State Fair 2009

I had never been to the State Fair so had a couple of hours today so wandered over to Timonium to see what all the fuss was about.

It was super!

Lots of quilts! Only one familar name. I will definitely have to enter next year.

Lots of junk food....peach sundae for me!

I saw a calf born!

I have only seen that on TV before!

It worked out just fine but a lot of work on her part.

Also saw 14 baby pigs delivered and two baby chicks hatch!

Feathers and scales was there so got some good shots of the owls and hawks and had a great conversation with one of the alpaca breeders!

That is my kind of fun not to mention the people watching and all the free information I picked up about Maryland for people moving here! Just go ahead and ask me a question!

$35

Found a great bargain at Chicos and left the store with a smile. A few minutes later, ran into a friend who has a birthday coming up and she wanted to see my bargain. I made her try it on and she loved my silver purchase too. I ran back to the store and bought her one and gave it to her as an early gift. As I drove away, I realized that it used to take a lot more than $35 to make me feel that good. I remember shopping sprees spending hundreds of dollars at Potomac Mills where Kay and I would fill the car and be as excited as two young ladies could be. Now, many years later, I had the same feeling for $35(spent twice) and I guess this is an addiction when I look at my closets but boy does it feel good!

Banana Split

I was off to Baltimore on Saturday to join my friend Joan for ARTSCAPE and we enjoyed a local lunch in her neighborhood and then downtown to find the action. The estimate was 350000 people and I believe it. Thank goodness there was an occasional breeze but it was hot and big. Transportation was the big problem but we took light rail and saw people from all over the country and their art. I got a tiny mirror for the collection and the t shirt of the show then to reward ourselves and to cool off, we went to Friendlys for ice cream in Catonsville. I couldn't
resist the banana split. I haven't done that for many many years but it was great and brought back many memories of those huge piles of ice cream in my younger years.
Obviously no dinner Saturday night!
What a fun day.
I hope we remember to do it exactly the same next year.

Back to the grind

The roadside shots in Nova Scotia are amazing, even if I do say so myself.

Stephanie and I did well even in the fog, rain and dirt roads.

We saw moose, ring necked pheasants, porcupine, lots of birds, foxes, deer and great wildflowers.

We shopped and found lots of new quilters and quilt shops.

We drove 2000 miles everywhere from Brier Island to go whaling to the top of Cape Breton. It was terrific and we may have to do it again to finish all the things on our lists but next year we are going to explore Minnesota since neither of us have ever been there before.

We loved Ruth and Ken's place and really loved meeting their friend Bernie who is a genius.

All is well but now back to work and the grind to pay for the next one!

Lost Gwen Luttrell while I was gone and Bob Hartley. Not a good week along with Michael Jackson that I may never recover from.

I can't believe he is gone. I bought lots of CD's so I can play the music constantly and try to forget and remember all the good times with his music. Thank goodness Stephanie called me or I wouldn't have known about it for hours. It is just so so sad that he had to go so soon and I think they should have the concerts anyway with the new music and the dancers. Michael would love that and I just know that the fans would go.

Zoo trips

Our new friend at the zoo

I can't remember her name right now but she sure is photogenic.

I was in a horrible mood on Sunday after reading a few emails so off to the zoo as normal on Sunday AM and once I got walking around and taking pictures, I realized that the haze had lifted and I was enjoying myself. It is such an oasis for me to see how the animals are doing and can I catch a photo of them doing something new or interesting. The photo Club buddies are always there and I know most of the keepers and even met a HVAC guy on Sunday and we had a nice chat about how much he enjoys working in such a nice environment. Now if we could just get the giraffes back!

Construction

I can't believe the mansion that is being built beside me. It is really awful and the workmen define work as screaming at each other. I have found the only thing that blocks the noise is my sewing machine in combination with the TV so I am getting a lot of quilting done. It has convinced me to definitely move and I had my handyman construct a barrier for me on the deck so I at least don't have to see it the minute I step outside.
Operation Nestwatch was here Thursday from the Smithsonian and he did manage to band six birds despite the noise and he was very pleased.
They were even here today ( Memorial Day) at 8AM!
I am actively seeking ways to stay away from the house from 8-6 and even have taken up mall walking to get exercise and not think about my ruined property value with no sun, no privacy on the deck and an ugly expansion
Not a good Spring!