Going With It

I spent a lot of time today just going with it. Doing things that I woudn't normally do if I was by myself. Yep, I was totally removed from my Saturday routine, and glad to be so, as this was the first weekend that I spent with Porkchop in St. Louis.

Crazy, eh?

Stupid Six Flags.

When Porkchop and I woke up at 6:40, I didn't put up any protest when Porkchop suggested that we get up, grab breakfast on the road, and truck out to the antiques mall that I've been fantasizing about for so long.

But before broaching the subject of the antiques mall, the picture below shows you what I was greeted with in our backyard this morning. Yesterday, when Porkchop told me that all of the leaves from the backyard tree had fallen off, she wasn't kidding. Here it is....autumnal sadness:



So, anyway, we had a greasy breakfast on the way to the antiques mall. On previous trips to Chicago, I had spied the mall on the roadside, but I could never remember exactly where it was. We were just driving, hoping that it wasn't too far away. And it wasn't.

Here is why this particular antiques mall is so great:



And this:



There are other elephants and giant men.

The contents of the antiques mall were just so-so. Nothing astounding. But I found a postcard that made it all worthwhile. It's a fancy postcard from 1908 with a raised bouquet of flowers and "Best Wishes" on it. The inscription is so great...it reads something like, "Received your letter Saturday. Hope all are well. We are usually well. This is really hard to write on. Will write a letter soon."

Love it! This is really hard to write on. Because it would be, what with the raised bouquet of flowers. Porkchop and I couldn't stop laughing in the mall.

We are easily amused.

I might give it to my dad to add to his amusing postcard collection. He has one from a daughter to a mother....a mere 3 lines, one of which reads, "I have not played the gramophone." My dad loves to speculate about what that line means exactly. Why hadn't she played the gramophone? And he now includes it in his cards to me. I received one just 3 days ago with the line "We have not played the gramophone."

After antiquing, we drove through Collinsville, home of this giant bottle of catsup:



Go here for the official catsup bottle website and fan club.

Design Feature or Design Flaw?
On the way to and back from the antiques mall, I was working on a scarf for Porkchop's younger brother's girlfriend. I had decided on a diagonal drop stitch scarf, and things were going quite well. After the mall, however, I distractedly starting increasing and decreasing in the opposite direction.

I showed my goof-up to Porkchop, who said to just go with it. So I'm now making a diagonal drop stitch zigzag scarf. I'm quite pleased with it...much more interesting this way. Here's a little snapshot of it....you can't really see the zigzagginess of it in this pic, but I will post another when completed:



Speaking of knitted items, we stopped by Knitorious last night, and no less than 3 people commented on my Fetching mitts (calling them by name!). I was a bit embarrassed because I didn't weave in one of the ends very well, so it was kind of hanging out of the fingerless part. I think the reaction to the Fetching mitts has been quite crazy. Yet understandable because the pattern is so great. Here are mine (loose end hidden from the camera):



Also, here is my finished felted bag. The colors are darker in person, there's a bit of glare from the hazy sunlight:



I'm working on another one...same yarn, same pattern (from Hello Yarn), but it also has pink stripes in it. Picture to be posted later.

New Clothes
Porkchop and I visited 2 TJ Maxx stores tonight. Yes, we are crazy, but I found some really great clothes. I can't tell you how happy I am about this....because my work wardrobe really needs a boost. My finds included new trousers (a great dark brown/light blue windowpane pattern), 2 brown knit shirts (one boatneck, one a zip cardigan), and a totally awesome black/gray zipped jacket. I LOVE this jacket!! The lines are so nice and clean with simple, well made detailing. And it was $100 less than original price. I tried on a matching skirt, but wasn't so excited about. But the jacket....I nearly got sick in the store just thinking about it. Because I wanted it so much, but I really hate spending money on clothing....especially if it's over $30.

Luckily, Porkchop convinced me that I should buy it.

I can't wait to wear it. It's sharp.

Tomorrow
We're going to Indian buffet with Soozi, checking out an anniversary sale at Knitorious, and going grocery shopping. Should be a good day.

I will not be getting up at 6:40.

Good night!