Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Bad News

Unfortunately, I will not be attending the Spin-In and Hook-In in St. Augustine this weekend. We have had a family emergency come up on DH's side. We will be leaving for Philly Friday morning and return Sunday night. Everything has turned out "okay", but we still need to make the trip.

I am still looking forward to receiving my new "period" outfit though! I will probably get much use out of it!

Monday, March 26, 2007

The Weekend Ahead

I have taken a step that will either make me feel like a goof ball or make me feel really cool. I ordered a pioneer/colonial outfit (skirt, top, caplet, slip, bonnet) today. I hope it makes it here before this weekend, because I have been invited to an event this weekend in St. Augustine - a spin-in. I know it sounds kind of kooky, but, actually, it is pretty cool.

I will be taking some pictures of the yarns I bought while in Maine and Massachusetts this week, and uploading to Flickr. It will probably be on Wednesday or Thursday.

And, yes, I will have pictures of me dressed up, if the outfit makes it in time!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The Rest of the Trip....

Amazingly we made it home without a hitch. I say that because all of the flight delays, cancellations and over bookings that took place this past weekend because of the storm Friday/Friday night.

Friday morning we left York heading to Rockport, MA and a little B&B - The Tuck Inn. In my previous posts, I had failed to mention I picked up a cute little pair of brown loafers at the Naturalizer outlet. Well, I only had white socks, which looked really funny with the brown shoes. SO....on the way south, I requested for DH to stop at the Sox Market in the Kittery Outlets. I got some brown socks, so I would feel like I looked more presentable. DH got cranky because he was worried we were going to get caught in bad weather....Of course, further south we got, the heavier the snow became. I was getting a little uptight worrying about ice on the road, but DH was driving like a pro (he is originally from the NE). We made it to B&B about 2:30/3 and with no time to spare....the skies opened up! It was snowing like crazy. DH took the laptop, I took my spinning wheel & knitting and we set up camp in one of the common rooms at the B&B. The snow was getting harder and harder and it was blowing sideways...I was thinking to myself, "if this was rain, I would be under a bed somewhere!" At this point, we had to decide what we wanted for dinner and how we were going to get it. The innkeeper told us about a little pizza place at the end of the block. DH braved the storm and walked to get the pizza - he did not have a hat, gloves, scarf or boots!!!! The good thing was that he was only gone for about 5 minutes. Three other guests at the inn visited the same little pizza place for dinner that night - I think they did a bang up business that night!

About 8, we decided to call it a night and headed to our room. I went to sleep fairly easily. About 12:30 AM, something woke me up. It was the sound of sleet being driven by the 30+ mph winds against the roof, windows and house! That was a little uncomfortable for me, but I made it through. By about 5 AM, the sleet had turned to rain! It was an icy mess.

Regardless, we had breakfast and decided to brave the elements and roads. We headed out. Originally, we were heading towards Salem, but we decided to go to the Textile Museum in Lowell instead. I think it was a great decision. I was captivated (of course) - different styles of spinning wheels, looms, machinery, articles of clothing, etc. The exhibits will be completed by the end of this year...but it was still a great learning experience. We went to Uxbridge next. I had heard there was a yarn shop in the Bernat Mill Plaza. Unfortunately, the yarn shop was not there....but the Bernat Mill Plaza was. I convinced DH to go in so we could walk around for a bit. This building used to be an actual Bernat Mill. The building still had the wood floors, high ceiling and warehouse feel from when it was a working mill. The coolest thing was they had a few pieces of the machinery still there....I wish I had brought my camera inside! I surprised DH with a little trivia bit - his paternal grandmother used to work there (at least, that is what I understood his mom to tell me). He was shocked that I knew that and I think our little stroll through the building took on a different meaning for him. At some point that day, we ended up in Foxboro at Gillette Stadium (DH's version of a yarn shop).

The next day (Sunday), we really did head for Salem. If you are ever in Salem and want a good breakfast, go to Red's - http://www.redssandwichshop.com/. We visited the the House of Seven Gables. I was very disappointed. It was not what I expected at all. Oh well, it was still neat being in a house that Nathaniel Hawthorne had been in. While we were walking around the grounds at the House of Seven Gables, I found a lighthouse that I had looked for the previous times I was in Salem and could never find! Next, we headed to Red's for a good lunch/breakfast. From here, we headed to Boston and Fenway Park (another of DH's "yarn shops"). I sat in the truck while he walked all of the way around the Park taking pictures. We stay this night (the final night) in a Hampton Inn in Peabody.

We flew out of Boston at 2:20 on Monday....and got home at about 9:30/10:00.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Today in York

We woke up to the sound of rain, so we basically just stayed in our room this morning. We had appointments at a spa today (me-pedicure, DH-massage). We left nice and relaxed. Then we headed down to the outlets in Kittery. I didn't buy too much - just some chocolate from the Lindt outlet. Now, we are back at the inn, waiting for the snow to start!

Tomorrow morning, down to Massachusetts we go. We are going to stay at a little bed & breakfast in Rockport, MA. Hopefully, I will get to see some snow!!! I just hope that it doesn't end up being worse than forecasted!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Another Day in York

We are in York until at least Friday. The weather looks like it is going to take a turn for the worse tomorrow into Saturday, so we might just extend our stay here for a night. They are forecasting 10 to 15 inches of snow!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Anyway, DH & I took a ride up to Cape Elizabeth. We spent some time at Fort Williams State Park, dreamily looking at Portland Head Light and exploring the "ruins". We explored some areas of the park we had never been to, so it was really exciting. We found new views of the lighthouses and craggy beach. Of course, I took many pictures. After we were tired of playing in the mud and melting snow at Fort Williams, we headed for Gorham, ME in search of a yarn/fiber shop. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it, so we headed back to York. We stopped at the Yarn Seller in York. I picked up a couple skeins of alpaca and a couple of skeins of hand dyed wool.

