Erica’s Blog

An adult woman and her mother walk into an unfamiliar yarn shop.  Overwhelmed, they stop for a moment just inside the door, then the daughter approaches the counter, lugging a large shopping bag full of yarn.  She addresses the tall man there who is leaning over some knitting.

“Hi.  I got an email about ‘cash for stash’, and I have three pounds of yarn here.”

The man (who turns out to be the owner of said store) looks up.  “Oh, hi.  I read your blog, and I’ve been expecting you.  You just had a birthday, didn’t you?”

Stunned silence follows as the daughter, caught completely off guard, tries to figure out how this man knows her, if he’s a friend of a friend, how on earth he could have happened upon her blog.  Then it hits her.  “Oh, was it because I linked to your website?  Do you get notified when someone links to you?”

“No.  I just periodically Google ‘Marin Fiber Arts’ to see who’s talking about us, and I saw your blog and recognized you from the picture.”

Two days later, the daughter still bursts out laughing occasionally as she remembers this incident.  It will stick with her for a long, long time.

The yarn?  You want to know what yarn I ended up getting?  Oh, sure.  First of all, I must say that Marin Fiber Arts is a fabulous store.  Warren, you rock, and so does that nice woman who was sitting in the corner knitting and consulted with me about the yarn I bought.  I was so thrilled to see that they carried Lorna’s Laces; I’d never seen it in a brick-and-mortar store, just online.   Anyhow, with my $15 credit from my three pounds of stash that I’d brought in (Goodbye, Red Heart!), plus some of my birthday money from Poppa & Nana, I got three skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport in the Irving Park colorway.  I feel a Clapotis coming on…

Click for lame-o yarno pics.

Shopping there with Nana was so much fun!  She hadn’t been in a yarn shop since probably the 1980’s, and she was very impressed with a lot of the yarns.   I hope this provides the necessary inspiration for her to pick up her needles.  If you’re ever in Marin and need a yarn fix, by all means give Warren your business and go to Marin Fiber Arts.

Afterwards, we also hit Dharma Trading Company, which was quite overwhelming, too.   That place is huge!  I hadn’t realized they carried so much yarn b/c it’s really not emphasized on their website.  They have quite a mixture of stuff, from Manos del Uruguay down to Paton’s Divine.  Next time I’m there, I’ll probably buy some of their undyed yarn to dye myself.  Very cool.

…was created here today.

I was nearly done spinning the silk tops, when this happened:

Yupp, I’m pathetic.

Hubby and the Things arrived home shortly after the incident.  When I showed Hubby what had happened, he said he’d fix it for me.  Mere minutes later, here’s what he’d rigged up for me:

And look — it even has an ubercool hook on the top!  (I’d had trouble keeping the yarn in the existing groove.)

So, my something-resembling-yarn and I are happy…

Some would say that 42 is the answer to life, the universe, and everything.  That may be, but as of 9:13 this morning, it became my age. 

The day had a good start w/breakfast in bed.  Hubby & Things are out shopping for my gift (I shudder at the thought of the malls today).  Afterwards, they’re heading up to Delmy’s to assemble an exercise machine.  Sooo, a spinning I shall be.  Which reminds me — what am I doing on the computer when I could be doing just that?  Bye!

…is a felted wreath for Nana’s birthday (the 29th).  It was to have been ready by this evening, but that ain’t gonna happen.  I’ve emailed her the picture, so now it’s OK for me to show you.  It’s still a WIP, but it will be done early/middle of next week.  (Yes, the photo quality stinks.  Whatever.)

Well, OK, Thomas the Knitting Turkey wasn’t at MarkyMark & Bobcat’s house, but I did spend most of my time knitting, so it fits.  I finished the knitting on the “pink diamonds” scarf for the boutique.  It’s all over but the blocking. 

BTW, that shot was Hubby’s idea.  I think he’s been taking lessons from HWWV or something. 

Well, off to enjoy my last 90 minutes of being 41 years old….

Didja gobble till ya wobbled?  I hope not!  I ate more than I should have, but not nearly what I could have.  It helps that I employed that age-old dieter’s trick of wearing my snug jeans to dinner instead of sweats or other stretchable pants.

It was very laid-back at MarkyMark & Bobcat’s (other than the two dogs going insane).  Jim, Ryan & Cheryl came by for dinner, too, but I wasn’t in picture-taking mode at that time, unfortunately.  Here are what few I have:

The table, a few hours post-dinner.  Key items of note in this picture:  the pilgrim Thanksgiving candles from Grandma Ruthie, the Mason-Dixon nesting boxes on the sideboard (my bday gift to Bobcat, ‘member?), and the small painting on the sideboard, which was done by MarkyMark’s mom many, many years ago (she passed away when MarkyMark was a child).

