the long weekend

The boy had yesterday off, which meant we got to enjoy a long weekend. I feel that I've been spoiled lately. With all the holidays and snow days we've been able to spend more time together instead of heading off to work. We didn't have that many plans, but it ended up being a busy and fun few days.

On Sunday morning we headed off to the Farmer's Market for the first time since before Christmas. Can you imagine what we found there?

Fresh tomatoes! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these bright spots of red at one of the tables. They're grown inside a greenhouse, of course, but they are tasty as can be. It made me happy to know that these tomatoes came from close by, carefully tended by the very person we bought them from.

Yesterday we went to the movies for the first time in ages. I have a long list of films I'd like to catch before they leave theaters, but we decided on True Grit. I definitely enjoyed it, despite the bloody bits. The storyline and acting are just as good as every one's saying, but I was also struck by how beautiful the scenery and props were.

On Sunday a friend and I took a beginners crochet class! It's something I've wanted to learn for a while and now I am practicing the three stitches we were taught over and over. It's confusing, but I find it to be a bit more relaxing than knitting and can't wait to try out a pattern.

As the sun peeked out, we watched the icicles hanging from our roof grow longer and longer. This picture is of a spot near our gutter where the ice comes all the way down past our window. I know it's not good for the house... but it's magical to look at.

The highlight of our weekend was taking a trip with to Northampton to see John McCauley and Ian O'Neil of Deer Tick play at the Iron Horse. It was a late show so we made a night of it, stopping here first to get dinner and coffee. And then it was off to stand in line in the cold. Fortunately we had brought Joe and Matt with us and they kept us entertained while we waited. It was an amazing show, one of my favorites I've seen lately. Lot's of Deer Tick songs and also a bunch of tunes that were brand new to me. John McCauley played a few from a new band he's in called Middle Brother. You can listen to a song and read a bit about them here. It's definitely one I'm looking forward to hearing when it comes out.

So, in summary, long weekends are fun and there should be more of them.