The Devil's Day

Although I promised my husband I'd stop by Hell, Michigan today, I didn't.

Apparently I didn't need to, though, to make my 6/6/6 experience complete...

The day started magnificently - I awoke in a simple and cheerful room in a peaceful B&B on Mac Island (Haans 1830 house) and had a delicious breakfast, 2 cups of tea and a lovely chat with the owners and a few nice folks from Iowa. They're firmly in favor of a move to Minnesota, by the way.

Then an brisk walk to the dock, scenic ferry ride back to my car, uneventful drive down to Ann Arbor, at which point all hell broke loose...

Actually, in the scheme of things it's pretty minor, but things have a way of exponentially feeling more devastatingthan they really are when I'm away from home for more than 2 weeks.

First, after a few phone calls between my next engagement and myself, it became clear that the chemistry just wasn't going to work. Sometimes this happens, and I'm thinking it's a very good thing to discover this before either of us is put in a position where we do or say things we'd regret. It makes me very sad - and a misunderstanding is always troubling - but this is why there are so many yarn shops!

Each one has such a different personality - and when I teach I find myself subtly changing each class to reflect the atmosphere I sense in any venue. Sometimes a class is wildly successful, sometimes moderately so. I'm trying to learn to develop a better instinct - or rather, to listen to my immediate first-impression instinct - when setting up new classes.

Trusting one's instincts is a scary proposition at times. But it's no more than I ask my students to do in every class that I teach - and my instincts tell me that this is an engagement that wouldn't be a positive experience for me or the shop.

Then, as I pulled into Ann Arbor and was on the phone with my hostess for my stay, my car began chugging along VERY sluggishly (as if it were running out of gas) and I limped it over to the side of the road, to a parking space. I called AAA, they sent a really nice guy out who put some gas in it (in the hopes that my gas gauge was wacky and I really didn't have 1/4 tank of gas...) but both of us realized that there must be something wrong with how the fuel is getting to the engine.

I'm crossing my fingers that it's a loose hose (everyone out there, if you believe in good PT Cruiser Faries, clap your hands!) or that if it's more serious it will be covered under our warranty. Right now it sits in a local Chrysler dealership and it's yet another saga in Annie's Bogus Michigan Auto Adventure (watch for the movie, Warner Bros is interested in optioning it!)

But every Devil Day has a silver lining, and mine was the wonderful knitting group that I met at Zingerman's Deli, where I had a delicious turkey sandwich and a lot of laughs with a lovely group of knitters. Good times! There's nothing like a good group of loud and wacky knitters to put any day in perspective. Thanks, Lisa, for making a sucky day less sucky.

Six six six indeed.