Busy Week

Whew! I need to catch my breath. While the washer and dryer are doing their Monday morning thing(s), I’m enjoying a few minutes of relaxation…cup of coffee in hand, here in front of our fireplace. Thought I’d share my view with you, too. Ahhhhh….

Last week was a super busy one for us, starting with our first-ever Carolina Panthers game on Sunday. I had fried some chicken the night before, so we packed up a cooler and the picnic hamper for some tasty tail-gating, then headed off to join the crowd at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. As #34 DeAngelo Williams (formerly of the University of Memphis) is now a Panther, our interest in the team is more than just sharing the same state with them. (Update: DeAngelo scored the winning touchdown in yesterday's game vs. Tampa Bay!) Our seats are in the nose-bleed section AKA Section 520, and we had some interesting (shall we say?) Redskins fans as seat-mates (one of whom caused quite a “stir” near the end of the first quarter)…but they’d left by the half, the stadium staff cleaned up his mess, it did NOT rain as predicted, and we won the game…so, hooray!

Monday was a little more hectic than usual, with a follow-up doctor visit for N/M/E. Her foot problem is getting better (and certainly not keeping her from bridge…:), so we’re encouraged. Still, if you have the choice, you really don’t want to have had an allergic reaction to the generic medication and have to use the newer, more costly Brand-name version. Trust me on this.

Tuesday, I headed back to ATL for a couple of days. Work. Rain. Dentist. Rain. Back home. About covers it. Oh yeah…I’d downloaded the unabridged edition of Dan Brown’s newest book, The Lost Symbol, from Audible.com before I left…all 17.5 hours of it! So, I popped in my iPod connection, and Lillie Pearl PTC and I had a most enjoyable ride. Meanwhile, I’d put my name on the reserve list at the High Point Library for this book; they called on Monday to say they were holding the book for me, so I swung by the DRIVE THROUGH window (oh boy, howdy...do I ever love a library with online reserving and drive through windows!) on the way out of town…needless to say, I think I’ve found The Lost Symbol!

While in GA, I discovered a new (at least to me) yarn shop in Duluth, called Rare Purls (right). It’s located inside the Knox House, one of the oldest houses in town…one that’s been restored and also houses a restaurant/tea room. Nice break in the work day. No yarn came home with me this time, but I sure was interested in that one that includes camel…! I petted it several times.

Returned home late Thursday to catch up on laundry and email…and have a little time with Mr. T, who had rearranged his work/travel schedule to be able to be close-to-home with N/M/E while I was out-of-town. Bless him and his loving heart!

On Friday, a friend and I enjoyed the French Horn Spectacular program in the Friday Favorites Series with the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh. Lovely music…lovely day. JS then treated me to a tasty luncheon at the Posta Tuscan Grille on Fayetteville Street near the Meymandi Concert Hall…such a pleasant, relaxing, unhurried meal…a great way to renew a NC friendship. I had the Insalata di Pollo, following some tempting bruschetta appetizers. Yummy! We even worked in a stop at a yarn shop on the way out of town called Great Yarns. No yarn came home with either of us…we are both extremely mindful of just how much yarn we already own (me, because I’m still trying to find a place for all of it in all of these moving boxes; she, because she just organized her stash into neat containers at home). Good little girls were we.

And this past weekend? Well, I had wanted to attend the Harvest Days at Old Salem (in Winston-Salem), but the cloudy, rain-threatening weather continued to hang around…so, we decided to devote some time to the projects on our list.

Did I tell you that my pantry shelving was beginning to pull away from the wall…just like the master closet shelving did not too long ago? As we have future-plans (2010-11) to re-do the kitchen, including reworking and enlarging the pantry, our solution to the present pantry problem needed to be quick, relatively easy, and relatively inexpensive. Enter J. C. Penney! I ordered free-standing pantry shelving from their Cooks.com website…and after a couple of days of emptying the pantry, removing the old wire shelves, and patching and painting the holes/wall, we (mostly Mr. T) got the new shelves up and operational. Yeah!

