It's not that I haven't had anything to say for a month, it's just that... well, it's summer, you know. Here at the 45th parallel in Snow Belt country, we spend far too many gray and cold days dreaming of July and August, when it will be 75F and sunny with nice lake breezes that don't bring lake-effect snow. It would be a crime to spend beautiful summer days at the computer.

So why am I here now? It's a chilly, cloudy day with reports that this may continue all week. What's up with that? This is summer, not April!

Not much knitting has been happening at this house lately. I made one toe-up sock in a self-patterning yarn (no pictures today; maybe next entry) and I've started the match. Other than that, my knitting has been strictly a little Donegal at night, although not every night. I'm on the last sleeve.

Next weekend is the Michigan Fiber Festival. As I've mentioned previously, it also coincides with Stitches Midwest. I've never been to a Stitches event and thought this might be the time to try it, so I planned a trip to Chicago for the weekend, stopping first at Stitches and picking up the Fiber Festival on the way back. It's my husband's birthday and seemed like a great way to celebrate it (he he he!) He had no complaints since I suggested we go to a baseball game or two on the trip. But I looked at the schedule of classes still available at Stitches and nothing appealed to me for the days I could be there, so I decided to skip it and just go to the Fiber Festival. If I went to Stitches, the only thing for me to do would be go to the market and buy more yarn, and who am I kidding? I have enough yarn to last the rest of my life. Uh, yeah, yarn shopping is the main activity at the Fiber Festival, too. But there's lots of animals and my kids will enjoy that, and I may eventually finish spinning the fleece I bought there last year, so I probably ought to get another to avoid running out of spinning material (like that would ever happen either).

For my daughter, the Chicago excursion is all about a visit to the American Girl doll store. I've never been there, but from what I can detect on the website, it appears to be a plot to deprive parents of their money. A friend whose in-laws live in Chicago confirms this is the case. She said it violates everything I stand for. Well, I never said I wasn't a hypocrite. I don't feel comfortable talking about my daughter's issues in public, but suffice it to say, if a visit to the doll store will bring her joy, then I can suck it up for an hour or two and, yes, even get her the expensive doll she wants. Her birthday is coming up after all.

And this entire entry was the opposite of voluntary simplicity. C'est la vie.