And I'm spent!
Well, I'm back with lots of pictures and lots of yarn.
Ready, Set, Go!
I spent Thursday morning packing and cleaning as my mom drove up to DFW. Then Matt dropped us off at the airport, and we waited for our flight. It got delayed, we ate dinner in the airport and we waited some more. We boarded, flew, didn't vomit (yay!), flew around in circles over Newark, delayed again by so much incoming air traffic, finally landed and disembarked. I went after our luggage while Mom picked up the rental car. Then we drove down to my brother's house further south, arriving around midnight (eastern time). We visited for a little while before crashing.
Friday, my brother, mom, nephew and I went out while my sister-in-law slept, having spent the past 30-something hours on call at the hospital and getting home that morning. We did some grocery shopping, found a Halloween costume for Eddy and walked along the boardwalk. Nana and Eddy watched the waves crashing in.
We spent the rest of the day idly visiting and lazing around the house.
Saturday, we drove out to Langhorne, Pennsylvania to Sesame Place. I was detained at the gate for my knitting needles and kid/airplane-safe scissors (I didn't realize we would be checked for sharp objects). I was perfectly willing to take them back to the car, but they let me in when I agreed not to take them out and knit in the park. And it was Halloween day at the park, with trick or treat booths all over the place. So Eddy was wearing his astronaut costume over his clothes until he got too warm.
The first thing we did was ride the roller coaster (no pics as I was on a roller coaster at the time). It was surprisingly wild for a little kids' coaster, but Eddy loved it and wanted to ride twice. Then it was over to the slides: one with a net full of bouncing balls to climb up, the other looking like a tipped-over bucket of sand.
Eddy posed for a picture with the Twiddlebug Topiaries.
The water rides were closed due to the chillier weather, but in case any of you were planning on going next summer, there's something you should keep in mind:
Then Nana and Eddy rode the Sunny Day Carousel while my brother kept watch from the bench behind them.
We wondered around some more and discovered a three-story net jungle-gym. And they let adults on it too! No pictures from since I was busy climbing up nets and through tubes and generally making myself feel very old and out of shape, but here are some from my brother.
Then Jenny, Mom and Eddy rode up in Oscar's balloon on Big Bird's Balloon Race. Next we went to the Elmo's World show, then lunch. Then it was Elmo's Flyin' Fish with Jenny.
Next we saw the Peek-a-Bug. Harmless looking, right? But wait. It also spins as it rocks back and forth. No way was I riding that. But John, Jenny and Eddy did (second row from right). Then a large slide (not terribly visible from the ground, so no pictures), followed by Elmo's Blast Off (the two on the left).
Next, Jenny and Eddy tried to make me vomit on Grover's World Twirl. Me and spinning are not the best of friends. We then ventured over to Ernie's Bed Bounce, where Eddy (in the grey shirt) had quite a lot of fun and even helped a little girl who got stuck down in a crevasse of the mattress.
Afterward Eddy explored the Monster Maze and the Count's Halloween Maze, where he found his age... and a piece of hay. Then a final pose with Bert and Ernie before the afternoon parade.
We talked the rest of the day about all of his Sesame Street friends he saw that day. He obviously had a fun time.
Sunday, it was Jenny's and my turn. We drove up to Granma's house for breakfast, then continued north to upstate New York, Rhinebeck specifically, for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. Seeing the traffic approaching the fairgrounds and how many cars (hundreds, if not thousands) were parked on the grass, my brother and mom finally understood how many knitters are out there and how much power we truly hold. It was glorious. Jenny and I split off to pursue our own desires while John, Mom and Eddy checked out the petting zoo and such. John told me later that he got lots of compliments on his Jayne hat.
Our first stop was the author's building where Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot, was signing books. I asked if she minded signing multiple books (I have all hers, but only 2 of 7 had already been autographed). She said she didn't mind, as long as I didn't mind it taking a long time since she has such a long name. One of the books I'd brought was Knit Lit the Third, a compilation in which she had one story. She saw it and told me today was my lucky day; the lady next to her was Linda Roghaar, one of the editors of the Knit Lit books. So I got two signatures in that one! She even held my sock in progress and shouted "Pretty sweater!" as I was walking away.
