Wednesday, April 25, 2007

honored, humbled and hail

I was honored to rate a photo in the Yarn Harlot's blog! Of course, I was also overheating at that point, but it all seemed good when I left home at 7 AM... and somebody's already bought a copy of the Heart's Ease sock design from my website so not only does Stephanie have magic powers for good and commerce, but my sweaty feet encouraged others to try out the fun two color pattern. I loved knitting it.

Yesterday I continued feeling honored at the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky. Maybe it was the sheer size of the building, or the fact that we'd gone 150 miles and been in the car since 6 AM Central Time, but when my mom and I looked up at the building, we said WOW. That's big.That's impressive. I was also a little carsick, so maybe that was it, but I felt nervous about this Kentucky Writer's Day thing at the Capitol Rotunda all of a sudden. Although the event aimed to honor the new Poet Laureate, and lots of other folks, I was given a seat in the front row, and they called me to the podium by name! I met a couple of other friendly writers who also won grants, ate snacks, admired the large statues--including Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, the only President of the Confederacy-- (see, The War Between the States, it never ends, even in a border state like Kentucky)and my mom snapped proud photos of me. It was great to have her there. I don't think I grow out of having my mom be proud of me! I was one of the youngest folks honored, besides the high school students, and that was humbling. Also, many of the writers had connections to each other. Lexington, Louisville, and Frankfort are not that far apart, and there's a strong arts community there. Bowling Green wasn't mentioned once! I'm a little jealous of that community, and also felt a bit like an outsider...as someone raised in Virginia, and living far away from Kentucky's bigger cities.

We then drove to Louisville for a funky fab lunch at Lynn's Paradise Cafe, and after a small tour of downtown (ok, we got lost), I dropped my mom at the airport. At that point, I faced the drive home, fortified by many glasses of lunchtime iced tea.

All was fine until about 30 miles from home. There was a wreck (that's what Kentuckians call a car accident) and traffic was completely stopped on the highway. It took an hour to go 5 miles to the nearest exit. In the meanwhile, my car idled and the temperature gauge began to rise in a worrying way. I turned on the heat full blast to cool down the engine, cranked down the windows, and tried my own Joanne sauna. I started to feel nauseous. I drank water...the sky got very dark. We had a huge thunderstorm, with lightning that struck very close, and pea to quarter sized hail. I was still stuck on the highway, and scared!

At last, I reached the next exit, and thanks to the professor's research jaunts to Mammoth Cave, I knew my way home by another road. The car cooled down and I made it home. Nothing like a little hail and a 330 mile round trip to keep a person from getting too big for her britches!

Since Saturday morning, I've travelled something like 770 miles by car. I'm seriously looking forward to spending today at home.



10 Comments:

Blogger sarah said...

There's nothing like travel to make home seem desirable :-)
I don't even want to think about how long it would take to drive 770 miles in the UK!

The sweater and sock combination looked lovely, almost enough to make me wish I could wear red (I'm mentally not up to it).

April 25, 2007 at 11:09 AM  
Blogger Joanne said...

Sarah, I didn't wear bright colors like scarlet red and hot pink with confidence until I was past 30. I just didn't want people looking at me! I didn't want to stand out. Now I realize, they're not really looking at me "that way" anyway-there are far more glamorous people to look at!

April 25, 2007 at 11:29 AM  
Blogger Peggy said...

Congrats on the beginning sales of your beautiful sock pattern. How cool to be on the Harlots blog and congrats on the honor your received in Frankfort. All just a show of the impact you are making on our world. BTW where the link to my blog? :)

April 25, 2007 at 12:49 PM  
Blogger Romi said...

Many many congratulations to you! May it be only the start of much success! :)

April 25, 2007 at 1:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nothing like weather to keep a person humble. Love the socks. BTW, I jsut learned yesterday that Bowling Green is home to the Corvette factory and associated museum. Lucky you. ;)

April 26, 2007 at 11:28 AM  
Blogger AlisonH said...

My first thought looking at that picture was, DC! Then, no, wait a minute... (Typed the DC native.)

Congratulations, and I love the socks and that gorgeous sweater. Ooh, lovely.

April 26, 2007 at 6:50 PM  
Blogger Rémy said...

Hey, I have to say that my few trips to Frankfort proved to me that all is not lost for the few "artsy" people in KY. However I must admit, and very embarassingly, that I thought that the capital of KY was Franklin and that the city near BG was Frankfort for about 2 years while I lived there. O well, I have learned better (and in a very humbling way). I haven't heard from you in ages and I have been CRAZY busy. I will update my blog tomorrow probably to give you an idea. Anyways drop me a line or give me a call.

April 26, 2007 at 9:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It sounds like you had a nice time. I love my mom and really enjoy being with her too.
I think you need some relax at home time now:-)

Elizabeth

April 27, 2007 at 5:21 AM  
Blogger Cathy said...

I haven't had much time lately to do anything on the net - but I had to check out YH's post with your photo. Lookin' good!
And how wonderful your mom shared your moment with you. :-)

April 27, 2007 at 8:04 AM  
Blogger Thistle Cove Farm said...

Congratulations! Your hard work is paying off and I wish you the absolute best!

May 3, 2007 at 9:27 AM  

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