We found spring...

 ...but it won't appear in Vermont for some time.   We drove down Interstate 89 from Wilkes-Barre, PA, where we usually overnight when we head south.  We drove through Maryland in the blink of an eye, over the Potomac River, and into West Virginia.  Almost immediately, we had a change in climate with redbud trees (or were they plums?), daffodils, and forsythia blooming everywhere.  The sun was shining and we took off our winter coats in favor of lighter fleece.

We spent a night in Harrisonburg and visited the Green Valley Book Fair (a warehouse full of books!) and the Virginia Quilt Museum in its new quarters.   The renovated mill was a nice backdrop to display antique log cabin quilts, "micro" pieced quilts (smaller than mini!), and modern quilts by Kevin Womack.  I'll try to post photos of a few of the quilts tomorrow if I get a chance.

From there, we headed just 25 minutes south to Staunton and the American Shakespeare Center where we had tickets to two plays, The Comedy of Errors, and Little Women.  Both were excellent!  We love that theater, and the actors are amazing, playing multiple roles throughout the season's three plays.  We ate well, too, and enjoyed our stay at historic Hotel 24.  

My favorite part of the trip was the backstage tour of Blackfriar's Theater, a recreation of one of Shakespeare's two London theaters (the other was the Globe).  Here we are on stage during the tour.  We went upstairs to see the balcony and downstairs to tour the rehearsal and costume areas.  Our guide had a few activities for us to try as well.

The ride home was somewhat nerve-wracking as there was a great deal of noise emanating from under the car.  Could our suspension be failing?  I'll find that out when I take it to the garage on Thursday morning.  

In addition, it started to snow when we arrived in the Adirondack region, and it continued almost the rest of the way home.  Driving over Mendon Mt. was tricky, but we made it.  We were home by noon yesterday, and I even got a load of laundry done before dinner.

Today we are back to our old routine, more or less.  It's great to get home even though we had fun on the road and during our brief time in Virginia.  It was nice to get a taste of spring, too, although our yard seems to be a gathering place for robins today.  They are everywhere, so I hope they are a true sign that spring will come here soon. 

A little get away

Paul and I headed south to Stockbridge, Mass., early Thursday morning to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum.   Having visited the impressive collection of Rockwell paintings and magazine covers a few years ago, we were intent on seeing a special exhibit of artwork from Mad Magazine.  It was impressive!  And the ride down couldn't have been nicer, albeit long (4 hours).  It was a sunny but slightly humid day.

Afterwards, we headed back north to spend the night in Bennington, VT, a nice town with an impressive monument to the Battle of Bennington in 1777.  The Green Mountain Boys defeated the British in the battle which actually took place over the New York State line.  The supply depot was where the monument now stands, right in the middle of a residential neighborhood with beautiful, historic homes.  We visited early in the morning, before it opened.  I imagine the view from the top is impressive.

The statue of Col. Seth Warner, who led the ragtag bunch, stands in front of the monument.  It was carved in the Montpelier sculpture studio of Harry Bertoli, the grandfather of a friend of ours.  Of course, I had to take a picture of Paul with this impressive statue.  Unfortunately, it was quite muggy and buggy, so I didn't stay out of the car for too long to catch many details of the carving.  

We headed north from there over historic Route 7A, through Shaftsbury where Robert Frost once farmed and then Arlington where Norman Rockwell once lived and painted using local citizens as his models.  In Manchester, we stopped to tour Hildene, summer home of Abraham Lincoln's oldest son, Robert.  It is an impressive place with a working farm, cheese making, an impressive house, and lovely garden where the peonies were in full bloom.

We arrived home in the late afternoon and agreed it was a fine trip, full of interesting things to see and do.   Friends came for a cookout lunch yesterday, and today I hope to get back into the sewing room.  We are in for a week of unusually hot, humid weather, so there won't be a better place to be than there with the AC blasting.

The bests of 2023

This morning's New York Times newsletter mentioned all the "best" lists that have been coming out, so I thought I might list a few of my own...

Best book read - Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby van Pelt.  A cleaning lady befriends a giant octopus at an aquarium.  Yes!  A very interesting group of characters.  Lots of fun, and a great book to gift to family this year.

