SiCKO

I believe my friend, Grimsaburger, put it quite well when she says, "you must, Must, MUST see this movie."

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It is devastating, interesting, important, and educational. It is done in Michael Moore's classic style - without the in-your-face confrontation of those he is (rightfully) attacking.

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Go here to watch the trailer for a sneak peak. Then go see the movie, and let Che Guevara's daughter (a pediatrician in Cuba) ask you why her country can afford full health care for everyone, and ours - one of the riches in the world - doesn't even try. Take a tour, Moore-style, of British and French hospitals, and marvel as people stare blankly or just start laughing when he asks how much they are paying for their stay.

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I hope you get mad, and I hope you do something - vote, perhaps, for a candidate that advocates for universal health care. If you'd prefer, this one thinks it's a good idea, too.

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I want to love my country, I promise; but films like this one make it hard. Not to mention that endless war. But that's for another time.

Ninety-Five ...

That's how old my grandmother is today. But, in my opinion, she doesn't look a day over 75! She has had an amazingly eventful, interesting and inspiring life, and the family sat with her on a flawless Lake Michigan afternoon remembering all the ways in which she touched our lives. There were dripping eyes, drifting songs, and -- as you can see -- lots of laughs!


Here's to my gramma, her unconditional love, and her beauty and strength of character. Happy Birthday!

Home!

SO'B has arrived home safely, to my great relief and happiness. Let the wedding planning resume!

Cornucopia

Yay! Our first shipment of Layman Farm's "To-Your-Door" produce has arrived:


Don't the berries look fantastic? Thanks, El Ranchero & AH, for telling us about the opportunity in Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan to support a local farm.

Almost there!

The tomatoes are truly out of control -- in the best possible. way. I have at least 25 Roma Grapes on the vine, 2 of which are turning a beautiful and promising orange color. The Better Boys are coming along, almost catching up to their neighbors, the Mr. Stripeys. Each have about 10 on the vine, some just about ready to ripen.

On the less successful side of the garden, I transplanted our herbs (all of which are exceedingly pathetic) out of the pots and into the ground. I hope that helps. Then I watered the heck out of them in hopes they'll finally "take." Maybe I'll just have to call them lost and try again next year.

A happier topic: Happy Birthday, Grimsaburger! I hope dinner at The Vine is all you hoped (and I'd go for the Asiago dip if I were you).

Family Fun

This is the greatest part of the summer: Family Vacation! With my seven nieces and nephews, siblings and parents, we had a couple of full houses -- full of people, but also full of fun, love and laughs.

My favorite day: a lovely rafting trip down the Sturgeon River -- the fastest in lower Michigan, they say. It was great fun to work together with the kids, steering the boat and getting through the "rapids" (read: water going slightly more quickly over logs and rocks).





We stopped at a little swimming hole and the kids took the brave plunge into the VERY cold water -- and had a blast doing it! Here is "Little Anton," the quickest dive in.


Sophia was a little more shy about it, but still had a great time.

The older girls, meanwhile, got right into the fun!

While Seth went stone-searching,





Christian practiced for future rafting trips!





After hours of friendly poker games and runs around the lake, glasses of wine and wonderfully satisfying food, it was all a Family Vacation should be: FUN!