Is there anything more wonderful than coming home from being away? No matter where I've been, I'm always glad to come home, sleep in my own bed, and renew my acquaintance with all things familiar. I've been really lucky to have traveled to some incredible places, but there really is no place like home.
It's been a pick up kind of a day. Pick up donuts for breakfast (thanks, Leucadia Donuts!), pick up the mail at the post office, pick up some milk at the grocery, pick up the cat from the kennel, pick up the dog from Aunt Susan's, pick up some cherries at the Saxony Road produce stand, pick up some odds and ends at Target.
Let's see...this may be random, sorry!
I was happy to get the mail, because some treasures from ebay were in it. Look at my almost complete set of Happy Hollister books! These are wonderful, if you've not read them. Very vintage, full of family fun, and kids solving mysteries together. There's a few other fun books in the stacks too.
Speaking of reading, I'm still working on reading Newberry Award winners...It's Like This, Cat (can't remember the author off the top of my head) about a boy growing up in New York City, Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer also takes place in NYC, and The Bronze Bow by Speare (can't remember her first name...Elizabeth George?...she also wrote--and won a Newberry for--The Witch of Blackbird Pond). All wonderful!
Joey did really well at the kennel. I was worried about our poor cat being in a kennel for almost two weeks, but the gal at the vet said he did great. He was definitely happy to be home like the rest of us, and hasn't freaked out from the experience. I think he missed us, though; we've had a bunch of big purry snuggles today.
Why does it take no time at all to unpack in a hotel room and forever to unpack at home? Toben and I are unpacked, but I still haven't managed to get the kids resettled. Maybe tomorrow.
We did sell our house--it went into escrow the day we left for DC. I took down all the feature cards and am ready to allow some chaos while I get busy with the packing...maybe some tomorrow, definitely some the day after.
The jam made it home safely. We visited Toben's grandfather (Paps) and aunt and uncle (Roger and Shay) in Pennsylvania. Roger makes amazing, wonderful, delicious, incredible jam. I hoard this jam, refuse to share with others, and mostly eat it with a spoon. Look at all the jam I scored! Thank you, Roger! (Okay, the strawberry is really Audrey's...) I also got the scoop on making jam, so I'll be making some jam later this fall once we get settled in Colorado.
Despite fighting a yucky stomach bug, I had a wonderful time in Pennsylvania. I've only been once before--when Audrey was six months old (I got food poisoning that trip and ended up in the hospital! I'm sure Toben's family must think I'm allergic to them or something!)--and I love it. They live in a tiny town one valley over from the Big Valley. There's a big Amish settlement there and it's breathtaking.
We visited the Big Valley on Friday--which is wash day--and there were long lines of laundry hanging outside each farmhouse. I don't have a picture, because I forgot to charge my camera and the battery died shortly after this picture. Argh.
Double argh since we stopped to buy cherries at a farm and there were such beautiful children. One little girl was about Audrey's age and they just stared and stared at each other. I would have loved a photograph (though I'm not sure her mother would have allowed it since many Amish do not have their pictures taken--ever). I just can't get this little girl (or her mother) out of my head; I wonder so much about their lives. I did buy another copy of Rosanna of the Amish by Joseph Yoder--a great book that gives detailed insight into the Amish way of life. I read it the last time I was in PA, and it's time to read it again.
At the end of each farm lane there was a sign letting you know what was for sale: "Cherries, tomatoes"; "Beans, puppies, cucumbers"'. Again, no pictures. Argh.
But here are some photos I do have.
Big Valley traffic
Emma eating catfish--her third helping
Audrey learning to spit cherry pits
What fun! We'll have to head back there again way before another 7 1/2 years go by!
It sounds so lovely to be at home, and your trip sounds lovely as well.
The only time I have ever met an amish person, a family actually, was at the tour for our organic farm share last summer. The amish family (who actually left the amist to become something else, their own famiy thing, because they disagreed with something about the amish) grew some stuff for our farmer.
I was acually quite surprised tht the wife talk to me a lot as long as her husband wasn't around. She asked me about my education, if I was a stay at home mom, told me what her life was like. She seemed kind of sad that she didn't have much of an education and that her girls wouldn't either. She was also very impressed (weird, but that's the best way to describe it) that the two children I had borne were sons. She had eight children and only one was a boy. It was a very interesting day. I wish I could have been pen-pals with her, she was so interesting.
Posted by: capello | July 11, 2006 at 01:33 PM
Joanne,
I just came across your blog today. What great photos! I'm so glad for you that you're going to be back near your family in CO soon, but north county just won't be the same. Thanks for sharing your wonderful girls and family with Will and I during your time here. :-)
Posted by: Rose | July 11, 2006 at 09:00 PM
Regarding the Newberry Award winners, check this out and see if you're interested:
http://pagescovered.blogspot.com/2007/01/newberry-project.html
Posted by: doulicia | January 17, 2007 at 12:22 PM