Back from Amish country, with an updated link

I spent last weekend in the Lancaster, PA area. Partly to visit a friend, partly to see the new AQS show in Lancaster and partly to do some shopping. I had been pretty good all year and had shopped my stash first for every project. That doesn't mean I haven't bought ANYthing, just that I have tried to buy less. However, when one is far from home, knowing one cannot drop back in if one changes one's mind, it does tend to allow one to be more liberal in her spending. Yes, I am sad to say, I went on a rather gluttonous shopping spree.
First, the quilt show. It was at a different venue than the last time I saw the Lancaster show. Whether this was because the old venue was unavailable or because AQS wanted something different I cannot say. I can say with certainty the old venue was better! The quilts were poorly arranged - and poorly lit in places. The vendors seemed to be the focus of the set-up, with the quilts a bit of an afterthought. It was hard to see the quilts or the vendors in some ares. And the fact that the show was on four floors of two different buildings, with a long line to get the shuttle from one to the other meant many of us missed parts of the show! Hopefully next year, they will fix a lot of this. I have hundreds of pictures to weed through and will put most up at snapfish. (if the link is active, they are there) And hopefully it works this time! (sorry!)
My hostess was a most gracious friend who drove several hundred miles over the course of several days to get me everywhere we wanted to go. her dog accompanied us on a couple of the excursions. Isn't he a sweetie?
A sad thing happened while I was there. I couldn't believe how green everything was. They are three weeks or so ahead of us in the spring department. Magnolias- one of my favorite spring sights- were starting to blossom. Then there was a frost, and the buds turned brown. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen to me, but with temps predicted to be near 80 later this week......
Been in the garden already and will post pictures monday- ish. :-)

I am grateful for:
a husband who doesn't mind me taking a few days for myself
a friend willing to put up with me for a few days
spring flowers in bloom
my kitty who missed me very much while I was gone
electricity ( mine was out a while last night)