When Sister Comes to Visit

When sister comes to visit it is always an adventure, she brings her little hamster, her hamster's name is Chip.

We went looking for a lavender farm and met a lovely lady who owns a charming lavender-centric business in Jackson, MI. Nellie's Lavender Estate is located at Art 634 on Mechanic Street.  Art 634 are on the grounds of the old prison and has been tastefully converted to hold shops, galleries, studios, and the Jackson School of the Arts.

We hoped to eat crepes at City Limits Crepes, but the restaurant was closed for the July 4th weekend.

We browsed an antique store where I found a book on Oregon hiking trails, which I gave to Joel for a belated birthday gift.

We found a great coffee shop, Jackson Coffee Company, which had a Kaffee Hag tin.  I really really wanted to get a picture of the lady just right of the tin, but it just wasn't a nice thing to do because it would have been really funny at her expense.  Truth is I could have posed for that picture because sometimes I'm a coffee hag schlepping around in my robe and slippers looking for a pick me up.  I love the long mornings in pjs; reminds me of The Big Lebowski who extends the coffee drinking with his white russians.

I have inched away from the coffee though and have opted for green tea, which soothes my soul.  My belly just can't handle the caffeine any more. Plus I am finding that I am sleeping better now that caffeine isn't taxing my system.




                                                     

The Jackson Coffee Company has a little model of the shop sitting in the window.

Across the road was Imagine Planet which is a non-profit hands-on science center.  I really like the concept, but this operation desperately needed some organization.  

There's a popular burrito bar in Jackson that serves up some tasty food.  We had lunch there. 

Afterwards we headed to the Art 634 center. At Nellie's we both bought lavender chamomile tea, and sister bought lavender shortbread.  It was super tasty and later we regretted not buying more.

We hit a Goodwill and then we headed to McCortie Park and Flavor Fruit Farm. A wedding party was being photographed at the park. I wanted to take pictures of the activity because the bridesmaids dresses were some of the prettiest I have ever seen.  They looked lovely among the foliage and faux bois bridges.  

At Flavor Fruit Farm I bought an amazing loaf of whole grain bread, hard cider, and a garlic peeler which I really could have used a few weeks earlier when I was helping Jerry prepare the boiled dinner.

Marlene and I saw many, many wonderful things on our adventure. I believe in focusing on the good things that edify and build up a person or situation. It's an important habit focusing on excellence so you can build off this effort, but I can't deny that I saw disturbing things - a disgusting mess, rudeness, a junkie waiting for and finding her fix, sinfully overpriced items, filthy peculiar homeless people, neglect.  It's there and it needs love to clean it up, which reminds me that the love of the Triune God can change the ugly and indecent into something of incomparable beauty.  Christianity isn't a do-it-yourself, self-improvement course, the cure for our vile repulsive natures was accomplished by Christ who gifts us with faith and the Holy Spirit who works with and in us to transform our sinful natures in this earthly realm into holier, true, pure versions of ourselves, and who gifts us with the opportunity and ability to magnify God's love for us. This is miraculous indeed.