Cheap and Not-So-Cheap Thrills

First things first, let's get the most important news out of the way.
I have new sock yarn. Yep, that's the most exciting thing going on right now, and believe me, in my current state I will take any little thrill I can get! I was reading someone's blog the other day and clicked over to a pattern and then saw a link for a contest, clicked that and saw the word "Sale" on the sock yarn store, clicked that, and only 2 minutes later I had new yarn on it's way to my house. It was such an impulse buy, but at only $24, including shipping, I got TWO skeins of Arucania sock yarn and it arrived yesterday. Perfectly timed arrival too, as I was having a shitty morning.

The solid skein is actually a gorgeous dusty purple, it looks more gray in this photo. I plan to make socks and use the purple as the toe and heel. Then, I'll have to use some leftovers of another skein to make purple socks with contrasting toe and heel. (I bought my mom a ball of this yarn in a blue and purple colorway. I can use that to go with the purple, it will be PERFECT! That brings up a question for another day about an in process sock she was working on before she died.)

On another side note, Shannon... I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA!!!
My old digital camera was only about 5 years old, but that is probably about 50 years in technology time.

Ok, so there's the exciting news out of the way. Next to tell you about Christmas gifts.
I had many many projects to finish before Christmas. I was working on a pair of socks for Ryan using Knit Picks Risatta. He got one... the other is ready to turn the heel.

The other Christmas project was a pair of thrummed mittens for Shannon. One is done, the other is about 5 inches in, I'm ready to put the thumb stitches on a stitch holder.

I have a small box of stuff to send Shannon this week, so my goal is to get it done and include it in that box.

But, (there's always a "but") I have been casting on new projects left and right over here. I knit a whole baby bootie that I didn't like so there won't be a second one. I cast on for a Calorimetry using straight needles, and needed a circular to fit all 120 stitches onto, and didn't want to get up to get one, so there that project sits. Then I also cast on for a neat little headband I stumbled upon on Pepperknits that uses leftover sock yarn. I have tons of that and boy do I need a headband! I was at the drug store last week and they wanted to charge $8 for ONE cheap-looking black spandex thing. So, I am totally enthralled and entertained by this simple 4-row repeat project. And I'm using leftover sock yarn that I LOVE LOVE LOVE from the Michigan Fiber Festival. It is just striping way more beautifully than the socks did and I am getting such a cheap thrill from this project that I want to just work on it all day!
So that is the competition for Ryan's second sock and Shannon's second mitten (and of course, actual work I have to do for a paycheck). Pretty fierce competition.
LOVE the new camera! Thanks Shannon, Love you too!

And one last little thrill. It amazes me after someone close to you dies, how important their STUFF becomes. Things they probably never looked at once it was thoughtfully placed on a shelf, their impulse purchases that they didn't like any more, their yarn that they coveted and never used because they were waiting for the PERFECT pattern. Every time I go to my mom's house since she's been gone, little things catch my eye. There are the obvious things, like, the sock box that Ryan made for her, the quilt I made for her, anything in her handwriting, old photographs and Christmas ornaments. Every time I go I come home with a bag full of stuff. Sometimes it is something that I need that now don't have to buy. Other times it's just a nick-nack that catches my eye. The most recent visit, I saw this cute little lamb, sitting on a lawn chair. He just spoke to me and I had to take him home.

So I put him on a shelf in my sewing room next to a card that I gave Mommy for Mothers day in 2001. He makes me smile when I look in his direction.

So tonight is my first Wedding Dress Fitting! My bridesmaid Kristy is coming and so is my future Mom-in-law (I'm going to say "mom-in-law" becuase it doesn't have that bad connotation that "mother-in-law" does, because she is certainly not "one of THOSE". And I am NOT saying that because I know she reads this, Hi Gayle!) I had forgotten about the dress fitting, and on New Years Day I was changing the calendar over to January when I saw "Dress Fitting, 6pm" staring me in the face and it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. The first wedding thing that Mommy can't be here for. I panicked and immediately got on the phone with Kristy to see if she could come with me. It is going to be fun and it's really going to suck at the same time.
I have to make the best of the situation. This WILL be my only wedding, this will only happen once and I have to start getting excited about all the little details again. It was destined to be this way, and I have accepted that. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

A brand new sewing room for the new year!

