Today was my first time ever using a metal detector! Before embarking on my adventure, I asked my husband for a hat so hunters wouldn't mistake me for a frolicking deer. He found me a hat--an ugly hat--which I refused to wear because I didn't want to look ridiculous. He politely reminded me that I was about to go metal detecting and there really is no way to look not-ridiculous while metal detecting. I do think I pulled it off with my  fur cap and  satchel. Anyway... my fingers are numb. My arm hurts. I have thorns protruding from my flesh. And I am chafing. But I found a few things and I learned...

I arrived home from work yesterday to find my new metal detector waiting patiently on my doorstep. Woohoo! That means that today will mark the first day of my metal detecting adventures--even if it will be a mere thirty-six degrees. At least I don't live in Buffalo, NY! Anyway, in my eagerness to hit the ground running... or rather metal detecting... I spent the last week seeking permission to all the places on my first ever  metal detecting wish list: 1) The Old Road - I was looking at old topography maps of my house and discovered an old road that ran behind my house in the early 1900s....

My family thinks I'm nuts. After all, I am only twenty-six. When they envision a metal detecting hobbyists, they envision some retiree in his early sixties sweeping the beach for spare change. Perhaps in some past life, I was a sixty-something retiree because the prospect of metal detecting is probably the most exciting idea I've had of late--apart from putting my kids in daycare for two more days a week. That was pretty revolutionary. I have been labeled an old soul by strangers, friends, and family.What can I say? I like old stuff. My family playfully suggests that my house is more like...