Best movie, either in person or on TV - I know that Oppenheimer is the most high quality movie I saw this year, but I really liked All the Light We Cannot See.  It was a wonderful adaptation of the book I loved a few years ago.  I also enjoyed The Holdovers for a feel-good experience.

Best new recipe - hands down, the Facebook Bread Machine group's "Antique White" continues as my favorite loaf and roll recipe.   It never fails me.   I looked for easy recipes this year, and my sister in law Linda's fruit tart became another favorite I can make again and again.

Best quilting project finished - Arboretum was a lot of fun to make and swap blocks for.  It just seemed to go together so quickly and easily.  I was glad to give it to Preservation Burlington for a fund raiser.

Best outing - we went on a few long trips as well as day trips, but I think I enjoyed going to Staunton, VA, and Asheville, NC, last March the best.   That trip included visiting the Virginia Quilt Museum with its thrilling Jinny Beyer retrospective, attending two plays at the American Shakespeare Center, and getting together with cousins I hadn't seen in 50 years.  Along the way, there were other fun experiences, making for a very full vacation.

Best thing I did - turn over the treasury of the Barre Town Democrats to a young man who actually seems to know what he's doing.  I'm so glad to have a little more free time and hope to continue to make more time for myself in 2024.

August 24 already!

We have had a really nice summer, despite our gripes about warm and humid weather.   What a surprise to find that school starts on Monday.

We've been pretty busy and just got back from a week in Colorado, visiting Mom and Jenny.  My brothers Rob (NJ) and Axel (WI) were also there as we celebrated summer birthdays, including Axel's 65th.  We went to a very interesting exhibit about Leonardo da Vinci at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  Leonardo kept many notebooks of drawings and ideas for gadgets large and small.  Some engineers made scale models of some of them - a bicycle, a couple of airplanes, an odometer, bridges, tanks, etc.  Fascinating exhibits, along with a room devoted to the Mona Lisa and an area that reviewed The Last Supper.

We ate well, including birthday desserts, rode the train downtown for lunch, went to the movies (Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood - bloody so not my favorite), and went to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.  More on that tomorrow when I get the photos uploaded.

A "Presidential" trip

On Monday morning, we walked back to Woodrow Wilson's birthplace to visit the museum which wasn't open Sunday morning.  It was quite interesting, and they had a very realistic World War I bunker display in the basement, complete with mold and sounds of dripping water.  We gathered our things and headed out by about 10:30 for Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson's summer home.   We followed a circuitous route (thank you, Google maps) but it was well worth it.

The octagonal building is in the Palladian style and being renovated inside although the tour did take us there.  The skylight in the center dining room still leaks - I bet it did in Jefferson's time, too.  We walked around the lovely grounds, enjoying the sun, and headed north to Charlottesville for the night.

Tuesday morning, we visited James Madison's Montpelier on the way to Fredericksburg.  The tour of the house was a fascinating look at the "father of the Constitution" and his famous wife, Dolley.   They were the first residents of what we now call the White House which they occupied during the War of 1812 when the British burned it along with much of Washington, DC.  The basement held an interesting exhibit about the lives of the enslaved people on the plantation, and we noticed direct references and discussion of slavery on all of the tours we took on this trip.   Our guide was very knowledgeable, the gift shop very nice, and lunch was super, too.  This was definitely the best house we toured.

After lunch, we headed to Fredericksburg,  where our first stop was the Visitors Center.   We spent the night outside of town but returned early to walk around.  Almost everything was walkable in this historic, neat town, including Mary Washington's (George's mother) home, George's sister Betty Lewis' estate called Kenmore (at left), and James Monroe's law office.  We put in nearly 10,000 steps, but it was all worth it.  Despite the gloomy weather, there were lovely cherry, pear, and other trees flowering, and plenty of daffodils.

Across the Rappahannock River, we visited Washington's boyhood home, Ferry Farm, which is being reconstructed and not yet open to the public.  It is a beehive of archaeological activity.  I'm sorry the photos are so gloomy.   Blame the weather!  When I unload the camera, I hope to replace these phone photos with clearer ones.  We headed home on Thursday and, after spending the night in Newburgh, NY, we arrived home mid-day on Friday.  Now it's time to wash clothes, do some grocery shopping, and plan a little Easter dinner!

