Antietam

The bloodiest single day in American military history took place near Sharpsburg, MD and Antietam Creek on September 17, 1862.  For both sides, 22,717 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured, or declared missing.  The battle was considered tactically inconclusive but was declared a Union victory as Confederate troops withdrew first from the battlefield.  President Lincoln gave his Emancipation Proclamation following the Union "win."

It has been years since I studied US history, so our trips to historical sites have been (and will continue to be) fascinating and educational. Yesterday we drive about an hour through back roads of PA and MD to see the site of the battle of Antietam.  It was a gorgeous, warm day with blue skies and puffy white clouds.  We walked around and read informational signs describing the events of so long ago.  I could almost hear the musket fire and cannons roar,  the shouts of the soldiers and the screams of the wounded.  We pondered the effects of this battle on local farmers who had spent all summer storing up bounty for the winter, only to lose it to the armies who passed through and took it from them.

Here is Dunkers Church, where the armies battled it out.

We had brought Auggie with us, not wanting to leave him home alone for hours.  At the Visitors Center I popped him in a large tote bag and he sat there under my arm, with just his little head sticking out.  Not wanting to be stopped and possibly incur a fine, I walked up to the ranger at the desk and asked if we were ok to come in like this.  He smiled and said that if I had not said anything he would have never noticed Auggie, but now that he had seen him we could not bring him in.  He was a very nice man and we had a little chat before heading back outside. But it gave me an idea, that if I were to attach some black mesh to the top of a tote bag no one would see Auggie's head and we could bring him almost anywhere. As long as they didn't search my bag, which has happened at a few museums.

I'll have to work on that.

Last night we watched the first two episodes of the old TV show Northern Exposure.  I got the complete set for Christmas last year, and have been looking forward to watching them all this time.

Yes, I Still Weave

My son in law wrote an amazing article about his son, my grandson Robby and his brain tumor.  Please check it out and leave a comment here: http://www.mtgbrodeals.com/2014/10/07/from-the-nightmare-emerged-a-dragon/

I am amazed every morning when I emerge from the motorhome to let Auggie water a tree, how sparkling the air is here.  Living in NJ for so long I became used to the pollution that we breathe daily, but out in the country the air smells so clean.  We have also been having evening showers, which energizes the air.  Even the light is different.

We are getting ready to head out tomorrow for another campground but as of this moment we have not decided where we will be. The whole world beckons!

I bought a loom about nine months ago in preparation for living on the road.  I have been through a lot of looms in the past few years, having owned and sold an eight harness 36" and a four harness 22" Harrisville Designs loom, a four harness Saori SX60, a tiny 8" 8H Structo, and a 4H 20" table loom from England who's name escapes me.  I have primarily been weaving on my tiny Piccolo 2H 15" floor loom and the rigid heddle looms. But I wanted a small floor loom that had 8 harnesses, so I decided to get a 20" Baby Macomber. I talked by phone with the representative, Sarah Haskell, sent off money, and waited impatiently.  In theory the Baby Mac was just about perfect for on the road life.  It has enough harnesses for fairly complex weaves, so hopefully I would not outgrow it.  It is small and folds up to a tight package. I had been weaving on 20" rigid heddle looms for years and knew that 20" makes a nice dish towel and can be used in making clothing.  I also knew from experience that even a 36" wide loom is really too narrow for baby blankets so piecing panels would always be necessary. Not that I would have room for a 36" wide loom!  One area of concern was the weight of the Baby Mac.  At 50 lbs it is not easy to move around, and I would not be schlepping it outside to weave en plain air like I could with the Piccolo.  I decided to load it up with a nice canvas apron for both beams and a friction brake for ease of use.

After my loom arrived, I admired its tiny form and moved it to an empty room where I passed it daily and looked at it longingly.  Because we were in the middle of moving from one house to another, then from house #2 to our motorhome there simply was no time to play with it.

Two days ago I decided it was time to give it a go.  I removed about a third of the yarn, tools, and
fiber out of the closet to get to Baby Mac and dragged him out.  I measured out a sample warp and carefully threaded the loom.  Macomber looms come with metal hooks for tie ups, and every time you want to fold the loom you have to remove every hook.  Then to weave again you have to crawl under the loom and set it all up again. So when I got Baby Mac I also purchased Texsolv and replaced all the hooks so the loom could be folded without removing anything. And boy, am I glad I did! Tieups were easy and I can just leave them in place when we move our home.

I have to say, this loom is a delight to use.  That heaviness means that Baby Mac is solid and stable. The back folds in and the harnesses can be held up to allow for easy threading of heddles. The friction brake is a joy. The tension I get on this loom is amazing.  It is fun to weave on.  Altogether, I am very pleased with this loom and I know I will have lots of fun with it.

So here is a picture of my sample.  I think I am going to do something a little different for my actual project, but I really like this pinwheel design.

