Recycled Falls Crafts For Kids: Thanksgiving, Christmas

 Parents, do the holidays find you up to your eyebrows in kids and work? Why not put those vacationing youngsters to work making #Crafts, greeting cards and decorations for Thanksgiving, #Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah, or whatever winter holidays you celebrate? These cheap, green homemade crafts save money using recycled materials while keeping preschool kids productively busy and helping prep for your celebration.   Recycled Holiday Crafts For Kids: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Chanukah

Mama June wins at weight loss but obesity earns Honey Boo Boo her own craft beer

 Miss Mama June Shannon is working her weight loss and plastic surgery makeover, but obesity is paying off for Honey Boo Boo with a craft beer devoted to her "avoirdupois!" Odd Side Ales "Honey Blue Blue" pays tribute to the pageant divette with a blonde-haired, blueberry-faced logo. So this is just "ale" in good fun, but it could be a portent of future health dangers.  Mama June wins at weight loss but obesity earns Honey Boo Boo her own craft beer

MLK Jr. Day connects Detroit, Rosa Parks bus to New Orleans Congo Square, Kwanzaa

 MLK Jr. Day and Black History Month link Detroit and Dearborn's Rosa Parks bus to a New Orleans Congo Square Kwanzaa Connecting the dots to liberty and justice for all: Martin Luther King connects Henry Ford Museum's Rosa Parks bus, Hurricane Katrina and an unutterably lovely Treme Kwanzaa.  MLK Jr. Day connects Detroit, Rosa Parks bus to New Orleans Congo Square, Kwanzaa

Trans-Siberian Orchestra burns off winter blues, rings in Christmas Solstice in Michigan

Are you feeling Grinchy in winter snow, ice and cold, West Michigan? Got a case of the Krampus this Christmas? Then get thee to Grand Rapids, Michigan Van Andel Arena to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform its rock opera "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve." Think you can't afford TSO? Think again because tickets start at an affordable un-Scrooged $64. Let TSO burn away those winter blues and ring in the Winter Solstice! Trans-Siberian Orchestra burns off winter blues, rings in Christmas Solstice in Michigan

'My 600-lb Life' Teretha Hollis-Neely weight loss shows prayer, Detroit sass beat obesity

An 800-lb Detroit social worker, Teretha Hollis-Neely, was daily attempting suicide and her weapon of choice was food. Ironically, the obese woman was also an anti-obesity advocate. But bedridden Hollis-Neely is walking for the first time in two years, thanks to bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan of "My 600-lb Life," divine intervention, and a little Detroit spunk. Teretha's 340-lb weight loss after gastric bypass proves that prayer and moxie can beat a serious food addiction.    'My 600-lb Life' Teretha Hollis-Neely weight loss shows prayer, Detroit sass beat obesity

Free printable May Day lessons: Unions, organized labor movement from Detroit labor history and around the world

Spring is a poignant time in labor history. March 25, 1911 remembers 146 workers, mostly women, lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. April 16 mourns Ireland's Easter Rising of slain Feinians. April 28 marks Workers' Memorial Day, on which the organized labor movement pays tribute to the fallen in workplace accidents or in organized labor struggles. May 1 is May Day, honoring International Workers' Day. May 4 commemorates casualties at Chicago's Haymarket riot at a 1886 labor rally. May 19, 1920 is a day when the organized labor movement grieves the Matewan and Mingo County massacre of coal miners. On May 26, 1937 those who would from unions were assaulted at Ford's River Rouge plant "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.  Free printable May Day lessons: Unions, organized labor movement, labor history 

Lenten almsgiving service project with social studies, math lessons | Examiner.com

I homeschooled our children, our Catholic Lenten lesson plans centered on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, in solidarity with the poor and imitation of our Lord Jesus. A favorite Lenten service project was to help with church missions for our twin parish in Haiti. Here's a Lenten almsgiving service project. Make personal care kits and school supplies kits for those in need.   Lenten almsgiving service project with social studies, math lessons | Examiner.com

Winter safety: Prevent frozen pipes, furnace trouble, power outages, house fires

Big news in the US is snow and record low temperature. If there's one thing West Michigan knows, it's cold, snow and ice. And the northern upper peninsular and west Michigan area gets a special kind of precipitation called "lake effect" snow. Lake effect translates to "monster truck loads full, heaped everywhere, buried under" snow. It's so iconic that there's a beer named after it! So all that snow is pretty and good for skiers, but it also causes a plethora of winter safety hazards. Here are winter safety tips to prevent house fires, power outages, frozen pipes, furnace trouble.   Winter safety: Prevent frozen pipes, furnace trouble, power outages, house fires | Examiner.com

Winter ice cream desserts, alcoholic desserts, frozen dessert recipes, yes, seriously in winter!

