Some mornings, especially in the winter, I wake up at the alarm and think, "My throat's a little scratchy this morning. I was sneezing this weekend. Maybe I'm getting sick. I should stay home and rest." And in that half-conscious state I convince myself that I'm coming down with something an officemate had and I should really stay home and rest. But then usually I have to get up to use the bathroom, and I think about everything I need to do, and decide, "Well, I'm already up, and I have so much to do, and I should save up the time off, and if I feel sick at lunch I can always come home."
Today I wish I'd listened to the little devil on my shoulder... It was a cold, gray, rainy day, the kind we get in New England in late October but not the kind I've come to expect from Colorado. It shouldn't be a surprise; I was out here to interview exactly a year ago, and the first day of my visit was warm & sunny, the second was rainy, and the third it snowed 4 inches. Aside from the weather, it was just one of those days where several of our clients were bugging me in a big way, and a member of our team who's saved my butt on a regular basis and keeps everything going is moving to another department. Ugh. Just not worth going to work.
I hope it's just my imagination that my room smells faintly of cat pee. Maybe I should borrow Michaele's blacklight...
Anyway, I went to Taos with a bunch of Boulder knitters this weekend for the wool market. It was the first time I'd been to New Mexico, let alone Taos, and special for two other reasons--our dearly departed-for-Philly Kate came out to join us, and it was Katie's birthday. I drove, so I have no pictures, unfortunately (though there should be pictures of booty later, if I can face up to what I spent...). The drive was about 5 hours, or about an hour too long, but very dramatic. There were true Western vistas, with mesas and arroyos and long flat stretches with only the road ahead of us and behind us. We were all wondering what the people who live in those areas do--what is daily life like when you can't see a single neighbor, or where the grocery store is 50 miles away?
We didn't see any movie stars, but we did see tons of tourists! Taos is a tiny town with the traffic of a small city. As soon as we figured out where to ditch the car, we hit the market. In many ways it was a disappointment; we were expecting small, but it was less than 1/4 the size of Estes, almost no animals, and most of the interesting booths were ones I'd seen at Taos. Magpie Woodworks, which I'd been looking forward to visiting, wasn't there, and the sourcing rules at the Taos festival meant that La Plata Farms didn't have the kid mohair roving I'd been looking forward to. I did still find goodies, of course... pictures another day. Went over to La Lana, which I found way overpriced and not that exciting, though some did buy yarn & patterns there.
Anyway, after an authentic New Mexican dinner at Orlando's for Katie's birthday, we all pretty much crashed back at the hotel. The next day we woke up to this crummy weather, so after a very ample brunch, a couple of us headed back to the festival for some last-minute buying, and then we wound up across the street at Weaving Southwest, where they had stunning weavings and gorgeous hand-painted yarns.
The other car went up to a cute little town with a cute little yarn store, but Alex and I headed for the airport, where she had a flight to visit her husband in Santa Barbara. (Poor Alex.) So I did get home at a reasonable hour, but yesterday morning came awfully early...
If I knit steadily, Short Rows may become my Rhinebeck sweater, but with everything I need to do before now & then, well, I may be seaming it up on the train from Penn Station.
Since I began this post, I've had a second day when I wished I'd stayed in bed. I think it's one of those weeks. Fingers crossed for better tomorrow.
Smaller than Estes? wow. Rhinebeck won't disappoint, though.
Posted by: Carole | October 11, 2006 at 07:18 AM
oh...i hope you feel better. good news: one of the girls in my program has a house near rheinbeck and if she doen't already have plans with her hubby -- pooh -- we may go up fri night and spend the day on sat -- and i can take rollie! otherwise it is a no-go day trip without the puppers....i can't wait to see documented evidence of all of your booty -- you definately made out like a bandit considering!!!
Posted by: kate | October 11, 2006 at 09:38 AM
Heh...I do that almost every morning. "No, really! I could be sick! I'm sure if I concentrate hard enough, I'll come down with something...."
And yet, I keep getting up and going to work. I'd like to think that it's a good work ethic, but I suspect it's that paycheck thing that keeps me going.
Posted by: Imbrium | October 11, 2006 at 10:44 AM
I'm so excited you're going to be at Rhinebeck. I can't wait! And it will certainly blow you away since this last one was such a disappointment.
It's not just your part of the country that's gloomy and grey. It's the same here. I'm hoping it'll clear up for Rhinebeck because the fall colors are spectacular on a sunny day.
Glad to hear you had a good time even though it was slightly disappointing. At least you still had fun with the girls!
Posted by: Erin | October 11, 2006 at 03:34 PM
Oh dear. I hope the week is getting better. And I'll see you next week! yahooo! Or I hope I will.
Posted by: kate | October 11, 2006 at 06:38 PM
Thanks again for the ride to the airport! I made it to CA with no problems; it's lovely here, and I may swing by the yarn store this weekend. Hope you're feeling better!
Posted by: Alex | October 12, 2006 at 05:33 PM