The Taiko Drummers Performance was great!I’m glad I got to see the Taiko Drummers tonight at the Frederik Meijer Gardens… and you will be too if you make it to one of their performances tomorrow. That’s right, Raion Taiko and Special Guests will have 3 more performances tomorrow, June 12, 2015 at 3:00 PM, 6:45 PM and 8:00 PM at the Frederik Meijer Gardens amphitheater. The performances are for members only, so you will have to get a FMG membership before seeing the concert.
The Taiko Drummers are part of the celebration of the grand opening of the new Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese garden at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. I also got a peek at the Japanese gardens and I can see why it’s taken four years of planning, another three years of construction and $22 million to make this happen. The 8 acre garden was designed by Japanese landscape designer Hoichi Kurisu and is well worth a visit. I feel so very lucky to have this treasure so close to home.
I’ll be back to take more photos of the Japanese garden, in the meantime, I thought you would enjoy photos from the performance tonight.
The Taiko performers had an amazing amount of energy.
Nancy Hanks, LMT, NMT, OMERI, Licensed Massage Therapist, doing what she loves, working the kinks out of a lucky client’s back.If you live near Grand Rapids, wowie zowie, I have an awesome licensed therapeutic massage therapist for you. Nancy Hanks, LMT, NMT, OMERI has been eliminating neck kinks, unwinding stress and alleviating headaches and back pain for me for about 2 years now.
I like to consider myself a bit of a massage therapist expert, because I’ve been to a lot of them! I used to work at a YMCA next to a massage therapy institute, and had several friends that would routinely give me massages for practice. That’s when I gained an appreciation for the health benefits of massage, as well as how well it helps me relax.
Asking around to find out who the best massage therapist is in the area is something I’ve done for a long time, I’ve stuck with Nancy because she is hands-down (no pun intended) the best massage therapist I’ve ever been to. One of the things I appreciate about her, is the extensive training she’s had. Nancy has more certificates than I’ve ever seen on a massage therapist’s wall, and she continues to expand her training. When I asked Nancy about all the certificates, she actually said, “Oh, those, I should update them, I need more frames, I have 5 more certificates at home,” … and she wasn’t kidding. She also pays careful attention to the quality of the products she uses on her client’s skin, choosing carefully thought out oils and scents that are healthy options. I also appreciate her attitude, she genuinely cares about her clients and means it when she says, “I can’t believe how lucky I am do be doing this for a career.” It shows when someone loves what they are doing.
One of her several areas of expertise is myofascial release massage, it’s a way of unwinding the fascia, which tends to bunch up and cause problems over time. I recently referred Nancy to a friend who have been in a rollover car accident after crashing into a semi truck at 70 MPH. My friend, who is very lucky to be alive, went to Nancy the day after the wreck, hoping that she would avoid problems with whiplashand sore muscles. Afterwards, she called and told me that “Nancy saved my a–,” and “I can’t believe that I feel this good after that wreck, I could barely move before I went to Nancy, she’s the best massage therapist I’ve ever been to.”
If you’re interested in a therapeutic massage session with Nancy, she charges $70 an hour. Her spa-like massage therapy room is soothing, relaxing and located in a pleasant office building in the Ada, Cascade area on 28th Street that she shares with her husband, Dr. Brian Hanks, a talented local chiropractor.
To schedule a massage, Nancy Hanks can be reached at 763-300-9844.
This stunning lookout over Lake Superior is one of the points of interest at Presque Isle Park in Marquette
Marquette Michigan, is among the most magical places I’ve ever been to. It’s like going back in time, surrounded by nature and friendly, warm genuine people. My first visit to Marquette was about 15 years ago when we took a family trip that I’ll never forget, partly because I locked my keys in our running car… but mostly because of the scenery along the lakeshore, wonderful parks, boutique shopping and great restaurants.
An NMU student was enjoying the scenery at Presque Isle Park.
I took this photo on a walk along the path in Marquette following the Lake Superior shoreline.
It had been too long since my last visit and this fall I made another trek to Marquette only to discover that it’s still the same as it used to be. I highly recommend this as a getaway vacation spot. Lake Superior is stunning in its sheer power and magnitude and there’s a walk along the lakeshore that stretches through town, passing a lighthouse, rocky shoreline, parks, and massive old iron ore docks . The town is full of locally owned shops and the people are welcoming, “U.P.” quirky (that’s a good thing) and kind.
A massive iron ore dock is a focal point along the Marquette Lake Superior shoreline although it’s no longer in use.
