The Pause That Refreshes

Sometimes it just takes a little time away...

sleeping in, eating out, whiling away a few hours in museums,

and filling oneself with the sights and sounds of the city

to recharge one's battery and make home seem all the more wonderful!

We spent the end of last week and weekend in my most favorite city....

CHICAGO!

I love the windy city, with its magnificent skyline,

its amazing architecture, both old and new,

its incredibly friendly people,

its parks, and museums, Chicago style pizza...

and oh, so much more!

Seriously though, it took about a day for me to miss everything about the farm.

You cannot hear birds or crickets or katydids sing in the city...

or hear the rush of wind through the trees (unless you are in a park),

or see the trillions of stars that fill the night sky,

or ever, ever experience total silence.

There is no aroma of freshly mown hay, or cow manure, or honeysuckle.

There are no buzzing bees, or hopping grasshoppers to be seen.

We did, however, manage to find a farm in the midst of Lincoln park!

Cities have their own beauty...but it's all a construct....it is mostly man-made beauty.

I am so used to a different type of beauty... the natural type...

so much so, that even in a city I find myself gravitating towards the wide open spaces...

the areas with grass and trees and flowers!

We did have a blast, however...and I did get some much needed rest

 (of sorts....though we walked miles each day!)

I even found a little time to visit a yarn shop 

and to do a little knitting.

Here's what's presently on the needles...

(It's a little leaf-trimmed wool/silk/linen shawl that will be a Christmas present.)

But I am so glad to be home amongst my friends...

able to awaken to bird-song and to fall asleep to cricket chirps!

This week is going to be an exciting week here at the farm.

Tyler is going to spend the week with Grammie and her friends.

We are going to have many adventures.

Check back in with us....and we will take you along on our adventures!

By the way...I forgot to tell you what Tyler said to me on his last visit.

He said that he thought that Muppy and Grammie were old.

When I asked him why he thought that...

he replied "Because your faces are old."

Well, I guess that's that.

I had never really considered that fact before.

Yikes....it just might be true!

(Out of the mouths of babes.....)