Fifth at the Festival

Here I am in Maryland for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and the skein of yarn that I spun and entered in the Skein and Garment got a 5th place finish! I am thrilled!

When I awoke this morning, a gentle rain was falling. I drove the 25 miles to the festival in the rain, but it stopped as I pulled into my parking spot in the huge parking field. I arrived at 8:30 AM and began my exploration of the barns, tents and exhibit halls. There were a few more short rain showers but I think it quit raining by 11:00 AM. As expected there were beautiful displays of yarn and fiber. I did buy some things, but I don't think I went overboard. I will take a photo of my purchases when I get home.

The crowd didn't build quite as fast as previous years, the rain must have given people a reason the stay home a bit longer. However by early afternoon, I think the crowd was its usual size.

This year, for the first time, I volunteered in the souvenir sales building. Some people stand in line for more than an hour to buy a T-shirt, bag, or mug with the festival logo on it. Each year a contest is held to design the logo for that year's festival, so T-shirts become collector's items. I didn't volunteer until 1 PM, and by then, many of the color selections for the shirts were sold-out, but that didn't mean I wasn't busy. For 2 hours, there was a constant stream of people who needed to be waited on. All the merchandise is behind display tables, so as people make their choices, I had to go find what they wanted and then write up a sales ticket. My 2 hour shift went by very quickly and I would help out again next year.

I toured the animal barn and am always impressed with the variety of sheep that are on display. I watched the animal auction, but did not raise my hand, and I watched the sheep dog demonstration, which is always impressive. I missed the sheep shearing demo because I was at a Ravelry meet-up.

So, it was a great 8 hours at the festival! Here are some photos from the day.

A recently sheared alpaca

Another alpaca needing a haircut

Sheep getting ready for the show ring

A lamb

Fiber just screaming to be touched

Lunch was a lamb burger

Some of the people

Sheep dog herding sheep

Crazy sheep art

My award winning skein

Love the colors

Recently sheared llamas

The reason to go to Maryland

Hope all is well.

Spring

Some signs of spring around the Robinson house, keeping in mind that I do not have a green thumb!







This last photo is of the blossoms on our patio peach tree! It will be gorgeous in the next few days.

Another sign of spring is that Jim is once again hanging the laundry out to dry, no photo.

Good News - Corey just texted us that he got the internship he interviewed for. I will provide more details when I get them from him. Well Done Corey! Now he can start to fit some of the pieces of his summer into one picture. 

I have had some changes in my summer plans and I am very excited about the new possibilities. I was invited to go on a Salmon River trip in Idaho with legendary river runner and conservationist, Martin Litton! Martin was the founder of the river running outfitter, Grand Canyon Dories and was instrumental in halting plans to put more dams in Grand Canyon. He was a one time director of the Sierra Club. Many years ago I did a 21-day river trip through Grand Canyon and Martin was a guide. Martin never ran out of stories to tell around the campfire and riding through a big rapid with him was always an adventure. He will be a guest on this Salmon River trip, but will no doubt, grab the oars once or twice. Because I am going on this trip, Tucker was invited to be a guide on the trip too, which is an amazing opportunity for him. So, I will not be biking in Wisconsin, but rather river running in Idaho. I may try to find another bike ride to do. Maybe something for 5-7 days out west before the river trip.

I had the permanent crown put on my one tooth this afternoon and I am hoping that that procedure will make that tooth functional for many years to come. No photo.

I have the cold that Jim had last week~no swine flu symptoms.

Hope all is well. And go wash your hands!

Sold!

After a couple of false starts, we sold the buffet table for our asking price tonight! We sold it through Craigslist and it was an easy process. In spite of the recent bad publicity for Craigslist, we had a good experience. 

Now onto a weekend review. We left camp around 8:40 AM, planning to get home early enough for me to get a bike ride in the warm weather. Well, we did get home in plenty of time, but the warm weather did not get to us, this close to the lake! We were in the 50's here, but 20 miles to the south, the temps were in the 70's and 80's!! I bundled up and got 17 miles in. The weather man says that the wind is supposed to change from the north, off the lake, to the south, bringing warmth to the whole area. I think I will ride my bike to school tomorrow and take my classes outside.

Here are some photos from the weekend. Enjoy.

We started our work on Thursday by putting in the dock.

Friday dawned sunny with the promise of warm, Jenny Lake day.

I did some yoga on the "coffin" enjoying the morning peace and sun.

Lunch was on the deck.

I got lots of spinning done on the deck, on the porch and in the camp.

Saturday was another one of those days that we will fondly remember for a long time. GrandDad got his morning row in while Jim teased the fish.

Mom got to work cleaning out her garden.

And enjoying the first blossoms of spring.

Jim and GrandDad can claim bragging rights for an early season swim.

Jim caught 3 fish this weekend. I only had my camera with me when he caught the smallest of the 3!

Thanks to Neighbor Net, we had some fast internet access, 
So that is our weekend in photos. Back to school tomorrow.

Hope all is well.