I will be posting pictures tonight....so check them out. www.flickr.com/photos/kappy111

In York, ME

We made it to York yesterday. We are staying in the Harbor Crest house, which is part of the York Harbor Inn. The Harbor Crest house is about a half mile up the road from the main inn, so it feels like we are staying in our own house.

On the way down here from Camden, we stopped at a couple of great yarn shops. The first one was Pine Tree Yarns in Damariscotta. The shop is run by a very warm lady, Elaine Eskesen. From the moment I walked in, she made me feel like I was a regular customer there. Elaine sells the normal brands - Noro, Classic Elite, etc - but she also sells yarns that she dyed and yarns that are locally hand spun. During my exploration of her shop, I discovered a couple of books she had written (with patterns that she designed). One of the books, Silk Knits, just recently came out (I think in January). She also has another book, Dyeing to Knit, in which she details her dyeing techniques (and some new ones she up with while writing the book). She goes into a discussion about colors and the color wheel. Of course, I bought both of those books. She was generous enough to autograph them for me!

The second shop we stopped at was Halcyon Yarns in Bath. All I can say is a that this is a fiber artists dream. They have books about spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, color theory, animal husbandry. They have an extensive selection of knitting and crocheting notions. They have spinning wheels and spindles (not a huge selection of spindles, spindles none the less). They have needle felting supplies. They have all of the weaving supplies you could need - from looms to shuttles - to coned yarns. They have all of the standard brands of yarn, plus their own yarn and coned yarn. And, last but not least, they have a wide selection of fibers - natural and dyed. If you are a fiber artist and are in Bath, ME, this is a "should not miss" store. If you are not in Bath, ME, they do have a website - http://www.halcyonyarn.com/.

Today, we will be going to Portland Head Light, a few shops in and around Portland, and doing a little more sightseeing and picture taking!

Monday, March 12, 2007

Today in Camden

We woke up to a beautiful day. We walked into Camden for breakfast at the Mariner's Restaurant. DH had the lobster omelet that he has been talking about since we were here last year...I had french toast. We walked to UniqueOne, a sweater and yarn (yes, yarn) shop. I bought a few skeins from the sale rack. We walked around Camden for a little while...

The highlight of the day was DH's haircut. Not only did he get the normal haircut, he had his beard turned into a goatee!!!! (Pictures will be posted on Flickr)

As you can see, we just took today to relax!

Sunday, March 11, 2007

The First Couple of Days

As I sit in our lovely room at the Hartstone Inn in Camden, ME, listening to the church bells chime, and looking out the window at the snow lined street, I think about the whirlwind the past two days have been. Just yesterday, I was at home in Orlando, FL....now I am sitting in Camden, ME.

Yesterday started very early, as you can probably imagine with our flight leaving at 7am. Oddly enough, everything ran so smoothly on the way to the airport, we got there 30 minutes earlier than we had planned. We had upgraded to first class so we were able to check in the first class line - which took all of 15 minutes...better than the hour or more we probably would have waited if we hadn't upgraded. Shockingly, the line for security did not stretch across the airport, so that was fairly quick. We were at our gate (why is the gate we leave from always the farthest away?) with more than an hour to spare. Fortunately, the flight to DC was uneventful...and the flight from DC to Boston was also uneventful. The only problem we encountered was being about an hour late. When we got to the rental car place, I stayed outside with luggage while DH went in to take care of the paperwork. I knew he had reserved a Chevy Equinox....but it turned out to be a laser blue Equinox. For those of you who know us, you will find that ironic - for those of you who don't, our regular car is a laser blue Equinox. This makes finding the rental MUCH easier! :-) Last night we stayed in Peabody, MA, because I knew we would both be very tired and need a break before making the drive to the glorious state of Maine!

Being a cranky time of year for the weather up here, DH & I have been watching the forecasts intently for the past several weeks. When we first started looking, the forecast was for it to be in the 20s during the day and below 10 at night! It was much to our delight when the forecast started changing more in our favor. Today, it has been around 50 (except when we were at Nubble Lighthouse, 39 there) and mostly clear with a few clouds and a nice soft breeze. Don't get me wrong here, it is still Maine, and the breeze has a little nip to it. The weather will be going down hill as the week wears on, but we will have a few nice days.

I have never seen snow like this before....it is EVERYWHERE and it is beautiful!!!! I am sure I am the only person that would love to deal with this every year. Some of the rivers are frozen over, but, because of the temperature, they are starting to thaw. It looks so cool (literally and figuratively). I took a few pictures today but not too many because we were trying to get here and get settled. I have posted the pictures on Flickr.

It feels so right for me to be up here. It is almost like I have come home. I can breathe easier and it feels like my heart rate has decreased. I have so much more energy and drive to do things. Maybe it is because it is something different, maybe it is because this is where I am supposed to be.

Tomorrow will be a day for searching out new places, taking alot of pictures and looking for yarn/fiber shops! Will update again tomorrow night!!!! :-)

Friday, March 9, 2007

Quick Update

The time has FINALLY come!!!! DH & I are leaving tomorrow for our annual voyage to Maine! Oh, the cold, wonderful weather! We are flying out of Orlando tomorrow morning at 7 AM, heading for Boston. We are going to spend one night just north of Boston and then head up to a darling little bed & breakfast in Camden, ME. Then we go to another bed & breakfast, this time in York, ME. After that a couple days to play in Boston.

As you can tell I am VERY excited about this trip! I really need this break! :-)

Keep an I on my Flickr page. I will be creating a set call "Maine 2007" and I will be uploading pictures every night! Take care and I will see you soon!