A Beautiful Day in Maryland

What a great day to be at a festival! Sally and I left Westminster at 7:45 AM and we were walking onto the grounds of the Howard County Fair Grounds for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival by 8:30. It was once again a delightful, fibery day! We were surrounded by yarn, roving, sheep, alpacas, llamas, knitting and weaving supplies, and lamb. Here are a bunch of photos from our day.

The day was sunny and hot! When we weren't in one of the animal or vendor barns, we were seeking out some shade.

Liz joined us in time to have a late lunch. Sally and I indulged in some lamb, which was delicious. We all bought some yarn and I added to my roving supply. I also bought a very light weight silver shawl pin to go on my Seascape shawl.

Sally and I both had knit new sweaters for this festival. Well, actually mine was knit for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, but it was so cold that weekend that my new sweater was hidden under several other layers. So today it made its festival debut. But it was so hot that we had our sweaters off shortly after arriving! Here we are wearing our new sweaters, standing in the lobby of our hotel.

Liz drove back to our hotel with us and joined us for dinner. It was a bonus to see her.

Sally and I will head home tomorrow, hopefully not hitting too much rain.

Corey runs in the Big East Track meet tomorrow in Cincinnati. Good Luck, Corey!

Hope all is well.

On the Road

I'm filing this report from Westminster, Maryland, where I am poised to attend the 37th annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Sally has made the trip with me and I am glad to have her company.

We left before 8 o'clock this morning with our bikes on top of the Beetle. We had an uneventful drive to Gettysburg National Park where we took our bike off the roof of the car, changed into our biking clothes and rode 18 miles around the national park. Here are some photos from our ride.





It was a perfect day for riding, sunny and in the mid-80's with a gentle breeze! We followed the national park's Auto Route tour and for the most part we were riding on park roads with minimal traffic. I love to visit this park because when Tucker was younger, it was one of his favorite places. I can remember his enthusiastic verbal re-creation of the battles that took place here~ his passion was so evident! He couldn't get enough of the the monuments and the various landmarks in this historic area.

After our ride we continued south and east from Gettysburg to Westminster, MD. We got settled into our hotel and got cleaned up before heading to downtown Westminster where we ate a delicious meal at an Irish Pub. Here is a photo of Sally in the seat of honor at our table!

And yes, that is a Corona into which she is squeezing a lime!

The forecast for tomorrow is perfect for walking around the sheep and wool festival. Sally and I each have hand-knit sweaters to wear in the morning while the air is still cool, but I am sure will have them back in the car before too long. Liz is planning on driving up from DC and spending the afternoon and evening with us. That should be fun.

If I am not too tired tomorrow night, I will post some photos from the festival.

Hope all is well.

Happy Birthday, Maw

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and I must have done something right to get such a great mother-in-law! Happy Birthday, Maw!

Yesterday Jim and I went on a nice 37 mile bike ride that included 2 bridge crossings, 3 bike paths, lunch at Schallers, and two quick social stops to visit with friends! All in all a great ride!

This weekend was our church's centennial celebration weekend and we participated in two of the festivities. Saturday night we attended the Centennial dinner and enjoyed talking with pastors that used to be at Bethany as well as church members that we don't get to chat with very often. Rev. Ferguson and his wife, Donna were our table mates and we were honored to be at their table. Rev. Ferguson was at Bethany for 22 years~he married us and baptized both of our boys, so he has been an important person in our lives. It was good to see him again.

This morning we attended the big Centennial worship service. My bell choir joined up with the teenage bell choir and we rang a beautiful piece for an introit. With 2 bell choirs ringing, it was an impressive sound. The rest of the service was led by our former pastors, full-time and interim, and it was joyous service.

Tonight we hosted a birthday dinner for Grandma, and Gram and GrandDad joined us too. Also joining us, was Rev. Peter and Anne Durkee. Rev. Durkee was an interim pastor at Bethany and he and his wife were staying at Gram and GrandDad's house. It was fun to have them here with us.

Back to school tomorrow after a great spring break! I guess I can make it now until the end of June. Especially when I remember our Florida trip in the middle of May!

I am excited to be able to start watching Dancing with the Stars again. I refused to watch it while Kate Gosselin was on, but since she has been voted off, I can now enjoy that show again.

Tomorrow night it is dinner at the Villages and then we will go pay our respects to the Glavin family.

Hope all is well.