Recipe for a Good Weekend
Recipe for a good weekend:
Two friends
One very good dog
48 hours
2,900 miles flown, drive and walked, give or take a few
At least eight cups of coffee
So, so much food
A lot of country music
Hours of conversation with the sweetest family
Lake water and sand
All the words
Enough laughter to make your face hurt
I visited the one and only Nikki McCombe this past weekend in London, Ontario, and it was real good for the soul.
Ontario gets a bad/boring rap as a province, but I think it's beautiful in its own way. (Besides, it's still Canada, and y'all know how I love Canada.)
We went to 10 Eighteen Coffee (order a pour over and a donut), walked to Wortley Village for Gathering on the Green, took in a chilly sunset at Ipperwash Beach, and brunched real hard at Plant Matter Kitchen.
We took back roads to everywhere so I could drink in deep green fields peppered with little farm houses and hundred-year-old barns, standing defiantly against the Canadian countryside on stone foundations. (Bonus points for a good rainstorm along the way.)
We played with her nephews and grilled out with her family and cuddled her dog to near-annoyance. We talked about everything, per usual, and by the time we trekked back across the border to the Detroit airport on Sunday, I felt the kind of warmth and lightness that only comes from downtime with a friend whose heart understands yours.
Whatever the ingredients for your good weekend are, I hope you gather them up soon and have one for yourself. Nothing better.