Mr. T also got to check a few more projects off his list. He (and Gus...always the Supervisor on all projects...see the photo, left...:) installed 3 pull-out stainless steel trays in the false cabinet fronts of the kitchen sink and the two bathroom sinks in the master, and 2 valet rods in the master closet…all ordered online from Rev-a-Shelf of Jeffersontown, KY. Sweet!

Finally, since the recent rains had ushered in cooler weather, and frost was predicted for last night, I harvested the ripe peppers, tomatoes, and beans in the garden, and he moved the tender potted plants inside from their Summer homes on the porches. [Check out the photo (left) to see the amount of growth on our largest corn plant…wow!] I’m not sure that we got frost, but we were pretty close. It's only 48 now.

Football and frost? Yes, Fall has arrived! And, we have earned our nap-time, haven't we, Mr. G (right)?

My Baby's All Grown Up

I can hardly believe that dear daughter, Missy M, just celebrated such a milestone birthday this past weekend (photo to left). Yes, I put 30 candles on the cake...actually, 31, with one to grow on (right). I reminded her that in just 9 short years, she and I would be the same age...since I stopped having birthdays, per se, and started having anniversaries of my 39th birthday.

Hence, that birthday cake that Mr. T got me back in July ("Happy 39th Birthday Again").


Anyway...


Wasn't it just yesterday that we were riding around in Ol' Blue Car (a twelve year old '68 Oldsmobile Delmont 88 that we'd "inherited" from great-Uncle Smiley when he stopped driving in the late 70's), heading out to the Wally Bahtlett Montessori School? (She couldn't quite manage to pronounce Raleigh-Bartlett...but she nailed Montessori every time!) Who said it first, said it best: tempus fugit.


Here is a photo (right) of her taken at her third birthday party at the Zoo in Memphis. She's blowing out the candles on her Strawberry Shortcake cake...for the second time. The first time, her friend Daniel (with his Mom, Lyn...a former neighbor and great friend in Cordova) got there before she did and poof! We had to re-light them. Easily fixed. Lovingly remembered.


We had a great weekend in Louisville. We came bearing gifts...and cake...for the Birthday Girl on Friday. Then, we went to the Glassworks on Saturday to Blow Our Own Pumpkins. That's a shot (left) of Mr. T's pumpkin, getting the addition of a red-hot stem, courtesy of one of the glass-blowers in residence. We've enjoyed this activity several times, making Christmas ornaments and suncatchers. I guess we've been too many times as the Chief Glass-blower (right, chatting with Mr. T) recognized us and welcomed us back. Ahem.

Then, we met up with Brother T at the Shogun Japanese Restaurant for some dining entertainment. It was good to visit with him and catch up, if only for a couple of hours. Hope we'll all be able to get together again at Christmas.

Sunday was a quiet day, dedicated to viewing as many of the "new" (2007-08) season of Midsomer Murders as time would allow. Missy M had given the British 10-episode version of this combination of portions of Series 10 and Series 11 to Mr T for his recent birthday, but the "region-free" video player needed for viewing the Brit DVD's arrived after we'd departed in September. So, we unwrapped and unpacked and plugged in...and popped some corn...and made our way through multiple murders and mysteries. I was a bit wimpy due to an enlarged tear duct/sinus? inside my eyelid...which made my right eye appear swollen and discolored, like I'd run into a door...or a fist...so, lounging around all day was fine by me. Pass the salt, please.

Also, we got to spend time with Elmo and Ella Rae, who couldn't get enough of Daddy (left).
They seem to still remember us, especially when they hear the word w-a-l-k and the leashes come out of the closet basket.

