week-ends......


I was singing-out-loud all last weekend. You know what I mean, right? We woke up before the butt-crack of dawn, because when the sun peeks out, we wanted to be ready for it, and when it finally – finally – came out it was everything we'd been hoping for. Saturday morning, it was all there, sun shining, birds singing, squirrels and chipmunks clamoring everywhere to their new zippy soundtrack, the crrrrunch of a thousand leaves. The promise of exploring acres of breathtaking beauty, closed the deal. A highway, a solitary road, and a languid, distant slip of blue sky. We clambered, walked, explored, talked.  Shared a cool bottle of water and crystal clear air and called it heaven. We skipped through the day, there were covered bridges......seventeen of them, enough to put Madison County to shame.

 We had lunch at a diner. Decor straight out of the fifties. I am of the belief, that some truths are universal. Like the fact that burgers taste better in a diner. With all the fixin'. A side of onion rings. With lemon meringue pie for desert. Eaten with people you love.






And then, you know what? Serendipity. A winery tucked away in a 110-year-old Victorian chapel, re-erected over a wine cellar nestled in a vineyard. Grapes plump with juice, advertising all shades of the rainbow, each berry an inventory of every sunny day since last spring, offering bouquets of cassis, plum, black cherry, violet, dark raspberry, pomegranate, hints of peach, apricot, and floral tones.....springing from this intangible sharing of the vines with a distinct harmony adding depth and richness to the intoxicating beverages coaxed from it's fruit...showcasing varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. And did I mention the ice wine?

  
The whole time I'm cooing at the way the leaves were changing  right in front of me, not bashful these trees of ours in Ohio, they are brilliant now, but they are getting weary.  There is still a lot of color in the world, yet I know it's only gearing up for the grand finale.

And did I tell you there was a great Lake, while it's true, it's no Atlantic, it is about as "ocean" as a lake can get. There are no dolphins, no sweet smell of seaweed, or salt water spray, but...our lake comes complete with endless horizons, ships gliding like enormous swans, driftwood, waves breaking, wide sandy beaches with tiny shells, and magic. This is a water I can come to, be one with, for hours on end whenever I need to.  And I do.




Then again, it takes only a little magic to turn an ordinary Saturday into extraordinary, and who wouldn't want that compared to Saturdays that are only excellent. And when a day turns out this wonderful, it only seems right that desert should too.

peace.

Spiced pumpkin cheesecake
(go here for recipe)

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