Aunt Het Festival 2025

It started out with the quilt show on Friday morning, held at the senior center. Seniors got in free if they showed their badge for the center. I met my friends Linda and Debbie there at 9, and it was fun talking about the quilts with them. We got to vote on our favorite, and the one with the most votes got the “Seniors' Choice” Award.

On Saturday, Debbie came over about 9, and we all walked to the festival downtown (2 blocks from our house). It was fun seeing the craft and food vendors. Plus, we talked with people we knew and hadn’t seen in a while. It is a great community festival and is in its 42nd year! We really enjoy the decorated pumpkin silent auction. Each pumpkin is decorated by school classes that are raising money for their PTA. Many of them were very creative! On the way home, we walked to the Mill to see the food court, and Debbie bought a coffee from Knowledge Brew. Then she bought lunch at Bucky’s BBQ to take home. It was still too early for us to eat, so we passed on the BBQ.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Visit with Friends

I met Marlicia and Tahlia many years ago when we stood in line for Miss Babs Yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I found out that they had a podcast called Pen, Hook, and Needles, and I started watching it. Since then, I joined their Patreon group and we meet on Zoom once a month. For years, I had hoped to get up to Front Royal to meet them in person again, and it finally happened.

On Sunday, we got to their house around 9:15 and had tea and cookies with them. Marlicia made these great three-ingredient peanut butter cookies! They gave me this huge Santa bag full of goodies, too. The,n when Marlicia learned that Saturday was my birthday, she gave me this beautiful skein of yarn. Plus, she gave me a box of wire blocking wires. I really appreciated their wonderful generosity!

After about an hour, we had to leave and head for home. I’m so glad we finally were able to visit them.

Original photos by Pat Hensley  

Trip to Washington, DC

9/21/25

We left the Big Lynn Lodge in Little Switzerland at 6:30 am. We drove 7 hours to the Hyatt Regency Dulles in McNair, VA. We had a very nice room for the week. After settling in, we walked to the Innovation Center Metro Station (about a 10-minute walk from the hotel). When we got there, we looked at the map and fare kiosk to get information, and a nice metro kiosk worker came over to ask us if we needed any help. He was very nice and gave us lots of great information about getting the Senior SmarTrip card. Then we returned to the hotel and watched movies, and rested.

9/22/25

We got up early and used the SmarTrip app on our phones, which showed we had money on a card we used previously. So, we tried to use that money to take us to the Herndon station so we could get a senior SmarTrip card to pay half-price fares, but the man said it had to be added to our Apple Wallet. So, we tried that, but my phone kept saying we had no internet. Finally, the nice man called the Herndon Station and told them that we were on our way, and he let us through the gate. When we got to Herndon, the man was waiting for us and let us out of the station, and told us where to go to get the senior SmarTrip card. Once we filled out the application,we got our cards and returned to the station to add money to the cards.

Then we headed to Ballston to see if our favorite bagel shop was there, but it wasn’t, so we ended up going to Union Station and found Bulldog Bagels there. After we had breakfast, we went to the Postal Museum. We got some free postcards there. At lunchtime, we had lunch in Chinatown. Our favorite Chinese restaurant is no longer there (it has been 16 years, so…). After lunch, we spent the afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery. For dinner, we went back to Ballston and ate at the Potbelly Deli. We returned to our hotel around 7 pm, and we were exhausted. I had walked over 20,000 steps and up 19 flights! In the evening, we watched TV and I knit.

9/23/25

Another wonderful day in DC. We had breakfast at IHOP (Ballston-MU metro station). Then we went to the National Botanical Garden, which is probably my favorite place to go. At noon, we went to the Supreme Court for our 12:30 reservation for a lecture. Then we toured the Supreme Court Building and the exhibits. We had lunch at the cafe there. We spent the rest of the day at the Library of Congress. Now I want to watch the movie National Treasure again! It was interesting that knitting needles were not allowed at both places. In the evening, we watched TV and I knit.

9/24/25

We left early and went to Union Station to get a bagel at the Bullfrog Bagel for breakfast. We were smart and brought our own water and soda this time. Then we walked to the Library of Congress, where we got our research library card. While we were there, I asked the lady making our card if she thought my book would be there, and she looked it up. There it was, and I could even request it if I wanted it! She said her two daughters were teachers, and she would get them a copy from Amazon! Then we walked to Lindsey Graham’s office at the Russell Building. We were there early (9:30) and the intern, Emily, said it would just be the 3 of us, and she took us on a tour of the Russell Building and the Capitol. Then we even sat in the Capitol Gallery. After that, we walked to the other end of the mall to the American History Museum. First, we had lunch (it was expensive and awful). Then we explored 2 floors of the museum before deciding we were tired and ready to return to the hotel. In the evening, we watched TV and I knit.

