Day 5
in which I wonder sometimes , why we stay.

The forecast calls for snow tonight.
Apparently there is some sort of tug of war going on with the seasons this year, the Spring equinox has come and gone but apparently winter has refused to pass the baton and end it's reign. This leaves us lowly mortals who are merely trying to make our way through this world at loose ends and unable to be certain of ourselves and our ability to plot our way through this world during this interregnum as these two forces of nature battle it out.

Okay that may be a bit over dramatic, but is this unusual weather making anyone else a little cranky?



(This is not the post that I had planned to post but I got to talking about The Harlot's visit and realized that this post was going to be way too long. So I will postpone my tear on "Spring Break" for another time.)


This be a picture of my front boulevard garden that I snapped on April 4th right before I was whisked away by Shelly to see and hear The Yarn Harlot speak and sign her latest book, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: the Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting, here at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul.

There is two reasons why I hitched a ride to St. Paul with Shelly, a.k.a. The Heathen Housewife. One is that we are currently down to using only one vehicle. My husband had the van at work and wouldn't be home until 5:30 which would mean I would have to drive to St. Paul during rush hour to arrive sometime after 6:00, which I would have done if I had no other option.

The second reason being I have a history of getting lost in St. Paul, nothing against St. Paul mind you, I just can't seem to negotiate it very well, so if I'm going to St. Paul, I try to go with someone who knows their way around it a little better than myself. Shelly works part time, teaching at The Yarnery, who was hosting the event, so I felt confident that she would be able to get us there and she did quite handily. (Thank you, Shelly)

We arrived there early, we deposited our yarn donations at the Yarnery and met with familiar faces, knitters and knit bloggers that we knew. With a little time to kill we popped over to Cafe' Latte next door, where we ran into more knitters, go figure. Shelly and I decided to be decadent and eat cake for dinner and a little salad for dessert.

After which Shelley had to head over to the law college to help with the check in and I found myself with a little time to kill. What I am about to tell you, I am not proud of, in fact, it makes me wonder about myself sometimes. I may need to stop and take a long hard look at what my actual abilities are and what I think that they are. On the upside it gives my daughter the opportunity to say "Oh, mother, you didn't"

I was aware that some knitters had planned on meeting at the Pad Thai Grand Cafe for an early dinner before going to the signing. I thought that I would see if I could catch up with them. I attained a brochure from the Yarnery and determined that the cafe was on Grand ave the same as the Yarnery only the Yarnery was at Victoria Crossing and the Thai cafe was at Macalester, or as on the brochure the Yarnery was at U and Pad Thai was at H, and honestly didn't seem that far on the map, about what? eight blocks? So I started walking up Grand Ave, thinking I could catch up with the knitters before they left.At this point allow me to give all props right now to Christy at Purling Away, who also had the same thought and wisely decided it was too far to walk.

I don't mind walking, I like walking and though I don't look it, I'm quite capable of walking long distances without much trouble, of course I wasn't wearing my usually walking shoes, I was wearing clogs, but it was fine. The weather was cold and windy but that too I didn't mind, I was dressed warm enough, my winter coat and gloves, warm wool socks and scarf.

I got as far a Hamline or N on the brochure, seven of the twelve, not eight blocks, as I had supposed before I decided this was folly. It was nearly 6:00 and even if I got to there the knitters had probably already left. So I decided I would take the bus back down the street. So I waited on the corner, debating whether or not I wanted to pop in to the Treadle Yard Goods store a for a quick look, I hear they have a nice selection of buttons. No, you know the minute I do the bus would come by and I'd miss it.

So I waited getting cold because I wasn't walking as before. I waited until 6:17 and I began to wonder if the bus wasn't going to come until 6:30, that may be cutting it close. So I decided it took me 20 minutes to walk this far, if I start walking I should be able to be back in time. I'll walk to the next bus stop and see if I can pick it up there. I got about a block and a half, a half block before the bus stop, when I watched the bus cruise on by me. I knew it, oh, well.

The walk wasn't so bad and it gave me an opportunity to acquaint myself with Grand Ave. in St. Paul. There were many interesting shops, I didn't stop to take many pictures but I did snap this pic, because, well, just because. So I walked all the way back and then on to the college, was admitted and found an open seat next to my friend Meleah (Corgi Mom) with ten minutes to spare, feeling more than a bit foolish, but at least I worked off all the sugar that I had earlier and I didn't have a long wait in line.
Stephanie's talk was fun and entertaining, as expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, catching up with the knitters, some I haven't seen in quite a while, and others that I'd only met virtually, via their blogs.
( I won't attempt to list them all Chris at Stumbling over Chaos has a good list of links to the bloggers and since virtually everyone including has probably blogged about there experience already I let them give you the whole story.)
I had gone to see Stephanie when she was in Eau Claire, WI, last fall and wasn't sure if I was going to go through the line to get her book signed, but Beth couldn't make it so I volunteered to take her book for her, and then Meleah, who came with her mother and her aunt had to leave earlier, so I took her book to get it signed, as well. I stood in line with Amy and Cynthia and had a grand time chatting with knitters. I brought along my pooling colors scarf to show the knitters who hadn't seen it yet for I haven't blogged it yet, so Amy took my picture and told me she'd blog it for me. I look a little wild in the picture, I assure you I was completely sober.

So here we are, me with her traveling sock and her with my Dalarna sock. (yes, I decided to knit it, more about that another time.)

I had Stephanie sign my book first, then Beth's and then Meleah, I had written down Corgi Mom in parenthesis' so she would recognize the name, which she did, btw. When I then told her my blog name she started with a look of recognition and then say "Oh, hi" and she shook my hand.

Okay, I believe you, Stephanie, you read your comments.
Thanks for the coming I had a Grand (ave.) ole time.