Adventure in coffee ...

I had a coffee adventure and need to share, but first let me say, "I've been a member of Gevalia coffee delivery for 11+ years and have tasted a world of coffee - Café Sperl - Viennese; Antico Greco - Rome; Café de Oriente - Spanish; Café le Procope - French; Kenya - African; Jamaica Blue Mountain - Jamaican; Stockholm - German; Antigua - Caribbean; Hazelnut; Crème Brulee; and Blueberry."

And now the adventure ...

As soon as I got the email I was included in coffee swap - and since I love Gevalia - I added to my auto shipment for my swap partner. I was so excited and decided to get the coffee order out of the way immediately and since I had an international partner, I'd get my entire package out on May 18, plenty of time - I planned it to perfection. RIGHT? I completely put the coffee portion of the swap out of my head and got down with the goodies. Yarn - check! Chocolate or cookies or both - check! I had a plan and it was going in my favor. The package was growing. I had everything, but wait … where's the coffee?

I logged onto my Gevalia account. My auto shipment shipped on May 11. GEVALIA! I'm mailing the package on May 18 (its going international). I always get my shipments within 5-7 days. May 18 is over, its May 19. Gevalia you said, it should arrive - ok, May 21. Whoosh! I'll be ok if I ship May 22. I repeated to myself "SELF" wait until May 22! You'll make it! Well, May 21 the mailman didn't have a box from Gevalia. Now, I'm going to have to do something drastic, I had to ship tomorrow. Starbucks - I don't like Starbucks! What about Dunkin Donuts - I like that, but will my swap partner - its kind of mellow. Time was up and I had to make a move. I was talking to myself big time! I called my girlfriend and said, I'm going to the supermarket tonight meet me there - I gotta get coffee - I mean they have that big coffee grinder so they have to sell coffee - RIGHT? But I need the bag to be factory sealed - just in case.

Well, here's where the adventure got scary - LOL! My girlfriend couldn't make it. I was on my own. I had no clue there was so many brands of coffee at the - Supermarket? I don't look for coffee at the supermarket because - DAH - I get it delivered. At the market I felt like a total - Idiot! I should have gotten Starbucks. My swap partners package was complete except for the coffee. Yarn, mug, chocolate, cookies - everything except coffee - WHY was I loosing my mind now - LOL! What was wrong with me. Make a decision C! Pick one! Starbucks (oh I don't like it)! When I went to the supermarket (some 11+ years ago) for coffee there were brands like Maxwell House, Sanka and Folgers - Maxwell House is good, but will my partner like it? THERE'S too many choices: Chock Full O’Nuts; Eight O’Clock; Folgers; Global Ground; Green Mountain; Juan Valdez; Kona; Laazza; Maxwell House; Melitta; Millstone; Nescafe; Nespresso; Newman’s Own; and Starbucks - organic or gourmet brands - I was dizzy and needed coffee - LOL! My eyes started watering. I started reading every bag/tin and even waited for somebody to come along and ask which was their favorite. 25 minutes later, no one! I walked on over to the Deli section (holding my breathe) scanning carts like a fool - when out of the corner of my eye I spied a cart with "Folger's Gourmet Lively Columbian!" I looked around for the owner - woman, mid 30's, looked like she knew what she liked - why did I grin, exhale and run back to the coffee aisle and grabbed the bag?

Joke, I hope you enjoy the coffee. I had the best time shopping for your goodies. I apologize for getting stumped with the coffee. Who would have thought it was the coffee "that made me sweat!" And em … on May 25 my specialty coffee arrived from Gevalia.

Ladies, let me know which "supermarket" brand coffee you like the best - just in case!

Ceme

I just love these ...

I saw this over at A Tale of Two Needles so here's mine.

Marked in bold are the things you’ve knitted, in italics the things you plan to do, and leave the rest.

Afghan
American/English knitting
Baby items
Bobbles
Buttonholes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Cardigan
Charity knitting
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Darning
Designing knitted garments
Domino knitting
Drop stitch patterns
Dying with plant colors
Dying yarn
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Felting
Garter stitch
Gloves
Graffiti knitting
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener stitch
Knitting a gift
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting art
Knitting for a living
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting on a loom
Knitting smocking
Knitting socks
Knitting to make money (donated cash to church)
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Knitting with alpaca
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Knitting with beads
Knitting with camel yarn
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with cotton (don’t like cotton)
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Knitting with dpns (don’t like it)
Knitting with linen (don’t like linen)
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with synthetic yarn (didn’t we all start out that way)
Knitting with wool
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Lace patterns (I love everything lace)
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys
Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit
Teaching a male how to knit
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern

Two beautiful projects waiting to be finished ...

Here's Sampler Shawl (Folk Shawls) in black zephyr absolutely lacy and elegant - just the look I was trying for - I'm on Pattern 2.

And here's Icarus (Interweave Knits). I think I'm going to frog this one - I love the yarn (Andrea - silk) and color, but something doesn't look right to me.

Two lovely shawls - maybe I'll be finished by my birthday.
That's all for now.

Ceme

Maryland Sheep and Wool

Took more pictures of the animals ...












and walked away with lots of lamb in my belly - LOL! It was good! Had a blast!
Thanks Rosie's Yarn Cellar.

Em ... Lisa, do you think you can get a bus for Stitches in Baltimore this year ...

Ceme

Ok, is this a real dog?

My co-worker sent me this picture of (let's call him Super Champ). Do you think he's real?

Well, my lil girl is a seven year old, 16 pounds of pure lovin, cuddlin, snugglin enjoyment, full bred Shih Tzu. I live to pamper her in all her chunkyness too - LOL! If she could talk she'd tell the WORLD I sing to her (and I call her Whitney Houston when she barks because she croones), I pamper her literally to death, I give her snacks when I'm snacking, but I refuse to give her my food - why you ask, because I don't eat her food, why should she eat mine - LOL!

Meme (a/k/a Archibald Herrington Nasty Face when she plunges her face in water, snow or leaves; Chunky Monkey when she waddles down the street because she's to tired to walk and wants me to pick her up; Snuggle Pup when she throws her lil head on my neck to sleep; and Fat Ass when she annoys the heck outta me during the last walk of the day because she's no guard dog and can't protect us if the crazy people who are out at night decide to act up).

Well, eight years ago I started hearing my biological clock ticking and decided I needed to be needed, so what ... marriage, children (not until marriage ...), what? I did the next best thing, I called my big brother Bill (who bred either Olde English Bull Doggies or American Bull Doggies - smush faced, doggie odor, droolers), but I didn't want one of them and told him I saw this beautiful Neopolitan Mastiff (puppy). His response was, "as long as you don't mind feeding something that can eat you out of house and home." I replied, "never mind." And within a year Meme literally pawed her way into my life and I scooped her up and never looked back. Isn't she adorable. Knitster Chelle gave Meme this pink London Doggie trench for x-mas a few years back.


Anywho, I'm thinking that Neopolitan Mastiff (above), would have eatten me out of house and home and possibly eatten me if he got hungry enough. I hope that picture isn't real because I always dreamed of getting one of those beautiful Neopolitan pups. Oh well ...

Enough for now. Gotta go finish shopping for my Coffee Swap partner. Sock books ...

Later.

Ceme