At this farm, during different seasons they have different events, foods, dairy products and play. There are Sheep Dog Show, Cow-milking class, fresh butter making class and cow feeding. There is a Green leaf cafe, barbecue area, restaurant PICNEO and Soba Shop Green Hills.  They have their own dairy products like fresh milk, ice cream, baked goods, different flavor cheese and more. Here is their brochure:

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Kevin and I brought the wasbi cheese and a bottle milk! They were delicous. the flavor of the wasbi and cheese balanced out well. I really enjoy a nice warm glass of milk.

ITADAKIMASU

The atmosphere at The Corner Pub was relaxed and welcoming.  We were greeted as soon as we entered.  The place was full but there was a table waiting there just for us.  We speedily ordered some brews and a basket of hot wings.  Now I am by no means a expert at hot wings. The first time I was introduced to them was a Rodono’s, a pizza joint in my college town of Wilkes-Barre, PA and so this is what I compare all wings to. They must be crispy, dripping with sauce and be hot enough that they clear your sinuses but don’t make you grasp for a glass of milk. This is what I found at The Corner Pub.  Perfect wings.

The wings were just a starter. For dinner I ordered the Fried Bologna Sandwich – a thick piece of deep fried bologna with cheese and mustard on white bread.  This was yummy and took me back to my childhood – although we used to fry thin slices of Lebanon (sweet) bologna.

The Corner Pub to my surprise has 3 locations.  They have great specials and long happy hours.  They also support the Preds with 1/2 off a menu item when you show them your ticket before you go to the game. This is a place I will definitely go back to. Hockey season starts soon right?

Rob and I visited the Green Hills Side Walk Farmer’s Market last night in the Whole Foods parking lot, which was packed to the gills with homemade salsa (Naked Salsa- my new favorite because of the scandalous name and just-enough-kick bite!), right-off-the-vine fruit and vegetables (as my boyfriend said, “This tomato tastes nothing like the ones we buy at Trader Joes!” Ya think?!) and quirky tchotchkes like the “Redneck Wine Glass” I couldn’t resist buying as a birthday gift. (A mason jar attached to a wine glass stem with a marble rolling around, “In case you left your’s at home today!”)

Swapping stories with random patrons and vendors we chatted with Aron Grebner, a leather craftsman and inventor behind the Redneck glassware line. Grebner had me at howdy with his biting sense of humor and ingenious line of purses rendered from leather and vintage book covers. Randomly asking us, “Y’all drink? Well I made a purse the other week out of an Alcoholics Anonymous book with a whiskey bottle inside!” I was half shocked/half enamored by this man whose snarky sense of humor is few and far between. Bidding Grebner goodbye we promised to return next month for another dose of side-splitting banter and possibly one of his “pocketbook purses” for me!

If I had any fears that my healthy lifestyle would be slain by an artery clogging diet of fried green beans and pulled pork I can delightfully say that I have found my foodie niche, hoping to make this farmer’s market apart of my weekly rendezvous.

I woke up when Boyfriend did, a little earlier than my alarm for the bus so he could make it to the airport on time to head back home while I made my way west across the country to Oban on the opposite shore.  I didn’t cry when he left (I cried a little after), but we were sad to part.  I didn’t have an appetite for the croissants and honey we bought for breakfast.  The tea we had previously enjoyed so much tasted bland and dirty; I poured it out.  I brushed my teeth, dressed, packed up my things and left without a backwards glance.

The 29 bus took me to the city center, as usual, and I walked to the train Waverly station.  A very nice woman helped me buy a train ticket to Glasgow, and a return ticket from there to Oban.  the Dublin airport and Glasgow train station both have a little restaurant called The Upper Crust that features delicious sandwiches on baguettes.  I got one with bacon, spinach, cranberry and brie.  I wish we had these in the U.S.  I made plans to eat there when I flew out of Ireland at the end of my trip.

i want to go to there

On the train, I sat at a table with an older woman who read a newspaper with an enormous photo of a topless woman with startling nonchalance.  I was duly impressed.  The train to Glasgow was a quiet, steady, and quick.  I couldn’t believe how much countryside we passed on our way.  The woman at my table glanced up whenever I whipped out my phone to take a photo of yet another unremarkable field.

The trip to Oban was three hours plus, and full of beauty.  I was astonished at the greenery, the seemingly endless lakes with houses peppered around the shores (or not), the fly fisher, the two men on a row boat that I saw in both directions, the sheep (!), the eternal hills capped with mist and mystery.  This was my first taste of the Scottish highlands.

