Thursday, January 23, 2014

Visiting Virginia Alpaca Farms, Part II

We visited Otter Peaks Alpacas in Thaxton, Virginia.


Another gorgeous view!

More fiber to fondle and buy!

More beautiful yarn and hug-able alpaca teddy bears

Beautiful finished garments

Great hats
Getting some alpaca kisses

Look at my mustache

Beautiful animals

Natural eyeliner

Dianne getting hugs
Della and her new friend

I wonder if I can fit him in my car . . . 

Look at the beautiful crimp in this alpaca!

Hey!  Just hanging out and being cool

Another look at my 'stache

Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks?

More beautiful alpaca fiber

Yo . . . look at me!

Just in case you missed my sexy 'stache . . .

I'm the handsomest of ALL!
**special thanks to Della Fifer for sharing some of her photos**

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Visiting Virginia Alpaca Farms, Part I

Last Friday I had the wonderful opportunity to visit two Bedford County alpaca farms with a couple of friends.

First, we visited A Goode View Alpaca Farm in Goode, Virginia.


It really is a good view!

Fabulous fiber loot in the store!

Della brought some beautiful yarn

Awesome hats

Gorgeous raw alpaca fiber

Kid's corner

Cute toys made from fiber

Pretty dyed alpaca

Fabulous stuffed animals that you just want to cuddle

CUTE alpaca purse

No one is going to be taking that yarn from her!  :)

Dianne and her silky soft little friend

Can you tell I am tickled pink with my bag of alpaca fiber?

A close up of the fiber
After putting up with our shenanigans in her beautiful shop, owner Lisa Beck was kind enough to take us on her farm to meet the animals. When she asks if I would like to meet the alpaca that produced the beautiful fleece that I bought, how could I resist?
This is Lily.  She produced that big bag of fiber that I bought.
She is telling me to make something pretty with it.



Another photo of Lily

Hello!

Our greeters

This 'paca was a bit shy
**special thanks to Della Fifer for sharing her photos with me to use on this post**

Then, we visited Otter Peaks Alpacas in Thaxton, Virginia which I will feature in my next blog post.


Thursday, January 16, 2014

St. Distaff's Day 2014



On January 11, 2014, I held the 2nd Annual St. Distaff's Day Celebration & Yarn/Fiber Swap at the Vinton Branch Library from 10:00-3:00 PM.  There were approximately 28 people in attendance.



We began the day by checking in all of the fabulous items that people brought for the swap.  Check out all of the wonderful, yarn, fiber, books, magazines, and patterns!


LOOK at all of the yarn & fiber!!



Books, magazines, and patterns, OH MY!


While the check-in was happening, everyone started socializing & knitting!


It was really hard to figure out what to pick when it was your turn!


More socializing and feasting!




Playing trivia!




My spinning wheel looks so lonely!







My haul from the swap!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Reconnecting with Your Teachers

 Meadows of Dan Cardinals
This little guy looks MUCH more ferocious
than our mascot did back in the 1970s!
 


In October 2011, just after the Meadows of Dan Elementary School burned, I wrote a blog post entitled "Tribute to a Wonderful Teacher" about Miss Ruth Jean Bolt, one of my teachers. She was my fifth grade teacher and she also taught science and art to the sixth and seventh grade. At the time of my original post, many of my elementary school classmates and school teacher friends encouraged me to send her a copy. I thought about sending it, but then, like so many things, I kept on putting if off.

Finally, just before Christmas, I printed the post and mailed it to Miss Bolt. Just this week, one of my friends from Meadows of Dan sent me a message to let me know that Miss Bolt wanted to talk to me.  Now, I'm not much for talking on the phone and I try to avoid it whenever possible. For me, talking on the phone is just awkward because you can't read people's expressions and you may be calling them at a bad time and they are just too polite to say so. Add in the fact that I was calling one of my elementary school teachers, an authority figure, one that I respected SO much, just made this even harder.  However, the day after receiving the message, I grabbed the phone and made the call before I could think about it too much.

What a fabulous phone conversation! Miss Bolt immediately made me feel at ease and her voice sounded just like it did in elementary school. She is such an interesting person to talk with that I could have stayed on the phone for hours with her!  I am going to try to pay her a visit the next time that I am in Meadows of Dan.

To see what the new Meadows of Dan Elementary School looks like, click HERE.

If you had a teacher who means a lot to you, go ahead. Contact them. Just do it! It will make you feel good and I'm sure it will make them feel fabulous too!