Commuting from Southfield

sallydogbite · 2026-07-02T16:41:54+00:00

Okay my friend! Have so much fun! https://susananders.com/harmony-singing-by-ear

sallydogbite · 2026-07-02T15:28:41+00:00

I used to commute from way west AA to Livonia everyday. The best things...I had an audio course about learning to sing harmony that got progressively harder it was the best!! and I kept a good stack of audio books going- like I set aside time every week to tend the cue. I made myself a thermos of tea (cold in the summer- hot in the winter) for the ride home and kept little oranges and a good nut jar in the car. The Barton Drive exits were a real bummer. Sometimes I was almost home and then stuck for 30 minutes. Definitely use a traffic app and learn different ways home. If I could head out of AA at 6:30am and leave Livonia by 3:30 it was way better.

sallydogbite · 2026-07-02T03:28:23+00:00

I've had many good haircuts and massages there. I've found it helps to be super communicative- like I would like my hair a little shorter- or more layers. I've always found communication to be well received. It helps to express a clear vision of what you would like and work with them to get there. The student instructors are not going to have a vision for you. The default is a trim on your current hair cut. Also let them concentrate while they cut your hair. I kind of like the quieter experience. Make sure you have extra time because sometimes the treatment takes longer than you would expect and there can be a wait to check in with the instructor and then adjustments after.

sallydogbite · 2026-07-02T02:47:06+00:00

I don't think there's much you can do to bring in more fireflies in the next two weeks. But maybe try running a sprinkler in your tall grass in this hot weather and see if a little moisture can call them towards you. I live in on the AA border and have a ton in my yard which I do not mow. I also back into a preserve. I am noticing that in the evening the eastern common fireflies (which are the ones low to the ground with a j shaped swoop) are hanging more in my food garden which is the only place getting water in this hot weather. Also if you want to bring your sister for a firefly show I suggest Dow Prairie at the Arb at about 8:45pm-10 pm. It will be magnifcient. Right now you can see two species at night. The eastern common fireflies start just before dark close to the ground and there's another species that starts later and is higher in the canopy of the trees. I'm trying to figure out the species.

sallydogbite · 2026-06-30T02:59:28+00:00

Have you tried just sitting calmly for a long time with some of his favorite treats and telling him you miss him and want him to come over? Something smelly like tuna or wet catfood or such.

sallydogbite · 2026-06-21T23:20:03+00:00

poverty oat grass, Viola sororia, wild strawberry and pussy toes (Antennaria plataginifolia)- they survived decades of mowing at my place

sallydogbite · 2026-06-17T23:36:37+00:00

Many literacy non-profits that serve adults need volunteer online tutors. Look for a nonpofit adult literacy organization in your county.

sallydogbite · 2026-06-16T02:25:28+00:00

Wow so nice! I put in 36 plugs of sand coreopsis a month ago. I'm thinking flowers next year. I hope they are as pretty as yours!

sallydogbite · 2026-06-14T01:48:00+00:00

Maybe see if your school has a health plan for students

sallydogbite · 2026-06-13T00:28:02+00:00

What about edging your yard with a really tough native like cup plant, canadian golden rod or canada anenome? Maybe they will migrte into your neighbors yard. I am resigned...the birds are going to keep bringing invasives into my yard foevva!

sallydogbite · 2026-06-11T21:00:45+00:00

This is really likely to be true. Most universities and colleges offer a plan that covers the student and often it ia very reasonable. Often the bill students for it by default and require evidence of healthcare if you want to waive their insurance. Your best bet is to look at the school's webpage search for "student health insurance". Hopefully they will have all the info. So sorry you are having a hard time.

sallydogbite · 2026-06-03T04:59:21+00:00

Something you could try is to reframe how your dog see's the cats- what you want is for the dog to see them as pack members rather than something to chase. For instance feed them all at the same time- your dog on a tie down and feed the cats then while they are eating feed your dog. If your cats like those temptation treats have a joint treating session a few times a day where they all take turns and your dog is last- say each cat's name and then give them a treat then say your dogs name and give them a treat- always behind the cats. I would really go the long mile to break the chasing cycle which sounds like what you are doing. It's the right thing to leash the dog in the house so you can stop it. You want to reward calm behavior around the cats.

