Gratzi....

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It was more than I'd hoped for..... a rain storm, an extra yarn shop I didn't know was there, a relaxed beach town atmosphere, but the icing on the cake was Vito...such a wonderful shop owner, fun, generous, interesting...if Vitto is an example of the people of Sicily, I'm on my way to experience the county tomorrow.

An early morning trip to the airport for a departure flight for a family member,
home to make arrangements for Lap Dog (Annie) and big sister Gina and out the door to the freeway. Out the front door - rain drops on the walkway?? I should have interpreted it as a sign of more wonderful things to come. Keep in mind blog readers who live outside of California, RAIN is a big deal here. We had a brief thunderstorm on Friday and the phone at work rang constantly from family and friends to check if I was also hearing and seeing the lightening and thunder....In our world, this is exciting news not to be ignored, I noticed the entire staff from the office across the parking lot were standing directly in the middle of the asphalt to get the full effect of storm. Apparently nobody informed them to avoid open areas during lightening or perhaps they were so overwhelmed with interest it was worth the gamble. Anyway, I welcomed the rain drops on the way to the freeway, short lived as it was, I'll take any variation in weather Southern California offers up.

Husband asked "where are we going?", South I directed...South. The destination was a beach town called Encinitas in San Diego County. I'd heard about a yarn shop worthy of the drive, lunch some place new, an afternoon with no expections at all so anything and everything would be new...sounded like a good Saturday afternoon to me.


The rain cleared by the time we hit South Orange County (Californian's are such funny drivers in the rain, I think they all get a rush from the splashing, possible explantion on the rocket percentage of traffic accidents during wet weather).




Couldn't run fast enough to catch this driver......looks like a party to schedule for a later date.



Black Sheep - the original yarn shop on the itinary for the day was everything I'd heard about it. The shop owner was very pleasant, spent a great deal of time helping me trying to locate a pattern (no luck), showing yarns and suggesting several restaurants when I asked if she would recommend a tasty place to eat lunch. I'll definitely return with my knitting buddies on a yarn crawl later in the year....I did leave the shop with yarn for two sweaters for Lap Dog and a new cowl for me.

Surprise - walking down the sidewalk I spied this sign,
saw four women camped out in the chairs provided on the sidewalk (non-knitters, looked more like walkers in their matching jogging outfits), inside, again another great shop owner. Good selection (better price point) for the current economy and patterns that came home with me. A couple of younger women came in and admired an alpaca shawl, they appreciated the fiber and color, unfortunately, neither were knitters, just strolling by and stepped in to see what the shop was all about - I have to tell you....I had to refrain from walking up to them both and saying "you can make this, if you can tie your shoelaces you can make this beautiful shawl". It's such a wonderful activity and feel a bit sorry for people who admire and feel it's something they can't achieve for themselves......oh well, I grabbed the pattern and have the perfect yarn in my stash, someday, I'll be covered with this shawl while sitting in Italy. Southern coast on this map... This map was plastered on the wall inside of Vitto's deli



Check out all the foreign currency from customers who have dined with Vitto..


Lunch started off at Roxy's Diner....we went inside (husband doesn't like to eat outside) after getting our drinks and opening the menu.....surprise.... a vegan restaurant, husband was all set for a pound of beef on a bun with ketsup....so, we ordered a small appetizer and told the waitress we were grazing our way down the street through different restaurants. After passing several great looking places to eat (all outside seating) Husband selected Beachside Bar & Grill....bring on the hunk of beef and french fries, I selected the house salad and water with lemon, no I'm not a healthy eater, I knew what I really wanted was in the building 100 feet down the sidewalk....the food I was smelling cooked by Vitto that I planned on taking home for dinner.


Along our strolling of Encinitas we pasted an Italian deli that I could smell three shops before we reached Giovanni's. Inside was amazing, a case filled with cheeses, more packed fresh basil than I have ever seen in my life, a wall covered with assorted wines, the ceiling filling with hanging bottles, and the biggest pots filled with Italian sauces cooking on the burners. The man behind the counter - Vitto...100% Sicilian. We told him about Son living in Sicily now and he was a fountain of information, he knows exactly where Son is living and working and recommended several helpful tips when the time comes for us to visit.



He sent me home with this, freshly made soup, bread, tomato sauce, free of charge, I offered to pay him for it but he wouldn't have it,,,, he said enjoy, such a sweet man, I could tell he loved his work, loved his food, loved sharing information about his homeland. Vitto, you're a sweetheart and if you are even close to a typical Italian man - well, in my next life I'll be marrying one of your relatives.

Tomorrow: some house cleaning, cookie baking, knitting, I think I'll post a picture of my messy house, it provides a true accurate picture of my life - balance, that's always my goal. To have balance, welcome new things into my life, handle the things that are already there, have a great Sunday everyone and thank you for stopping by to read my blog, hope your weekend is everything you want it to be.