So, I've been taking some time off work the past couple weeks, to let my mind and body mend after the shock of losing Mom. I decided to use this time, in combination with some money I got for Christmas to get new carpet for the sewing room. I have been wanting carpet in there since before it became my sewing room in February 2007. I also wanted to get the carpet in this week so that I could clean out the sewing room and rearrange the furniture and give me a project for a couple days. So I went to the Carpet Outlet in Adrian, MI and looked for a remnant for less than $100. I found a lot of very nice things, some way out of my budget and some that were just close enough to work. So I picked out a nice off-white berber and we came back the next day with the truck to pick it up. I hadn't yet thought of how it was going to be installed, with what tools or who was going to do it. I just had to have carpet... it was going to happen.
So here is a before picture of the total mess that was my sewing room only two days ago.
Note the wood floors: pretty but cold and hard. Bella doesn't even like to stay in there with me during the day while I work.

Wednesday morning I got to work packing up the sewing room. Our house is fairly small, so I had to stack everything up on top of, around and under the dining room table. We had to disassemble my sewing table, and take the doors off the closet.

Then Ryan pulled up all the trim while I drove to the lumber yard to rent the tools. It was only $30 per day to rent the big power stretcher (that we may have broken) and the knee bumper.

When I got back I pounded all the nails out of the trim. It only took two nails before I asked, "How much would it cost to just buy new trim?" So I went to Lowe's.com and looked for our molding and got my answer. At least $80. That's more than we wanted to spend, so I went back to pounding the nails. Then all the holes needed to be filled, the whole thing needed to be sanded and then painted. (all things that never occurred to me when I was buying carpet)

Ryan was in the sewing room nailing down the tack strip and stapling down the padding, and I was in the dining room pounding nails out of the trim. Bella was under the dining room table looking very worried. That was a lot of noise, and she was already nervous about me moving all of my stuff out of the sewing room. She followed us with every trip to and from the sewing room to the dining room with arm loads of books and supplies. So as soon as we laid the carpet out in the sewing room, she planted herself on it. I think she really just wanted to help.

Except that Ryan was on the other side of the room trying to pull the carpet into the corner. Not so easy with a 30 pound fur ball sitting on the other end.

At about 10:00 last night, the carpet was pulled, pounded, stretched and we think, finally in place and the trim was freshly painted and nailed back onto the wall, closet doors were back up where they belong. So we assembled my table, and moved the rest of my stuff back in. Here it is!!! (it's still pretty messy and unorganized, but it will probably never be spotless and uncluttered)


And this is what a guy looks like after his first time ever laying carpet.

After only watching one or two videos on the This Old House website, and me saying, "I remember when my parents hired a guy to lay their carpet I saw him do this..." I'm sure that was very helpful, since I was probably 14 the last time my parents got new carpet. And I'm sure I was paying such close attention! Ryan did a great job. Never complained, never threw any tools, didn't break anything (except maybe the rented stretcher, but I think it can be fixed) and we only lost the carpet knife once; right before we needed it and found it after the room was finished. Naturally.

What a guy. I love that I can call him on the way home from the store and say, "I just bought carpet" and less than a week later, that carpet is in our house, perfectly installed and no one is mad at the other one.

The finished project of 2008

The only other things I didn't mention in my previous post, are the stuff that I have this blog for, the art stuff. I had one major project that I started in April and finished in... November. It was a big one though, so I guess 6 months or so isn't too bad.

I started with the leftover fabric that I dyed for the background of my X's quilt. I cut half of each color into 4.25 inch squares and then cut leaf shapes out of the other half of each color. I arranged the squares on my design wall and then fused them to the batting, with extra room all the way around.

