Buh-bye today, hello tomorrow

I have a little down time while sitting in Denver on the way to San Francisco. I have the lace sock with me to work on, and the Fair Isles Vest that Liz graciously showed me how to proceed on for my hotel room. Get up time today was 0215 so I'm not sure how much I'm going to get done but the thought is there. This weekend we're planning a trip to Sharpsburg to see Antietam. Have a great day everyone! :)

By way of apology for hermiting

June is always a tough month for me, and I know that I tend to become a bit of a hermit (more than flying, and working in general make me). I'm sorry. Today is Flag Day, June 14. It was also the anniversary of my Parents wedding, and the day that is exactly in the middle of the dates on which they passed away. Mom died on June 12 and Dad on June 16, though not in the same year. Needless to say, this time of year I am pretty darn quiet and reflective. And prone to tears...don't worry it isn't PMS! I have actually been trying to keep myself busier than usual, and have gone back to working on a lace sock that I started in January, since the shawl I've been working on during our explorations in the car is in the car as we speak, and the car is at the mechanics being repaired. I'll get a picture as soon as the car and the shawl are returned. I'm off to my volunteer job in a skirt that I made of fabric that Mark picked out yesterday afternoon. Have a good day, everyone. And please, call your Mom and Dad and tell them that you love them if you're lucky enough to have them still with you.

On the trail of History

It was a crisp and windy day and we decided to take a drive down to Point Lookout State Park. That was the site of the largest Prisoner of War camp in the Nation during the War between the States. It has had a section of the Fort rebuilt and there were a couple of tents for demonstration purposes, as well as a unit of reenactors that were talking to visitors. We were quite chilly as the wind whipped over the water and into the area. The prisoners and even some of the guards were housed in tents with some using the boxes that Hard Tack/Crackers came in to build crude walls around the bottom to shield them a little from the weather. That's where the term "Cracker Box Houses" came from. I can't even imagine the hardships they suffered. The "People in Charge" figured that Southern Maryland was a warm place...obviously they'd never been there in the winter time! We then came upon the cemetary that once held the remains of the nearly 4000 prisioners that died at the Point Lookout Prisoner Camp (some Maryland citizens were also jailed there in 1863-5 for having a dissenting opinion to the forces occupying the state at the time). There are 3002 souls still buried in the grounds in the cemetary in unmarked graves, there is a large monument with the known names as one as a smaller one put there by the State of Maryland. Being there was sobering. After a quick trip to St. Mary's City, the site of the first settlement and original Capitol of the State of Maryland, we then stopped at Soloman's Island for a delicious Seafood feast on the way back home. We are fortunate to live in a state full of beauty, history, culture, and things to do.

Busy Day in Pennsylvania

We had a wonderful and busy day in the Pennsylvania countryside yesterday. The day started off with a trip to the Mannings Spinning Seminar, visits with some of the spinners that I know at their large spin-in (I didn't know they were going to be spinning this year so my wheels were at home). Then we headed to Gettysburg where we did a little bit of shopping and then changed our of our "new-fangled" clothing into Period Correct dress for the Ball in the nearby town. We've been going to Victorian Period dancing once a month for a few months this year, and this is the annual end of season ball put on by the Citizens of Gettysburg. It was lovely, with everyone in Period dress, I was, of course, studying dresses and fabrics and trim for future sewing projects and dresses that I'll hopefully make. The one I wore had period correct fabric and trim, and is considered a "fancy day dress" as opposed to a ball gown. I felt that it would be too warm for a satiny ball gown this time of year. Mark went, as most reenactors did, in his uniform, and there were plenty of Civilian dressed men as well. We did so enjoy ourselves and arrived back home tired but feeling great!

Meg's Graduation and catching up a bit

This is a long overdue catch up post about our trip to Michigan for our youngest's High School Graduation (with honors, this proud step-mom has to mention!). We left late Thursday night. This is the New Graduate here with Roses that her Paternal Grandmother (better known as "Nanny") got for her. These pictures were taken the day after the graduation which was held on Friday night at a beautiful pavilion on
the grounds of the local University. It was a beautiful evening, a bit crisp but after a day of off and on rain, the weather cleared up and we enjoyed the graduation. It was a wonderful beginning to a lovely weekend full of family and fun. Mark's Mom and Dad came in from Illinois for the big event, and to spend time with everyone. Friday night we were pleased to have dinner with all three of our boys as well as Nanny and Poppa, then back to the hotel for some very needed rest after driving all night the night before. We went shopping with Nanny and Poppa early in the day after the Graduation while Meg was recovering from her all night party after graduation by sleeping late. Then we met back up with everyone later on for dinner. We had a wonderful Italian dinner together,and Jon was able to get the time off to go as well. Here's a picture of Jon and Meg "computing". On the way from Maryland to Michigan Jon, Mark and I stopped at Frankenmuth to drop off some fleeces that I'd had in the basement...as well as some Llama that had just arrived a day or so before. All together we brought 99.5 pounds of fiber to be processed. I can't wait to get it all back! My own personal fleeces (like my favorite CVM's from Myrtle) were in this load, and I even purchased some Peach colored unidentified roving that was abandonded at the Mill. I think it's Corriedale, and I'm enjoying spinning it on my Louet.