Day Two: Shopping!

I'm so excited today as I get to go shopping at The Attic.  I make myself stay in bed until 5 a.m. Arizona time.  I have 5 hours to kill before I can go to The Attic.  So I stitch a bit on A Case of Indian Ink.  I finish it!  Yeah!  When I get home I can put it together.  At a little after 6 I go walking.  It is a wonderful 72 degrees and the sun is shining.  I walk toward a strip mall in hopes there will be somewhere to get breakfast as I'm not sure what the hotel offers at its coffee bar.  I find a place called Lox, Stock & Bagels.  It is perfect as I can order just what I want.  The worst part of this place is one whole wall is mirrors to make it look bigger.  Catching a glimpse of yourself when you don't expect to can be a bit jarring.  And you certainly don't want to sit so that you can watch yourself eat.  There is also a Starbucks in the same strip mall so I get some coffee to take back with me.  This place is a beautiful safe place to walk.  Others are walking and biking.  There are golf courses on both sides of the road.

So I get my GPS and my fire engine red car and I'm off to find The Attic.  I don't really want to go on the 101 but my GPS keeps trying to get me there.  I've been to The Attic before so I kind of know where it is.
I make it there in one piece.

There are other people from the retreat already there.  But I am thrilled that it is not so busy and I can browse and see all the stuff I want to see.  I find lots of stuff that I have been looking for.  I show Linda my Anne Hathaway cottage as she is the designer.

 Several of us admire one of her latest designs.  This purse:

Things are always so much prettier and impressive in person.  Yes, I have to get this design.

I love seeing all the models on the walls.  Wow.  I just love shopping at a real needlework store.  Shopping on line doesn't begin to compare with this.  I have a list of stuff I need and want.

This is what I get:

I've seen some of these in the newsletter.

After The Attic I go to the Fractured Prune.  I am very bad and get three donuts.

  I just eat one and save the others for later.  Cherry Chocolate is my favorite.
Then my friend Terry told me to check out the bathroom at a needlepoint store called Quail Run.  My GPS gets me there and I check out their stuff - and the bathroom which is very nice.

 I find some silk pearl.  You don't often see that so I get some.

They have lots of beads and I am reminded of Idele Gilbert's fish pin cushion.  Some of these beads would be good if I tried to make one on my own.  I get some shiny and some not shiny beads.

So now I'm exhausted.  I go back to the hotel.  I want pizza.  They have it on their room service menu so I ask at the bar if I can get one.  Sure they say.  So I sit down in the bar and watch ESPN.  For an hour.  I am disgusted that I have wasted an hour waiting and I am sick of ESPN.  I'm about ready to give up on the pizza altogether.  But they finally give it to me.  I take it up to my room to eat.  It's good but I'll know better than to try and eat at the bar again.
I look at all my stuff.  I check out where the class is going to be tomorrow.  I try to stay up until 8 p.m.
Tomorrow the retreat starts!
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