Chillin’ together.  This is one of the few places Hubby can wear his “Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Democrat” t-shirt w/o getting one bit of flak, not that getting grief from others has ever been any sort of deterrent to ANY man in his family.

MarkyMark, proud of his work assembling one of two his-n-hers Ikea desks in their freshly-painted, newly hardwood floored office.

Still reading, completely unaware of whether anyone else is in the room or not.  Oh, and today was one of those rare clear, sunny days in Pacifica, so in the daylight hours, their view of the ocean was great, and the sunset was amazing.

Boys and their (wireless) toys….

Bobcat, decimated by the tryptophan, enjoys her (leather!) recliner and an old crocheted afghan that her mother made.

The day was just right — not a lot of people, no pressure, no expectations, just chill.  I sat in the chair-and-a-half and finished one scarf and got a really good start on another.  The kids enjoyed the play structure, and the dogs got the zoomies all over the place and had a great time together (it was the first time they’d seen each other since Sammy got back from “puppy boot camp”).

Tomorrow, I sleep in, get breakfast made for me, get peace & quiet to spin/knit/whatever while Hubby takes the Things out shopping for my birthday present (anybody know where he can find an Ott-Lite or knock-off for reaaallly cheap?).  I got my anniversary card on time this year, so that means I should be getting my birthday card a day late on the 25th.  In the evening, we head up to Poppa & Nana’s.

[Aside to Auntie:  YES, I wore my turkey socks today.  It was actually the second time this week  I'd worn them.]

Well, after going duck hunting with Jeremy again last weekend, Hubby has decided that he’ll get a hunting license next year.  Jeremy has an extra rifle he can use, so Hubby just needs to get some camo stuff to wear.  He’s added it to his Amazon list for his birthday/Christmas/whatever. 

Speaking of Hubby’s 40th birthday, I recently put down the deposit on the place where we’re going to have his party.  He & a bunch of the guys will do the annual “Gluttony of Golf” (though I doubt they’ll manage to get in 40 holes before the party) at his favorite course, then we’ll have the dinner.  Should be fun.  Check out the place.

I almost go to go to Quebec w/Hubby on a business trip.  We have enough miles from the credit card to pay for my flights, but it’s in the middle of the week and a busy week at that, with lots of rehearsals for Thing One’s Nutcracker performance, and I couldn’t get anyone to stay with the Things.  I’m SO bummed.  Even with the 2 degrees C weather, I am.  Look at the hotel where he’s staying and weep with me.  I had had it all planned out in my head — I was going to put up a note on the Knittyboard, asking people to meet me somewhere by the hotel to knit & chat and asking where I could go to buy yarn, etc.  Oh, well.  I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.  Sigh.

Tomorrow, we’re having dinner at MarkyMark & Bobcat’s place.  Friday, I’m sleeping in, opening birthday presents, and lounging around.  Hubby’s going to take the Things over to our friend Delmy’s house with him while he helps her with some stuff over there (gotta help out the “Golden Girls”) so I can have some peace and quiet.  I plan to use the time for spinning.  Did you hear that, Zib?  I.  Will.  Use.  My.  Spindle.  (Actually, she probably didn’t b/c she’s got a bunch of stuff going on and is rarely online these days, but still…)  Friday evening, we head up to Poppa & Nana’s.  Saturday, Nana & I are going to hit Marin Fiber Arts.  They’re having this cool “Cash for Stash” thing where you get $5 store credit for every pound of yarn you bring in.  It can be any kind of yarn, as long as it’s clean and already wound into a ball/hank/skein.  (They’re going to donate it to charity.)  You have to use the credit the day you bring in the yarn, but that’s fine w/me.   It’s a great chance for me to get rid of yarn that I’ll never, ever use while getting something I will use.  I rounded up about three pounds of yarn, so I should be able to get $15 store credit.  Not sure if I’ll use it on yarn, notions, or a book; I’ll have to decide on Saturday b/c it depends on what draws me that day (and what, if any, knitting books I get for my birthday!).

Well, it’s off to Thing One’s ballet class I go….

 Lamb’s Pride worsted, US 10 needles.  This is a scarf that will be for sale at the school boutique next Saturday.  It’s currently 9″ x 44″, and I have plenty of yarn left.  I’m thinking five feet will be about right, before blocking — and she will get some strong blocking to emphasize those garter lace diamonds.  What do you think?

Click for more pictures…

 Felted star Christmas ornaments, likewise for the school boutique.  They need a good shave, plus a hanging loop or some such thing, and then they’ll move into the F.O. category.

 More ornaments.  The three plain trees will get “decorated” this weekend.  The snowmen will also get faces, buttons, hats & arms.  The pinwheels still need to get felted.

