7.01.2009

michigan 2009

we are in michigan again for a week and a half. oh, blimey heaven! i've been reading this book, 'desert queen,' while we've been here. it's about gertrude bell, this woman who dashed around what was called "arabia" back in the early 1900's all alone. she had all the sheiks and warlords wrapped around her little fingers, and is pretty much singlehandedly responsible for the founding of modern iraq after world war 1. she was the first (and only at the time) female political officer in the british forces, and was friends & cohorts with t.e. lawrence, better known as "lawrence of arabia." interesting lady & wicked smart. anna thomas recommended the book to me, and i've been enjoying it immensely. speaking of anna, i just remembered her for some reason hounding lang back in florida (over the wedding weekend two weeks ago) to "meow" for her. (random hilarious memory of the moment which just made me chuckle out loud.)
back to vacation update, this is our 2nd dinner out on the deck. we did grilled tri-tip (thanks trader joes!) with a homemade dry-rub concocted out of pretty much everything we had on hand. coffee, cinnamon, orange peel, lemon zest, dried thyme, salt, pepper, sugar, and probably a few other things i'm forgetting. a fresh arugula & avocado salad with shaved raclette to go with it, and voila! delicious! we then topped it off with two bottles of wine. yeah, vacation!

from the deck: had to include the cheesy sunset picture over the water.
cheese with local strawberries & blueberries after a swim. bread we bought at a local farmers market straight from the baker, this sweet lady wearing a handkerchief in her hair & carrying a baby while her husband was playing the guitar next to her. oh, and benny looking cute.
i like this bowl. we found it at a local potter/ceramic artists studio named benjamin maier. if anyone wants to buy us the 9 1/2 inch version of this, please don't hesitate!
middle eastern / mediterranean dinner last night. lamb kebabs rolled in cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, salt & pepper, with grilled potatoes, red pepper & red onion. couscous salad with dried cherries, toasted almonds, lemon vinaigrette & fresh basil. yogurt sauce with honey, lemon, chili flake, and tons of chopped basil. and homemade whole wheat naan! it was my first time making it, and it turned out pretty well. the blades of grass looking things are actually garlic chives. yum!
it's been super relaxing being up here, like always. it'll be sad to say goodbye to the cabin for good next year. ben grew up coming here every summer, so he very much has a strong attachment & tons of amazing memories of this place. and this being my third time sharing it with him, it'll be sad for me as well. c'est la vie! we'll build new memories together! and probably dine our way through those as well..

2 comments:

...me said...

so what was the price for the bowl? and what about the stylized cactus form vases?
...not that i have enough rubles at the moment...just curious for future reference -

bethany weaver said...

Bowl is $38 (the 9 1/2" version is, or should be, rather). The one pictured here is the 12" version which was more like $60-ish (I don't remember exactly). Awesome stuff, huh?