Red Eye: Safety Eye Bonanza

Saturday we decided to go to the local yarn stores. I did a search of ones in the area in case any more than the two my mother knew about had opened. Turns out there's one in Macclenny, which is about 20 minutes west.

My mother: That's where the state mental hospital is.
Me: Well, I hear knitting is very therapeutic.

We elected to skip that one.

Both of the shops are across the St Johns River. After we got off I-295, we passed an enormous strip mall on the left. They had a Hobby Lobby!

Let me explain why I care. We don't have Hobby Lobbies here in California. When I got smacked down in the amigurumi competition, my cause of death had an adorable pink safety nose. I had never seen a pink safety nose! (Safety eyes and noses go through the fabric and are secured by backings which Will Not Come Off without some seriously destructive brute force.) I asked my assassin where she got it and she said Hobby Lobby. I despaired.

I asked my mother if we could stop there on the way back, but she said we weren't going to come back the same way. Oh, well. Of course, distracted as she was, she was sitting in the left-turn lane when she said that, without realizing it. Hobby Lobby here I come!

Somehow I was drawn straight to the safety eye aisle. Oh, the wonder! The selection!

When I got back to the car, my mother asked if I got one of everything. "Except when I got two!"

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A woman at the first shop we went to was talking about how Adam West and the old Batman TV series had practically changed her life. Now Star Trek I can understand, but Batman?

I got a hank of super-soft, light grey alpaca laceweight.

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The second shop is half-needlepoint/embroidery and half yarn and has a mind-bogglingly huge selection. So big, I couldn't really think to browse. My aunt told me anything she bought was my fault.

Me: What, why?
Mary: It was your idea for me to come yarn-shopping!
Me: I'm not sure El is going to buy that excuse, Mary.

She got a book with some cool felted bags. I got a magazine which had a pattern for a really neat felted bag, and the wool to make it. I think Mary's going to want the pattern when I'm done, although she'd probably be even happier if I just made the bag for her.

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We ate steamed crab legs with drawn butter and corn bread for dinner.

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I always thought Spoon was pretty adept at wedging in when I went to bed, but Bandit has him beat. It probably helps that he's scrawny and can fit in smaller crevices, while Spoon is rather chunky, to say the least.