Blame facebook!

I have been very busy offline and when I am on the puter, I'm not posting here...

These last couple weeks have found me (and by proximity, my family too!) getting ready for another SCA event. It's the first one in a couple months -- the winter weather hermitage is nearly over! Dan and I get to drive to Manchester, NH for the largest event in the East Kingdom. It is called a Market Day at Birka - named after the historical Viking trading town named Birka. It has nearly everything anyone could want in an indoor event: friends, fighting, friends, fencing, friends, shopping, friends, classes, and usually one gets to meet a friend or two whilst relaxing in the pool and hot tub when all is over ;) I can honestly tell you that if you told me a few years ago that my favorite vacation spots are Pensylvania and New Hampshire, I would have told you you were crazy! :)
Anyway, I have made nearly 50 pounds of soap (lavender&oatmeal, goat milk&honey, chocolate&cocoa butter, tea tree oil&oatmeal) and have been organizing and creating more wire jewelry (orders anyone? lol). It will prove to be a very interesting venture. I do not plan to sit at a table and sell stuff at any other events this year, but am hoping to sell online or thru orders from folks. We'll see how it goes - knowing that the actual cost of starting up stuff (business cards, copies, display, boxes, wrappings, etc) have not cost me too much and hopefully I'll at least make that and the hotel room cost back, and chalk it up as a learning experience. But we'll see!!

There was more snow since I last posted on the 19th. Lots more. The view from here thru the window is soo pretty. The snow banks are high enough (never will there be enough!) to now be able to see the dirty banks along the street. There are foot prints *everywhere* across the front 'lawn' as well as a tunnel carved out of one of the banks along the driveway. I notice that not too many other yards have any marks in them - the snow is smooth and unbroken. Probably since it is SOOO deep? When Dan takes the pupalups along for their walk, Samsam will walk behind him along the trail now and Frodo flat out refuses to go into the woods at all! That is very unlike their avid interest in long and off-leash walks in the woods. I know the old pups (ages 12 & 13) have an excuse to avoid the deep snow, but they don't hesitate to be outside! Especially Sammy. He is true snowloving winter dog who will never think it's too cold outside - he lies down on any snow pile that's in the shade, he will swim or lie down in frigid water no matter the time of year... It's no wonder that he and I get along so well ;D

But there are less days left of winter than we already have been thru. So, to all you moaners and groaners - you know who you are :) just deal with it, it'll be over 90 degrees (ugh) sooner than you think!

Taling about snow and hot weather has me thinking about the title of this post, as in North Carolina there was recently FOUR inches!! How do I know or even care, you might ask?
Well... I recently reconnected with a wonderful friend from high school via facebook - that medium is way way WAY too easy to get SUCKED RIGHT IN so deep that an hour has gone by in the blink of an eye. That, and we still have one laptop for five humans, so it is hard to stop listening to the queries "How much longer, mommy?" or "when can I get on, mommy?" and even harder to try to concentrate and stay focused.

But facebook is so easy to use, with its photos and instant messaging. It's even amazingly easier to find people that had been searched for for years and years without luck, making one give into the thought that you would just have to live your life without talking to them ever again... But when I joined to message with a southern Vermont SCA group, I have been able to find (YAY!!) my friends Michelle, Irene, and many others from the good ole days (and I really don't remember them days being too bad either :) I also refound another friend who moved to Florida about thirteen years ago who is still there, alive and well! I am waiting to hear directly from him, but for the meantime I am happy to convo with his brother :)

It is amazing how different the internet is today even compared to a few years ago!