 The project-that-shall-not-be-named…at least not yet.  Just a little teaser for you…

Yesterday was the annual kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast at the Things’ school.  Thing Two and all the other kids had a blast.  At first, I didn’t think there were goign to be enoughk parents to help, but of course, a bunch showed up a few minutes late, and then it turned out fine.  The 60 kids cycle through six different centers where they do stuff like make a placemat, a turkey centerpiece (styrofoam cup, toothpicks, marshmallows & dried cranberries), make a sandwich, etc.  Later, they all sit down at one looong table for a feast of popcorn, pumpkin bread (which they baked in class the day before), the sandwiches they made, and “friendship” fruit salad (each kid brings one piece of fruit, and the moms cut it all up for fruit salad).  I helped at the station where they each made an Indian headband and either a “handsome pilgrim hat” or a “fashionable pilgrim bonnet, all the rage this year among fashionable young pilgrim girls” (my words; ya gotta make it fun for the kids to make it memorable).  They all looked so cute while they ate.  It was a lot of work and tiring, but well worth it.  Yes, I’m glad they only do it in kindergarten. 

The whole batch of pictures are here, but here are some highlights.

Later, we hosted the annual church Thanksgiving pot luck.  Usually, it’s a big thing w/100+ people in a rented location, but this time we met by our house church groups, which is a lot more personal and easier to manage/organized.  I’d volunteered our house for the location b/c I knew the Things didn’t have school today, so it wouldn’t be a problem for us to have a houseful of people till late.

Considering the composition of our group — nine Philipinos, one Korean, one Japanese person, two Mexicans, and three boring old white folk — we had an interesting meal:

• turkey
• Honeybaked ham
• lumpia
• jell-o salad
• candied yams
• salad
• green beans w/a decidedly Chinese flavor
• a pasta dish that everyone kept calling “lasagna”, though it wasn’t (drove me nuts!)
• mashed taters
• various desserts and drinks

After we ate, we all took turns talking about what we were thankful for.  As could be expected, there were some tears (and not just the two pregnant women), and it was a good time.

Yupp, yesterday was our 11 year wedding anniversary.  11’s a weird number, isn’t it?

Back when we got married, we foolishly decided that we didn’t need to have someone videotape the wedding.  Stupid, stupid, stupid!  Hubby’s Auntie Adeline, however, brought her videocamera and took some video, even creeping up onto the altar area, hiding behind the flowers, and catching the look on my face when Hubby stopped and sprayed some Binaca in his mouth before the big kiss (it was the first time we’d kissed…ever).

Well, we got to watch the lone copy of the video once or twice, then it was lent to Grandpa Paul.  From there, it got lost.  We suspect that someone accidentally recorded over it.  Whatever happened, it was gone forever.

Recently, I learned that my oooold college friends John and MaryEllen (well, THEY’re not old, but our friendship is; I’ve known them since 1983) had taken a video of our wedding but never gotten around to giving us a copy (they live in Maryland).  When John learned that we had no other wedding video, he promptly put it on a DVD and mailed it to us.  It’s rather shaky b/c it was a hand-held video, but we don’t care.  He got the WHOLE ceremony on there, from when Poppa and I got up to the front to when Hubby & I exited the church, plus bits of the reception.  It was SO cool to watch!  Like most brides, I had totally forgotten what our friend Ron had preached about, so it was nice to hear it again (a distinct advantage to having a video — really, who ever DOES remember the sermonette from their wedding???).  B/c John & MaryEllen were sitting on the “bride’s side” of the church, the video has some really clear shots of Hubby, but not too many of my face and the front of my dress.  You can hear some of Hubby’s vows, but none of mine.  Fortunately, you can’t tell what Hubby & I are saying to each other when we’re standing up there by the unity candle; it wasn’t exactly G-rated.

The girls had fun watching the video with us, picking out people they knew, seeing the big kiss (I’d forgotten how looooooong it was and that Hubby went back for a second one!), watching us feed each other cake, etc.  I’m SO glad we have this.  Thank you, John & MaryEllen!

This year, Hubby & I were in the mood for a low-key celebration, so we dropped the girls off at Pat & Chrissy’s house and went out to dinner at Kincaid’s.  Mmmmm….Yummmy!

• Cosmo for me, Pisco Sour for Hubby
• Macadamia-crusted Baked Brie
• Cioppino for Hubby
• Petite Filet Mignon for me (with asparagus & fancy potatoes au gratin)
• Apple cobbler w/vanilla ice cream for Hubby
• Mochatini for me (I don’t remember what all was in it, but think uber-rich coffee/chocolate milkshake with a kick in a martini glass)

Yes, quite a satisfactory anniversary, I’d say.  I’m looking forward quite eagerly to the next 11 years….