Not Plain Jane

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Sunday, December 10, 2006

The lovely bride M. and the handsome groom F. were married at the front of the bookstore on Wednesday afternoon (between the magazines and the calendars).

Why marry in the bookstore, you ask? Because this is where they met several years ago, when M. joined F. and the rest of us on the staff. This is where they became friends, and where they became more than friends. It's fitting, and very sweet, that they asked if they could hold their wedding here. Thanks to the generosity of our employers, the store was closed for the day, and we put on a wedding.

This is what the bookstore looked like on Tuesday afternoon. The usual, only with brand-new, brighter (and hard to take photos in, because it's really not this intense) lighting:

This is what the bookstore looked like on Wednesday morning before the arrival of about sixty guests. Emptied of books, lots of flowers, white cloths on the display tables, and chairs all around:

The counter was cleared of books and replaced by these:

Where more books had been, there were roses and hydrangeas and poinsettias:

The most amazing wedding cake was baked by L., who is another member of the ~~staff~~ family. It was absolutely delicious:

I don't have any pictures of the aftermath. You wouldn't want to see us replacing the books on Thursday morning, trying to find a place for everything. If it came off the table, doesn't it make sense that it should fit back on? You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. We finished, sort of, on Friday, in time for me to unpack the shipments from Wednesday and Thursday (more books!). My hands hurt. My feet hurt. The store is back to normal, though. The customers, for the most part, were enchanted when they learned why they could not shop on Wednesday.

And M. and F. are married, and it was a happy afternoon, and I'm so honored to have been a part of their special day.

~:~
So that was Wednesday. The other Big Event, and it's really big: The Wonderful R's celebrated their thirteenth birthdays yesterday! Happy Birthday, you two! Our Second Annual Girls' Christmas Shopping Day happens today, so I'd better get going.

By the way, I do still knit, though not much until my hands recover.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Monday morning drive-by

Let's see if I can get this written and published before I have to get ready for the day...

Presenting:

Jane's 2006 Knitter's Review Retreat New Beginnings Tilting Block Shawl!

The pose.

The close-up.

Specifics:
Yarn: Spirit Trail Fiberworks 100% Bluefaced Leicester (five 200-yard skeins)
Pattern: "Tilting Block" from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury, page 263
Dimensions: Approx. 22 by 80 inches, blocked
Needles: Addi Turbo 5mm/US 8
Time to Knit: Did time really pass? 11/12/06 to 11/30/06 (unless you count blocking, which had to wait till 12/3/06)

The blocking.

~:~

This will be a busy week -- there's a Big Event happening at the bookstore on Wednesday, one that's only marginally book-related. We're busy with the preparations, but trying to remember that we have to sell books at the same time. I'll have all the news, which is good news for a change, after it's over. There will be pictures and a story, too.

Whew! I made it! There's still time for another sip of coffee before I have to get going. I don't know how Bess does it...