Honor and Family

On the dock- I like to sit here and just think

 Last week I visited northern Michigan, to the Beulah/Honor area.  My brother and I left the house at 5 am, and hit the highway, giant coffees and bagel thins in hand. This is an annual tradition for our family, one that recently became a tradition for us with our father's marriage to my awesome stepmom about 10 years ago.  Her family however has been visiting the area and staying in the same cabins for 20 years. I feel so lucky that we have been invited into this family, and that we can now share their family traditions, and make them ours as well.  This year my cousin, her two children, my aunt and my grandmother made the trip as well.

Taken by the fabulous Jill Moore on the lake by our cabin

About halfway there I realized I had forgotten my camera!! I pouted about it for a while, seeing all these great shots go by and me with no way to take them.  After a day, I realized maybe there was a reason I had forgotten it- perhaps I was supposed to fully immerse myself in this trip.  When I have my camera and I am taking photos, I don't always experience all that is going on, I am in my own world, and really seeing things through the lens, which creates a barrier between me and the my surroundings.  Without my camera I spent hours playing with my little second cousins and nephew Brayden, which I might not have done otherwise.  I got to know them better, and I will always treasure that, memories I will always have.  The pictures I have included were taken in previous years.

We were only able to stay a short time this year, but we did a lot in that time.  Most of my favorites and a few new things too!!  I won't bore you with paragraphs and paragraphs but instead will share them this way.

Top of the biggest dune

 Early Morning Kayaking on the Platte River
The Cherry Bowl Drive-In
A. Papano's Pizza
Boone Docks
Fishtown
L'Chayim Delicatessen
Laughing
Bug Room!
The Cherry Hut
The Sand Dunes
Crazy hair
Miniature Golfing

Sunset over Lake Michigan, pre-bonfire

What I missed:

Billy and Chrissy!
Jill and family
Bonfire on the beach
Traverse City

I am looking forward to next year, and more memories.  I will probably bring my camera, but I will make sure that my experiences are not all through the viewfinder.

Wordless Wednesday - Swan Momma

Peaceful mother swan, keeping her babies warm and nest safe.

Big Blizzard Coming..

This is the storm with many names..Snowzilla..Snowtorious B.I.G....Snowpocalypse. The list goes on and on. I like to call it the Blizzard that Ate the World, personally. It is currently snowing like a son of a out there, and I am waiting for Billy and our neighbor Greg to get back from Meijer with a spark plug for the snow blower.

The past few days have been a little crazy around here, gearing up for the storm. Everyone asking, will we get the snow? Will it happen? Running to the store to get supplies and whatever else they feel they need. I didn't go to the store, but I did come up with an emergency plan in case we lose power and heat - thanks to my dad, a full time Red Cross volunteer in the Disaster Services Department, I always have to come up with an emergency plan. My plan is simple : if the power goes out and we don't have heat, we will pack up the animals and head to my aunt's house, and her giant living room and fireplace. She could probably pack our whole family in there to keep us all warm. It would actually probably be kind of fun - I can see all of us with beds of blankets on the floor, talking, drinking, laughing, little Chloe dancing. But I am hoping it doesn't come to this, I would rather stay in my own home, cuddled up here. But it is good to have a plan.

In a minute I am going to make an overnight French Toast Casserole , that sounds like the perfect thing for tomorrow morning. And then I am going to read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder - I might even read it to Billy while I am at it. It is just a Little House on the Prairie kind of night, in weather and in spirit.

Cornucopia of thoughts

October is always my favorite month, I love the weather, the traditions, the reintroduction of soup as an everyday staple into my life.

The events of the past month remind me like leaves on the tree in the fall- they flare brightly for a short colorful time, then gently fall to the earth and become memories.

~ the epic journey this year to Erie Orchards with Devin and Chrissy~ Devin and I have been going there since we were little tiny kids, so about 30 years for me ~ unfortunately it has grown too commercial, so this year was more than likely our last.

~Theatre Bizarre ~ always a fun time, no matter the venue, since it is about the show, and the show must go on.

~ eating crepes in the cold with Billy at Eastern Market, buying cheese and wine and pumpkins to carve.

