Visitors

I had the joy of hosting my friend Molly and her beau Patrick while they were in town last week. Now that I've plopped down half-way across the country, as you can imagine the only person who comes to visit me (for no other reason than to visit me) is my Mom. I thank the others of you who have worked me into return trips from more exciting places. Molly and Patrick were on a whirlwind trip across the Midwest, and the first thing they said when they walked in my door was "Ah! We knew you would have air conditioning." Probably one of the most pleasurable parts of their visit was being able to commiserate with other Coloradans. This last part of July, the humidity has truly darn-near killed me. It's disgusting.
Other pleasurable parts of their visit:
I geared up for the gastronomic tour I had planned for us by hitting the farmers market in Plymouth, which is a new addition around here this summer. It just started 3 weeks ago, and already I know I will go every week until they shut it down. It was marvelous! The variety is great, the people are lovely, and all the food is grown or produced (there are a couple bakeries, pickle, jam and granola makers and ranchers) within 50 miles of Plymouth. For those of you not in the know about green living, buying food locally not only supports local businesses but cuts down on the environmental impact your food choices have. For example, items shipped from far away (like the frozen shrimp I get at the grocery store-whoops!) require energy to be kept frozen and require fuel to be driven or flown to the destination, and all this contributes to a bigger carbon footprint. Essentially, even if you think Al Gore and his global warming threats are myth, it can't possibly hurt anything to reduce the cost and the CO2 impact of my food.
Did I mention the food from the farmer's market was marvelous? It was so great I went again yesterday. Can't wait until next Wednesday!
So, the gastronomic tour: We had a nicoise-style salad with hard boiled eggs, olives, anchovies, boiled potatoes, green beans, grilled red onions, purple and green bell peppers, and homemade Dijon vinaigrette. To accompany that, we had grilled kabobs with shrimp and smoked sausage and some fresh Onion Caraway Rye bread from a local bakery. Divine.
The next morning, Molly and I sat in our pajamas until noon, doing what friends do over good coffee. My family uses a term, visiting, that I think has lost it's meaning in my generation of tweeters, bloggers, texters and skypers. I "visited" with a friend for 3 hours with 2 pots of coffee, and it was just great. I can't even remember what we talked about, and it doesn't matter. I think a million gurus can write books and magazine articles about how to de-stress, how to find balance in your life, how to be successful. None of them would tell you to sit in your pajamas with a good friend drinking coffee all morning, "visiting," but that is the secret to a good life.