Summer is On!

I have to admit, this summer is way busier than I expected it to be.
I figured most of my clients would be taking turns going away, and I wouldn't be busy enough.  Wrong.
The number of people wanting me to watch their kids for the summer surprised me, flattered almost.  A few people had to be turned down, as I'm careful not to go over my numbers.  But this blog is not about work, so here I come with the newest on my knitting adventures...

Last week I got to visit 2 local yarn stores in one week!
This first one is Shall We Knit, in Waterloo.  This so far has been my favourite yarn store.  Ok, so it sort of counts as a new store.  They had previously been set up in New Hamburg, a nearby town.  Now they have moved to Waterloo, they have a larger store with much more yarn than I had seen at their old location.  My first time there, I embarrassed myself so badly that I don't think I'll be able to go there again without a bag on my head.  See, I had been waiting and waiting to go there, and every day when I'm finally done work they are usually closed.  Or when I am done before they close, my hubby is still at work so I can't leave the kids at home.  This was one of those days, and I really wanted to get some Noro yarn for my swap pal in the US (the machine washable one).  I love how it changes color so nicely, and it's pretty much the only yarn I can get my hands on here that will do a striated color change, aside from one sock yarn.  So I packed up my kids and went to the yarn store.  They are usually fairly well behaved when shopping, except that they love to ask me to buy them this and that, etc.  I had a special trip planned for the kids, and we were just going to pop in here first on our way.  But while we were in the store, my children suddenly stopped behaving.  They kept interrupting me when I was trying to question the staff, and my daughter kept wandering off when I was in the middle of reading a yarn label.  Twice she reached their sink and sampled the soap (she loves to wash her hands).  They were not impressed.  In fact, even though I spent over a hundred dollars there (which I likely wouldn't have spent so much without the kids there, but I couldn't think straight), they seemed very impatient with me by the time I was ready to pay for my purchases.  They also seemed relieved when I left the store, and didn't bother to even say 'thanks for coming', or 'come again'.  When I said that next time I will come alone, they barely even acknowledged my comment.  I felt so embarrassed.  If I didn't have my mind set on getting something special for my swap pal, I would have gladly left without purchasing anything.  I don't usually let my children get away with poor shopping manners, and the rest of their special trip was cancelled.  I thought a few minutes at the yarn store would have been a great pick me up, as it usually is.  This time, it actually felt worse having gone there.  The only good thing was that I was able to get a fantastic yarn and some nice goodies for my pal.  As well as some yarn to make her special project with (which I forgot to take a photo of).  Now I'm not sure what kind of a reception I will get next time.

A few days later, I had the opportunity to go with a friend (no kids this time) to a spinning demonstration downtown, so while we were there we hit the Kitchener Market where I got my first glimpse of Yarn Indulgences.  That was a nice pick me up.  We had a great time at the spinning thing (more on that later), and visiting the market was a great experience!  What a perfect name for the store!  And I have to say, the staff there were very friendly and helpful.  I picked out some buttons for my button swap, and some yarn for a scarf I hope to make.  Fantastic shimmering yarn!  It was sunny out, too, just what I needed.  A perfect morning - spending time with my friend, learning to spin, and discovering a new yarn store.  The afternoon went just as well - I spent the rest of the day with my family doing things our kids chose.  A wonderful day.