Mercersburg and Gettysburg

We took a drive yesterday to the local McDonald's to upload yesterday's blog post.  However, I thought Bob had the bag full of computer and iPad and he thought I had it, so we missed our opportunity.  Instead we took a walk through the town of Mercersburg to see what we could see.  Here's the house where James Buchanan grew up.

I had noticed when we first drove through town that between the houses on the main street there were alleys, and they were all named.  This intrigued me, so when we stopped to chat with one of the two full time police officers outside the police station I asked him why the alleys had been named.  He told us that only a few years ago the town had decided to name the alleys to make it easier for police and fire departments to respond to 911 calls.  Plus, he noted, the alleys actually serve as addresses for people whose front doors are located off the alleys.  I discovered later when I looked up homes for sale in the area that many of the beautiful and historic homes in town have been converted to condominiums. Somehow, that is sad.

Our weekend was very nice.  Saturday was a relaxing and reading day for me, while Bob fixed the broken cabinet door.  He did a great job, of course!

On Sunday Bob and I took a trip out to Gettysburg, PA to walk around.  We had been been out there two years ago with our oldest grandson for a camping trip, and we enjoyed the history that abounds there.  Because we had Auggie with us this time we were limited in what we could do, so we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce and picked up a brochure describing the Civil War era houses in town.  Boy, there were a lot of them! Gettysburg has managed to keep a multitude of historic homes, and they all have a story.

Here is Bob hanging out with President Lincoln and some other guy.  Forgot to get his name.

I really love this little part of Appalachia.

Our 15th President

On Friday we settled in and then decided to go for a drive.  We came across a sign that said Buchanan State Park, so we drove in to see what was there. I really didn't know much about President Buchanan, so I was interested in learning a little about him.

Dedicated in honor of our 15th President, James Buchanan, the state park marks the site of his birthplace with a stone pyramid.

What a beautiful setting!

Since the actual cabin had been moved to the Mercersburg Academy, we drove over there as well.  It was a cute little cabin, but we were not able to go inside.

I was able to photograph the room through the window by pressing the iPad against the glass.




We later stopped at an Amish farm stand and picked up some veggies.

Settled in, in PA

I was not able to upload yesterday's blog post because wifi doesn't reach our site. Today I am walking up to the office and hopefully I can get these posts online.

We lest Kristen's house at 10:30 yesterday morning, lifting up he overhead wires with a long broom to allow the motorhome to pass under safely.  And we were off!  It was a nice travel day--no rain, some clouds but very pleasant. We were happy to leave Philadelphia behind. I don't enjoy city driving even as  passenger.

We too our time and drove at or below the speed limit the whole way, stopping for lunch at a rest stop where we witnessed a small car taking up a whole long-rig parking space.  Since the lot was pretty full, this inconsiderate boob who could have parked anywhere made it more difficult for the truckers and RVers to find a spot to take a break.  People just don't think!

Back on the road.  We followed the directions on the website to find the campground, ignoring our GPS.  We have finally learned that lesson--when it come to campgrounds, don't follow GPS! I can't tell you how many times we have been led astray by them.

Our campground is fairly small and very quiet, with a lovely view.  We tend to avoid "big box" campgrounds that offer family amenities.  Those are usually much more expensive and sometimes have loudspeakers announcing children's activities on the hour.  Since we are just the two of us, we put more value on less expensive, quiet, friendly places that have some interesting attractions within driving distance.

Bob's brother, Tom, had given us a bottle of champagne to celebrate our new adventures, and we cracked it open last night as we enjoyed our peaceful surroundings.  It was very nice!

Last Day at Kristen's House

We spent our first day without a house to care for running errands and rearranging things in the motorhome so they would fit better.  Bob and I decided not to leave until tomorrow, so we still had to mark reservations at a campground somewhere.  After some internet surfing I found one about an hour from Gettysburg, PA that was reasonably priced and was not too far away.  We booked it for a week and may extend our stay an extra week if we like it.

We had given our gas grill to Kristen and Jason during the move.  Since they had no experience grilling, we decided to have a cookout last night.  Kristen and I picked up the fixin's for burgers and salad, with pineapple and mango salsa on the side.  Bob helped Jason work the grill and together they did a fine job--it was yummy!

After dinner the boys had fun "visiting" Grandma and Pop in the motorhome.  We are going to miss those guys!

We Finally Close

We went to settlement on our house after a nail biting day. It was not even definite that the closing would happen until last minute, as the buyers' mortgage company dragged their feet at each step of the way.  Our realtors took us out for a celebratory dinner afterwards in Lambertville, NJ and we had such a great time.  Thank you, Faith and Yogi, for a wonderful evening and for the fabulous job of getting us to the closing table!

Today we are spending some time going through and discarding papers, and figuring out where we will be spending the next two weeks until our return.  The plan has been Virginia, but as RVers are wont to say, our plans are set in Jello. So we may change our minds today and go in a different direction.  It's all good.

I'm also going to be enjoying my last day in this area and doing a bit of shopping with Kristen and Emily.  So far I am loving retirement!