Zeneedle...needleart as life

Lucky See, Lucky Do

If there was ever proof of just what a lucky grrl I am...this weekend brought it home. As we all know, it isn't the fiber that makes a festival fun, it's the people…hanging with the grrls.  The drive to Idaho took longer than it should have, due to a wrong turn. My companion for the trip (N.) was very forgiving and relaxed about the whole thing.  When we finally arrived at the festival it only took a short time find Laurie and Anne.  They were at opposite ends of the display area so we were forced to walk past all the booths over and over and over (life is hard).

The Snake River Festival is held inside the hallways of a technical college. At least this year the hallways were light and bright. Last year it was like being in a cave.  Sadly this festival has no animals, but there is much to be had in the way of fiber, yarn and other supplies. N and I did a nice job of shopping and I'm very happy to report that she bought a spindle and some fiber.  It was a very easy task to bring her to the dark side.   Rarely did I think to bring out the camera, but I did grab a shot of Laurie's booth, where she sat patiently helping customers (at one point she was surrounded by a very large family with small children!) and spinning when she could.  At the other end of the table sits N.

Kim might not like this picture any better than the one from yesterday, but the grrl does talk up a storm and light up a room.  I have no idea what's she's doing but it may involve a spindle and no spinning (and perhaps some bitching?).

There was a bit of fiber purchasing.  First is a colorway that grab my attention called Deepest Lagoon by Wasatch Watercolours, next is an angora/silk/merino blend called Solstice (be still my heart) from Wooly Wonka, and then bit of Ashland Bay Merino in "Mahogany" for a bit of spindle spinning practice.

In keeping with my "never buy at a festival what you can buy in a shop" rule. I bought a beautiful charcoal yarn, of lambs wool from Notlwonk Farms, which was spun (so nicely!) by Spinderella. The plan is for a cardigan, in the not too distant (but, as yet to be named) future.

And in breaking my afore mentioned rule, I bought this lovely hand dyed lace weight. Look at it! How could I not buy such a beautiful, stormy looking future shawl?

It can't be said too many times, but even with all the fibery fun, the best part of any Festival is spending time with other fiber buddies.  No time is better spent.

What I (We) Did the Last 6 Days

It is hard to describe what it felt like to share 5 days with so many awesome friends. You might call it a slice of heaven.  There was much knitting, much eating, some drinking, and we took that 'be merry' part to heart. Laughter is the language of true friends.

The fiber festival that was small, but packed with fun.  The view couldn't be beat.

We took a class and laughed a lot as you can see from Susan's post.

We participated in a waulking with Anne Carroll-Gilmour (she sure has a beautiful voice) and laughed some more (and very heartily, too).

   

We bought some good fibery things (my haul from Spinderella, Anne and Laurie) and you can bet there was laughter while making the transactions.

We laughed our way through dinner (and knitting).

 
TeresaC in Charlotte's Web (must knit a second one), Judy and Kim at Silver Fork.

We walked around Silver Lake...the talk was punctuated with laughter and more laughter.

We stopped by Black Sheep (again) to say hello to Anne Carroll-Gilmour (again) and did even more laughing. (I love this picture of Anne, Kim, Teresa and Carole.)

Carole and I did some Monkeying around because Monkey's are easy knitting when you're doing lots of laughing. (You'll have to check her blog next week for the fabu Monkey's she knit in Kim's fabulous yarn. Mine is STR Mist.)

It has been too quiet since they left for home and I feel a bit pensive sans friends...it was such a good time.  Thank you for coming, grrlfriends, for being yourselves and for sharing it all with me. 

Psssssst, did you know today is Carole's birthday?

Wrap Up of a Week

Animals!  Estes Park Wool Market had barns full of animals...goats, alpaca, llama, sheep and more! The goats are such funny creatures and they have a way of enchanting me with their 'look'. Their various horns, bleating sounds, fleece varieties and shapes seemed to bring a widening smile to my face as I walk through the pens.  The llama and alpaca barns are quiet (except for an occasional hum), but walking through the sheep pens one becomes aware of the symphony of sounds.  Each animal has its own tone and tenor of baa-ing and maa-ing...it's impossible to leave without laughing.

 

 

Estes is still on my mind, and in my heart. I've enjoyed reading other posts about the Festival experience.