My original idea was to have a leaf in each background square. So I pinned them all up, varying the color combinations.
That seemed pretty boring when I finally saw it all together. I liked, it, but it wasn't anything special. So I added some more leaves and moved some around, so it looked more "messy" and I was happy with it.

All of that only took two evenings to accomplish. The quilting was what took the most time. I used a tight satin stitch to sew the veins and stem on each leaf, and then did free motion quilting everywhere else. And the result is:
This is one of my favorite finished projects I've done. The colors are very soothing and I think the overall design is pleasing and has interesting focal points without being too realistic or representational. The only thing I could still do to it is clip all the threads on the back. Does anyone know if that is necessary if it were to be in a show? Do the judges look at the backs of the wall quilts?

The Ups and Downs of 2008

The year in review, since it has been that long since I've posted.

January 2008
Ryan has life threatening sinus infection. Needs emergency surgery. Has no health insurance.
Judge's score: 1
We qualify for Charity Care discount and get most of our bills covered at 90%
Score: 7.5

April 2008
April fools day, I make dinner that looks like poop in the grass, but is really meatloaf and rice.
Score: 9.8
My birthday: a wonderful two-day long celebration that included wine, yummy food and yarn.
Score: 10

I had a kidney stone.
Score: 2
I have health insurance and I took lots of vicodin and slept for two days
Score: 8
I passed the stone at home
Score: 6 (there's another stone waiting in there to wreak havoc another day)
May 2008
We find a family of baby birds in our back yard that are learning to fly
Score: 10
Bella finds family of baby birds in our backyard that are learning to fly
Score: 2

June 2008
Ryan has a sinus infection again. Goes to doctor for drugs and is told to go to the hospital for pre-op bloodwork.
Score: -4
We still qualify for Charity Care discount
Score: 8.5

July 2008
I get engaged! Ryan asks me to marry him on the two year anniversary of closing on our house! I say yes!
Score: 10
August 2008
I harvest the few vegetables that grew in my mostly weed covered garden
Score: 6
September 2008
Bella turns two
Score: 9
Bella is still a puppy
Score: 7
October 2008
My mom and I pick out and purchase my wedding dress
Score: 10 (no pictures, in case Ryan reads this)

Engagement photo session with my friend and Bridesmaid Kristy
Score: 10

We are goofy
Score: 8.5

It must have been the windiest day of the year
Score: 3.75

November 2008
Shannon comes home from Chicago for Thanksgiving and Dad's birthday. We go out bowling and to a very nice Seafood restaurant in Saline.
Score: 9 (not a 10 because Leah couldn't be there too)

December 2008
Shannon buys tickets for she and I to go to the Lyric Opera in Chicago to see Porgy and Bess. We spend 2 whole days together shopping, laughing and eating awesome food.
Score: 10
I ride the train both ways and DO NOT mis-read my ticket and DO catch both trains
Score: 10

Saturday the 20th. I spend the whole day, from 11am until almost midnight at my mom's house baking cookies, chatting and even threw in a trip to the new(ish) Plum Market in Ann Arbor.
Score: 9.9 (not a 10 because the day is just never long enough!)
Sunday the 21st. Ryan and I go bowling with his parents for his dad's birthday. I get a Turkey (that's THREE strikes in a row)! and my final score is 163! My best ever!
Score: 10
Tuesday the 23rd. Wake up and get the kitchen cleaned up and ready for a whole day of baking bread for Christmas presents.
10:48 Call Mom because my kitchen Aid mixer is acting up. No answer, wonder why.
11:19 Text Mom to tell her Ryan fixed my mixer. No response, think it's strange.
noon Call Mom at home. No answer, get worried.
1:45 Call Mom on her cell again. No answer, really really worried.
2 something. my cell phone rings, it's the Washtenaw County Police, calling from my Dad's cell phone. They identify themselves and ask for Ryan. I start shaking uncontrollably.

Deborah Candice Schuyler
October 7, 1956 to December 23, 2008
My mommy, my best friend.