 

9/25/2025

Another fun day in DC! We ate breakfast at IHOP. They had a value meal of eggs, bacon, and French toast for only $6. Then we went to the National Air and Space Museum. Don was a little disappointed in it because it didn’t have as many exhibits as in the past. We couldn’t understand why they had race cars and motorcycles featured in some of the exhibits, and there were a lot of exhibits featuring Russia and Great Britain’s aircraft. Next, we went to the National Gallery of Art and we enjoyed seeing artwork from some of our favorite artists (Monet, Renoir, Rodin). Last, we went to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in their entirety. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for dinner at IHOP because they had an $8.99 special (burger, fries, and a soda), and it was delicious! In the evening, we watched TV, and I knit.

9/26/2025

We had breakfast at IHOP again and then took the metro to McPherson Square. From there, we walked to the White House and got pictures of it from the south side (closest to the Washington Monument). Then we walked to the Washington Monument and took pictures there. Next, we walked to the Museum of Natural History and had to wait for about ten minutes until it opened. We enjoyed the museum, and I liked seeing the Hope Diamond. After that, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe so I could buy a guitar bottle opener/magnet. Then we went to the American History Museum so I could see the First Ladies exhibit and the Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz. By then, we were pooped and ready to eat dinner, so we stopped at IHOP again for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Interesting story: We saw a Secret Service Uniform from when Nixon was President. Nixon saw security in Europe and wanted his security to look like that, so he paid $500 for 32 uniforms to be made. After he left office, these uniforms were sent to a warehouse in the mid-1970s, where they sat for a few years. Eventually, they were bought by the Meriden-Cleghorn High School Band in Iowa for $10 a uniform from the United States General Service Administration in 1980.

9/27/2025

We drove to IHOP for breakfast, which was an adventure. We both ordered the $6 French Toast Combo Value Meal, but when we got the bill, the waiter charged us $12.99 for a Build Your Own French Toast Combo. When I told the waiter the check was wrong, he had to get the manager, who started sticking up for the waiter. When we told him to get the menu, and I showed him what I ordered, plus I also pointed to it for the waiter to see, as well as reading the name of the special. Then the manager said Okay and fixed our bill. When we got back to the hotel, we went to the Innovation Center Metro Station to get bus 983 to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Air and Space Museum) at Dulles Airport at 10:15 ($1.10 each way). We spent about 3 hours there and really enjoyed it. It seems like a lot of stuff from the other museum had been moved here. On the way back to the metro station, the bus stopped across the street from our hotel to pick up people, and we were able to get off the bus. Then we drove to Starbucks so I could get my birthday drink. We also picked up a Subway BMT to take back to the hotel.

Things I Learned:

1. If you are old enough to get the Senior SmarTrip card, it is worth it. Fares are half price on the WMATA.
2. IHOP at the Ballston Metro had a great breakfast and dinner (weekday special).
3. The Supreme Court Building had a cafe with good food.
4. I wouldn’t eat anything at the American History Museum Cafe.
5. You need timed tickets to go up the Washington Monument and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, but they were sold out.
6. I would recommend people go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles instead of the one on the mall. It was much better!

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Knit-A-Way 2025 Day 3

The Knit-A-Way retreat was held at the Big Lynn Lodge from September 18 to 21.

Don had severe heartburn and had to leave breakfast early. I finished breakfast to check on him, and he decided to rest for a little while, so I went to knit on the patio. In about an hour, we headed to Marion and Rutherfordton to go antique shopping. In Marion, we found a flea market and baby pigs for $100, but I didn’t buy any. LOL Next, we found a farmer’s market with live music. Then we went to Rutherfordton and went to the Vintage Lace Antique Market, where Don found a treasure (a 1939 World’s Fair ashtray). Then, Don wanted to come back early so he could watch ballgames, and we weren’t hungry, so we skipped lunch. After a shower, we made our hotel reservations for DC, and then I sat on the patio and knit until dinner. Don watched ballgames until dinner. At dinner, we had pot roast, rice and gravy, carrots, and green beans, but Don had heartburn again and didn’t eat much. He went back to the room, and I knit until it was time for our 8pm meeting. At the meeting, I won a door prize of 3 skeins of beautiful yarn! We decided to skip breakfast and leave early, so I checked out at the front desk.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Knit-A-Way 2025 Day 2

The Knit-A-Way retreat was held at the Big Lynn Lodge from September 18 -21. 

