What a beautiful weekend, weather-wise, it was here. Lots of sun and moderate temperatures - just wonderful. And you know, after the 40 days and 40 nights of rain we had here a while back, I just can’t seem to get enough sunshine!
Dad and I went to a lovely place for breakfast. The Bedford Village Inn is a bed and breakfast establishment in Bedford, NH. It’s a beautiful, old fashioned place that pays very careful attention to its décor and its menu. It also has the best breakfasts and the most lovely view (the dining room is all windows looking out on wonderfully landscaped grounds) this side of being on board ship.
I had a hash (their term - I wouldn’t have called anything this elegant a “hash”) of roasted Red Bliss potatoes, red onions, mushrooms, sausage and baby spinach topped with Vermont cheddar cheese (lots of it!) and two perfectly scrambled eggs. Dad had a Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped heavy cream and the two of us were just in…well…hog heaven :)
We enjoyed it so much that on the way home, Dad suggested we make reservations there for dinner Christmas Eve. That sounded like a wonderful idea, so I called them that afternoon. Yes they still had room, yes they could seat us around 6:30. She asked for name, telephone number and then she asked for a credit card number! The restaurant wanted 72 hours cancellation notice or the card would be charged $25.00 per person. I withdrew the reservation request, thanked the young lady for her time and hung up.
Do people really hand out their card numbers so easily? Granted, this is a very upscale place (the Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners are a pris fixe of $67.00) and I realize that they want to make sure that their preparations will roughly match the number of people they expect to be serving. However, it seems to me that such a measure is especially shabby at Christmas time. What if there’s a snow storm which makes traveling difficult or impossible or a sudden case of the flu? Weather and virii don’t ordinarily give a 72 hour notice.
The Bedford Village Inn would have, undeniably, been a lovely place for Christmas Eve dinner and the food would have been superlative. But neither dad nor I are comfortable with their conditions for reservations. We’ll find another place.
Mitts, version 2
This worked out much better :) Starting with 48 stitches on size 5 (US) needles, I worked a 2x2 rib for about 2 inches and than switched to a 6x2 rib for the body of the mitt. I started the thumb gusset a few rows up from the wrist ribbing and just bound it off when it was wide enough. I worked about three further rows in the body ribbing before switching back to the 2x2 rib for another inch or so. I think it’s pretty good though the cast-off at the top of the gusset is the tiniest bit loose and I’m considering tightening it up with a bit of crochet. The mitt is just a hair big for me so it should be perfect for dad :)
The gerbils have all settled down and are apparently doing well in the new arrangement. Crackle seems to have recovered from her ordeal and is behaving and acting normally though there’s still a bit of fur missing from her left shoulder which enables me to better tell her from Pop to whom she is otherwise identical.
Time for me to go. Myria is making her splendid cornbread this morning which will accompany eggs with pepperoni and cheese. Ahhhh - life is good!
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The mitts look great. I’ve done something semi similar but 1x1 and 3x2. It’s waiting for its pair but number 1 is blue and number 2 will be pink and then I think my mum will refuse to recognise them as a pair. I say they are colour coded left and right.
Reservations huh? 72 hours seems a long time. Even dentists these days like to charge for cancellations.
oh my, i should never read ‘the yarnpath’ on an empty tummy- a graham cracker grabbed on the run just doesn’t seem very satisfying after reading the wonderful foodie chat-
with cancellation penalties like you describe, i imagine that people planning to go there for holiday meals would do a u.s. postal service thing- you know, “neither rain, nor sleet, ...”- i’m sure you will find another lovely place for dining-
love the ribbed mitts- those will make clarinet practice on cold days quite comfy- *and* they are such a nice color too- who knows, once used to wearing something other than shades of grey, your dad may want fire-engine red socks and glowing orange gloves some day!! well, maybe that’s a bit of a push, but at least this will open up his color horizons (the pot and the kettle etc here now)-
stay happy-
Abi - I love the idea of color-coding your mitts! But my dad wouldn’t acknowledge that as a pair either. He’s a real fuss pot that way :)
Barb - Actually I cordially despise the color myself - but the mitts aren’t for me and dad likes green - especially dusty, muted shades of it. I like green on trees and that’s about it :)
and, you know, about teh special dinner etc, you could make a reservation for your birthday(s) and they may not impose the same conditions
Nat - I expect you’re right - this is probably a holiday thing. Funny thing is, both our birthdays are in May - dad’s on the 17th and mine on the 18th :)
On the other hand I despise being given conditions under which to dine - especially in an expensive place. Frankly, right now, I would rather go somewhere else :) But I may cool off by May…
If I might temper your judgement of the restaurant a little…I worked in restaurants and catering for many years, and it is hard to balance the need to be flexible with the need to also make enough money to purchase expensive, perishable food, pay staff, etc. Christmas Eve can mean the difference between finishing in the red or the black for a restaurant. They aren’t cash cows. Imagine how disheartening it is for a restauranteur to have turned away tables because they were all reserved, then have them sit empty because the reservations did not show. I, too. believe 72 hours was a bit much, but I would not have balked at 24 or 48. That guy has to make a living, and I benefit from him doing good business.
Enuf about that—I’m a long-time lurker. I’m planning to start the Open Cable scarf and Pinwheel cap as soon as my order arrives from KnitPicks. The scarf looks easy—they hat a little more difficult. I’m sure I can figure it out.
I hope you had a great time in the Islands.
