I am going to stop talking about how late my posts are. Let's all agree that life is busy, and better late than never!
The rest of Mom's visit was lovely.
It included a day trip to Shipshewana, Indiana (we went there with Harry when he was in Chicago) and after checking out Menno-Hof, the Anabaptist museum, we enjoyed a 'backroads tour' of Amish country. We visited a noodle shop, a cheese shop, a quilting shop, and even milked a cow at a milking farm (the friendly and fun Amish farmer called Junior helped us out!) and ate a scrumptious, very hearty, homemade meal in an Amish home. The Amish lifestyle is quite fascinating and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk with some Amish people. Unfortunately the dinner was served by the Amish family, they didn't sit down to eat with us, but perhaps that is a little too much to ask.
One day we checked out the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry which was very interesting and informative. A highlight was definitely the 'Smart House' - an entire energy efficient home built on the museum grounds in environmentally sound and sustainable ways. Fascinating and something to aspire to if Eric and I are ever able to build a house from scratch.
Seeing as how Mom's visit coincided with summer transitioning into fall, we spent a day at the Botanical Gardens, hoping to see the leaves changing color. So beautiful to be out in nature like that.
It would be remiss not to mention our outing to the Oprah Show! Wow, these tickets are practically impossible to get, but I happened to know someone who could hook us up. It was really interesting to see how the Oprah Show unfolds, what it's like to be in-studio, and we were so close to the living legend herself. The topic itself was... hmmm... SLIGHTLY awkward and for a mature audience only. Not my first choice of subject matter to be watching with mummy dearest, but ah well!
No visit to Chicago (or with us) would be complete with some culinary experiences - we ate at a few of our favorite spots, but Mom's favorite meal was at Walker Bros Original Pancake House. Yum!
Other than that we just enjoyed spending time together, going for walks, shopping, relaxing at home and seeing some friends (above pic with the Brewsters at Hopleaf Bar). It was sooo wonderful having Mom come to stay with us - we loved spending time with her. Thanks for making the trip Mom, and a big special thank you to Digby and Harry who were the generous ones to fly her out!
