Back Home!
It is SO good to be home – and we have the wildest yard on the block!
Ohio was lovely – beautiful – fun – exciting – and the kids want to move there! When we arrived back home, though, the kids were VERY excited to see Butkis and introduce him to Gigi (our new kitten). Atticus was anxious to try out the new waist high grass in the backyard!
I’m slowly sorting through my messages and emails – over 200 non-spam emails are waiting for me, it will take a while… I can’t even begin to count the spam messages. If you’ve emailed me and it bounced due to a full mailbox, please try again.
Yesterday was our Toledo day – we went to the zoo and while the kids and I visited the gorillas and lizards Gerry visited his old co-workers at WGTE. After the zoo we drove past Gerry’s old apartment which happened to be on the same street as Fiberworks Yarns – so, of course, we had to stop.
It’s funny that one of my students last weekend made a comment about me being a ‘knitting celeb’ and I stressed that I most certainly am NOT a celeb. One asked, “When you go into a yarn shop, do they all ask for your autograph?” and I replied, “No, most of the time they don’t even KNOW me!” Which is true.
Which is exactly what happened at this yarn shop in Toledo. I went in and looked around – it was a very well stocked shop, lots of great yarn (not many metal needles, though – but I know I’m odd about that!) When I introduced myself the owner obviously had no clue who I was – why should he? And I felt like an idiot because it was clear for about 3 seconds that I thought he did know who I was. Oy.
This usually doesn’t phase me at all, but for some reason I had this weird feeling that someone in Toledo should know me. Very silly. I didn’t even realize I had the expectation until it was realized. Or, rather, until it failed to be realized.
When I got in the car it was obvious that I was in a funk. In an attempt to be sensitive Gerry decided we should just return to the rental house in Marblehead and forego the Annie Memorial Tour of the house I grew up in, my old school, etc. So as he headed out of town I sat and fumed that obviously NO ONE – not even my husband – cared about my Toledo history. I haven’t experienced that depth of self pity since I was 16 (living in Toledo)
We had words – he felt like a jerk and I acted like a jerk – the perfect couple. It ended with us heading to Wernerts Corners (the area I grew up in) and driving past A Yarn Co. After some discussion we turned around to visit that shop, but got there about 5 minutes after it closed. My grand homecoming tour of Toledo yarn shops obviously did not go as expected. I guess it would have helped if I would have looked up addresses and contacted shop owners before leaving NJ, huh?
We did go past my old house – it’s white now, and they removed the hedge. The pine tree my parents planted is now large enough to be in Rockfeller Center (I felt very old when I saw that…) Then on to Jackman Elementary where very little had changed. I was able to get into the building and walk around – it smelled the same – a very odd feeling. Except for one year when we lived in Indiana when I was in the first grade, I went to that school from Kindergarden to 7th grade. So many memories.
If you’ve ordered a pattern from me, it will be to you this evening! I was unable to access my patterns while I was away (long story…) and I’m grateful to my pattern customers for your patience!