Let’s see . . . what should I tell you about today?
I could tell you about:
A trip to Harvard. I felt smart there.
A historic mansion in Boston. Very posh.
Matisse in His Studio. The artist and some of the artifacts that inspired him.
I could tell you tons about the Boston Marathon.
Inspiring runners of all different abilities.
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- Wheelchair racers
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- Marine who lost a leg in Afghanistan; he carried the flag the whole way
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- Racers getting help from a friend
Inspiring because they were so fast.
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- Women’s winner–26.2 miles in just under 2:22
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- Ultimate men’s winner and 2nd place, neck and neck with 5 miles to go
Inspiring because they kept a sense of humor.
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- So many costumes and it was VERY warm out!
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- Great hair!
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- Can you see? He juggled three balls the whole way!
Inspiring because they were ordinary folk doing something extraordinary–these young women, who we went to watch, were two of 30,000!
And folks who supported every single one.
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- We watched at Boston College–amazing energy
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- Students cheered miltary runners wildly
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- We ALL wished we had had this idea for watching!
I could go on and on, and tell you about spring coming to the North Country of upstate New York, or the opening of our local ice cream shop, or I could give you updates on weaving, quilting, all kinds of crafting.
But I won’t. I’ll stop being a tease and I’ll tell you what you’ve been waiting to hear, eager to hear . . .
Who wins the hand-woven key fob?!
We had lots of entries, from all over the world, and I do wish I had dozens of key fobs to give away. But I had to use my random number generator to choose one of you.
I love pushing the button on my random number generator—the suspense, the anticipation, the thrill!
My random number generator said I should give the key fob to Judy, at New England Garden and Thread!
But I enjoyed hitting the button and the suspense, the anticipation, the thrill, so much, I hit the button again—what the heck!
And the generator said I should give another key fob to Jean, at One Small Stitch. (This one is sort of daunting—Jean is a weaver of many, MANY years experience! She has been supportive of my learning to weave since even before I took my first workshop.)
So, Judy and Jean, if you will email me at kerrycan2@gmail.com, with your addresses, I’ll send your gift!
And you can choose–either the key fob I originally pictured or this brown and turquoise one I’ve made since. I have two of each.
Everyone else, take heart. I like giving stuff away and, before long, I bet my fingers will be itching to hit that button and choose another random number!
Love Those "Hands at Home" 
Yay, Judy!!!!
Yes! She was very excited!
This random number generator of yours. Is it woven? Or knitted? Or stitched? Or is it a state-of-the-art-high-tech creation from the Apple stable? I think we should be told.
It’s simply a silly little free app I downloaded to my iPhone!
Wasn’t the marathon amazing this year. I watch every year, usually on TV. Everyone is so supportive and the runners so inspiring. Hope your runners had the time of their life:)
It was wonderful! The last time we went, we got POURED on so the nice weather made us so happy (but was very hard on the runners). Our friends managed it well, though, and were completely ebullient at the end of the race!
Congratulations Jean and Judy!
Sometime I’d like to hear about your local ice cream shop. Do they make their own ice cream? What’s your favorite?
No, they don’t make their own–I wish! They have Hershey’s hard ice cream (Outrageous Oatmeal Cookie–OMG!) and something like 30 flavors of soft ice cream but I always have choc and vanilla twist. And they make these sort of crazy ice cream cones that are sugar and cinnamon donuts, in the shape of cones. I had one once but it was TOOOOOOOO much food!
Oh my, you made my day. I’ve just sat down to have coffee after 5+ hours of working outside and find out I won one of your beautiful creations. Be still my heart. 🙂 Photos from the marathon are wonderful. My son-in-law ran two years for Boston Children’s Hospital. It takes a lot of hard work and perseverance not even to mention those who ran with other challenges. I applaud each and every one of them who crossed that finish line.
The key fob is in the mail, Judy! I hope you love it! And, yes, the Marathon takes an amazing commitment. The women I went to watch are out there, during our long, cold winters, training before they go to their teaching jobs . . .
Great post – loved the tease! And the round-up of your corner of the world too. We had the London Marathon yesterday. 40,000 running in that one – including my son. Last year he ran the Brighton, and pulled up at mile 18 with an injury. This year it was mile 16: he caught a stomach bug from his poorly girlfriend. So disappointing for him. Fortunately he has completed marathons in the past and he will do so again, but it comes hard to be thwarted two years in a row. I remain in awe of all those who embark on these mammoth feats, whether they finish first, last, or don’t finish at all. And I’m a tiny bit envious of the Matisse exhibition!
