new melle

Sister city to Melle, Germany. This town comes equipped with:
- An awesome corner bar with the best rib-eye steak sandwich I've ever tasted
- Sweet, sweet peaches from Wind Ridge Farm
- An antique shop and tearoom
- Bavarian Smoke Haus
- A joint city hall/police station in an old looking farm house

that 50s place

More "I can't sleep because of the storm" pictures. These are leftover from the Chicago return trip from two weeks ago. This place had a great patty melt. I can taste that rye bread now.

urban botanics

Can't sleep. The rain is coming down hard. Just when my mind is slipping away, another loud crack of thunder comes out of the sky. I'm glad it's good for the plants and my grass, at least.

good night, chicago

chinatown

Can anyone read this? I hope it doesn't say anything vulgar ;-)

beautiful blue

chicago at night

For all my friends at Unity this week/weekend - have fun!

hot dog

That's not a rug. It's a dog.

jefferson farm & gardens

I promised an entry about Jefferson Farm, so here it is. A good friend of my family started the Thomas Jefferson Agriculture Institute, which is a nonprofit education and research center for agriculture. This farm is the long-awaited dream of the Institute. The farm is a microcosm of Midwest agriculture. Now the farm has goats, horses and sheep. It will soon have cows and pigs. Its berry patch is overwhelming, and I left having tasted several varieties of blueberries. I haven't lived on a farm since I was 14, but I sure grew up on one. This place gives anyone - farm or city raised - a small taste of farm living. Here are several photos from the visit. The farm is still a work in progress scheduled to open in 2009.

This sheep was super friendly.



This is a horse named Diva. With a name like that, you better have eyelashes like these. ;-)



This was too fun not to photograph. These cutouts of coyotes help to keep the geese away. They almost scared me away too.



The lily pads are near perfect. They reminded me a lot of the Missouri Botanical Garden because they are nestled next to a beautiful, Japanese style wooden walkway.



This is the proud family we have to thank for this great place - thank you!

coming soon ...

One of the highlights of my visit to Columbia was a trip to Jefferson Farm. I want to tell you all about it, but I'm exhausted. I leave for Chicago in about six hours, and the time has come to sleep. Next week I hope to post several photos from the beautiful farm, including one of me holding a goat. Hold your horses. ;-) (There will be photos of those too.)

como

I went "home" last weekend and got to visit two of my favorite families in Columbia. Incidentally, I used to babysit for both of them. The Myers Inn was spectacular - truly full service. Fresh blueberries in my pancakes for breakfast, homemade watermelon cookies for snacks and much more. When I arrived, there was a mint on my pillow (I kid you not!). All places should be like Columbia.

creve coeur lake

Ah, a beautiful place.

a little leggy

Check it out - The Vintage Haberdashery.

perros y playas

Beaches and dogs (actually beaches and bitches alliterates better) - two of my favorites things in life.

por fin

It's been too long since I've been in Costa Rica now, and I'm sick of posting photos of a place where I'd rather be. I'll post some beach photos tonight, finally (por fin). I had to save the beautiful beaches for last. The photos don't do them justice. This is Manzanillo, which is 12 km east of Puerto Viejo.