Friends...........

I had planned a trip to visit with my friend Nancy. She moved back to her home town just before Christmas. She had sold her house here in Traverse City and moved to her friends home while she looked for a new house. Well we went down while she was staying there but were anxious to get back and see her new home. She is very happy there. She chose a condo that has all the outdoors work done for her. The house is as nice if not nicer than her old one and was the same price. She has enjoyed moving her things in. Nancy is my friend who collects antiques. She likes to refinish old furniture and I have several of her pieces in my own home. Her house is lovely. She is rather minimalist in small ornaments, although not entirely unpacked yet. I like it. I come home to my house and look around and wonder what I can get rid of. I find it impossible.
Edna drove us down as usual. We stopped at Amish stores on the way. We like to get their wonderful cheese for one thing. I took pictures best I could on the way down. We were able to leave by noon. Gerry stayed home with Tristen.

Edna and Nancy know their way around down state. I don't and I don't drive anymore since my vision is not so good. We got to Nancy's in time for lunch. She has all kinds of goodies and we brought fresh bread and cheese and summer sausages and other good things. So we ate and ate and ate. Then we went for a ride around. We stopped at a few fun stores and eventually got back for some more eating. Oh boy. We slept well and were up at the crack of dawn. Really, we were up at 5am. We had breakfast. Are you getting the idea? We did a lot of eating. Off we went for the day. Quilt shops and antique shops, gift shops and all kinds of fun things. It was raining so not a lot of outdoor stops.

The Amish country is fascinating. I got a few pictures. I love the washing on the line.

The homes seem to be modern for the most part but many are made of stone from the fields.

We did a lot of talking. Its great to be with people who enjoy the same things. We like the simple things in life. A nice country drive. Looking at the animals (another blog subject to come) I took a lot of pictures. We love antiques and crafts. We love quilt shops. We worked together for many years and have the same friends, even though we seldom see them now. We do like to catch up when we have seen someone, and share their stories. A mutual friend had died and we reminisced. Talked about our families and kids. It's sad in a way because we also talked about how long we can keep driving or walking or sewing or whatever. We are all in out 60s and 70s now. I once thought that was ancient. Its not, but its getting there. We have many more aches and pains these days. We all like cooking and we all like eating and complain about our weight as we eat Nancy's German chocolate cake and Edna's fruit pie and ice cream.