Hiking with children and other things......

Gratefully, we are having a long weekend. My wonderful husband has the foresight after 15 years at the bank, to take a regular bank holiday and schedule his days off to make a 3 day weekend 4. He really needs it too. The bank politics about does my straightforward husband in. Enough about that.....

We decided to get away from it all yesterday, packed a picnic and headed for the Appalachian Trail. Specifically, the Tinker Cliff trail. I don't know what the correct name is, but that is what I call it. It was kind of ambitious with the kids, aged 7, 5, and 3. We only hiked the flat portion that is pretty long in and of itself.

It was so good to get away from people. We didn't see another soul for 3 hours. And other than the occasional airplane, there was no noise from the 21st century. I was so glad. Andy really needs to get another job. He needs some silence in his life. He would be a great professional painter, but that would mean he would have to purchase our insurance. Being who he is......... He'll hang in at the bank.

So..... We hiked and then came home. I raced to the front porch to see if IT came. And it did!!!!!

My box from Etsy. Specifically, Sakina's Needles. This lovely lady is from Colorado and is a Fiber Artist!!! She does a lovely job. Great service and a friendly demeanor. I hope she really keeps up the good work.

Most of this is Border Leicester. The whitish one is Merino. They still have a faint 'sheepy' smell. If you are a spinner, this delights you!!!!!

I love the names Wiley Sherer uses too. Very creative. Names like: Technicolor Popcorn, Bad Robot, Mathematical Purple, Deciduous, Rhubarb Pie. She even sent me a hand spun skein of her own.

Y'all should check her out. I am having a ball!
I love the way these are braided. I had a great time figuring out the construction of the braid! It is all one long piece of roving! Brilliant!

So, I spent the rest of the afternoon spinning! This one is named SLEEPY HOLLOW!

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked because our day ended up with a 'hot date'. WITHOUT THE KIDS!

We tried out the new Irish pub in Rke. The food of OK, but the beer was fabulous. I tried a 'Half & Half'. It was comprised of Guinness and Harp. I used to see drinks like that in Hong Kong (I lived in China for 6mo a long time ago), but that was pre-alcohol days, so I never tried one.

This has been one of the best days I have had in years. I really enjoyed ALL the gifts God has given me. Let me recap: nature, husband, children, solitude, color, spinning, food, beer, and rest. Jesus said (I am gonna paraphrase here) : Come unto me all who are weary and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.