Day 4-Take me to Staceyville!
Warning: This may get a bit lengthy.
After ingesting a copious amount of caffeine, I got the call I had been waiting for. Stacey! She was having breakfast with her family, and wouldn't be done til noon or so. I headed out to Anaheim Hills a bit early to do some shopping while I waited for her. On the way, I stopped at Miguel's Jr. in Corona for a bean, rice and cheese burrito. Heaven, people. It was heaven.
After stuffing my face, I continued on to the O.C. I drove around a bit, popped into a few shops, and got really sappy and weepy. This was my old stomping ground. It was weird...just...emotional. Hard to describe. Suddenly, I knew what would cheer me up. YARN!
I sent Stacey a text message to ask her if she minded if I did a bit of yarn shopping while I waited. She didn't, and so I headed over to Velona.
Going to Velona is pure sensory overload. There is yarn crammed into each nook and cranny, stacked floor to ceiling, shoved here and there. It's a bit overwhelming. Anyway, I browsed to my hearts content, grabbing a lovely skein of Jitterbug as a souvenir.
I turned a corner near the Silver Thaw and Baby Ull. That's when I saw her. There she was, like a glorious princess of all things fiberly. Stacey. I swear I heard angels sing.
We hugged, and immediately continued the yarn scavenging. It was as though no time had passed at all, like we see each other every day. This is how it is with my friends. They are amazing.
We finished up at Velona and headed over to, where else, Starbucks. Stacey and I met nine years ago when we worked together at the Stadium Crossings store in Anaheim. We actually opened that store. Awwww. Memories. It was fitting we'd hang out at a Starbucks. (Plus, Stacey bought me coffee with her employee discount before we sat down to knit. I LOVE YOU, STACEY.)
We sat. We knit. I worked on Katie's Hederas. Stacey busted out her Central Park Hoodie, which, in some unplanned, bizarre coincidence, is the exact same color as my CPH. We are SO soulmates.
Can I just pause for a moment to say how cool it was to sit and knit with Stacey? I don't think we've ever done that before. She's the whole reason I knit. She's my constant crafty inspiration. I don't know if I would have picked the needles up in the first place if it hadn't been for her. When I got sick, I was determined to teach myself. I learned the basics, but kinda lost interest in the midst of constant hospital visits and tests. Several months later, I went to Mammoth with Stacey, Randy, Tracey and Phil (YAY PHIL!) and Stacey was knitting in the car. She was making a scarf for someone, in some pale yellow yarn. I was so jealous, it looked so cool. I vowed to master knitting. When I got home, I dabbled some more, but life interfered, and once again, I lost interest. After moving to Florida and being bored and miserable for several months, I got a book in the mail from Stacey. Stitch 'n Bitch. It changed my life. Seriously. I owe it all to her. Knitting is a huge part of who I am, and I can honestly tell y'all it DID change my life. So. Thank you, Stacey.
Anyway. After about, what, 3? Hours of knitting and talking, I sweet talked Stacey into driving out to the I.E. to meet B. She's such a trooper. Not only did she meet B, she got to experience my parents. She even stayed and ate dinner with us. Annnnd....we knitted and knitted and knitted. It was a fabulous day, and I am so happy I got to spend some time with her. Thank you for flying down to see lil' ol' me, my dear. Also? You're a stone fox.
After a day like that, what else could I do but go to bed? I was happy and exhausted. I had knitted my heart out. Most importantly, I got to spend a good chuck of time with one of my favorite people on Earth. Bliss.
Randomly ETA: Oh holy shit. I think I love you.
