Sunday afternoons are for...

relaxing, resting, reading, ruminating, and remembering, not necessarily in that order.

It is a beautiful weekend,  weather-wise, and I have been spending as much time out-of-doors as I can.  Eric and I went to historic St. Charles, MO yesterday for the afternoon and wandered the banks of the Missouri river, then checked out all the shops and boutiques of it's main street.  Most of the buildings are national landmarks, and have been preserved for their historical significance on the outside, but the insides have all been made over into shops, antique stores, and gift outlets.  There are some that specialize in handcraftsmenship, while others are more commericial in orientation, but I was thrilled to discover along that same stretch of road a quilt shop, a cross stitch shop, and a yarn shop!  I made a purchase at the last one (yarn for another shawl I am contemplating), whereas I am well stocked at the moment on supplies from the others, but it did my heart good to just be in these places browsing and knowing that if need be, I could find my way back.  Eric and I had lunch on an outdoor patio, and we sampled wine and cheese from a shop called "The Wine Cellar," a place featuring wines from around the area (primarily MO, but there were a couple from IL too).  Before they closed we went back and bought three bottles, along with some cheese we had sampled and enjoyed.  The weather couldn't have been better for such a day outside, and it reminded me of a cross between Stillwater, MN and Williamsburg, VA.  I can't wait to go back sometime again in the not too distant future.  It's about an hour drive, towards the route we used to take going to MN (just off I-70 west, first exit after you cross the MO river bridge).  If I didn't hate driving the poplar street bridge as much as I do it would be likely that I would go more often than I will for now...

We went to church today, Brie, Skye, Eric, and I.  It was disappointing to realize that the kids had been scheduled to serve today, and I was on fellowship duty (I did help with coffee and the dishes); for whatever reason I have misplaced the schedule and had no idea we had been on-deck today.  It was still a nice service--Pastor Heidi always has a powerful message--and the baby was a huge hit with everyone.  It felt odd having three of our family NOT there, but what else could we do?  There are commitments all over the place, and we have to honor those too.  Now Rei is off with his girlfriend, Brie is working in her room, Eric has taken Aurora bowling, and I am sitting here blogging  while my clothes are washing. 

I finished reading a good book today, the second in a sci-fi series (now I need to buy the next one, although on my Nook that isn't hard to do), so that has been how I have spent most of my afternoon thus far, outside, and sitting on my swing...  It's a relaxing holiday weekend, and while I am sorry I can't be in MN for either the Renaissence Festival or the final weekend of the state fair, I can at least enjoy these glorious days of early fall/late summer!