Have you ever traveled into the back roads of Southern Indiana? It is beautiful country. Rolling hills, pastoral scenes, beautiful trees and fields of wheat, corn, soy beans abound. The 'u-pick' farms are lovely and fun to visit and to 'pick'. Back in the day, I used to go pick strawberries there and then come home and make jam and always a pie or two using the rich, ripe , sweet fruits of my labors. I tried picking peaches one year but the fuzz from the peach skin on my sensitive skin did me in. I could not tolerate it. I did enjoy the pies I made from the few peaches I picked before giving up and fleeing the peach orchard!

The people of that area are so peaceful appearing, and seem so satisfied with their life style. Their homes are always trim and neat looking. Their lawns near the homes are always mowed, bushes trimmed, and lovely flower gardens along the fences bordering on the fields around their yards are colorful. They sometimes have yard art, a cement deer,a squirrel, a rabbit, gnomes or a fancy bird bath or the like. The most prevalent yard art though, is probably the discarded toilet that has been converted to a planter. A white china toilet bowl over flowing with purple petunias, yellow batchelor buttons, salvia, baby breath, maybe a vine or two mixed in. Country chic, so to speak


You frequently see bathtubs turned on end with a statue of the blessed Mother standing in them. Flower beds surround the "grotto" and some even have a few large stones at the base.That area is referred to as the Knobs and it is peopled by hard working, devout rural inhabitants that are watched over by Our Lady of the Bathtub. You feel the serenity as you drive the curving country roads in that area. I don't have a bathtub to give away but if you would like to have an American Standard toilet bowl to convert into a planter, give me a call. I have one that I am not going to be using.