As I said before, my family was here. My Mom, and sisters, Linda and Christie, came in to celebrate Mom’s birthday. We had a wonderful time because we were together. We laughed and talked, played cards, and Linda picked on us, and we laughed so much we cried. And, Mom said it was the most fun we’d ever had. What’s more important for a mother’s birthday?

So, here are just random pictures to share. Thanks for taking the birthday picture, Christie! We all went to see Laura Bradford with her launch of Eclair and Present Danger, and had that delicious eclair cake. But, then we came back to my place and had birthday cake and ice cream because we had to for Mom’s 80th birthday.

Left to right – Christie, Linda, Mom, Me

The next morning, we set out for Brown County and Nashville, Indiana. In the fall, it’s known for its leaves. It’s always known for its shops – over 200 arts and crafts shops.

We stayed at Iris Gardens, a rustic collection of small cottages right in the heart of the village. Our cottage was The Heart of Nashville.

Outside Tthe Heart of Nashville

It was the perfect location for us. We were across the street from a restaurant that had live music from 7-9 every night. So, we sat outside, played cards, and listened and sang along to the music. We had gorgeous weather in between weeks of rain in Indiana and temperatures soaring into the high 90s. Our weather was perfect.

When I sat outside on Thursday morning, before we headed out, these two were my morning companions.

There’s fun public art around Nashville.

And, some of the public art is at the Brown County Public Library.

And, the shops themselves sometimes had beautiful landscaping.

Our favorite shops? They were ones marked with maple leaves. That meant over 80% of the items in the shop were made in the U.S. or by local artists. We all bought glass pieces at the two glassblowers’ shops. They were both owned by a family of glassblowers, and we saw one of the sons blowing glass. The father is 84, started the business, and we talked with him both days. There are two identical twin sons who are glassblowers. And, the grandson is the third generation in the shops. He’s also a glassblower.

Great, great trip together. Here’s my favorite piece of art from the entire trip – my mother, who even put green tints in her hair to celebrate her 80th birthday. Love to Mom, Linda & Christie, and thank you for four great days together.