Weekend tripping

This past weekend E and the dogs and I drove up to Buffalo, NY. Unfortunately, where we are and where Buffalo is (...in, you know, Buffalo...) are not directly connected by an interstate highway. On the way up, we ended up taking back roads through the middle of western Pennsylvania. It started snowing at one point - I was surprised. (Later I talked with my mother in MA and found out it had already snowed there, so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised.) Eight hours in the car, and then we spent the weekend with a friend of ours, David. E took martial arts seminars, I spent time with David and our two dogs and his two dogs.

Can you believe it? I have no dogs-running-around photos from the weekend. How did that happen?

Buffalo has a great art scene and some lovely shops. They also have a Farmers' Market

where I got some lovely Grade A dark maple syrup. It's SO GOOD. David made us homemade waffles on Sunday, and with the maple syrup - oh, I can't tell you.

We saw a few art exhibits, including one at the Burchfield Penny Art Center, which is a great space. If you check out the webpage, look for the ceramic cicadas climbing up a wall. If I had a big open house of my own, I'd love to have an installation like that on one wall.

Some other pieces:

I'm noticing that the pieces I photographed have this ephemeral quality to them. The shadows they cast also seem to be a key part of the pieces. Perhaps that is appropriate for Autumn.

Well, I finally cut the cord with TypePad. Nice hosting and support, easy-peasy to use, but I have a hard time justifying the cost. So I blog on.

I have to admit, Ravelry, that amazing crafty site, has cut significantly into my checking out other blogs, and that's kind of sad. I'd like to get back to seeing what is going on with the little bloggy world I know.

As an overview update: still in Maryland, E graduated from his grad program and started a job a few months ago, and while the dogs miss us at home, it's nice to be on roughly the same schedules. While he was in school, we'd often miss each other quite a bit - now at least we're both headed home around the same time.

Autumn is coming to Maryland - it makes me miss New England like crazy. Crazy, I tell you! We have a few trees with leaves turning a deep burnt orange, which is lovely.

We are planning a weekend road trip, the first we've taken since moving out here. I'm very excited about it - we'll be taking the dogs and staying with a friend as we head to upstate New York. I hope to see lots of gorgeous foliage and to unwind a bit. I appreciate the jobs each of us has, but living in a huge commuting-by-car "corridor" is making me restless and edgy. I'm dreaming of rolling hills, green and dark forests, rivers, and open fields with stone fences.