We have arrived at the other side of the continent just in time to miss that eclipse, darn it. The good news? Our church is still standing and looking fine!

The even better news? It is summer in Upper Cape. That means sunshine, swimming, good food, and good company. As I did last year, this blog turns into church rehab updates for awhile (with small bits of fiber news thrown in). I really only have a few pictures from the road. We stopped at Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming (see above)and on the Mississippi at Hannibal as our two tourist breaks. One of our overnights was in Laramie – a great town if you have a chance to visit.

We vowed we would keep this road trip reasonable so we took a little extra time in Maine. That meant a stop at Halcyon Yarn and a stop at the home of Macomber looms. It was so much fun to meet Ed, the man behind the looms. He gave us a tour of his shop – it really is a one-man operation. I love Macomber looms and their solid construction and now I know why. We enjoyed seeing how the looms are built and some of the original tools he uses. He really creates almost all the parts right there in the building. We saw several baby Macs in progress, some bigger looms underway, but the coolest by far was one of the original looms that had found its way back home. My loom was built in 1951 and is in book 1 of the log books!

We did finally make it to Upper Cape. Our little church finally has its roof cap on. We devoted a big portion of last summer to achieving this goal – new roof and no leaks. As a bonus, we also have drywall on the loft construction! That means the bathroom work can begin in earnest. I painted all the walls while Erik put up the backer board for the shower. Our electrician did a wizard job of installing all the electricity so we can have lights and music and (arriving tomorrow) a refrigerator. The loft functions well as a yoga studio for my yoga practice but it takes an hour of yoga for me to have the courage to climb off the loft and go down that ladder.

The other major undertaking for the summer involves flooring. Last summer we played around with things to do with the altar area. It just felt cramped and difficult to manage. We came up with an idea and, in execution, figured out that half the altar area was new construction and the old floor still existed underneath. For the last two days, Erik has been pulling things back to the original and now everything looks much

more open and inviting. It is hard to believe we have only been here one and a half weeks! Our goal is to be able to stay here before we leave. There is a lot to do…

Oh and I can’t forget the Port Elgin Exhibition. The local 4-H group exhibits, judges, and celebrates what they did over the past year. Adults compete in gardening and crafts. I really enjoy the horse pulls with Percherons and sulky racing with Pacers and Trotters. This year the trotters set a track record. I spent a few hours demonstrating spinning and chatting with friends and some of 4-Hers. Maybe next year I’ll take some weaving. In any case, I almost filled a bobbin of singles.

Well, enjoy the eclipse everyone! I think we will just spend the day at the beach and think of you all.