A long weekend away!

Last Thursday Kent took me downtown to catch the Light Rail to the airport so I could fly back to D.C. and meet up with some of the women from Cuppas and Cards for a Cozy Crop weekend. Once I landed in D.C. I immediately went up to Maryland via Metro and MARC (a commuter rail). I spent the evening and night with Jeanne and her sweet family and then we drove up to Pennsylvania on Friday morning. We met Joanne and Deb at Stamp-ede on our way to Lancaster. I did manage to find a coffee stamp to use and since it so worked out just right, I ran to Starbucks to buy a cuppa for myself and some VIA for my cards! That's the first supply I bought for the crop weekend. I brought nothing but 2 magazines for ideas and that meant I got to fully participate in their shopping extravaganzas! From there the four of us headed to Five Guys for a burger and then on to Cozy Crop in Lancaster. We got settled in and I started the dinner for that night since I really didn't have anything to work on yet. Later that evening, though, like 10 pm, we took a drive to an old one-room schoolhouse in Lititz where they were holding a crop and so were open until midnight! What a very cool little town that I MUST go and visit another time! Of course, we're in Amish/farm country so the smells took me back a few years to my childhood. Such a quiet peaceful atmosphere! We got home and most of us stayed up until at least midnight working on various projects that we'd brought. Saturday we went out a Mennonite stamp shop that was just beyond cool! On the way there we passed a full blown Amish buggy and an Amish horse cart. The stamp store was in the basement of this most gorgeous house. When I looked in the open garage across the drive from the house I noticed horse stalls. It was then that I realized that this Mennonite family still uses horse and buggy, too. They had at least 2 buggies, one in the house garage and one in the stable garage. The 14 year old daughter was manning the store and her 2 adorable little sisters were "helping" her! They were sure enjoying the opportunity to perform for some appreciative "Englishers"!!! The prices and selection in this little store were just excellent! From there a few of us went into Bird-in-Hand to the farmer's market. Colleen and Jeanne were so generous to take me there so that I could hopefully have a slightly greater chance of witnessing and experiencing Amish country! We weren't disappointed! The little town -- what I saw of it -- was so quaint. They were having a town garage sale including some Amish women who were selling some of their clothing! I should have bought one for Tiana!! ☺ I managed to buy a few souvenirs, some chow-chow which my friend has to ship to me, and get a photo or two of Amish in their buggies. Considering I packed nothing whatsoever in the form of supplies, I managed to make over 10 cards while I was there! Sunday we packed up and I went home to stay in Virginia with Colleen and her awesome family. Even with a sick kid at home, she was very generous to take me into D.C. on Monday so I could visit the National Law Enforcement Memorial and pay my respects to the fallen officers of our area (from late last year). I also happened to remember my neighbor from long ago and his name was there and I even made a rubbing of it. That really meant a lot to me! Thanks so much to Colleen for indulging me! We took a VERY whirlwind tour of the Capital, serving only to whet my appetite for more time there! We then enjoyed lunch before we stopped back by her house to get my stuff and take me back to the airport for my flight home. I cannot begin to thank Jeanne and Colleen enough for being so generous to welcome me into their homes, drive me hither and yon and just take care of me! But I can't forget Deb who was so open to sharing with us all her knowledge of the local stores and for each of the girls for welcoming me to Cozy Crop! How I wish I could afford to make this an annual tradition!!! For a complete photo tour, well what I got of it anyway, click here!