Sunday, June 15, 2008

No Electricity? No Problem! or Shopping In The Dark

My son called and said he would be in Norman for the weekend and with my husband out of town, I decided it would be nice to have a Mom & Me weekend with my 23 year old son. My ulterior motive besides having some quality time with my son was to finally visit the yarn store. This time I wasn't going to take any excuses so I planned ahead and baked a pie. That's right. I'm not above bribes. At his apartment I carried in my overnight bag, knitting bag, pillow and pie. As he inhaled the delectable aroma of peaches, apricots and cinnamon I mentioned the knitting store. His brain and olfactory senses were in overdrive so he just moaned a weak "okay." A trip to the hamburger diner and the further bribe of watching The Incredible Hulk later in the afternoon clinched the deal. After lunch we set off for the store. Filled with glee and anticipation I followed his directions but .... made one small driving mistake. I turned right instead of left and as I was turning I saw out of the corner of my eye "Do Not Enter - One Way" oops! My son was screaming ''look out'' as I shot across 3 lanes of oncoming traffic to scoot safely down an alley. What's up with one-way streets?!!! A quick turn and we were back with the flow of traffic. The parking lot was deserted and I knew from checking the website that they did have Saturday hours so in we went. After entering, I knew why the lot was deserted. They were without electricity. I didn't let the fact that there weren't any front windows to let in light discourage me. After all, I had driven 3 hours to get there and after my teeny tiny driving mistake who knew if I would get the chance again to visit again. I asked and received a flashlight which my son held as I went up and down the aisles oohing, aahing, and fondling the yarns. They had bin after bin, shelf after shelf of lovely yarns. Wool, bamboo, silk, cotton, worsted, ribbon....I was in yarn heaven. The proprietor mentioned the sale room in the back and off we went. I found some lovely Classic Elite Bamboo at 40% off. Whoo hoo! I've been wanting to try it and here was the perfect opportunity. I also bought some beautiful Alpaca for a stocking cap for my son. As I was paying, there was a hum and then the lights came back on! I swear I heard the Hallelujah Chorus as I beheld the dizzying jewel-like tones of all the yarns that I had only dimly seen by flashlight. Only the fact that our movie was going to start soon saved my son from another trip through the aisles. As we drove away he casually mentioned that now that I knew where the store was located perhaps I could do my yarn shopping without him. If you ever get to Norman, Oklahoma I recommend you stop in at L & B Yarn Company. It's worth a visit with or without electricity.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Old Friends and New Friends

Yesterday I got to thinking about an old friend of mine and sent her an email. Fran and I have known each other since 4th grade. Her youngest is graduating from high school this weekend and mine are in college. There are old friendships that stand the test of time. This is one. You know what I mean. You might not stay in touch as often as you like and you move away (me), but you just pick up the threads of friendship as if you were never apart. My new knitting friends are like that also. Treasure your friends, both old and new, I know I do.

You might have noticed the beautiful orchid on this post. Growing orchids is another passion of mine. Last year we added a sunroom onto our house and I have it filled with over 50 plants. Most of them are orchids in various stages of growth. I have a small table for 2 in the room also and this is where I love to sit, read, drink coffee, and knit. Currently I have 6 orchids in bloom and this is one of them. The exciting thing is that I am managing to re-bloom several of them which I never managed to do before the sunroom.

I took my first psychology test last night and I got an 88. I'll take it! I've found that going back to school as an adult learner while working full-time is a challenge. I'm trying to finish up my bachelor degree so I can go on an earn my MLS (Masters in Library Science). Books are another passion in my life. I've found that I can combine both knitting and reading by listening to an audio book in my beautiful sunroom. Does it get any better than this? My christening afghan is coming right along and I'm a few short rows away from completing the back to my sweater. The afghan is definitely going to be bigger than planned. I think it will probably fit a youth bed!