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Arrived home last night in high spirits. The time with my aunt was loving and fun. She and I browsed through all her photos from past family reunions as well as some photos she had of her childhood. She invited me to take any pictures I wanted, so I brought home a few pictures to show my brother next time we are together as well as my kids.

It is lovely in Wisconsin. Eau Claire is about the size of the next town from where I live now and the people are friendly. I wish that Eau Claire could be about 4 hours from me, but 8 hours is doable for me. My friend, Vicki did most of the driving and she planned on seeing a friend in Wisconsin but that did not work out, but she enjoyed the time with my aunt and cousin. One day we drove about 2 1/2 hours from my aunt's house to Portage, WI where we met my uncle and aunt for lunch. They live near Milwaukee so their travel time was about the same as ours. Of the original 11 brothers and sisters, my aunt and her brother are two of the remaining 5 siblings so it was special to see them together.

For most of her adult life, my aunt planted and tended a super large garden, canning and freezing what she grew. This year she has asparagus. She cut the fresh asparagus and cooked some for us and put some olive oil on it, then sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on it. Oh my. So good. I told her that one of my dearest wishes was to be in her kitchen cooking alongside her and when I realized that was what we were doing I hugged her and thanked her.

Aunt has first manicure!