Mom and I went out for coffee this morning at the new SmartWorld coffee shop that just opened up in town. The interesting part is that it moved into the space that Starbucks had been in for years. Starbucks–which has been gone since December–is moving. Do you see that grey-bricked corner location in the currently-being-updated shopping plaza directly across the street? Yep. That’s going to the be the new Starbucks. I suppose the two competing coffee shops could technically be closer, but, um … not by much!

What I’m really curious about is–down at the end of that shopping plaza–what used to be the Key Foods grocery store now has a big hole. Not just in the facade, which is being updated (something about 30 years overdue), but that gaping hole? It goes all the way through to the back of the building. I’m just dying to know what they’re doing! The rest of the plaza is just getting a face lift, but that one section is getting major reconstruction surgery, but why? Nobody knows what that store is going to be, either. We’ve heard that it might be a Walgreens, but I’ve also heard that that deal fell through, so who knows? It’s interesting to watch though.

While we were having our coffee, I worked on my wrist-warmers. The yarn is the Aspen color, merino-tencel from Spunky from a few months ago and I just love it. Soft, pretty, gorgeous colors. Blue and golden-brown is one of my very favorite color combinations.

Afterwards, we stopped at the grocery store for some last-minute things for Easter dinner tomorrow. While we were there, we bumped into our next-door neighbor in the refrigerated-food section, and when we got to the check-out line, we saw our next-door neighbors from the other side. That’s certainly the first time that ever happened. I mean, really, what are the odds? And then … we were buying some strawberries for dessert and as I lifted the container out of the grocery cart … it opened. Strawberries went everywhere–onto the check-out conveyor belt, on the floor, in the shopping cart. Everywhere! I ran back to get another container while Mom dealt with the, um, overflow, with the help of a store employee with a broom who was actually finished sweeping them up by the time I got back. I’ve certainly never had that happen before. If anything, those containers are usually hard to open!

Of course, I needed something to go WITH those berries, so I baked this afternoon, too. Everything went fine until the cake was in the oven, because that was when it overflowed the pan. The cake itself didn’t burn, but we still had a nice, smoky smell wafting around the kitchen. In fact, when I opened the oven to put in the coffee cake for tomorrow’s breakfast, there was a whole cloud of smoke in there. I just hope it didn’t flavor the cake. Smoke is an excellent flavor for bacon or ham, but not really ideal for cake, you know?

Other than that? We took Chappy out for a walk, and I spent much of the day curled up with Harry Potter. I’ve been re-reading the series and … honestly, I’m pretty proud of myself … this is the first time I’ve read the Deathly Hallows since it came out in July. Considering how much I love to re-read books, that shows admirable self-restraint, you know. Especially when you consider I put it aside for two hours tonight–just as I got to the end–so Mom and I could watch Enchanted. (And now I have the “That’s How You’ll Know” song in my head–good thing I like it.)

My Vogue Knitting came today, and this sweater caught my eye. You know that I need another project for when my Flutter-Sleeve cardi is done, and that’s going to be any day now. I finished the second button band tonight and now need to block the pieces, sew the shoulder seams, and then knit the sleeve cuffs … and then, it will be pretty much done, except for the side seams and the buttons. But, obviously, that’s not exactly going to take me forever, so I need another knitting project, soon! I never actually wear lace sweaters, though, but this one sure is pretty. I haven’t actually looked at the yarn requirements, but I AM still looking for a pattern to go with that Sublime yarn I got last July. (And, jeepers, I can’t believe that was the last time I bought a sweater’s worth of yarn!)

And, this shrug? I have no need for it myself, but oh, what a beautiful wedding accessory. The way the pattern meets at the back with a knitted rose, and those renaissance lace cuffs? Such a pretty, romantic piece. There’s another picture here. If I were getting married, this is definitely a shrug I would consider.

Okay, I’ve got to go find out if Harry can save the world or not…. (grin)

• Tags: Baking, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Saturday //