These are the ones that didn’t get away before I could take a photo.

Of course, the fun wasn’t over then. In fact, the fun had started on Friday, with BD driving me through the green and blue Virginia countryside. Then there was the checking in to The Old Staunton Inn. Here’s our 3rd floor room.




So many hills and so many steps. This flatlander’s thighs and shins were burning all weekend.

The following day I had a storytelling gig at the Staunton Public Library. Those who know me know I simply can’t stop talking and I’m always making a story about whatever has been happening in my world. When my stories are used up I can go on to tell Other Stories; fairy tales, fables, fiber stories. When they’re all used up I can make up new ones. I really am a nice girl - if only I’d stop talking. Irritating sometimes, but not when children have gathered to learn about the world through the magic of stories.

But first, I got to have brunch with 3 other knitting librarians at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel & Conference Center. Very white tablecloths and gleaming cutlery with the feel of the 1920’s about it.


I bet nobody would have thought that chattery bunch of women were really shushing librarians. R is the director - and old friend, veteran of many library gatherings. B is the children’s librarian, a new friend and story telling compatriot. J is an e-mail buddy with whom I finally got to have a face to face meeting. We could have chatted and visited all afternoon.


The library is in an old school building - as so many downtown city libraries are. It’s one of my favorite old school building transformations, probably because I loved going to school and still feel both excited with the possibilities and comforted by the familiarity of those brick monuments to knowing. I could never feel that way about the flat sleek dullness of post 1950 school architecture, but the schools built before WWII still make me feel like I could really learn stuff inside.

So - I don’t like to sound braggy about my storytelling skills. I’ll just say I had a super time sharing my tales and introducing children to spinning and the spinning wheel. I could tell by their bright eyes that they had fun and I think even the adults in the audience had a good time. I still get a tremendous rush from telling these stories, but I’m also busy adding new story programs to my repertoire. Eventually I want to have a solid list of story telling programs on a number of topics, either germane to school curriculums or seasonal, that I can take out on the road. No doubt about it - I can get addicted to the rush of being on stage, but there’s a deeper motivation driving me on. The tales, especially the old ones, but all of our stories and tales and books and novels are how we pass on the important lessons children need to learn. I know I took the lessons I learned through the stories much more to heart than the ones I learned as rules.

One of these days I am going to retire from the library - but I don’t ever intend to retire from sharing stories. In fact, I hope this will become my retirement job - traveling bard - storyteller - that nice lady who never stops talking.

So. That was my wonderful weekend in Staunton. It rained the whole time. It rained all the way home. It got really windy before we actually got home. It was a perfectly heavenly weekend and even the blight of Monday didn’t diminish the fun I had. Just put it in the background for a little while. I just can’t wait to go back.