What a great day!

It's been a while since I've done so much, had so much fun, and felt energized at the end of the day. Saturday started out is an 8AM yoga class. It has been more than a month since my last class. I was surprised that I was able to to the entire class without sitting anything out, but I was not surprise with my noticeable loss of flexibility. I definitely miss the energized feeling I get from yoga, and I need to make it a regular habit.

After yoga, I went shopping for a new pair of running shoes. Yup, that's right ... I'm going to give it a try. I found the Ski Rack in downtown Burlington to be very knowledgable and helpful. They even have a digital video camera set up to take closeups of the feet-knees while running on the treadmill. Pretty cool to see what a difference the right shoe can make in providing proper stability while running.

After shoe shopping, as tempting as it was to try running, I decided to go home and try out a new recipe for strawberry soup. I still miss the soup from the Duchess Tea Room, and now that it is strawberry season here in Vermont, all I can think of is their perfect soup! The batch I made tasted too much like yogurt and was too thin. Some heavy cream and/or sour cream and more strawberries should fix that. Seeing that I don't have heavy cream and sour cream in the house, I'll have to finish this project later.

Next, it was off to the Champlain Valley Expo where the Vermont Quilt Festival is being held this weekend. I was blown away by so many of the antique, competition, and faculty quilts. Here are some of my favorites from the antiques exhibit:

Folk Art Applique, circa 1850-1870.
I love the design and colors in this quilt. It is so funky!


Mosaic, circa 1830


Double Poppy Variation, circa 1850-1875


My favorite competition quilt was Isabella, by Eleanor Meaney of South Yarmouth, MA. The design and craftsman ship were spectacular. Eleanor passed away shortly after making this quilt, and I feel truely fortunate to have had the opportunity to to view this beautiful piece!
Isabella, by Eleanor Meaney. Competition Quilt 309 at the 2007 Vermont Quilt Festival.


Detail of Isabella, by Eleanor Meaney.


More of the many spectacular quilts can be seen at my Flickr site. Check them out!

After spending hours blissfully roaming around VQF, I went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients that I needed to improve the strawberry soup. Then I modified it with both sour cream and heavy cream. Much better, although it was still not as good as the soup from the Duchess Tea Room.

Next, I was off to visit my friends Chris & Laurie, who just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Sunday. It was really great to see them and their sons Sam and Jack.
Deb holding Jack


Laurie, Jack, and Sam.


Would you believe my day was still not over? After visiting Laurie & Chris, I still had plans to go out with Haitian. She is a colleague from Fishkill, NY, who was visiting us for a few weeks to learn how to perform laboratory measurements. The original plan was to go to a bar, but we decided contra dancing would be more fun. She had never been and was a little nervous at first. Once she got there and started dancing, she picked it up fast and had a great time. I hope she can find some nice dances once she goes back home.
Haitian & Deb after the Contra Dance

What a great day!