The lodge served breakfast at 7:30, and it was wonderful as usual. After breakfast, we headed down the Blue Ridge Parkway. One lady told us yesterday that the parkway was closed to Mt. Mitchell, but at dinner, another lady informed us that it was open. So, we decided to go find out for ourselves. 

We made it about a mile only to find out that the parkway was closed. So, we headed north for about 8 miles, and then the parkway was closed again. We decided to head north to Moses Cone National Historic Site. We walked around there and then went to Flat Top Manor (the Cone’s summer home), and they had an open house of the 2nd floor so we were able to see the upstairs rooms. For lunch, we ate at a Mexican restaurant in Newland and then went back to the lodge. I spent the rest of the day knitting. 

After dinner, we had Show and Share. I shared my Bonfire Tee and my Go Go Dynamo shawl. They were both a hit! 

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Knit - A-Way 2025 Day 1

The Knit-A-Way retreat was held at the Big Lynn Lodge from September 18 -21.

We left home at 7:15 and arrived at Big Lynn Lodge at 9:30. I dropped off my lawn chair and said hi to everyone before heading to Burnsville. We went to Hammond Antiques, where Don found some postal stamp pins. Then we walked to the Yummiyarns yarn store (opened at 11 am). I bought a skein of West Yorkshire Spinners, and the owner (Wendy) gave me a skein of Ella Rae yarn. Then we stopped at Spruce Pine to see how it fared from the hurricane. Most everything was gone except a few restaurants. We found one shop that had store gifts and vintage items. I found a knitting book there.

Then we went back to the lodge and checked in. We are in Room 134, located on the ground level, which is a nice room. I knitted on the patio until dinner, and then after dinner, Don had an issue with the TV. The lady at the front desk reset the TV for us. At 8pm, we had our group meeting where door prizes were handed out.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Happy 18th Blogiversary!

I started this blog on September 16, 2007. I wrote about Why Am I Doing This?

For many years, I blogged every Monday through Friday, and recently I changed the frequency of my posts. I realized that I didn’t just want to write a post to fill in space. I wanted to post when I felt like I had something to share. I’m still learning every day, so when we travel, I will still post my write-ups about our adventures. I’m trying to post at least once a week to share with friends and family what we are up to in our lives. If you have been following me for a while, I appreciate you hanging around!

Feel free to comment, share ideas, ask questions, or open a conversation.
Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash

Knitting, Eating, and Weeding

We had a quiet week this week.

I had a lot of knitting time. On Monday, I attended the SC Knitting Guild meeting on Zoom. Then on Tuesday, I went to Starbucks to knit with my local knitting friends. Wednesday night was my ZK Zoom, and I love seeing all my friends from around the country. On Friday, I finished a pair of socks with my new sock design. I hope to publish the design this week. 

On Monday, my neighbor was moving cars around, and we went out to chat. Then we agreed to go out for lunch together. I love these spontaneous meet-ups. I hate that his wife couldn’t join us, but she had some workmen at the house cutting trees.

On Tuesday, we had the Old Hiker’s lunch at Mythos Greek and Italian Restaurant. I really like their lunch specials. I got the baked ziti, with salad and a drink for $9.99.

Don had his last physical therapy session on Thursday. Hopefully,  he will continue to heal. The therapist said that his degenerative joints won’t ever get better, but he can keep the muscles and connective tissues better by moving every day (meaning walking). The doctor said that these tissues were like fibers that had matted together. What he does is try to fluff up the fiber again, so movement is easier.

 I had a couple of mornings where it was nice and cool, and I was able to get a lot of weeding done. I was so excited to get my new Lutheran Study Bible in the mail.

Saturday morning, we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then went to the Farmer’s Market. I was thrilled to get four huge green peppers for only $0.50 each. We will be having stuffed peppers and rice for dinner this coming week. The rest of the day was spent watching college football and knitting.

Knitting and Walking

It has been a quiet week. The temperatures were a little cooler, so we did some yard work early in the week. I spent a lot of time organizing my yarn and projects to prepare for our winter in Florida. On Thursday, the Down Cellar Studio Pig Skin Party started, so I cast on for a sweater. I’ve also been making some emotional support chickies, but now I want to make a full-size chicken. I also finished my September gnome.

On Friday, we joined some of our hiking friends for a walk downtown. We met at the zoo and walked in Cleveland Park to the waterfalls and back, which was 3 miles total. There were five of us and the oldest was 93 years old. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.

