i can't believe what a great day we've had here. extraordinary, really.

we went to shaker village and toured the craft booths. katherine and i found a booth called "green cauldron" where they sold all manner of natural home brewed skin and body care products. she bought "zit zapper" facial toner and spot treatment and i bought lightweight facial lotion with rosemary oil, among other yummy things. i love the smell of it, especially on my face (closer to my nose!!), and it's cooling when you put it on. a definite plus, considering it was 96 degrees here today without factoring in the heat index. they have a website you can google if you're interested in their products. they're in northern ky and ship everywhere. i like the fact that they're pretty local, and all of the family members there were so very nice too.

we found several woodworking booths, but one guy had the most beautiful statue about a foot high that was just breathtaking. i couldn't afford it, of course, but seeing it was enough to brighten the whole day. it was so serene looking. just the memory of it invokes peace to me.

i picked up a couple of ideas on photography, and think i might be able to decoupage some "flower" shots i took. it's too much to get into here, but i have an idea now, at least!!

we wandered around the village for a bit. kate and i went into the meeting house, where a man was singing and dancing shaker songs and dances. i don't care if it was "religous", he had the most beautiful baritone voice, and it carried far out into the village.

we also went into the main living quarters where we saw the sleeping quarters, schoolroom, kitchens, woodworking rooms, dining hall and other rooms i can't remember. it was interesting to see how they lived almost 200 years ago.

they also had a beautiful flower and herb garden which i took pictures of, but don't know how to put them on here. if and when i figure it out, or if someone tells me how (again) i'll def post them.

yeah, it was extremely hot. but the drive to shaker village took us down thru the palisades by the river and back up again, and once we got there it was pretty and peaceful and quiet, save the buzzing noises of the shoppers, so it was worth the sweat rolling down my back.

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katherine has decided she wants to cook. she dreams of going to france and owning a restaurant, among other things. so she cooked dinner for us tonight. she's 12, mind you. she researched the internet for her recipe. she wanted italian, and also vegetarian for me.

we shopped at 2 different stores because the regular market didn't have all the ingredients we needed. we ended up at the fresh market, which is mmmmmmmmm so good, lots of organics and specialty items. it's tres expensive, but what the hell. the kid has dreams and she deserves to at least be able to try to make them come true!!

she made butternut squash sauteed in olive oil, fresh chopped sage, fresh garlic, cracked pepper and sea salt. she then folded that into pasta with creme fraiche (which she made herself because even the fresh market didn't have it), fantini cheese, parmesan cheese, butter, more garlic and sage, and more cracked pepper and sea salt.

i picked out fresh carrots and baby asparagus which we roasted in olive oil, fresh rosemary, cracked pepper and sea salt. we also had bread (foccacia???) that was baked with rosemary and garlic which we dipped into olive oil and balsamic vinegar (we bought the bread a week or so ago and just bought a bottle of dipping oil).

OMG!!! it was sooooo good. i felt like i'd had dinner at a very fine restaurant and my little girl cooked it for us!!! yes, i instructed a bit and handled the hot pasta pot, but she did the cooking herself. very impressive i must say.

we also had a really good bottle of white wine to go with it. not expensive, but very good.

mom was here, but katherine and i were so busy in the kitchen she didn't bother us. if you just let her talk and "uh huh" in agreement every so often she's happy. i think she realized that kate and i needed to communicate with each other a lot, so she was better than normal.

the 3 of us went to starbucks and had coffee outside afterward, which was a nice late finish to the evening. and when i got back home around 9:30 - surprise!!! my prodigal son had returned. his phone went dead and he didn't have his charger with him. he's been at stripper girl's mother's house out in the country since thursday evening. i guess they're reconciled. we'll see what happens. i just don't want him to get hurt again.

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katherine has decided she's going to cook dinner one night every weekend, and we all decided that was a very good idea. you can't imagine how good it was, and cooked at home by a 12 year old!

she's letting me pick the menu for next time, so i'm trying to decide what i want. i'm craving artichokes, but who knows by the time next weekend rolls around. maybe i should just let her decide, she did such a wonderful job today. dave wants meat, and i make it for the family all the time, but i think he likes her cooking better than mine!!!

i can see it now..."katherine, i don't care if you're not done with your homework. get in that kitchen and whip us up something delish!!!"

we have to work on chocolate mousse this week, because she wants to try a black forest cake for dessert next time. i love this kid more and more every day!!!

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yes, it was a most excellent day.