a long walk, an abortive yarn-buying expedition, apple crisp, and polling places

Today I decided to check out the local yarn store, The Knitting Basket in Montclair. Not having a car, I looked up which buses I would have to take. Pretty straightforward: take the 53, walk a twisty path over a bridge, and catch the 15, and you should be able to see the neighborhood. (I've been to the neighborhood before, where you can get a damn fine pizza with a fennel & cornmeal crust)

But after walking the twisty path and over the bridge, I was just getting started, and decided to walk the rest of the way, skipping bus #15 but following its route. about an hour later, I found myself at Lake Merritt. A cool neighborhood, but, um nowhere near montclair. i'm a stubborn little cuss, apparently, because i was convinced that if I kept walking just a *little* farther i would get there. Until I saw the lake. I may be stubborn, but I'm not unreasonable.

Since Lake Merritt has such lovely bus stops, I was able to consult a map and see that, yes, indeed, i had been walking in the wrong direction. (If I had a compass on my keychain, this never would have happened). So I promptly took the #15 in the opposite direction and arrived at my destination very quickly.

Note to the folks at 511.org: walking directions would be so much more helpful if they included catchy phrases like "Turn Right."

Upon deboarding the bus, I found the yarn store in record time. I was then able to peer through its darkened window to all the fluffy skeins within. The little paper sign taped up to the door declared that they've suddenly switched to a Tuesday thru Saturday schedule, as opposed to the Monday through Saturday schedule posted online and painted so cheerily on their window.

By this time I was feeling positively reckless, and stopped to buy a Super Cactus Burrito to eat when I got home.

Since Monday is L*s l-o-n-g workday, I sometimes greet her upon her return with a wine and cheese party. Today I decided to take another crack at the Apple Crisp. (Last time, the crispy part wasn't all that). This time I used a recipe from the Moosewood Low-Fat cookbook, and added butter. (That's the only thing wrong with those recipes is that in general, they're better with butter). I think it's a definite improvement over the last batch, but I'm going to go write a note on the cookbook to add salt next time.

I have now looked up my polling place, since I'll need to leave the house extra early so i can go vote before I head across the bay. Unlikely to be as adventurous as today's walk, but still, I'll get to see folks from the neighborhood.

Somewhere along the route of my walk, I saw this big bright building in the distance. At first I thought it said Public Library, but as I drew closer, I realized that in fact it said: Perfect Liberty. (I can't remember now if it was a Blue or a Green building, but the letters were big and golden yellow and accompanied by a sun) Wouldn't this get you wondering? Yes, indeedy. Fortunately, a quick google shows me that I was right in my guess as to what it was.