After the Harlot

If you have never been to a talk given by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, let me give you some advice. 1. Go early. People were standing four deep in the back and peeping around the ends of bookshelves by the time the show was scheduled to start. 2. Do not drink large quantities of liquids beforehand. You WILL laugh hard enough to wet your pants. 3.If you don't take your knitting, you will wish you had. And if you don't wear something you are proud of, then you will likewise regret it. 4. If you don't know anyone who will go with you, go anyway. Total strangers will be chatting with you in about three minutes. 5. If you have contact cards with your name, e-mail and blog on them, bring them to save writing that stuff down five times so you can stay in touch with the new friends you will make.

Stephanie is charming, wry, hilarious, utterly engaging, and did I mention that she will make you laugh till you weep? And what a gracious, generous woman she is! I gave her a copy of my book and asked her to siign two copies of her books and when she heard my name, she recognized me!! And she admired my original design silk blouse! The Yarn Harlot admired MY work!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Powell's, as expected, was not prepared for the numbers or the enthusiasm of the crowd, and wound up nearly driving us out with pitchforks. Hmmmpff! Maybe next time they will get a clue. This isn't just about knitting, folks. This is about humor! This is about life itself!!

So now I stagger, slightly sleep deprived, tieing up loose ends before we fly back to LaLa land tomorrow for a long-planned family reunion. This time I will pack with forethought and make sure to get the perscription meds and a clean shirt in my totebag in case the check-through bag gets lost.

DH calls the tote bag my security blanket. I carry the knitting, a book, back-up glasses, wallet, bandaids, a tin with various nostrums like asprins, Immodium, sudafed (opens the ears before flying so they don't block and hurt) a couple of protien bars and other emergency snacks (jerky!)
paper and pens, address book, a deck of cards, a couple copies of my book (sell when you can), all the travel paperwork neatly stashed in a multiple pocket file-folder, and whatever else I think might be handy. Sunblock? Dry socks? A cardigan? A stockingcap? Yes, the totebag weighs about as much as a small child, but it has often ensured our comfort in trying times. And what price security? We will, Goddess willing, be flying back on 9/11. If an overloaded bag makes me more comfortable, then good on it!