Since Dee moved back to the area, she has asked me on more than one occasion to join her and Vera for an afternoon of knitting, chatting, tea/coffee drinking, etc. Each time, it was when I had something else I already had committed to doing, and so I'd miss out. But the stars aligned, and this past Saturday worked for all of us, so I packed my tote bag, bought my train ticket, and headed to Beautiful Downtown Lansdale, PA, to spend the day.
The train ride back and forth was both crowded (people heading to/from the Philadelphia Flower Show), and also enjoyable. I read my book for a while, but mostly I looked out the window, and enjoyed both the scenery, and making up stories about people I saw. For instance, I saw a guy lugging a large trash bag out of his garage towards the open trunk of his car. A body in a bag? The bloody carpet from the crime scene? Small children who once too often said, "I'm boooored"? Only time will tell. :-) (Spoiler alert: It hasn't.) Then there are also the people who are full-grown adults, and say things like, "Excuse me - I've never ridden the train before, is this where you get on?" even though you are STANDING on a platform NEXT TO TRAIN TRACKS with signs that say "BOARD TRAINS HERE," and I wonder to myself, how can you possibly be a grown person and have never ever ridden the train? (Though Dee said her husband fell into this category. But he's at least ridden the subway/el, so that's a variation on a theme as far as I'm concerned.) I will excuse people who have just moved to the area, but other than that, I often wonder. However, this is largely because growing up, my parents were not likely to drive us anywhere and so buses, trains, etc. were the way to go if it was too far to walk or bike. (Edited to add: I am also someone who is more likely to try and figure it out myself or ask the ticket seller or conductor. They are to the point and don't expect me to chat with them. But maybe that's just me.)
But I digress. Back to my destination of Beautiful Downtown Lansdale. Dee and Vera met me at the train station, which was very nice of them. They had said that the coffee shop where we were heading was nearby, and I'm sure I could have found it even though suburbia is often puzzling to me (would it kill them to have signs??), so I didn't have to waste any time wandering in the wrong direction. (Also, Lansdale has sidewalks, which one cannot always assume in the suburbs, so that was nice.) So we headed down the street to a place called Backyard Beans, which was lovely. It's an oddly shaped spot that makes the most of the space. Both of them recommended the Ginger-Turmeric Steamer, so I gave that a try. It was sooooooo freakin' good! Also - at the place they were selling Girl Scout cookies!!! I bought a box of shortbread and Thin Mints - score!
Whoops, another digression. Back to the story at hand. Well, let me tell you, Vera is so much fun! The three of us knitted, drank, and laughed for a couple of hours, and it was like we'd known each other forever. It was also funny, because Vera was wearing a really pretty sweater. I asked her if she'd made it, and she told me the story of buying someplace, at which point Dee joined us after getting her drink and immediately asked Vera if she had knit the sweater she was wearing - perhaps when knitters meet, they should have small cards to hand out to each other explaining any knit item they are wearing! Then we headed across the street to a really lovely restaurant/pub called Stove & Tap for lunch. Our waiter was SO nice - he showed us pictures of his kids and dogs, told us about a friend who had gone to the Super Bowl, and told us that he couldn't give us separate checks because a law had just been passed forbidding it. ;-) He was so nice, and I'm pretty sure he got a big tip from all of us ...
Then it was time for all of us to head home. They walked me over to the train station, and we said our goodbyes. I gotta tell you, when I got home, I was pretty tired! I think because I am seldom that social and I used up more than my quota for the weekend! But it was just The. Best. To use a phrase of my mother's "It sure beat spittin'!"
Yesterday, Kathy asked the question: If you could sit on your couch and knit with anyone today, or a few folks, who would they be? Well, I had that chance over the weekend with Dee and Vera, and it would have been hard for it to have been better!
So, when/if you have a chance to meet others that you know in cyberspace in real life, I would suggest taking a chance! Even if you end up in Dudsville, you can always say you have to head home at a certain time, and make the suffering less. But I'm betting you'll have at least as enjoyable a time as I did. Even if you don't go to Beautiful Downtown Lansdale ...
And since I have no photos to prove we were together (because of course I don't), here is a picture of Milo the Koodle from Sunday morning, which was the morning of his 6th birthday. He is the only cat we've ever had whose birthday has actually been known to us. :-)
