Is This What A Let Down Feels Like?

Well, let's see if I can get a start on this post...

We went up to Massachusetts this past weekend. Rachel was having her senior show and we wanted to be there...both to participate and to help her pay for it and set it up. ("Senior show" isn't really the correct term, but it's probably the most understandable for the readers. I mean, she was going to Hampshire College...they don't really have freshmen, sophomores, and so forth. They have Div I, Div II and Div III's. But anyway...)

We drove up Thursday...the trip took about the usual amount of time but somehow seemed longer and more tedious. I did get some knitting done...a second hat for Andrew in Malabrigo Superwash in the Playa colorway. This and the brown hat I made last week were Christmas presents for Andrew, but he decided that Christmas was when we gave it to him, so he's gotten the hats...and worn them! It's sort of weird how grey and gold this hat looks in the photo. In some lights it looks very much bluer.


But it ended in a pre-hotel-check-in visit to Webs...that's always nice. I got a few Limited Edition Short Skeins of Madelinetosh Vintage and some Malabrigo...all for hats of various sorts.

Then off to see Rachel and Andrew. We visited for a while and snoogled all the cats (it's so nice to see Miss Sophie back where she belongs!) and then went out to dinner at Amherst Chinese. Yum.

Friday morning we got up and had breakfast at the Lone Wolf (Andrew's treat!) which was tasty (waffles!) and very filling. Which was good as I had nothing else to eat until the reception. Here are the kids, dutifully posing for the Obtrusive Mother.

We went our separate ways...Rachel and Andrew to get haircuts and, for Rachel, other primping. Arthur and I trundled around and then, at the appropriate time went to Atkins to pick up the assorted foodstuffs we ordered.

About 3 p.m. we met up at the school and started setting up. I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed at the lack of assistance that the school provided. I mean, when we got to the gallery, there were no tables in sight. Rachel had to run around the building and we had to wrestle the tables down the stairs and into the room. Once there, we got them set up.

Pastries! Fruit! Cheese and crackers! Veggies and dip! Cupcakes! Beer and water and juice and pretty much undrinkable wine! What a spread.

I didn't take many pictures because I'm just that stupid. I started to take some pictures of Rachel's work but she came up to me and told me it was wasting my time as the pictures had all been scanned. Which is all very well, except that I have nothing to put up here except one picture.

I wish I had taken a picture of the drawing Rachel did of Cooper curled up asleep. I love that one.

Here's a shot, early on in the event, of Rachel and some friends and professor. It was nice to meet these professors that Rachel had been telling us about and they were very complimentary of Rachel and her work.

After dinner we gathered up friends (my friend Andy and her family -- Georgeanne and Annie -- came with us, as well as friends of Rachel's -- Andrew, of course, and Morgan and Patrick and Kathleen and Natasha) and all went to dinner at another Chinese restaurant...one with a large round table and a huge lazy susan in the middle of the table. It was so much fun. I like Rachel's friends a lot and it was so good to see Andy again. We've missed getting together the last several visits for various reasons. But did I take pictures???? Noooo.

Saturday morning Arthur and I got up and headed toward Mt. Holyoke, in an attempt to see the view from the top on a day that was not solid fog. Unfortunately, when we got there we discovered that the road was closed to the season. I guess I understand why. It is not a road on which one would want to hit a patch of ice!

So we headed off to Brookfield and found the Book Bear, a used bookstore my brother had told us about. I got a couple knitting books. On the way back from there we saw a different entrance into the Quabbin Reservoir Park and decided to explore. We found the Tower Hill (not a great feat of navigation...the road led straight to it. We parked and climbed the hill to the tower.

Here's a tree we passed on the walk up.

And here's the view from the top of the hill...the tower was closed.

You cannot imagine how quiet it is in the park. Just wonderful. All you hear is the wind blow. You can see it was a beautiful day.

Dinner with Rachel at Paul and Elizabeth's in Northampton and then home early on Sunday. The trip home went very quickly. And I didn't even nap!

So Rachel is a college graduate (well, officially in a couple of weeks but for all intents and purposes, she's done). It's a whole new stage for her and somehow it feels like a new stage for us, too. One that may require some adjustment on my part...