Alcohol Ink Jewelry

June 15, 2025July 6, 2025 ~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

I visited my life-long BFF in Traverse City this week and as always, she seeks out new experiences and fun things to do in anticipation of my arrival. On Friday we took an Alcohol Ink Jewelry Class which was perfect as I’ve been painting with Alcohol Ink for five years and she makes stunning jewelry.

The three hour class taught by Julie Tibus included all supplies, was skillfully taught, interactive and so much fun. Julie is not only an extraordinarily talented artist but we agreed, the best instructor we’ve had for an art class. We were thrilled with our final pieces and enjoyed seeing our classmates lovely designs as well.

Julie teaches a variety of art classes and so we’re planning to take more of them – it’s not a matter of if but when! Check out her social media: Julietibus.com and @tibusstudio

Here are my creations:

Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

October 16, 2024 ~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

Recently I visited this incredible place on a perfect fall day. These photos are of a few (of many) bronze sculptures that reside there. It’s an experience in every season and a true gem in Michigan.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

October 22, 2023October 22, 2023 ~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

Having been a lifelong resident of Michigan, I’ve traveled all over the state but had never visited this amazing park until recently. With 158 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens featuring over 200 sculptures, we walked for hours enjoying the fall colors, capturing photos of the beauty along the way.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park opened in April 1995 after 13 years of planning and fundraising by the West Michigan Horticultural Society. In 1990, Fred & Lena Meijer were asked by Betsy Borre for their support, and they embraced the concept of a major cultural attraction centering around horticulture & sculpture. The original vision has turned into a top cultural destination in the Midwest, known internationally for the quality of the art and gardens. Excerpt from Meijer gardens.org

In the Garden – Fun with Flowers

August 7, 2023October 10, 2023 ~ Spence's Girl ~ 1 Comment

I enjoy photography and find it nearly impossible to pass by beautiful flowers without stopping to take photos. These were taken yesterday at my BFF’s home in Traverse City Michigan where I spent a fabulous extended weekend.

Michigan Roadtrips

September 24, 2016September 25, 2016 ~ Spence's Girl ~ Leave a comment

I love Michigan and have lived here all my life. Within one to four hours in any direction, you can take an endless number of road trips and discover fun things to do. (Under the “Michigan” category, you can bring up earlier posts – and I hope you will.)

We’ve got countless lakes at every turn, gorgeous weather and amazing vineyards as well as sports, casinos, festivals, concerts, theaters, galleries, universities, zoos, great restaurants, parks and markets….you get it, right?

I’m sharing a couple of slideshows of road trips I’ve made over the last four weeks, from St Clair and Marysville to Traverse City, Lake Leelanau, Cedar and Suttons Bay. If you have a chance to visit Michigan, these are a few of my favorite places.

St Clair & Marysville

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2. Traverse City, Cedar, Lake Leelanau & Suttons Bay

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Perfectly Beautiful Saturday

July 2, 2016July 2, 2016 ~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

With the first of our three day Fourth of July weekend, the weather here in Michigan couldn’t be any more perfect. In fact ever since Wednesday this week it has been gorgeous including cooler nights and even a pretty solid and much needed rainfall in the wee hours Friday.

Spence and I choose to stay home on holiday weekends as the majority of the state heads “up north”. The Great Lakes State, Michigan has much to offer the farther north you travel and it’s stunning. However, there’s also traffic, construction and people pulling boats, jetskis and various other toys. We’re retired and can travel anytime plus when everybody else leaves town, it’s quiet and laid back.

With a soft breeze, brilliant blue sky and fluffy white clouds drfting above us we’re enjoying the garden. I picked the first 5 raspberries earlier, eating them right off the bush, like a bite of warm raspberry pie. In a bit, Spence will fire up the grill and I’ll open a bottle of wine and we’ll be chillin’.

Indeed, it’s a perfectly beautiful Saturday.

59 Candles, 59 Things – part thirty nine

April 11, 2016 ~ Spence's Girl ~ 2 Comments

Forty seventh thing: The next entry in this series of things that make me happy is new experiences. Since retiring, I have had a number of new experiences that have enriched my life, making my new “normal” exciting.

Some experiences, such as taking guitar lessons (a life-long dream) turned out differently than I’d imagined. It was hard – awkward, painful and clearly not for me. Others, blogging, yoga, meditation, writing, culinary knife skills – I truly enjoy.

This past weekend, I attended my first opera, “Orpheus and Eurydice”produced by the Opera Grand Rapids. Loving music, theater and dance, I was intrigued and was sure it would be great. In truth, it was more than I could have imagined, it was magical.

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Photos courtesy of Opera Grand Rapids Facebook page

Due to my unfamiliarity with this story I sought out a synopsis via Wikipedia, finding that it is comes from mythology, a subject I’d loved in high school. The story is compelling, a love so great that after his wife Eurydice dies tragically, Orpheus travels into Hell to bring her back.

The staging was set in modern day, simple yet dramatic and very effective. There were three leads, dancers and a chorus, a small cast I learned (compared to grand operas). The orchestra (while not visible from the pit) was amazing as was the haunting music. There was a screen along the top of the stage which supplied translation of the lyrics making the story easier to follow.

“Orpheus and Eurydice” was fascinating and performed beautifully – the singing and acting conveying a deeply moving love story.

I’m so grateful to my dear friend for sharing her love of opera with me. It was the highlight of an absolutely stellar girl’s weekend and a new experience that I’ll never forget.

Amour and Orpheus

Eurydice

Photos courtesy of Opera Grand Rapids Facebook page

For more on this series, “59 Candles, 59 Things” just click on 59 Things under categories.

Adam Lambert in Concert

March 28, 2016 ~ Spence's Girl ~ 4 Comments

Last Saturday, my sister and I attended Adam Lambert’s concert at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort. Having been die-hard fans since his first audition on American Idol (which he should have won!) this is my second (her third) time seeing him perform.

When we saw him last, he was touring with Queen (there’s an earlier post on that concert). He was brilliant – the vocals so beautifully echoing the magnificent, gone-too-young Freddie Mercury. Bliss.

This time, Adam performed his music including a cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” which rocked the house. Adam is a natural and gifted performer, singing and dancing, while flashing that gorgeous, mega-watt smile – truly riveting to watch.

November 2015 in Michigan – and I’m still wearing flip-flops!

November 5, 2015November 5, 2015 ~ Spence's Girl ~ 10 Comments

Michigan has been my home for all of my 59 years. By November, leaves are off the trees, the variety of fall colors are a sweet but fading memory. And it’s time to break out the jackets – or at least the sweaters.

Not this year. The Autumn of 2015, has to be the most beautiful in my recollection. On Monday it reached 79 degrees at home though I was en route to Traverse City (northwest Michigan) with my lifelong BFF. I think Traverse City easily reached 75 degrees on Monday with Tuesday and Wednesday equally warm. On Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., I was standing in the sand, wearing flipflops and taking photos of the crystal blue water, lighthouse, sunset and amazed at our good fortune.

The color change, which historically would be over by now, was in full glory. It wasn’t just warm, it was sunny and the sky was brilliant, painting the trees with light. Driving the two lane roads throughout the countryside, we marveled at every turn. I love Michigan and this time of year is always something special, though often it’s brief. I’m so grateful to be able to experience it in retirement.