Salt and corrosion

I try to shop locally and do my bit for the regional economy. You know, no shopping at Amazon if I can get the book in an actual bookshop, that sort of thing. But, oh, it's so hard sometimes.

The bookshop thing is a case in point. There are a couple of chains in the city, which are fine: the people at Collins know what they're talking about; Book City doesn't seem to have a lot of books in it (it's more of a Book Town), but they're happy to order things in. There is also an independent bookseller, which I would normally favour (particularly as it's only a few doors away from my office), but the people there are hopeless. The second last time I was in there, I was looking for a book I'd seen reviewed in the newspaper: I gave the lady the title and the author and she told me it wasn't in her computer so it didn't exist. (It existed well enough on my computer when I bought it on Amazon later that day.) The last time I was in there was because they had their catalogue in a "please take one" box out the front and I saw an interesting book and went in looking for it. The lady sighed and explained it wasn't really their catalogue (so why did it have the name of the shop on it? And why were they telling people to "please take one"?) and they didn't have that book but she supposed she could order it for me if I really wanted it. She so clearly didn't want to go to the trouble of ordering it that I said, "Oh, yes, please, that would be lovely, thanks!" Apart from collecting that book when it came in, I haven't been back there since.

No books today, though. Today is all about the wool shop. Until recently, the wool shop has been owned by a grumpy old lady who was the Keeper of the Fleece. You had to stand in the middle of the shop, looking at knitted items displayed in glass display cases, until she was ready to serve you, and then you would tell her what you wanted and she would make a suggestion. The choice of colour was all yours, which was kind of her. She retired last year some time and the shop is now run by a younger woman... who, as it turns out, is not a natural saleswoman.

I want a new scarf, you see, and amongst my pattern books, I found the perfect one. I didn't really expect my local wool shop to stock the recommended yarn, Colinette Giotto, but I thought it might have something similar. But, basically, no. The new wool shop lady was very nice and was in for a chat (I was her only customer), but had never heard of it and never seen anything like it. I waited for her to suggest that she could look it up (she must have some sort of stock book, surely?), but she just handed the pattern back to me and said, "It looks lovely".

So I went home and googled and found a shop in Melbourne that stocked the very stuff I wanted. A phone call later and a parcel of scarf-makings is on its way to me. A word of praise for the good shop Sunspun and all who sail in her (my scarf is going to be made in Florentina 48, the first one in the photo).

Also, why am I the only person reading alkemieinterior? Look at the lovely things it brings! I can't decide if I like the multi-drawed white credenza or the multi-faceted purple one best.