Flowers!

This vacation was designed to find spring down here in Virginia, and we are although it's a bit late in coming.   On Thursday, when we left, we heard about big snow storms along the east coast, but our western driving route helped us miss it all.  We passed places where last week's nor'easter that hit us hard had also dumped quite a bit, especially in the Poconos. 

By the time we reached Wilkes-Barre, all that was left was piles along the roads.  Our first night was spent there in the usual motel attached to TGI Fridays.  Because we live where there are very few chain restaurants, we always enjoy checking them out.

We stopped near Harrisburg on Friday to visit Madelyn and Jim and have lunch by the Susquehanna River.  What a nice view!  Madelyn, who has stage 4 breast cancer, is doing pretty well, but I want to get together with her as much as I can because I know her days (maybe years?) are numbered.   She isn't as optimistic as she was last time we saw her and is understandably frail.  We don't want to impose on her, so we headed down to Harrisonburg, VA after lunch.

In Harrisonburg, we stayed in a motel we've stayed in before also,  next to a truck stop that has good food.  I was in need of a charging cord for my older iPhone, and they had one there.  On Saturday morning, we visited the Virginia Quilt Museum before heading to Staunton.  An African-American quilter was featured, and I loved the quilts.  It's in an old house and quite a lovely space for hanging quilts with its tall ceilings and wide wood floors.

Then it was on to Staunton, VA where we walked all over town.  Again, piles of snow are visible along the streets, but they are signs of spring to us.  We even saw daffodils beginning to bloom as we walked up a steep hill to Woodrow Wilson's birthplace and museum.  We thought we'd return there Sunday to spend a little more time in the museum.  Unfortunately, it didn't open until noon, so we had to return on Monday morning.

Our hotel was in the center of the historic district and right next to Blackfriar's Theater, where we saw a Restoration comedy, The Way of the World, which was well-acted and quite funny.  I loved the costuming, of course.   Sunday's matinee of Hamlet was just wonderful.   The ghost actually appeared on stage and even in a cubby above the stage, and he was very ghostly.  We love being able to walk around and I even peeked into a little quilt shop near the train station.  Surprisingly, I didn't buy anything because I'm trying not to this year.  Sunday dinner was a real treat - delicious Italian food, with a raspberry cheesecake for dessert.  We walked almost 10,000 steps Sunday so thought we deserved it!  To be continued...

The rest of the story

Our last days in Colorado were busy but more laid back than Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday afteroon we went to the movies to see The Battle of the Sexes, about the rivalry between tennis stars Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, although it was about so much more than their famous match.  The acting was great.  Late that afternoon, we attended a book signing at the Golden History Museum.  Mom's friend Andi Pearson has written her first novel, and it's set in Colorado, so I can't wait to dive into it.  We had dinner at Purple Ginger, an Asian fusion restaurant where Dad has his 80th birthday party.  I love the food there. 

On Friday, we woke to snow!

I met online quilting friends Cindy and Karen at the Blue Sky Café for lunch and then a visit to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum for an exhibit of modern quilts.  It is truly amazing how quilters can be strangers one minute and friends the next, just because we talk the same language and have so much in common.  It was fun touring the museum together as we dissected each quilt and talked about how they were quilted.  Cindy has a long arm machine which was helpful.    We asked the volunteer in the gift shop to take our picture.

Saturday, we accompanied Mom to a luncheon of Indo-Dutch people at a Vietnamese restaurant.  I think the group of 35 overwhelmed the staff a bit, but I enjoyed seeing all the various Indo-Dutch people.  Sunday morning, while Mom went to church, Paul and I visited Buffalo Bill's grave and museum for the umpteenth time.  The view from the top of Lookout Mountain is fantastic.  It was quite windy, so I spent quite a bit of time in the gift shop looking for tchotchkes to take home.