After that, it was sort of a blur. I remember there was yarn, and fiber, and sheep and other fiber animals, and chocolate peanut butter fudge. But unfortunately, I suffered a rather severe case of camnesia. After we tore ourselves away from the yarn, we drove back to Granma's for dinner and visiting. She told Jenny and me to go through her sewing desk and take whatever we wanted, so I got some notions and two huge tins full of buttons. She's been doing this give-away thing for a few years now. I suppose it will make the dispersal of belongings easier when the unhappy day comes (which we, of course, hope isn't for a while), but it's still kind of morbid, I know. Anyway, when it got to be her bedtime, we finished the drive back to John and Jen's house and crashed immediately, having succumbed to yarn overload.
Monday, we slept in. We stopped in at Yarn-It, and I found a sweater's worth of yarn for 70% off. Then a few groceries and back home to while the day away playing with Eddy and watching Lord of the Rings.
Tuesday was another fairly lazy day, having packed all of our major activities into the weekend. But Jenny and I found ourselves on a yarn crawl around Jersey, from What's Needling You, to Knit 1 Purl 2, to the Wooly Monmouth. Behold our booty from Rhinebeck and the yarn shops! I ended up with 8 pairs of future-socks, a sweater-to-be and a hank of yarn that I think will become a hat.
That evening, we watched Pride and Prejudice (the 1940 one with Laurence Olivier) and Iron Man before going to bed.
Wednesday we played some more and biked to the ice cream shop down the street.
Then we drove back up to Granma's house for dinner and more visiting before we had to leave the next day. We got back home late and went to bed immediately. Mom and I woke up around 4AM, got ready, drove to Newark, dropped off the rental car, took a shuttle to the airport and got to our gate with about thirty minutes to spare before our plane boarded - just enough time for some breakfast. The flight home was uneventful as well, no vomiting again. Matt met us at baggage claim and dropped us off at our apartment before heading back to work. Mom and I went out for lunch before she had to drive back home. I spent the afternoon and evening unpacking, doing laundry, taking stash pictures of new yarn for Ravelry, and editing and uploading all the photos from the past week. I went to bed around 9, having woken up at 3AM central time, and slept until 7 this morning. It was a wonderful week. The weather was lovely. The trees were colorful, not something we see much of in Texas. And the company was even better. I wish it could happen more often.
If you're curious, more pictures can be found here.
Ready, Set, Go!
I spent Thursday morning packing and cleaning as my mom drove up to DFW. Then Matt dropped us off at the airport, and we waited for our flight. It got delayed, we ate dinner in the airport and we waited some more. We boarded, flew, didn't vomit (yay!), flew around in circles over Newark, delayed again by so much incoming air traffic, finally landed and disembarked. I went after our luggage while Mom picked up the rental car. Then we drove down to my brother's house further south, arriving around midnight (eastern time). We visited for a little while before crashing.
Friday, my brother, mom, nephew and I went out while my sister-in-law slept, having spent the past 30-something hours on call at the hospital and getting home that morning. We did some grocery shopping, found a Halloween costume for Eddy and walked along the boardwalk. Nana and Eddy watched the waves crashing in.
We spent the rest of the day idly visiting and lazing around the house.
Saturday, we drove out to Langhorne, Pennsylvania to Sesame Place. I was detained at the gate for my knitting needles and kid/airplane-safe scissors (I didn't realize we would be checked for sharp objects). I was perfectly willing to take them back to the car, but they let me in when I agreed not to take them out and knit in the park. And it was Halloween day at the park, with trick or treat booths all over the place. So Eddy was wearing his astronaut costume over his clothes until he got too warm.
The first thing we did was ride the roller coaster (no pics as I was on a roller coaster at the time). It was surprisingly wild for a little kids' coaster, but Eddy loved it and wanted to ride twice. Then it was over to the slides: one with a net full of bouncing balls to climb up, the other looking like a tipped-over bucket of sand.
Eddy posed for a picture with the Twiddlebug Topiaries.
The water rides were closed due to the chillier weather, but in case any of you were planning on going next summer, there's something you should keep in mind:
Then Nana and Eddy rode the Sunny Day Carousel while my brother kept watch from the bench behind them.
We wondered around some more and discovered a three-story net jungle-gym. And they let adults on it too! No pictures from since I was busy climbing up nets and through tubes and generally making myself feel very old and out of shape, but here are some from my brother.