FJ was revisited after my return and it seems the separation did us both good.  The back has been finished and the fronts are growing nicely.  It took considerable effort for my brain to figure out how and where to start the front "slope", as the v-neck decreases are called in the pattern, in comparison to the armscye decreases.  Now that all that has been determined, the knitting is going along swimmingly.  Both of us are well behaved and happy. Our future together looks long and lovely.

Hidcote  hasn't had much attention, but that should change this weekend and, despite recurring, seemingly unstoppable rumors, Jóhö rests quietly, happy in her hibernation. Despite the "Free Jóhö" campaign she will stay behind the scene, for now.

Emmylou and I have had only short bursts of time together and so, progress is slow on the Spun Stitches project.  When we do get a chance to spin time flies by...but it's still a bit of heaven.  I'd like to fill a bobbin with the lovely bunny crack by the time the weekend is over.

In more spinning news, did you see Tour de Fleece?  This sounds like a great way to spend July and I'll be joining in the fun!

There has been an  ongoing contest here, as the comments on this blog approach 30,000. As of today they are half way to 29,000.  Next week the 29,000th person will receive a box of goodies and I'm trying to think of something special for the 30,000th comment. 

Last weekend, when we arrived at Val's home after our ride back from Estes, I walked around and took pictures of the flowers in her yard (don't you always type 'yarn' first?).  The beautiful yellow lily you see here was in full sun and I wasn't sure the pictures would turn out.  What a nice surprise and a perfect way to start Flower Friday.

May your weekend be as beautiful!

There's More Pretty Grrls Than One*

The mountains of Estes Park are imprinted on my brain and so, 'my' mountains look somewhat new and foreign.

The trip was over so quickly (sigh).  It wasn't so much about fiber...it never is.  I wouldn't travel that far (8+ hours by car) to buy even the most precious of spinning/knitting fiber...ever.  I would drive longer than that to meet up with the best group of grrls on the planet. 

Laura, Karen, Jane, Cheryl, Mim, Imbrium, Chris, Val, & Anne (in no order)

Laura & me,  Cheryl, Karen, me, Val, Mim, Val

Imbrium & Mim, the whole group at The Stanley for cocktails, Karen

Julie (in red) and friends, llama parade, Kristi avec her Spin Off Socks

Michaele, Stacey & Kim, grrl with llama, Erin & Lisa

It was so wonderful to spend extra time with Laura and Chris, both who stayed in the 'Luxury Log Cabin' with us, the Utah Grrls, and to see so many more friends at the festival.  As it turned out, I was a lazy shopper. Not much spoke to me and I came home with little fiber, a bit of yarn, two spindles and a head full of wonderful memories.

The only yarn to come home with me was from Grayce of Plain and Fancy Wool Co. It's Sage Green with Mixed Reds and it is a colorway that has been on my mind since last years Estes!  The only fiber I bought (for myself) was a gray cashmere blend, along with a pink 'everything' blend, from Bonkers. I had to have something to spin on my new polymer spindle. The other spindle is from Tracy Eichhelm and since Val, the hummingbird whisperer (they follow her everywhere) was with me, that's what I got, in her honor. Both spindles spin like heaven.

There wasn't much in the way of fiber that was different or unique.  With the wealth of fiber shops in Blogland and the amount in my burgeoning stash it's hard to find something I 'had' to have.  So, that's it...more memories than fiber finds, which is just perfectly fine. 

*Lyrics by Woody Guthrie
Silly You-Tube version by the Avett Brothers 

What I Did Over the Memerorial Day Weekend

Bright and early Saturday morning I headed out to the fabric store and purchased lining fabric for the Larger Than Life Bag, bought flowers for my mothers grave, and then stopped by Three Wishes (to buy dye). The trip made a large circle that ended up back at home where I dove right into lining the bag.  Mom would be proud (and I still miss her after 18 years).  Here's a preview of the bag, details to come.

Saturday afternoon we had a chance to dine at Silver Fork and help celebrate a friends 60th birthday.  We hadn't been on the lawn below the deck so it was a new view of our favorite place.  Judy, just so you know, the hummers were diving around like screeching torpedoes and it was fun to hear and see them again.

