Tuesday, September 1, 2015

August, Back to The D

Hello out there! How are you? Glad it's September? If you have read my blog for the last couple of years you know that I always look forward to fall. I love the smells, the cooler temps, the colors and pumpkin everything. What is your favorite fall thing? 

Anyone doing some fall stitching?
I am. I have been looking forward to stitching this since it was released. This is Lizzie Kate's Very Scary Mystery Sampler.
I also finished Margaret Randolph. This girl has been traveling with me for the last year. I am glad that she is finished. I love the greens and blues.
I received this lovely gift yesterday from my friend Kathy(no blog). Isn't it fabulous? Thank you my Friend!
  So back to the D, Detroit of course. I went the beginning of the month to help set up 2 sites.
  
I had a chance to catch up with my friend Jenny at a Tigers game.
When I started traveling I worked with her a lot but her job has changed so it was great that she was in town. I was glad that I could show her a little bit of Detroit.
The first week didn't go that well. The construction wasn't done on the sites so there was some waiting around. I was going to come back the next week to help and it would be more for me to fly home and back than to stay in Detroit so I spent the weekend.
I started my day at the Eastern Market. I love walking around the market. One of my goals was to put together a gift box of Detroit/Michigan treats for one of my friend's birthdays. I found some wonderful things.
On my way back to drop stuff in the car..
The truck that I was driving for the week, nice to drive one of these after taking the factory tour of where they are made!
I saw this sign and was asked if I was there for the tour? Well sure! 
The Preservation Detroit guides were great! They explained the history of early Detroit and the market. We looked at murals..
This is a new one.
They also talked about what is going on in this area, new businesses and restaurants. They told me about other things going on in town, the pierogi festival, Detroit Mass Mob and Preservation Detroit's annual Theater tour. If you are in Detroit and have a chance to take a tour with this group do it!
  
Since the pierogi festival was nearby on Canfield I headed there. Yum!
The festival was held at the Sweetest Heart of Mary Church. What a gorgeous building.
There are no churches of this size where I live. It was wonderful to have a nice morning at the market, a tour and lunch. A perfect way to spend Saturday.
  On Sunday I joined the Detroit Mass Mob at St. Josephat Church on Canfield, just 3 blocks down from Sweetest Heart of Mary.
What is a Mass Mob? In different urban areas where congregations have diminished to a point where the church is unable to afford repairs some organizers have come up with the Mass Mob concept. In Detroit the Mob takes place once a month at a different church. You can check out their Facebook page or check if your city has an organized mob.
It was a beautiful service and church.
Later on Sunday I went to my friend's mother's house for dinner and to do laundry. It was like coming home from college for the weekend.
Tina's Mom made this wonderful pepper stew with dumplings, I forget the Romanian name for this. It was definitely comfort food.
The next week was spent setting up computers and setting up the 2 sites. I really enjoyed both of the centers that I was working at, great people!
  Since I had found out about the theater tour I spoke with Rich about coming to Detroit for the next weekend and since I had miles and we were planing on maybe  going somewhere before his surgery he got on a plane!
   I picked him up Friday afternoon and in a last minute stubhub purchase at 4:40 pm we went to see Kid Rock. It was a great show, when you have the chance to see someone play their hometown do it!
Foreigner opened and they sounded great and did all of their hits. We had good seats.
  Then Saturday morning at 9am we started the theater tour.
First stop was the Michigan Theater...now a parking garage. When they built the theater it was part of an office building and in the 70's the office tenants were going to leave if they were not provided with parking.
This would have been the lobby.
The next stop was..
The Fillmore originally the State Theater.
Most of these venues were movie palaces. 
Now it is a Live Nation concert venue.
The view from the stage.
Next was the Gem. This is a small venue that started out as part of the Women's league. It was moved from it's original spot when Comerica park was built.
When is was moved it was the largest/heaviest building ever moved on tires.
It spent sometime during the 60's and 70's as an adult theater and all of the inside was painted black. Now it is used as a party/wedding event center.
Across the street from the Gem is the Music Hall.
This theater is decorated in a Spanish/ Moorish style and is now a dance and jazz venue.
Makeup!!!!
The box office. They are continuing work on this theater and have recently installed this outside canopy.
Then it was back to the Detroit Opera House for lunch.
After lunch we toured the Detroit Opera house which started life as The Capitol Theater.
This building has some of the best acoustics in the country and hosts operas and a Broadway series. They are always looking for volunteers as ushers.
From the balcony.
We also got to go through the backstage areas. This is costuming. Did you know that many productions rent the costumes for a production and it is this departments job to fit the cast. The costumes come with a 2 to 3" seam allowance to help with alterations.
It was great to see this part of the theater. Also this shop produces some movie costumes. They did Harold and Kumar's Christmas movie and some others that I can't remember.
I really would love to see a show here!
Next and final stop on the tour is The Fox.
Another movie palace that was restored in the late 80's.
Part of the lobby. It is so massive that you can't get one picture that shows it off.
This is the lobby ceiling.
Wow!
Breathtaking! That chandelier is 13' across.
Just an amazing place.
In the backstage areas and stairwell all the acts that have played the theater have signed the walls. Frank Sinatra was the first. Do you see Jay Leno too?
  What an amazing time. The tour was 5 hours. They only do this tour once a year. If you ever have the chance to take this tour it is wonderful. Preservation Detroit did an amazing job. We had perfect weather for the tour too.
We also went back to Eastern Market, 
Rich needed to have a Works sandwich filled with 3 to 5 different types of sausage(kielbasa, andouille, Hungarian, etc.) from Eastern Seafood.
  Then a little down time. I think Rich was tired.

