MDSW 2026 Pt 1: The Event

 

I made it and have lived to tell about it but it wasn't easy. First let me say that we had a very scary moment when we rolled up to the place AND THERE WAS NO TRAFFIC. Did I have the wrong weekend? Every year, for over 30 years, we've sat and sat waiting our turn to get into the parking lot from the main highway. The event website even says to expect an hour wait. Yesterday we didn't see another car on the road but....the lot was full. We got there at about 11 which apparently is the sweet spot for traffic but not for admission. Now that you have to pay ($15 per person!) the line to do so is around the block. We stood there for a good 25-30 minutes slowly inching our way up to the cashier booth. 

If you want to know what the crowd looks like, here it is. Remember that the barns, exhibit halls and tent booths are also filled to the brim as is the corral where they hold the sheep dog show. It's a lot of people in one place. 

After fighting our way through that crowd we always head to the sheep first. This year's featured breed is the Scottish Blackface. This handsome fella was camera shy but...

...the babies weren't. You could have picked up this little one and put him in your pocket. He enjoyed a good rub down from The Mister.  His little baas were adorable. So sweet. 

The fleece sale was uninspiring. I had almost talked myself into buying one but there wasn't anything that tempted me. I'm happy to say at least the prices have gone back to being reasonable. 

The sheep dog show was entertaining. That dog is newly trained and wasn't listening to the shepherds at all. It made for some comical moments for the crowd not so much for the poor sheep. 

It was an unusually cool day which would have been perfect for showing off your fancy knits but there wasn't much to see. I suppose most folks have packed their fancy stuff away for the year anticipating another blistering hot festival. I know I did. I had to go digging to pull out last year's Miss Bab's MDSW colorway socks just so I would be wearing something that was in the spirit of the day. 

We stopped for lunch before I did any serious shopping which I will post about tomorrow. Here's a candid shot of me The Mister took while I'm using my new doohickey. It was a life saver. I was really struggling with all the walking and it was good to have a place to rest for a bit. Yes, I know I look like a homeless person. It's been three weeks of complete misery with my aching back and stiff neck. Bathing, getting dressed, washing my hair...all that takes a great deal of painful effort and I'm worn out before I even get started since I can't even get a good night's sleep. Next year I'll fancy myself up. At least that's what I told myself. This year was all about survival.

Tomorrow: Part 2 The Stuff

Meet Me At the Fair

 

I'm probably still sitting in traffic as you read this. 

In case you are wondering how I am planning to hobble around in my pitiful state over the vast acreage of the fairgrounds. This is how. I bought myself one of these doohickeys so if needed I can sit. It wasn't cheap. I could have bought two seated walkers for the price of one of these but pushing one over the rough, hilly terrain that is the Howard County Fairgrounds would not be fun. I pushed Dad in his wheelchair through it one year and it was hard work. 

Duck, Duck, Goose

 

On a walk down by the marina yesterday we ran into a family of Canadian Geese. A big family. We could count twelve babies all huddled with mom and dad except.....this cute little guy who wanted to come home with us. No fear at all. Mom and dad didn't look too happy about it but never made a move so we skedaddled away before things could get ugly.

The New Normal

 

I'm not completely over whatever is ailing my back but I have been able to get back to somewhat of a normal routine with modifications. I found that if I sit on my big ball I could thread those heddles that have been waiting for me for ages. They are all done now so I'm getting close to being able to weave again. 

I had The Mister bring up my big rolling office chair from my downstairs craft room so I could sit comfortably enough to work on the Patchwork quilt again. I finished one more block this week. 

I really, really wanted to get this off of the Ladybug before this weekend's fiber fest so I drug the wheel over to the couch and with help from a pile of pillows I could spin for a while. I've still got a bit more to go but I should be plying soon. 

The weather hasn't been helping things along either. It's been cold and rainy here for the past few days which is not making my old bones happy but my plants are loving it. The blooms on my mystery rhododendron are spectacular this year. It's a mystery plant because the original died years ago. We put a platform over where it was for our dearly departed Mommy cat's hut and she lived there very comfortably for eleven years. When she went over the bridge last year we removed the platform and the hut and immediately this sprung up in that bare patch. It's huge now. Taller than me. I took it as a sign of something but I'm not sure what. 

Even crazier, someone tell me how the Black-eyed Susan got out of the big pot on the front porch and made its way yards away into the front bed seemingly growing out of the rocks that line the sidewalk. I'll never figure out what's going on out there. Every spring brings more puzzles to solve. 

Wednesday WIPs: Turning Corners

 

The heels are all turned on the socks. Someone commented that the blue ones look like sharks last week. It's actually a colorway called Ransverk named for a Norwegian mountain village. I like it because it's a "manly" colorway without being boring. The pink one is the Lantern Night colorway. Both are from Arne and Carlos' Socks and More collection. 

Ta da....one more row finished in section one of the Hue Shift. I've got one more row to do and then this section will be done. If I could just stop having to rip out the blocks that don't line up right, I could be done with this whole afghan in a flash. Those solid blocks throw me every time. 

TNT: In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

 

There was stitching this week. The Mister played golf on Sunday and I put my stitching in my lap and the first two episodes of Star Wars on the TV. Everyone hates on the prequels and I wanted to see why. I saw Episode One in the theaters when it came out but hadn't seen the other three. While I was watching I finished the last of the big trees on the Garden sampler. 

I also finished the first of the side panels on Patchwork Automne. 

As for the movies, I didn't hate them but I thought they were too slick and glossy. I miss the cheesy low tech of the three originals. It was fun seeing the origin stories of some of the characters so ingrained in my psyche that I can still name them all. My boys had all the Star Wars toys back in the day.  I admit to getting goosebumps when that first screen crawl came up with John Williams' pounding intro theme. Believe it or not it was about unfair tariffs and trade blockades being forced on the galaxy by the bad guys which set off a war with the rebels. I kid you not. 

Baking with Betty

 

Betty was hard at work this weekend. She made two loaves of bread and a giant heap of waffles. 

A couple of piles of my favorite burnt crackers. I love these things.

English muffins-which were a shocking success. I couldn't believe that those flat little discs of dough would puff up like that in the skillet. Even better, they have all the nooks and crannies that you would expect in an English muffin. 

I pushed Betty's luck with some not so great bagels though. I really need to up my bagel game so some homework is in the future.  Right now Betty and I need a rest so she's taking a break in the fridge for a few days now that the freezer is full again. We'll try those bagels again next week.