Then, all of a sudden, it was Monday. Back to work for Missy M. Back to High Point for us...after I took advantage of MM's yarn swift to wind over 1100 yards of some Baby Alpaca yarn I've had for nearly a year. As I'd purchased it on half-price sale...with a customer-loyalty gift certificate, to boot, I hadn't had the heart (or any other body parts) to ask the shop owner to wind it for me. I have my own makeshift "swift" here at home (AKA: my kitchen butcher block's well-spaced handle), but winding that much yarn at one time would have taken me several hours. As it was, it took almost exactly one Masterpiece Theatre, since we queued up the Inspector Lewis program that had been DVR'd from Sunday night. Neat, how that all worked out, eh?

Speaking of knitting (we were, weren't we?)...



Yes, I am still knitting. I know, I know, I haven't mentioned it much in this space lately...and for good reason. I've been laboring over a pair of socks for Missy M's birthday. I mentioned this project in passing, but couldn't say much without giving away the surprise, I suppose. Anyway. I had read about a sock pattern online (on the Yarn Harlot's blog, I think) called Viper Pilots. A designer had translated her love (obsession is such a strong word, don't you agree...:) of the sci-fi series Battlestar Galatica into socks. And, since MM was such a fan, I thought "perfect!"

Right.

Well, I am happy to say that I finished the pair in time to wrap them up for her birthday, after having started them LAST APRIL. And, she seemed to love them, so all's well that ends well...or something along those lines. Thankfully, I had learned (courtesy of one of MM's books) to knit two socks at the same time...because I can assure you, if I had knitted them separately per the pattern, and (finally) finished the first sock, that would have been all MM got for her gift. There wouldn't have been a Sock #2.

This pattern is beautiful in its intricate sworls, etc., but it is excessively reliant on using a stitch called KTBL: knit through the back loop. This creates a twisted knit stitch, which is "nice" for spiffing up a pattern. But, using KTBL for the entire pattern?! ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH! The designer must have been insane. Or, trying to make me so. I didn't get to knit...just knit...a stitch until the bottom of the foot. If an entire design of twisted stitches weren't irritating enough, the charting (which you had to follow closely to make sure you were crossing stitches and cabling correctly) was blinding. I finally figured out that I had to gather together all of the colored markers I owned in order to keep the charted stitches for all the cross-overs and cables straight. And, to add insult to injury...the design started every row with a purl stitch...which is cumbersome to say the least, when working on two circular needles...and two socks. Bah! I didn't even get to enjoy the beautiful yarn I selected...a Dream in Color "Starry" colourway called Some Summer Sky, which incorporates a silver thread in some of the softest yarn out there. [The silver thread makes it shimmer!] Anyway...gripe, gripe, gripe...but, aren't they amazing? And, my hat's off to the designer. (Of course, when I check out patterns now, if I even see a single twisted stitch in a chart, I toss it aside. No more...not for me...not anytime soon, for sure.)

OK...now that I've gotten the grousing out...truth-be-told? I've been working on several baby sweaters, trying to find a just-perfect pattern as my go-to Baby Sweater choice. I'll post these soon...one is a gift, and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Tee hee.

Home Again, Home Again...Jiggity, Jog

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, let's see what that one of Lillie Pearl PT Cruiser is saying over there (left). Hmmm...

Obviously, she's parked in front of the Homewood Suites. Yep, she took me to ATL last week...hooray, hooray! I no longer have to fly to my favorite work destination 3-4 times a year. I can now drive, as it's only 5-6 hours...Interstate 85 all the way. Some of you might be saying "only" 5 hours?? But those of you who have to fly regularly probably understand: with the increased security measures increasing the "wait" time at airports (remember, you have to get there an hour ahead of your scheduled flight...and that doesn't include drive time to the airport, parking your car, or hopping the shuttle from the Parking Spot, etc....and, of course, there's the baggage retrieval and rental car experiences...:), a two-hour flight can end up costing you 4-5 hours to get to your final destination...and you are exhausted.

