"My friends are my estate..."**

Good morning! I hope you had a lovely weekend filled with rest and relaxation, and you are ready to face the week.  Mondays are always a little difficult for me...hard to get up and face the work week, although I'm fine once I get going.  My husband and I visited good friends of ours a couple of hours away from us, and the drive through the beautiful countryside was restorative.  Good friends, lots of laughter, some rather silly and delightful moments creating a dinner worthy of Julia Child (more on that later this week!) and time spent with two people we cherish and admire---it was a great way to unwind and enjoy the weekend.

I promised you a glimpse into Emily Dickinson's world this week.  She is one of my favorite poets, and there is a real buzz about her lately that I will share with you later on.  For today, let's start the week on a happy note with one of her charming nature poems.

The bee is not afraid of me,

I know the butterfly;

The pretty people in the woods

Receive me cordially.

The brooks laugh louder when I come,

The breezes madder play.

Wherefore, mine eye, thy silver mists?

Wherefore, O summer's day?

**Written by Emily in a letter to Samuel Bowles, 1858