The extended version. Link crazy.

So this weekend was my long awaited child-free trip- a day at MA Sheep and Wool, and a night in Pioneer Valley.

Jenn and I hit the road at 9:30- I had expected some major traffic, but despite it being Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend, there was none. I had an idea that the festival was kind of in the middle of nowhere, but I was a little surprised at how back-woodsy Mass it was. On our way, we got slightly lost and drove by some extremely scary unidentified roadkill, and arrived (despite the festival's lack of signs) at a decent hour.

The festival was not quite what I had expected. I've been to RI and NY Sheep and Wools, and they are both great in their own ways. Massachusetts Sheep and Wool was a little disappointing- despite the fact that there were a ton of vendors, there didn't seem to be many *great* vendors. It was a little to 4-Hy for my taste. Jenn picked up a new drop-spindle, and after an extreme amount of deliberation, I bought some very yellow yarn from A Touch of Twist.

Since there were no drop-in knitting groups or any workshops worth going to, we went off in search of good coffee and a less buggy place to knit. We ended up sitting outside at Woodstar Cafe, with our projects and some very good scenery. I can't remember the last time I sat at an outdoor cafe with no one to chase after and no messes to clean. It was glorious.

When I went to book a hotel, I had a hard time finding a hotel room near Northampton. The combination of UMass commencement and Memorial Day meant that every room within 20 miles of Northampton was booked. We ended up at the Holiday Inn in Westfield Whip City. Whatever. It had a pool and a free continental breakfast.

I find that when I am having a kid-free day, I don't want to see ANY kids. The only kids I think are marginally cute on my kid-free days are very quiet babies. Unfortunately, there were children in the hotel pool. They didn't stop me from enjoying my responsibility-free swim, but I didn't stop wishing they would leave.

After a lovely dinner, it was back to the hotel to laugh at the very ridiculous porn synopses and drink beer in bed. Either the beer or the porn plots gave me a wicked case of insomnia. I ended up sleeping for about 2 hours, and I woke up when the baby in the room upstairs from us fell out of bed. There is a very unmistakable THUNK when a baby falls out of bed, even when it's a floor above. At that point, I really wished there was a kid-free section of the hotel. Then, tuberculosis-ridden man next door completely sealed the deal on No Sleep. meh.

Luckily, working full-time nights for two years and not having a decent night's sleep since 2004 has made me somewhat resilient to getting a total of 2.5 hours. I managed to score some alone time in the pool, where I spent a good ten minutes making a whirlpool before I realized that the front desk lady was probably watching me (on camera) plow circles through the water like a Gigantic Douchebag.

I took a shower with my favorite boyfriend, something I would never ever ever do with the little ones around. We packed up and headed over to Whip City Candles, which was unfortunately closed. I'm glad to have to found another partner in Being Twelve Year Old Boys- we also drive-by photographed S&M Marble and Granite, Whip City Brew Bar & Grill, the Easthampton Bear Fest, and Tasty Top. :)

It was a very lovely and mostly relaxing time away. I had excellent company, and managed to do everything on my list.

drop spindles


colory


odd spinning machine


I had signed up to work a little Sunday-evening shiftlet, so there were all of three hours between my return home and my trip back out. I got my annual review out of the way (they'll keep me for another year!) and got my assignment for the night.

I was the outpatient/labor nurse, which basically means no sitting and knitting- fine since I had forgotten my knitting at home. I had a wonderfully sweet couple whose doula looked kind of familiar. Apparently she knew who I was (not a lot of homebirthing L&D nurses out there?) and had already told her client I was "awesome". Hello, ego boost. I pretty much only had time to do the admitting and then it was time to go. I love shiftlets, because even if you walk into a shitstorm, it only lasts for 4 hours. I can pretty much do anything for 4 hours.

Now I'm listening to a very enthusiastic bird couple sing their INCREDIBLYfuckingLOUD lovesong in the bushes outside. I have searched and searched for my Bird Call thingie, but since it's missing, there'll be no fake Red Tails to scare the horny birds away. I hope they get it on soon and shut up so I can finally get some sleep.