Strengthening My Spirit

The last few days have been pretty stressful. My mom was in the hospital with a recurrence of a chronic lung condition; for a while the doctors thought she might also have pneumonia. She's at home and is doing better now. Unfortunately, the day I brought her home from the hospital, I also brought Elliott Beagle home from the vet with a diagnosis of lung cancer. Now, my dad is sick with a respiratory infection.

Sometimes I feel I'm living in a death house.

As you can see, I haven't been especially cheery lately. I had a photo class scheduled for yesterday, but decided to take the day off and go wander in the park. Nature has always been my source for strength, focus and peace of mind.

Photo Field Trip

I've been taking a photography class at a local community college to help improve my photos. Today we went on a field trip to the downtown of my hometown, Plymouth, Michigan. Very convenient for me. It was a cold, rainy evening and most of my fellow students bugged out as soon as possible. Before too long, only my instructor, one other student and I were left. We headed to a cozy coffee house down the street, where we warmed up with hot drinks, then continued the class in comfort.

Paczki Day

Rio has its Carnival and New Orleans its Mardi Gras, but here in Detroit we celebrate Fat Tuesday with paczki! Paczki (pronounced POONCH-key) are basically fat Polish jelly donuts stuffed full of fruit, cream or custard fillings. Eat enough of these fat-filled treats and you'll be willing to give up just about any food item for Lent---or, at least until the chocolate eggs and bunnies show up.