WILD BLUEBERRIES REDUX

I bring back the same souvenirs from Michigan every year: pieces of perfectly rounded driftwood, perfectly frosted beach glass, imperfectly perfect feathers. And in the last few years, cups and cups and cups of wild blueberries.

I wrote about it last August, and don't really think I can improve on that post (I did, however, improve on how much I brought home: 17 cups, to last year's 13). The zen flow of picking, the reward of highly-seasonal, highly-regional, highly-FREE food, and just the very miracle of this place – literally rising from the ashes.

I used the blueberries fresh for about a week in salads and parfaits, then froze just short of a gallon for use over the winter. I've got big plans for them: ice creams, tarts, sauces, popsicles. But regardless of what I make, they've already done their job – reminding of my six weeks on the lake, and allowing to relive a bit of that whenever I want, throughout the year.

POSTCARDS FROM CHICAGO

My parents and I drove to Chicago to visit my brother and his girlfriend, and celebrate their recent engagement. We spent three days walking the city, eating, drinking, looking up at architecture, and looking over Lake Michigan (Lake Superior's tenacious little sister). We visited my brother in the kitchen to which he's given the last few years of his life – an experience I need to write about soon, but am not quite prepared to yet.

I'm glad we took my FujiFilm Instax Mini to capture our tourist-ier moments. There's something about instant prints that just screams "all-American family vacation!," and I still find it's lack of exposure options utterly charming. We took over-exposed selfies on the architecture boat tour... and underexposed family portraits at dive bars. I guess we're redefining the all-American family vacation, too.