baby shower and Cincinnati

October -- a busy, fun-filled month this year. Since we are so interested in the Amish culture, we took a trip over curving, winding roads past fields where hundreds of pumpkins were being harvested, corn stalks being cut down to Montgomery, Indiana. About a mile outside of town is an Amish village with large restaurant, bakery, antiques, gift shop. The buffet features many homemade products, the best being the bread. Jerry and I decided we could make a meal just on the wonderful bread and butter. The day was nippy but brilliantly sunny so the top went down on the car -- heated seats turned on, windows rolled up, but TOP DOWN!! From Montgomery we headed south to Jasper then took another turn toward French Lick, played for a while, then drove home late in the evening. Driving a convertible in the fall is bracing!!

Saturday was Weslea Hottman's baby shower at Don and Nancy's. Ordinarily, showers aren't my cup of tea but this one was actually fun! The shower games didn't dominate but were woven into other activities. For instance, while we were eating, each guest had a glass of "Prego-ritas" (virgin margaritas) into which an ice cube was placed. The ice cube had a tiny plastic baby frozen into it. The person whose cube melted first got a prize. Weslea was showered with so many gifts that the hallway was filled with them. I hope they have a large enough house or apartment to hold it all. :-) One present held very special meaning. When Don and Nancy's first son was born, Don's mother gave them the rocking chair he'd used when he was little. Then it was passed on to the next son. They had the seat recovered in a fabric that fits the new baby's nursery and presented it to Weslea at the shower. What a wonderful way to connect the various Hottman generations.

As soon as the shower ended, I hopped into the car for my journey north to Cincinnati. My old friend from Morehead, Bette Evanshine, was waiting for me at her home. As soon as I got there and changed shoes, we went to an area of the city that was having a porch tour. Hundreds of luminaries lined the sidewalks on both sides of the street, a band played, children ran around and played in the streets, food aromas wafted over our heads. We took a horse-drawn wagon tour of the neighborhood; a docent talked about the architectural features on the houses as we slowly made our way in the wagon. The evening was turning cold so, after leaving this event, we went back to Bette's neighborhood for a heartening Indian meal. The rest of the evening was spent in pajamas, talking, reminiscing. Before leaving the next day, we went to the new Nordstrom's near her and did a little shopping and eating at the bistro. Side note: Shopping is so much more fun when you have a girlfriend commenting, pointing out things, enjoying it with you.