Our family, the extended version, is large.  We like each other.  We don't get together to celebrate things like birthdays and such, but we do celebrate life.  There is a certain comfort in embracing generations, siblings, cousins and such, and  allthewhile knowing that there is a doormat called WELCOME anytime one of us stands at the threshold of family.

This weekend my niece Melinda stopped by rural Kansas for a visit:
Lavender and wine:

The Shamrock Cafe (out in the middle of nowhere, a cozy chair from which to view the Flint Hills sunset):

Is this reminiscent of the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz?