Visiting Friends in VA

We were really glad to visit friends in Virginia Friday and Saturday. I didn't get many pictures.
Friday we visited friends Dianne, Christian, Jen, and Sterling (I'm not sure this is how you spell his name) at the newly restored Montpelier and got to see Dolley's kitchen that Christian and Dianne have put a lot of work into. It looks fabulous, y'all! I'd love to come work in it or to cook outside over the fire. Owen got to explore the Hands on History Tent's collection of tools too.
Then we headed to Charlottesville while Owen got in a nap. Abram attended the UVA classic department's Constantine lecture while Owen and I dropped by our favorite apple orchard to get some Albemarle Pipins - the best apples in the world. Alas, they will not be ready for a few more weeks, so we got a bushel of some really tasty half-brothers of theirs, the Virginia Gold apple. Raw cider production is not yet going so we will have to find a good cider maker right here at home. Then we dropped by our friend Kathryn's for a short visit before meeting Abram at the reception after the lecture. We know when to show up!
We stayed with Dianne and her husband Ted Friday night. Saturday morning, Owen enjoyed seeing Dianne feeding a calf and letting the chickens out of the coop. Seeing her lovely, happy birds pecking around the yard made me miss our chickens. Dianne took us for a tour of Montpelier (it was really amazing to see it finished) and we visited briefly with Don and Hugh who were working that day. Then we headed to the Fiber Festival where Dianne found a book with a sweater pattern and I picked out a charcoal grey and a misty grey alpaca wool. It is so wonderfully, buttery soft. Owen got to look at and pet sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, rabbits, and border collies with Abram. Back at her house, Owen got a much needed nap which he couldn't seem to get on my back at the festival, and Abram got one too. After nap time, Owen, Dianne, and I picked tomatoes in the garden, threw the ball for the dogs until they were plum tuckered out, collected the eggs, and sat and visited in the grass.
We enjoyed a dinner of juicy hamburgers from their own cow, lima beans, and vintage 2007 and 2008 beets. While I preferred the vintage 2007 beets, Dianne was partial to the 2008 ones. Dianne sent us home with a jar of pink apple sauce (it'll be a great treat soon), eggs from her chickens, and the tomatoes we had picked that afternoon.
We were so glad to have a chance to visit.