Back from Vermont

We arrived home in the wee hours last night and somehow I made it to work today. It was touch and go, with frequent nodding off. AJ had to make a 9 AM dental apt. in Morristown and left after only a couple of hours sleep. The weekend was great, and spending so much time with AJ was just terrific. He was so pleasant and helpful the whole time, and did a masterful job of setting up and loading the trailer to go home. We pulled into the the Champlain Valley Expo Center in the wee hours of Sat. morning and parked the truck in the middle of a giant pitch black dark parking lot. AJ slept in the bed of my F150 on his Army bed roll and I made my little bed in the back seat of the cab. I can stretch out my legs across the seat and sleep just fine. I had the primo booth spot of the whole festival, and good stuff to sell, but the crowds were not in a spending mood. Lots of cute artsy Vermonty families came with their little kids to see the sheep and llamas. My soap saved me, as it so often does. Soap sales were steady all weekend. I made booth fee, gas and food cost, and came home with enough to buy some cat and dog food and give AJ a little to fill up his tank to go back to NJ. I remember when this festival was held in October and the leaf peepers would come with their pockets full of cash and spend, spend, spend. For the life of me I don't understand why the festival people changed the date. I have to admit I didn't hear any complaining from my neighbors. I truly think these Vermont people don't care about money. They were there to rub elbows with other fiber people and have a weekend away from the farm. Maybe they don't have as many mouths to feed as I do! Oh, Well, AJ and I had a lovely time together. How many mothers get to spend a whole weekend with their 27 year old single sons? We went down to the docks in Burlington, drank frozen daiquiris and ate dinner while watching the sunset. Music was playing and people were laughing and the worries of the farm were a million miles away. When the light show was over we climbed the hill into the center of town and walked around Church Street. It was one big party, with UVM students all around, street performers, and people sitting in outdoor cafes. I wanted to hang out all night but we could hardly put one foot in front of the other, having three hours of sleep the night before. I crawled into my little bed in the truck and had the best night sleep I'd had in weeks. AJ slept great under the stars. He was supposed to be participating in a National Guard drill at Fort Irwin in the high desert of California, but my dutiful son came to the aid of his mother. At the previous drill, his Army unit arrived in the desert, got everything set up and secure then bedded down for the night. After 45 minutes of sleep the CO woke them up and they all went on a forced march the rest of the night...I suspect that was one reason AJ was happy to fly east to help his mother! I got the White Boys up to the pond tonight, bunnies and kitties are fed, kitty boxes are clean and I am about to cut up soap. I am off to the Fingerlakes Fiber Festival this weekend in Hemlock, New York, only three hours away instead of six, thankfully. Matt will be taking my products to the Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival in NJ at the same time. Nurse Mia is coming to run the farm and get a little R and R before she starts her RN job at the hospital where she was born. I have so much to do in the next three days it scares me to think about it...so just work, don't think!