Going to Rhinebeck By Staying Home

As a lot of you (most of you?) probably know, this weekend is the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York, and I know so many people who are going.  And of course, on Instagram, blogs, and podcasts, people are not just talking about it, but knitting "Rhinebeck sweaters," planning what to buy, etc.  I enjoy the vicarious aspects of this, and to be honest, even though I know it's a huge festival and can be crowded out of this world, I would like to go myself just once.  For the experience and because it's such a lovely time of year to be traveling to that part of the universe.

Anyway, once again this year, I will be at home while everyone else travels, enjoying their various social media posts, hearing what friends did/bought/saw, etc. and feeling a teeny bit left out.  BUT guess what?  I'm going to Rhinebeck anyway, though I am not leaving the state of Pennsylvania.

I have been giving this some thought for about a month, and here is my plan.  By the way, the other day, I said to The Tim, "This weekend is Rhinebeck, and we are going to do it ourselves!" and he quite excitedly said, "Oh wow!  We're actually going???"  Yes, dear, we can just drop everything and go with no planning, and we won't have any trouble finding a place to stay or anything.  I mean - really? 

Anyway.

Being that it is Three on Thursday, I'm sharing three of the things I'm planning for My Rhinebeck Weekend.

1.  Apparently, a big specialty at Rhinebeck is Apple Cider Donuts.  I plan to get up on Saturday morning and head over to the farmer's market, where they have both freshly made apple cider donuts, as well as apple cider.  If for some reason, they are out, I have some apple cider tea to enjoy.

2.  On one of the days I'm walking over to Loop, because they are having a Fall Festival for those who aren't traveling up to New York.  I think it will be fun, and I like the idea of seeing yarns that are new to me.  I don't know if I will buy anything, but I do know one of the women behind Liverpool Yarns, and it's always nice to get to see her.  Who knows who else I might run into?  And you'll never find me turning down a Philly pretzel!

3.  Fall walk and crock pot dinner on Sunday.  If you are walking around Rhinebeck all day, you likely want a nice, hearty dinner where you can relax and enjoy thinking over your weekend and all the people you saw, animals you petted, yarn you fondled.  Hamlet and I will take one particular walking route on Sunday where we can enjoy fall, Halloween decorations, and just being outside.  That morning, I'll put stuff into the crock pot so that our dinner will be cooking while we are out walking, and the house will smell good all day.  I haven't decided yet what to fix, but I have a couple of distinct possibilities in mind.

Of course, I'll also be knitting - why have a Rhinebeck weekend without some actual knitting?  I have some gifts on the needles, and since I will likely be recovering from Members' Night at work after tomorrow night, sitting and knitting will be extra enjoyable and relaxing.

So that's the plan.  Depending on how things go, it may become an annual event for me.  And who knows, maybe next year, we can all plan a Staying Home Rhinebeck weekend, virtually or in real life!  Something to think about, right?

*****

Thanks to all of the people who sent kind comments about yesterday's post.  I am fine, and was all day - it just kept seeming surreal.  As I told several people, it's probably a good thing that I was stunned, because if I had been paying more attention, I think my natural impulse would have been to slap the woman back, and that wouldn't have ended well for me in any fashion.  It was all the more weird because Wawa can be crowded, but it is truly a benign place 99.9999999% of the time.  Go figure.

Moral of the story: Maybe I should stick to tea.  ;-)