Home Again, Home Again…….August 25, 2004

Last weekend we had a lovely and much needed trip out of the Valley. As nice as it is to go away, it is always nice to come back home again. We spent some time visiting with my husband’s parents in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in addition to the dog show. My inlaws were nice enough to take, our 2 youngest daughters for one night so that my husband could come and spend a night at the dog show with me. A little mini-vacation for him and I :-)!! On our way to the hotel, we made a little side trip on Falling Springs Rd in Chambersburg and found a neat yarn store, called The Yarn Basket. From the outside, it looked like a little hole in the wall, so I told my DH, that I would only be a few minutes checking it out. Well, much to my surprise, it was fabulous!!! Of course, my DH hurried me, so I wasn’t able to make up my mind what I wanted to buy, so I left empty handed………but I WILL go back….LOL. Also, on the way to the hotel, on one of the back roads, we drove by The Mannings Weaving School. Hmmm……….between the weaving studio, the LYS and the newly spotted Alpaca Farm, also on Falling Springs Rd, I will be looking forward to our next trip down there in November!

We did not come home from the show with the 1st place winnings I had hoped for, but both of the dogs placed third in their classes. The younger girl, Bliss,was in a large class, so it was a nice placement for us. Oh well, the next show is in November. The nice thing about showing…….is there is always the NEXT show…..LOL.

One of my good Cavalier friend’s husband raises Alpaca at Oxbow Farm in Delaplane, VA. You can read more about Chris’s farm, alpaca and his philosophy at his website. The reason that I mention this, is because I was greeted with a 3 pound bag of scrumptious suri alpaca at the show. What a treat!!

Thanks
I want to thank all of the wonderful people out there that sent me such kind and thoughtful notes about the passing of Dancer. It is so nice to know that there are so many caring people in the world. One of my dear friends sent me a sweet little book, called “For Every Dog An Angel” and a great little clay bunny that she made herself.
Thanks Gerri!

Puppies

Oh My…….how fast these babies grow!! When I left to go to the show, the puppies were just barely getting up on their feet. The change when we came home was amazing! They are looking more and more like little dogs and are having so much fun playing with each other and their toys. Next week will bring a new challenge for them. I use puppy litter boxes to help teach them good pottying habits, so the litter box will be introduced next week, along with some solid food

Knitting

On the drive down to Pennsylvania, I chugged along on my Waves socks . I also brought my interweave knits and alpaca yarn for the Flower Basket Knit Around with me in the event that I finished my Wave socks and needed something to work on. Well………..wouldn’t you know it. That alpaca just kept talking to me. Needless to say, I couldn’t resist the temptation and gave in. I have now officially started my Flower Basket Shawl……and the waves socks are not quite yet finished…:-)

Spinning

Lately I have begun to feel very guilty about neglecting my lonely spinning wheels…… When I see how much knitting some of the women in these many blogs accomplish, that competitive side of mine comes out, and I start feeling pressured to keep up. How silly, isn’t it?…LOL. I just had to take a breath and remember how much I enjoy all of the aspects of fiber production, not just knitting. I decided to get spinning again on the Llama, silk, angora blend that I have …it is sooooooo soft and it will become a neckerchief shawl. As the fall approaches, the fairs will start up and usually at this time of the year, I start spinning and getting projects ready to be sold. My soaps and angora blends are my best sellers, so I guess that I had better get cracking on this stuff.