Oh, that’s so awful about your son’s experience! What wretched luck. I did talk to quite a few runners who struggled very much at Boston because of the heat and sun beating down on them. It’s not for the faint of heart! And I wish you could see the Matisse exhibit–it was so interesting to see some of these artifacts he collected displayed right next to the works that depict them!
Is the consolation prize a trip to the Matisse exhibit?
I so wish I had taken better photos of the exhibit. There were some textiles, things he had collected, that were amazing.
Oh you are a tease!! But what a delightful labyrinth to wander through. And now, well, I’ll just have to make myself a new key holder 🙂 Well done the winners! I can’t find the random number thingy on my blog – can you give a clue?
The random number thingy I use is an app I got for my iPhone. If you use any kind of smart phone, there will probably a similar app available. But I also just found some on the internet by Googling the phrase “random number generator”!
Oh, thank you! I thought the thing was in WordPress and I’ve been hunting and hunting……. 😀 (Doh!!)
Hi Kerry,
When I saw your fobs they reminded me of the Crios that used to be made
on the Aran Islands. These are islands off of County Galway on the West coast of Ireland.
If you google Aran Islands Crios ( Irish for belt ) I think you may find it interesting.
Thank you so much! I just came across the word “crios” recently and am very intrigued! I’ve been to one of the Aran Islands (OMG–how it rained!) and will absolutely look for more information about this style of weaving!
What a tease! Congratulations to Judy and Jean – I don’t think I’d be able to choose which fob to have, both are so pretty!
I haven’t heard from Jean yet but Judy chose the one I originally showed–she seems excited!
I enjoyed the tease,I was enjoying the photos so much, momentarily forgot about the drawing.😀. Congratulations to the winners!!👏😄
That’s so nice of you to say, Deb! I love showing photos of places I’ve been but I know it isn’t always fun for the viewers!
My family watched the Marathon, too. My son-in-law got 3 hrs, 1 min.
That’s a good time! Our women were both about 3:23–and very happy with those times.
Congrats to Judy and Jean, and what a sweetie you are, despite being something of a tease! I am also very envious of the Matisse exhibition. That image (is it a painting? A collage?) sums him up.
It’s a collage and, yes, it is SO Matisse-ish! The show was great–they had quite a large number of artifacts he had collected. These they displayed next to paintings where he included the artifacts and the placards described how they served as inspiration, etc. I wish I had taken more, and better, photos.
Congrats Judy and Jean! I love the narration of the Boston trip, too much fun! Thanks for sharing your part of the world!
Thanks for being interested! Sometimes I feel like I do too much with talking about this region so it’s nice to hear that some people enjoy it!
I love hearing and seeing everything! I used to have meetings in DC, but that is pretty much the extent of my eastern travel, so I enjoy every one I read!!
Love these pictures! Boston is one of my favorite cities, and your photos reminded me of how wonderful it is in springtime.
I agree, Fiona–I LOVE Boston! It was exceptionally pretty on this trip–the grass seemed to get greener right before our eyes!
Great photos – I love the one with the hammock, what a resourceful chap.
Yes! He was the envy of everyone there! We stood in our spot (or sat on the dirty, hard curb) for a total of about 4 hours–that hammock was looking very appealing . . .
Great post Kerry. Love all those pictures. I once ran the London Marathon and you have sparked thoughts of perhaps doing the same in Edinburgh one day…..! 🙂
You’ve run a marathon?! I am SO impressed! Boston does a 5K race two days before the marathon . . . I *might* be able to manage that . . .
Fun! The trip to Boston and the giveaway!!
The trip to Boston was amazing, as always!
How fun! They are both beautiful!
Thanks so much–they are such fun to weave!
Sounds like you had a fun trip. Enjoyed the tease too–congratulations to Judy and Jean!
It was a great trip–we were with friends whose daughter was running the race and we did a lot of cool stuff!
Shall I give away my reactions to this post? I loved it!
That’s such a nice thing to say! Thanks!
What a lovely give-away, Kerry. Congratulations to both of your lucky winners. I’m glad you had a good time in Boston. I’m impressed to hear of so many runners at the iconic event. And what an inspiring group of photos you’ve gathered of the day. I love the strength and resilience of these runners.
Thanks, Alys–the race moved me more than I expected, because of the range of runners and the things they overcame to get there.
It’s a gift when that happens. I can remember a few times in my life when emotions overcame me by surprise. Viewing the AIDS memorial quilt was one of them. A powerful experience and one I’ll never forget. Good on you!
Congrats to the lucky winners! The key fobs are beautiful.
Thanks, Sheryl! The winners seemed pleased!
Congratulations, Judy and Jean!