Last week I had the great good fortune to take a lovely trip to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan to visit dear old friends. There on the shore of Lake Michigan, I witnessed several "Michigan sparklers"--days so bright and sunny that the entire lake seemed to be a sea of diamonds.  Also, there, I had the joy of donning my first sweater in many months; the wonder of primo star-gazing and pondering the meaning of the universe while reclining in a golf cart on the 9th hole late at night with beloved pal Sarah and a rambunctious English bulldog, and the sweet surprise of endless local cherries--both drenched in dark chocolate and without.