We were going to visit Leadville on Monday, but the weather report (snow and ice) kept us in, which was fine.  We all went to see Victoria and Abdul, starring Judi Dench as Queen Victoria, and it was a delightful end to a very nice vacation!

Wednesday in Colorado

Last Wednesday, we got up early to explore Lamar before heading to Bent's Old Fort outside of LaJunta.   The visitors center has a large statue of the "Madonna of the Trails, " one of 12 erected by the D.A.R. to honor the women who traveled the Santa Fe Trail.   As you can see, it was a bright, sunny day (as many Colorado days are), so I couldn't get her features.  Paul said her face looked a little like George Washington's and she had combat boots on (which I would wear, too, if I had to traverse that trail!).

The Visitors Center in Lamar is an Amtrak train station that has been very nicely renovated, and the volunteers there are very enthusiastic about sharing their town which has a somewhat sad downtown with many closed shops.  Up the street, a large truck stop is being built and, they said, will employ 90 people, a welcome economic improvement perhaps.   Also up the street is "the oldest building in the world," a former gas station made of petrified wood.

From there, we headed to LaJunta and Bent's Old Fort.  Along we the way, we passed a farm with a number of zebras feeding.  They were protected by some emus or ostriches (I don't know the difference), and there appeared to be a number of smaller critters (zebra babies?) walking about.  Jenny took a picture, but my phone wasn't up to the task.  When we arrived at the old fort, which has been lovingly renovated, we were greeted by a horse and an ox grazing in the field.  The path recommends watching for rattlesnakes.  Yikes!

At any rate, Bent's Old Fort is the oldest settlement in Colorado, having been built in the 1840s as a trading post.  Our tour guide was in costume and told us about preparing buffalo hides, the experiences of various guests who stopped for the night, and life on the plains.   Two hours flew by.  

From there, we drove to LaJunta for lunch at a small café that seems to attract locals and specializes in home cooking.  The pies sounded great, but we opted for salads.  This sculpture greets visitors, and Paul really liked the dog in the center.  I'm sorry my picture doesn't do it justice.  From there, we headed home to Golden.  More later!

Our Colorado trip, part 1

We were there ten days, but they flew by.  Still, it feels good to be home, sleeping in our own bed, working in our own kitchen, etc.  We arrived in Golden on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 21.  It was good to see Mom again - it's been a year but she seems just as vital as ever, at age 95.  On Sunday we accompanied her to the ballet in HD at the movies.  Live, from Moscow, the Bolshoi presented Le Corsaire, a drama full of pirates and Turks, with some lovely pas de deux and ensemble dancing, notably an "animated flower garden."  Watching in the movies, we get to see the dancers' faces, which is fun.

On Monday, Mom, Jenny, and I did a little shopping - the Dutch store with cookies and cough drops to take home; a wonderful Mexican market with delicious bread; the post office; and the grocery store/pharmacy.  It was a nice day to rest before Tuesday and Wednesday when Paul, Jenny and I headed out to explore the Plains in the eastern part of the state. 

The landscape is entirely different from the awesome Rockies and we passed through some sad, small towns along the way.  Farming and ranching are big here, but Jenny said that many young people have left for Denver and other places to look for work.

We visited three National Park Service sites, with our first stop at the site of the Sand Creek Massacre, which is eight miles over gravel roads from the main highway.  It was sad to learn that so many Native Americans were slaughtered here.   Our park ranger, Jodi, gave an excellent talk.  We went up a windy hill to a monument and overlook.  As you can see the sky was brilliant, but it was very windy.

From there, we continued toward Granada and the Japanese-American Relocation Center called "Amache."  It was a large site with barracks and common buildings which are no longer there except for a few rebuilt structures and lots of cellar holes.  There is a museum in Granada but during the school year it's only open with an appointment.  We could drive through and were impressed (not in a positive way) by the sheer size of the "center."  The map shows all of the sites around the country during the 1940s.

I have read quite a bit about the Japanese relocation, including Tallgrass

by Sandra Dallas (which I plan to re-read since she based the story here), Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida, The No-No Boy by John Okada, and The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  This tour really brought the sadness to life for me.  I was impressed by the cemetery we stumbled upon.  It contained the bodies of men from Amache who volunteered to fight for the US in WWII.

