On the Road to Gettin' Schooled

 Hello All,

As many of you have heard I accepted a six month apprenticeship at Vavstuga, a Swedish style weaving school in Massachusetts. To my knowledge, it is the only school of it's kind in the United States and is modeled after the traditional weaving schools still found in Sweden. Last November, I took a one week class and was so impressed by the teaching methods and the facility I knew I had to do whatever I could to take advantage of the opportunity for in-depth training by Vavstuga's instuctor/owner Becky Ashenden. So, I begged my husband, bribed the store manager and several employees, and began to pack my bags. For the next six months, please tune in now and then and keep me company on this adventure.

July 30th Gary and I headed off on a road trip to see some of the wonderful places that exist between Hot Springs, SD and Shelburne Falls, Mass. As you can tell, items in the car were strategically placed to allow for maximum visibility. Yes, I probably took much more than needed, but I don't want any down time. This is a serious learning adventure!

We began with a quick stay at my brother's new place in Brookings, SD. It's a wonderful home with room for boarding and training horses. Lot's of opportunity for a new career.

Eastward Hoe - Hundreds of idyllic farms were spread across Minnesota and Wisconsin. They were so close to each other and so productive! I guess this is what a little water and black soil bring to the party.





Madison, the capital of Wisconsin, provided much intrigue and inspired talk of a return visit. One night and a short morning walk just seemed unfair in this lovely college town nestled between two large lakes.

But we had to be on our way, Summerfest #45 was waiting for us in Milwaukee and we didn't want to miss one minute of music or brew.

It was about this point of the trip I finished Gary's annual travel socks, so named because I mainly work on them in the car while we travel. This way, I am assured of getting one new pair a year to my favorite driver.

                                            To be continued........

I hope you are having a wonderful July, wherever you are.