The judge has no score for this one. I can barely put my thoughts together for this. I am just completely lost, discouraged, pissed, and just totally totally sad.

The rest of Tuesday was spent waiting for Shannon to get home from Chicago, a day earlier than planned, and for Leah to get here from Grand Rapids.

Wednesday was Christmas Eve, which we usually spend with Ryan's side of the family. I felt numb and ok enough to go with Ryan to that. It ended up being very nice to be there. I planted myself on his Mimi's couch next to my soon-to-be cousin Deanna (who recently married into the family and also lost her dad two years ago) and was able to participate in Christmas there and also zone-out when I needed to. I got a hug from every single person there and that felt great. After Mimi's party we went to Ryan's parents house for our gift exchanging. I got everything I asked for and more. And everyone else loved what we got them too.

Christmas morning we packed up all the gifts and Bella and drove to Chelsea for my family Christmas. My mom had finished her shopping on Monday and had everything wrapped. So we still had presents to open from her. We weren't sure what to do, if we should skip it, or just go on with our usual traditions. We decided we would open things slowly. Open a few gifts, then eat breakfast, open a few more and then lounge and watch a movie. We wanted it to last as long as possible.

The first gift I opened was a hand-knit teddy bear, wearing a tiny hand-knit scarf. We all started crying and decided it was time to stop and have breakfast. She knit me that bear and must have been so excited for me to open it on Christmas morning. She had told me a few weeks prior that her tree was up and decorated and there was only one gift under it, and it was for me. I'm sure that was the one.

We proceeded through the day; laughing, crying, eating what little we had the appetite for.

Friday was the visitation, Saturday the Service. SO many people said wonderful things about my Mommy. Shannon and I both wrote something to be read by Leah. She was the only one of us strong enough to stand up there and speak without crying. Every single person at the service cried. The men you thought never cried in their life were crying. My mom was beautiful, smart, a smart-ass, so creative and talented, an amazing mother, a natural care-giver. There is so much to say that I can't put into words.

So, Because I know she loved to read my blog, because once a week was not enough of a visit for her. 2009 will be the year I start blogging again. I WILL work on my own art. I WILL make time for everything and everyone. My mom NEVER said "no" or "I don't have time" or "I can't" to her girls. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. And because you can never say it enough: Love you Mommy!

Christmas Re-enactment

Here we have our Christmas Tree. It is real. I like real trees. Plus, someone else cut it down and was selling it in town. We didn't want it to die without having it's day of glory. We got the tree a little late in the month, less than a week before Christmas, so the tree is STILL up today. Not for long though.

Last year's tree was stripped of all it's branches and the trunk was saved. Ryan kept it out in the shed until this year when he cut the top 5 inches off of it and made my christmas gift this year.



Ryan carved it by hand with an exacto knife out of last year's Christmas tree. Amazing, huh?! The flash kindof washed out the detail. The body is carved in one piece and the little nose is carved too. the eyes and buttons are beads raided from my stash and the hat is fabric that he stiffened with glue. The arms are little sticks from the garden. The arms make me nervous. I try not to touch them, I feel like they will break just by looking at them.

I made a few Christmas gifts this year, I made a great hat for my sister. The yarn is Knit Picks sock yarn and the pattern is Chapeau Marneir from Knitty.

Fortunately her outfit on Christmas morning matched her new hat perfectly!

I also made my mom a scarf. While I was out buying her some sock yarn for Christmas, I found some perfect blue Angora blend yarn on clearance. Whenever mom looks at yarn she immediately rubs in on her neck, makes a face, puts it down and then goes back to the sock yarn. Most yarn is too picky for her to wear around her neck. So I hoped that this would be soft enough for her.



The pattern is simple:
Knit first three rows
K3, * (P2, K2, repeat, ending with a P2), K3
Knit back
End scarf with three more knit rows.

All of the gifts I got are great, here are some highlights. From my parents, I got a Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!!! I thought I was going to have to get married to finally get one. I've already used it to make a carrot cake and it was SO FUN! I love my mixer!