This summer I plan on revisiting Marquette for a couple of weeks and taking pictures to add to my upper peninsula collection of photos. Some of my favorite Marquette places that I visited so far are listed below, I’ll add to my list after I return from my trip this summer:
Marquette Food Co-op 502 W. Washington St., Marquette, MI 49855 I was totally impressed with this place, they had a huge selection of health conscious products, from organic food to organic lotions.
Donckers’ Restaurant has delicious food from scratch, an old time atmosphere, and a well stocked candy store and old time soda fountain.
The Portside Inn features awesome food in a historical pub atmosphere. Call ahead for reservations, they are hard to get into.
Sweet Water Cafe features meals made from fresh and natural ingredients and is a local favorite.
The Thai House is owned by a native of Thailand, and it shows. If you love Thai food, this place is a must.
Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery … this southern restaurant in the U.P. features authentic Cajun food that you will love.
The Marquette Baking Co features truly artisan crafted breads and pastries using organic flours and the finest ingredients.
Dead River Coffee … coffee is important to me, too important. So I was on a mission to find the best place and this is where the locals told me to go. I love Dead River Coffee, went there every day. It’s a historic little hole in the wall with great coffee and lots of attitude.
Presque Isle Park is one of my favorite parks, it has a winding road through hilly woods along Lake Superior. Stunning views and peaceful surroundings. Go there, you’ll be glad you took the time.
If you know of anyone who might be willing to trade photography services for rent in the Marquette region this summer, please let me know by emailing me at ann@atmediastudio.com , I’m flexible with my trip this summer and looking for a good place to stay. Thanks
This is another of the beautiful treasures you’ll discover along the Lake Superior shoreline in Marquette.
Quiet Mind, Scarlett Kanistanaux. Located at 50 Monroe
After hearing mixed reviews about ArtPrize 2014, I decided to head over and see what was there. I’ve been both an ArtPrize artist and spectator, this year I decided to enjoy being a spectator (it’s a little hard for me to multitask on this one.)
First of all, I loved what I saw. Truly ArtPrize is what you make it, so I’d like to give you some tips on how to get the most out of ArtPrize.
If you’re going to go to one of the major venues, go early in the day, or expect a big crowd and a wait.
Wear something comfortable both on your feet and to wear and don’t carry a heavy bag. Expect to walk a lot and plan little breaks to sit down and people watch, and grab something to eat and drink. The food trucks by the GRAM have some delicious offerings, by the way.
Don’t make this a race to see as much art as possible in a day. You will get tired and burned out quick, and just feel mad… because you just aren’t going to see it all in a day.
Expect to see some items, in fact lots of items where you think “how could anyone possibly call this art?” It’s okay though, because there is more than enough work that you will love and that will make it worth your while.
Expect to pay about $10 to park downtown for the day. And do it, it’s not worth the hassle to add walking a long distance to get a cheap parking spot.
Figure out the main venues you want to explore and their proximity to each other.
If you plan on staying the night downtown, expect to pay a lot, the hotels are almost sold out except for the most expensive rooms.
Gravity, Dean Kugler, located in front of the Gerald R. Ford Museum and was one of my favorites.
Here are some great places to check out, they have enough artists where there should be something for you. There are also a lot of other venues, some with fewer artists, and many with incredible work, so this list is by no means complete, just a great place to start if you don’t know where you want to go:
The Grand Rapids Art Museum (expect a wait during peak hours)
50 Monroe Place (the building behind the BOB)
Women’s City Club (expect a wait during peak hours)
Frederik Meijer Gardens
JW Marriott
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (expect a wait during peak hours)
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (expect a wait during peak hours)
Plaza Towers
The Gerald R. Ford Museum (expect a wait during peak hours)
The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel (check out back along the river front too)
You will probably meet a lot of the artists, especially if you vist at night or on the weekend. I ran into Frits Hoendervanger, a previous ArtPrize winner and participating artist again this year. His work is at the Amway Grand Plaza and is stunning.
Michigan farmland is stunning this time of year with cool clouds.
This summer has had more rain than usual, resulting in a lush beautiful Michigan! Even more so than usual. If you’re not from around here, you should come up for a vacation, luckily, most of the rain has been at night and this has been a wonderful summer.
I took a little drive out into the country and took this picture yesterday. Take a close look at the cloud, isn’t it wild looking? The Michigan farmland and scenery is just spectacular this time of year!
Tall grassy areas are a typical place to be aware of ticks.
Yes, I said it, lyme disease is in Michigan and if you live here, or visit here, you need to know about it. The last few years, I’ve been hearing more and more about lyme disease in Michigan and this year is no exception. I am not saying this to alarm you, ticks and lyme disease don’t need to ruin your fun, you just need to know that it’s here, it’s probably not going away anytime soon and how to protect yourself. Most cases in Michigan occur between late spring and mid-July, but can happen even in the fall.
