The day out

 I did take Saturday and go to Denison. There are a number of nice shops in Denison; I didn't even go to every one, like, I didn't go to the antique mall (though if the weather Friday is not amenable to going to Chickasaw National Recreation Area, I might do that instead). I got off a little later than I intended and also, while heading towards the interstate, my "check tire" light came on again - this time it was the passenger side front tire. Also this time I remembered I had a little compressor that runs off the cigarette lighter so I pulled off into a gas station before getting on the interstate and checked the tires and pumped up the one that was low. And then the light stayed off, so that must have been it. (I worry about nails in tires and the like - our streets here are bad; there are potholes you just basically use the "missing stairs" principle with because the city never fixes them. Also there's construction so nails and such are a risk some times)

But I got there without incident. 

Denison suffered a fire a couple years back (maybe 2018? I can't remember but I think it was in the before-times). As far as I remember no one died and I don't even think anyone was seriously injured). They've torn down the affected business; it's an empty lot now but there are plans to "streetscape" with a more bike friendly downtown in the future.

They do have a statue of a phoenix to represent the downtown rising again from the ashes. 

It would be more poignant if someone had died (I checked: no one did).

I went to a few places but not all - I went to a place called Two Chicks that has nice greeting cards (I got a box of cards that would work as get-well or sympathy cards because I never seem to have those on hand, and often you need them on short notice) and also another bar of lemongrass soap

I also went to one of my new favorite spaces - not so much because of what they sell (though they do have nice candles - it's where I got my new favorite "coffeehouse" scented candle -- and soap and some costume jewelry). But I like it because of the SPACE - a big open area with stalls for the sellers, and a counter that sells coffee drinks and a few light sandwiches in the middle:

Yes, it is an almost stereotypically-hipster place (they also sell houseplants, though their prices seem high to me. I looked for one that I wanted - there's a plant called Hoya carnosa or "Hindu rope plant" that I would really like to have one of, but no where seems to sell them). But it's just a nice space to be in. 

I did wind up buying myself a costume jewelry ring. I'm not sure the metal - I should try it against a magnet because it seems like steel - and at any rate I've not reacted to it nor has it turned my finger green after a couple days wearing it

It wasn't much - like $10 - so I'm figuring it's some cheaper metal, and anyway, it does not look like silver (and is too heavy to be aluminum)

I also walked down a bit - I wanted to go to the old-fashioned candy store (but they didn't open until noon) and I wanted to check on whether a new-to-the-area shop had opened yet (I had seen their grand opening listed as the 17th, but often places "soft open" before that).

Ah yes, they were:

Quilt Asylum! I used to go to them ages and ages ago when they were in McKinney! They moved a couple times while they were there, then they went to a "curated supplies" (aka: only kits of precut fabric) model, then last I heard, they closed.

But they're back! I don't know if it's the same people or if the name/business model was sold to new owners, but yes, once again they have the nice big racks of cloth, and fat quarters of nearly every fabric they sell, and the sort of nice open sunlit feel to the place. It's a smaller store than two of their previous incarnations, but they still have a LOT of nice fabric.

and yes, I bought some fat quarters for a future quilt, to be combined with some fabric I already have. And a BIG book, called Quilt Recipes - quite expensive but it had a lot of new-to-me patterns, and also some nice baked good recipes in it, and it was just the kind of book I like - good photography, inspirational patterns. 

I moved my car up closer to that end of the street, and then went to Kaboodles (really don't love the name, something about the K-for-C substitution has always bugged me) but they have some neat stuff.

Like this

There is an alpaca ranch (farm?) in Gainesville, and apparently some of the fleeces get spun into yarn (you shear alpacas like you do sheep) and they sell a few skeins of yarn in that shop (along with commercially made - usually in Peru - alpaca products like socks and hats). The fun thing is they put the name of the alpaca and its photo on the yarn, this yarn is from a fleece from "Noëlle." It's sport weight and I plan to make fingerless mitts of it. 

I also bought this:

A couple reasons - people have recommended Wodehouse to me as "light reading" and wow, I need "light reading" of late, I've put aside several books I've started as being "too much right now" and I figure in here the worst things that happen are social embarrassments and broken engagements. I have one or two of the novels on the shelf somewhere but I need short stories right now - I can read one in a night or two before bed. And I figured this would be a good entry to Wodehouse since I'd never read very much.

I've read one story and part of another. I like Wodehouse. Not my favorite author ever but the style is entertaining (though some of the slang, I don't pick it up, not having been a Bright Young Thing nor an Upper Middle-Class Twit, though some of it I can suss out from context). And it's certainly light, nothing so very bad happens, though yes, Bertie is a twit and that could get annoying after a while.

It is sitting on a table at the restaurant where I ate a meal (YES, INSIDE A RESTAURANT. But it was not busy and the ventilation seemed okay. I guess I'll know by the end of the week if I chose wisely.).

Got a croissant with scrambled egg, cheese, and ham on it - the tag end of breakfast, but none of the lunch options appealed to me as much. And a hot chai tea

I did stop by the candy shop on the way back to my car; got a big bag of hot cinnamon bears - a favorite candy but one that can be hard to find. 

And then on to JoAnn's, and Ulta, and ultimately the grocery store, and then back home.