Back from the Beach

Good Golly it was hard for the beach sox and I to tear ourselves away from the beach this morning and get on that plane home! We had such a wonderful time. Though the forecast before we left was for rain every day, not a drop fell upon us the whole time...it was awesome.

Though.... HOT! & HUMID! (both of which I hate when I'm home in Michigan but will gladly tolerate when I am within earshot of the crashing waves.

When we got to Myrtle Beach and went to the Alamo counter for our "midsized" car, we were told they were out of midsize and would we mind a brand new mini-van with leather seats, DVD player, etc. Heck no! Bring it on....

That was our first upgrade of the day. We called the hotel to see if we could check in early, since it was still more than 4 hours until the normal check-in time of 3 pm. After some checking, the guy came back on the phone and said, yes, they had a room available, and we could come now. We got there and were told they were upgrading us to a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom CONDO! For goodness sake, we were only paying just over $100 a night and that included a huge breakfast buffet every morning! We were geeked!

This place was awesome...a HUGE kitchen complete with dishwasher (and laundry!) tons of counterspace and cupboard space and every small appliance you could possibly need (along with the obvious large appliances too!) The dining/living room was extremely spacious with a huge glass wall to the balcony. We had an awesome view of the ocean which was just yards away over a small dune. The master suite was huge with a king bed, the other bedroom had 2 double beds and was very nice for the kids not to have to sleep together in one bed. We had 3 tvs and all the comforts of home. Wow....

I was knitting away on my socks at the pool(s) and was getting some very strange looks....never saw another person knitting the whole time I was gone, but was glad to bring home a 2/3 completed pair of socks that will always remind me of this trip.

While there I took a trip down to Pawley's Island to find a couple of yarn shops down there. Of course I went on Monday and one shop was closed Mondays. Drats...remind me to let my fingers do the walking next time....The other "shop"(Elegant Stitches) was actually in a home. Rosemarie Smith is the lady's name and she was very sweet. Gave me great directions to get there though I was afraid to try it, I did find her ok. She actually teaches classes and has an area of her upstairs set up as a shop. Not a huge selection, obviously, but some very nice yarns.

The next day I drove north to Knitting Up a Storm and had a nice long chat with Terri who was working there that day. Only one other customer came in while I was there so we had a lot of time (well over an hour) to talk yarn, and about the classes I am teaching, tales of working in a yarn store, etc. They had all their Jo Sharp yarns at 50% off. She said Jo Sharp is being bought out by another company, and while the yarn will stay the same, it will have a new label so they are clearning out what they had. I bought a full bag of Silk Road DK Tweed (Wool/Silk/Cashmere blend) for a mere $4.25 each! YOWSA! I bought a really cute shrug pattern to use this yummy yarn. I wish I knew what else I would make, or who would want me to buy some at this price, but I just didn't know if I should buy more of this yarn, or any of the many other Jo Sharp yarns they had in stock.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time...it went by WAY too fast, but it's good to be back home.

I just feel so awful for the people who were affected in such horrific ways by the hurricane and its aftermath. I pray that someone will take care of those people SOON. I understand that the magnitude of the situation is unimaginable, but it sure seems like things are happening in slow motion. If I feel that way I can only imagine what those poor people are feeling and thinking. I am praying for them and thankful that no one that I know was affected by this tragedy. If you have friends or family members who have suffered, I hold them in my prayers. It makes you feel guilty to have a wonderful vacation and come home to a house intact, all the while knowing that so many are suffering so horribly. I feel the same way I did after 9/11. For so many days I felt paralyzed. Like I had no right to go about my daily "normal" life. It wasn't fair to have normalcy when so many had died or had their normal lives ripped away from them forever. I guess to overcome this feeling we have to do whatever we can to help those less fortunate. If you can send money, do so. If your situation doesn't allow it, send prayer. Reach out in random acts of kindness so we can remember that there is good in this world, and focus on that rather than the idiots who are shooting at people who are trying to help them, looting hospitals, and acting like animals.

On a happier note....the new issue of Knitty should be up soon....Look for my pattern "Bloom"....let me know what you think! And hopefully by tonight I will have a preview posted here of my new felted bag pattern too.

Safe travels to everyone this holiday weekend.