Driving yourself? Hey, you are in charge of your own schedule and itinerary...start when you want, stop when you want, and, best of all, you get to listen to your latest book-on-CD (I enjoyed "The White Queen" by Philippa Gregory and "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie, read by Brit fav Hugh Fraser...which I downloaded to my iPod, along with all of my favorite podcasts from Cast On and Car Talk...:), if you are fortunate enough to have an MP3 port (which LP does). Oh yeah...much better.

While you can't tell it from that photo, I arrived in ATL on the day after The Big Storm. You probably saw it all on CNN or the Weather Station. Rain water everywhere. News reports of death and destruction. Bridges washed away. Roads impassable. Homes destoyed. Schools closed due to flooded buildings. Unbelievable. What is barely visible in the pic is the reminder of what is necessary in the aftermath of such a deluge: those vehicles in the upper left? All commercial cars with logos from Safeco, Nationwide, and Farm Bureau Insurance companies, along with one from Independent Adjusters. Happy to see they are johnny-on-the-spot. Fortunately, the sun shined every day I was there, so they were drying out and cleaning up by the time I left on Thursday.


Of course, my ATL trip was for business...but I work in a little shopping where/when I can. Who wouldn't? Only...where most people might head to Buckhead for the fancy shoppes, I check out places like JoAnn's Super Store in Duluth. Hey...I never said I could lay claim to being a Big Spender.

I came away with some Halloween/Harvest/Thanksgiving decorations for my new front porch. Since major Druid Holidays are not exactly my cup of tea, I have almost NO scarey items and only a limited number of seasonal specialties, including some 20-25 year old Caspar-like ghostie wind socks for the porch lights on either side of the door. The creepiest item we have is a spooky songs cassette tape (which tells you just how old it is...:) which we play...if we can find the only working cassette player we have.

Anyway, back at home now. Mr. T located the Halloween storage boxes in the attic, so I decorated the house this weekend. He said "for someone who says she doesn't like Halloween, you sure have a lot of Halloween items, dear." A lot? Nah. I've just done a good job of grouping what I have...dear. Took a picture of one of the Caspar wind socks on Saturday...sent it to Missy M, as these things have been hanging around (literally) since she was a child. Her response? "Mom...it's not even October yet, and you're putting up the Halloween stuff already?"

Well, it might not be October yet, but it is feeling like Fall around here. I took N/M/E to the doctor yesterday, and between the time we left his parking lot and I came out of the pharmacy with her prescription (20 minutes...max), the thermometer dropped from 86 to 66 (as a swift moving storm-front dumped 1/2 inch of rain on us)! Today? In the sixties, after dropping into the mid-40's last night!

To get in the mood for the change of seasons, I've had a pot of Autumn-smelling potpourri on the stove for a few days. I put some orange peels and lemon rinds in a pot of water, add some cinnamon sticks and whole cloves, and let 'er boil. As the water reduces, I just add some more to keep it from going dry. Then, every other day or so, I add another cinnamon stick and/or clove or two. OMG...smells heavenly. And, Fall-ly.

Mr. T and I were glad we had gotten our Fall planting done on Sunday: 210 new daffodil bulbs (including King Alfred, Ice Follies, and Tahiti), 20 new iris rhizones (several different varieties of purple iris), and 10 new daylilies (two new varieties called Blueberry and Chicago Comanche)...along with dividing and relocating countless daylilies from around our front yard. We'll be so happy with the results come next Spring...which helps us deal with the achy-breaky backs and knees this Fall...tee hee.

We're Back

Hello again from the homefront. We've been on vacation for the past week, so it's time to settle down to the usual Monday routine. A little laundry. A little blogging. I have added another little activity, but I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let's recap...

As N/M/E has been feeling so well lately and agreed to hold the fort with the ferocious Bassets (wink, wink) here in High Point, Mr. T and I headed off to KY last Friday to spend the Labor Day Holiday weekend with Missy M, Ella Rhea, and Elmo. All are well in that neck of the woods, I'm happy to report. As Saturday was Mr. T's birthday, Missy M had made a yummy cake to help us celebrate (photo, left). Steaks on the grill. Corn on the cob. Who could ask for anything better?



