It was a quick trip to Vermont, up on Friday, home just before Sunday. It felt like a lot longer, though, mostly for fun reasons, but the migraine crap was a bit draining. Migraines and their equivalents haven't attacked much in recent years, but possibly the sudden shift to tropical air combined with exhaustion kicked them into gear. I spent Friday evening hibernating in the hotel with a pillow over my head, trying to quell that WHAM thumpa thumpa in the right temple. By Saturday morning, the headache was mostly gone, but kind of vaguely threatening get out of line and I'll whack ya upside that temple again. I worried about teaching the class under those circumstances, but as soon as I got started with set up, that crap kind of floated out of awareness. It returned later afternoon in the form of migraine equivalent, that inconvenient episode of vision disturbance. They call it aura - I get kind of prism like dancing lights circling my vision, then lose all right ward or all left ward vision for about 20 minutes. Once I got passed being terrified out of my wits the first time it ever happened, it's turned out to almost be kind of fascinating what the body can do to itself. This morning, however, it's very nice to cuddle up with tea made just as I like it in my very own favorite Edgecomb Potter mug.
Yesterday's teaching experience was terrific.
These were the batts to choose from. Since this is the first time I carded my own
batts, I had a bit more attachment to the fibers. Only the fact that I still have a couple pounds of the same fibers to card kept me from hiding my favorites. Turns out, though, my students put together some very satisfying combinations, which means I got to see my fibers blossom into finished objects I like very much. And I had my hands in those FOs, so I got the best of both worlds. I like that about
teaching. I also love the moment you can tell the students are getting into the class. Not all students do, especially with wet felting. All of them in this group seemed to embrace it, though, and that's a rewarding experience for the instructor, at least, for me, it is. I think the prize moment for me actually happened in the bathroom, not something you usually want to admit. But 
we had to take class field trips to the bathroom to rinse the scarves. We went in smaller groups as the scarves reached readiness. Convenient because there were 4 sinks and a couple groups of 4 each, plus one extra who made a slightly bigger scarf so took slightly more time, missing the group field trips and the group photo. There at the sink is where it all comes together and you finally get to see for sure what you created. I wish I'd gotten photos of the faces as that moment of truth unfolded. All of them grinned, some positively beamed. And of course, in the bathroom, there was an audience of appreciative women not the least put off by the sinks' being full. We did make room as others needed, but still, that is certainly a moment when some cranky pants could have a melt down and spoil the fun. None of that happened yesterday. Perhaps it was the less than ideal weather 
that brought out die hard (or is that dye hard?) fiber fanatics for whom the day is only about fun and
indulgence. Whatever the case, that was one of the best teaching experiences I've had and it was well worth the headaches. Thank you, ladies! I hope you all had as much fun as I did.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the fiber festival, bumping into friends, and shopping, of course. I did not get to indulge my two goals. Not a single vendor had the pound or two of black merino I wanted. And the vendor I most wanted to catch up with to replenish my supply of undyed merino didn't make to the festival. I hope she and family are ok. I did pick up some more shades of Northern Lights from Copper Moose, a baggie full of dyed locks, a couple skeins of Judy's lovely sock yarn (Christmas presents, if I get my butt in gear) (have you seen her skein winders?? I know what I want for Christmas), and a 1/4 pound of black merino which will at least allow me to make 2 scarves.
Oddly enough, some very fun moments still awaited after I left the festival. As I drove south through those often challenging mountains of Vermont, drizzle escalated into full blown torrents and fog. Given the fuzz in my head, I decided a stop at one of Vermont's nicely done rest areas made sense. 
They have wifi access there. I had entertainment all covered. But then I met Lori. Lori is a delightful, cheerful, chatty and helpful employee at the rest stop who goes above and beyond to make your stop pleasant. "Her" rest stop is a small one, only one bench, no table to put the laptop on. I settled in on the bench, laptop perched on my lap. Lori suggested I pull the bench up to the stove in the corner, with it's nice flat top serving well as a desk. I chose not to, though. But
we started chatting. Next thing I know, she's making me popcorn! How cute is that coffee filter bowl? And pretty soon, we're exchanging email addys and she's looking at my blog and then I'm explaining bunnies and showing her bunny photos, and then two guys stop in and she's offering them popcorn and they're checking out the bunny pics and we've almost got a party going. Every person who walked into that rest stop, Lori greeted warmly, as if each is a close personal friend. She knits, albeit not a lot. I mentioned socks, and her face lit up even more. She wants to learn to knit socks. Anyone in that area who can stop in and teach her? If not, I just might have to plan a trip to the rest stop. I'd have to introduce her to spinning, too, don'tcha think?
