Vacation plans....

Finally, I've been able to make some vacation plans today that I'm really excited about!! Friends of ours are getting married in Laguna Beach, CA on June 16th, and I've finally been able to find flights at a really great price, but did have to be very flexible on dates. C and I are travelling from Wednesday to Wednesday, which kinda sucks in not being able to sandwich the week in between 2 weekends, and still having to take 6 vacation days off to accommodate. BUT, in flying from the east coast to the west for less than $250 roundtrip (inclusive of taxes!), I shouldn't complain!! We're looking forward to it, and have found not a bad price for car rental either. We're hoping to visit C's sister and family in Malibu too, and even create some of our own vacation elsewhere, but there'll only be so much we can do in 6.5 days too....especially as the wedding will be right smack in the middle of our week. We'll work something out to make the most our trip, and hopefully, get back for more, sooner rather than later!! And am also hoping to catch up with an old friend who's finishing up her PhD in Neuroscience at UC Irvine this year, so I really hope that pans out, as I'd love to see her and her new baby, who'll be about 9.5 months old by the time of our trip!

California, here we come!!!

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

Got to the Sheep & Wool Festival yesterday as planned, and was able to meet my boyfriend's cousin, who I discovered a few months ago had been to it before, and was really wanting to go back again, but couldn't find any of her friends to go with her. So she & I met mid-morning, after both of us were delayed by either lack of getting out of the door on time (me!), or traffic delays (her!), but luckily, I was there before she was, so that made me feel so less guilty at being the late person (as would tend to be more typical...). I have to admit, time-keeping is not one of my strong points....a combination of the Irish in me, as a culture, we tend to be laidback in many ways, but I do happen to have my own casual sense of time too, which drives many folks crazy, but then again, I have certain (Irish) friends who are worse than I am, so that makes me feel a little better (only just a little though!).

Anyway, even though I had my camera with me, I didn't take any photos while there, as we were too busy browsing the stalls. We both really likes pottery a lot, and we both made small purchases from a local pottery vendor, Green Bridge Pottery, from Dayton, MD. We went to buy some organically made soap, which I wouldn't normally do, but it was top of the list for Ann to buy, and I'm looking forward to trying out my couple of soaps soon!! I did very well, and didn't buy too much yarn, and didn't use my credit card, so was very pleased. I am trying to cut back on spending, and adding more stuff to my piles of "fluff" that I tend to hoard, including yarns, books and supplies. My recent move helped me realize what a hassle it is to have too many things (necessary as well as unnecessary items!). I'm not disciplined to have come away empty-handed though! I surprised myself, by buying a hand spindle, which was a spontaneous purchase (which hopefully, I won't regret), but thought it'd be fun to try out. I was given a demonstration by one of the ladies at the place I bought it from, but will have to try it for a while, and see how well (or not!) I may get into it!!

Also, I bumped into a couple of folks I knew from a couple of knitting groups that I attend on either a regular or not-so-regular basis, so that was a really nice touch to the day too, as it's neat that I'm starting to get to know people who attend these kinds of events too, and who are just as or far more into knitting than I am!! I did bump into knitting friends last year too, but it's always fun to do so again.

I've included some photos of my purchases, which includes yarn from Tess Yarns from Maine and Dancing Leaf Farm in Maryland, my hand spinner, and some yarn for spinning with, mohair, kid mohair and dyed merino wool. Also, my pottery dish with one of my soaps, and a keyring which I though was cute - made from a teaspoon handle, and I also bought one for my boyfriend, as I thought they were so cute! Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of that vendor, as I really like their stuff - they took old cutlery, and made items like windchimes, plate-stands, pins/brooches, and other adorable stuff, and I foolishly never did go back to them, even though I was tempted to buy one of their windchimes. And they were very reasonably priced too. Grrrr....all I know is that they were amongst the outside North vendors..... And I bought a pattern for a cute sweater, too, which I couldn't resist!

Anyway, had a fun time, and was exhausted by days end.....got to meet my Sweetie and other friends later, but was too late to join them for dinner, but stayed for a drink, and my own quick bite to eat, and we came home early at around 9:30 - 10pm or so.

I was going to do the Chesapeake Bay Bridge walk today, but a combination of tiredness, plus the fact that they cancelled the event this morning anyway, due to high winds, prevented me from going. Now, I don't feel bad for not going...I'm hoping I can get to do it next year instead, all going well. And it allowed me the time to work on continuing to tidy up my room, and continue to purge items and paperwork and plenty of other stuff that I really need to get rid of. Spent a couple of hours this morning working on my floppy disks, transferring stuff onto my computer's hard drive, and deleting everything else, and so now I have 58 disks I'm looking to get rid of! I'm considering taking them into work and put them into the office supply cabinet for those folks who have a floppy disk drive on their computers to get to use, as I wouldn't like the disks to go to waste.... But then again, they may not be wanted there, so I'm not sure... I still have about another 30 or so disks to go through, on top of the others I went through a couple of weeks ago, and am glad to be getting rid of this stuff. Went through some paperwork and files, and have a full trashbag of crap, and will probably have more to come, at the rate I'm going!! Just need to get rid of my excesses, and learn not to get too attached to THINGS that I don't really need! I'm too sentimental for my own good, sometimes!!

Want to get outside today, as it's already 4:36pm now according to my computer's clock, and I haven't been outside yet, so I really need to get some fresh air....

'Til next time!

May Day, and Spring is Here!

A couple of photos of my new place that I've moved to a month ago, and the old place doesn't compare to it at all, as this house and neighborhood are a HUGE improvement!!! The bottom photo is of the back of the house, and my room has the two dormer windows on the top floor (it's a semi-detached home, so the remaining windows belong to the house next door). The 2nd photo is of the porch, which I'm hoping to get out and enjoy using soon, now that the weather has started improving, though I get the impression that the current roommates don't use it much, if at all, which is a shame.

And then there's Oliver, the resident cat!! One roommate, Mike, has 2 of his own cats too, Nomad and Tattoo, but the homeowner, Michelle (currently in the UK with her English husband and young daughter), owns Oliver, and he's the most sociable cat..... I'm not a huge cat person, but I'm really starting to take a shine to Oliver, and he's crashed on my bed a couple of nights over the past couple of weeks, and I'm enjoying his company!!!

Anyhow, must get ready for work.... Happy May Day, and Happy Springtime!