Pics from vacation (better late than never)

Well, big new from the tote and scarf exchanges. First, I got both my tote and my scarves (plural)! First, on Halloween, I checked my mail, and there was my package from the lovely Louise, my tote exchange pal. She made me this fabulous "evening garden" tote, with beautiful ruffles and flowers on the front. Just in time for Stitches, where I intend to take it to show it off!

And then, I came home yesterday to a package tucked into my screen door, all the way from Australia, and opened it to find not one but 2 (count 'em, 2!) lovely scarves. The first is a beautiful lavender and pink lacey mohair feather and fan pattern and the second is open-lace pattern in a deep magenta (one of my absolute favorite colors) with beads! So, so pretty. And to make it even more special, Deborah included a huge skein of her beautiful purple and blue hand-spun yarn, which is both beautiful and really soft. I'm just thrilled.

I've taken lots of pictures of both tote and scarves, but probably won't get them posted until Monday, since I'm heading off this afternoon to the aforementioned Stitches East and will be away from the computer all weekend. (and have work I'm frantically trying to do before I can leave!)

But in the meantime, I finally have pics from my vacation to the beautiful seaside town of Cape May, New Jersey. Ok, so I'm running anywhere from 2 weeks to a month behind in posting pics of things. I think we should focus on the fact that I am managing to post ;-).
This is the view from the hotel room. Course in the summer, that beach would be full of beach chairs, umbrellas, and people! I love the beach in the fall, though. With a crisp breeze and very little to interrupt the sounds of the surf against the sand. You can feel the wildness of nature, that even on a beautiful, calm day, there is still power in the ocean, waiting just below the dappled surface, for the next raging storm.