Taste and See that Karen's Is Good

So this weekend, after I had a 2nd interview on Friday at a certain educational institution (I'm always afraid to mention this because if I don't get the job then I will have gone public with me being considered and feel sad that I announced it publicly on this blog...but what the heck), I headed to G-Raps to see Mel, Jen, and Kris and then headed south on Saturday morning to do some work for Earth Care Connection. I met up with my friend Jane down there and we spent Saturday and Sunday working at her friend's house that was right on Lake Manitou, a very pretty inland lake.

We were in this cute American small town called Rochester, Indiana. There is something about driving through small towns that makes me happy that I live in this country. This is probably really good therapy for me because lately I've been really soured by what the U.S. is up to under our current administration and what people think of us in the world. But there is a beauty to American small town life. I attended a small craft show at the local county fair grounds and saw all the standard homemade projects of wood, overly decorated hand towels, and crocheted toilet paper covers. Somehow I know you'd never see that abroad. And, even though I'd never put any of that stuff in my house...it still makes me smile every time I see it. These are just "folks." Maybe it's my simple southern roots, but I've got a soft spot in my heart for ugly handicrafts.

We also went to this incredible diner called Karen's Family Restaurant. It was directly across the road from a small local airport. What was fun was that the restaurant had a parking lot for cars and across the road there was a parking lot of sorts for small airplanes. Apparently, some people fly down from Chicago and other areas of Indiana and Illinois just to eat at Karen's. After eating my delicious hashbrowns, poached eggs, and sausage patties I could taste and see why. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me to take pictures of the very cute little colorful planes all in a row. But, if you are ever in Rochester, Indiana (about 35 miles southeast of South Bend) make sure you stop at Karen's for breakfast.