Elliott Beagle Bakes

Elliott Beagle and I have started our Christmas baking. In my family, everyone has their favorite "must have" treat that helps make their celebration complete. I start with the ones that have to be mailed out: chocolate crinkles for Dan, snickerdoodles for Caitlin and maybe some fudge, some sugar cookies and a cranberry-pumpkin loaf. Next, ginger cookies for Kate, cherry bars for Dale, scotch-a-roos for Don, lemon squares for Kay, more chocolate crinkles for Amanda, and scrabble for Mark. My dad likes sugar cookies and Mom likes white chocolate cranberry cookies. My favorite? I like peanut butter chocolate cookies.

What is Elliott Beagle's cookie baking role? His job duties include sleeping under the kitchen table while I work at the counter, listening to CBC Radio 2 while I bake and always helping with spills and clean-up.

Mother-Daughter Roadtrip

Not too long after I returned to Michigan, my mother was ready to take her own roadtrip. We'd both been hearing about the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan and thought we should see it before the snows start. We left Van home in the garage and Elliott Beagle with my dad, then headed west.

Why I don't go to Grand Rapids more often is a mystery to me. It's the second largest city in Michigan, about three hours west from where I live and only about 40 miles from Lake Michigan. As a kid, I used to go with my parents to visit my mom's relatives in Holland, Michigan, not far from Grand Rapids, but I can't remember visiting the west side of Michigan since my children were young. For some reason whenever I go on a roadtrip in Michigan, I seem to head north or east, towards Lake Huron or Lake Superior.

Grand Rapids is a great town, with loads of things to do and places to visit. At the top of the list is the Fredrick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. The gardens and sculpture park is a hard place to describe. You could easily spend an entire day there without getting close to seeing everything. It's one of those places which will surprise you every time you visit. There are both indoor and outdoor exhibits, permanent and temporary displays, a sculpture trail and a fantastic children's garden. Mom and I probably spent an hour playing in the children's garden. It made me wish my kids were still little.

All throughout the gardens were installations and displays by world-class designer and glass artist, Dale Chihuly. His fantastical blown-glass creations added a sense of whimsy, wonder and beauty as we explored the gardens. We spent the entire day wandering about, both on foot and by tram. After a little time in the gift shop and the cafe, which has a Chihuly installation on the ceiling, it was closing time. We left wanting to see more, but knowing we're sure to visit again.

Goodbye Gray

After a month of mostly gray, gloomy weather I was glad to return home to Michigan. It feels strange for me to be writing that last sentence because, during certain times of the year, Michigan is infamous for its overcast skies. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy my trip. I had a good time visiting family and friends, and I saw a lot of the country I don't usually visit. It's just that I expected to have better weather for hiking and photography. Of course, there was no way to predict the remains of a hurricane traveling up the East Coast.

I was too early for the changing autumn colors, too. It wasn't until I returned home that the reds, oranges and yellows appeared. Just looking at the warm colors and walking on the crunchy leaves brightens my day.