A brief respite

Sorry for the delay in writing; we just got back from a vacation. My husband, father and I took a road trip through Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. We stayed at B&B's, ate good food and visited every garden and farm museum I could find. That's what they get for having me plan the vacation!

In Des Moines we visited Living History Gardens, packed with school kids at summer day camp. Pretty neat, although a little too polished for my tastes. I liked seeing their Milking Shorthorn cow and calf and seeing how the 1900's farmsite stored their hay and grain in the barn and corn crib. In one of the town homes a 'housewife' had just taken some corn bread and a peach pie out of the wood stove. Man, did that smell good. I wish I had a wood stove, or an open hearth for cooking. My husband (who would be the official wood chopper) is very glad we don't.

I really enjoyed Conner Prairie, another living history museum near Indianapolis. They had 1st person interpreters (the ones that actually pretend that it's the year 1880), and that added a nice touch. My Dad got a kick out of the town doctor advising him to vote for Benjamin Harrison for president. Again, I most enjoyed the kitchens in the homes, looking through the pantries and seeing how they prepared and stored food.

I didn't take many pictures. I forgot about my camera until the last day, when we were visiting a Japanese garden in Rockford, Illinois. Here's my Dad and me at Anderson Gardens. Don't we look like tourists!

















Speaking of preparing and storing food, yesterday I bought four gallons of strawberries from a local farm. Last night was spent washing and coring berries, with pink-stained fingers afterward. It's jammin' time!