My day out

It was a long day (I left just after 9 am, and got back around 4) but I went pretty much everywhere I wanted to go, despite the rain.

It was bad some times. One of the issues with the rain we get here is that it can go from "light rain" to "you can barely see the road heavy rain" in a matter of a few hundred feet or a few tens of seconds (depending). So for a while, the driving would not be so bad, but then it would be BAD for a while.

If I had been more sensible, I probably would have stayed home. Then again, I got there safely and back here safely, so it's all good. But I would have preferred it didn't rain. 

First stop was Whitesboro, and the yarn shop, for its "Everything is at least 20% off" sale (I got two sock yarns at 50% off, so less than $15 for a skein of wool sock yarn - one will be used to make a pair of fingerless mitts for the AAUW gift exchange).

And I found yarn that was almost "caution yellow" in color (and dk weight), so I can make the "Soft Hat" I linked to earlier. That idea delights me and actually, for a fall/winter field hat, caution yellow is probably a good color:

 

That's Dream In Color's dk in the color "Pickleball" - it's really a green, but it's an extremely yellowish green and to my eyes, it's close enough to "caution yellow."

 

I also got, as you can see, some laceweight (a Cascade alpaca blend) for that shawl (gonna make it bigger and wider; I got twice as much yarn as the pattern calls for). And some just-pretty sock yarn.

 

You can also see the 50% off yarns here:

 

 

An Opal (which will become the mitts) and an Aurora with lots of pink to eventually be socks for me.

 

I also went to the quilt shop next door but didn't buy a lot; I haven't really been working much on quilts lately. I did buy a sewing-machine organizer thing as part of my mom's Christmas gift - you can use it to organize scissors and tools and crochet hooks and the like. I also got a couple yards of a green print with artichokes; I have a vague plan of making a tablecloth of it, it's a very pretty fabric.

 

I also went to Lovejoy's for lunch, and to my delight, they had Quiche Lorraine (the last few times I'd been down there, the quiche-of-the-day was Southwestern, which has a couple things I don't like in it). So I had a cup of blackcurrant tea and a piece of quiche, and a "half serving" of chocolate bread pudding for dessert. And it was always very nice and very pleasant and the people there are friendly. 

 

(I also love the yarn shop because the owners are SO friendly and nice; it's a fun place to shop in part because of that.)

 

I bought a "paint your own rubber duck" kit for my niece - apparently it is waterproof after the paint dries and it seems like something she would enjoy.

 

I then headed back to Sherman on 56. I asked the owners of the yarn shop if they knew of flooding on it. They said as of yesterday there wasn't any. But I was careful. (At a couple points it felt like I was hydroplaning so I eased up on the gas pedal until it felt back under control).

 

I went to JoAnn's and got a few things (including a totally self-indulgent book of "Unofficial Harry Potter Crafts" - fandom, yay. I also have a Moomin craft book on order, it's supposed to come some time next week). And to the Ulta, to pick up a few things and I also got a pair of silly sequinned penguin-face slippers for my sister-in-law, as part of her Christmas gift. 

 

And another totally indulgent thing, from the Target, for myself:

 

Squirrel Girl! A Marvel superheroine, I admit I don't know a *lot* about her, but she's a cute doll and I kind of wanted one after seeing some of the doll blogs showing her. (I may have to get some Squirrel Girl comics and read them). And there's the Harry Potter crafts book. And some socks from the yarn shop that say "Go away I'm introverting"

And then to the bookstore. Found the newest available issue of "Simply Knitting" (which is becoming increasingly hard to find around here and that displeases me and I'm wondering if I just bite the bullet and pay the high rates to get a subscription from Britain...)

And I looked for a poetry anthology for my niece.

They had literally one variety in the kids' section, but it seems pretty perfect for her:

 

It's HUGE. It has a nature-themed poem (appropriate for kids, but it's the sort of book that an adult could also enjoy, so I don't think she'll outgrow it) for every day of the year, and it has lovely illustrations. And the paper is thick and nice and high quality and just in general it feels like a good solid "real" book - and my niece loves animals and nature, so of course it had to be. (You can see the rubber duck next to it). 

 

I also found a couple "practical" items (including a nice glass water bottle for keeping beside the bed; he often needs water late at night) for my dad, who is hard to buy for. I still need to figure out something more for my sister-in-law and something for my brother, but I made a good dent on Christmas shopping today, and I'm very pleased at finding this book for my niece. 

 

I also went to the grocery store, so I have food ahead for the week: one thing I plan to do is the "skillet macaroni and cheese" I've done before, and I have spinach ahead for sauteed spinach (finally the "baby" spinach is looking "baby" again; often during the summer it seems big and coarse.)

 

I did see a bad accident (well, the aftermath of it) coming back - it's on the evening news now. Apparently no one was seriously injured, though. (I saw it as I drove past. I couldn't quite see what had happened, so I just said a quick prayer that everyone involved was going to be OK and kept going). Three cars were involved; it happened on one of the onramps on to 75.