a farmhouse Sunday?

Only the evening hours today remind me that this, indeed, is Sunday!

I wake up too early. (Don't you think that 4 a.m. is too early?) I toss and think (not unpleasant thoughts) about travel. Eventually, I note that the sun is up and so I nudge Ed, waking him up, to tell him that he needn't get up (thanks for letting me know...) because here I am, ready to feed Isie boy (who, thankfully, sleeps in the sheep shed these days) and to let the cheepers out.






It's a beautiful (but cool again!) morning, but I'm still not ready to give up on the extra hour or so of sleep --  that delicious morning sleep that is so elusive when you're young (no time!) and so impossible when you're old (who can sleep in the mornings at my age?).

And remarkably, that sleep does come and as a result, we're not up until 9:30, by which time it really is too late to do a farmhouse cleaning, right? Right?! A wipe down of the bathroom and I'm done!

Ed asks -- what are your plans for today?
I say -- I need to pick up a baguette from downtown. Maybe I'll bike over... (I'm appreciative of the fact that he fixed my bike, but the riding season is winding down. If not today, then when?) You want to come with me?
And then Ed gives such an unusual response that I sit up in bed in shock -- okay, and why don't we eat breakfast downtown? You know, one of those brunch things?

We're off!



Nina, be careful! (he never says this, but the idea of me shooting from a speeding position seems deserving of a cautionary reprimand)


It's so glorious to be riding again! It's just an hour's ride each way, but the sky is deeply blue, the field colors are sublime and the sun is out and the cool breeze just helps us along (at least going there; it works against us coming back).






When we get to Willie Street -- home of a bakery with good baguettes -- we see that this is the day for their annual Willie Street fair, which is a a carnival like event, with music, a parade, costumes, stilts...
















... with the usual very alternative Willie Street vendors selling their stuff.


The bakery is cooking breakfast and we are so lucky, because a table outside opens up just as we pull in and so here we are, munching on croissants and eggs and baguettes and it feels as if we are traveling together because honestly, Ed and I NEVER go out to breakfast otherwise!

A folk band plays some lovely songs about lavender and people gather in a very low key way and it is really just a perfect morning moment.






We meander up the street a bit after and we watch something that is very "Midwest" I should think -- a pumpkin weighing contest. The all time record goes to last year's pumpkin -- 1800 pounds! Honestly!

We watch as some of this year's entries get weighed. This pretty thing comes in at "only" 721.






We bike back, baguette in backpack,  completely satisfied.






And now it's evening and the young family is here for dinner...



(can I help mix the salad?)


So it is Sunday after all.






A very very great Sunday!



(I was at a Milwaukee baseball game, grandma!)


I think we would all agree.






The night comes, Ed and I go out to put away the cheepers. They're back to to normal patterns -- resting on the fence, waiting for us to lock them up in the coop.






We walk back to the farmhouse... the moon shines brightly...