Summer in the City

A kind friend popped by last week to say, 'hey, post again, will you?' I got swept up in a beautiful summer and disappeared for a few months.We moved here a year ago in August, just in time to catch the remaining summer nights where the air was still hot and muggy air at 10pm and live music echoed off the buildings from the amphitheater by the river. We couldn't wait for our first full summer in this city. So, when summer came, we just soaked it all in. It was hard time to leave when the weekends came so as much as we could, we stayed close to home. Oh, how great this city is in the summer. 

Here are the highlights:

Checking out movie sets. Matt took this one and it's a favorite.

Taking nieces and their parents around town to candy stores, playgrounds, museums, parks, and art installation.

Soccer. I wanted to move here anyway, but soccer league was a top 5 draw. The season ended Saturday and without a doubt, the biggest thrills of the summer were out on the field. We struggled. But then we bonded. And in the end, we figured out how to play a pretty decent game of soccer together.

Knitting. So much knitting, brought on by neighbors who are voracious with the needs and the birth of so many babies. I couldn't keep up! But I sure did try! This was a happy little baby sweater for the newest kid on our block.

And of course the actual welcoming of the babies! I'm not sure why 90% of babies born to my close friends and family are girls, but it was a summer of even more girls! One of my oldest friends had sweet little girl and I was happily here for the whole journey, even a couple lovely pre- and post-baby photo sessions.

Eating lots of Katie's Cannoli. When you come to Detroit, head to Supino's in Eastern Market and get cannoli. Really, do it! Buy more than you think you want.

Rooftop parties. Somehow we got invited to two rooftop parties this year. And I thought this kind of thing only happened in New York.

The weather. So hot. So muggy. Five straight weeks of it. And now I'm not quite sure what to think of the very slight chill in the evening air.

Canada! We finally got our passports and went over to Windsor to have dinner for our 10th anniversary. We drove around, were in awe of a new dose of culture (aka Vietnamese restaurants) and drove up the river and saw the soccer fields on Belle Isle from another country. We then made a beer run at the Beer Store. Beer bought in Canada truly tastes much better and bonus, comes out on a conveyor belt! We kept it casual and ate at a place with brown vinyl ambiance, made up for by pretty amazing haddock and chips. A couple weeks later we also went to a family reunion deep in the farm fields of southeastern Ontario. We'll be doing a lot more exploring in Ontario over the next year.

Shopping at the market on Saturdays. And now Tuesdays as well!

Biking with the dog, down the trail and along the river. She runs hard and then likes to take breaks in the grass.

Recycling. At the coolest recycling center I can imagine. Again, hot muggy days with funk music bouncing off the walls. Bee branding is a theme in Detroit. Bee themed grocery story. Bee themed hardware store. Bee themed recycling center.

And finally a little garden patch. We got a late start, threw some seedlings and seeds in the ground in late June, well after the other raised beds were thigh high. But, our crop is catching up and we should have a decent haul by the end of August or September.

There's more of course. Summer concerts. Little neighborhood projects to ward off graffiti and weeds. Quick trips up north. This weekend, I'm headed west, to walk on the Lake Michigan beach without shoes, catch a sunset on the big lake and get my fill in the blueberry fields while I can. 

Fall has always been my favorite season, but right now, it's really hard to imagine that the changing leaves will be as magical as this season has been.