In Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston…

or in San Antone…

It’s doesn’t matter where, but this time, Dallas it is. I’ll be there for a few days for a conference. This trip has added benefits in the fact that my friends from across the state will be there. I can contact any of them by email, telephone or text, but we don’t get to meet in person often, so we take advantage of the opportunity when we can.

Education Service Center Regions in Texas

We’ll, laugh, joke and learn from each other. We started as a group of strangers and we’ve become a group of friends. These are the people I depend on when I have a problem in the program I work with. I have no qualms asking dumb questions. Sometimes I get dumb answers in return but most of the time I get new ideas, new information and new perspectives or find the answer that was in front of me the whole time.

It’s not often a group forms the dynamics we have, especially with the distance involved, and it is a real pleasure. I’ll be surrounded with support and encouragement. I’ll bring it back with me and hope it can last until the next time we meet in person.

In Beaumont, Lubbock or Austin. Or in El Paso…

In Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston. Or in Abilene…

I tried something new the other day. I just happened to see an advertisement for a crocheted bead bracelet class. It was my week off from work so I made arrangements to go. When I went in to register and got a look at the bracelet, it wasn’t what I had thought. In fact, it looked really simple to put together. And it was. I had to string the beads that were in the kit before I got there and bring a crochet hook.

Beads strung on cord

There was no pattern. Instead we got spoken instructions. I didn’t mind that but some of the finishing techniques were new to me and I’d have liked a written copy or a picture or something to make sure I can do it should I try another one. The crochet part was simple. It was chain for about four and a half inches with a bead in each chain. Then there were three single chains, without beads, and another section of four and a half inches with beads. This continued until the cord ran out.

Crochet bead chain

Putting it together wasn’t all that hard either. What I found out is that I can’t see! I really couldn’t see the ring to open it or to put it on the beads. I couldn’t see to add the charms. I didn’t even know I couldn’t see what I couldn’t see! I got a little help from the instructor on that part.

Charms might not have been exactly where I wanted but since I couldn't see...

The end product didn’t look bad at all! I enjoyed the class and hope I can participate in more. Maybe my next class should be one of those eyeglass holder necklaces, with some new glasses attached!

Finished product!

The arm isn't so great but the bracelet is!

I hope I can meet with my peeps again soon. Anywhere.

In Wichita Falls or Waco or San Angelo…

Somewhere round about Fort Worth Dallas or Houston or ol' El Paso…

A Girl's Night Out…

Friday finally came around.

This girl's ready to paint the town.

Tonight ain't nothin' gonna slow me down!

The car is packed and I’m ready to go. I’ll swing by the airport and pick up my sister and we’ll eat. Then we’ll head towards Dallas, Grapevine really. We’re going to the DFW Fiber Festival. I know that probably doesn’t sound exciting to most people. I’ve had plenty of jokes from the people I bothered to tell. But it’s exciting for us. Judi’s main interest is bead work. She can knit, but doesn’t. She does crochet occasionally so that made it legit. And she appreciates the aesthetics of the fiber fest. Besides, why pass up a good reason for a girl’s weekend?

We took our time getting there which turned out to be a good thing. There is a lot of construction along the way with lanes unexpectedly merging down to one in many places. I found out Cheree needs a map update since she couldn’t find the hotel. Luckily my phone has a GPS feature too, so we got here. Because it was late we grabbed a bite to eat in the lobby restaurant. It was one of the best lobbies ever! There were comfortable seating areas and little alcoves everywhere. If you looked around you could find people spinning or knitting or crocheting, even at the bar!

We settled in and decided we’d sleep in the next morning. The hotel provided a shuttle to the convention center, so we made arrangements. We decided to take it the first time, just to see where everything was. We bought the weekend ticket for the show in case there was something either of us happened to forget on a visit through. Could that happen? Probably. Did it? Definitely!

When we walked into the convention center the first thing we had to do was to make a plan as to how we were going to look at all of this stuff! Both Judi and I like to look through to see what all is there then go back through again to pick up anything we can’t live without. My pal MK posted some great pictures of the vendors on her blog. She was one of the first people I saw and I was glad to run into her.

