all in a sunday.

we had such a great weekend. london turned 8 on saturday, which is so hard for me to believe. especially since he's my baby, and there's no chance of us having anymore. bummer. anyway, yesterday morning started off wet and rainy. all of the rain for the past week has made the lake rise and flood our roads to where they're impassable, so we've had to take the long way to town. (how silly i feel now thinking that an hour and a half to church was "long")...after church we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed out towards mansfield, we took a detour in seymour to visit some amish friends. they are so cool.

we met while they were building our barn, and they've been so open and friendly towards us that it's turned into a nice relationship. it's weird to think about how different we are. we pulled up in their driveway just as they were getting back from sunday meeting, they were both surprised and happy to see us.

the boys were getting themselves and the buggy ready to go to the "singing" that night. we chatted a bit about the heirloom seed company, which was where we were headed, then said goodbye so we could all get out of the rain. their lifestyle is so interesting to me. they have 3 boys, all adopted out of the english world. the boys are in their teens now, and are good kids. they've given us a lot of insight to the amish world. i respect them and how they choose to live. as we were leaving they waved goodbye and i thought about how funny it was that two totally different families could find a common ground. as we were saying goodbye, i noticed her black shawl swinging below her wrists, her other hand clutching it to her chest, and when i waved back, my "return to tiffanys" bracelet jingled and gleamed. it was a funny contrast of worlds.

and, of course, in staying true to who i am, i then preceeded to tell j for the next 30 or so minutes how we needed to score ourselves an invitation to a singing or to meeting. i told him i could totally be amish for a week. and i would learn all sorts of farm stuff and canning stuff. i pictured myself in a little black dress with an indigo blue shirt saying "dah" and "danki" i could TOTALLY do it. (i would have to sneak a tube of co bigelow tinted lip moisturizer with me, but i don't think that would be a big deal).

j laughed and asked what i would do when i had to use the restroom. grrr. see. in my mind i could totally be amish for a week until i remember the whole thing about them using an outhouse. that whole no indoor plumbing /shower thing bursts my bubble every time. she is a better woman than me. hands down.

we then made it to baker creek heirloom seeds. as a semi-experienced gardner, i was so excited to go! it was pouring down rain, and basically parking was in a huge mud hole. j and the kids were pretty skeptical about getting out and walking around, but we had driven all that way, and i was determined to see it...so we braved it...mind you i was wearing my super cute black leather 4 inch peep toe heels...( i got a lot of attention, looks and questions from people about wearing them) but it was so worth it. bakers creek is set up like an old pioneer village. it has a restaurant, mercantile, apothecary, jail, etc...they have festivals and are very much willing to answer any questions you have. it has seeds from vegtables, fruits and flowers that were introduced as far back as the 1800's. (i picked up a variety of string bean seeds from 1892) if you have a garden, you need to see this place. it's nationally known for having the biggest collection of heirloom seeds. so if you're into organic gardening, you need to check this place out. if you don't live in missouri, you can request a catalog, or shop online here
i scored some red bell peppers, snow peas, celery, different herbs, radishes, turnips, green beans & cucumbers. oh! and marigolds. i can't wait to go back.