Just another site along the (super)highway...

I've only been to Ohio once and it wasn't for long enough to really get a sense for its culture. Nevertheless, I suspect there's something not quite right in the water there.

I give you exhibit A, a run-of-the-mill office building in Newark, Ohio...

I stumbled upon this shot of the home office for the Longaberger Basket company while doing a Google Image search for "baskets." Who'd have figured I'd find one that included an elevator.

My question is, do you think there's a giant fried chicken, potato salad, and an extra large bottle of wine inside? And how long does it take to fold the napkins? And of course, wherever there's a picnic, there are ants... . Yikes!

A day off...

Sunday brought us weather that is as close to perfection as I'm likely to find in Blue Earth County. The sky was powder blue, tufts of cloud drifted lazily across the open expanse, and the line of trees at lake-side filtered the wind into a aural shimmer. So I decided to take the day off...from weeding, from blogging, from editing, from thinking. So serious was I to not taint a full day's respite from mental activity, I didn't just steer clear of my computer; I turned it off.

Instead, coffee was sipped outdoors. I read an article about making cheese. I baked cookies. I pulled onions and herbs from the garden and prepped them for future meal-making. I cut carrots. I took a nap in the hammock. I gazed at the vineyard for long stretches, taking in the sight of more than 600 vibrant vines climbing toward heaven. I took stock of the weeds underfoot, knowing that this was a chore left for another day.