AuburnChick's Adventures

Every athlete has a ritual he/she performs before a game.

The parents are no different.  We either busy ourselves with filling coolers with ice or caffeinate ourselves with Starbucks.

I have developed a unique pre-game ritual.

I go yarn shopping.

Because all of our games are played out-of-town, I have had many opportunities to find new yarn shops.

This weekend, Chicky and I are in South Carolina.  We left Friday for our nine-hour drive with one of Chicky’s teammates riding along.

Now, you’d think that after playing travel soccer for over ten years, Chicky would have this packing thing down pat.

Think again.

When we got to Chicky’s teammate’s house, I offhandedly asked if Chicky had packed her soccer bag.

She said, “Hmmm” before her eyes got big.

She had left it at home.

Thank goodness I asked!

We drove the ten minutes back to the house and found it waiting patiently in the garage, right where she had put it.

Lovely start to the weekend, eh?  We wound up leaving 45 minutes behind schedule.

The delay was a sign of things to come.

After hitting the highway, we saw this…

Construction.

More delays.

For lunch, the girls decided they wanted Chick-fil-A.  The GPS first took us to a hospital.  Maybe the employees can buy Chick-fil-A sandwiches there?  I don’t know.

We managed to get the GPS to lead us to another location…the mall…

No shopping allowed though!  We went straight in, grabbed our stuff to-go, and left.

We encountered more construction…forcing us to go 45 miles per hour.

I must have been the only person who read the traffic signs.  Everybody passed me, including an old man who honked.

Sometimes you fly solo when you follow the law (I’ve learned this as a Christian as well).

The rest of our trip proceeded without any more delays.  We eagerly watched the signs that told us how much farther…

Nine and a half hours later, we arrived at our destination…Columbia, South Carolina.

At least the weather was clear and sunny.  Perfect for the drive…

We were very pleased with the hotel and its proximity to great shopping and yummy eating.

This morning we arose at a decent hour…ready for a busy day.

First things first…dropping off the girls at the mall…

And then my pre-game ritual…yarn shopping!!

I only planned on visiting one store, although I had mapped the locations of two.

The first one wasn’t open when I got there…

So I headed to the other store…

This store was located in a beautiful section of downtown Columbia, and I had high hopes.

However, it was a little small, and the assortment of yarn just wasn’t for me.  The owner had lots of Noro, which I like but wasn’t in the mood for, and lots of another brand that I can’t remember.  But nothing hollered out my name, so I left without buying anything.

The girls and I had a quick chat on the phone, and we arranged for a later pickup than originally planned.

I was thrilled because I had an extra thirty minutes to shop.

Guess where I went?

Back to the first shop.

Now, I’ll admit that I really didn’t think there would be much in the store.  It was not located in the quaintest of areas.

Folks, do not judge a store by its location.

When I walked in, look at what I saw…

And…

And…

And…

The owner was sooo friendly, putting me right at ease and giving me time to love on her yarn.

Two yarns leapt into my arms, begging to be taken home.  I’ve got a soft spot for sock yarn, so I didn’t say no…

Oh boy, I could have stayed in that store for a long time, but I had to go pick up the girls.

We had to get lunch…my favorite…

And one more stop for my pre-game ritual…

I didn’t buy anything at Michael’s, being a good girl for once.

And then it was time to head for the game…

More on that tomorrow or Monday.

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: Columbia South Carolina, Hook N Needle, In the Loop, Knitting, michaels, Panera, shopping, yarn | 3 Comments »