Where do I begin?

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I updated! I feel bad, but in a nicely tanned (for me), finally back from Florida kind of way! As you recall, I was heading to Florida to visit the newly retired parents with the toddler in tow...alone...on a plane. Didn't hear the screaming early Easter Sunday morning? That's cuz there wasn't any. From me or from the toddler. No, really. She handled the plane ride with the skill and aplomb of a hardened businessman. No screaming, no kicking, no temper tantrums or freakouts. Takeoff - no problem. Landing - no problem. Two plus hours in a carseat with no chance to get up - no problem. The kid's a champ, and I have to stop underestimating her. Nuff said.

I was even more concerned because she had spent the week before we left sick. Wednesday she felt better, but then Thursday night, while DH was winging his way to Kenya, I was scooping toddler vomit out of her crib. But she pulled through and Sunday morning dawned on a finally better baby girl. I at least made it to Florida and into bed at my parents' house before getting sick. Yup. I spent my first 5 days sick as the proverbial dog with a 102 degree fever and stomach upsets. Ick. What a way to spend a vaca. But at least I was with my parents, who watched over the increasingly rammy daughter while I lay on the couch moaning and popping aspirin in a desperate attempt to keep my fever from going ever-higher. So when DH arrived safely home from Kenya with lots of stories, 17 rolls of film and no funky tropical diseases (yet!) I asked if I could stay longer. Which I did. By a week. Didn't really plan it that way, but didn't want to change my flight for one that would cost my parents (who paid for our tickets down) even more money. So a week it was. I'm glad. We had TONS of fun, I miss Florida and my parents (doesn't help that it's about 55 degrees and miserable here right now!) and want to go back. Ok, want to MOVE there. But that will have to wait until we hit the lottery, I suppose, because we can't afford a $200,000 house right now...although it would be worth every penny! I mean, if you love nature, you have to go to Florida (I know, I know, there's plenty of other places that are chock full of all types of nature-y things, but I haven't been those places! Ask me at the end of July how nature-y Maine is and I'm sure I'll be waxing poetic about that, but for now, Florida is the way to go!) Helps, too, that my godparents are down there, and I do adore them and miss them terribly. My godfather Paul is like a Pied Piper for children...my daughter would have followed him anywhere, and he does nothing to endear himself to children, he just is. Very cool people.

So I leave you with pictures of my fiber room that I promised oh so long ago. It's not DONE, not completely, there's still crap on the floor and things that need to be arranged better, but the storage is in and it ROCKS! Need simple storage for your fiber? Get thee to an IKEA. Get thee an Expedit. You won't regret it (hey, I think that's what they use to hold the yarn at Loop. Cool stuff!)

This is column by column (the room's WAY too narrow to get the entire monstrosity in one frame) of Expedit. I was hoping to fit the fiber I'd purchased from one particular ebay seller in the entire bookcase...instead, I fit pretty much ALL of my fiber in the bookcase. Rock on!

Four columns, 16 cubes of fibery goodness. And on top like icing?

My adorable canvas stripey storage bins from Target that I didn't think would fit on top (need ceiling fan clearance). But they do. Those stacks of yarn between the bins? MY handspun. Nice.