L is for Lancaster Creative Reuse Center

There's a new place in town whose goal is to collect and re-distribute materials for creative re-use. Check out the article about the Lancaster Creative Reuse Center in our newspaper yesterday and, if you're in our fair city, stop in and get creative. Our logo is Scrappy the "ugly" duckling . She's smiling cause she knows there's a beautiful swan waiting to be created by someone with just a little imagination and some creativity.

Gotta run...we're open today from 10 am till 2 pm.

Keep good thoughts.

K is for Keys

The coolest thing is happening right now in downtown Lancaster, PA. It has to do with something called Keys for the City.

I'll be walking down a city street and suddenly hear a piano playing. Outside. What a concept. Each piano has been adopted by a local business or non-profit, painted in a most interesting way and set out on the sidewalk for passersby to plunk out a few notes or a sonata. It's up to the individual. The other day I saw a man playing (from some sheet music he'd brought along) to an impromptu audience.

There was the usual Lancaster worry festival before the arrival of the pianos: What if it rains? What if they're vandalized? Isn't this a dumb idea?, etc. In the end, the pianos were placed in downtown locations and the magic began. If you happen to visit Lancaster this summer, listen for the music. It just might make your day.

and, of course, K is ALWAYS for knitting :)

A B C D elephant?

L M N no elephant.

The old kiddie verse popped into my head just now as I realized that I am WAY behind on my ABC-along.

Too much knitting...not enough writing.

Well, there can never be too much knitting. I must learn to multi-task.

Coming soon: the letters K, L, M and N

J is for Journey and Joy

I guess this is a vacation from my chosen subject, Lancaster, PA, but I was invited along on a road trip to Ann Arbor, MI a few weeks ago and feel like veering off course with the letter J.

Of course, I got to knit during the eight hour car trip, going and coming, thanks to my friendly driver. What more could a girl want? Check out my beautiful shades of blue scarf, aptly

named the Lake Erie scarf. A picture just doesn't do it justice. Isn't it great to discover new yarn shops when you travel? I stopped at Busy Hands in downtown Ann Arbor and invested in some ice blue Reynolds Blizzard

super bulky yarn for the Weekend Pullover I've been wanting to knit. I highly recommend knitting a toasty warm sweater in June.......visions of snowflakes anyone?

I learned a lot about Michigan on this trip, mostly about food and friends and happy family events. Zingerman's Deli provided the most delicious food, my favorite being their mac & cheese, no, maybe it was their sandwiches, or maybe the breads and pastries..... I could go on.

Life is a journey, with many twists and turns along the way. Some of them good, some bad.

J is also for Johns Hopkins, where I will go in July in search of a diagnosis for my periods of unsteadiness that have bothered me since a year ago May. Keep good thoughts. :)

It's been a month!

Mayday! Thank goodness it's June. I ended the month with a grand bout of unsteadiness, but I'm down to a slight wavering motion after three days.

I finished my Clapotis on the car ride to Ann Arbor, all but the last few stitches, which I'm saving for knit night at LYS. Today, I completed a pretty little baby sweater for my daughter's new niece, Violet Mari Hinton. The pattern called for Plymouth's Fantasy Naturale, a 100% cotton yarn. I'm a bit nervous about the yarn choice, but summer's here and it's a pretty little sweater. All it needs is ribbon for the neck closing.

So, all that remains is to take pictures and add to Ravelry. Happy endings :)

A rainy day in my head

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.... but I really don't feel delightful......maybe if I tell my blog about the Hey Teach sweater, I will magically be able to understand the darn pattern. Ravelry's no help either since everyone says it's just the easiest thing ever. Humph!!! My knitting buddies are afraid I'll frog the thing. Croaksville.

I is for Ice Cream

There are never enough ice cream stores. That being said, one of the best of the bunch is in downtown Lancaster. Carmen and David's Creamery is the place to be on any day of the week, especially if you are a bit adventurous......

My favorite flavor of all time is their licorice ice cream, which merges the best of two worlds into one delicious treat.

Even the flowers outside have an ice cream theme :)

Last evening, as I ventured downtown to "research" this blog entry, I forced myself to enjoy a toasted coconut cone, since my beloved licorice wasn't in the lineup this week. Check out the littlest patron: