Arlene and Suzy on the Road

Well last week was Arlenes lovely post about Marti’s wonderful gift and the idea of watching between us while apart. I find that quite a comfort, as one of the downsides of living in a country that I havent grown up in is that now, no matter where I am, there is always someone I will be missing.  I think most people have someone they would love to be closer to, when the constraints of time and distance make that generally impossible. This is the boon of the internet, it brings us closer together, it keeps us in touch, it creates possibilities for working together that simply didn’t exist just a few decades ago.

I think of my Grandfather, who left England alone as a 17 year old and travelled months to reach New Zealand. A letter home to his mother took three months to arrive, and another three months before he would receive the reply.  The distance between him and his friends and family was immense in every way. I wonder what he would think now, if I could Skype him from Holland and chat together as though were are in the very same room, in real time. He would be more than amazed. Imagine how it could have changed his life to have been able to keep this contact with his mother all those years ago. Living on the other side of the world from someone you love, is no longer a total separation. And not only that, it opens up an entire world of potential new friends. I considered Arlene a best friend long before we ‘met’ in real life. We talk every week, in fact most days, email, Facebook, Skype.. communication is never an issue. But you know, there really is no compensation for actually being in the same place, breathing the same air, feeling the same breeze, hanging out with your best bud without technology in the middle. The simple things 🙂

Our trip to the US then was so wonderful for me, not only for the awesome workshops I was invited to teach and the fun of face to face meetings with so many ‘connections’ from my online life, but of course for the joy of finally getting to hang out with Arlene! For reals!  No more needing to work out time zones to figure out if its a good time to chat, and with it, the ease of just being in the same space, sharing the same food, talking the same talk 🙂

And oh yes, we were very busy! Our first day in the US involved what was also our first US roadtrip! We packed up and drove up to Dream Come True Farm in Oxford Connecticut for the weekend, about a five hour drive from Arlenes. (You can read about this fab time on my WoolWench blog). And on the way? Oh yes, we HAD to do a few necessary samplings..

(and at this point I would just like to say YES, the donuts rocked and the coffee was good!) The rest of this post is a bit of a photo tour of the stuff we did together, because we could 🙂

There were bridges..

Fun times in New York with Pam and Leslie (pictured here at Habu where I think we all went a bit nuts) Click on the pic to see it a bit bigger..

and of course there was Purl

Yarn store visits were interspersed with a fantastic city tour..

I LOVE New York, I have seen quite a few big European cities, and I am so NOT a city person.. but New York is special, and seeing it through the eyes of our awesome host Leslie, made it and even richer experience than we ever would have had if left to our own (somewhat overwhelmed) devices.

We also visited Baltimore, which I thoroughly enjoyed! What a cool city!

and again, further enhanced by spending the day with another online friend Christiane Knight, who is just as wonderful in person as I expected too. We attended this really neat workshop, painting with yarn! Really quirky and fun! This might be something we will include in future FiberyGoodness courses 😉

And Arlene DREW!

It was a real thrill to be travelling around the US, it was my first visit so everything was new and exciting. Hell, we even found the Promised land!

But absolutely the best part was the time spent with friends, THIS really was special.

It is with much love and gratitude to Arlene (and of course Damon the amazing, with his chipmunk stories and quiet way of just getting stuff done) that I reflect on our journey, and I very much hope I can return soon 🙂