Vacation Shopping

Who knew there was a Lush in Florence?! I've bought their soap in England, and in Boston I discovered Silky Underwear, a corn starch powder with cocoa butter. The Italian shops have the same bath powder, and they also have shower gel in bottles. Boston has bathing gel, but in jello-like cubes that escape down the drain.

Next to the church of San Lorenzo, there is a tiny yarn shop. Walk in the door and the yarn shelves are spread out below you, down a short flight of stairs. Pure Italian cashmere for 13 Euros per 25 grams, 190 yards. I think that was a bargain.

The shirt is from Sienna. There's a museum in the city hall with a mural called The Effects of Good Government on the City. I liked the colors, and the dog.

The waving cows on the socks caught my eye in a shop window in Lucca. There was a yarn shop on that street, but when I walked in, there was a heated discussion going on. I think it involved politics, or maybe a death threat. Or it may have been just the weather.

Travel Tips for Today, and Eye Candy Friday

1.Carry your knitting in the bag that Knit Picks sells.Comes in bright colors so you can find it among your postcards,tour books,scarves and souvenirs. Lightweight, and it hangs from your wrist. Big enough, small enough.

2. If you are concerned about security, fly out of Germany. They go through all of everybody's hand luggage, and when they frisk you, you know you've been frisked.

3. Always bring Kleenex. Bring extra for when there's no toilet paper. Carry even more for the people who didn't bring any.

4. Wear Crocs for the flight. Comfy but no gel to make folks nervous, and they slip off and on easily thru security.

Vacation in Tuscany

Last week I lived in a country villa. I took photos of the sunsets from my patio balcony, and slept in a loft over my sitting room. I visited Florence, Siena, Lucca,(all of which have yarn shops worth seeking out) plus other little medieval towns. The photos haven't been edited yet; I hope to whittle them down from the 835 on my memory cards. This is my favorite so far. I held my camera down so he wouldn't know I was taking his picture; I wasn't sure I'd gotten him in the frame at all til I looked at it later. It's Sunday afternoon in the town of Tavernelle Val di Pesa.

WTF Wed, 10/4/06

Not a patient. This little guy was hanging around on a door at work the other morning. I love the way his little pebbly tummy flattens out on the glass.