From there, we headed to a motel in nearby Lamar and dinner at a Thai restaurant which was quite good.  More tomorrow...

Home!

Time goes by so fast on vacation!  We already miss the flowers, green grass, and budding trees, as well as the opportunities to walk to events, restaurants, stores, and the beach.  Seeing new things and having new experiences is the point of vacation, and we did that.   We also relaxed (sewing and reading for me, doing research and planning a new book for Paul).

We aren't sure we'll go to Fairhope again next year.  It seems too old fogey-ish to go to the same place four years running, but who knows?  There's still a lot of the world to explore, and we also want to get to Colorado to visit my nearly 95 year old mom at least once a year. 

On our last days, it rained quite a bit, so we read and walked around town in between rain drops.  Sunday, we returned to the Gumbo Shack for dinner.  Tucked away from the traffic and a bit of a dive, it does serve some really good food.  They smoke their own meats right out front.  Monday, we ate everything left in the apartment for lunch and had dinner at the Lebanese restaurant, Sage, another favorite. 

We were on the road Tuesday by 7:30 am, trying a new route by Birmingham.  This kept us in Alabama and the Central time zone most of the day until we crossed into Georgia.  The change to daylight savings time made for a double whammy, but over the four days we did adjust.  The trip took us through Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, with overnight stops in Chattanooga; Fairfield, VA (south of Staunton); and Montgomery, NY (near Newburgh).   A big snowstorm hit the eastern seaboard Tuesday, so we kept our eyes on the weather.  Wednesday morning found us crawling along the interstate over ice in Tennessee, but we didn't see much snow on the ground until we got to northern Virginia.  Then it started to pile up, with the most around Scranton (18" or so).   But the skies remained blue all the way, and the roads were clean and dry.  Good timing!

Besides the usual post-vacation grocery shopping and laundry, I have a long list of things to do, including picking up three quilts that were at the Wood Art Gallery show, working on a new budget for the state quilt guild, advocating for the library budget, and more.  Still, it's good to sleep in our own bed, make our own coffee, and just spread out a little more after living in a small apartment and the car for the last several weeks.  And... I'm looking forward to getting back behind my sewing machine! 

Most definitely not in Vermont!

Seen on our morning walk,,,

By Mobile Bay

It's a beautiful day!

Relaxing

It is one degree with snow at home, but today in Fairhope the high will be 66, and it's sunny.  We've been having a very low key time, walking around, visiting old favorites, and eating very well.  In between, we've been reading, sewing, and just plain goofing off.

Thursday, our first stop was the visitors center and then the library to pick up information about goings on in town.  We had delicious hamburgers at Panini Pete's and, in the evening, attended an historical talk about the arts in Fairhope.  Not at all what we expected, but very entertaining, the speaker was a raconteur with a great accent.  Walking home, we enjoyed the fairy lights strung on the trees which lend a certain peacefulness to downtown after dark.

Friday morning, we walked a few more blocks to the art center where they were still hanging the show that was to debut for the evening Art Walk.  We thought that event was just for the art center, but it turned out that it involved many art and antique shops downtown where there were musicians playing in a variety of styles.  Small crowds gathered here and there, and one short street was blocked off to traffic.  We were happy to join in and to enjoy a delicious Lebanese dinner at Sage, a place we discovered on the last night of last year's visit. 

Today's agenda includes a talk by a writer-in-residence at the library (AJB Johnson?), and I also want to visit the Page and Palette book store to check out their local authors' offerings.  One of my favorite books last year, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, was displayed there (even though the author isn't local at all).

Welcome to Alabama

We left Barre Saturday, Feb. 25, arriving in Wilkes-Barre, PA, at around 3 pm.  The last 20 minutes of the drive were simply awful - thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and - worst of all - hail.  I had to pull off the highway twice, something I've never done before.  There was a lot of truck traffic, and even the truckers stopped.  There were emergency vehicles standing by, which was reassuring.