Also in the picture above is my new watering can. It's the tan colored camel on the left. It is metal and must be pretty old. We saw it in the window of a consignment/antique shop and I loved it, but the shop was closed. My mom went back later and found it. It is so fun to use that I am probably over-watering my plants.

I got some great books, some that I asked for, and some that were surprises.


Ryan picked out a great knitting book all by himself; the Knitting Answer Book. So far I've just flipped through it and it seems like it will be a great reference. I got another knitting book that isn't shown in the picture, because it took forever to ship and didn't arrive in time for Christmas. I think the book is Simple Knitted Gifts, or something along those lines. I know it is one I asked for, but I can't remember the title.

And of course for Bella, we got her a 34 inch rawhide shaped like a candy cane. We let her open her gift first, so it would keep her busy all morning. She saw me wrapping it just before we left home for Christmas morning at my parents' house. So she was already really excited about it.



We had to put it in the trunk of the car so she wouldn't rip into it before we got there.

Back to August: Michigan Fiber Festival

Ok, getting back to posting about things that happened a long time ago now.

My best friend Leah and I agreed that instead of getting each other birthday presents in 2007, we would go together (along with my mom too) to the Michigan Fiber Festival at the end of August and spend the money that we would have spent on each other, on ourselves. It was a GREAT TIME. None of us had ever been to this festival in Allegan County, and Leah had never been to a fiber festival at all. I took my camera with me, but didn't take any pictures. I wish we had had someone take our picture with the Alpaca though.

We got to the fair grounds around 1:00 and had our game plan all mapped out. Since we all had a fixed amount of money we could spend there, we decided we wanted to see everything, and then go back around and buy. We got halfway thru the first barn and asked someone what time the thing was closing. When they said 4:00 we all panicked! We thought for sure we had until 6:00. Of course that assumption was based on absolutely no facts, just hope. So, we started just buying what we wanted assuming we might not have time to get back to what we wanted.

Since this was our first time at this festival, we thought this one barn was all there was to see as far as things to buy. Somewhere there was a barn full of animals and sheering demonstrations. There was supposed to be herding dog demonstrations. We did find the barns with the animals, and on our way there found a whole other barn full of yarn to buy. I was kindof disappointed because it was 3:40 when we found it and Leah and I were out of money. We'll have to plan better next time. And definitely go on the Friday or Saturday instead of waiting until Sunday to go.

So, this is what I ended up buying:
My first and last purchases: Sock yarn. I grabbed up the trekking because none of the yarn shops within an hour's drive of my house carry it. And the red colorway there is a superwash hand dye that I spent my last $18 on. I hope it looks as good knitted as it does in the skein. because I would consider NEVER knitting it if it doesn't.



This was the only yarn I bought with a specific pattern in mind. I brought the book with me so I could make sure I was getting the right stuff. It is a mohair loop. It is held double for the pattern and this picture shows it already wound doubled.



This yarn is 100% wool and very soft, about a dk weight I think. Each skein has almost 500 yards on it and I hope it will be enough to make a sweater or something. The color is somewhere between these two photos.




And for some current material; this is what I am working on now. I am to the point of cutting the yarn and winding it through the last 8 stitches of the mohair hat. It is supposed to be slightly felted when it is finished. When I tried the hat on at this point in the knitting, it doesn't really fit, so I decided to take some yarn from the other end of the barn and make a swatch to see how it will felt. Well, it doesn't. So it's going to stay on the needles until I decide what to do about that. (another reason why the only projects I seem to finish are socks.)
My other project on the needles is a pair of socks that I started on vacation in August. Specifically, Hartsville, Ohio.


The reason they are taking so long is because I really really dislike the colorway. I loved it in the skein, but now it is showing all the nasty browns and other pukey colors in the stripes. I know I will wear them when they are done, but they are just not fun to knit. So my new motivation is to get them done so I can start on the red hand dyed stuff from the fiber festival (see photo above). I also had to stop knitting on them to work on some Christmas knitting. That will be for next time.