 Did you gorge on goodies this Christmas? Are you now seriously considering diet your New Year's resolution? Very commendable, but wait a moment on the weight loss regime. There's still two food blow-oust in the holiday season lineup: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Both features feeding frenzies galore! New Year's Eve features cocktail appetizers and yummy hors d'oeuvres and New Year's Day is all about indoor football "tailgate" parties and game day buffets. So feast on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 and diet on Jan. 2. Because here are frozen dessert recipes--suitable for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day spread--you won't want to miss! These ice cream desserts are delicious year-round, especially in a hot summer. But despite the cold weather, festive ice cream desserts, are welcome at winter holiday parties too. New Year's Eve ice cream desserts, alcoholic desserts, frozen dessert recipes | Examiner.com

Christmas trees: Evergreen tree choices for holiday decorations

Shopping for Christmas trees? Shouldn't be all that difficult, right? After all, Christmas trees are pretty much the same, aren't they? Actually there are several different evergreen trees grown for use as Christmas trees. Here is a guide to choosing Christmas trees, based on style, allergic properties, ease of decorating and cost. This author's hometown of Grand Haven, Michigan is Christmas Tree Central, so you're getting this info from the "roots"--so to speak. Starting with less expensive, here are evergreen tree choices.   Christmas trees: Evergreen tree choices for holiday decorations | Examiner.com

Free Thanksgiving dinners in and around West Michigan 2015

In chilly November, most of us in West Michigan are planning our Thanksgiving dinners, shopping, cooking and baking. Our biggest worry is shoveling that pesky snow off our drive and walks. Others, sadly don't worry about shoveling or cooking because they don't have a drive to shovel, homes to eat in or families to enjoy. Just eating for today is their worry. But there's good news. Local groups are preparing free Thanksgiving dinners.Free Thanksgiving dinners in and around West Michigan 2014 | Examiner.com

 

Angler hooks cow catfish: Moo-ve over sofa shark, orca cowfish took the bait | Examiner.com

Moo-ve over sofa shark, 'cause orca cowfish took the bait. An unidentified Oklahoma angler hooked a cow catfish, reported GrindTV on Oct. 21. No, this wasn't a giant catfish of cowish proportions. Nor was it a mini orca whale, as some have suggested. The skin of this catfish was patterned in signature orca or Holstein black and white! Reel-y! That's no fish tale. The handsome catfish had large, friendly cow eyes, which complete the bovine look. And he was a nice chunky fish specimen which provoked the mini orca comments. So call him "cow catfish" or "cowfish" or "orca cat" or whatever, the critter's distinctive piebald pattern certainly made a splash! Add to that, the impressive whiskers of the catfish and this is one handsome catch.Angler hooks cow catfish: Moo-ve over sofa shark, orca cowfish took the bait | Examiner.com

Michigan man pulls gun over Grand Haven, Mich., Walgreens parking spot: Pistol packing parker panics | Examiner.com

Getting that special parking space is serious business. At least it was to a Comstock Park, Michigan man who pulled out a gun over a parking spot at Walgreens in Grand Haven. The pistol packing parker panicked when someone else went for his chosen spot, so he grabbed his weapon and brandished it at his opponent. The weapon-wielding Walgreens warrior wasn't named in the WOOD TV-8 Oct. 10 report, but he was said to be 58 years old. The guy he took aim at was 24.  Michigan man pulls gun over Walgreens parking spot: Pistol packing parker panics | Examiner.com

Michigan plague case diagnosed: 14 bubonic plague victims in 2015 outbreak - Grand Rapids News | Examiner.com

