This past weekend my mom came to visit. She came late Friday and stayed until this morning. It was very nice to have her here. I miss her when she’s hours away.

Saturday, she, Matt’s mom, Evie, and I went to Smicksburg, Pa to do some shopping and walking and have a ladies day out.

We used the GPS in the car to get there and we were a little concerned when it came up with a shortcut on a dirt/gravel road. Smicksburg a very nice little town, seemingly near nothing, so I was surprised at just how many people there were. The first little country shop we went into was packed with people squeezing through the little rooms, taking turns on the stairs, but enjoying themselves all the while.

We stopped in all the shops we could find: country/primitive decor, quilting, knitting, pottery, antiques, even the heritage center. We all found something to take home.

We had a late lunch, after the crowd had died down, in The Village Eatinhouse, a little restaurant that gives glimpses of delicious-looking pastries and desserts while your waiting to be seated. We all chose the first thing on their menu, a tomato & cheese pie, served with fresh bread. I think we were all pleased with it. The prices were reasonable and the portion was perfect. I was comfortably full and it was so good that I’m sure if they had given me more, I would have eaten it.

I do wish they had had a map made up so that we knew where to look for the next shop. Especially since looking at the website, I see we missed the Chocolate Shop. I suppose that will be another trip.

I was surprised at how many men had come out with their wives for the day. My wonderful husband was home, helping his dad out and then making us a very tasty dinner. We came home to homemade egg rolls, both pork and shrimp and pork dumplings, ready to be fried and steamed. He also made salmon and rice and we had a fast and easy dessert of boxed Oreo pie. Sometimes, that’s the way to go.

Dinner was delicious and the day was wonderful!

Unfortunately, though I carried my camera around with me the whole day, it never came out of my bag, so I’ve no pictures of the day. Last week, I took the images above of the barn in our backyard. You can see the sun shining through the trees as it sets in the background.

I’m planning on starting some holiday preparing this week, possibly with cookies and some plans for Christmas gifts. Tonight, I may be baking this apple nut cake from Low Tide High Style, though after all the good food we had over the weekend, it might be a good idea to slow down. But then again, winter is coming, along with the Holidays, and that means lots of big meals with family and lots of comfort food being made.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!