We also enjoyed seeing all the fruits of her garden labors, like the beautiful watermelons (photo, right), including one with an eggplant sitting on top, which Ella-Bella is checking out in that photo (left).

Of course, what would a vacation be without a little DIY? You can now check off one huge project from her home improvement list: painting the downstairs den. It used to be this dull-as-dishwater beigey color with wallpaper to match...but NO MORE! It is now a bright yellow color called Squash, with Antique White trim. Wow!! What a beautiful change.

After work, it's always a good idea to include a bit of play, don't you agree? Leaving Louisville, we pointed the Endeavor toward the Smokies. On our way, we enjoyed one of KY's finest wineries, Jean Farris, just outside of Lexington...a lovely treat! Of course, we brought some home with us for our own wine tasting on the screened porch.

Even though I've been going to Gatlinburg and the TN mountains all of my life, I have somehow missed taking the Roaring Fork Historic Motor Trail. It's a narrow, winding 5-mile trail that allows visitors to "slow down and enjoy the forest and the historic (and well-preserved) buildings of the (former community of) Roaring Fork."

We took the drive and were delighted with every aspect. We even stopped for a "little stretch of our legs" by hiking to Grotto Falls (photos, left and right). Oh my goodness...how beautiful! I guess we took 40-50 photos between the two of us. This is supposedly the only falls in the park that allows you to walk behind it. What a treat! I've uploaded some of our photos over there in the left-hand column, so I hope you enjoy the Falls as much as we did.

On our next morning, we headed to Newfound Gap and Clingman's Dome...two old favorites. Unfortunately, the weather arrived at the Dome before we did, wrapping the whole area in a cloud. Still, we were lucky (?) to see a black bear on the road back down the mountain (photo, below, right). He was quite intent on digging something out of the ground, so he paid little attention to us in the car...with the open window...just a few feet away from him. Yikes!

We came back home, rested up and with all good intentions of finally finishing off the remaining boxes in the garage, but alas...didn't quite reach that goal. Still, we continue to make a dent...slowly but surely. I'll let you know when I can finally park Lillie Pearl in the garage...that'll be a yahoo-day, for sure!

While we were away, our garden continued to produce (photo, below left). I was delighted to see all the tomatoes, peppers, and beans on the vines Friday morning. I used the majority of the tomatoes to make a sauce for the Eggplant Parmigiana we had with our dinner Saturday night. Yummy! But it will be hard to top the juicy, sweet watermelon we had yesterday, courtesy of Missy M. I wish I could take a picture of just how good this watermelon tastes!

And, my little extra activity that I've added to my morning routine? Well, spurred on by that 3-mile RT hike to Grotto Falls (and having finally recovered enough for a good walk not to cause muscle pain in my legs...:), I'm back to walking again. Yes, this morning I laced up my New Balance 740's (found them in a box the other day!), fired up my iPod (which had just enough battery "juice" to make it), and was able to do 4730 steps without any leg or back pain. Yippee!! And, I have to say it again...our new neighborhood is simply fabulous for a morning walk, since the half-way point is the park on Oak Hollow reservoir...I walked all the way out on the point to where the picnic shelter is this morning. Waved at some boaters out on the lake. Lovely, indeed!

Master Disaster to Devine Design

It was a dark and stormy night. No wait...it was really rather calm and quiet in the wee hours of a Wednesday morning. Anyway. She and her faithful hounds were sound asleep on the king-size bed, lulled into dream-land by the whirring of the fan, for once not fighting for either territory or covers.

Suddenly, they were jarred from peaceful slumber by a wrenching, ripping, cracking sound, followed by a tremendous thump. Then, all was silent.

