And Best of All....

Better than going to the conference, better than the seafood, better than the trip to Washington, D.C., better than the quilts was seeing Jack.

The Wall

Going to the Wall was a very emotional experience for me, but I'm glad I went.

Washington, D.C.

After the conference was over, John and I took the train with Jack to visit Washington, D.C.

Quilts!!!

I discovered that the Walters Art Museum, only a few blocks from the hotel where we stayed, had an exhibition of the Gee's Bend Quilts . Click here to read more about them. They didn't allow photographs to be taken but I did buy a book of postcards, some small magnets, and best of all, a two-compact-disc compilation that was recorded over 60 years ago (but never released) and newly recorded music performed by quiltmakers who had never before been heard outside of Gee’s Bend, mainly gospel music. John put them on my i-Pod and I listened to them all night on the long flight from Chicago to Portland.

I also visited the Maryland Historical Society . They had an antique Sorrows Quilt for sale for $250. This is what the sign next to it said "Using fabric scraps from the clothing of loved ones,19th century quilters crafted quilts made to commemorate someone who had died. Usually blocked with black alternating pieces, these quilts are also known as sunshine and shadow."

The only other quilt on display was this one, a Baltimore Maryland quilt made almost 150 years ago.

Architectural Details

Downtown Baltimore

Our hotel was in downtown Baltimore and we were in a corner room on the 15th floor.
These are the views from the windows.

The Inner Harbor

The Inner Harbor was only a few blocks from our hotel so Friday evening, after the conference was over, John and I went there to watch the crowds, shop for souvenirs, and eat crab and shrimp.

If you look carefully at the photo you can out make the famous yellow "Domino Sugar" sign.

Johns Hopkins University

John and I returned from the East Coast earlier this week, where I attended the RBMS Preconference. Part of the conference was held at the Johns Hopkins University . The photo shows John standing at the entrance gates to the campus.

Father's Day

Photo Dad 1922-2005

This photo of me and Dad was taken near Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada in the summer of 1950.

Strawberries

Strawberries are in full season now. It's time for strawberry shortcake, strawberry-rhubarb pie, and making strawberry jam! Yum!

Collective Nouns

A few months ago I wrote about collective nouns for librarians in my Adventures in Library School blog.

Recently the topic came up on the knitlist about a collective noun for knitters. Some of the best ones were

a swatch of knitters
a purl of knitters
a skein of knitters
a row of knitters

I also found a list of collective nouns for various professions on Wikipedia . The linguist list also has a list which can be found here .

Another good source can be found here.

Portland Farmer's Market

I had a class in Portland this week-end and now that summer's here that means that on Saturdays I can go to the Farmer's Market at lunch time. The Farmer's Market is in the park blocks which is right outside the building we have class.

I spend the entire hour-and-a-half wandering around, enjoying the flowers, the smells, all the cute dogs and even cuter kids, the food, the music, the laughter, the people, and the sun and warmth. It's wonderful.

Memorial Day

Remember