We had dinner with Tina at Hungarian Rhapsody.
Amazing Chicken Paprikash.
Got up Sunday, went to The Detroit Institue of Bagels for a to go order and we headed to the airport.
Good bye Detroit. You always amaze me and give me more reasons to love you.
  Monday Rich had his pre-op appointments and Tuesday the 18th Rich had surgery. It went well, the cancer was contained and did not show up in the margins or lymph nodes. Unfortunately the surgery caused and other issue and Rich had another surgery on the 28th. He is still uncomfortable and in pain and is frustrated with this setback. Thank you for sending good thought and well wishes our way. Hopefully this time next week he will be feeling better.
   We also had another couple of milestones in August. Our house is paid off! Woohoo!
And our Subaru Forester now has 300k miles on it.
  Wow, if you made it through this thank you for traveling with me! I really need to post more but I am still looking for that balance in my life.

If you are in the U.S. have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and for my international friends, do some exploring and have some fun!

Chris







21 comments:

marly said...

In response to your very first question - what is my favorite fall thing - my answer would have to be the months that come before it. Thanks for the tour. I can't believe how much you take in! That Fox - what a masterpiece. Would not want to dust or paint it though. Sorry about the additional healing time but with such a good path report, I'm sure you're both relieved.

carol fun said...

Oh I love the cooler weather Fall brings and pumpkins... love pumpkins and pumpkin pie and pumpkin waffles and pumpkin bread and you get the picture. Really enjoyed the tour of Detroit...great history and great food. Sending prayers and positive thoughts for Rich's recovery...love seeing the mileage on your Forester... I have one that is only 3 years old and I hope to drive it till the wheels come off...great car. Your Fall stitching is lovely...hope there is more stitching time in your Fall, too!

Beth said...

First off Margaret Randolph is just beautiful. I love me some blues and those just sing. Thanks so much for the tour of Detroit. It looks to be an amazing place and as I have a cousin in Grand Rapids, I ought to find my way over that direction some day.

Mary said...

Your stitching looks fabulous! Love the Margaret R. finish! Looks like you two had a great time exploring Detroit! Great pics. Hope that Rich will soon be on the mend.

butterfly said...

Wow Chris thank you for showing us your travels.
I am sorry Rich was not well and hoping he is feeling much better.
Love your stitching all looks beautiful take care enjoy your next month traveling hugs.

Marilyn said...

May favorite Fall item?
DQ Pumpkin Pie Blizzard!!! :)
Margaret Randolph turned out so pretty.
Thanks for the pics from Detroit, I enjoyed them.
Love the Shark mural.
I only hope my Legacy lasts that long!
Congrats on paying off your mortgage.
I hope Rich feels better soon.
Marilyn

Brigitte said...

Margaret Randolph is so so beautiful. A great finish. I really wonder how you find the time for stitching when your schedule is always so full. But every little stitch in between work appointments also leads to a finish.

Fall has started here yesterday with much cooler temperatures and soem rain. And that's exactly what I love most about fall.

