Mostly Pictures

At C's we went for a walk. Below is a random Petersburg house -- nice but not unique. I like it because it's a quintessential pre-modern central Illinois house.



This is C's house. As a Californian I am jealous. While we were buying a house for hundreds of thousands of dollars, C bought this house for the lower tens of thousands of dollars. Ouch. It needed work, but still. Since bought, with modest remodeling and plenty of fine tuning, it's nearly tripled in value.



The boys settle in to play on-line computer games. (Surprise. Not.)





E shows off his Fruita t-shirt. Attached to the front is a pin given to C by T on Father's Day that states 'Go ask your mother.' E thinks it's hilarious.



Since we've been touring wineries, C and T take us to the Hill Prairie Winery. Outside a group prepares for a wedding. In June the world is expansive, vibrant, and green.



Inside the tasting room it's comfortable and cool. Like a seafood restaurant covering the bases by adding steak and chicken to the menu, Hill Prairie keeps bottles of beer for guests who prefer them. Local tastes run toward sweet wines, but I feel more at home with their Traminette, which is a drier white wine that reminds me vaguely of the Gewurztraminer I tried in Colorado. I buy a bottle to take to M's.



We relax outside with a bottle of beer and some glasses of wine.







The entrance to the Hill Prairie Winery. Since their website picture, they've removed the giant sign and added a porch.



That evening we went to M's and D's. They remodeled the garage, and now it's as comfortable as any small bar or pub.







In the spring and summer the garage door opens for a breeze, though there's also a heater for winter.