G'day!

Did I mention in our last post that a friend came home with us for a few days? This is his first trip to America, and I'm not sure hanging out in small town NC watching Discovery channel is exactly a good "look" at America, but there ya go.

The cold is improving - let's face it, when you spend 2 weeks camping in primitive conditions, your immune system is overwhelmed. Right now I'm working on accepting that my house is gonna be wrecked for the next couple of weeks until I get better and get past cooking this feast next Saturday.

I will post a few pics once I get the disk loaded onto the computer.

I had things nicely wrapped up prior to my departure, so I can ease back into things slowly this week, which worked out well. It's hard to get back into the swing of things, but 2 weeks of vacation really recharges the old batteries.

I've caught up on blogs, although I gave on reading old posts. I finished the Harry Potter book while I was gone. I really enjoyed it.

As any of you longtime readers know, we used to camp with a certain group when we went to Pennsic, and began camping with a new group last year. This was my second year in camp. Not all the folks were the same, but several were. After 2 years, I feel like these folks are much better friends than the ones we camped with before were. I made friends who I truly know are good friends. No matter how far away they may be, they are friends. That's the greatest thing IMO about the internet and email - the power to bring people together. Nothing replaces personal interaction, but it allows me to stay close to folks that live far away.

So, getting to know folks is my #1 good thing. My number 2 would be learning new skills. Of the 900+ classes offered, I made it to 4! I learned some embroidery, and got some great ideas for how to use it. I learned viking wire weaving, and how to make a viking apron dress. I learned more about various styles of medieval clothing than I thought my brain could hold. (I love the costuming part of this hobby!)

I worked, I played, I sweltered in the heat, joined a good friend's household, and got on staff for next year.

Okay, back to work!