A Few Days Away From Home

This week Jason and I had the rare opportunity to get away for a few days sans offspring. We traveled south to the Shenandoah and stayed in a little cabin (without wifi!) tucked in the woods. A lot of our time was spent lounging about, reading and playing with the various ways to make coffee and tea in our rental house. We discovered that we really do need an automatic milk frother, but definitely do not need an espresso machine. Also, these mugs from Ikea are stupid and no one should buy them. Thankfully, Jason went out to the dollar store to buy us some actual mugs that didn't burn our hands off, because there was no way I was spending two days in a mountain cabin without a proper mug.

This gas stove proved quite useful for holding a coffee pot and teapot at the proper temperature.

We spent the afternoon at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. I love a good historic home, but this one was a tad small. The gardens though, oh, the gardens! It was fun to pick out the fellow plant people: you could recognize us crouched down, smelling a plant or cradling tiny produce in our hands. Imagine my joy when I found out that the gardeners here had fallen prey to snake gourds as well. Oh, you think they will be a novelty to amuse and delight your friends, but then they take over like the vegetable reptiles they truly are! Watch out. 

Jason has taken up photography in the past few years, which has made my job easier since I can just steal his photos upon occasion. The below are all his.

We had the most gorgeous fall day in the history of gorgeous fall days. The air was the perfect temperature, the sky blue, the leaves in all shades of yellow, orange, and red, and just but a subtle breeze. The ride back home the next day was magical, and makes me want to return to the mountains every fall from here on out. 

Back home, the neighboring field has been mowed, cover crop planted, and the leaves have started falling from the trees. I went for a walk this morning and wished I had brought a hat. I put the last of the spring bulbs in this weekend (90 daffodils to add to about 450 tulips), and the fall gardening is nearly done. It's only 2-3 months before I have to start seeds, not leaving too much time for rest before the next flower season is upon us. In the meantime, I will be huddled under my blanket on the couch, reading, watching literally anything (I am not picky about my TV) on Netflix or YouTube, thinking about painting but not actually doing it, and drinking any dessert-flavored tea I can find.