Our simple farmlife

After three busy days in Chicago we drove P&V (laden with champagne) down to the farm.

It had been 10 years since their last visit and we were looking forward to showing them the changes we had made and enjoying a bit of simple farm life.

But first we had to sample the champagne and caviar they had brought for afternoon tea.

P put together a tasting plate 

The champagne and vodka was poured

And within an hour of their arrival we were tucking into it

My usual restraint

We had a Labor day party on Monday afternoon to introduce P&V to our friends here and to enjoy an afternoon of boules, food and wine

This link to Steve Adams Studio will take you to some more Labor Day photos taken by our friend S (the real photographer).

Don't think we just sat around on land drinking champagne.
V and I did yoga and walked the dam,
P got to waterski at Lake Sarah with S&N (his first time in 25 years - luckily he didn't break anything), and we also had a lazy afternoon cruising on Lake Carlyle.

We did a bit of clay bird shooting

Followed by more champagne - just because.

Thanks for visiting P&V- it was a week of sparkling memories.

Citylife Chicago

Last week we spent some time with our good friends P&V from Australia in Chicago and on the farm.

What can I say - as always when we get together, there is lots of laughter, good food and fabulous champagne and wine.

Nothing unusual about that - except this time it was on the other side of the world. 

We spent a few days in Chicago first, the highlights being:

A visit to the floor of the CME (M's old trading patch)

Tours of the magnificent Chicago architecture - on foot and by boat 

P enjoying architectural tour

Lots of walking - the Mag Mile, Millenium Park and the Egg, a rain aborted trip to the Lincoln park area, downtown shopping, the Art Institute of Chicago to see Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity. We packed a lot in.

Can you spot us in the reflection

and of course dinner at Alinea for V's birthday- a once in a lifetime mind blowing dining experience.



Inside the restaurant it is dark and mysterious



The presentation is imaginative but the ingredients are real and recognisable



The meal is presented dramatically and with humour

Each mouthful is distinctive and evocative

A tasting plate of tiny morsels of duck was accompanied by 60 complementing tastes -we had fun trying to guess them

The final savoury was to die for.

V scored an extra birthday treat

And just when we thought we had finished they lay the table with another dessert,

An unforgettable experience!

Part Two continues on the farm.

A return to Farmlife

Have been back on the farm for 4 nights already and it feels like I have never left.

Except the corn is now 12 feet high

This was the 5th June

This morning 

The Qantas flight from Sydney to Dallas is fantastic - 14 1/2 hours (that's 2 meals,  4 movies and a 5 hour sleep) followed by a short hop to St Louis .

All up including clearing customs and re-boarding in DFW - 18 and a bit hours!

M met me at the airport with some PDA (it has been 7 weeks) and then an hours drive to the farm in time for dinner- champagne with crab cakes and salad. 

I love a good crab cake - but can be disappointed if there is not enough crab, or they are too mushy, too dry or have no flavour.

These from Whole Foods were full of shiny slivers of crab, fresh flavoured and nicely crumbed. 

Our welcome home champagne tradition continues.

Saturday is now a bit of a blur- catching up on what has been happening around here with the renovations (a future post), bbq ribs from our local restaurant eaten on our porch and an early night.

Up early on Sunday for the Keyesport Triathalon- held the same day as Sydney's City to Surf which has 85,000 people walking or running 14kms from Hyde Park in Sydney's CBD to Bondi Beach.

We walked to the lake to cheer on the 75 competitors in the Keyesport Tri - which has a sprint and Olympic event.

 The organisers were very relaxed

Swimmers in the distance before diving into the lake

  I was inspired by this woman - one of the first  people out of the water and she is smiling.

You can see me M and I  (in shadow)

At this point there was not another bike rider in sight - but  according to our local newspaper two cyclists collided near here - both were transported  by ambulance to the local hospital for treatment.  

What are the odds?

There could not be two such different events in my farmlife citylife.

I have run the City Surf before and back in the day I also did a couple of triathlons as well as a very revealing biathalon in Sydney Harbour.

I think I still have a Sprint triathlon in me (1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run) and there is definitely no Heartbreak Hill in this part of Southern Illinois.

Should l give it a go next year?