~Sunday Soup Night with Devin and Chrissy ~ I have resolved to make soup every Sunday until Spring ~ so far we have had Bean Soup and Vegetable Soup. The soup for tonight is Three Sisters Soup from the Moosewood collection.

~A weekend at the Lake House with friends ~ walks through the woods, evenings around the bonfire, friends, dogs, shared meals and wine.

~ Halloween - parties, carving pumpkins, handing out candy, scary movies.

I view Halloween as my last hurrah before winter and November arrive, and I am less inclined to be social, and more inclined to cuddle under blankets watching movies with Billy or reading surrounded by animals. Chrissy and I hope to work on some sewing projects this winter, and I am really excited about this - it seems a perfect winter thing to do, very Little House on the Prairie.

So while I hate to say good bye to October, I am looking forward to November.

Ramblin Rainy Day

A perfect, perfect rainy day. Billy and I originally were going to head to Saugatuck and hang out, but quickly realized that was just a direction, and not really our destination. We wanted to take the day slowly, and if we saw a sign for something off the expressway that sounded interesting, we were going to check it out. So basically, we hit the road and headed west. (by the way, that is not our car, I just loved all their bumper stickers)

We didn't make it too far before we found our first stop off, Hudson Mills Metropark. This is a great metro park! We didn't spend too much time here, just walked along the river a bit, and then looked for a mill that didn't exist. I did spot a multitude of Cedar Waxwings along the river, diving and swooping above the rapids. The park itself was pretty empty, and we blamed it on the gray clouds above, threatening to pour rain at any minute. We made a mental note to come back and kayak here one day.

Further down the road, we saw a billboard for free wine tastings at a local winery, the Sandhill Crane Vineyards. We decided, what better thing was there to do around 2:00 on a rainy Saturday but sample a few wines? And it was a neat little winery! The rain was just gently drizzling when we went in, and the building itself was all warm wood with a wide low slung covered porch that just invited you to sit on it and enjoy a few tastes. So inviting that there weren't any tables left. Nor were there any spots at the bar inside, where you can actually just go and hang out and order regular glasses of wine. But there was a room in the back with tables, and that is where we wound up.

We had a tiny older woman named Alice as our pourer, and she was really kept busy- not just by us, but by everyone in back. By this point, it was pouring rain outside, and it was such a cozy feeling to be inside watching it come down. Sandhill Cranes has an extensive selection, and no limit to how many you can taste. We didn't go crazy, since we still needed to drive home, but we did taste about 6 each. They had some interesting ones with Michigan blueberry flavors and honey, including the Blue Skies Wine, which I loved; Billy really liked the dessert wine Sugar Snow, which had some maple sap flavors in it from actual Michigan Maple syrup, which I hated. But then, I hate maple syrup and maple stuff, so that wasn't a surprise. My absolute favorite was the Abraza, and it had nothing to do with the fact that for every bottle bought, $2 of the proceeds are donated to the Cascades Humane Society. Billy and I would wander into the winery that supports animal rescue, fate kismet and all that. They have three animals, two dogs and a cat, and all are pictured on different bottles of wine. Rusty the Lab is on the Abraza, Rosie the Terrier is on the Sassy Rose, and Miel the calico is on the Miel Amour. The best part is that they are wandering about the property and the building, so we got to meet them.

We had a great time, and actually didn't spend much money. We split a grilled cheese at the Metro Park, and then ordered the Salmon Spread plate at the vineyard, and the total for both came to $10.00. We did buy a bottle or two of wine, but that was not a necessary expense- the whole day could have cost us the ten bucks and the half tank of gas. We found a few new places to visit, and just enjoyed a slow rainy day together. I can't wait for our next rainy road trip!

Stealing Buddha's Dinner

Hostess: Jennifer

Book: Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen

Food: Hummous, Rice Almond Salad, fantastic fancy pastries

Best Wine of Night: Pepperwood Grove Cabernet $5.99

Jennifer picked the book, Stealing Buddha's Dinner, by Bich Minh Nguyen, which on the surface is a memoir of Nguyen's childhood as a Vietnamese immigrant growing up in Grand Rapids in the 1980s, and how she fixated on American junk foods as the gateway to becoming a true American.