Then Jenny, Mom and Eddy rode up in Oscar's balloon on Big Bird's Balloon Race. Next we went to the Elmo's World show, then lunch. Then it was Elmo's Flyin' Fish with Jenny.
Next we saw the Peek-a-Bug. Harmless looking, right? But wait. It also spins as it rocks back and forth. No way was I riding that. But John, Jenny and Eddy did (second row from right). Then a large slide (not terribly visible from the ground, so no pictures), followed by Elmo's Blast Off (the two on the left).
Next, Jenny and Eddy tried to make me vomit on Grover's World Twirl. Me and spinning are not the best of friends. We then ventured over to Ernie's Bed Bounce, where Eddy (in the grey shirt) had quite a lot of fun and even helped a little girl who got stuck down in a crevasse of the mattress.
Afterward Eddy explored the Monster Maze and the Count's Halloween Maze, where he found his age... and a piece of hay. Then a final pose with Bert and Ernie before the afternoon parade.
We talked the rest of the day about all of his Sesame Street friends he saw that day. He obviously had a fun time.
Sunday, it was Jenny's and my turn. We drove up to Granma's house for breakfast, then continued north to upstate New York, Rhinebeck specifically, for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. Seeing the traffic approaching the fairgrounds and how many cars (hundreds, if not thousands) were parked on the grass, my brother and mom finally understood how many knitters are out there and how much power we truly hold. It was glorious. Jenny and I split off to pursue our own desires while John, Mom and Eddy checked out the petting zoo and such. John told me later that he got lots of compliments on his Jayne hat.
Our first stop was the author's building where Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot, was signing books. I asked if she minded signing multiple books (I have all hers, but only 2 of 7 had already been autographed). She said she didn't mind, as long as I didn't mind it taking a long time since she has such a long name. One of the books I'd brought was Knit Lit the Third, a compilation in which she had one story. She saw it and told me today was my lucky day; the lady next to her was Linda Roghaar, one of the editors of the Knit Lit books. So I got two signatures in that one! She even held my sock in progress and shouted "Pretty sweater!" as I was walking away.
After that, it was sort of a blur. I remember there was yarn, and fiber, and sheep and other fiber animals, and chocolate peanut butter fudge. But unfortunately, I suffered a rather severe case of camnesia. After we tore ourselves away from the yarn, we drove back to Granma's for dinner and visiting. She told Jenny and me to go through her sewing desk and take whatever we wanted, so I got some notions and two huge tins full of buttons. She's been doing this give-away thing for a few years now. I suppose it will make the dispersal of belongings easier when the unhappy day comes (which we, of course, hope isn't for a while), but it's still kind of morbid, I know. Anyway, when it got to be her bedtime, we finished the drive back to John and Jen's house and crashed immediately, having succumbed to yarn overload.
Monday, we slept in. We stopped in at Yarn-It, and I found a sweater's worth of yarn for 70% off. Then a few groceries and back home to while the day away playing with Eddy and watching Lord of the Rings.
Tuesday was another fairly lazy day, having packed all of our major activities into the weekend. But Jenny and I found ourselves on a yarn crawl around Jersey, from What's Needling You, to Knit 1 Purl 2, to the Wooly Monmouth. Behold our booty from Rhinebeck and the yarn shops! I ended up with 8 pairs of future-socks, a sweater-to-be and a hank of yarn that I think will become a hat.
That evening, we watched Pride and Prejudice (the 1940 one with Laurence Olivier) and Iron Man before going to bed.
Wednesday we played some more and biked to the ice cream shop down the street.
Then we drove back up to Granma's house for dinner and more visiting before we had to leave the next day. We got back home late and went to bed immediately. Mom and I woke up around 4AM, got ready, drove to Newark, dropped off the rental car, took a shuttle to the airport and got to our gate with about thirty minutes to spare before our plane boarded - just enough time for some breakfast. The flight home was uneventful as well, no vomiting again. Matt met us at baggage claim and dropped us off at our apartment before heading back to work. Mom and I went out for lunch before she had to drive back home. I spent the afternoon and evening unpacking, doing laundry, taking stash pictures of new yarn for Ravelry, and editing and uploading all the photos from the past week. I went to bed around 9, having woken up at 3AM central time, and slept until 7 this morning. It was a wonderful week. The weather was lovely. The trees were colorful, not something we see much of in Texas. And the company was even better. I wish it could happen more often.
If you're curious, more pictures can be found here.