Thursday, July 14, 2005

Chocolate on my face...

I'm the kid with the telltale sign of getting into the candy; yeah, that's right, I have chocolate ALL over my face!  My fingers too!  Hmm, and apparently got some on my top too.  There's no where for me to hide, no where for me to run!  My only hope for redemption is to claim that I didn't know better, that the temptation is/was too great for me to handle!  (I am so weak!!)   I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "Oh, dear God!  Dee's done it again!  She was set loose and bought more yarn!!  Lord have mercy when her hubby finds out!"

           Sigh.

I'm sorry. 

The "chocolate" was just too good!  I couldn't say no, could I?  At least let me present MY side of the story and then let me be judged upon my chocolate guilt ...

The story goes like this:  After teaching yesterday in Stamford, I took my two kids to the Maritime Aquarium to see the rare albino alligator and other fun exhibits they have.  Afterwards we took a little stroll down some of the nearby streets in Norwalk, CT.  Well, after walking this way and that, we "happened" upon the bead shop that many have raved about to me.  (Yes, guilty!  We didn't "happen" upon it -- I knew all along that it was there!  There for the exploring!  Forgive me!)

My experience at the bead shop wasn't something so "rave-able."  No one greeted me, or my children; no one asked if we "needed help."  (I was on the hunt for some very specific items and their help would have been much appreciated.)  After strolling around the store for over an hour I headed to the front to make my purchase. Granted the store did have other customers, I just want to note that I found it odd that all the help was behind the counter the entire time, and that it took over five minutes of standing there to finally get one of them to acknowledge me standing there, and it took another five minutes to be rung up.  I didn't feel welcomed, I certainly did not receive any help, and had I not found two items I was specifically looking for I would have left without making ANY purchase!  Sorry folks.  When I shop at a store, I want to be greeted.  I want to be acknowledged that my cash is just as green as my neighbors and with my various acquisition syndromes, I want to feel that I can build a relationship -- build a "knowing" that the staff will help obtain my various goals.  But if I'm made to feel "second or third class" then there's a good chance I won't be returning.  This is how I feel about the bead shop in Norwalk.  It's a shame too, because it's much closer than the bead shop I like in Massachusetts.  (If you have shopped at the bead store I'm referencing and have had a better experience, please let me know!)

Oh, I see.  I got off track.  I'm supposed to be telling you my side of the story of how I got into the chocolate and that it wasn't my fault.  Got it!  OK then,  ... well, two of the items I picked up at this bead shop are what I call "focal beads" ... they are very large beads that I intend to use in creating two necklaces -- two crocheted necklaces!  So of course I had to visit the "candy shop" and get me some (oh dear, I'm going to say it, aren't I?)   y       a         r          nnnnnnnnnn.

                Chocolate is so gooddd...  Oh, I felt such a rush!

I placed my two large beads on the counter and asked for help at A Stitch in Time in Bethel.  Patty was a delight in helping me pick out various colors and textures.  And, the beauty of this store is that they're not just a yarn shop -- they also carry supplies for needlepoint and cross-stitching.  So this of course
   b  r  o  a  d  e  n  e  d   the possibilities ...

                It took two hours to decide. 

Patty laughed, and even cheered when I made my final selections ... which surprisingly wasn't yarn at all!  It was tiny hanks of thread that I purchased!  (Oh, please cheer now as I have not quite crossed that line of breaking that fiber diet!)  Yeah, baby!!  Thread!!  Whoohoo!!

So, says the one with chocolate guilt, now I can look at the "chocolate" and I can enjoy it too!  (Thank goodness for loop holes!!!)  Check out the colors: white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate ... Mmmmm mmmm!  The fibers are 50% silk, 50% wool ... (insert that sound Homer Simpson makes when he thinks about food here -- actually if you click on the link, they have it perfectly on their intro page!  dooph!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Dee, we have a "candy store" like that in Savannah, Georgia and she also caters to various needle-crafters, not just knitters and crocheters!  I went in there with my 3 year old and 7 year old daughters and could have stayed there FOREVER!  But I was having to watch THEM for all the yarn they wanted to put in my little handbasket!  I so want to go back to that shop.  But to get a good load of play money first to buy some of the more exotic "candy".  :)  And then ALONE so that I can choose what I want, not buy only what my daughters wanted.  ;-)