By Bonnie Westbrook
Just how connected do we need to be?
This might be a tad over the top.
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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West
Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Lowell Michigan 2012 Sizzling Summer Concerts
Lowell Showboat Sizzlin’ Summer FREE Concerts are back this summer!
They will be on Thursday evenings June 14 through August 25 beginning
at 7:00pm featuring:
June 14 The Crane Wives – Indie Folk
June 21 The Vincent Hayes Project – Blues
June 28 Rhythm Section Band – Big Band
July 7 The Magic Bus – Woodstock Tribute
July 14 The Bronk Brothers – Rockin’ Hillbilly
July 19 The Steve Hilger Band – Progressive Blues
July 26 Creolization – Zydeco
August 2 Kari Lynch Band –Country Rock
August 9 4-H Fair week at Lowell Fairgrounds –
(no music at Lowell Showboat)
music concert provided by West Michigan Bluegrass
Steam Powered Bluegrass Patchwork Bluegrass Band
August 16 Terri Lower Trio w/ Edye Evans Hyde – Jazz
August 23 Alive and Well – Classic Rock
FOOD & SPIRITS PROVIDED ON THE LOWELL SHOWBOAT BY
THE FLAT RIVER GRILL. Refreshments available on the Riverwalk
Plaza.
Admission to the concerts and parking is FREE. The concert venue
is wheelchair accessible and handicap/senior parking is available.
Bleacher seating is available or bring your own folding chair.
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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in
West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Jazz at the Zoo Monday Nights 2012
by Bonnie and Terry Westbrook
From 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the The John Ball Park Band Shell
The West Michigan Jazz Society will be featuring local bands
and talent Monday nights. Free admission, although the hat
is passed for donations. The West Michigan Jazz Society is
trying to keep this tradition going for the 12th year.
So, grab a blanket, food, or purchase food at the event, and
enjoy local jazz at its best.
Summer 2012 Jazz at the Zoo:
June 4 – 2 Jazz Bands & E.Kentwood HS Jazz Combo
June 11 – The Beltline Big Band
June 18 – Groupo Aye
June 25 –The Tom Hagen Quartet featuring Rick Reuther
July 2 – Mark Kahny Band features Boogie Woogie Babies
July 9 – Petra Von Nuis Quartet w/Andy Brown
July 16 – Mary Rademacher Reed w/ The Midtown Horns
July 23 – Edye Evans Hyde w/ Terry Lower Quartet
July 30 – Evidence and Orquestra Tradicion
August 6 – The Family led by Nick Ayoub
August 13 – Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra led by Tim Froncek
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The authors of this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in
West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Foto Friday – Order Your Chicks!
You know spring has arrived in Lowell, Michigan when it is time to order
your chicks for summer. Have you ordered your chicks yet?
____________________________________________________________________________
The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West
Michigan. We believe Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Ada Township Christmas Tree Recycling
Once again, Ada Township offers recycling for natural Christmas trees
for its residents. They can be dropped off at the back parking lot of Ada
Township Park until Monday January 13th, 2011.
The trees will be recycled into wood chips for use in the park.
Please remove any decorations, wires, strings, ribbons or other items
that might interfere with a chipper.
Please no wreaths or garlands.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in
West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Weird plant life – No, if you are gardeners or farmers you will probably
recognizethat the shoots coming out of the ground with this fantastic red
color are rhubarb.
Michigan is one of the largest producers of rhubarb and it is even
forced in greenhouses here for winter harvesting. Some say that
Michigan and Canadian rhubarb tastes the best.
The rhubarb plant or “pie plant” as it is also known, can be
harvested all summer. The plant is originally from Asia, a relative
of the buckwheat familyand is loved by Japanese beetles who will literally
strip the leaves bare, if allowedto feast. Ironically, the leaves are
poisonous to humans, so be sure to just eat the stalks.
The rhubarb plant is also a heavy feeder and will thrive with lots of
compost orcow manure dressing in the spring and fall. The flower stalks
should be removedif you plan on harvesting.
We love rhubarb pie, warm rhubarb sauce, rhubarb bars, and it also
makes a great quickbread for breakfast. It is a snap to freeze
[just wash, cut up and put it into freezer bags].
The recipes to use rhubarb are many and varied including jam, wine,
drinks,salads. The most common companion in cooking is the strawberry.
Rhubarb is loaded with vitamin C and fiber.
It is so popular that there are 10 Rhubarb Festivals around the
world according to the Rhubarb Compendium.
And Wikipedia toasts rhubarb pie in our culture:
“Bebop-a-reebop Rhubarb Pie and Bebop-a-reebop
Frozen Rhubarb Pie Filling are frequent fictional sponsors
of A PrairieHome Companion.
Children’s song artist Laurie Berkner sings about the
dessertin “Rhubarb Pie (Hot Commodity)”.
In the “Weird Al” Yankovic song, “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota,”
“Mama’s homemade rhubarb pie” is one of the things the family takes with
them on their trip.”
Since rhubarb is a large, long living perennial here in Kent County
Michigan, it can be used in the landscape as a decorative plant.
