Baaacchanal

I'm looking through my Rhinebeck pictures and realizing... I didn't take that many. How could that have happened? I was having way too much fun, that's how. If I'd ever before experienced such an unbelievable combination of sights and sounds and sensual experiences — get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking merino and alpaca and qiviut and cashmere in a melee of color, and chocolate and ice cream and artichokes — of shopping and talking and eating and drinking and spinning and hanging out and knitting, of incredible people I'd met before and only "met" before, I don't know when. It was a much-needed time out of reality, as Cate and Laurie said so well. It was rich, my friends.

I met the lovely Ann, creator of 40 Days for Others and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Stash. Hanging and shopping with her and her friend Janet highlighted the weekend, but I didn't get any pictures. (Hey, Ann, how about those Cardinals? Congrats on your Blogger Bingo win!)

I went to the terrific party hosted by Carole and Laurie, where I saw Kathy and Cheryl and a holy host of others.

I met Sandy and Lee Ann and the ever-equable Spiff and Norma and Margene and Rosalie, and the incomparable Maryse with J. and his catalog of power tools in tow. (You want pictures? Go look at all these blogs, but especially Maryse's. She saw what no one else did.) I got to see the amazing and well-traveled Beth's finished-in-the-nick-of-time Rhinebeck sweater. And of course Moths were fluttering everywhere.

Aided by the always gracious Stitchy, who also signed her book for me, I played Blogger Bingo, but unlike my stalwart traveling companion I did not get bingo. (I console myself with the thought that 17 squares filled in with no bingo may be some kind of record.)

Throughout all of this I was accompanied by Ruth, not only stalwart but good-humored in all circumstances, as well as Miss B and Her Ladyship, who were fascinated by the lemurs, the llamas, and the cotton candy. And I was enabled by Grant, who stayed home with Taz and didn't ask how much money I spent.

At the end of it all, my party muscles were sore and my funds were depleted. Want to see what I bought? Come back later. For now I leave you with sunset as seen from the long line of cars attempting to leave the parking lot last Saturday.