Thanksgiving Holiday

A two-day break for me meant a quick trip back in time to Colonial Williamsburg.  Nearly everything was open when we went, but the highlights for me were the silversmith, weavers, and bookbinders.  Actually, the  shoemaker was pretty awesome, too.

I took lots of pictures, but they are not nearly as nice as the professionals, so here some official shots from Williamsburg:

Road trip, anyone?

For the first summer in quite a few years, I will not be vending at the Columbia Festival of the Arts LakeFest weekend.  I will miss the event, but it does open up the possibilities of a late spring getaway.  A young man's heard may turn to fancy, mine turns to travel.

The truth is, I won't get far from home, but while I am daydreaming . . . .



I could hop a short flight across the pond and hit up Charlie Byrne's in Galway, Ireland.  I find driving in Galway more than a little nerve-wracking, so I might get in spitting distance of the bookshop and then wend my way into the nearest pub to steady my nerves.  Having a pint or two before going to a bookshop is not the best way to stay within airline weight restrictions for my luggage coming home, so perhaps that's not the best idea.

I could head south, instead of east, and get my seaside book fix at Bicycle Books in Charleston, S.C.  With over 1,500 feet of shelf space and a staff cat, this is the kind of place in which I could comfortably ride out a hurricane.

Of course, if I found myself with a lot of time to kill, I could head down I-81 on the Appalachian Quilt Trail.  Beginning in southern Virginia and spreading through eastern Tennessee, the trail features over 800 historic, cultural and retail sites.  It doesn't require a passport, but I have a feeling between the local books and fabrics, this might cost as much as an international flight!

Sailabration

The tall ships came to town a month ago and I completely forgot to post the photos! So here goes:

Trim coast guard vessel from Japan - we didn't get to board this one, so I didn't get to ask which side of Japan was their home port or how many thousands of gallons of diesel it took to get to Baltimore.

Dewarucci from India - could you imagine being in the Naval Academy and your first duty was sailing a classic masted vessel around the world?

Bom dia!  Cisne Brava - the best music in port came off the Brazilian ship.  Go figure.

And on the way out we saw a couple having bridal pictures taken in a parking garage.  Of all the legitimate beauty spots in Baltimore where you could have your wedding photos taken, why a garage?  I like to imagine there was some sweetly romantic story behind it - like she came back from yet another awful internet dating site date to find a flat battery and he, local monthly passholder and garage hero, gave her a jumpstart.

And this . . . It wasn't that hot this day and I wondered why the chlorine didn't burn the duck's feet . . .

A week at the seaside

I've been on the road a lot lately. My husband's grandfather passed away at 96 (which is a damned good run these days) aand we drove up to Pittspurgh for his funeral service. Our old man was Catholic and, true to every stereotype, the Diocese sent us a hung over Polish priest for his service. The humorous irony made the event a little more bearable. The next day it was off to Bucks County, PA for my niece's birthday and then off to the New Jersey coastline for a week of R&R.

My week looked something like this: A great blur of seaside humanity. The place we go to is a dry town, so it's loaded with families with kids (many of the stroller set) and very few drunken co-eds. I quite enjoyed the breather before buckling down to the last-minute holiday prep season.

chez tarabu: baby babies!

You know, when human adolescents have babies it is not exciting. When four-month-old hens make itty bitty eggs, it's pretty cool!

On the left is one of our standard round-ish eggs. In the middle is a store egg we borrowed from a neighbour and on the right is an itty bitty hen's egg!

Also, we hit artscape this weekend - I got Boy a new piece of pottery from PinkKiss (I was all cool and did not gush and reveal the total craftcrush I have for her work), I special ordered a shirt or dress or something, I'm not even sure what for my niece from Sweet Pepita - all I know is it's going to be green and pink and speak to the glory of Irish Rules Rugby(!), and I hit up Allison for some hair ties. Because, well, you know.

And on Sunday we drove out to Luray Caverns. It's going to take me a month to sort all the photos, but here's one just to whet your appetite:

Oh yea, and we totally went to DinosaurLand!