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.

First Photo Shoot

I am so happy for my friend J. right now - she has wanted a baby for so long, and now she is in her last trimester. Congrats J.!

She also asked me to do her maternity photos, which I was honored to do. It was my first maternity photo shoot, and I am quite pleased with the results, and I hope that she is as well. And, J. and her husband do have heads, I just didn't include any of those for the sake of their privacy.

These are just a few of my favorites.

** Please remember these photos are property of Cinnamon Owl Studios, and ask for permission before using. Thanks!

After the Party..

I can't believe I am still recuperating from my busy but fun weekend! It was actually a fantastic weekend, apart from missing Billy, who was backpacking in Manistee.

First, I won a ticket from Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe to the No Beast Feast, a fundraiser for the Friends of the Dearborn Animal Shelter. Chrissy went with me, and we had a fabulous time. We ate hearty, comforting vegan food (bet you never thought that could happen!) such as Mushroom Barley Soup, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and an apple chocolate spice cake that I could have eaten two pieces of! We learned about the vegan way of eating, saw the cutest Maine Coon cat named Smitty, who is available for adoption by the way, and even won again. I won a door prize of three cookbooks, that I can't wait to dive into. Thanks S. for giving me the opportunity to check out this great fundraiser, I can't wait for next year.

Saturday brought PAWS in the Park, the fundraiser for my own animal rescue group, PAWS of Michigan. PAWS in the Park is a party for dog lovers, with a dog walk, raffle, adoption area, pet psychic, dog games, among other things. I attended this event as a volunteer, and still had a great time. I went to the pet psychic, who gave me insight into the craziness of Penny, and I won again!! This time I won a loaf of bread a month for a year from Panera, and a $50 gift certificate to Blackfinn. I hope they have something I can eat! Sunday I went to my adorable cousin's first birthday party, what a day! She could have a future as a rocker, she really demolished her Mickey ears and was smearing cake on her parents lol! Wild child!

I also attended book club number 2 this week- we talked about One Thousand Splendid Suns. And I have to say, I have to talk about something that has just been stuck in my mind since then. We were talking about Mariam, and her love for Aziza, Laila's daughter. I mentioned that although she lost many babies herself, she was fulfilled later by caring for and loving Aziza. Another person at book club, who is my friend, said that this is not the same as having her own child, since Aziza wasn't actually hers. As someone who is adopting, I took this comment somewhat offensively. This is probably the hardest part of adopting, the thoughtless insensitivity of other people, because I am sure if J. would have thought about what he was saying, he wouldn't have said it in that manner. I also had someone ask me this weekend that if I adopted a child who was Muslim, if I would have to raise the baby Muslim. For one thing, that is none of their concern, and so what anyway? I just told her that once we adopt, the baby is ours, like our real own child, that we can raise however we want. We are not borrowing the baby, it is not temporary nor do we have to share- the child will be ours alone. And we are going to love our child and care for our future adopted child just as anyone else does their birth children.

***I would like to add that I have since spoken with J. and he deeply regrets saying anything that would hurt my feelings. It is not how he meant his comment, and he does believe that a family that became a family through adoption is able to have the same love as a family with birth children.

All things cozy and warm

I think I must like rainy days. I feel happy and content when it rains. Cuddly. I want to eat soup and drink hot drinks and read and sit with Billy and the animals.

I also want to go to the laundromat when it rains - Billy thinks this is nuts. But there is something about a laundromat. It is like sitting in the middle of a giant pile of clean laundry- they are always warm from the heat of the dryers, and smell like the scent of a dozen or more different detergents. The only thing that could make it better would be if they supplied patrons with fresh baked from the oven chocolate chip cookies to enjoy while waiting for their laundry to finish spinning or rinsing or whatever stage it is in. And a library of books to choose from. And comfy chairs.

And all this talk about laundry reminds me I need to do some of my own right now, and then just relax and enjoy this rainy day.

Eating in the Light of the Moon

Hostess: Chrissy

Book: Eating in the Light of the Moon

Food: Hummus, cheese and crackers, guacamole and tortilla chips, Pretzel M&Ms, Chocolate-Raspberry trifle

Wine of the Night: Detroit Wine! Montepeluciano, from the California Wine Grape Company in Detroit.

This book was a bold choice; we have never read anything like this book, and I know that Chrissy was a little concerned that people may take her choice as a silent finger pointing at their lives. I know that this is not the case, Chrissy chose this book based on the recommendation of her aunt, who is a counselor for women with eating disorders. While none of us struggle with disordered eating as far as I know, we all still found many passages that spoke to us.

This book is kind of like earth mother meets folk tales meets disordered eating. Dr. Johnston writes about finding balance in our lives, that if we need to have balance between our spirit and our mind, and know the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger. We all agreed that our favorite parts were the myths, legends and folk tales. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading them until I read this book!

I think this was a difficult book for us to discuss- I think what we all took away from the book was personal, maybe too personal to share at book club. For me, one thing that made me think was the need for balance in our lives, and Johnston's comments about women losing touch with their feminine intuition and trying to be wonder woman and doing too many things all the time. This is something I have been working on all year - making more time for my family and friends, enjoying all the moments of my days, and trying not to schedule my entire life away. I don't want to look back and see a lifetime of meetings and work ; I want to see a healthy balance of family, friends, work, and my volunteer work. This book reminded me that what I am doing is good and right and healthy.

Next month's Bottle of Wine Book Club choice is The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

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!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hostess: Jill

Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Food: Greek Pasta Salad, Bruschetta, Grilled peaches with Gorgonzola cheese, pita and dip, guacamole and chips.

Best Wine of the Night: The Sangria!

It was a gorgeous night for book club to meet, one of the first nights we have had this summer without oppressing, swamp-like humidity or a tornado caliber storm. Jill set up outside, which was fabulous. I think most of us were taken in by the sweetness of the night and wine - we sure didn't get in much talking about the book. We were just too relaxed it seemed.

But we did talk about the book a little, mainly on the biggest question surrounding the novel- the misogynistic themes that stream through out, raising their ugly heads. All that violence towards women- virtually every woman in the novel was assaulted by a man in some way, shape or form. Even Lisbeth seemed to dislike herself, and for all her sharp edges and bravado, was still body conscious, not liking her own shape. Was this to make her more relate-able to women readers, who may have body image issues of their own? Maybe it is just my American perspective, our hard core heroines do not have insecurities, at least none that they talk about. I thought it was interesting that Larsson chose to show her vulnerabilities.

We also talked about Blomkvist's relationship with his partner, Erica. We were more confused about Erica's relationship with her husband actually. Did he just love her that much that he allowed her her freedoms? Did he not love her enough? Was their marriage open for both of them? This was perplexing to us.

We all agreed that this was a fantastic book, and we all want to read the rest of the series. I am looking forward to next month's selection, Eating in the Light of the Moon, as well.