Today I hope to get out and do some weeding before it gets hot.

Original photos by Pat Hensley

Writing Letters Can Be Special

These 1980 15c Letter Writing stamps (#1805-10) were made to celebrate National Letter Writing Week, which took place from February 24 to March 1, 1980. It was the first time the United States released a sheet of stamps with three sets of stamps stacked on top of each other in pairs. Each stamp helps people remember how important letter writing is.

On February 25, 1980, the U.S. Postal Service released special stamps to celebrate National Letter Writing Week. National Letter Writing Week was held from February 24 to March 1, and it was the first time the U.S. celebrated this week in 15 years. The USPS worked hard to make the week exciting and meaningful.

To help spread the message, the USPS teamed up with the National Council of Teachers of English, business leaders, and other well-known Americans. Museums, libraries, and other important places had displays about letter writing. Bookstores and libraries shared books that talked about letters and showed letters written by famous people. On February 25, the USPS held a big ceremony at the Library of Congress to honor the new stamps. Each stamp pair included a small stamp that said “P.S. Write Soon” and another that shared what letters can do, like “Letters Preserve Memories,” “Letters Lift Spirits,” and “Letters Shape Opinions.”

The USPS also helped create a 64-page booklet called All About Letters. It was given to students in grades 6 through 12. The booklet showed how to write different types of letters and included messages from Stevie Wonder, Darryl Stingley, and “Dear Abby.” It even gave addresses for pen pal groups and celebrities, explained ZIP codes, and gave tips on how to send mail safely. Today, the tradition of letter writing is still honored with World Letter Writing Day on September 1, National Letter Writing Day on December 7, and National Letter Writing Month in April. Some people also celebrate National Letter Writing Week in January.

World Letter Writing Day is celebrated every year on September 1. This day encourages people all over the world to write letters by hand. It was started in 2014 by Richard Simpkin, an Australian author and photographer. He wanted to remind people how meaningful it is to send a letter instead of just a quick message online. Schools and libraries sometimes hold letter-writing events to help kids enjoy the fun of writing and receiving letters.

Both the 1980 stamps and World Letter Writing Day show how important writing letters can be. A letter can make someone feel remembered and appreciated. It takes more time than typing a message, but it can also feel more personal. Even though we live in a digital world, writing a letter can still bring smiles and create lasting memories. The U.S. stamp and this special day both encourage people to take a few minutes to connect with others in a thoughtful way.

References:
Cover from the author’s collection
World Letter Writing Day. https://www.worldletterwritingday.com
National Postal Museum. https://postalmuseum.si.edu
https://www.mysticstamp.com/1805-10-1980-15c-letter-writing/
https://nationaltoday.com/world-letter-writing-day/

Knitting Projects, the Lawnmower, and the NC Apple Festival

I finished 5 knitting projects this week:

• 2 emotional support chickens - one small (fingering weight yarn) and one medium (DK weight yarn)
• My Bonfire Tee sweater. I modified it by making a large split hem, and I really like how it fits. 
• 2 hats for the staff at the lodge where we hold our September knitting retreat. 

We also had a little trouble with the riding lawnmower. The back tire was completely flat. We tried to take the tire off ourselves, but Don couldn’t get the lug nuts off. We went around the block to the tire place on Main St., and the guy said that if it was a tubeless tire, he could fix it. So, we pumped up the tire and Don drove it there while I followed behind with the emergency flashers on the Prius. The tire was fixed for $10, and Don drove it back home. I love how the lawn looks after he mows it.

On Thursday, we hiked at Lake Conestee Nature Park. It was an easy hike, but we used different muscles than we use when walking laps in the gym. Some of the trails were still closed because of the damage from Hurricane Helene last year. The weather is beautiful! I was also able to take some nice pictures with my new phone.

 

On Saturday, we went to Hendersonville to the NC Apple Festival. We arrived at 9 am and were able to find a free parking space along the street. Don bought a ¼ peck of apples for $7, and I bought 6 apple cider doughnuts for $7. After taking the items back to the car, we walked back along the vendors, and I found homemade apple ice cream for $5; it was so tasty. We stopped to put some stuff back in the car and then walked several blocks to the farmers' market before returning to our car around 11 am. On the way home, we stopped at Palmetto Yarn Shoppe so I could drop off the 2 hats that I made. Everyone was still at the guild meeting, but Nancy was there. When we got home, we had lunch and spent the rest of the day watching college football.

 

It was a great week!

Original photos by Pat Hensley