 A Michigan plague case has been diagnosed, reported the Denver Post on September 15. That brings the number to 14 bubonic plague victims in the 2015 outbreak. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services found an Upper Peninsula Marquette County woman with plague after visiting Colorado's Salida music festival. The victim is being treated and health officials assure that there has been no human-to-human transmission in this case. This is Michigan's first plague diagnosis.Michigan plague case diagnosed: 14 bubonic plague victims in 2015 outbreak - Grand Rapids News | Examiner.com

Tiger roams Detroit Packard plant: Wild animals 'shot' in historic factory ruin - Grand Rapids News | Examiner.com

 Seeing Lions and Tigers in Detroit is no surprise when they're on the ball fields. Seeing a live tiger roaming in the vacant Detroit Packard plant is quite another. ABC News reported August 17 that the tiger wasn't the only creatures wandering the empty factory. There were also several wolves, a bob cat and a naked woman in a trench coat. Turns out wild animals were "shot" in the historic factory ruin (shot as in the photographic kind, that is).  Tiger roams Detroit Packard plant: Wild animals 'shot' in historic factory ruin - Grand Rapids News | Examiner.com

Shipwrecks visible in northern Lake Michigan: Wrecked boats appear in Michigan - Grand Rapids News | Examiner.com

A Michigan May means strawberries, sunshine and...shipwrecks? Several shipwrecks are visible in the clear waters of northern Lake Michigan. Live Science said May 6 that the hulls of several wrecked boats show up clearly from elevated promontories between Ludington, Frankfort, Leland and Traverse City, Michigan.



The boat wreck of the Rising Sun, a 133-foot-long wooden steamer foundered during an early snowstorm in shallow water just north of Pyramid Point on October 29, 1917. Its wreckage sits in 6-12 feet of water. The skeletal remains show up starkly in Lake Michigan's sandy bottom and vivid turquoise waters. Lake Michigan's water is gloriously blue everywhere and especially in the stretch.  Shipwrecks visible in northern Lake Michigan: Wrecked boats appear in Michigan

Detroit Institute of Arts' Kahlo-Rivera exhibit gives Cinco de Mayo attitude

Looking for an outside-the-pinata Cinco de Mayo experience, a celebration with attitude? Tired same-old margaritas and tacos? Why not check out the Detroit Institute of Art's Frida Kahlo-Diego Rivera exhibit? These two Mexican artists were anything but stereotypical. Their passion for communism, reflected in their individual art, provides interesting contrast to commercial Cinco de Mayo schmaltz.  Detroit Institute of Arts' Kahlo-Rivera exhibit gives Cinco de Mayo attitude

Hoppy National Beer Day! Best Double IPA, Imperial IPA beers for hopheads - Grand Rapids Holidays | Examiner.com

Hoppy National Beer Day! Nope that's not a typo: hoppy beer is what makes hopheads happy! They crave beers bursting with bitter, pine-resin, citrus-spice hop notes. The hoppiest tipple is an IPA (India Pale Ale). And the coup de grace is Double IPA or Imperial IPA. Here are the best double and imperial IPA beers. All are Michigan beers, oh frabjuous day! <---That's me and my pub hub pal at Odd Side! Hoppy National Beer Day! Best Double IPA, Imperial IPA beers for hopheads - Grand Rapids Holidays | Examiner.com

Satanists erect anti-Christmas demonic nativity scene at Michigan State Capitol

A Satanist group put up an anti-Christmas demonic nativity display at Michigan's State Capitol. West Michigan Star 105.7's Tommy Dylan reported on the Satanic Temple of Detroit's "Snaketivity Scene," Dec. 17. The Satanists call their counter-nativity display "Knowledge is the Greatest Gift" as per theFacebook page.



The Michigan State Capitol Commission approved the Satanists request to erect their holiday display, based on first amendment rights, and pending promises to abide by on-grounds display rules.  Satanists erect anti-Christmas demonic nativity scene at Michigan State Capitol

Halloween 2014 Spooktacular trick-or-treat fun in Pentwater, Michigan

Pentwater, Michigan is West Michigan's place to be this Saturday October 25, 2014. It's the 7th annual Halloween Spooktacular! Enjoy a lollapalooza of trick-or-treat and fall-themed fun for the whole family. Check Pentwater's Spooktacular page for updates. Here's what to expect.Halloween 2014 Spooktacular trick-or-treat fun in Pentwater, Michigan - Grand Rapids Holidays | Examiner.com