And the Winner Is..... Me!!!

From Westminster, Maryland:


I Won! Let me explain. My spinning teacher encouraged me to enter one of my skeins of yarn in the Skein and Garment Competition at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. So I chose a skein that met the requirements of the competition, filled out the entry forms, wrote a check for $3.00 and sent the yarn off to the competition officials. Now, I have only been spinning since the end of January and had no expectations about this competition. I did hope to get some feedback from the judges about spinning a better yarn. 

When Sally and I arrived at the Festival at 8:30 AM, I suggested we wait to go to the Bingo Building at the Howard County Fairgrounds (where the competition is held) until later in the morning, when the crowds reach almost gridlock level. So we started visiting some of the hundreds of vendors. As we were walking from one exhibition area to the next, I heard someone call out my name and it was my spinning teacher, Debbie. She asked me if I had been to the competition and I said not yet. She said that I needed to go over there. I then asked about the fair isle sweater she entered. She told me that her sweater won her category, but that I really needed to go over to the building and see the results. I must have paused a minute because that is when she told me that my skein won first place in the Novice spinner category!! I immediately started to cry! I could not and still cannot believe it! 

We hustled over to the Bingo Building and there was my skein, with a blue first place ribbon attached and a big purple ribbon for a special award winner! I cried some more! 

So, Sally and Liz will probably tell you that I have been fairly obnoxious about this today, but I bought them a celebratory drink at dinner, so hopefully they have forgiven my overly excited behavior.

The festival was great. The morning started out cool and overcast, but by the time Liz arrived, shortly after noon, the sun was out the temperature very pleasant. We saw and bought some beautiful things. I'm glad we got some shopping done early, because the vendor areas got very crowded. We watched the working sheepdog demonstration and learned some interesting things about that side of owning sheep. 

Liz came back to the hotel with us and joined us for dinner at a downtown restaurant in Westminster. She just headed back to DC because she got a better offer on how to spend her Saturday night! 

Sally and I will head home tomorrow, with a possible stop at the Outlet Stores near Gettysburg. We still have money in our pockets!! The weather is looking good for the drive home, so we will be able to once again enjoy the spring foliage.

Hope all is well.

Back in Maryland

Here we are, Sally and I, poised to descend on the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival tomorrow morning! I can hardly wait.

We left Rochester this morning at 8 and drove through some rain, until the skies cleared in Pennsylvania. By the time we arrived in Westminster, Maryland, the temperature was in the 80's. We enjoyed the blooming trees and flowers that lined our route, especially as the sun came out. 

After checking into our hotel, we got back in the car and drove down to the Howard County Fairgrounds, site of the MS&WF. It was the day the vendors used to set up, so we walked around letting Sally get a lay of the land. The excitement was already building. 

Liz is driving up to meet us sometime tomorrow, which will be fun. 

That is all for now. I will post again tomorrow and will try to include some photos. I have to try to get some sleep tonight!

Hope all is well.

 

Spring Flowers

When we bought this house, 29 years ago, the owner told us that early May was the most beautiful time for this yard and I agree. As we move into May tomorrow, the magnolia tree, cherry tree, patio peach tree and apple trees are all in various stages of bloom. The forsythia is out and some orange bush that I cannot name along with the tulips and hyacinths are all flowering. All this is very beautiful in spite of the fact that the side yard is still all dug up. I enjoy looking out the house windows or pulling into the driveway and seeing the array of colors. And all this happens with minimal attention from me! 

This has been a very busy week, with something going on every night of the week. That pace is making the week go by quickly which is fine by me because on Friday I am going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and this has become one of my favorite events. Sally is going with me this year and I hope she has a good time. Have you ever done something that someone else raved about but couldn't see what all the excitement was about? Hope Sally doesn't come away with that feeling. Liz may come up from DC on Saturday to join us at the yarn-fest! This year I am specifically looking for roving to spin, that is not to say that I won't get any yarn, but roving is my top priority. I have even been studying sheep breeds so I can know the spinning traits of the various breeds. The weather forecast is a bit damp for Maryland on Saturday, but hopefully that won't dampen our spirits. I will take my laptop and hopefully be able to blog from Maryland and include some photos. 

We've talked to both Tucker and Corey recently which always brightens our day. Corey broke off a piece of his repaired front tooth at the SU Athletics Awards evening, so he was unable to enjoy all the party food. He starts his final exams this week and will come home on Tuesday. His mentor, Bob, will be making the trip to SU in his truck to bring Corey home. Tucker is busy being an archaeologist and will travel to La Sal, UT for a month-long assignment. 

I attended a workshop about Long Term Care Insurance last night and got a lot of good information. We are just in the exploratory stages of this decision and will seek out information from several other sources. Anybody else out there have any experience with this topic? Any advice to give?

Guess that is all for now. I have to pack up some things for this weekend. 

Hope all is well.

Camp Weekend

It is always good to go to Jenny Lake and "open" camp for the season. Mom and Dad drove up to camp on Friday morning and took a detour on Route 81 South to pick up Corey at SU. We drove up after work and arrived about 8:30 PM. 

On Saturday morning, after a sausage and eggs breakfast, we headed out to do the outside work before the forecasted rain arrived. Jim and Corey worked with Dad to get the dock in place. Shortly after that was done, the wind picked up and we thought that the

rain just may fall. But we pressed on. Paths were cleaned up, gutters, hung, boats brought

out of the car port, skylight covers stored and armloads of sticks were picked up. The rain never came. 

Spring is trying very hard to come to the Adirondacks. The fern are pushing their fiddleheads up through the fall debris. The daffodils were greeting us from Mom's garden.

 We noticed that when the daffodils first pushed their leaves

 up through the ground, they pierced the leaves as they grew. It was an interesting

 observation. 

Corey tried out the new chaise lounges that were gifts from Bob and Joanie. Corey reported that they are perfect for serious deck work! 

After lunch, I went for a bike ride, Jim went for a run, and the others made sure they could still nap at camp! All were successful! Jim tried his hand at fishing later in the afternoon and had some luck. Here is  a photo of the 16 1/2 inch large mouth bass he managed to reel in. 

The rain came during the night, and was done by morning. I decided to get a head start towards home by riding

my bike about 30 miles towards Rochester. I left camp at 9:30 and rode 29 miles, where Jim and Corey picked me up about 2 hours later. It was a good morning to ride and there was very little traffic. I did have a couple of near scares with dogs, but none came out of their yard. 

We dropped off Corey at his dorm and then continued on to Rocha-cha! 

Tomorrow we will have Grandma and Grandpa here for dinner to celebrate Grandma's birthday, which was last Friday. 

Hope all is well.