There’s No Place Like Home!!

Toronto was a blast!! I had such fun meeting people in my classes, watching them be creative, sharing laughs or chocolate and being around people who share a love of making things with their hands. I also found far too many tempting things on the trade show floor from new wools to knit with and beads to play with as well as new colours to inspire stitching designs... but it is also really good to be home!

Even though I grew up in a bustling city (Montreal), I have gotten quite comfortable with the pace of life here in Moncton over the past 16 years. I prefer the time it takes for me to get anywhere, the cost of cab rides, the friendliness of the people and the selection of shopping. The only thing I might miss is the vast selection of ethnic foods to enjoy or the access to a wider variety of entertainment (musicals, plays, more movie theaters etc.) The whirlwind pace of Downtown Toronto was fun for 5 days... but I am glad to live where I do.

Easing back into the post show routine was a bit more hectic this year because I wanted to spend time with my Mom and John, who just left yesterday, still had two graphics projects that were at the approval stage so now I want to have them wrapped up, invoiced and paid for, plus I had a few commitments that I had set up before the show. Yesterday, I went along as a helper/volunteer when Bethany’s Kindergarten class visited an orchard about 20 minutes outside of Moncton. She was THRILLED to have her Mommy along... and I had all of the adults in stitches because I discovered that I fit even worse on a school bus that I do on a plane! I had to duck to walk down the aisle of the bus, then I couldn’t get my knees in the seat, so I had to turn sideways a bit and put my knees out into the aisle. It makes sense when you think about it. Very few people getting on a school bus are 6’5”!!
Watching Bethany and her friends each pull a crunchy red apple off the tree and then having her beam at me in the tractor pulled wagon as we bumped along back to the main building made me realize that I love having control over my hours (well... at least control over when I choose to do something else and make it up later at night!) and being able to fit adventures like that into my schedule!

So now I just have to sift through all of the e-mail that came in while I was away and get Spirit ready to go up on the site next Sunday night (October 31st). I guess I can resist the urge to just hide in bed and catch up on sleep!!