A Conversation With My Thirteen Year Old

I'm at work. My cell phone rings. My 13 yo son is calling me. Here's the conversation:
Him: Mom, where's Beggar's Banquet?
Me: You mean The Rolling Stones album?
Him: Yeah.
Me: I don't own it.
Him: OK, where's The Rolling Stones CD Dad bought you.
Me: I don't know. Look for it.
Him: OK. Bye
Me: Bye.

I hang up and thought to myself, "This is a dream come true. One of my children is asking me about a Stones album. Cool!"

On the way home I call the house to tell them that I'm stopping at the supermarket.
Me: Hi! I'm going to the A&P. Do you want me to pick up anything?
Him: Yes. My mouth hurts from my braces. I want elbows and cottage cheese.
Me: Great. I'll get it. By the way, did you find the Stones CD?
Him: Yeah! I downloaded it onto iTunes.
Me: You know you made my day by asking me for that album. It was like a dream come true.
Him: Really? That's great except I think I'm about to unmake your day.
Me: What did you do?
Him: I bought a song from iTunes. I bought "Don't Stop Believing".
Me: By Styx, Foreigner, Journey? One of those 70's bands?
Him: That's the one!
Me: You're a nightmare. You're no son of mine! I brought you up better than that!
Him: Laughter. Bye, Mom.

I'm proud of the boy! Rock on, Ben!

For a Brief Moment, I Wished I Was Her!

We were at the West Palm Beach Airport coming home from a week long vacation. We spent 4 intense days at Disney World and 3 1/2 lazy days at my parents. I was looking forward to getting home to get myself ready for my return to work. While waiting on line to check in, there she was. This woman was perfectly coiffed and dressed and looked as cool as a cucumber. She was wearing dark aqua jeans with a darker ribbed tank. On top of that was a matching argyle cardigan. Her hair was perfect. Her make-up was perfect and not melting. Her fingernails and toes were perfectly manicured. I looked down on my dry feet with the one toe with the broken nail. I looked at my fingernails that were crying out for a manicure but I won't get one until I finish stuff around the house. I had only mascara and eyeliner on because I didn't want to melt in the Florida heat. I was envious of this woman's "put-togetherness". She didn't have to open her suitcase like I did to redistribute the weight to another one. So what if the whole line saw last night's underwear? Will they ever see me or the panties again? I don't think so.

What does this all mean? I guess I admire people who are totally put together when I'm not. I admire the colors she wore. I wondered about what type of house she lived in. She probably had a housekeeper and a nanny. I can hear her high heels clicking on the tiled floors and the air fills with her perfume as she passes by. In my house, my boys and husband smell my perfume on my pillow. I don't wear heels in the house. I wear Crocs or flip flops. I'm glad I was envious of her. It woke me up a bit and made me realize that I should always put my best foot forward...physically and mentally.
Thanks, stranger!

Local Yarn Shops

Don't get me wrong. I love a bargain especially when it comes to yarn. I admit that I do a lot of internet shopping for yarn. I buy books from Overstock.com and yarn and stuff from KnitPicks. I go to AC Moore for yarn, too but they don't have a very "fine" selection.

Since I visited my son at camp, I've been to 4 different yarn shops. There truly is a difference when you are up close and personal with the yarn (and the owner/staff) than with someone over the phone who isn't a knitter. I'm not going to stop buying over the internet but I will make the effort to visit a yarn shop when I need to touch and get instant gratification from buying yarn right then and there.

I first visited Twin Hearts in Pittsfield, MA. Gorgeous, large, colorful and a wonderfully friendly owner. Not like the ones in my area (BTW two of those "snotty" stores closed!). It was a very positive experience and gave me faith that there are some great stores and owners out there!

Yesterday, after having my mammogram and receiving a great report, I decided to treat myself to some solid sock yarn. I knew there was a store in Scarsdale, NY called Sticks & Strings. It's a bit out of the way for me from my house. I've met the owner at guild meetings and she's very nice. Today I walked in to a very contemporary store that was light and airy. It was very hot outside and this store was just so cool. Laurie, the owner, is very friendly and helpful. I know I disappointed her when I told her I needed solid sock yarn but she opened up a magic panel and there was tons of Koigu solid. I picked a blue color but it was hard to make up my mind. Another customer walked in who needed help and I even tried to help her while Laurie wound my skeins for me. She invited me to her Thursday night knit outs but I told her that I started one in my town. I think it's much nicer to have one in a knitting store but we don't have that option in my area. I walked out the store smiling. I was really happy with my purchase and experience.

Today I visited another yarn store in Rockland County. It's called Knitting Nation and it's in the very funky town of Nyack. The woman who owns it belongs to my guild but she was in California today. This was another great store. Very pretty, a very large selection and the woman who was left in charge was so sweet and friendly! I spent a good hour and a half looking, touching and playing with the yarns. I ended up buying more sock yarn. (I'm into socks this week!) I'll make the trip there again when my friend is there.

Two weeks ago, my friend and I visited the LYS closest to our homes. It's called the Katonah Yarn Company in Katonah, NY. This was my second time there. They were having an sidewalk sale so the goods were outside. I've been inside the store but one of the staff told me that we could only go in to pay for purchases. Hmm. I needed a circular #8 bamboo needle and they weren't letting me in to look The staff was extremely cranky. If you asked them a question they acted as if they were doing you a favor to answer it. This is the store that turns me off to shopping at a LYS! But I had 3 beautiful experiences and restored my faith in the Local Yarn Shops.

Harry Potter Socks are Finished

Good thing I shaved my legs. Here is one of the Horcrux Socks from Six Socks KAL. See that lightning shaped lacework? That's Harry's scar! I used Trekking XXL that I bought in Twin Hearts, that beautiful knitting store I went to when I was in The Berkshires. I forgot how enjoyable and satisfying it is to knit socks. I thought I did these pretty quickly. I started them last weekend and voila! Here they are! Off to the next project. More socks? Another shawl? A cardigan? Stay tuned. Stay bat time. Stay bat blog.