Sunday was a more relaxing day but we did what most people in the area did, or wanted to do and headed to IKEA. What a great addition to our neighborhood!  There were all sorts of great ideas that will make it easy to organize my  'fiber studio' and to hide any new acquisitions.  Sunday was also a good day for dyeing and I threw a bit of roving into a pot.  The goal was something in a bright red and pink mix. Well, the bright part worked (too well) and it turned out to be a good lesson in intensity. Grrl, this stuff is eye searing!   I'm unsure what (if anything) I need to do for better results next time.  Dyeing is a complete curiosity to me and that curiosity is the reason I enjoy playing with it from time to time.  You pros have no need to worry...there will be no fiber shop in my future.  Of course, I could create one of a kinds monstrosities that might sell...or not.

Sunday I made it to SnB and because the coffee shops are all so dark (it's that subversive thing, ya know?), I had to start a new project, one I could see!  This happy pair of Jaywalkers are just the thing for SnB knitting and I love the way the Vesper yarn looks when zigzagging.  Blogless Val had returned from her month long trip to Great Brittan and she had many interesting tales to tell.  She just might be convinced to write up a post and guest blog again as her trip sounded marvelous.

Monday we headed up to the Sunrise Ranch to help Deb with shearing.  She has 11 alpaca and 5 llama, so we were very busy all day.  Smith helps to wrangle the animals and I'm good at sweeping up the fluff.  It was fun to be in the country and hear the rooster, chicken, horses and just smell the clean country air.  Here are a few pictures of Rodeo's Torrunn's shearing that may help you understand better how it's done. Torrunn was a big baby (they all have such different personalities) and hollered all the while. Sorry, but some how I didn't end up with a 'finished' picture.

Rodeo did have a beautiful full coat!

Deb has invited me back to help with the 'skirting'.  I'll be looking forward to that!

Despite the dyeing disaster of Sunday, I tried again with blue dye and some Reynold's Sea Wool sock yarn (purchased in a natural color with dyeing in mind).  This time I used less dye, was a bit more careful with placement of said dye, and crossed my fingers.  My method is to put it all in one pot, turn on the stove and walk away. Not very scientific, and as you can guess, the results are varied, but I'm too lazy to do anything else.  This time, the goddess of dye was smiling on me and my pot and the yarn was much more like I'd envisioned.  It was the perfect cap to a perfect weekend. 

May - Five of a Dozen

The fleece above represents the beginning of the Fiber Festival Season which starts in May! I've capitalized the words because they are very important to knitters and spinners everywhere...more so now that bloggers can (and do) meet up and imbibe in fiber together.

The first festival of 2007 for the Ewe-tah grrls was the Snake River Fiber Fair.  Cheryl (thanks for driving, grrlfriend!), Susan, Eliza and I headed out very early Saturday morning (yawn) and enjoyed a very nice trip up into the fair State of Idaho. Anne was already there with a booth of Wooly Wonka fiber and we had plans to meet up with Kim, too.  Many of the people at the festival were friends from Utah and, as with any festival, its the people as much (or more so) as the fiber. 

We shopped and enjoyed chatting with all we met and spent the better portion of the day enchanted by fiber.  Because the weather is very iffy this time of year, the fair is inside a technical college.  The curved dark hallways gave the experience and cave like mystical feeling, as around every turn was new fiber, a new group of spinners (or knitters) and smiling faces on everyone.

Anne and Dave had a nice set up with Anne's beautifully died yarns and fiber.  Here you see Susan and Anne chatting. Kim has just discovered Dave's fabulous spindles and after she gave one a whirl she just had to take it home.

Color was everywhere and Lynn’s colorful bumps disappeared quickly. This picture was taken right after someone bought all the pink (it wasn't me!) and before the green and purple purchased. (The pictures of my other fiber friend, like Judy Jackson, just didn't turn out due to the dark hallways.)

Greensleeves Spindles had so many beauties! Thankfully I have several already. Fiber Addict had bins of roving and racks of yarn.  I'm very sorry I didn't get many pictures of the other vendors.  But, there were many and everyone had a nice variety of spinning/knitting necessities.

 

We did manage to make a good haul which made the long drive (3+hours) worthwhile. Here's the back of Cheryl's car piled with our fibery purchases.

I did rather well, but didn't get to carried away.  My pink phase is still intact when it comes to fiber.

Spinderella's thrums in "PINK", Wooly Wonka merino (under thrums) in "Geisha", WW cormo/angora in "Seashells" and a Totally Tublar Spinning Kit from Crosspatch Creations.  Anne had one in shades of purple awhile back and it's been on my list since.

