Monday, October 23, 2006

Rhinebeck

Ok, I know my opinions are not always those of the majority, but honestly, I hated Rhinebeck.
Blasphemy, you say? It may well be.
Why I hated Rhinebeck:
1. People with wheelie suitcases in jam packed aisles who swung them around behind them without caution or care.
2. Several shoppers who had no problem shoving or inserting their arm and ultimately their body between you and the yarn that you were looking at.
3. People who asked rude questions and didn't like the answers.
4. People who are oblivious to all but their own immediate needs (see #1)
5. Groups that travel in packs and will not be moved to walk less than 4 abreast, when there isn't room for even 2 way walking traffic.
6. The same groups, who shop as a team. Some will get in line, the rest will do the "full contact shopping" for those in line, as they shout rudely back and forth. "make sure you grab that skein if that woman puts it down"
7. All of those above who bray and crow about their "hard fought for" bounty.

I'm sure there were many well mannered lovely people who attended. There were just too many of the kind I described above. I made exactly two purchases. Both times, the booth owners had to intervene as I was being pushed and shoved. During one purchase, another shopper grabbed the yarn from my hand and then sneered at the price, dropping it accidentally back in the basket from which I had taken it. The shop owner politely but sternly told her to notice the scarf I was wearing and said that "of course this yarn is appealing to her". The woman then decided that she needed the stand owner's undivided attention to describe each yarn type and justify her prices. All I wanted to do was buy 2 lousy skeins of yarn. Luckily the stand holder wanted to sell them to me. This might be fun for some, but not for me. I never liked Filene's basement and I didn't like this mob scene either.

I had decided to go to Rhinebeck because my daughter and her boyfriend live in Brooklyn and his parents live in Poughkeepsie. It was a perfect fall weekend. Absolutely lovely drive up from PA. It was terrific to see my daughter and BF. They even tolerated the mobs until I yelled "uncle" after 1 1/2 hours. The 3 of us met his parents for dinner at this wonderful place in Germantown, north of Rhinebeck called RESTAURANT.
"So how did you like the play Mrs. Lincoln?" comes to mind. If I hadn't gone to the Sheep and Wool Festival, the weekend would have been perfect.

That's why I've decided to go to Stitches East in two weeks!!!!!

1 comment:

Becka said...

OMGoodness, I am too far south to attend, now I don't feel so badly! I'm often on crutches, sounds like I would have had to take out a few of the mob shoppers with a crutch! you see, I can do that without anyone ever knowing :wink: