Martha's Bloomers.

No, I'm not writing about under-clothes. Isn't that a cute name? Martha's Bloomers is the name of a cafe, nursery, and country gift shop complex in Navasota. That's where I had lunch today, along with our next-door friend and neighbor V from our old house in Clear Lake. V had told me about Martha's Bloomers a while back, but it's a chic place, which my husband wasn't interested in trying, so V and I drove there to see if it was as good as everyone seemed to think.

And it was. Beautiful grounds, filled with flowers and waterfalls and all sorts of do-dads for your garden..... and there was a huge waterfall in the front of the main store that I wouldn't mind having on our property. I can just see the cats and the chickens playing around in a fountain that big. Although, maybe that's not such a good idea..... our own fountain out in the front courtyard is now cat-proof and chicken-proof, so they can get in without getting hurt, and get out without sinking to the bottom. So maybe a waterfall isn't the best idea for a cat-friendly and chicken-friendly property.

The cafe was too cute for words..... all yellow and white, with fresh flowers on all the tables. And before you even order your meal, they bring you little cups of orange spice tea and raspberry and chocolate scones to pick on. Lots of delicious menu choices, quiches and sandwiches, homemade soups and all sorts of salads. Everything fresh and homemade, and the spinach in the salad looked as if someone went right outside to the nursery and plucked the leaves from the garden.

We talked all through lunch, got caught up on news from here and news from there, solved a bunch of the world's problems but none of our own, tickled the toes of a tiny baby at the next table, and had to catch our breath from time to time because we were both talking so much. We've kept in touch with V since we moved, but there always seems to be a lot to catch up with when we see her face-to-face.

The waiter took our lunch plates away and asked us if we wanted dessert. V said "No dessert, no thank you," and I said the same. The waiter wasn't four feet away from our table and V whispered Of course, if you would like dessert, we can share something. We got the waiter back to our table, asked him what the dessert choices were....... then told him he needed to give us some time to think. Cheesecake? Much too heavy, too many calories. Chocolate pie or chocolate cake? Way too many calories, much too rich. Cobblers... three kinds: pecan, blackberry, cherry. That sounded do-able. V told me to choose. Pecan: too many nuts. Blackberries: not my favorite berry in the world. Cherry: perfect.

We ordered one cherry cobbler, which came in a cute little round baking dish, topped with a small scoop of ice cream and a dollop of fresh cream. The waiter put it right in the middle of the table. We each dipped a spoon in and tasted...... V's head went right down on the table, as if she were giving homage to the dessert gods of the Hill Country....... and all I heard was Mmmmmmmmmmmm. I told her it sounded like that scene in the movie "When Harry Met Sally" -- and told her if she didn't stop, everyone in the cafe would be saying "I'll have what she's having."

For two people who really didn't want dessert, there wasn't a smidge of the cherry cobbler left in that cute little bowl.

We browsed around the nursery and the shops after lunch... lots of cute things, but the price tags on whatever I looked at was way more than I would have paid for the items. Which surprised me, because the cafe prices were very reasonable. We both decided that we didn't need to be bringing home any more stuff that our husbands would look at and say Well, what are you going to do with that?!

The afternoon flew by, as it always does when V drives up here. I sent her back to Clear Lake with a shopping bag filled with pecans from our trees. I told her there were enough pecans in the bag to share with the other neighbors on our old street.

When V first got here this afternoon, she walked up on the porch and sang out "Helllllloooooooo" just like she did on our old porch back on our old street. When I heard her out there this morning, that sing-song hello made this porch sound like our old porch....... like home.