I also bought another batt from Crosspatch Creations in a unique group of colors called "Iced Lemon and Lime".  I'm trying to venture out of the color rut and have some fun!  One of my favorite purchases, from Janet at Alta Mist Alpacas , was a new spindle case. The design style caught my interest and the tassels were so elegant.  It's easy to through over the should and will carry a nice bunch of fiber and a spindle.  I just couldn't resist.

Thus, tis the very beginnings of Fiber Season, the best time of year for fiber fanatics, bloggers, knitters and spinners.  It's going to be a very good year!

Notlwonk Springs - Wool Trek

The Bigass Boomerang socks had their debut this weekend, solely because it was damn cold in the Cache Valley (actually in ALL of Utah) where the Wool Packers (our spinning guild) spent a sheepy Saturday. Last weekend we broke records for heat, so of course, we had to have snow this weekend. But, somehow the colder temps seemed appropriate, as spinner/knitters we are usually well prepared and love our wool. Oh yes, and there was lamb stew to keep warm, too. Notlwonk is an annual retreat for the group and this was my first year to tag along. Emmylou, Blogless Katherine and I made the trek and enjoyed the whole day.

Katherine drove as I gawked out the window at the verdant verde valley, spotting birds and beautiful views along the way.  It was a special treat to see this pair of Sandhill Cranes dancing in a field.  The drive takes us far north of Salt Lake, into the Cache Valley, very near the Idaho border. We arrived at the Knowlton's farm, known as Notlwonk Springs, just in time to settle in and ready for the freeforall of shopping. They have roving, yarn and fleece produced by their flock of Rambouillet/Lincoln.

The first place I headed was the "Roving Room", others took off to get the fleece of their choice and still others, headed for the yarn. Everyone was moving so quickly that all you saw was a blur of activity.   Luckily, Judy was there to enabled guide me towards two soft and lovely rovings, one of light brown and another in a soft tan. There should be enough a sweater.  (I'm considering sending it to  Lynn rather than spinning it myself...talk about for.ev.er and boring. I'd rather spend my spinning time playing with color and texture.  There will be plenty of  pleasure while knitting, and I'll still have a Notlwonk sweater.)

Spinners and their wheels were packed in tight, but it was so enjoyable to spin and chat with others who love working with fiber.  After shopping, we fortified ourselves with Jo's delicious lamb stew (and other pot luck goodies) and then sat back to enjoy even more spinning and chatting.

The biggest freeforall of the day comes when all the 'skirts' are piled up in the garage, everyone is given a bag to fill and, on the count of three, grabs up all they can fit into the bag.  You can see in the  picture below that a few heads and a bit of fleece was all I could see during the scrabble.

Lynn warned me that blood might be drawn, but everyone behaved and I ended up with a small bag of skirts. The main reason I bagged some was for the experience of working with raw wool, that old curiosity thing, and because the weather was so inclement we couldn't visit our friends the sheep.  I know the skirting isn't the best part of a fleece, but it was an easy way to get 'a little' fleece and try the process of washing. (Perhaps you'll all leave me alone and I can say...been there done that!).  Washing wasn't difficult, or even that smelly, but it was time consuming AND it's still drying 24 hours later (in our dry climate)!  If, IF ever I'm tempted by a full fleece, it will go directly to Lynn.

Here is the 'in process' shot and afterwards. Who knows if things will progress from here.

The day was wonderful and Katherine and I got to know each other a little better, too.  My plan is to make it to many, many more Wool Treks at Notlwonk.

Treats with No Tricks

Happy Halloween!!!

Do you like my new bumper sticker? May you have a spooky, fun and treatful day!

Here are the fiber treats from Rhinebeck:

   

It was much easier to get to Grafton Fiber to pick up a batt than I thought it might be. Everyone was lined up at The Fold for STR, which made it fairly easy to get around the Grafton booth.  I picked up a batt for Susan (she'd asked for an autumn colorway but I went with 'Fire!', which is my name for it).  I also bought myself a batt in one of the strangest color combos I've seen.  It has a bit of black, fuchsia, deeper shades of pink and a bit of a golden straw color.  It should be interesting to spin and play with the colors.

