Friends, Flowers, and Bloody Butcher

Last Saturday, I ran into Pam (Orcsmom) at Bearpaws & Hollyhocks and found out she was off work this week. Coincidentally, Gran and I had just been talking about not having been able to spend any time with Pam recently, so it didn't take long to arrange an outing, but we weren't quite sure what we wanted to do. Gran had been battling some kind of sinus crud and was starting a new antibiotic, so we didn't want to stray too far from home in case she tired out, but we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before. So what did we decide to do?

Another friend, Carol, had told us about the Flower Farm, a local nursery with a little restaurant on the grounds, and since the weather was beautiful (but for a bit of a strong breeze) we thought we'd enjoy the countryside, the plants, and the food.

I wish I could say that was us biking in, but you probably wouldn't believe me anyway, right? This building is the little restaurant, and behind the building is a wonderful patio looking out onto a pond, the nursery, and a bocci ball court, and that's where we had lunch--on the patio. Each of us chose a different sandwich--mine was ham and brie on a croissant with sliced apples. Yum! And isn't my cup of white mocha pretty? Maybe not quite as nice as my red with white polka dot cup at home, but Gran was envious nevertheless. She was happy enough, though, to drown her envy in a pot of creme brulee tea accompanied by a chicken curry sandwich, and Pam enjoyed an iced tea and a turkey and Havarti sandwich.

When we first arrived at the Flower Farm, two of the ladies I was with (who shall remain anonymous) were trying to figure out if the cow by the pond was REAL, but we soon found out she wasn't.

Did you notice the legs sticking out of the water to the left of the cow? That's Esther. Presumably she's named after Esther Williams, the great swimmer and movie star of the 40s and 50s, but that's just a guess on my part. While Gran and Pam were off wandering around the nursery and gift shop, I struck up a conversation with one of the owners and learned that she wades into the pond each season and changes Esther's clothes so she's dressed appropriately. I understand it's nearly time for Esther to don a bikini. Here's a larger photo--love those slippers!

All of us enjoyed our time at the nursery so much we decided to stop at another nursery--High Hand Nursery, which wasn't far away. Gran and I had been there about a month ago, but Pam hadn't been with us on that occasion. And that brings me to the last part of my blog post title: Bloody Butcher.

It's a tomato variety, of course! Admittedly, I selected it in large part because of the rather catchy name. I also bought a Cherokee Purple and a Black Prince--all are heirloom tomatoes. And all three of us came away from High Hand carrying tomato plants. (I also bought a couple of flowering plants at the Flower Farm, and "Farmer" Gran bought some potatoes.)

Besides the two nurseries and the restaurant I've written about, we also made stops at two quilt shops and a Starbucks. All in all, a really nice girls' day out.

A year or two ago, I wrote a post in which I wished I had a group of quilting friends to do things with. Back then, the few quilting friends I'd made over the years had moved away or drifted away or lived too far away to get together with, and the friends I DID have were not quilters. How things change! And yes, I realize how truly lucky I am to have found my friends Gran and Pam and several others who weren't with us on this particular outing; these quilting "sisters" bring such joy and laughter to my life.