Home again - with a full "memory card"

What a trip! We filled six long days with flying, driving, family, fun, friends, knitting, and a fascinating assortment of flora and fauna. Brian met and made instant friends with six second cousins, and we adults enjoyed our time together, too. We haven't visited this part of Rick's family in 24 years, and it really was good to catch up and connect. The boys played a lot of "war games." (What IS it about boys and battles?) I took a lot of "posed" photos, but the candid one below captured the boy's fun best. :-)

I also got to connect with two Shetland breeders and blogland friends - modern-day pen pals, if you will. Tammy Powell (middle) and Allena Jackson (right, with baby Julianna) drove into Springfield, MO to meet me at Panera Bread, where we crammed in as much talking and laughing like old friends as we could before everyone had to go their separate ways again. We all brought little gifts for each other (great minds think alike, I guess); my dried cherries looked pretty ugly compared to the adorable likeness of Rechel that Tammy felted for me (perfectly capturing Rechel's "Call of the Wild" stance; see her here at her new home) and a beautiful, uber-soft angora/Merino batt from Allena, but hopefully they will make up for their looks in taste.Speaking of taste, Allena brought some homemade goat cheese spread with nuts, pineapple and coconut that we enjoyed on toasted bagels while visiting - YUM! This little get-together was a much-anticipated highlight of my trip; I only wish it could have lasted longer!

I'll be sharing more highlights from our trip in upcoming posts, but that's it for now from . . .