Sunday morning, we headed south amid much quieter conditions, stopping in Camp Hill to visit my college friend Madelyn and her husband, Jim.  After all these years in the north (45?), Jim still has a heavy Georgia accent.  I was happy to see Madelyn doing so well as she has stage 4 cancer and was using a walker most of the time the last time we saw her.  She was walking well and looking forward to hearing details of her latest MRI.  I'll call to get the scoop after we get home in a few weeks. 

After brunch, we heading on south, stopping overnight in Harrisonburg, VA, and near Chattanooga.  We made it to the Alabama line Tuesday morning and were greeted by this camellia bush at the Welcome Center.

From the Virginia line on down, we saw increasing signs of spring - daffodils, forsythia and cherries in bloom, buds forming on trees.  It seems to be an early spring for some, but in Alabama the daffodils have already gone by.  Jim wasn't going to be home until about 4:30, so we headed over to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts to see a special exhibit of Alabama quilts.  They had paired antiques with more modern quilts, many from the 1980's and 1990's.  I thought the contemporary ones were really uninteresting, but the antiques were beautiful.  Here's a sweet baby quilt which had some amazing quilting.

The sashing was a print that was fussy cut, and each block was about 4".  This is a very nice museum in a lovely park setting, complete with walking trails, picnic areas, a Shakespeare theater, and an Elizabethan garden which was planted with lots of herbs and pansies.  Azaleas are also blooming throughout Alabama.  Quite a sight for these northern eyes.

After a cozy evening with Jim, which included dinner at a Greek restaurant, we headed on our last leg of the trip, down to Fairhope by Mobile Bay.  It was muggy and cloudy, so I didn't take any pictures, but it sure was nice on the pier.  We had lunch there - gumbo for Paul and fried green tomatoes with shrimp for me.  Now for a few weeks of doing next to nothing - aaahhh!

A quick trip

We got back from visiting Mom and Jenny in Golden, Colorado, late Monday night, and spent yesterday getting back to "normal" - grocery shopping, post office, bank, voting.  Fell asleep early because waiting for election results appeared futile, but woke up early and couldn't sleep out of curiosity.  Let me simply say that I am worried about the national results but OK with the state/local ones.  Phil Scott seems like he will make an even-tempered, open-minded governor who can hold Vermont together whatever may lie ahead.

We had a very nice albeit brief vacation that was punctuated by wonderful weather - sunny and in the 60's almost the whole week - and good times.  Tuesday, we went with Mom to an opera luncheon featuring some young singers, one of whom sat next to Paul.  Mom had been taking an OLLI class on Denver's parks, and the final class featured a visit to Daniel's Park to the south of the city.  The view from up there was amazing!  We always enjoy going to the movies there because the neighborhood includes two multiplexes, so we went to see Sully, starring Tom Hanks and describing the aftermath of Captain Sullenburger's historic airplane landing on the East River in NYC, and Denial, about a lawsuit in England over the publication of a book about people who deny that the Holocaust ever happened.  Both were excellent.

Friday, we drove up to Longmont where Jenny met us for the Boulder County Handweavers annual fiber arts show and sale.  The pieces included quilts, knitted sculptures, weaving, and embroidery, but we weren't able to take any photos.  I wish I could have because there were some very interesting pieces.   Paul enjoyed watching the dog trials at the fairgrounds while we shopped. 

Saturday, we did a little more shopping at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum which has just opened its new gallery outside of downtown Golden.  They had a special exhibit of political quilts, including quilts featuring each of the presidents, from Washington to Obama.  My favorite political quilt was one with a circus theme including a big blue donkey and red elephant, but I couldn't take a picture of it because the place where it was hung didn't allow one to step back far enough.  Many of the other quilts made similarly wry statements about the political process, though.   I bought a couple of wool applique projects to work on this winter.

Sunday, we visited the Colorado Railroad Museum which was interesting, particularly for the huge display of HO scale mountain villages with trains wending their way through.  It took me back to when Chris was little and making villages with his HO scale trains.

Monday saw us traveling back home via planes, buses, and cars.  We were glad to get back to our routine but sorry to leave Mom, Jenny, and the warm weather.  Winter is fast approaching, and we're bracing ourselves for what that will bring.