What the ^%$$ was that?!? Jolted from a deep sleep, I couldn't quite get my bearings at first. Was that sound in a nightmare? Or, did I really hear something? Better investigate. With the faithful and equally befuddled Duchess in tow (Gus was still sound asleep on the bed...never heard a thing...and Mr T was out-of-town, so he didn't hear it either), I first checked the deck to see if a tree had fallen on the house. No, that wasn't it. Then, I tiptoed down Mom's hall to see if she had possibly fallen while getting up in the middle of the night...and taken down her nightstand in the process. No, wrong again. What could it be?

Upon checking the master closet, I found the source of the sounds. The closet had collapsed, off the wall. Completely collapsed. I kid you not...every thread of clothing that Mr. T and I owned was in a pile...in a heap...on the floor. The wire shelving that the previous owners had used just couldn't support our clothes...and shoes...and other stuff. What a gigantic mess! Nothing to do but climb back into bed, pull the covers over my head, and pray that the closet fairies would fix it all by daylight.


No such luck.

Fortunately, for me at least, after a couple of weeks of dressing out of wardrobe boxes which we stationed in the dining room, Mr. T took over this project and wrangled it to a happy conclusion. He designed us a new master closet, complete with lots of shelves and cubbies and hanging space, and built it all...pretty close to how he designed it. Oh, there were a few words uttered in the heat of the moment, usually after he discovered that a shelf wasn't the exact length he wanted...followed by him muttering "that's why they tell you to measure twice and cut once." But, all-in-all, it's a fabulous improvement over what we had. (I can take zero credit for this one, as I would scamper away at the first sign of dust...terrified that I'd repeat my prolonged bout of bronchitis of earlier this year...and, I must say that re-doing a closet is one dusty project indeed.) Check out the photos (mid-way and after...I didn't have the heart to take a picture of the "before").



Meanwhile, the unpacking process continues. I have finally unpacked all of the Cat's Meows...I think. You see, the movers didn't pack them all together...no, that would have been way too logical. They packed them in whatever space they could fit them in...a few in this box, a few more in that box. Since I have over 200 of these little collectible houses, you can imagine that I didn't take too kindly to having to go through so many boxes to find them all. Oh well. I've been putting them up on the door jams and window sills, all around the house (see photo, left, for the view into the foyer from the great room). Before you ask, yes...I do find that I have to use this sticky stuff called Happy Tack to keep the houses from falling from their perches. Although that still happens sometimes, anyway. We call it "Falling Real Estate!" And, let me tell you...those little blocks of wood can hurt if they score a direct hit on your head! (Voice of experience.)

As I said in a previous post, we got the curtains up in all of the rooms, so it doesn't sound so hollow when you walk through the house on the hardwood floors. In addition, the quilts and quilt racks went up this past weekend...which means the house is really starting to feel like our home.

Finished Objects...In More Ways Than One

Ted E. Bear's showing off the latest knitted Finished Object: a skinny silk scarf in Colinette's Tao colorway "Mardi Gras." The yarn (mentioned in my last post about my trip to Cary, NC) is a gorgeous 100% silk from Wales...in every color of the rainbow. And, did I mention that there are only 117 metres (not quite 128 yards) in a skein? And, that the shop only had one skein in this colorway?? And, that I could only afford one skein of 100% silk yarn from Wales???

I could see this yarn becoming a skinny scarf...one that can be worn with all manner of tops. At all times of the year. And, when the shop owner suggested that I use a dropped stitch, garter stitch "pattern" for making the skinny scarf, I thought: problem solved. I'll be wearing this beauty in no time.

Not so fast.

I cast on for a garter stitch scarf and immediately saw a problem. Garter stitch (all knit stitches) create little "bumps" where the stitch loops are formed...very visible, and very annoying in that the bumps were disrupting the "flow" of rainbow colors...destroying the entire rainbow effect, actually. Didn't like that at all, although I did like the dropped stitches in stockinette (where you purl on the reverse side of a knit stitch). OK...frog it (which, to you non-knitters who are still reading this post, means rip it out), and try something different.

