Late, late, late report from Maryland Sheep and Wool!

Well, I'm certainly taking my time to report on it, but I had a terrific time at my very first Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, despite some family worries that came up just as our happy little group was getting to Maryland. My sister, who'd had hip-replacement surgery in late Feb and seemed to be recovering nicely, developed "extensive" blood clots in her lungs, and, instead of her planned trip to Florida with friends, ended up taking a trip to the emergency room on that Friday instead. In fact, I almost ended up going home as quick as I’d gotten there (and thanks so much to Pat for offering to drive me back!). But she and other family members assured me that she was in good hands and doing ok and that I should stay.

I’m happy to report that she’s not only out of the hospital again now, but also doing well, and back to rehabbing her hip. (In fact, as she mentions with some pride, she's now walking up to .73 of a mile!)

As for MS&W, I really enjoyed myself. With all the crowds, I was really glad that I had experienced friends to follow along with. With their help, I think I managed to see just about everything that was there. Including a number of handsome sheep. Some of these guys were so cute, I had to be reminded several times of that wonderful old truism: "people who live in townhouses shouldn't shop for sheep." Not even really tiny little adorable ones (or are these goats?)

And if the sheep and goats were tempting, the bunnies were even more so. Of course, there is the question of how the cats would like the bunnies. But I'm pretty sure the cats would loooove bunnies. (I'm only afraid they'd love them to death!) The larger question is how the bunnies would feel about the cats. Ultimately, I was able to resist, partially because I genuinely believe that I'd never get a bit of fiber off the bunnies (because Emma would groom them bare before I even started to pluck!) and partially because (and thanks, Rosie, for reminding me ;-) although we could probably make room in the car for a compact spinning wheel if I found one I wanted, we really had no way to transport bunnies.

It's not that I didn't know that. It's just that when I'm faced with any animal that is cute, cuddly, unusual, or furry in interesting ways, I can totally forget my common sense. I want it, and I sometimes have trouble resisting, no matter how dumb, stubborn, or inappropropriate to my lifestyle said animal is. This explains why I owned a lizard that I had to buy live crickets for for about 6 years. (Oh, wow. Come to think of it, that also explains much of my dating history, too.....hmmmmm.)

Anyway, speaking of wheels, I never did decide on one when I was there. I think I was overstimulated. (Picture a small child in a candy factory!) I just had too much that I was trying to look at, fondle, and mentally calculate how much room it would take up in the car. Course, that didn't stop me from "visiting" with various spinning wheels as we wandered!

But we didn't only wander. I also had a great time sitting on the lawn at the fairgrounds, seeing what everyone was working on.

So, thanks everyone, especially Pat, for driving and coming out of her way to get me and take me; Pam and Justin for helping make room for me in the car; and (last but not least) Rosie and Sarah for being great roomies and patiently dragging me around! Can't wait till next year!