Princeton

The week before Easter we had a visit from Momsie and Bandaddy and then we went to Princeton for a few days to see Granny and Aunt Sal and Uncle Rich. Princeton is one of my favorite places in the world for reasons that are tough to articulate. My grandparents moved back to Western Kentucky from South Florida after raising their family, because, as Granny puts it, my Grandfather "was ready to be a big fish." Western Kentucky is a beautiful place... the pace is slower, the people gentile and kind, and the whole place is just charming. As a little girl we would beg Grandfather to wake us up early and take us to "ride the range" with him, which basically meant that we all piled into his dirty pick-up truck and drove out onto his farms to feed and take care of the cows. If you have never fed a pasture-full of cows from a truck bed before, it totally makes you feel like a rockstar - you should try it. =) Then he would come home and get cleaned up and switch into "city" mode, looking sharp and driving his big Lincoln instead of the truck. He would sit in his chair in the den and whistle at each girl as we all came out dressed for lunch at the club and Granny always got the biggest whistle, of course. These days the main activities are golf, tennis, swimming, going for walks, sitting on the patio, and visiting with friends. Mmmm... perfect. (I used to include "napping" in that list, too, but since the kiddos not so much.) At 201 Holly Lane (the Hayes house) cocktail hour is an occassion and friends will usually join in and stay for dinner. (Granny and our dear friend Sitter recently gave me an impromtu list of things a Southern Lady does while I was visiting... observing the cocktail hour was #1 on their list. Hmmm...) Being there forces me to slow down and enjoy... and every time I feel like I learn more and more about life, people and laughter by being around Granny. She has taught me great lessons about not taking myself (or life) too seriously, enjoying people, and living graciously. I still have a *lot* to learn! Bonus... the new Black Oak Winery finally opened up right down the road, giving us a new place to visit!

Kate, in her *fancy* satin gown from cousin Axel.... oooh la la.