Back Home Again...

... but not in Indiana, as the song says.  Well, the state song of Indiana anyway.  Sorry, that popped into my head and I hoped that laying it down here would stop the sound track in my head.  No such luck.

We rolled back into GB around 3 o'clock this afternoon.  We had a great time in Cedarburg

with the other BLKG knitters.  Our stay at the Washington House Inn was lovely, the breakfasts were good, and we had the use of the basement meeting room for all-day knitting, snacking, dvd watching, and nighttime gimlet drinking.  (I didn't gimlet but others did.)  On our way down on Wednesday LB and I stopped at Bahr Llama Farm because she hadn't been there before.  I whispered the word "clearance" and we adjourned right to the rear of the store where we availed ourselves of the pink bags that we could cram full of yarn for $30/bag.   The skeins I bought are all acrylic and wool and will be perfect for knitting cowls or hats for Christmas at Sea. I got 3 of the green ones, the red one, and the blue one.  If there'd been another skein of this yarn I could probably have crammed it into the bag but there wasn't.  I was happy with my haul.




I did a little shopping yesterday and this morning in a couple free-trade shops and got some Christmas gifts (look at me getting a jump on the season and, no, you can't see what I bought) and a few things for me.  I was thrilled to see that there's a Penzey's Spices store in Cedarburg and it's just a block from where we stayed so I wandered over yesterday and picked up a few things that I knew I was getting low on.



We had an appointment at the Grafton Yarn Store this morning where we had a short lesson in knitting backwards.  It's not as useless a skill as you might imagine.  It's good for when you're knitting a few stitches and have to keep turning the work over and over.  Besides it's a fun thing to know.  I managed to find a couple skeins of cotton yarn that match one I already have an another cotton skein--all on clearance.  Hooray!

 


This was the view out the window of the backroom of the yarn shop where we had our lesson.  I don't know what river it is but it sure was pretty and nice to see water flowing instead of frozen.


 






As we were coming up I-43 I saw the sign for the J. M. Kohler Art Museum in Sheboygan and asked LB if she wanted to see some amazing bathrooms.  She was game so I tooled into town and up to the museum where we ignored the art and checked out the bathrooms.  Don't look at me like that, those are some impressive bathrooms and you're welcome to check out the opposite one as long as you crack the door and holler in to make sure it's unoccupied.  Then we stopped at the yarn shop in town but didn't make any purchases.  *pats selves on back*






 


LB and I opted for a crab & avocado salad for lunch yesterday in the sub shop next to the Inn.  Her order was #111 and she said, "Oh! I guess it's free."  The kid behind the counter said, "Yes."  She fixed him with a suspicious look and he said, "Read the bottom of your receipt."  She did and sure enough it said if you were #111 your next sub was free so we went over just before we left today, got a BLT on whole grain with mayo, and split it on the drive home.  Score!



I've been waiting for a package and it came today.  I saw an ad for bamboo cutlery to replace plastic picnic cutlery and ordered some.  It took a long time because it ships from China but I'm thrilled with it.  It looks well-made and comes in a nicely sewn canvas roll with a snap.  There's even a brush to clean out the bamboo straw.  I hope to have more picnics this summer and will be happy to have some environmentally responsible things to eat with.  *more back pats*

29 March--Tropical Obsession. 

Nola walked slowly between the craft market booths set up on the town square across the street from the Town Pier. Whenever a cruise ship was docked, the little band of artists and entrepreneurs set up their tables and laid out their wares. Nola wasn't a cruise ship passenger, never had been able to face the prospect of being trapped in what amounted to a floating hotel with a couple thousand strangers for a week, steaming from island to island striking each a glancing blow. Spending just enough time on each one for a hot cab ride to see the highlights and take a quick tour through the upscale shops that line the ports. The whole cruise idea seemed so artificial to her. She had endured dinner conversations with avid cruisers who insisted they were familiar with nearly every Caribbean island. Judging by the majority of the people around her and the things she overheard, the packaged view of an island they was just that--packaged. The real life of the island went on around the Disney-esque sanitized experience that was trotted out before the ship docked and carefully folded away until the next ship was due. Even worse, Nola bet that ninety percent of what was for sale around her was made in Taiwan. Pathetic. And where was Jack? He was supposed to meet her at City Cafe for lunch.

It was so much fun to be away with such fun people, the weather cooperated, and the shopping was good but I'm glad to be home in my own bed, with my own fridge, and potty.  Back to the Y tomorrow.
--Barbara 
P.S. They're saying we might get an inch of snow tomorrow morning.  Arrgh.