Anyone else feeling a bit looney?

Looney: someone deranged and possibly dangerous

Yeah, I could be feeling that! With all the gray and rainy weather, it's no surprise. Yesterday we took a bit of a drive to escape this wacky weather - and drove to Freeport, Maine. Home of LL Bean and many other outlets. I got in quite a bit of knitting time in the car! We hit LL Bean for some back-to-school items. It was the first visit for Helen and Sophie, so of course - we had to get a picture of them with the massive boot. They picked out new backpacks and lunch boxes for their big middle school debut in just over 5 weeks. So much more fun doing it in person, than online or through a catalog! That wall of backpacks was quite impressive. We even caught a little demo at the indoor trout pond. A little fly fishing, anyone?
After a lucky stop at the Patagonia store and some yummy ice cream cones we got in the car and headed back for our camp, an hour and a half north. I picked up my iPhone (which due to lack of AT&T coverage in many parts of Maine, has been pretty much ignored this week) and noticed I had full service. I googled "yarn shops Freeport Maine." Hey, just because I own a shop doesn't mean I can't drool over yarns at other places!

I was thrilled to see that Purl Diva was only 10 minutes away in Brunswick. I had heard a lot about Purl Diva, and I follow the owner's blog and twitter updates. I was surprised to discover how close we were to her shop! Just minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot, and I went in to meet Ellen, the owner.
What a beautiful shop! If any of you are ever in the area (or even a couple of hours away!) Purl Diva is a must see. The shop is charming - her building reminds me of ours in a way - an old house built around the exact same time. It is clear that Ellen loves and excels at what she does, and that she has thrown her heart and soul into making Purl Diva an incredible yarn shop. Beautiful yarns, accessories, samples, you name it - all in an organized space full of creative possibilities. Everywhere you look you will discover great finds. It was truly the high point of my day. Thanks Ellen!

We ended our day with a few breaks in the ever present clouds, and the girls were able to swim with some new friends.
Side note: This week Helen & Sophie have been pretending to "fish" with some old Barbie fishing rods that Marc's mom gave them years ago. They're not using any bait, so obviously they're not catching anything. They've been standing down on the dock for hours at a time "casting on." It's so cute - I'm certainly not going to tell them that they're "casting", not "casting on." I guess a week in knitting camp had an impression on them!