Picture by Always Alice

There was so much to look at and touch. We found yarn made out of buffalo, musk-ox, silk sari’s and of course wool. The colors were amazing. There were people spinning, weaving, crocheting and knitting. We found a lady who had crocheted flowers from cassette tapes and a bag from dry cleaner bags. There was a ‘knitting lounge’ where friends could gather to rest or visit and work on a project. We made a few purchases and we headed back to the hotel.

Quite a haul!

Several of my knitting friends came to the fiber fest. Shama, Marilyn and Kim came from the Houston area. Teri B and Marcia were there. Nikki and Alice came in and Mary Kay was there too. Susie, Dawn, Deena, Gina, Joy, Ruby, Sabina and Lora dropped in. I missed Elizabeth but I know she was around. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned each one there or not but I was glad to see everybody! We got to visit, knit and just enjoy being with people who have a common interest.

It was a great time. And it seemed like it we’d just arrived when it was time to leave. I guess, like I’ve always heard, all good things must come to an end. We made one last stop by the convention center, made one last purchase and said one last goodbye. Then we started home.

We talked about the weekend. We talked about what we were going to do with the yarn we had each bought. We talked about the fun time we had with all of the other knitters, the old friends and some new ones we made. We talked about how we should get together more often. And we know it won’t happen as much as we’d like. Then we were home.

I did my time workin' all week.

Tonight's all mine, tomorrow I'll sleep.

I've been workin' my fingers to the bone.

Well , it's a girl's night out

Honey, there ain't no doubt…

Stranded

I'm stranded at the edge of the world.

It's a world I don't know.

Got nowhere to go,

Feels like I'm stranded.

I was sitting by a man in the airport once and he opened his briefcase. Inside was a pair of underwear, mixed in with the papers. He glanced at me as he hurriedly hid them and I wondered why in the world he actually carried briefs in a briefcase. After this past week, I know!

My job requires that I travel quite a bit. Usually there are delays but it’s no big deal. In fact I get a lot of knitting done while I sit at airports, waiting. Getting through security is enough hassle though, without the chance that they might hold up a big old pair of panties for the world to see. So I don’t have any extra undies tucked in my carryon. In fact, it’s such a bother to have to take the computer in and out, find the baggie of liquids, etc., that I check everything I can. It’s less stressful for me to stand and wait for luggage than to drag extra bags around and try to shove things in the overhead compartment. After last week, when I inadvertently missed a flight, I find that maybe I should re-think this strategy.

I had no idea when I dressed to fly home from South Carolina Monday morning, that I would still be wearing the same clothes on Thursday. Missing that one flight started a domino effect with everything falling straight to the ground. When I went to the counter to ask what I could do, the man was very nice to me. He said, “I’ll do what I can, but this is a small airport and there aren’t a lot of options. If you have someone you could stay with here it might be best just to come back and start over again tomorrow.” I don’t know a soul in Charleston, so I toughed it out. There was a chance I could make a connection in Dallas. I took the chance.

When we were preparing to land in Dallas the flight attendant came on announcing all of the connecting gates. This was the latest information, or so she said. She went on and finally came to Midland, Gate 17. Wow! I do have a chance after all! I get off the plane and hurry to gate 17. The attendant took my boarding pass, started punching buttons and said here, it’s at gate 4. Hurry. So I did. I got to gate 4 to see the flashing ‘ready for take-off’, sign. I ask the attendant at the next gate if I can do anything. The plane was still at the gate. He tried, but it was too late. If I had known the right gate I might have made the flight.

He gave me a voucher to help pay for a hotel, and I was thankful for that. At least I didn’t have to spend the night at the airport. The shuttle arrived and the lady didn’t seem to speak English. She reminded me of Natasha Fatale from Boris and Natasha, of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, except her name was Karen. She barely spoke. Another man got in, from Columbia, and he spoke limited English as well. It took over an hour to get to the hotel. It was only raining at that time and the temperature was still 48 degrees. I checked in and Natasha, I mean Karen, grunted me in the direction of my room. I went down the hallway she indicated and was outside. This was one of those hotels that opened to the outdoors. Yuck. Now I don’t stay in 5 star hotels, by any means, but I have gotten spoiled, especially in a big city, to hotels that open to an inside hallway, and not a parking lot. The room seemed clean enough but it had a funny smell. It was kind of like it had been a smoking room and now it wasn’t because it was covered up with incense. I think that’s what fueled my respiratory problems. Anyway, I survived and was in the lobby at 5:30am to go back to the airport. When I got there the shuttle hadn’t been started. The doors were iced shut. Natasha got hot water to put on the windshield. I was waiting for it to crack. The owner drove up and ended up taking me and the man from Columbia to the airport in his personal car. At least it was warm and 4 wheel drive so it may have been a better option in the long run. The roads were treacherous but we finally got there.