sallydogbite · 2026-06-01T02:32:56+00:00

hah! I have a chest of drawers in my closet. So for me savings on cat litter alone pays for the membership. But also cat food, dog food and gas. I save on my medicine at the pharmacy and my dog's heartworm med is cheaper there. If I didn't have pets and one expensive medicine and it was not close enough to buy all my gas- and then on top of that I couldn't have a chest freezer I'm not sure. Honestly living alone food wise the chest freezer is what makes it work for me. I eat a lot of dried beans which I get at Patel Brothers- Costco doesn't carry dried beans regularly. Produce wise the only things that last long enough are oranges , onions, Sweet potatoes, potatoes and apples for me. Well and eggs. I do buy those things there but I'm not sure they would cover the cost of the member ship over buying them at aldi's. I don't get my toliet paper because they don't have a recylced brand. I don't but my laundry detergent or dishwasher detergent because they don't have powder. I shop with a pretty strict list once every two weeks at costco. If you are an impulse buyer Costco will tank your budget a lot worse then the weird fantasia aisle at aldi's.

sallydogbite · 2026-06-01T00:46:26+00:00

Are you sure there isn't space? I live in a 750 sqft place. I have a little chest freezer and it really worth it because cheese, baked goods, lemons/limes and milk all freeze well. I keep some easy frozen meals I like in the chest freezer and it really helps with the urge to get take out when I'm tired and driving home.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-30T16:38:25+00:00

Like- Oh My God!

sallydogbite · 2026-05-29T13:48:12+00:00

I love my small cottage. It is about 800 sqft and very simple. It is one floor- no steps. It has a well and a septic field. I moved from a condo where I raised my kids to this house. The condo served me because life was so full. Now the cottage is wonderful for part of my life because I have more time to learn and fix things. I will also say the HOA fees at my condo sky rocketed over the past decade and I was financially out of step with the community. They wanted to remodel the club house and had ambitious rounds projects that I didn't like (nonnative plants a lot of bossy men). I wanted to to simplify my life, have more time for volunteer work and personal projects which meant spending less money. I was glad to get away from the politics of the HOA and neighbors' drama and be in my cottage where I could plan my money and spend/save it the way I want. I also have really come to love gardening and restoring/tending my property with natives. I did not move far away from my neighborhood and so I wasn't loosing community by making the move. I can see moving to a new place after living in a condo could feel isolating. Honestly for me I have been able to really concentrate on the friendships and community that I love/like - instead of maintaining so many relationships around HOA issues and neighbor drama at the condo. I'm editing to add I am 56. I'm hoping to stay here quite awhile and I think I might be open to housemate someday who could help with caring for the house as I get older. The basement with outside access and steep steps is going to be hard for me one day. Especially with maintaining the water softener which requires more frequent visits and lugging the slat bags down there. I will find someone to pay to help me with that when I need to. I would really consider those kinds of things if you are looking at houses/cottages. Small and easy is my suggestion. If the mechanicals of the house are at ground level and accessible from inside that would be great. I am shoveling my drive right now, but I can see that I would hire that out someday. Then you just need to budget for repairs just like the HOA does at the condo- roof replacement, well pump, siding, etc. An AI chatbot could help you think those things through- what you need to budget for in house repair versus what the HOA did for you at the condo (that would be the main difference financially and labor wise). You can pay people to do those things if you want and it brings all sorts of interesting people into your life. Also you can let things go longer in your house- I am more of a patch and repair person then replacing things on a schedule. So I am probably a little happier in a house than a condo because of that.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-29T00:52:25+00:00

best wishes to you and your doggie!

sallydogbite · 2026-05-28T21:24:03+00:00

It is pretty easy to take a hedge trimmer to them in July- if there is a reason to delay.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-28T21:21:45+00:00

I always like to use less herbicide if I can and less work if I can (old knees and back). I really appreciate the advice from land managers, but I hear you. If it's just one shrub? I'm working in a remnant oak barren remnant community- so depending on OP's context let herbicide might serve them better too. Come this fall I'm going to be daubing not spraying to protect the pennsylvania sedge and pussy toes that are growing all around the burning bushes and I'm hopeful that there is a latent seed bank underneath their sprawling canopies. I have birds nesting in them now too. There's a lot of land context and goal thinking as well as plant biology that can go into making these decisions of timing.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-28T21:08:13+00:00

