From O to Z

So here's a post where I look dumb.
Nothing new to see here folks, but I'll tell you about it anyway.
Have you ever discovered something new, that is really not new, but it's new to you, and then you want to tell everyone about it?
Yeah.
I bet you have.
It's called sharing.
(Some would say over-sharing, I would say shut up.)
I like that.
So let me share something fantabulous with you.
It's new yarn.
New to me.
But there's a story attached.
Here goes.
I got a Facebook friend request last week, and I thought, well who the heck is friending me? I thought I had pretty much friended everyone I could, but you never know the random people who come out of the woodwork.
I noticed that the "One Mutual Friend" was my brother, so I accepted.
Easy enough.
He has some very interesting friends, let me tell you.
Then I read the message that was waiting in my in-box.

G;day Julie -- Kenne said I should say g'day to you and send you are friend message -- I'm advised you may be a knitting yarn fan.

Well of course, I am, so I replied:

 I am indeed a fibre fan (and I don't mean the kind you eat, although that's what people always think!). Glad to meet you - I'll have to check you out, aka Facebook stalk you - although it's hardly "stalking" when you're friends! Cheers!

Friendly enough, right? And of course I sound like a geek. Whatever. My brother doesn't know much about yarn other than what I talk about on here, and on Facebook, but he's savvy enough to link up two yarny people. And my new friend from Australia wrote back:

 Are you a knitter? What's your fiber addiction?

Now let me just pause right here and tell you that, as noted in the previous post, I have been extremely busy. Maybe you didn't catch quite how busy I have been. Really busy. Okay, not so busy that I couldn't read something like three or four books last week, but you know, mentally busy. They were easy reads, it wasn't like I was struggling through Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury or something like that. What this means is that I was really too busy to check out my new friend's profile. So sue me. And stop judging. I just did not have time, so I really didn't know much about her, and I was making a reply to an honest question, and I was being polite and not ignoring her message. So I said:

I am a knitter, albeit a rather lazy one. I'm great at buying yarn, I can start projects like a champ, and I can successfully let them sit forever in my work-in-progress pile. I also blog (lately only occasionally). I'd love to learn to spin someday, but I'm fearful because I know it would become an extreme obsession. Fibre in pure form - how awesome is that. What do you like to do?

Let's pause there for a moment and look at that last sentence.
"What do you like to do?"
Such a simple sentence, yet you can't escape the glaring ignorance of the sender. It is clear that I did not take the time to look at her profile, I did not Facebook stalk as promised, and I clearly have no idea what her hobbies and activities are. This was on Friday morning, and as soon as I sent this message I thought, "Well go check her out, dummy," because even at this stage, and especially after sending off that last e-mail, I felt pretty stupid. And ignorant. I'm good at that.
What did I find about my new friend?
Do you think she likes to knit?
(are you going to tell me that I shouldn't write suspense thrillers for a living because my build-up to the denouement is too obvious? yeah, I know)
Well of course she knits. And spins. And dyes. And, wait for it, owns a fricking yarn shop!
I could have banged my head on the table. Mentally, I did.
What a dope I am.
Yeah, she has not only a fantastic yarn shop, Stranded in Oz, but also some absolutely drool-worthy sock yarn.
Saturday morning I placed an order.
I ordered some Glinda the Good Wool sock yarn - it's totally fabulous.
My favorite is Sister Midnight:

Yummy, yummy dark blue - with sparkles!
Hubby liked this one, it's called Heaven, but it's sold out:

It's obvious why - look at how pretty those blues are.
There are other completely delectable yarns on there, and I fought to limit my purchase.
No really, I did. Don't scoff!
And that's my story.
So I have a new friend.
Who owns yarn shop.
Might as well start an allotment to her right away, don't you think?
But do check it out - Stranded in Oz (this is the Ravelry link) - great yarns, great owner, and a great enabler.
Lord, help me.
I think I might have already become a yarn groupie.
Am I too old for her to adopt me?