We're back home from a visit to an Amish settlement about 40 miles from home, where we had coffee and fresh bakery for breakfast. The warm apple and red raspberry turnovers were positively delicious, the crust flaky, just like our mothers used to make.
The bakery owner told us that he accidentally dropped a freshly baked ground cherry pie on the floor earlier, and so he had this broken pie to eat in the kitchen. We could tell he was nervous to get at it, but customers kept coming in the door and he had to man the old-fashioned adding machine. I wanted to say that I'd gladly tend to the broken pie for him, but thought that was probably asking a bit much.
This bakery feels down-home, they serve free coffee, and people simply stream in the door for the donuts, cinnamon rolls, homemade bread, all kinds of pies, cookies, angel food cakes, and even some fresh produce. Amish men sit around having coffee with the English--a quiet natural blend of vastly different cultures. And, out on the front porch a big old collie dog lay sprawled out eating bits of donuts that people were tossing out to him.
Down the road a ways, the Amish were having a farmers market auction, and we stayed long enough to see how that worked. All kinds of hanging plants, flowers, tomatoes, beets, strawberries, rhubarb, and lord knows what all were being sold at very reasonable prices......all the stuff for sale is locally grown in their farm greenhouses. We didn't get a number to bid, but we'd like to go back another day to get in on the action. Maybe even take another couple with us who would enjoy that sort of thing!
Dark clouds with lightning started to move in from the northwest so we decided to cut our visit short. Then after we drove some miles on our way back home, the clouds started to get a bit lighter. My head almost snapped off when I spotted a garage sale sign that pointed down a gravel road. We followed the arrows and balloons to a farmstead that had the most glorious flower gardens with reds and purples welcoming us as we drove in the yard. We didn't buy anything, but had a nice visit with a young gal who was tending the money box. Earlier we had noticed a white cross up in the field, kinda up on a hillside. We asked if she knew the reason for the cross being there, and she said it marks the graves of a pioneer family. Just goes to show that it pays to ask questions about things that pique our interest. Lots of cool stories out there just waiting to be shared.
There's a golf game on t.v. this afternoon, but I think I shall busy myself with a book. My hubby took a chicken out of the freezer, and he's going to grill it for supper, using the can of beer method. Ooooh, that'll be yummy. Looks like it's gonna rain some more, so we're going to cozy in, just the three of us.