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Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
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Dear Reader,
It's so good to be back from vacation. My husband and I had a wonderful time in the Smoky Mountains. I'm all rested and ready to bake, so be sure to enter the Chocolate Chip Cookie Giveaway I wrote about in Monday's column. To enter, email me at: Suzanne@EmailBookclub.com
One of the reasons I look forward to a vacation is to break routine and get away from "familiar," so the Smoky Mountains were a perfect getaway. You can't help but discover new adventures every day in the mountains, but my husband and I agreed that it was also comforting to experience old favorites. This was our fourth trip to the mountains (our last visit was three years ago), and thankfully some things hadn't changed. Crisp apples topped with caramel and nuts. (They tasted just like I remembered. I ate three--hey, I was on vacation!)
Black bears are still living in the mountains--be sure to look up, because the bears spend a lot of time in the trees--and we were lucky (again) to come face-to-face with a black bear near our cabin. Three years ago, a huge black bear visited us on our back deck, but this time we were lucky to be driving in our car. Winding around the first curve on the mountain road, after leaving our cabin, we met up with a black bear on the side of the road. Not a Papa Bear, or a Mama Bear, or even a Baby Bear--we surmised this black bear was a rebellious teenager, hanging out in an area of "town" where his parents had specifically told him not to go. All three of us surprised, we stared at each other for a couple of minutes and by the time I thought to reach for my camera, our friend was headed up the side of the mountain.
The majestic mountain views hadn't changed and neither had the scary, steep mountain roads. It always takes at least a day for me to get over the fear that as we're climbing, climbing, climbing-up the skinny mountain road (which appears to be headed straight up into the sky), that halfway up, our car isn't simply going to fall backwards, somersaulting down the mountainside. There was no guard railing on the side of the "road-in-the-sky" leading up to our cabin. Which meant, if for some reason my husband steered a little too much to the right, I'd have the best view when our car fell off the side of the mountain. My seasoned advice, until you've spent at least one day in the mountains, don't look down while driving.
When you rent a cabin in the mountains, before your arrival date, the rental company emails housekeeping dos and don'ts and driving directions to your cabin, including this friendly reminder. . .
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are not used to driving mountain roads, you will find this to be a new experience. It is one mile of steep paved road with a number of switchbacks to get to your cabin. Be sure to put your car in a lower gear going up and down the mountain, and do not STOP while climbing.
It's a new experience all right, but one that I highly recommend. What a fabulous vacation.
Photos and more vacation highlights to come--right now I'm catching up on laundry.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
www.muffinsandmayhem.com
* This month's Penguin Classics book is THE REAL STORY OF AH-Q AND OTHER TALES OF CHINA by Lu Xun. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/September11Classics
AUTHORBUZZ: SKATING OVER THE LINE by Joelle Charbonneau
Rebecca is desperate to sell her roller rink in small town Indian Falls and return to Chicago, especially now that her long-delinquent father is back. But cars are disappearing and exploding around town with people in them. Unable to resist sleuthing, Rebecca soon has strange, scary men threatening her life. With the help of her Elvis-impersonating grandfather, Rebecca must find the pyromaniac car thief and put a stop to him--before he stops her first.
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader Click on SKATING OVER THE LINE to read more. Author Joelle Charbonneau would love to hear from you.
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