Our Weekend: Greetings from Sebastopol

At least three times a year we head up to Sonoma County to visit our friends in Sebastopol. We met before our children were born and now my friend J. is like a sister to me. Our children are fast friends and have been playing together even from the very beginning... When oldest daughter K. was a newborn, she lay on my 4-month pregnant stomach while Little Mr. bounced around like a little frog beneath her. I'm sure he was saying, "Just you wait until I can come out and play..."

Now J. has 3 children and when we visit, all our little ones dash around through orchards & fields like sprites -- we only hear from them when they're hungry and are tired of eating apples (Sebastopol is famous for Gravenstein apple trees.)

Our friends recently moved from their small house set on 5 acres of apple orchard to a larger house with fewer apple trees. Fewer apple trees will mean fewer apples, but certainly, come autumn, there will be plenty of apples for a gaggle of children and Scarlet the horse. (Do you have any idea how many apples you get from 5-acres of orchard? More apple pie than you can ever imagine!)

The consolation at the new house? This wonderful elm-tree swing...

I love crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, but when I cross it on the way home from visiting our friends in Sebastopol I'm always sad. I miss the grassy fields and grazing dairy cows, I miss the chickens & road-side signs declaring "local honey" or "fresh eggs here", I miss the endless apple trees & beautiful bakeries but most of all, I miss our friends. I hope to see you again soon J., M., K., K. & Z.!