What an unexpected treat. More like LUXURY. The luxury of NOTHING around us for acres and acres, a clear blue sky, stars, cows, cow sounds, MOOOO…. Love cows.

I mean, I knew I loved cows, but I didn’t know I loved them THIS much. They really are beautiful animals. They have, like, a perfect little society in their teeny herds. And, their sounds — it’s like they’re trying to reach THE HEAVENS with their deep moos. MOOOOO! Kind of like whales, but a wee less ethereal….*

I’m still hearing cows, by the way, and I’ve been home for 6 hours.

So, why the country? WELL! SOMEBODY bought the farm. I don’t mean figuratively. I actually mean literally. Josh’s dad BOUGHT THE FARM. In a good way. Look how pretty….

See, Josh’s Dad is a lawyer. A totally normal guy — well, sort of normal (after all, he did buy a FARM). And, he bought a farm! He BOUGHT A FARM. I totally tried to convince him to get a condo in Florida, like normal Montreal lawyers do when they retire. But, no-o-o! Not this guy. Not MY father in law. MY father in law bought himself a farm. A FARM! A FARM, Gorgeouses! HE BOUGHT HIMSELF A FARM!

I thought I’d hate it. I was even a little-bit dreading this weekend. See, I hate bugs and dirt and NO STARBUCKS!!! And, the house isn’t even set up! Like, the TV is just a wee-old 20-incher because the big fancy flat-screen hasn’t arrived yet. Can you believe I had to watch the finale of The Bachelorette ON THE FLOOR — because the couches haven’t arrived yet — ON A 20 INCHER? MOI! Oh, and I sooo wanted Jason to win! Waaaaahhh….

Anyway, so, I totally thought this would SO NOT BE FOR ME…. I’m SUCH a city girl, and you know how much I love my carpy TV shows. And, my kitties! It takes so much for me to leave my precious kitties…. But, OH, there were kitties! Little BITTIE kitties!

Look how cute! Those little kitties were, like, 11 days old! Have you EVER, Gorgeouses!? Monkey was more interested in a big male cat named “Whitey,” though….

I loved this cat. Looked just like my Simba….

The Monkey also liked a cat named “Gizmo” — whom she conveniently called “Yoga.” Ha!?! I don’t know if YOU find that funny? But, for me, it was HILARIOUS! I’m still rolling on the floor when I think of it! “Where’s YOGA? I WAN YOGA!”

Speaking of yoga. I did MUCH of it. Check this PERFECT room for yoga….

I also practiced my backbends in the FABULOUS swimming pool….

Stunning. Just stunning (Josh’s dad is currently obsessed with cleaning this thing. Vacuuming algae out of the pool’s a byotch, FYI!)

So you see…. I was wrong. I had all these wrong expectations. I expected the worst. I expected spiders and schlepping and crying, kvetching kids. But, no. The kids were ELATED. The Monkey giggled, swam, played, ate crackers for dinner. The Rascal — are you ready for this? — HARDLY CRIED AT ALL! We were all so…content!

But, wouldn’t you be if you stepped out of your evening shower and saw this outside your window…?

…if you walked outside your home to find this…?

…this…?

…and, after a short drive, this…?

And, if you awoke in the morning to the sound of…… MOOOOOO! MOO MOO MOOOOO!

Yes, we were so happy. So happy in that vast sea of land with NOTHING but field and corn and hay bales and cows and birds and FROGS and SNAPPING TURTLES around us…. Ribbit….

Ahh. Wonderful. That’s it in a TURTLE SHELL (sorry, had to). It was a fabulous vacay — so fabulous that we ended up staying an extra day. We got back today, JUST in time for me to run out to teach yoga! Craziness. Back in the city and ALREADY running. But, OH the fresh insights I brought back to my class….

We’ll go back next month. Have two vacays planned, actually — one to the farm and one to a cottage we’re renting with my side of the family. Wheeeee!

It’s so important to GET AWAY. I mean, MY GARSH! We all get so caught up in our big-city ways (although, I know I have a lot of “rural” readers…LOVE!) and in our routines. It’s amazing what a little vacay can do.

How ’bout you? Got any summer vacays (mini or mayjah) planned?

*These are Josh’s Dad’s neighbours’ cows. And, happily for us, some of them are going to be moved to Josh’s Dad’s backyard — i.e., RIGHT behind the house — so they can clear the land. These people are beef farmers. AND, they are lovely people. They took us all on a tour of the farm, showed us the new kittens, their cats, their crops, fruit trees, how they make hay bales, and, of course, their cows. They took the time to respectfully talk to VEGETARIAN-COW-LOVING MOI about the relatively humane way in which they have their cows turned to meat, and how they feed their cows the more humane and ECO-friendly way — with grass, and not with corn. These are happy cows, they assured me. When I told them I was a vegetarian, they winked, “no, really!?” And, when I told them I’m an animal lover, they smiled compassionately, “oh, we could tell.”