Realized that I never posted officially about the house sale. Closing did finally happen this past Tuesday. Check is in the bank and should clear Monday or Tuesday of this coming week. Then come the decisions on what to pay down and what to pay off. Still have one more trip to make down to Holyoke to pick up what's left at our neighbor's place. Wood and sheetrock mostly.

Things about Ashfield...
- When it's dark, it's _really_ dark... Somewhere we have a package of glow-in-the-dark animal track stickers. When I find them, I'm going to stick them on boards that we can put in the windows during the day to charge them and hang them up the hallway at night. Might not light up the hall much, but at least we'll be able to see where the walls are. Figure one will go on the bathroom door, and one on the office. Although most of the time finding the bathroom door isn't a problem, even in the middle of the night. The black cat who refuses to move out of the bedroom doorway however, is....
- There are no ding-dong carts up here, with or without stupid music. Yay!!! fitzw is very happy about this.
- Sunrise here is very different here. With the open field and hillsides, the sun casts long, uninterrupted bands of light and shadow.

Rhinebeck...
We almost didn't go, as we were debating the use of fossil fuel, and also the weather. But the weather improved and in fact was nearly perfect, if a trifle windy. Didn't find two of the vendors I was hoping to find. Did finally decide to get a tahkli and a spinning bowl for it. Also some Icelandic yarn for a future weaving project, and some weaving yarn from Maine that was marked down (end lot probably). Oh, and L got a new cane/walking stick that works better for him.

Best part was the people. We saw some old-time engines and machinery -- this guy was making shingles from a log on one, then sanding the long sides. Another guy had a water pump powered by a Stirling engine. That was definitely a beauty to watch, and much quieter than the other engines. We also got to see human and animal-powered tools and machinery, talk to a carpenter who was making spindles, and a couple of letterpress printers.

Plus, we ran into a couple of SCA folks we know, one of whom does timberframing and carpentry. I'd just been saying to fitzw that maybe we could have him make us a shave horse, because even though fitzw has plans for one and could make it, he has limited spare time. So when we ran into our friends, I asked about maybe having him make one, and it turns out he was getting ready to make another one for himself, and he said making two at the same time would be no problem. And since he's low on maple syrup and cream, we'll be sending some to him via friends who are going to an event they're going to in a couple of weeks, as partial payment on the shave horse. We also talked about building, beekeeping, mixed pastures, and Shetland and Icelandic sheep. They're looking at getting into raising sheep in a little while. I saw some Shetlands too -- they're not as big as many modern sheep. And apparently both they and the Icelandics are triple purpose - fiber, dairy, and meat.

We got to watch some of the dog trials, so I've finally had my fix on those for a bit.

fitzw got to chat with the guy from Merlin Tree again, learn a few more things about the great wheel, and we got to see a couple of pendulum great wheels, one of them antique, and one newly made and being used in a demo.

Wow, what a crazy place! D. Moiselle says Sundays are usually more mellow, but of course too much is happening tomorrow, hence our choice of today. Lines everywhere. We have some plans for next year, to cut down on the waiting in lines:

1. Bring more cash. A LOT more cash...(only one very slow ATM)
2. Bring a small camp stool with carry strap, so we don't have to look for somewhere to sit at lunch time, and can sit in line, etc.
3. Bring our own food and drinks.

Fleece sale was pretty intense, even though we missed the first hour of it (ATM line). We tried a sample of this super cheese, but I forgot to go back and buy some of it. Next year, I guess.

D. Moiselle got something for someone else (not sure if it's a surprise), some silk/cashmere, and a small fleece from the fleece sale (I forget the breed, but it's very pretty and silvery shiny). fitzw chatted with weavers, spinners, got advice on fine-tuning the walking wheel, and bought a nostpinne and a pound of this cool stripey roving. Boy, my memory isn't too good... I bought some of the same type of roving, but in different colors... I think it's a wool/silk mix (70/30), but I don't remember the type of sheep. Might be on the receipt...nope, not that I can tell.

I also got some soft silvery stuff to spin, Bombyx/Yak top (55/45). Yup, Yak! And a white Romney fleece, a charcoal Romney fleece, some white Icelandic roving, some brown Shetland batt (moorit, I guess, but not very reddish, mostly brown), and some crazy Shetland batt/roving dyed bright blue and green. And some garlic hummus (they had a specialty food area, with brownies, cheese, wine and other stuff).

We didn't get to the show until shortly before 11am, and then lost some time to the lines, so we didn't see everything by any means. But we did see quite a bit, enough that fitzw is happy to go back next year. And of course D. Moiselle and I would be happy to go again as well :)

There are spindles, nostpinnes and other small tools, wheels, looms, fleeces, rovings, yarns, finished goods, dyestuffs, ceramics, books, novelties, entertainment, demos, workshops, food, and of course, the livestock (sheep and alpaca), and the dog trials. I would have liked to see a bit of the dog trials, but ran out of time for that too.

Ride home was pretty good, no hold-ups at any of the construction spots on I-91. Gorgeous weather all day!