Back from Philly

It was such a nice trip to Philadelphia. Especially spending 4 days with my son and his girlfriend. (She is a first year ObGyn resident in Philly too...different hospital from my son) Flying was quite the experience both going and returning home. On thursday morning we arrived at the airport to discover the flight had changed from leaving at 8:40am to 11:00am. So I sat and knitted while my husband read (Thirteen Moon by Charles Frazier). I started the felted boxes found in the Mason Dixon book. I completed the medium size box while waiting to board the plane but then realized I didn't have anyway to cut the yarn. (I didn't bring scissors because I was not expecting to have time to do that much knitting prior to boarding and I knew I might not able to bring them on the plane.) Then on Sunday, we had a layover in Cincinnati which lasted longer than it was suppose to. We loaded the plane, sat for a half hour before leaving the concourse, lined up for take off, got out of line prior to take off due to mechanical problems. After another hour and half, the plane took us back to the concourse. We had to go to a different gate and wait again while the airlines located a different plane for us. Long story short....6 hours later we finally headed home. It was very late by the time I laid my head on my pillow in my bed Sunday evening.

I enjoyed seeing and experiencing somewhat what life is like for S (my son) and E (son's girlfriend).
Walking is one of the main means of transportation. (E and S are leading us down an alley of homes that once were occupied by Irish.) Parking seems to be an issue for those with cars. We walked everywhere. It was amazing how every few blocks the neighborhoods would change - Italian, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor - such diversity.

Someone (I can't remember her name) I met on a fabric swap from the Philadelphia area mentioned to me that I should visit fabric row while visiting S. It was great. It consisted of about 3 blocks both sides of the street of nothing but fabric and trim stores. I bought some really neat buttons that resemble stones and a couple of yards of fabric. I wish I could have spent more time going through each store but there is only so much one can squeeze into 4 days.

When I returned home, I had a pink and brown swap package waiting for me. Deb did a fantastic job with the gifts...paper, pen, notepad, cloth, notecards, magnets, ribbons, stickers...all pink and brown. and each individually wrapped. Thanks, Deb....it was well worth the wait.

Right before I left for my trip, I mailed my International Tote Exchange to my partner, Jackie in England. Boy, was I surprised that she received it in less than a week. I'm not experienced with mailing to other countries...had no clue how long it would take. Here is a picture of the felted bag I send Jackie.