Thank you so much for the picture tour through all these wonderful old and sometimes restaored places in Detroit. What a city this must be. I once read an article about Preservation Detroit and they seem to do wonderful and very effective things.

Good to know that both surgeries that Rick had to have were successful. I think his disappointment about the set back with the second surgery will go away when the pain will be over and he will feel a lot better. All my best wishes to him.

Vickie said...

I truly love Fall. I love everything and anything pumpkin. Just baked some Pumpkin Cream Cheese Brownies. :D
Wow! So great you two could take in the theater tour. Awesome! Thank you for sharing your adventures. I would have gone to Pierogi Fest too!
I am praying for Rich.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Congratulations on paying off your house--huge milestone. Hope your hubby is feeling better and on the road to recovery

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Glad to hear all is now okay Chris, nothing is ever straightforward:-) I've been thinking about you both over recent weeks.

Vera said...

Hi Chris, so glad the pathology report for Rich was great...sorry about the additional surgery. Hoping he is healing quickly. I got exhausted reading your post...almost as though I had done the tour myself. Great pics though - thanks for sharing. So glad Sept is here...now if our cooler weather would come that would be wonderful.

Robin in Virginia said...

Thank you for taking us on a photo tour of your adventures in Detroit, Chris! It looks like you and Rich had a good time. Happy to hear the pathology report for Rich was good; hope he is well on the road to recovery from his first and second surgeries. Congratulations on your Margaret Randolph finish! I love the pops of blue in it. Your WIP is looking good and what a cool gift you received.

Robin in Virginia

PS I love the fall so there aren't many things I don't like about this season.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

So much to love about this post, Chris! Firstly, I am so happy that Rich's pathology repsort was good and that he is up and well in no time. Margaret Randolph is beautiful - congratulations on a really lovely finish. Great tour of Detroit. I've been to all the places you mentioned, of course and so appreciate your positiveness about the city. There is so much to see and do. We did a church tour a few years ago and it was amazing and some of the neighborhood tours are absolutely unbelievable! Hope Rich is all better, soon!

Cath said...

What a great trip. Loved the pics . Thanks for sharing .

Hope Rich is starting to feel better and sending best wishes for a speedy and full recovery .xxx

Julie said...

Get well wishes for Rich, I hope he is soon feeling much better.
What stunning places you've been visiting.
Super stitching, a great finish.

Margaret said...

Lots of good thoughts and prayers for Rich's recovery. So glad they got all the cancer -- I do hope he is feeling better now and is well on his way to recovery. Loved seeing all the pictures. Wow! You managed to cram so much into those weeks! Congrats on your finish too, and yes, I too want to stitch that Lizze Kate mystery sometime. Have it stowed away and waiting. Happy fall!

diamondc said...

Chris and Rich: I am so happy the cancer did not spread, prayers do work, I just hope he heals very soon from the last surgery.
What a fun time you both must have had in Detroit, all the theaters are beautiful, thank-you for sharing with us, and how lucky you are to have been there on the only day of the tour.
I am Catholic and have never heard of a Mass Mob, this is something I need to find out about.
I love your stitching, it always feels good to get a finished piece, love that Lizzie Kate.
I love fall, my favorite time is seeing the leaves turn to such beautiful colors, and seeing pumpkins growing.
Wow 300,000 miles, sounds like my last company vehicle, I thought I was doing good with the one I have now with 160,000.

Blessings and Hugs
Catherine

Carol said...

How nice to see Detroit through your photos, Chris, as I've never been there... Your stitching is just gorgeous--especially love all the blues in the sampler!

Oh, I do hope Rich's surgery goes well and that he's feeling back to his old self very soon. You two have lots to celebrate now that your house is paid off :)

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Wow, what an amazing post! I really loved seeing all those theatres, the preservation society does a great job looking after them.
The mass mob sounds interesting, two words which really don't go together usually!
Hope your hubby is soon on the road to recovery too.

Sally said...

Fantastic stitching Chris. The Halloween piece looks so much fun.

Thank you for sharing your photos of your trip. Looks like you had a fantastic time.

I hope Rich's surgery and recovery goes well.

Meari said...

What a great armchair tour! I enjoyed seeing all the places. :)

Beautiful stitching.

Congrats on paying off your house!! Yay!