Book pages

I know, I know, swimming season in the Midwest is at an end, but if you read the book I am recommending, you can once more experience the swim season, even though vicariously, as the author narrates her swimming journal. Akiko Busch is the author of Nine Rivers to Cross, and she does indeed talk you through each one. Two are actually in MO, and the last one is a favorite destination for float-trippers. She observes life and nature while she swims, or reminisces on her swim, and you can almost feel the water currents rippling through her passages. It is a serene book, one to pass the time with deep blue thoughts while we wait for winter to freeze our own water passages. Enjoy the plunge!

Book pages

This isn't a suggested title to read. Instead, I have a suggested website to visit, for all you readers. It is a game, that stretches your vocabulary, and at the same time, earns rice for the hungry of the world. Try it, it is almost as addictive as sudoku, and I hadn't seen some of those words since I took my GRE in college for grad school. I have so far reached level 43--so I challenge you to reach beyond!

Go to www.freerice.com/index.php

More on our Fall trip

What can I say, but it's certainly been a busy fall. My mom took a spill, so we have been spending some time down in the MO Ozarks lately. We now view fall as we are coming and going--comparing leaf color progress between southern and mid-Mo. But we still have all those wonderful days to remember from up north. In case you wonder about that leaping dog, she is Jasmine, and very remarkable. This was at the Upper Dells, WI.

More trip pictures

What can I say--it has been a busy Fall so far! It is apple season here, and I have been really busy making apple dishes: German apple cake with cream cheese icing, apple/cranberry crisp, apple pies for the freezer (haven't finished with those yet), and of course homemade soup to make the house smell yummy! We spent the past weekend in Illinois, attending my hubby's 50th class reunion, great fun and good visiting times. Seeing the family was an added bonus, especially meeting the newest member, a beautiful and sweet baby girl!

The pictures are more from our MI trip--from Mackinac Island, Meijer Gardens, and the Dutch Village in Holland, MI.

Fall travels

We just returned from an 8 day/2100 miles trip up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Mackinac Island. We saw so much beauty there, and met so many nice people, during our Elderberry tour. Of course we tasted so many different kinds of foods, and visited festivals, museums and gardens too. This is just a small peek at what we were able to experience.