Tanner’s Orchard

(Left to right: Shelly, Lori, Debbie, Joyce, Sue and Michelle)

God often puts wonderful people into our lives (or I meet them by stalking them, right Lori? ) I found Lori (second from left) blog hopping one day. I tracked her down, and she was gracious enough to trust that I wasn’t ‘totally’ crazy, and Louie and I met her and her husband Dan at Poopy’s. Gee, that was three years ago. We have gone on a few motorcycle rides with Lori and Dan since, but she has also invited me to meet some of her friends. What a gift and blessing that has been!

Last year in May, she invited me to a ‘blogger’s breakfast’ in Oregon, Illinois at White Pines Forest State Park. There I met Shelly, Debbie, Joyce, and a couple of other ladies.

In February of this year, Lori and Joyce invited me to join in on a craft retreat. It was held at the house of one of Joyce’s friends. She just lent us her house! How cool was that? She wasn’t there, and just invited us to move right in! It was sew much fun. I met Sue at the craft retreat. Sue was new to quilting then, and starting her first quilt (I think). You should see the quilts she has created since! Beautiful!

A month or so ago, Lori invited me to join her, Joyce, Shelly, and Sue to go to Tanner’s Orchard in Speer, Illinois. It seemed like such a long time to wait to go, but the date finally arrived. There, we met up with Debbie, who lives not far from there. It was so good to see her.

Tanner’s Orchard was absolutely wonderful. I could have sat inside for hours, just soaking up the aroma of bakery items, candles, and all the wonderful smells of the gift shop. The grocery part had lots of good things. I bought Cider donuts to share with the quilting girls in a few weeks. I brought them home and put them in the freezer. I bought Louie black licorice (YUCK!) and he loved that! I bought a jar of apple salsa (YUM!!), some small packets of coffee and the candle you see sitting on the table. It’s called Great Pumpkin, and it smells DELISH!

We stopped at a cute little gift shop on the way home, (Can’t remember the name) and I bought this neat sign. You will have to enlarge photo to see it, and even at that, the picture is not great, but it is really difficult to photograph such a long sign. Love what it says though.

THAND YOU for the food before us, FRIENDS beside us and LOVE between us.

I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going to put it when I bought it, but it worked out to be just about perfect right under my mirror in the kitchen.

It was a wonderful day, and I am thankful for the gift of friendship.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Michelle

Christ, who said to the disciples "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others. They are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men; by Friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing.

C.S. Lewis