Maybe it was because I grew up in a small town in Michigan during the 1980s, and I remembered all the food that Nguyen coveted, but I the parts of the memoir which focused on Nguyen's grandmother, and the traditional Vietnamese food she prepared much more interesting. I found myself wishing that the author would talk more about these classic foods of her homeland, rather than red Pringles in a can, or Twinkies. I understand that was not the focus of the book though, and that Nguyen latched onto American junk food as her entree to becoming her ideal of a true American citizen, that if she ate like everyone around her, she would be one of them.

I loved the idea that school lunches were a source of status to students- maybe it is because I remember being envious of my classmates who had hostess cupcakes in their lunches too, since my mom didn't buy those for me either. I also remember the kids who brought soup in with their lunches in tupperware containers- I always wanted to do that too.

I could also relate to the authors memories of being in libraries, of the library as a sanctuary; when I was younger, I felt the library was a place of calm, somewhere quiet and cool in the summer, warm in the winter. I still am in love with libraries, maybe that is why I work in one now. But I read and loved all the books that Nguyen discusses - Little House on the Prairie was my favorite and I still reread them every year, but I also wanted to be Harriet the Spy and carry around a notebook filled with my observations about the people around me.

I felt like the memoir had good intentions, but often stalled out on the mega long descriptions of food packaging and the food itself. These were the hardest, slowest bits for me- to be honest, I often skipped over them. I did not want to read three pages dedicated to a pringles can or Kraft macaroni and cheese boxes. I wanted to know more about Nguyen's grandmother and stepmom and mother (who seemed thrust into the book like an afterthough). I hungered for a little more than I received. This aside, I really did enjoy the book. It was an interesting glimpse into a life unlike mine, a life on the other side of the lunchbox.

Check out the Penguin reading guides write up about Stealing Buddha's dinner, followed by an interview with author Bich Minh Nguyen.

Appley Days of Fall

Warm, windy days, chilly crisp nights…fall has finally fallen on Michigan. Or close enough. We are still having some unseasonably warm days here in the mitten, but for the most part, it is the autumn I know and love.

Today was the perfect fall day to go pumpkin hunting. My brother and I have been going to the same apple orchard/pumpkin patch since we were born, basically about 30 years, give or take a few. That is amazing when you think about it! The past ten years or so, the group has lost members and gained a few, such as my husband and his girlfriend, but Devin and I are the constants. The orchard we visit is Erie Orchards, located in, you guessed it, Erie, MI.

Like I said, it was the perfect day, or nearly so anyway. It was a little warmer than I would have liked. I would have loved to wear long sleeves, but then I am that kind of girl, the fall and winter clothes loving one.

Our first order of business was to eat the enormous apple fritters they make there! They are huge gooey doughy wonders. The only thing I didn’t enjoy were the bees that kept landing on my hands and my fritter! After fortifying ourselves with appley goodness, we were ready for the trek back to the pick your own pumpkin patch. As people from the suburbs, this is country living for us.
It was a beautiful walk however. We reveled in the apple trees, my dad and I living up to our shutterbug nicknames and photographing everything we could! Apples, people, dirt even.

Unfortunately, it was a bad pumpkin year this year in Michigan. The patch pumpkins were kind of picked over, the best ones being picked already and taken to the pumpkin barn up front. It was still a nice stroll, so all was not wasted.

So we all trooped back to the front, with thoughts of cider and doughnuts foremost in our thoughts. Sure, we had just eaten that gynourmous fritter, but hey, didn’t we just take a long walk? I am sure we burned off at least a little of that delicous goodness. Billy and I chose our pumpkins, Shellie picked out a few cute tiny ones, and Dad posed for a silly picture. I can always count on him to be the one to pose in the funny cut-outs. By this point it was starting to really get really crowded, so we were ready to buy our stuff and take off. The best time to go is in the morning, around 11 or so, and on a Sunday. By 1 o’clock the place really begins to hop!The store was packed, but we prevailed. This year I only bought a few things, I usually go crazy in the store. Today our purchases (beside the pumpkins) were doughnuts and cider, which I am looking forward to enjoying this evening.

All in all, it was a fantastic day! Pumpkins, doughnuts, cider, a beautiful walk on a gorgeous fall day- what more could anyone ask for? We are going to carve our pumpkins into jack o’lanterns later this week, I can’t wait!