A couple things about me.
#1. I have never blogged before and my page is pretty boring. I promise to spruce it up a bit and make it interesting...as soon as I figure out what all the buttons do.
#2. I love to knit. At least this week I do. Ask me again in the spring and I may have a different answer. A long winter stuck in the house and 50 baby hats later....knitt
ing is not so much fun. However, it is fall and knitting is now fun again. That means hitting the yarn stores. (I tingle just thinking about it). I love looking at the different types of yarn, the colors, the books/patterns and the samples of what people have already knitted. I love seeing what other people have done and how creative they are. I am amazed at how they have put different colors together in ways I would have never thought of. People are soo clever!
This last Saturday we were in Rochester, MI. Yes, I know.... I should have had my helmet on before I got there, but I know there are nice people in Rochester. I have met them! I met them at Yates. Yates is a great old cider mill. They have pumpkins, fudge, fresh donuts and cider. It is a great place to take the kids and fill up on all that wonderful food that is probably not that great for you. Places like Yates makes Fall one of the best times of the year. The people there were fast, efficient and very nice. We walked out of there with cinnamon and sugar smeared on our faces and a big bag of assorted fudge.
Before we hit Yates we went to Skeins on Main. Skeins is a lovely little yarn shop. They have a great assortment yarns and knitting paraphernalia, the stock is fairly priced and it can all be found in a warm cozy shop. They offer classes and the ladies in the shop were very helpful. I was greeted when I walked in, they answered all my questions and helped me find what I needed. I was in heaven. Digging through the patterns, feeling the different yarns and imagining the exquisite baby hats I would be able to create. (this is getting good isn't it?) I was in bliss. No kids. No boss. No time constraints. Just me and the yarn. (this is when the scratchy record sound effect comes in) While I had been working my way through the store there had been this noise in the back of my head. It had not really registered when I first walked in due to the fact that I was so excited about being in a new yarn store and overwhelmed with project possibilities. However, the longer I was there the closer it came to the front of my mind. The longer I was there the more I realized it was a person speaking. You know the kind of person I am speaking of. That middle aged, over weight woman with major insecurities and too much money. That woman who has decided that her husband/father/brother or lesbian lover's monetary level has raised her to a social level that precludes her from manners or sensitivities. She was there. She was there in the yarn store. Speaking far too loud for the small shop. Making sure that everyone in the store realized how overworked she was and how badly she needed a lunch with her girlfriends to save her from the frenzy of working in this incredibly busy shop. (Since I had been in the store no more than 7 people had walked in and out of the store. Let's see how well Shee-rah would fare in healthcare)
She spoke with that tight jaw, nasalized tone that seemed to bubble up from her toes. I have to give her credit, the woman could project. When I finally grabbed an eyeball at Shee-rah I noticed a 40 something woman that was not terribly well dressed, hair that was dyed too dark and a well rounded physique. Let's be fair. She runs a yarn shop. There has to be a lot of ordering, knitting and eating of the pastries that were sitting on the counter. We can't all be Cheryl Tigges (look her up on google). After getting my initial giggle out of Shee-rah I get back to finding the perfect yarn. A bright orange worsted wool that would make a fun halloween hat or maybe the red for a mini santa hat and even better yet I could make that monster hat for Sam. I am planning my new project I notice that Shee-rah is moving closer to me and I start to panic thinking that she is going to address me. I am lucky...she does not. However, the young girl next to me is not as lucky. She is the new girl in the store (Bo Peep). Very cute. Very quiet and obviously Shee-rah's latest victim. I had noticed earlier that the Bo Peep was shadowing one of the other clerks in the store. Listening to what was being said, helping customers rewind their yarns on the spindle and observing. Isn't that what you are suppose to do when you first start? Listen, learn and observe? Not talk out of turn. Don't speak of things you don't know about. Shee-rah has other ideas. In her loud and obnoxious voice and in front of the two customers that Bo-Peep is assisting, she states "SO....HAVE YOU BEEN GREETING OUR CUSTOMERS OR ARE YOU JUST HIDING HERE AT THE YARN WINDER?" Lovely. Just lovely. Bo-Peep who is caught off guard stutters a bit, trying to think of the right answer that will keep her from being futher humiliated in front of the customers. She says something like "I have been trying. I wasn't really sure what I should say. I have been helping people over here...." and before she can completely finish her sentence Shee-rah cuts in. "Well...IT IS REALLY QUITE EASY YOU KNOW. IT GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS. HELLOOOOO. GOOD MORNING. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? IS THERE SOMETHING THAT I CAN HELP YOU FIND?" "SEE? NOT SO DIFFICULT WAS IT?" Shee-rah now pushes in between Bo-Peep and the customers and takes over the yarn winding process. "SHE IS NEW YOU KNOW. WE ARE STILL TRAINING HER. I AM SURE SHE WILL HAVE THIS WHOLE PROCESS DOWN SOON". Shee-rah now launches into an in depth explanation of how the yarn winder works. The two different types they have and how her father "the engineer" has pimped one of the machines so that it works better than any other found in the universe. (insert big eye roll here) I am now standing there with my mouth hanging open. THIS is the kind of thing that happens in books, movies but not in real life. People are not really that inconsiderate. I am wrong. Shee-rah is. She really is that rude. The Mommy in me starts to boil up a bit. Should I appologize to Bo-Peep for Shee-rah? Should I tell Shee-rah that I am very disappointed in her behavior and that I can not possibly purchase my yarn from a store with an owner that is that much of a boor? Nope. I don't know Bo-Peep. I don't how much she needs this job. I am afraid that if I say something that poor Bo-Peep will then again get to feel the wrath of Shee-rah. I am going to have to let Bo-Peep secretly spit in Shee-Rah's morning coffee. Will I go back to that store the next time I am in Rochester? Probably....I am a yarn whore.