I found a pattern for a chevron lace scarf. Cast on and knit a few inches. Nope...the lace pattern just got hopelessly lost in the busy-ness of the rainbow colors. Frog it...and find something else.

I cast on a limited number of stitches using an afghan pattern that is designed to create waves (sort of like a feather-and-fan design). Nope...pattern was lost, and it was also taking up way too much yarn. If I'd continued that one, the scarf would have been about a foot long, max. Frog it...and find something else.

Ah well, Necessity...better change into your Mother of Invention clothing. I finally decided I would have to design something just for this yarn...and for the scarf I wanted to wear. So, what are the parameters, I asked myself? Well, Number One, it had to be long enough to go around my neck and tie in front...at least 4 feet long. So, that meant I needed to keep the number of stitches per row to a "minimum."

Number Two, the scarf needed to look as good on the reverse as on the front. Pet peeve of mine. It doesn't have to look the same, just as pretty. And, I may be prejudiced, but I think stockinette is ever-so-much prettier (or, hangs more gracefully, maybe) than garter stitch. But, unless you are knitting in the round (which requires a lot of yarn), you can't have ALL stockinette on both sides, so I would have to design a rib pattern. And, because I liked the effect of the dropped stitches, I wanted to include those in the body of the scarf.

Number Three, the pattern needed to be easily memorized. I wanted this project to be repetitive to the point of not having to have to look at a pattern. I'm working on another project that is killing my eyes, since I have to look at a (%#^!*) chart ALL of the time to get the pattern right. I certainly didn't need anything like that.

Number Four, since there wouldn't be enough yarn left over to fringe the bottom edges, the pattern would have to have some kind of "flourish" at the bottom...a modified "ruffle" maybe...both for looks and to help keep the scarf from rolling up (as stockinette will do on its own). That's a close-up of the ending border or modified ruffle (left).


Voila! I did it. I finished my 3.5 x 55 inch skinny scarf (photo, right) yesterday. I was so thrilled with the results that I took the time to write down what I had done (hey, what a novel idea!)...and then, I created a Adobe PDF version and attached it to my blog. Now, I can share my La Grenouille Skinny Scarf with other knitters who have the same idea about their pretty but precious-scarce yarn.

So, why the name, La Grenouille? Heh. During a large portion of the time, while I was knitting and frogging and designing and knitting and frogging and redesigning and knitting and frogging, etc., I was watching an NCIS Marathon on TV (they have them on USA network quite often...you should check 'em out!). And, one of the more mysterious characters (until a couple of seasons ago) was named La Grenouille. That's French for The Frog. Thought the name was most appropriate for my new scarf and pattern.

Anyway, in order to share my pattern with other knitters, I have created a link over there in the left column <---. If you are interested in the pattern, just click Menu and Download...or follow this link right here. All yours! Wear your La Grenouille Skinny Scarf in good health and happiness!

Hitching a Ride

Last Friday, I was scheduled for a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Workshop (for continuing education credits) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Since this is in Mr. T's NC territory, between a couple of dealerships in Raleigh and Durham, I hitched a ride with him on Thursday...and we made a three-day trip out of the ride. He had to work on Thursday, so he dropped me off in downtown Cary, NC, to let me wander...which I do quite well, if I do say so myself.


I had looked up yarn shops in the area and found one called Shuttles, Needles, and Hooks, in Cary. Although the reviews were a mixed bag, I thought I'd try it out anyway. Hmmmm. We entered the address on Chatham Street in Maggie (the name we've given his Magellan GPS) and, when she finally announced "you have arrived," we were a bit suspicious that she'd goofed. That house that appeared to be being devoured by some kudzu (photo on the left) couldn't possibly be a yarn shop...could it? The sign out front was faded and in need of a fresh coat of paint...indeed, the entire place hasn't seen a paint brush in quite a while...but, what the heck? What harm could come to me if I just went up on the front porch to check it out? Such a risk-taker, I am (NOT!).

