Yarn Harlot in Houston!!

Yup, the Yarn Harlot made it to Houston, and was absolutely fantastic. Went with a good knitter friend, and we had a blast. First we went to Chili's and had dinner- with margaritas (one each)- and drove over to the venue. We were giggling like maniacs. We sat near my neighbor, another Harlot fan. I won a lovely door prize before the talk, too. It was a scarf pattern with the yarn. 100% cashmere yarn. I was being stalked in the parking lot for the yarn. Usually I'm the one doing the stalking!

The talk itself was hysterical. We laughed so hard. We were practically howling by the end of it. I may have howled when she told us about a comment she had from an elderly lady. Then we went and had our books signed and pics taken. Still can't figure out how to download pics very well, so hopefully next time. I found out she was going to be in Atlanta the following night, and almost went on a road trip to visit my sis in Atlanta just so I could see the Yarn Harlot again. Glad I didn't- over 700 people showed up!!

As for the spider soaps, let me explain- first and foremost, my family is a huge Halloween fan. My sister was born on Halloween. So we celebrate in a big way. Our house gets decorated, I carve pumpkins, we have a Halloween tree. Get the picture? Well, this year for my sis's birthday, I am making soap for her and her kids. I saw the spiders and thought they would be great to embed in the soap. So, when the Yarn Harlot wrote about being terrified of a spider in her shower- the one that turned out to be her hair- I knew what I was going to do with those spiders. Living in Texas, spiders are the least of our worries. Scorpions, water moccasins, and hurricanes are a lot scarier. In fact, spiders are nature's way of keeping down the mosquito population in Houston. Good thing, too, with all the West Nile virus and such. So, spiders don't scare me. If they get too bothersome, a whack with a shoe keeps them in line.

But there is something more about my morbid sense of humor, and it has to do with birthdays. Sis was born Halloween, Mom was born the Ides of March (when Caesar was killed) and I was born Friday the 13th. No joke. My daughter was due close to Halloween, but came 9/22, thereby breaking with tradition. But she was born on her great-grandfather's birthday. And, she was born between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and this year her birthday falls on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. We did celebrate early. So, you can imagine the fun we have with birthdays. My son was born on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day. Occasionally mine falls on Mother's Day and my hubby's falls on Father's Day, so we have lots of fun with birthdays around here. And, one of my husband's cousins gave birth earlier this year on our wedding anniversary (15 years!!).