while we are there, we often take the opportunity to have lunch at Mark's Carts.

We knew that Bill's Beer Garden took over the parking space in the evening, but had never gone.  So this was our chance to try it out!

View from seating at Mark's Carts

It was overcast and threatening rain, but we had our umbrellas, and got some delicious food from Mark's Carts, and carried it through the Home and Garden garage to Bill's.

The tables that were under cover were filling up, so we chose a nice round table in the middle, and enjoyed our food.  Then it started to rain, and we got to watch the "floor show" from under our umbrellas-- the staff started putting up awnings for the picnic tables, and it was almost like watching the ground crew at Tiger stadium.  What coordination and choreography!

"on the count of 3!"

We enjoyed the rest of our good Michigan beer, and moseyed back to the car.  Another nice evening in Ann Arbor!

Check out the great selection of Michigan beer

Cozy tables under cover, on either side of the greenhouse.

Ann Arbor Art Fair

So I am the type of person who HATES heat and humidity-- so of course, it is art fair week!  I was swearing that I was going to stay away, but we needed to pick up our new glasses at SEE, so we parked in the Maynard deck before 10 AM and started walking a couple of my favorite fairs.  Most of the booths were open, and it wasn't too blazingly hot yet-- so it was actually pleasant.

I just intended on looking for my favorite artists, but I discovered Orchid Lane-- and bought a sundress.  This may not sound like a big deal, but I decided several--OK many--years ago, that my sundress days were over.

Update!  Global warming and beer festivals have made me reevaluate that decision.  So I found a nice cotton dress that wasn't too short-- and didn't look too much like a muumuu.
And what could be better?  It was $15!  So if you were like me, and assumed that this was a college kid shop and the largest size was 6, check it out.  You will be pleasantly surprised.  Just channel your inner hippy-chick (you know she's still in there!), and buy yourself something nice and cool.

Not sure how it will look?  There is a fitting room in the store.

 So then it was getting pretty hot, and I had made it to 11:00 without complaining too much or passing out or anything, so we dove into Ashley's.  It was nice and cool and dark, and the very cheerful waiter brought us pint glasses of ice water before taking our beer order.  It seemed like good weather for a nice wheat beer, so I got a refreshingly cold Wittekerke,  a Witbier from Belgium.  Even if you're not a beer fan, this is the one to try during hot weather.

Then we made the best discovery!  We each ordered a Maurice salad, as it just didn't seem right to order red meat or anything deep-fried in this heat.  It was excellent!

All together, a nice morning.  And we were home in the air conditioning, by 12:30.  Perfect.

Ann Arbor Hands On Museum

What to do on a day that's too hot to play outside?  Head to the Hands On Museum-- our favorite spot to visit with the little guys.

Notice which one of us ISN"T on the big scale?

Do-re-mi!

Who wants to play with the (plastic) turtles in the water table?

This museum is interesting for all ages, especially if you have any interest in science.

And pre-schoolers love the giant Rube Goldberg-style ball machine!

Don't miss the Thursday night deal:  $5 from 5-8 PM.

Turner's Garden Center

Last week I decided that it was finally time to plan my pots on the front porch, and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do this year-- so I headed to my favorite nursery, Turner's Garden Center.  Even when it's getting later in the season and some of the other places are slimming down the choices, Turner's always had a great selection of beautiful and healthy plants.

And get 10% off on Wednesday if you're a senior!