I have a snark - you there in the back of the room - stop sniggering!

Have you been in a public restroom lately?

Dad and I went to a nice place Saturday for lunch - right on the ocean, wonderful view, great food.  Before we left, I made my traditional visit to the ladies salon only to find that it had been redone since my last visit back in the spring.  What that mostly means is that someone decided that the stalls’ width could be reduced by a third and the space from front to back, by half.

The stall door opened inward and I had to practically climb up on the toilet to have enough room to close it.  Once closed, I realized that there was no hook on the back - you know, for shawl and purse?  All there was was the door handle which would only suffice for the purse.

Let me tell you about the slacks I was wearing.  They’re nice, white dress slacks (I love white pants) with an inside button on the waist band to the right of the zipper, and a large, flat hook-and-eye on the left.  Now these slacks are just a bit snug.  Not, you know, uncomfortably so, but I had just eaten dinner.  Imagine, if you will, trying to get these slacks undone one-handed, whilst sucking in a full stomach and juggling a shawl that can’t even be draped over the stall door because the door goes all the way up to the low ceiling.  Finally I folded the shawl as narrowly as I could, and draped it over the body of the purse.  Not ideal, but at least I had both hands back. 

I had, however, failed to notice how low to the ground the toilets were.  So, of course when I tried to sit down, I found myself falling the last three inches.  But, so be it.  After maneuvering for what had seemed like an hour, finally...relief!

And then I discovered that not only were the toilets low to the ground, they were also shallow as it was impossible to tidy up without getting my fingers in the water.

Nothing like a little Saturday adventure :)

I’ve been thinking about a blanket/afghan for my next big project.  I’ve got a bag full of cream colored worsted/aran weight wool (Nomis wolle - courtesy of the mill shop) plus a fair bit of undyed fingering weight wool that could be used double in a pinch - more than enough to make a nice, warm cover with.  Dyeing is a possibility, but I’m thinking the natural color is pretty nice and I might just leave it at that :)

So I’ve been scouring the net for design ideas.  I’ve spent a great deal of time the last few days, looking at pattern (both project and stitch) and one of the things that tickled my fancy was this:

This is a swatch that tries to reproduce a design I saw on Friday and then couldn’t find again - of course :) I did locate the original yesterday and it’s a scarf called Her-Scarf (scroll down).  I’ll probably try it again a couple more times to work out what I want to do with it.  I like it a lot and can see it being a substantial part of whatever overall plan I come up with.  I even like the embroidery which I haven’t done seriously since I was in college.  However, a lazy daisy I can manage :)

And dad’s socks are proceeding apace.  They’re nothing fancy, 2x2 rib at the top, 6x2 rib down the leg and top of the foot.

I should have them done in a week or so.

It snowed here last night - nothing heavy - but enough to cover things with white.  And here I am feeling smug because I don’t have to go anywhere and the kitchen is well stocked :)

Onwards!