While grimacing at the rather partisan "GOP" notice on the exterior bulletin board (uh, does this owner not realize that we Dems knit...and spend money in her shop...too?!), I ventured inside...and felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. There were cupboards and bookshelves everywhere...and boxes and crates and bags, to boot...filled, not with empty jars of Orange Marmalade, as Alice experienced, but with more yarn than I've ever seen in one place in my life. Several rooms of yarn. Front door-to-back door yarn, and some more on the enclosed back porch, where the outside vines were growing through the window appearing to be trying to join the eyelash yarns inside. Floor-to-ceiling yarn, and some more in the finished (?) attic space up the tiny, narrow stairs. Skeins of yarn...cones of yarn...balls of yarn. All sizes, textures, and colors of yarn. I'm not sure exactly how it was all organized, but does a drunk care how the bartender organizes the liquor? I was inside for at least an hour, ignoring the heat (the only cool air was provided by a couple of rather anemic window units...and it was a hot, sticky day outside)...and trying to make sense of the fibre-overload I was experiencing.

I finally decided that the tiny skein of rainbow-colored silk yarn from Colinette in Wales (Tao, colorway "Mardi Gras") which I found hiding in a bowl of Colinette, but with no price tag (didn't seem to be anything priced in the whole place) was going home with me (photo, right). I could see it as a Skinny Scarf. I hadn't brought any size US6 needles with me (the recommended size on the yarn wrapper), so I got a pair of those, too. The owner, who was helping another customer with her project when I walked in, was very pleasant and readily agreed to wind my yarn for me...and even suggested using a dropped garter stitch for the scarf. (I'll write more about creating this scarf in another post.) I would definitely recommend this shop, but I think it should come with a warning label: get ready for a wild and woolly yarn trip!

Down the street was a quilt and NC pottery shop, which provided me with another hour of visual and tactile oohing and ahhing. I stand in awe of quilters, who can stitch such intricate patterns in cloth. I keep saying that there is at least ONE quilt in me, but I haven't been moved to make it happen yet.

After a morning of feeding my fibre-soul, I was in need of sustenance for my stomach. Both shop owners had recommended a sandwich shop called the Food Factory across the street, so that was my next stop. Had a tasty Pastrami Reuben with pasta salad. Then, as storm clouds appeared to be gathering, I began the "one-block up, two-block over" walk to the library where I knew I could wait out the weather in cool, quiet comfort...and possibly do a little knitting, too. Along the way, I strolled through a couple of art shops and popped into the Once in a Blue Moon Bakery, where I bought two yummy-looking Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing to share with Mr. T later. He picked me up after he finished his work, and we headed to check into our home-away-from-home, the Homewood Suites in Cary (photos, below). The one with the covered bridge on property. All-in-all, a lovely day indeed.

Friday started early, when Mr T dropped me off on Raleigh Street in Chapel Hill on his way to work. My day was spent at UNC in the Great Hall of the Student Union building with about 30 other coaches and counselors who are interested in new ways of using the MBTI in their practices or offices...and in getting CEU credits to maintain their certification status. My instructor was an acquaintance from my days at Scientific Atlanta (11 years ago, this month, when I got my original MBTI certification), so I felt right at home in the workshop. She always does a fantastic job! I loaded up on new publications (at a nice discount), so now I have quite a long reading list to work through.

Mr. T picked me up just as the rush hour on 15/501 was getting started, so we opted for an early dinner while the traffic cleared. We found a neat Irish pub called Hibernian, in Cary...where we both enjoyed some mighty fine fish and chips with our Sam's Summer Ale. Then, back to our comfortable suite. Those cupcakes were calling!

As we headed out the covered bridge (left) and toward home on Saturday morning, we tried to take in a day lily farm in Moncure (Holly Hill Farm), only to find that they were "closed for the season." Too bad. We obviously haven't found a replacement for our favorite YEAR 'ROUND day lily farm in Missouri yet. Oh well, must keep looking, right? Sounds like another good reason to hitch a ride with Mr. T another day!