This ball is Corriedale/silk from Stephania dyed with logwood and cochineal.  Right after I bought the Golding I started to spin this luscious fiber and found that spinning with silk is different than anything I'd spun before.  There is so much to learn about spindle spinning and wheel spinning (which I find to be two different animals-just sayin'). but it's enjoyable to learn more and more. The Golding spindle (Celtic Ring-2 3/4") spins on and on and I'm enjoying it's beauty.

Indigo Moon Farm had so many beautiful colors, but this one really spoke to me.  It's two shades of turquoise with a pale purple line down one side.  It will be interesting to watch it spin into yarn.  The content is 50% alpaca/30% merino/20% silk.  It is so incredibly soft.

Barnswallow Farms batts are soft and rich in color.  This is Copper Rose and the content is LincolnX.  It was so, so lovely and I just had to have three batts.  This is another fiber I hope to be worthy enough (with much more practice) to spin (someday) on my newly acquired wheel.

This Fantom Farm Romney roving had so much depth in its unique color combination that I just had to buy it.  It will be interesting to watch as I spin and ply, which I hope to do well enough to keep the colors separate or at least not blend them too much.  The goal was to buy a variety of fiber content and colorways so that I could learn the characteristics of each type and fibure out the best way to spin it.  This likely means a lot of learning by trial and error is in my future.

Jager Farms Icelandic lace weight singles drew my attention with its lively color. It was the only yarn that enticed me to break the 'no yarn' pledge.  The lovley color, called 'Snapdragons', should make a warm and beautiful shawl. I also bought Blogless Val the same yarn in 'Apple Tree's.  (Karen also got a gift of some beautiful roving.)

My last stop was Spinners Hill, where a large bag (over 1 lb) of a deep red, (with bits of black) fiber called out to me. It was so bulky (but very light) that Norma consented to send it to me (and it arrived yesterday).  The goal of buying a variety of fiber was met and I was able to carry most of my purchases (and the wheel) home.  Every time I sit to spin with any of this exquisite fiber I will think of my two days of fiber fun and frenzy at Rhinebeck.

FINALLY! The Rhinebeck Report

But first, the debut of the Cabled Seamans Scarf knit with buffalo/silk yarn made for Smith's Uncle Bob.  Bob was pleased to have a nice warm scarf and even more excited when he found out it was knit with buffalo yarn.  Doesn't he look like Sean Connery?

Pattern: Cabled Seaman Scarf
Designer: Adapted from a stitch pattern in The Knitting Stitch Bible, inspired by Myrna Stahman's book, via help from Susan.
Yarn: Buffalo/silk purchased at SOAR 2005, seller unknown
Time to Knit:  September 20-October 13, 2006

On our way to Rhinebeck Norma and I stopped by Jessie's place to say hello and have lunch with her.  Jessie dyes yarn in the most beautiful color combinations and I can attest to its luxurious softness, too. We dashed through the rain to visit the bird house where her peacock resides and then dashed to the car and off to lunch.  It was a very enjoyable and delightful lunch with good food and great chat. Jessie told us of a wine store near by, so we were able to stop and pick up a nice contribution for Winebeck and this is where the Rhinebeck adventure truly begins. I'll also warn you now that I had camnesia for most of the trip.

Norma's GeePeeeEsssssssss had taken us to Jessie's without trouble (almost).  But when we left the store we were both a bit puzzled by the direction the said GP told us to go.  After driving up and down, turning around and around...we decided to just go with it and give it a mile.  Without maps to consult, we had little choice....so, off we went through farm fields, dirt roads, rural farm landscapes and a swamp. YES, SWAMP!   The first dirt road we hit we just looked at each other in wonder...but kept our heading and stayed the course (yes, we understand that can lead to trouble).  The next time we hit a dirt road I turned to Norma and said "Norma, this is the middle of a swamp!"  Just then a road sign popped up (I swear it came out of nowhere) that read "Swamp Road".  As Judy would say "yep, yep, ye-up".  That confirmed it all right.  Norma commented that maybe I should expect an axe to come out from under her seat, but by then she had my complete trust.  It was a short time later that we both gasped at the sight of this...

Norma carefully drove through and kept on truckin'.  It wasn't long before the dear GPS told us the road we sought was just ahead and also that we had saved 20 minutes of time.  It was then we felt safe and relieved.  The rest of the trip looked more like the picture on the right (Carole, Norma is a wicked good driver, just sayin').

