Knitting in Texas

Or rather I would be if I weren't working 60 hour weeks right now.

Thank you to all the kind comments from the folks the bounced over from Stephanie's Blog. 

I have spent a mini fortune at The Woolie Ewe since I've been here.  It is a nice shop and the people that work there are very friendly but I admit to feeling way out of my element there.

I haven't been to the Shabby Sheep yet, but I'm working on that.  I did hit Holley's Yarn Shoppe a few weeks ago and they were really nice to me as well.  (Ok I didn't hit it, I paid for my purchases, promise).

A few people in the area have commented on the last post and I hope to get un-shy enough to take them up on their offers.  For those just catching up (the old timers are laughing their butts off at the un-shying statement), it took me almost 6 months to work up the courage to go to the knit group back in Santa Rosa 4 years ago, and even though I've never regretted it, it was still hard to do.  Complete and abject fear at meeting new people.  Panic attack city.

I just tell people that Rosemary made me. ;-)  And for those of you that love her patterns and pins, she is super sweet in person and just really really nice.

One of the main reasons I have a hard time meeting new people is my hearing.  Most people get frustrated at having to repeat themselves and when you are trying to make friends, the last thing you want to do is annoy them right off the bat.

The local ladies that were at the book signing were perhaps also wondering who I was because I had a reserved seat.  And given how late I got it, someone probably had to be moved for me to get that seat.  So while I'm grateful to my friend Roger for calling the bookstore and making sure they could accommodate my hearing impairment (I usually just suffer in silence - no pun intended hehe), when I saw where they put me I was both thrilled (because I'd be able to see Stephanie - if I can see you I can hear you more easily - or rather read lips more easily) and terrified because I figure I sure wasn't making any friends with that maneuver.

So if someone had to move for me to get that seat, I am truly sorry.

It's Been a While

I know it's been a while since I've been here.

Lots of life changes have been going on in my life this year, most initiated by me, and, in my mind, most necessary.  Many of them weren't anything I could talk about till recently and some I won't talk about at all except to say that Ken and I have split and the decision was mine.

As if that isn't a big enough change, I took a position in our Plano Texas office recently. Yes that's right, I packed up a U-Haul with all my stuff, put the Explorer on a trailer and drove across the country.

The guys in the Plano office have been really helpful and making me feel welcome.

You already know that I lost Oscar and that I almost lost Cliff the Mutt. Even though he's apparently allergic to Texas, he is actually doing better and I'm glad he's still with me.

He and I have a little apartment in Allen. We like it even if I seem to be spending more than 50% of my time at work. I'm working on that.  Cliff gets to spend the day with a friend's dog, so he's not alone and it's working out well for both parties, because my friend's dog isn't alone now either and he and Cliff are just like the 'Odd Couple.'

That's them, Cliff and Jackson.

Some things don't change though.  I'm still knitting.  I still have way too many projects on the needles at once, but we all know how much I love yarn.

One of the thins I still try to do daily is read the Yarn Harlot's blog because she's just so funny and she really makes some gorgeous stuff.

I haven't missed one of her book tours since I found her in 2007.  She has a new book out called All Wound Up and I've already read it cover to cover and checked to see if she would be close by on this tour.

Since Plano is to Dallas as Petaluma is to Santa Rosa, it looked like she'd be close.  Then I looked up the venue, A Real Bookstore, and it's less than 5 miles from my apartment.  I was totally going.

There's only one problem.  Except for the folks at work, and they don't knit, I still don't know anyone here.  Every single book signing I've gone to of Stephanie's I haven't gone alone.  And I sure as heck wasn't ready to this time, but neither was I missing it.

So I sucked it up and went.  I've been following the current one.  And as usual, it seems, she's not always getting enough time to eat.  I try to give her something when I see her, even if I know probably half of it can't make it home, suitcases are only so big, so I figured to bring something she wouldn't have to pack.  I think a beer, a small box of good crackers, three cheeses (real cheese), some Nutella in a cool single serving package and a small thing of coffee (to take home) would go over nicely, and I made sure she had a little cheese knife in there too.

I hope she likes it.  It's always cool when she remembers me given all the people she sees on these tours.  She did say for a minute she wasn't sure she was in Texas, since I always see her in California.  And no I'm not stalking her.  She's genuinely nice and funny and grateful for the fact that she gets to do this for a living.  So when I see her I'll make darn sure she gets some kindness back and I'll buy anything she writes.

So I still don't know any knitters here really (there's a member of my International Sock Swap that lives close by but I haven't met her in person) and after tonight I'm sure the local knitting clicks wonder why the heck she took my picture.  

But I'm just me.  Another knitter, another Yarn Harlot fan, another person looking for friends in a new place. Maybe this will help. Maybe it won't, but, if nothing else, I took myself outside of my normal comfort zone and went even when I was terrified to go alone (painfully devastatingly shy am I).  And you know what?  I survived.  I had a mini panic attack, but I got over it and I didn't bolt, because, damnit, I was making sure she got dinner.