Landscape plants that double as food are green sustainablilty
at its best.
Rhubarb will be on the local menus here in Grand Rapids, soon.
Copyright by Bonnie Westbrook 2008
photo by Bonnie Westbrook rhubarb parts from Rhubarbinfo.com rhubarb pie photo from wikipedia
My father passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack last July.
He and my Mom had gotten a little Australian Silkie Terrier named Kitty Marie
about 10 years before to be a companion to their Yorkie, Bubba. (full moniker –
Bubbalicious, don’t ya love it) Mom and Bubba were gone but Kitty remained. An orphan.
She was all alone….. Abandoned……. An orphan, like me.
I brought her home with me and the retraining began.
She is 8.5 lbs. soaking wet.
I am petite but more than 12 times her size.
The “Big Dog” a.k.a. my hubby is 25 times
her size.
It took less than 1 week for her to get us trained.
We were a little slow but showed promise.
A little background here: We have never had a little dog. My husband had a Great
Dane/Wolfhound mix growing up and also raced sled dogs for a couple of years.
We always have had dogs, beloved family members, BUT I never thought I would
like a “phoofey” little dog. [ You know the barky, whiney type that run the household
like a canine tyrant].
I like a dog to smell like a dog and act like a dog. I consider freshly dug
craters in the landscaping and big wet smoochey kisses just part of life with a dog.
Soooo, I didn’t think a little barking prima donna would fit in too well with our
previous dog profile, but I had to bring Kitty home. She was all I had left of my
parents. My hubby, affectionately known as The Big Guy – but for this tale,
“The Big Dog” kept his own counsel on the Kitty subject. (We have been married
39 years for a reason)
I need to confess to you that my parents
spoiled Kitty rotten. She was fed tidbits of
chicken, ham, & bacon in a doggie gourmet
way -prechewed- from the table and wasn’t
real crazy about dog food.
Hhhmmmm..wonder why??
She always slept with my parents in their kingsize bed as well. Life was good for Miss Kitty.
Now back at the suburban ranch, The Big Dog declares, “no dogs in our bed !!!” setting his
posture on Kitty’s sleeping quarters. I am compliant (remember the 39 year thing) and put her
bed next to ours on the floor. We go to bed.
She whines, barks, tries to jump up, and generally raises hell about being left off the bed where
The Big Dog and myself are trying to sleep. After 5 minutes which seems much longer, Kitty is
removed to the back room, bed and all, to teach her a lesson and let us get some sleep.
This is the pattern for 2 days. We don’t get much sleep and Miss Kitty goes on a hunger strike.
I won’t go into the gory details here, it gets nasty. Just sum it up as a $ 250.00 lesson
that entailed a trip to the vet, 2 late nite trips to the pet store to get a $5.00 an unce can of special
dog food, close perusal of $5.00 an ounce dog offal, and lots of worrying about whether a now
svelte little Kitty would pull through.
The Big Dog jokes that the free dog is costing about $35 a pound.
I’m sure you can guess the end of the story.
It was determined Miss Kitty could come back into the bedroom-in her bed on the floor
only. She slept but decided a predawn trip outside was needed. After 2-3 days of not much
sleep and a well-aired dog, it was determined Miss Kitty could probably come up on the bed,
“ if she would settle down.”
Miss Kitty has settled down, right
into the down comforter, snores like
a long shoreman, and thinks
“Life is Good!”
If you and your dog are looking for a home in the Grand Rapids Michigan area, we are a team
of dog lovers that make our living selling homes.
Especially in Ada, Cascade, Caledonia, East Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Rockford.
Copyright by Bonnie Westbrook 2008
Contact: 1-888-240-1968 x 0 toll free
Website url: Terry Westbrook.com
Email: terry@terrywestbrook.com
Miss Kitty photo by Bonnie Westbrook The Bed photo courtesy of Mavieenrose3 at Flickr.com BIG DOG photo courtesy of Marre58 at flickr.com
A friend gave me two free coupons for a local spa treatment. I hadn’t heard of the salon, the Douglas J Institute, located in downtown Grand Rapids at 138 Commerce St SW. She said it was wonderful and I should enjoy it. I admit I am a grown up Tomboy and don’t really like salons and all the paraphernalia that goes with it. I tolerate my semi-yearly haircuts and that is about the extent of my foray into the world of beauty.
My friend, Karen Webster and I decide to do lunch and then get the Self-Renewal Facial at the salon. We had a fantastic lunch at Little Mexico downtown and found our way over to the salon.
Knowing nothing about Douglas J, I did a little research. I did find out the salon is a training institute and features Aveda products.
When we registered at the front desk, the hostess told us it would be 2 hours. We looked at each other, shrugged and thought, OK. We don’t have any other appointments, why not?
But secretly I was thinking:
“What in the world are they going to do with us for 2 hours. My face isn’t that big or that bad.”