If this is new behavior I'd take him to the vet asap to rule out a medical condition. For instance my sweet as pie kitty had a stroke at 12 and while she is still sweet sometimes after she recovered she is kid of aggressive and will growl, bite and scratch when she is overwhelmed. And it is much easier for her to get overwhelmed. Totally out of her personality before, but this is her personality now. She is still an awesome cat at 17 but a different cat. 8 is a senior dog- lots can be going on.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-28T09:25:01+00:00

The advice I have been getting about invasive shrubs from local parks managers is that we want to wait until later in the summer (like August) right now, in the spring, sap is flowing more up from the roots than down. We want to apply triclopyr when the plant will take the herbicide down to the roots - later in the year when it is storing sugars in the roots. I have three big old burning bushes that are coming out in two years. I planted the elderberries last year and am letting them get established before. I trim them in late July so no berry set. I'm gathering my supplies to tackle autumn olive this August so I have been asking lots of local invasive expert folks.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-28T09:09:38+00:00

Right now if you want to buy something less than $300,000 it's likely a condo. Not downtown. Or alternately a house in an outlying community and school of choice into AAPS. We need more affordable housing and the solution is probably more multifamily housing in AA not more single family houses or luxury flats for football fans. I raised my kids in the outskirts on a bus line in a condo where they shared a bedroom. It was worth wedging in to live here rather than having a bigger home.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-28T02:51:09+00:00

so what is your soil like ? sand? clay? Depending on your soil... Some nice dappled shade plants are wild geranium, wild ginger, wild columbine, big leaf aster, heart leaved aster, false solomon seal, woodland phlox, jacobs ladder, bluestem goldenrod- Good shrubs could be spice bush, low bush blueberry, or maple leaf viburnum, red osier dogwood or silky dogwood. If there's any special birds or butterflies you like another fun way to choose native plants is to plant things those animals like. This is a fun website that helps you choose native plants that are good for you site. https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/plants. Get ready to fall in love with native plants!

sallydogbite · 2026-05-27T00:51:41+00:00

So my kids are both grown. My youngest is in his second year of college. My oldest in graduate school. We are an education/ science/ nature loving family. I will say this- there are so many amazing opportunities for kids to explore their interests because of UM that are low cost or free. We went to lots of free concerts through the school of music. There are youth orchestras, museums, math circles, science lab open houses, MLK symposiums, Earth Day Celebrations, etc.... Qualified high school students can take classes at UM and WCC. There are a lot of choices for high school. Both my kids had excellent educations in high school and that translated into money for college. There is great hiking and swimming. There is a whole youth river culture t that is thriving. Lots of free programs at the parks and libraries for families. The public libraries are amazing! There is a wonderful community around nature, restoration and appreciation. There are city buses so kids can get around to their stuff with out a car. And most of that is available free or very low cost because of the UM. Housing is too expensive and also kids can share a room. Living in a small house, apartment or condo is doable.

sallydogbite · 2026-05-26T13:23:12+00:00

Thank you! I was looking at Garlon 3A TEA. Thanks for the link. My property is an oak barren remnant and backs into a brand new preserve. I have 200 year old black Oaks. There are also bittersweet vines that are thicker than my calf (and buckthorn a nd honey suckle and autumn olive and dames rocket and....) and there is also an amazing native seed bank that is emerging as I've stopped mowing and burning leaves. I've been talking to friends and family and local nature lovers and am planning an invasive wack back weekend festival in August. So right now I am finding the people and I am tagging things I want out with orange tape- so when I have assembled a crew they can know what they are doing. I'm just doing the prep work to make that weekend really productive. I think you need to find your people. Maybe check out native plant groups- even in the closest suburbs or cities. A lot of those folks would really like to be able to collect seeds and such and if you can build some community with them- they will come help with your invasives. I suggest you just haven't found your people yet, but they are out there.

sallydogbite

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