I had occasion to call my adult children recently. We had been away quite a bit this fall and there were many comings and goings of said children and acquaintances in our house during our absence. Finally tackling the laundry basket of clean linens that had lived at the foot of our bed for months,…

It was something I was saving for retirement, one of the items on my very long list, but I got spooked hearing of your many tales of data loss woe. Three full weekends, four old hard drives, and 14,000 pictures later, the task is nearly finished. Backed up in duplicate on DVD's stored offsite, and on a…

Cursed by the same affliction, my daughter and I. Just as a product fits comfortably into our life, be it hand cream or breakfast cereal, poof (!) it's no longer available. It first happened many years ago for me, with Chap-ans, a chapstick product for hands. Best hand cream ever. Shortly after its demise, there…

Dear Blog, with a twinge of guilt this week I admit to cheating on you, sort of. Embarking on an adventure, one they tell you not to do, C and I with other friends, have bought into a condo unit near Palm Springs. Sight unseen. I've seen it now, but the actual purchase was an…

As if Wollmesie wasn't enough.   I'll fess up. I first saw this merino/slk in Denmark, however the price was too high even for souvenir yarn, about $32 for 100 gms. Regretting my decision, after returning home I found it online for half the price. Hmmmm, I thought, must be the difference without the VAT.…

Ahhhh Venice. I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. Not the traditional tourist spots, suffocatingly crowded, where even the pigeons posed for pictures. I preferred streets less travelled. The hidden piazzas and the glimpses of daily life:    …in an unusual city where everything is boat dependent. Order some yarn and…

It's not often you get to continue a good dream. Once you awaken, it's back to the cold hard slap of reality. Let me take you back to dreaming about the feast of colour and comfort. Driving south from northern Germany we discuss the meaning of the name Wollmeise. The literal translation is wool bird,…

Not just the yarn, the store itself, many a knitter's dream. Mine came true. After planning a roadtrip with friends from Bremen, Germany to Venice, I asked if Paffenhofen, home of Rohrspatz & Wollmeise, was within reasonable distance of our planned trip. It was meant to be, five minutes off our route on the autobahn,…

Pattern: Willow by Amelia Lyon Yarn: Patons Kroy Socks Stripe, 2 skeins Colour: Cyan Needles: US Size 5 Thoughts: Great pattern! Being a woman of a certain age, with a tendency toward overheating, I've avoided knitting cowls, thinking their close fit might inhibit my ability to pull one off quickly in hot desperation. Au contrare.…

Once again, and in consideration of the this year's blue Christmas, we are going for minimalism. I'm liking it. The best part for me is the cleanup. The ceramic Christmas tree and Nativity take about five minutes of work to dismantle. The essence of the holiday without the stress. We're still hosting our annual Danish…