It's Thursday night, so that means minestrone soup

burbling on the stove, because the Cosmic Otters are heading for Michigan tomorrow to help a dance friend celebrate his wedding with a big dance weekend. It promises to be laid-back, which is nice. Jamie will enjoy the time messing around outside in the late summer sunshine, and we'll get time to hang around as well. I plan to do some canoeing with Edward (the Fool doesn't find lake paddling exciting; Edward is generally up for outdoorsy adventures of all sorts) and look for freshwater jellyfish.
Last weekend, my friend Janice and I went to the Chicago Antique Market, outdoors in the West Loop. The Fool decided that an outdoor antique show didn't sound like much fun, so he and Jamie went to the Downers Grove farmer's market, bought fruit and corn and ate mini-doughnuts while I got on a train and knitted my toe-up sock.


Colinette Jitterbug; no idea what color. Well, obviously, blue. Colorway unknown. Sock pattern largely of my own devising, except for all the numbers that make it work; I got those off Deb Barnhill at Sock Summit.

The antique market was a lot of fun, although I think antiques are more outside my price range than plain old junk. We both saw some things we would have bought had money been no object, and in the end, we both bought a few little things. Janice got a cool purse at the indie crafts fair also at the market, and I bought a string of Indian cloth elephants from some vendor's $2 bin, plus three blown glass balls.

Here's what I love about shopping with Janice.
ME to GUY: How much are you selling these for?
GUY: The little ones are $12, the big ones are $15.
JANICE to ME: You can either hang one or three. Two won't look good. I think you should get three.
ME: Hmm, I dunno (doing math in head.)
JANICE to GUY: Hey, will you give us a deal if we buy three?
GUY: Uh, sure. How about three for $35?
JANICE: (withering glare.)
GUY: Or three for $30?
ME: Sold.
Is she not the kind of friend you want to take car shopping?


Painter Janice stopped to chat with. She's on the very far left in a baseball cap.


Interesting old mirrors. I started trying to imagine where I would hang one of these in my house.


Old kitchenware. I loved the colors, and I sort of fell in love with the glass dishes on the upper left, but they seemed pricey. I may keep my eye out for them at thrift shops, where hopefully they will be priced like junk and not antiques.



The long view. Something funny I should have photographed but didn't: someone was selling old workshop stools for, like, $25 each. I swear they came from my father's garage. Like, if I didn't know for sure those stools were still in the garage, I would have bet this guy had stolen them somehow. I had no idea the junky things were worth money ... heehee.


Jamie and I have been trying to get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Winter's only too close. We went to the arboretum this week. I took my brainless sock and a relaxed attitude, and he looked at whatever he felt like for as long as he wanted. Here he is figuring out wood chips and coneflowers.



Kid with flooers.

Yesterday, we went to the library, because it was the end of the day and he was getting clingy and I decided for everyone's sanity (OK, mine) we were going to walk the mile to the library and see what there was to see there (which turned out to be lots of books and puzzles and aisles to explore while hooting and giggling). While at the library, I tried to find "Mason-Dixon Knitting," because I have four balls of Lion Organic Cotton I bought at a closeout sale, and I have some friends who are having a baby later this year, and I'm trying really hard not to knit a baby blanket, because I've said over and over, I don't want to fall down that particular crazy-hole, but there are some cute blankets out there, and I could use a brainless garter stitch project for days when Jamie requires a lot of my attention ... and only the fact it was checked out prevented casting on.
(But then Ravelry told me the pattern I want is available for free. Darnit.)

The Fool has been knitting too, but refuses to post, as he believes it's not interesting until he binds off the shoulders. Last night, Angus helped him knit. Angus is preventing the Fair Isle chart from blowing off the Fool's lap.



Back to the hot stove. The dance weekend is largely potluck, and I believe in holding up my potluck obligations, so I'm bringing a Thai noodle salad and a banana cake with mocha frosting that used up the four brown bananas rattling around in the freezer.

Comments

Julie said…
By the glass dishes, do you mean the pyrex refrigerator set?
They are quite expensive, sadly, but do keep your eyes open. If you don't have your heart set on the primary colors, you can get a complete set for $20 or so.
I'm a Pyrex fiend.
anne marie in philly said…
LERVE the angus/fool pix...my meredith does the same for me!
=Tamar said…
I occasionally see the Pyrex refrigerator containers at the thrift shop; my friend who goes with me says some of them are reproduction, so maybe you can find some repro that will look nice and not be expensive.

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