Learning about "Korean" Alpacas

Wow! That is about all I can say about today and this past weekend! Yesterday I had the pleasure of keeping one of my very best friend's mother company for the day. We watched Momma Mia and The Sound of Music. We had popcorn and tea. We had fun.

Today though.... I went with another one of my very best friends to an alpaca farm just outside of Marydel Maryland.

A couple of days ago, Rena asked me if I wanted to go see the Cria at the alpaca farm. I did not know that "cria" was the name of a baby alpaca. To help me remember what a baby alpaca is, I have been referring to them as "Korean Alpacas".

Well today we went to Dragonfly Alpaca Farm. We met Dede and Roger and 20 or more alpacas, their dogs, cats, a goat, a horse and a sheep and a guard llama. And beautiful gardens. We played with alpaca fiber. It was a day of total relaxation.

Here are some pictures of the alpaca:


This is a mama and her baby (cria)


This is a papa alpaca or "herdsire"

This is a pet cria - the fiber is different than the other alpacas
It is very soft and fluffy, very difficult to spin. I don't spin so I don't
know. I just thought he/she was so adorable. This one is moving
to Missouri I think. They have another alpaca that will be moving
to Ohio. Fiberlicious Alpaca Fiber.... soooo soft!!!!

I felt so welcomed and relaxed at this farm. Dede and Roger
are awesome and they have beautiful gardens! I was so enamored
by all the alpaca that I forgot to take pictures of anything else.

I did get a picture of the llama....



I have one more picture that I have to share....


Making homemade chocolate chip/almond ice cream to top off the day

YUMMY!!!!

It has been an awesome summer so far!

Last night I had the pleasure of going to a potluck dinner at Stitches with Style in Newark and was able to sit, knit and chat with Wendy Johnson. She is a wonderful person and someone that I know I could be great friends with. Very down to earth and has a great sense of humor. If you ever have the chance, go visit her blog, Wendy Knits. She has beautiful designs available for free and her 3rd book is available on Amazon.com for pre-order. (Which was done by me last night) I am in the process of knitting my first pair of toe up socks, Wendy's Serpentine Design.



I also thoroughly enjoyed spending a weekend with my mom for her "belated" birthday celebration. I gave her my very first lace project "Ishbel" and I think she loved it. This time for her birthday, we started in her hometown of Vineland, NJ and with using Garmin and my mom's wishlist, we went on our "Knitting Safari" as mom calls it.
We went to several wonderful knitting shops, Marlton, Haddonfield, Mt Holly and Princeton. My favorite shop was Woolbearers in Mt Holly but I had the most fun in Princeton. We went to an excellent Italian restaurant called Theresa's and the couple sitting next to us, the beautiful lady was also a knitter. Her poor friend... was not a knitter but patiently waited for us to stop talking about fiber, stores and projects and stash. After dinner, we went to a little ice cream shop called the Bent Spoon. They had very good ice cream but my favorite shop still remains to be Zippy's here in Dover. He has excellent ice cream! I should know, I am always trying out his new flavors.



At the beginning of the summer, my 3 children, my 2 grandchildren and hubby and I were treated to a vacation by my father to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It was so wonderful spending quality time with everyone! We tried making it a technology free week but of course my oldest son used his cell phone to access the internet daily. So much for technology free. This first picture I love. It is a picture of my 21 year old son teaching my grandson how to jump the waves.


This is one of my favorite pictures from the week in the Outer Banks. My 2 year old grand-daughter loved going to the beach. Everyday she would march herself and her toys down the street saying "Come on Mimi (supposed to be Grammy) Hurry up, we have to get there" She is a very determined and sassy 2 year old. I love both of my grandchildren so much!









And of course, no vacation is complete unless you visit the yarn shops in the area. My hubby and Dad were fishing and I took a day to myself and visit 2 wonderful shops. The first one was in Manteo NC called Fine Yarn at Kimbeeba and the second was just outside of Kitty Hawk in Southern Shores called Knitting Addiction. Beautiful shops and I can not wait to visit them again.





















Just two more pictures to share. Fourth of July in Dover is great. I was having a great time at the parade with my daughter, her friend and my boys and 2 grandchildren. The only damper on the parade was this "Antique" Corvette. It is a 1979 Corvette. The year I graduated from high school. I will always have a problem with considering myself as being "antique"









The last picture I want to share is of my 3 cats eating their dinner. I finally was able to catch them looking like chocolate filled Oreo cookie. I know, I'm weird but I have wanted this picture for a long time.

Bengi is on the far left, Kiki in the middle and Spencer on the right. Yum, Yum, dinner time!