Fiber Festival for One

Well, while so many of the rest of you are off gallivanting to the MDSW festival, I threw myself my own little festival.

A small pot of tea, a good book, a hat of fiber, a spinning wheel, a comfy chair, and my adoring Chappy, all out on the deck on a lovely Spring afternoon.

No crowds. Beautiful fiber. Good refreshments . . . as alternatives go, it wasn't awful.

Quiet, well, yes. And did I spare a thought or two for all you fibery-friends out fondling the fiber, spending your money on woolly goodness without me? Well, also yes.

But still, look at that beautiful blue Saturday sky, seen though the lacy puffs of new green leaves on the trees. (Not to mention Chappy doing his best Vanna White impression, to show it off.) How can you complain about that?

And, for the rest of you who are NOT in Maryland today? I hope your day is going as well as mine!

In other "news," I started the day with my haircut at 9:30--which I really can't comment on until tomorrow, after I've washed it myself and slept on it so that it looks like "me." It seems like a decent cut . . . although, really, clearly she needs a ruler, because there's a lot more gone that one inch. Not that I'm complaining. I knew when I said "one inch" that she'd take off more than that--and that the lighter weight would also let my hair curl up a little tighter so that it looks even shorter. It's just that should I really need to be that circuitous about instructions to get the haircut I want? Because, again, she definitely took off more than an inch.... But then, since I like to stretch my haircuts as long as possible, it's okay--just so long as it looks good in the morning.

We also took Chappy into town today. We got refreshments and then sat outside of Starbucks while Chappy did his best to charm passersby into stopping to pet him. He even did all his tricks for one little girl named Cynthia who just adored him . . . So, you know, he's gotten his quota of adoration for the day. He even got to see his favorite mail-carrier, and everything. (Luckily, I think this means he's forgiven me for having gone out without him this morning.)

Oh yes, and after my haircut, I stopped at the bookstore and bought a stack. It occured to me the other day that I didn't have anything "new" to bring on vacation next week, and well, that won't do. Browsing on Amazon wasn't helping . . . sometimes, you've just GOT to go to a bookstore in person. So I browsed the "new releases" table and around the stacks and came home with a pretty nice assortment--fiction and fantasy, a history book, a couple travel books, and two books about reading/spelling.

Hey, a girl's got to keep herself entertained, you know. Especially when so many friends are off having fun without her . . .

Comments

[Alexis]

I don't know if you're a fan of spelling bees (I watch the national one every year) but if you are, you might enjoy American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds by James Maguire. I thought it was really interesting.

[Amy]

Frankly? No crowds, no gasping feeling of "gotta get that now"? I think you're ahead of the game.

[Beth S.]

Heh. I spent the day pulling up wisteria roots the size of pythons. Everything hurts now--my hands, glutes, etc.

But I also went to Etsy and bought some pretty roving. See, not all the good stuff is in Maryland! ;-)

[Victoria]

Looks like a perfectly wonderful way to spend a lovely spring day!

[Marcia Cooke]

You may have had the better fiber fair! MDSW was even more crazed than last year...they were lining up at certain booths by 8:15, and it wasn't officially open till 9! By 11 or so, it was just unbearable, although they did seem to have more, um, facilities, than in previous years! (Ask me how I know they were lining up at 8:15!!) I couldn't take it and headed back to Baltimore before 1 pm! (I am going back tomorrow, towards the end for a few hours, just to check out a few things I missed, but no fleeces followed me home this time!)

[minnie]

i spent the afternoon spinning, too. unfortunately, it was grey and cloudy and MUGGY. blech. i coudln't get the house to cool off at all. i got lots of spinning done, though!

[deb]

That sounds like the perfect formula for an at home fiber fest! In fact my day today will be consisting of the tea, a book on tape, an aran sweater...then switch to a sock...maybe a movie with a different sock...a wee bit of lace work. tomorrow is a spin in at my LYS. I am ready to get my Schact home so I'll be bugging the ladies to show me the tricks. I need to catch up on all this lovely fiber sitting around here!

[Chris]

I like your idea of a personal mini fiber festival! Alas, I would've been blown TO Maryland yesterday - it has been WINDY. Some huge branches down, intermittent power outages, that sort of thing.

[Sheila]

Yesterday was a gorgeous day to garden. I dead headed the roses and did some general pruning. Then it was off to a Cinco de Mayo party. What is the Bill Bryson book? My old eye couldn't read it!

[Kim]

Sounds like a great day. I definitely could have done without the MDSW crowds! I've read a few Bill Bryson books and enjoyed them. What's the one in your stack? Are you going up to the MV for vacation?