Check out the below map provided by the state of Michigan, it shows where the most cases have been discovered in the state, and where lyme disease is heading. If you’re visiting the lakeshore, ticks like to hang out in tall grassy areas and hop on for a tasty meal when folks walk by them. But, you can prevent this by either covering up, and/or spraying with tick repellant. I prefer to use natural repellants with at least 20% oil of lemon eucalyptus. After being in wooded or tall grassy areas, check for ticks and take a shower. If you discover a tick, remove it and save it so you can send it in for testing if you get sick. If you remove a tick within 36 hours of it attaching itself to you, chances are more likely that you won’t get lyme disease. If you do get sick, getting immediate 30 day treatment with antibiotics that last for at least 30 days is important. Following are some useful resources to help combat this issue:
Prevention: Be cautious when walking in the woods, avoiding bushy and grassy areas. Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts and wear insect repellent containing DEET on exposed skin or, if you’re like me use something natural containing a strong solution of oil of lemon eucalyptus. After walking in wooded areas, thoroughly check the skin for the poppy-seed sized ticks, paying particular attention to the scalp, armpits and groin. If you find a tick, carefully remove it with tweezers or a tick remover. More info
Repel Plant Based Insect Repellant with Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus has been recommended as a natural solution.
Permethrin on clothes kills ticks on contact and lasts several washes
Dammix Tick Tubes offer an innovative solution to rid your property of ticks.
Oh how I love the sound of my wind chimes blowing before a thunderstorm.
This photo makes me think of summer in Michigan, beautiful, full of color, sunshine and musical. Speaking of musical, here are some great places to see outdoor concerts in West Michigan, with links for more information:
Jazz at the John Ball Zoo through August 11 a different jazz concert will be featured each Monday night through Aug. 11, at John Ball Park, 1300 W. Fulton St. Free concerts run from 6:30-8:30 pm.
Rockford’s Rogue River Blues Series (sponsored by Huntington Bank) through August 12, Tuesday nights 7PM – 9PM, at Garden Club Park in Downtown Rockford (Bridge Street, behind Arnie’s Bakery)
The quality of the music at these events is usually outstanding, I really love how easy it is to find something fun to do during the summer in Michigan. Hope to see you at one of these concerts!
Went for a walk on Lake Michigan today and this is what I saw. Photo by Ann Teliczan
Usually I like to go to Lake Michigan in the summer, but with all the cold weather and snow we’ve had, I thought that this would be a good time to check out the landscape. Wow! It was spectacular, this icy sculpture is the lighthouse, and the vast ice field beyond it, is the lake. I took this photo in Grand Haven, MI at the lighthouse.
UPDATE: since I posted this 7 days ago, I’ve had over 42,000 page views of this post so I wanted to answer some of the questions I’ve been getting… 1) the dark object to the left of the “ice wave” is a person, not an eagle. There were a lot of people walking around on the frozen lake, I was not one of them, I was walking on the frozen pier, which is where I was when I took this photo. I am too chicken to walk out on frozen lakes, especially big frozen lakes, and strongly recommend staying off the lake, even if it is frozen. 2) the snow and ice surrounding the wave, is Lake Michigan which is now 80% covered in ice. 3) I am happy for you to share my photo, as long as you link it back to this blog post, if you share it on Facebook, please also tag me (Ann Gundry Teliczan). Thank you everyone for all the positive feedback, it’s great to be appreciated.
UPDATE 2: Even thought there is an icy layer on the lake, it is not safe. Here is an article about people falling through the ice out there this winter, even if other folks are out there on the ice, please, please, please don’t risk it it.
This sundog in Ada, MI made the subzero drive on icy roads worth it.
As I was driving along this morning wondering why on earth I was braving the packed icy roads in subzero weather, I looked up and saw this sundog. It was funny because I was listening to the radio and the announcer was talking about what a miserable day it was and seeing this totally changed my perspective of the morning.
This has been the coldest, snowiest winter I can remember in Michigan, but as long as I can keep my house warm (and not go broke doing it), I’m going to snuggle up and enjoy the winter.
If you click on this photo, you can see even more detail.
I’m not like most people when it comes to ice storms. Yes, I do hate it when we lose power, but, the resulting photos more than make up for it.
Michigan had an ice storm this week and then, it snowed on top of the ice. Seriously, I had a hard time driving and staying focused with the stunning beauty all around me. I took this photo in the back of a schoolyard in Ada, but it looks like this everywhere right now.
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