things i love about visiting my parents...

Memories of creating secret hideaways with straw and sticks

or clipping a room big enough to stand in out of a bush that's grown to the size of a small apartment. We had a bush that seemed that big growing up. We were able to fit a child's-size table and chair set in it. We then let the "doorway" grow in and kept the "room" well-clipped so that no one could tell it was there-- unless we invited them to know the secret.

Having coffee and conversation after a family meal, to fight the heavy dozing that good food inspires and avoid missing out on chatting with people we wish we could see everyday.

The smell, heat and glow from backyard fires once the sun starts to set.

And this window.
The concept makes me laugh. It has a little shutter-window in it so my Dad can knock on it and ask my mom for another glass of wine or a dish to put the grilled meat on. He doesn't have to come in and out of the house, tracking in dirt and "messing up" my mother's kitchen, and neither of them have to leave their cooking stations.