Rural Weekend

James's parents gave up living in the city for good last year, and I envy them each time we visit. To me, there are different degrees of "rural living," and theirs is perfect: far enough from your neighbors that you can't see their house from your own, but close enough that you could walk to their house on a nice day. Also, being within five to ten miles of at least a grocery store and a post office is important. They have a lot of land surrounding their house, which is set back far from the county road, and it just feels so secluded and serene. It's really an interesting contrast from living in the city where I am constantly aware of other people being around me from the moment I step out of my apartment (and frequently even when in my apartment).

One of the major perks of visiting the in-laws is that we have to drive through Waco, Texas. Now, I am not a big fan of Waco, Texas, but I am a big fan of two things you can find in Waco. The first: my friend, Amber; the second: peanut butter milkshakes from Health Camp. Don't be fooled by the name; this little restaurant serves a bazillion different flavors of milkshakes in addition to greasy burgers, fries, tots, and my new go-to burger replacement: grilled cheese sandwiches. Nothing healthy about it. And the peanut butter milkshakes are amazing. We each had one on the way there and one on the way back. Dangerously yummy. It's a good thing I'm not aware of where to get these in Dallas.

Remember when I mentioned the guy trying to protect the Bluebonnets from the mowers? Unfortunately, he failed. When at the park last week, we noticed that the mowers had mowed down all of the Bluebonnets. Fortunately for us, though, we experienced Bluebonnet-overload this weekend. Here's a few pictures I took of the many, many wildflowers we saw. A great deal of them were on the in-laws' property. The Indian Paintbrush is my favorite wildflower. There are a few more pictures in my Flickr photos, too.

We had a really nice, relaxing visit, and I had a lot of time to just sit and knit, which means I finished the sock I've been working on and started sock #2. I should have the pair finished by the weekend, I think.

All of this nice weather and being outdoors has really put me in a hurry to go camping. We have three trips already planned, and two more in the works. Yay!