Today I spoke for the Madison Knitters Guild and what a TERRIFIC group they were! I actually gave two slightly different versions of the same talk – an AM and a PM session – and ended both with my favorite finish, a quickie lesson in cabling without a cable needle. The groups were pretty big and very receptive – the only thing I would have changed would have been to have more light (I think the photographer felt the same way!)
It was such a foggy morning – it’s fog season! But the grounds of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center were so beautiful in the mist and the only problem I had finding it was determining the best place to park so that I could get my books and teaching examples inside with minimum fuss. Of course, I parked as far away as I could possibly get – but luckily my luggage has wheels and I was able to get a full tour of the center as I made my way to the auditorium.
In the break between lectures I sat in the cloister area and had a nice knit, listening to my current book on iPod, The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, a nice 20+ hours of rich historic listening pleasure!
After my two sessions with the Madison Knitters Guild were finished, I drove down to New Glarus and checked into the Chateau Landhaus. To be honest, I’m a little sad that I wasn’t able to stay at the Concourse in Madison another night. I would have LOVED to have explored Madison, and the hotel and continental breakfast were AMAZING!
This hotel is okay – a little Motel 6-ish (I hate it when you can’t turn on the light in the bathroom without a loud fan coming on at the same time, and thin shower curtains take a lot of the joy out of a nice, hot scrub) but they have wi-fi (if I go downstairs and sit in the lobby) so I can check my email. I can’t send any email, the wifi signal doesn’t seem to be strong enough, but I can blog and can always use my webmail if an emergency arises. I’m here for 3 nights, so I’d better settle in…
Today I teach one class for Knitters Treat – the class will be held at the owner’s daughter’s restaurant, The Dining Room at 209 Main Street in Monticello. We had dinner there last night with some local knitters, Ruth and her son. It was an exceptional meal – so wonderful!
I hadn’t realized how hungry I was, but thinking back I skipped lunch, and when I left Madison for Glarus I was so tired that I napped at the hotel and didn’t get a bite until dinner. I think I scarfed down my beef (I have beef so seldom – this was AMAZING!) so fast that I shocked the other diners. Thankfully, no one mentioned it… They were probably afraid I turn to one of them next.
As I said, I was just exhasted, so I was happy to drive back to Glarus and wanted to get there soon and pull the blankets up over my head and SNOOZE. Unfortunately, Monticello’s finest had other plans for me. When I pulled out from the restaurant (which was near a few bars) I noticed a police car but figured, “I’ve had exactly one beer and I’m driving safely, I should be fine…”
But as I’ve learned, a car with Jersey plates tends to arouse the interest of local police.
So about 100 feet after turning toward the highway I was pulled over by the cop I’d seen earlier, and she informed me that one of my tail lights was out. (Last summer at the Great Lakes Fiber Show I backed into a wooden barricade and had a minor fender bender. We replaced the tail light that week, and the new one worked fine, but apparently in the past few days it’s become disconnected or something. Can there be just ONE detail that I can let slide, please?)
– Oh, right – I’m sorry officer. I noticed that a few days ago, but I had to drive here from Minneapolis – er, St. Paul – yesterday and haven’t had time to get it fixed…
– Minneapolis or St. Paul
– St. Paul
– Are you aware that you have New Jersey plates?
– Yes, we just moved from New Jersey to Minneapolis, er, St. Paul.
[Pause]
– May I see your drivers’ license and registration?
So I sat in my car for over 20 minutes while the cop, er, officer ran my plates.
– Okay, you can go. You should get that light taken care of.
– [silence]
– Well, have a good night.
– [silence]
I was so pissed that I thought if I said anything the tone in my voice would be harsh. Not pissed about being pulled over as much as having to sit there from 9:10 to 9:37 waiting to be cleared. And I was so tired. Eh, in the scheme of life, not a long time…
So the cop, er, officer got back in her car, I got back in my car, and she followed me almost all the way back to my hotel.
Welcome to Wisconsin.
I’ve been stopped by the police exactly 3 times in the past 2 years, once in Michigan, once in Ohio and now in Wisconsin. No one can tell me that Jersey plates aren’t a red flag to the officers out here. I understand about checking out suspicious vehicles, but jeeze, where was the cop when the huge red truck was tailgating me all the way down Rt. 69 yesterday because I wouldn’t go faster than the speed limit on a country road?