I think I have the blog updated well enough to cover the important stuff that happened while I wasn't blogging. I hope to be blogging more in 2008. I also hope to get back into the habit of using my sewing room for my own work. It has been a hard year for me as an artist. Struggling with the issues of being paid to do someone else's art. when I do that for about 35 hours a week, it is hard to stay in there and clear all that out of the way to work on my own. I know it shouldn't be hard, if I really am the artist that I think I am. So this year, I will try to stay true to my own label as an "artist", not just the "paid to be" artist that I was in 2007. Wish me luck!

Travelling further back in time: August

We didn't go far, or stay for very long, but it was a lot of fun anyway! We left our little Bella with my parents for the long weekend. It was the first time we had been away from her for more than overnight.

Our first stop was Cleveland Ohio for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We spent the day there and saw everything. We had been talking about going there for years, pretty much since we first started dating. I thought it was interesting, but not at all what I expected. I can't describe exactly what I thought it would be like, but I can't help but feel cost of admission was a little high for what is there to be seen. It was fun though. We left as the Hall was closing and found a map and planned out how to get to the restaurant we had picked out for dinner. About an hour later, we found it. Great Lakes Brewing Company. Food was good, beer was better.

After we waddled out of the restaurant with full bellies, we headed toward the hotel, which instead of being on Lake Erie, like I wanted, we had to drive about 35 minutes south to a small town outside of Cleveland. We had a limited budget and couldn't spend $100/night for all three nights. The hotel was ok. No frills or anything special, just a room with a bed and a bath. All we needed.

We hadn't quite decided what we were going to do the next day, so we browsed the tourist magazine that was in the hotel room. The only idea I had for the next day was to go on to our next destination and see the city. Our next destination was Columbus to bet on the harness races at Scioto Downs. Post time wasn't until 6:30, so we had a whole day to kill. In the magazine there was an ad for an enormous flea market only about 45 minutes away from our hotel, and somewhat on the way to Columbus. We only got lost a couple... ok, we got really lost quite a few times. But we found it. A couple of the vendors had puppies and after being away from Bella for less than two days already, I wanted to snuggle them. The sellers were pretty firm about the pups being held by SERIOUS buyers only. jerks.

We headed toward columbus and got there just in time to plan out our first couple bets and re-familiarize ourselves with the process. Unfortunately we did not come out ahead. The first time we had been to the harness races we did really well. We had no idea how to read the program other than to read the names of the horses and what race they were in. So we just picked horses by their funny names. We did pretty well for first timers. I think we broke even that time. This time though, we had some knowledge and could pick out a little information from the program. We bet on the first 5 races trying to use that information. The last 5 races we went back to our funny name system. Neither way worked. Out of the 10 races (and us betting separately for each race, so really 20 bets) we won ONE. One single race. Good thing we were only betting $1 on each race.

That night we stayed at the most filthy, scary, awful and not cheap hotel I've ever seen. I booked all our hotels ahead of time online. This hotel was scary. The room had a bed and a tv. that is pretty much all we had. No alarm clock, no remote control, no ice bucket, no plastic cups, no hair dryer. I think all we had was a single bar of awful hotel soap. The room reeked like paint and was visibly dirty. If I were more like my mother I would have complained and/or left and gotten my money back. I don't know where we would have stayed, we surely would have had to charge a more expensive hotel. So we ended up staying there. Even though we were tired from a long day and a lot of driving and getting lost, I couldn't get to sleep because I was thinking of all the different ways we could possibly be killed in our sleep.

We woke up the next morning (good thing I have an alarm clock in my cell phone) in time to shower and get the hell out of there. We glanced toward the continental breakfast on the way out, we paused and looked at each other and I just said, "let's go find a bakery". So we hit the road looking for some kind of little bakery, starbucks or ANYTHING. We found a Tim Hortons a little ways down the road and loaded up on caffeine and naughty breakfast items. Things with frosting and cheese and chocolate in and on them. And headed toward the next and final destination: Cave City, Kentucky.