I arrived at the end of the line at a very small (and totally unmanned) train station in Oban, and was directed by a woman working her a newsstand in the station to the tourist office across the bay.  As I walked the gentle arc around the pebbled shore below, I couldn’t stop staring at the water, the islands off shore that looked so close I lifted my hand to gauge the distance, just in case I really could touch them.   Happy people, families and (mostly German with a few French) tourists, chatted as they passed; a few benches looking out toward the islands were quietly occupied by silent, gazing groups of two or three people.  I looked to my right, saw a blue and white sign for fish and chips, and made a note to settle into my bed and breakfast, then head straight back to town, get some fish, and find one of those lovely benches to stare into the distance, relax my bones, and taunt the seagulls with my catch.

The Tourist Information (TI) shop was surprisingly busy.  Apparently Oban is known by local tourists (that is, those visiting from Ireland or the UK) as a good vacation spot for the older generation.  Let me say that again: the older generation.  Everywhere I went, every tour I participated in, every shop I visited, I was the youngest person there by a couple of decades (at least, usually more).  This surprising age gap made me feel especially lonely and out of place, especially without Boyfriend.  Everything was so beautiful, I wanted so badly to share it with him.

bright, soft, and welcoming

A rather handsome boy at the TI (he couldn’t have been more than 18, I’m just terrible) said that he lived right in the neighborhood of my B&B, which shouldn’t have surprised me at all since the town is so small.  I took a cab for just a few pounds with captivating views of the bay to my right on the way up the hill, and was shown to my room by the mother of the woman with whom I had corresponded via email to book the room.  A large window on one wall let in plenty of light, and gave me a view of the backyard (clotheslines mostly).  There was a stack of mail-order DVDs on the sill, out of which I pulled an episode of Hercule Poirot (Four and Twenty Blackbirds), and the second half of the Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth (the first half was nowhere to be found).  My evening entertainment was shaping right up.  The tea caddy had a set of real china: one cup, one pot, and a different little package of cookies each day.  I dumped my stuff unceremoniously on the bed, changed into the stylish and very comfortable blue sneakers I had bought just for the trip, and headed back to town via the one and only road down the hill (featuring more gorgeous views of the town on the water).

on my appropriately decorated iphone case

I got my fish and chips, and sat down next to a solitary woman on a bench facing the water, just like I’d planned, and fought to keep a particularly brave seagull away from my dinner.  I signed up for a ferry to the Isle of Mull, a bus ride across the island narrated in both directions by a very friendly and funny driver, ferry to Iona, self-guided tour of the ruined abbey and still-standing monastery on Iona, and then all in reverse.  I decided I should wear myself out after sitting all day, and had a long walk around town, exploring a couple of blocks inland from the water to find some cafes and churches (all closed), except for the church at the end of the bay, which was plain inside and out, and had a lesson for children going on when I stepped in.  I took a few steps down from the sidewalk onto the rocky shore for a short way, and picked up some shells (where did I put those?).

I walked back up the hill to the B&B around 8, took of my shoes, read my Kindle, showered, popped Pride & Prejudice into the DVD player and crawled into bed to relax and hate Mr. Wickam.  Boyfriend called via Skype about midway through; it was nice to see his face.

The bed was the softest, warmest I had slept in during the whole trip, and I slept soundly in the quiet B&B near the top of the hill overlooking the bay in Oban.

The kids love the self serve and buffet of toppings.

http://www.greenhillsbarbershop.com/

http://www.theperfectpairnashville.com/

www.colorathome.com

Accessories with a garden/shabby chic vibe.

www.furniturewithasoul.com
www.nadeaunashville.com

Imports

http://www.ashblue.com/

Mon – Fri – 10 – 6. Sat – 10 – 5. Sun – closed.

www.anthropologie.com

Open Mon-Thu 10am-7pm; Fri-Sat 10am-8pm; Sun 12pm-6pm

http://www.billyreid.com/

www.chipotle.com

Its like terraforming Mars

• Outdoor connections – Living areas that flow outside.  This is achieved by larger doors and windows.
• More open floor plan – This is not new but is continuing. Kitchen connects to the living room, dinning room and out the back door.  People want a sense of togetherness.  Gone is the big bonus room separate from the real living area (the kitchen).
• Smaller master bath – Do you really use that spa bathtub? Bigger showers and vanities are in because they’re functional.
• Energy efficiency – A tankless water heater is nice, but first, buyers want energy-efficient windows, insulation and doors.
• Mudrooms - otherwise known as a “drop zone” – Families need to drop off their stuff when they walk in the door.  And we all know we have more stuff.
• Universal design - As Baby Boomers age, wider hallways and stepfree showers are a few trends that will be a necessity.

Follow the “sensible” trends, and your home will always be in demand.