A frozen DFW in the 2011 snow storm.

The problem with waiting on a flight is you don’t know until it’s cancelled that it’s cancelled. I waited in anticipation as it was delayed, then rescheduled, then delayed, then finally cancelled again. I immediately went to get a hotel voucher and luckily Natasha’s place was full. I got a nice room at a different hotel. Waiting for the shuttle, however, was another ordeal. DFW is not equipped for passengers to wait outside for a shuttle in sub freezing temperatures. The wind was horrible and the cold almost unbearable. I had a scarf, hood and gloves but was still uncomfortable. The twenty minute wait went well over two hours. When the shuttle finally arrived there were two seats available in a minivan. There were 18 of us waiting. After much discussion about who would go, who was ill, who was old, who was born in Texas, (kidding), etc., I got in. Seriously, they were taking so long deciding that another lady got in and said we could be there before they decided. I honestly have never been so cold in my life.

This hotel was nice. I got a room and showered to warm up, got in bed, and went to sleep. I received a call from the airline at 4:30am that I was now on the 2:45 flight so I called the front desk and asked for a late checkout and was able to stay until 2:00. I felt bad and I slept for approximately 16 hours, and I think that is what probably kept me upright, and not sicker than I already was. Then it was like the movie, Groundhog Day, back to the airport for another cancellation and back to the hotel, including the horrid 2 hour shuttle wait. This time I went to the assigned room and opened the door about halfway. I see gym shorts in the floor and a back in a blue shirt and I start backing out. I just said I’m sorry and shut the door. He got up and looked out his window at me but I kept going! I got a new private room and went through the routine again.

By this time I was getting tired of the clothes I had on, even though I was able to bathe and wash out some essentials. I was just ready to get home. Thursday was the magic day when the weather cleared just enough to get our plane out. It was supposed to leave at 8:35am and we finally took off after noon. We sat, boarded, for over an hour, watching out the window, the plane next to us as they tried to push it back. The ice was so thick the wheels just spun. All of the passengers were getting worried when we finally pushed back and prepared for takeoff. I’ve never been so happy to be in the air!

Looking back, it was an experience I really wouldn’t wish on anyone. I was very fortunate, to get a room and have the means to eat and be comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one can be in clothes of four days anyway! I wonder how the poor people lounging in chairs under the thin blankets the airline gave out were faring. And I am glad I wasn’t one of them.

I'm stranded,

Between the devil and the deep blue sea.

There ain't nowhere else to be,

'Cept right here and I'm stranded.

It’s day 307, February 1, and it’s not the way I wanted February to start. I’m stuck at the airport and frozen, as well as everything else. Ice covers everything and the town is practically at a standstill. I choose variegated grayish green with white. Day 308 is February 2, and I’m getting a little nervous that I’m not going to get home on this day either. And I’m right. I chose pinkish gray wool. February 3, and day 309 brings another day stuck at the airport. I can’t believe I was so dumb to get myself into this mess. I’m anxious and hoping today is the day I can get out of here. Nothing against Dallas but I’d rather not camp out at the airport hoping for a flight. And finally, I’m on an airplane! My luggage is waiting at the airport when I get there and I go by the pharmacy and head home. I choose a bright multi color fun fur. It’s a good day! Day 310 is Friday, February 4. It’s my day off and I’m so glad! I’m relieved I’m home and able to sleep late and maybe get well. I still feel bad and have to get on a plane again Sunday. I picked a ribbon yarn that’s pink and turquoise and white. Day 311 is Saturday and haircut day. It’s February 5 and since I missed my appointment because of the airport I feel lucky to get in. It’s a late appointment and I’m glad because I’m still just worn out. Pink and green wool is the yarn I picked for today. I’m gearing up for tomorrow to take off again, this time to Austin. I’m apprehensive to say the least! But it will all be okay. I’ll get there and back. It just might not be on my time schedule!

Everyday, everyday,

It's hustle, hustle time, hustle time.

Everyday and every way,

One more, one more mountain to climb.

It's leaving me stranded...