We drove the 4 or 5 hours to Cave City and arrived at the hotel right at check-in. We walked in and told the woman at the hotel we had reservations. I guess we missed the time zone change sign on the freeway. It was an hour earlier than we thought. So we decided to go to the Cave first and come back to the hotel later. There were a lot of Cave tours to choose from in this part of the state. Mammoth Caves were right near our hotel, but I saw one online called The Lost River Cave, this one had a walking tour to the cave entrance and then a boat tour inside the cave! So we had to go to that one. It was amazing and I could do a whole blog post just about the cave, but I won't because this entry is already getting to be pretty lengthy. So here are some pics and brief explanations. If you want more, you'll have to go take the tour yourself. It is not expensive at all and is worth every penny.
This is a blue hole. One of the 5 or so places the river is above ground.


This is a section of the river that was above ground. Picture was taken from just outside the mouth of the cave.


After the cave tour we wandered the hiking trails and found something we could set the camera on and use the timer to get a picture of us together. It only took 4 or 5 tries to get one of me in the shot too. We were standing on some rocks in a little stream.


After the cave tour we headed back to Cave City to our hotel. This was the only night we spent at a NICE hotel. This room had a King size bed and a 2 person Jacuzzi tub in the room. I also found an ad online for a nice steakhouse. I looked at pictures and a menu online. It showed $20+ steaks and lobster and all the things you expect at a fancy steakhouse. So we showered and got all dressed up and went to the steakhouse. We drive up and from the outside it doesn't look very fancy. We think maybe they just don't spend their money on the OUTSIDE. So we go in and see everyone in cutoff jeans, tank tops, SWEAT PANTS. So, we're a little overdressed. We wait to be seated and look around. The walls are 80's wood paneling, with the tables and chairs that you would have found in a Pizza Hut in 1987. There is a small, not so fancy salad bar in front of the open galley kitchen. We sit down, thinking, maybe the menu will redeem the rest of what we saw so far. We glance over the menu, looking for steaks, seafood, wine list and beer selection... We see steaks. Just your average American restaurant style dinners, and no alcohol at all. So we decide to leave before the waitress comes back. We hi-tail it out of there and drive back to the hotel. We didn't see anything else along the way. The only option looked like a steakhouse Saloon type restaurant that was attached to the hotel across the street. We go into the lobby of our hotel and ask the attendant for a recommendation. We should have asked about a fancy place or steakhouse specifically, because when we asked for a good restaurant, he immediately referred us to the little mom/pop BBQ joint practically in the parking lot behind the hotel. We also asked where we could buy some alcohol. He pretty much just laughed and said, "welcome to the bible belt". It was Sunday and there is absolutely NO ALCOHOL sold on Sundays. We were pretty bummed that we couldn't have a glass of wine or beer with dinner, on the one night of the trip we were doing our romantic type stuff. But we ended up having a really nice dinner at the hotel steakhouse across the street. After dinner we had a soak in the Jacuzzi tub and watched the ever so romantic show "Ice Road Truckers".

Monday morning we slept in a bit and headed north toward home. Of course, I had scoped out a yarn shop and planned to hit it on the way home on Monday. It was in a little town called Bellevue right on the border between Cincinatti, Ohio and Kentucky. I had $50 set aside for splurging there. And I did. I got some nice variegated laceweight and a skein of Schaefer Anne. Turns out, I drove to Kentucky to buy laceweight yarn that is manufactured only an hour from my house.


We returned home and unpacked the car and then I went out to check on the garden. My mom and sister had been there Saturday night to water the garden and pick anything that was ripe. I had been having a problem with Japanese Beetles on my green beans. So I had a spray bottle of soapy water out there. It just takes one squirt and they die and fall off the leaf. In the two days since Mom and Shannon had been there I had an enormous swarm of Japanese Beetles. I probably did a bit of damage to the plant by spraying so much soapy water all over it to get ALL those bugs.


*shudder* makes me feel all creepy crawly.

Next time: Continuing with August, The Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan County.