Old friends

Paul and I headed south Thursday for my 50th high school reunion over the weekend.  The weather was less than ideal but the fall colors are more vibrant when it's gloomy.  Friday night was a "meet and greet" and Saturday was a dinner/dance, both in the hotel.  Paul and I drove around the area Saturday and took a walk along the C&O Canal Towpath near Great Falls.  The area has just exploded development-wise, but I managed to show him our high school and old house.   Driving around "civilization" always makes us happy to live in peaceful Vermont.  How do people there put up with all the traffic and chain stores?

It was good to connect with a few old friends.  Our class had over 600 people, so there were lots of nice people I never really got to know.  In those days, "tracking" kept kids pretty much together by test scores and abilities.  College prep people rarely shared classes with vocational students, etc.  Here are Betsy, Bruce, Eileen, and me (far left).  We have known each other since 8th grade.  Even though time has flown, we pretty much just picked up where we left off together.  That was really special.  I missed seeing Nancy and will send a note to see if she's OK.  I was also happy to see George who used to live in Vermont but returned "home" over 30 years ago. 

Sunday morning, we headed to the Harrisburg, PA, area to visit my college friend Madelyn, her husband Jim and their son Brian.   I only recently learned that Madelyn is very ill, so that made this an important visit.  I regret that we haven't spent a lot of time together over the years.  Both of us were busy with careers and family.   We did enjoy a couple of fun times more recently when we met at Weston Playhouse where Brian was performing.   Looking frail, Madelyn did perk up as we talked, and we headed home, glad we had come and hoping that the treatment will continue positively.  The ride home was nice as the fall colors began to pop over the last few days.

Alabama adventure

We saw an amazing quilt over the weekend in the Alabama History Museum.  It was folded up and tucked into the back of a display on everyday life in "the olden days."  I was blown away by the quilting.  The above is a photo of a copy of the quilt.  Most of the clamshells in the original were worn, and because it was folded I didn't see the outer borders.  I looked in the gift shop for a pattern or postcard, but the volunteer there told me that none exist so far.  She did say that a woman had made a smaller copy of the original and also that the original will be in a special exhibit in the coming year at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.  I love the combination of blue and brown the quilter used, and those clamshells are really something.


We arrived in Montgomery Friday evening, after stops in Wilkes-Barre, PA; Roanoke, VA; and Kennesaw, GA.  The first three days were just driving and I was reminded how big our country really is.   Friday morning we visited a Civil War museum and also a battlefield in Kennesaw.  Both were fascinating, but it is sobering how brutal war is.  On Saturday, in Montgomery, Paul's brother Jim took us to the history museum in the morning, a fried green tomato buffet (yum) for lunch, and then the museum of fine arts.  It was a lovely day. 


We left Montgomery yesterday morning for Fairhope, a small town on the east side of Mobile Bay.  Our apartment is small and efficient, and we can walk everywhere.  It's so nice not to need a jacket!  Bulbs are blooming!  And we're reminded that it has been below zero back home.  It's raining and quite windy this afternoon, so I'm going back to reading and will try to do a few more rounds on the sock I'm knitting. 

Ready to roll!

We take off tomorrow on a month's journey through the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states, with our ultimate destination Fairhope, AL.   I have been piling stuff up for days, and thank goodness I have plenty of tote bags.  I like to take a couple of pillows when we stay in motels since sometimes the ones they supply aren't all that fluffy.  The bag on the right has shoes - 3 pair for me, 1 for Paul - and the one next to it has towels and sheets.  Lest you think I am picky (even though I am a little), I don't know what we'll find at the apartment we've rented.  Better to take too much than not enough.

The cat bag on top has my projects - a wallhanging to quilt, socks to knit, and a block to applique.  That should be plenty for the time we'll be away, especially since there's a bag of books on the floor that you can't see.  My Kindle is also loaded with a few items.  We voted absentee this morning, and this afternoon we'll take our compost to the recycling depot.  Our suitcases are being filled, bird feeders are filled, and plants are watered.  Our neighbor has a key.  Chris will stop by when he has laundry to do.  After a good night's sleep, it's on to our first night's stop, Wilkes-Barre, PA.  Hoping for good weather!