No Pictures . . . .

. . . . because the VIP downloaded all our camera memory cards onto his laptop and then erased them all. So until I get that reversed, no photos. And since a blog post is Boring without photos, no blog posts until I get my pictures back!

Girls' Road Trip

Last weekend my friend DG and I decided to have a girls' weekend and she rented a car and we drove to Palmyra, NY. I was in charge of navigation and I done goofed up, so we were almost to Canada before we realised we should have taken a left turn at Syracuse. Oh well. We got there, and our motel was on the banks of the Erie Canal, so we took a walk down the path. It was a nice walk, helped unkink my body which was sore from sitting in the car.

The next morning, DG had a reservation for the 11am session in the Temple, so we did a bit of sight-seeing beforehand. We saw the Smith farm and its buildings, and a view of the Temple from there. My photo turned out blurry, so I stole this image from the Hill Cumorah website. You can tell, because we went in May, and the leaves in this photo are obviously turning colour. I am disappointed that my photo is blurry.

DG went in for her session, and I waited in the car for her. I did some knitting, and I had a little nap. Then she came out and we continued on our tour of the Smith Farm and the Sacred Grove. It is so quiet in there! The paths are dirt, but are smoothed well. I don't think it would be difficult to take a decent wheelchair through it at all. They ask you not to remove any material from the site (leaves, flowers, grass, etc) but I will admit that I flouted this rule. Someone had dropped a plastic baggie (I sincerely hope it was a young parent who overlooked the fact that their toddler discarded it) so I did pick that up and carry it away. And of course, as I thought it would be inappropriate to shake the dust off my feet as I exited the Grove, some dirt came with me. But I think that's probably okay. The paths twist and turn, and there are many benches to sit on to rest or to contemplate. It's one of those Perfect Places. When you think of the words "forest path" this is what your mind conjures. I could very much feel the Spirit and the presence of God and Christ. I have never been a very gifted writer, so I have difficulty in putting into words my experience. All I can do is encourage you to go there yourself. Even if you are not LDS, it is still a lovely and peaceful place. I hope to bring the VIP and DD there this summer.

















When we returned back to the farm, we went through the houses. As a knitter/spinner, I was pleased to see handknit socks hanging up to dry by the fireplace, a spinning wheel with a skein-winder and a basket of roving nearby, and socks-in-progress. Clickety-Biggety



After all that, we drove a few miles to the Hill Cumorah. When they say "hill", they mean it. I thought I was Going To Die while climbing it. But the view from the top is so beautiful. I had brought my special copy of the Book of Mormon with me, and it wanted its picture taken with Moroni.



Our last stop was at the printing press. That ink on the floor is original and from that time-period. The press is still in operation and facsimile copies are produced from it. You can buy them in the bookstore next-door.










On our way home we took a short detour to Chenango Forks NY, birthplace of some of my ancestors. When I go back, I want to stop at the cemetery and find the graves.

I had a great time, and I want to thank DG for inviting me to go with her. She is moving to California soon, for school. I will miss her very much.

Because Even I Am Tired of Not Seeing a New Post Up Here

We really have been doing things around here, I promise. The VIP got a new job, which he started yesterday. Unfortunately it's 35 miles away in the opposite direction where he used to work. So far I haven't gotten up the nerve to learn the drive so I don't have the car.

DD has been feverishly working on getting her homework caught up so that she can go on the school band trip to NYC this Friday. I have been so frustrated with the non-communication I've been getting from her teachers that I finally went in and spoke with the vice-principal. And I think all that did was make me feel better by unloading, I don't think it actually accomplished a single thing.

I've met Colleen, and we have started a weekly KnitNight at her place. The VIP goes to his second job on Thursday nights about 30 minutes from Colleen's, so I tag along, leave him there, and we girls go play yarn. We have been joined by a few others, but most often by Miss Laura, who is a lot of fun. We eat and drink and laugh and knit and sew. As soon as summer is here for real and our complex pool is open, Colleen will come to our place for a day poolside. She is selling my recycled-wool handbags on her Etsy site, so go have a look.

This past weekend we went to Haddonfield NJ, which is a cute town. There is an English shop there, and the VIP likes to buy food and candy and ginger beer. Around the corner is a fun eclectic shop that sells, among other things, Birkenstock shoes. They were having a Spring Trunk Show with a sale of $20 off per pair of shoes. I chose a pair of pink Tahitis, and have been getting them broken in. I still haven't given up hope of finding my bag with my pink Madrids in it, but I needed a new pair anyway. The DD and I wandered some more and found a cute shop called Pure Couture, which specializes in upscale consignment. The owner loved my wool handbag and asked where I got it. When I said that I make them, she got very excited and wants me to put some in her shop! So needless to say, I have been sewing the past two days!

Actually, I've been sewing quite a lot lately. I've been teaching Colleen how to sew, and we started with pillowcases. So I made a couple of sets for me as well. I've been mending slacks and shirts for the missionaries because they have enough to do without worrying about that too. **If anyone who reads this has any gently-used black men's dress shoes in size 14, please contact me. There's a missionary here who wears size 14.** I organized all my thread and other sewing supplies, and I've actually emptied some more boxes that have been stacked in DD's room. She is unimpressed with my slowness, but at least there is some progress.

Okay, back to sewing.