We were escorted back to 2 secluded rooms by two young trainees. All spa services are done by senior students, who are supervised by a licensed trainer. We were stationed in separate rooms and given a brief questionnaire to reveal any allergies or sensitivities to products being used, told to disrobe, put on a spa robe, and the treatment begins.
The lights were turned down, soft, soothing music was playing. Jenny gave me the most fantastic 2 hours that seemed like 15 minutes I’ve ever spent in a salon setting. My facial was 3 separate phases with a hot towel (sheer heaven) after each. I also received a foot massage, an ayurvedic massage of my head, neck and shoulders, a scalp massage, plus an arm and hand massage. After all this, they offer a complimentary cosmetic touch-up so you don’t have to go out with a bare face.
It was so relaxing, I’m ready to rebook if my life gets the least bit frazzled. I would recommend this experience to anyone, it was a delightful afternoon.
Thanks, Douglas J!
P.S. I might get addicted to this salon life, after all.
Copyright by Bonnie Westbrook 2008
Contact: 1-888-240-1968 x 0 toll free
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Email: terry@terrywestbrook.com
facial photos courtesy of Flickr – chocokat & loveberry
Because this park offers so many attractions, I will just cover The Sculpture Park.
The 30+ acre Sculpture Park is set within the gardens 125 acre site. It features over 80
outdoor sculptures from reknowned artists, including one of the two existing bronzes
of DaVinci’s Horse Sculpture. Visiting artists are continually featured, so you see
new artists’ works set into the Gardens.
Artists represented in the Park include August Rodin, Aristide Maillol,
Jacques Lipchitz, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Mark di Suvero, Magdalena Abakanowicz,
George Rickey, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje can Bruggen, Juan Munoz, Hanneke Beaumont,
Louise Bourgeois, and Mimmo Paladino are featured. This open air museum has the most
comprehensive collection of outdoor sculptures within the Midwest.
There is a special element of discovery that permeates the park – you can
view the sculptures in and through meadows and trees, valleys and hills from many
different vantage points. The Sculpture Park includes a variety of tour options: guided
tram tours, adult guided walking tours (special dates and times)
and self-guided audio tours.
If you haven’t made it to the Meijer Gardens yet, Leonardo DaVinci’s
Horse, Il Cavallo alone is worth the trip. Pictured above, the scale is gigantic.
This equestrian giant weighs 15 tons and is 24 feet tall. What you can’t see is the
placement, set in an area between hills so the horse can’t be viewed until you wind
around the gentle hills and there in the middle of a plaza sets the most magnificent
bronze equestrian sculpture in North America. The most amazing part is that the
15th Century horse was only created in clay by Leonardo and destroyed by the
French Army when they invaded Milan, Italy in 1499 before it could be cast. His
blueprints and drawings were closely followed and this masterpiece came into being
in 1999 when the artist, Nina Akamu, cast the bronze form at an art foundry
in New York state. The second casting was shipped and unveiled in Milan, Italy in
Sept, 1999, 500 years to the day after DaVinci abandoned his project.
photos by Bonnie Westbrook
________________________________________________________________________________________________
The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West
Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids Michigan has a very special Children’s Garden. Admission is included with your daily ticket or membership ticket. At over 5 acres, it is one of the largest Children’s Gardens in the nation. This is a magical place for children of all ages, even the entrance is designed with children in mind: right beside the large entance is a mouse hole arched entrance with a gate. All of the Children’s Garden is wheelchair accessible, even Tree House Village.
We try to take our grandson, Jeffy, whenever he comes to visit. Come take a quick photo tour with us of the Children’s Garden.
The Children’s Garden has 10 Different Areas to Explore: 
One of the the most fun places for Jeffy was the Great Lakes Garden because it involved WATER, LOTS OF WATER. He spent a lot of time floating his boat around the Great Lakes!
The Kids Sense Garden was lots of fun, with plants to see, touch, smell, and taste. Even plants with funny names or appearances are included. The Log Cabin was a great place to explore our ancestors way of living but on a much smaller scale. Tree House Village is a large interconnected tree houses with lots of places to spy nature and its inhabitants. Jeffy especially liked the rope bridge, which he could get to swaying. He spent quite a while in the Rock Quarry, excavating for treasure, or maybe just because he liked to operate the shovel.
After the Sculpture Walk, Labyrinth, and Butterfly maze, we made our way back to the Horse Sculpture before calling it a day.
Jeffy wanted to pose for this shot.
*There are PALS -Play Activity Leaders -through out the Children’s
Garden to make the experience a little more fun and hands on. They might have boats, shovels, puppets, and other activities to make it a more educational or enjoyable day.
On one visit they had a clay station set up for the children to make their own animal sculptures.
If you would like to see more information about Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Please see my other articles ~
Part One – The Sculpture Park
Part Two, The Conservatory
Part Four – The Annual Butterfly Exhibit
Search Grand Rapids Homes for Sale Featured Grand Rapids Homes Greater Grand Rapids Area Information Copyright by Terry Westbrook 2008
Contact me: 1-888-240-1968 x 0 toll free
Website url: Terry Westbrook.com
Email: terry@TerryWestbrook.com