August 23, 2012 Today was blissfully uneventful, really. We drove my cousin to Effingham to pick up his truck from an oil change, and after a lunch at Steak n’ Shake, we headed back to the farm. I spent a good amount of time in a chair reading. PG Wodehouse is always a favorite and…
DAY FOUR of RURAL ILLINOIS 2012
August 22, 2012 Today at the track was harness racing. Between the actual trotting races were speciality races, like kids on stick horses. After harness racing we stopped by the Cameo Winery to test some of the new varieties, we visited with a cousin. She gave me a fresh haircut. We then all met up at…
DAY THREE of RURAL ILLINOIS 2012
August 21, 2012 Today we enjoyed lunch at The Fillin’ Station in Toledo. The town has an historic square with a courthouse, post office, newspaper and small businesses. It reminds me of To Kill A Mockingbird and Back To The Future. After lunch, they had finished judging at the halls so we stopped in to see who…
DAY TWO of RURAL ILLINOIS 2012
August 20, 2012 This morning we went down to Grandad’s shed and poked around. That shed houses more bits and pieces than one would think possible. We stopped by to see some old family friends before heading to the fairgrounds for the thoroughbred racing. In the evening was the 2012 Cumberland County Fair Queen and…
DAY ONE of RURAL ILLINOIS 2012
August 19, 2012 Yesterday was spent in the car, driving nearly 800 miles from Savannah, GA to Greenup, IL. This morning I awoke early to the sound of … nothing. I suppose if I had listened carefully I could have identified small songbirds or a few crickets. My cousin cooked us all a delicious hearty…