Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday afternoon drive




Today is perfect.  After two days’ steady rain the sky is blue, the dust is off the leaves and the world is back right side up.


My friend Kathleen has re-opened her store after a three year hiatus that included too much trouble and sorrow.  Her new shop has been open four weeks, so it was past time to visit. She farmed and had sheep, goats and alpaca when she was in the Cuyahoga Valley.  Oh, and a guard llama, and George Bailey, her standard poodle.  Now she is in a very rural area of Wadsworth, with her basil gardens, her husband John and George Bailey.


Kathleen’s specialties are jams, jellies and herb infused vinegars.  And, in season, basil pesto.  Her shop is the Crooked RiverHerb Farm Shop.  The translation of Cuyahoga is Crooked River, and I believe most of northern Ohio knows the Crooked River is the Cuyahoga River. We loaded up on jelly and basil vinegar.


Mike Cohill, Kathleen’s brother, is almost as famous as Kathleen.  He is the founder of the American Toy Marble Museum in Akron, Ohio.  Marbles were the first mass produced toys in America, and made at the American Toy Marble Company, in Akron.  Mike holds regular classes to teach kids how to shoot marbles.  Kathleen says someone has to teach them.  There are always marbles on her counter.


We caught Kathleen just as the shop opened; a perfect time.  We caught up, had a tour, leaned on the counter and talked some more.  Then customers began to stream in, and we went out Kathleen’s back door, past a wonderful door stop and nasturtiums growing in the cracks between the rocks. 


Kathleen told us about her friend Laurie at a shop in Medina, The Olive Tap, where we could find balsamic vinegars and infused olive oil.   We left there with sour cherry and red raspberry balsamic vinegars. 


A perfect day for a Sunday afternoon drive.


12 comments:

  1. I just love perfect weather days like this.

    Glad your friend Kathleen could reopen her shop. Hopefully it means the big sorrows are behind her. I'm happy to hear too how her brother sells marbles and teaches others how to play. I love marbles and I'm sad that I never see anyone play them anymore where I live. I once found a bag of marbles in a vintage store that doesn't exist any more. I bought the bag. I still have them ;-)

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  2. Sounds like a perfectly lovely Sunday afternoon!

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  3. What a lovely Sunday afternoon...just my thing.
    Jane x

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  4. I seriously love that door stop.
    Did you happen to steal it on the way by?

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  5. I'm glad there are people like your friend who make things for people like me who don't :)

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  6. Nasturtiums growing out of a crack in the sidewalk?! Sigh. I can't even coax them to life in my flower beds! You must live in paradise! What a wonderful Sunday drive!

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  7. So many beautiful colours there, all working together.

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  8. A great Sunday afternoon! Away from the Olympics and golf! I love it.

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  9. Moo-o-o-o-o-o. Love that cow. If there were a chicken half as cute, I'd buy it right now. Thanks for taking us all on your sweet drive!

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  10. wonderful pictures, thanks for the show!

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