if we shadows

caveat emptor...?

so about 2 or 3 years ago i bought some yarn on ebay or etsy, i can't remember which, from a store called 'mystical creations yarn'
it was 3 skeins, reportedly of all the same colorway, of a laceweight cashmere yarn. i should have known better, because as i recall it was for an unexpectedly low price given the yardage and the fiber. anyway, when it arrived, each skein was fairly different...and not in a 'i used the same dyes but on a different day, so got slightly different results' no these skeins could never have been from the same colorway. so i couldn't use it for the originally intended purpose (shawl), but the fiber was also a bit weird. i have no proof but it just didn't seem like cashmere.
anyway, i just chalked it up to experience and an illustration of the risks of buying online (not the first, likely not the last, time i will be burned) and stuck the skeins in the stash, where they eventually were swapped/purged at a SNB.
so, i have never bought anything from them again, nor heard anything from them again until today when i get this email: this is the text in its entirety.

"Please understand that the family is doing everything that they can while Danielle is in the hospital.

Due to the catastrophic effects of a debilitating illness, the company doing business as Mystical Creations Yarn has been forced to permanently shut down operation. It is with deep regret that there are no provisions in which to financially or physically process any outstanding orders in the professional manner MCY has served its customers over the past 5 years.Left is the remnants of an uninformed, devastated family making an attempt in good faith to try to fill outstanding orders with remaining inventory of equal or greater value.  The family recognizes its inability to fulfill their obligations to both their customers and creditors in an accurate,timely manner and express their sincere apologies for any hardship this may have caused. Please email us and we will try our best to answer your questions or concerns. My Sister is trying her best to fill all orders and every order will be out this week of Feburaury 24, 2008. I am sure that when Danielle gets out of the hospital she will want to carry on her passion. If anyone would like to continue with her journey or send prayers, please email me and I will see that she gets them she she returns home. Dying yarn as you can see has been her passion for years and I don't think that she will give it up if she comes out of this. And I am sure that she will make this up to each and every one of you.

Sincerely,

The family
Mystical Creation Yarns"

no salutation, no dear customer, no pre-amble...now you may be wondering the back story, (so was i) but i don't know it and after googling them to see if they posted something about this i found their blog and etsy/ebay stores have disappeared. the somewhat more interesting thing i found were several blogs complaining about troubles with their yarn and their customer service (i am glad i didn't complain about the dyelots not matching, i really don't need another headache) and about 20 pages of dialogue on the lime and violet message boards...but most were from a year ago.
weird, huh?

now i certainly wouldn't wish anyone a devastating illness, but with all the hub-bub on the web about them in the preceding year, it does make one go "hmmm..."

so onto (hopefully) more interesting news: i finally got my shit together and at least picked a user name and got a profile up on ravelry. i don't have any pictures posted yet, but i am looking forward to doing so and using the needle cataloging and bookshelf features. i tried to find everyone i knew on there (well at least in Nebraska knitters) and made them my friends.

also, i joined "sock wars III" it starts in early may and since i may be on bedrest again by them (hopefully not) i may get to kill before i am killed. it sounds like fun and i need to get out of the work-mom-maybe sleep-work routine and make the time to do the things i love again. i am trying to be better about not bringing my work home with me. sometimes it is inevitable but several of my collegues pull it off and i think i just need to change my focus. this is a bit hard since i have been work focused for so long, but it is definitely time for a change

and i found out what we are having at the ultrasound yesterday. baby is doing great and everything is right on track so far...except a name, but we still have some time.....(famous last words)

musings

i am truly, deeply uncool
the reason is this, i have finally given up the one remaining bastion of my single-nonmom-dom, my zippy little 5 speed manual transmission VW jetta (with turbo!) trading it in yesterday for a car more suitable for the midwestrn mom i have become...a hyundai santa fe......you can never be cool saying you drive this vehicle.
now don't get me wrong it is actually a very nice car/SUV...and at least it isn't a mini-van in the true sense...and there of course is nothing wrong with being a midwestern mom (except i keep picturing the gal in fargo)...but still

anyway, i am just getting over the flu. i lost about 4-5 whole days, the early ones i can't even remember. i am still pretty tired and am expecting my 2 shifts this weekend to totally wipe me out. (whine, sniff)

by the way, you should never try to work on your lace shawl when you are bored of sitting on the couch with the flu...even if you have a lifeline in
right now it is in time-out in the knitting bag thinking about what it has done wrong

i was able to knit a little bit of a sock, enough functioning brain cells for ribbing in the round.
that was until i couldn't hold my hands up anymore and i was reminded by every joint in my body that, hey stupid, you have the flu.

yes, i did get me flu shot. it has taken quite a few of us down lately though, despite the shot. they picked the wrong strains to cover, i guess.

why is it that the dogs will jump up and bark fiercely at seemingly nothing, but remain quietly snoozing when i hear a sound that is clearly a madman breaking into the house (it hasn't been yet, but i think these dogs would be useless alarms in that situation...especially if said madman had some cookies in his pocket)

there is nothing good on TV. i am tired of hilary and obama and britney spears. i cant stomach reality tv or asinine game shows that require no skill or knowledge (think deal or no deal) and there really is nothing else on.

sam is motoring around the floor, hasn't quite gotten to pulling himself up yet, but only a short matter of time until he is running around. i can't believe how fast he is changing. i packed away some of his old clothes the other day and cannot believe that at one point the 'justborn' onsies were too big on him. crazy.

our ultrasound  (THE US) is on the 21st where (i) get to find out the gender of the new addition. the hubby doesn't want to know, but i am not sure i can keep that secret again like i did with sam.

anyway, it is 930, so getting on toward my bedtime (i told you i was uncool...and apparently 83 years old) but i do have to be up at o-dark-thirty tomorrow for work, ugh.

ttfn