We spent the weekend at our friends' cabin with them. We get up there once a year, hopefully more often this year. It is such a peaceful and beautiful spot. I took time each morning to walk alone along the road. It's off the beaten path, a gravel road in Amish country. As I walk along, I can see the hoof prints of horses and the lines of the carriage tires. I hear no traffic, just the sounds of pheasant, turkey, bluejays, even a hawk screaming. Today I heard the gentle clip-clop of a horse-drawn buggy in the distance. It is such a peaceful start to the day. We can't wait to get back up there again, though hopefully it will be warmer! It was a cold, wet weekend, and we were thankful for the woodstove in the cabin. There is no heater, just the woodstove, which made everything cozy. Luis and I found morel mushrooms in the woods for the first time this year. We had never tried them before.

We also stopped at a large Amish nursery just up the road. I had been looking for a dwarf cherry tree this year. I bought two dwarf pear trees, but the nursery we normally by from was out of the Northstar cherry trees I wanted. Low and behold, I found them at the Yoder's greenhouses. They were so healthy and beautiful, I was just thrilled. They were even just the right height to slide into the van and make it back to the cabin, then home, without spilling dirt all over. I now have my Northstar dwarf cherry planted in the backyard. :) After giving up on it for this year, I'm very happy. I have to remember the Yoder's for next year. They were so personable and caring about their plants, making sure to tell me how to prune the tree and advising my friend about her blueberry selections. Places like that are a joy to buy from.

I had a weight goal I wanted to have met by today. I wanted to have lost 24 lbs from Feb 14 until today, about 13 weeks. I lost 22.5. I'm slightly bummed that I didn't make it, but considering that my size 10 pants are getting looser and I know that I'm adding even more muscle with my additional workout at the YMCA, I'm not too upset. I've lost a lot of weight. Now my next goal is to lose another 16.5 lbs between now and Aug 1, which would bring me back to the weight I was around the time we got married and into the healthy weight range for my height. We haven't decided yet about baby number 4. I'm kind of thinking of trying in July, which would of course alter this goal. However, I'd still be at a much healthier weight for pregnancy that I was any of the other three times.

I have to frog the Jig sweater I was slowly working on. I've realized that with my weight loss, it will be too big. I'm not willing to waste the yarn making something that won't even fit. The Jaegar Aqua was a serious investment for me. The Evening in Eden stole is coming along nicely. It will be for my sister to wear after her wedding on the beach this fall. The evening will probably be cool, and with her strapless gown she'll need something on her shoulders. It is so elegant and cozy in the cream alpaca. I want to make one for myself; I really like the lace pattern. I'm thrilled that she picked out something that looks so pretty while being so easy to create, at least as far as lace goes.