Rationalizing

I've really been trying to stay out of stores for a while now. Not only because I'm trying not to spend money, but also because I've been scolding myself about my stash taking over my living space! As you know, I love thrift stores. I (almost) always find something that begs to go home with me to be rescued.

Today, I found myself with an hour between clients in an area close to THREE thrift stores! What a dilemma!! Well, I succumbed to the call...kind of.

In one shop, I found these lovely handknit wool mittens for 99 cents. While they were a pretty shade of yellow, it's just not a color I wear often. A little Kool-Aid later, and I had bright cherry-red mitts!!

I then embroidered them with a bit of recycled white yarn and some sparkly beads. Ta-dah! Christmas mittens!!

My second find was this lovely linen tablecloth. It's hand-embroidered and is in pretty good shape. There is one small hole (about 1 cm) that I think I can cover up with another flower. Not bad.

Okay, so I didn't strictly stay with my "no-stores" plan. I did, however, keep it in control. Kind of like having a bite of a cookie instead of the whole package, right? (I love rationalization, don't you?!)

Celebration!

So how do you celebrate two milestone birthdays within a few days of each other? You go to Las Vegas!! Zak turned 21 at the end of October, and my brother, Dan, turned 50 a few days later.

The first part of the trip was warm and sunny...a great change from our cold, rainy Pacific Northwest weather. None of us had visited Las Vegas before, so we had tons to explore!

One of our favorite games was BlackJack. Here, Zak and Dan are trying to beat the house at O'Shea's. At night, this place was more like a frat house, complete with Beer Pong, and boisterous crowds!

Halloween on the Strip was a hoot! I didn't take photos of the R- and X-rated costumes, and there were plenty! Quite an experience!

This is what 3:30am in Vegas looks like! I volunteered to be the Designated Driver, freeing up these guys to really party for their birthdays!! A fun time was had by all!

In order to provide a bit of fibery goodness to this knitting blog, here's a shot of airplane knitting. The TSA has lifted their restrictions on carrying knitting and crochet tools. Just to be on the safe side, I brought my bamboo needles instead of metal. No one even mentioned them. Yay!!

I did make it to one Las Vegas LYS...Wooly Wonders. Marian was a sweetheart. I picked up a couple of fun skeins to play with back at home.

One of the best things about our trip was meeting people from all over the world. I sat at tables with folks from Holland, England, Ireland, Germany, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, and many more. (Additionally, most of the US was represented.) Being that we were here in the days leading up to the Presidential Election, the topic of conversation often turned to politics. I was very interested in knowing how people in other countries viewed America. The majority of the people I talked to were hopeful that a Democratic president would be elected.

We didn't get the news that we had a new president until we landed back in Portland. We could hear the cheers from one of the lounges on the concourse! A great way to return!!