It was within a respectable time that we arrived at the hotel in Poughkeepsie and as we walked into the lobby a sea of open arms greeted us.  It is all a blur but I do remember that Laurie, Carole, Stephanie (likely remembered because I had met them before), as well as Sandy, Beth, Cara, Judy, Ann and Vicki. There were so many others to welcome us with hugs and squeals and my brain freezes when I try to replay and remember everyone.  A man checking in asked Norma if it was a high school reunion....a reunion yes!  It was overwhelming (a feeling I had much of the weekend) and awesome to meet so many face to face.

Look at the sea of bloggers at the meet up and you'll see why I spent most of the time talking to and hugging people instead of taking pictures. After trying to go through the pictures I did take I became overwhelmed yet again!  So many posts have already been published about Rhinebeck and its glorious days of wine, women and song fiber galore, bloggers galore, fabulous knit items galore, and food to live for.  It seems I am still behind in trying to catch up with life, with home duties, Bloglines, email and even my own blog. 

Please forgive me if I beg off sharing pictures and linking to all the wonderful bloggers (and non-bloggers) I met.  The operative word for the whole weekend has become overwhelming.  I was overwhelmed with kindness, with hugs, with meeting the bloggers I've connected with most,  with fiber and everything else about the weekend.  There is one huge regret, if you can call it that, that came from meeting everyone.  My dearest wish would be that we had had a chance to sit in small groups to chat and knit, to know each other better and in a more normal mode than a fiber/blogger frenzy.  It's not that it wasn't wonderful, it's just that I am so far away and have only blogging as a way to connect (and yes, phone calls, too) and it just wasn't enough.  So many of you are real friends and there just wasn't time to be 'normal', to be real.  There wasn't time to to get to know more of you or even to do more than just hug and say "Nice to meet you!'.  In other words...I WANT MORE!  It was heartwarming and fulfilling to be with so many fiber enthusiasts and friends.

I did put a picture of Laurie and Marcia in the corner of my blog.  Marcia sold me her wonderful Lendrum DT and you can see on Cheryl's blog that she captured the moment of my taking possession. (She has many other fun pictures, too.)  And Laurie? What can one say about such a generous and caring spirit as she? Not only does she have the best hug ever (as you may have heard), but she is a delight and joy to be around.  Thank you Laurie for making my weekend that much more special.  It would be (and hopefully will be) wonderful to sit and chat when there is more time than just the few minutes we had before falling into exhausted sleep after a day of fiber frenzy.

Tomorrow the loot!

Impossible Dream

It seems an impossible feat to tell you about the trip.  Eight days of wonderful family, lovely fiber friends, beautiful sights, and hugs galore are now a blur.  The pictures will help to tell the tale as soon as I can go through them and put my thoughts into words.  It will take some time to get back into the swing of life as we have groceries to buy, laundry to do and other necessities need to be dealt with, too.

The fiber has been unpacked and I give you a peek here.  It's the booty from the glorious days at Rhinebeck. The number of vendors, the amount of wool and tools available were completely overwhelming to this neophyte. Next time I go (2008...hopefully) I'll have more of an idea what to buy. Please allow me to tell you more about the luscious haul next week.

A wheel did come home with me, but it was purchased from Marcia, and not a vendor at the show.  She just needs the new Kromski portable (can I spill the beans, Marcia?) which will hit the market in November, and had to 'unload' her Lendrum.  I was the very lucky recipient who bought it from her and also brought it home (as luggage) safely.  What a thrill to open the box yesterday morning and set it up, albeit, perhaps bassackwards.  Allow me to introduce Emmylou.  In time she and I will make beautiful music together, there is no doubt.

I can not thank my very talented guest bloggers, Karen and Val, for taking time to set up posts while I was away.  Thank you to all of you for their overwhelming welcome to Blogland.  Perhaps your response will talk them into setting up blogs of their own.   There is so much to tell and today there is very little time to produce much of a post, so let me leave things here.  Over the weekend I'll have time to regroup, look through the pictures and regale you with tales of the trip.  I'll be back tomorrow with a bit more info. It feels good to be home and to be back in Blogland.  Meeting many of my imaginary friends was nothing like meeting strangers, as Cara said, it was more like a reunion!