Gnorm on his way to Rae,

I think Gnorm is a little upset with me after his visit. It started well. He visited work with me, met the kids, hung out with me at lunch and did a bunch of errands with me. It was the last errand that upset him. A trip to the dentist, I figured he should get a cleaning as long as he was there. After that he insisted we were through and that I send him back to Michigan..he should be there by Monday, if not sooner.

Wake up call from Gnorm!

Hi! Amysue in Massachusetts here. I was fast asleep this morning and felt something get dropped on my legs. I just rolled over because often my husband brings a cooler with my Boost in it so that I don't try to skip the morning insulin and breakfast. When I woke up a little later I saw that there were two squareish objects on the bed and one was a box from Wisconsin! Gnorm had arrived and he brought some amazing goodies with him:

• Vesper Sock Yarn! in an amazingly bright and cheery (especially on a cold, wet, late fall morning like today) colorway called Aquamelon.
• A trio of delightful heartshaped soap from The Alchemic Dragon.
• A bar of 74% cacao organic chocolate from Dagoba!!
• A recipe I'll be making for our family Chanukah Party for Spicy Black Bean Dip.
• Finally, the cutest, most wonderful and already cherished stitch marker ever in the shape of a tiny little gnome.

Of course, this was the moment my camera battery died and the charger went into hiding. No worries though...I have a cell phone that can take pictures! You can see Gnorm (up top) just after he came out of his box, resting with my still sleeping son! Here to the right is Gnorm with all the goodies he (and Ann in Wisconsin! Thank you!) brought with him.

Gnorm has a busy day ahead of him. He'll be going to my local LYS for a quick hello before I go to work and he'll be spending the day at my synagogue, which is were I work in the religious school.

But first...I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE TO SEND GNORM NEXT!!!!! I thought I had something in email from the summer, but this is a new laptop and perhaps it got lost. Please let me know where this guy is traveling next if anyone knows so that I can get him out before the end of the week!

Gnorm Has Arrived!!

Gnorm arrived here in Northeast Wisconsin this past week and he's been enjoying a variety of outings with some new friends! We have more planned during the next few days and will have many pictures and details to share with you all in the near future.

Will be in touch!

Ann K.

Bordercrossing: there and back again

Greetings from Gnorm! Oh, the adventures I've been having lately!

Immediately upon my arrival here in the Great White North the fun began. Emily picked me up from my hideout at the postal station (had to be cautious, given my recent run-in with the law!), and from there we quickly blended ourselves into the bustling crowds of Toronto's Chinatown. Minutes later, and there scene changed completely as we headed into Kensington Market, and into the cozy warmth of Lettuce Knit.


It was knitnight, and I was just getting acquainted with some of the knitters (and checking out the sock yarns) when I had a brush with knitting celebrity!


Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was kind enough to share some of her Big Fat Burrito (a Lettuce Knit tradition, I'm told), and let me get a photo with the Yarn Harlot herself.

What more could Toronto have to offer, you may ask? Lots! From the University of Toronto campus, where I got to sit in on a "Stitch & Lunch" (and cuddle up to some cashmere!)...


...To the government buildings at Queen's Park...


...To the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ontario College of Art and Design...


And of course, the CN Tower was always there in the background!


I would have toured Toronto further, as I was enjoying getting "out and about" as the Canadians say, but I was beginning to get a bit lonesome for my homeland. Could I ever return?

Emily concocted a plan -- we daringly ditched my arrest anklet and smuggled me back across the border with a family vacation as our disguise!


Next thing I knew, I was dancing at her cousin's wedding in Richmond, Virginia and taking in the sights at Colonial Williamsburg! I rather enjoyed the shopping...


But may have had a bit of a scare with the local (if 18th Century) law!!


I think perhaps I should keep moving on, but am happy to be back in the good ol' U-S-of-A. It's rather hot in Virginia, though... maybe going northward again would be nice...

~Gnorm

Can A Gnome Handle Freezing Weather Conditions?

I see Gnorm has recently arrived at one of his destinations during the last few days, but how's Gnuman doing? Is he MIA? Or?

Shall I expect either of these little guys PRIOR to the New Year?

Heeheheheheheeee!!

I am just wanting to plan for a nice visit with one of them and seriously - Wisconsin in January and February can be very very VERY cold!!

I had plans for some outdoor adventures but may need to revisit my ideas and head into a different direction. I'm not sure Gnomes can handle such frigid weather. Maybe I should plan to knit the little guy an additional coat, socks and mittens?

When I finally do receive a visit from a Gnome at my door, I may be so surprised, I won't know what to do with him!

I will do my best,

Ann

Gnorm has arrived!

Gnorm is safe and sound in Toronto, and has already had a fun evening... You'll hear from him soon enough, but for now he's getting rested before he takes the tour of the big TO!

~Emily

I Fought the Law and the Law Won

Man, that was quite a bumpy ride from Pennsylvania to Michigan but nothing prepared me for the adventures of this stop. I arrived to a very noisy household but my gifts from Marcia seemed well received.

I love kids but this was a little much. I was pulled, tugged, biten, thrown, and even was the source of one long game of tug of war.

We took a drive through my birthplace with a few stops along the way. I stopped by the capital to have a convo with Governer Granholm regarding my thoughts of the budget crisis and potential State government shutdown but the entrance was closed.

It was quite a sunny day and nothing beats a walk through the MSU campus and a visit to Sparty.

It was a long day and time for hanging downtown for a cocktail or two - I needed a little something to ease the stress of the day. With a full bladder of good Michigan ale, I was in search of a gnome friendly facility to no avail.

This seemed as good of a place as any, I'll just tuck behind this wheel.

OOPS!

One Drunk and Disordly and One Public Urination citation later, I'm booked and in the Clink.

See, here's the problem Officer, even the jailhouse doesn't cater to the needs of a Gnome.

A night in the Big House really makes you think. How do I explain this one to Rae?

Kristi bonded me out this morning but before I left, I was forced to have this ankle bracelet attached to me and was told to not leave the state or the country. Hmmmm.....life on the lam sounds like an adventure, now to plan my escape....Perhaps, out of the country....

Gnorm Back In Michigan

Gnorm landed back in his birthplace of Lansing, Michigan - he was a little homesick and needed to come back to his roots for a little fun before he leaves on his next destination. Thanks Marsha for all the goodies. We're off for a day of fun in the Capital City!

Gnorm hangs out with some gnitters

Freed from the confines of his traveling box--and liberated from the clutches of a two-year-old--Gnorm accompanied me to the (nearly) weekly get-together of my local knitting group. Last night's location: the cafe at Barnes and Noble. (Coffee, tasty desserts, and a place that stays open until 11 p.m.--a great combination!) First, he surveyed some of the treats arrayed on the table.


Then he helped Katie count rows. She's in the homestretch of a Wonderful Wallaby hooded pullover sweater for her daughter, and Gnorm shouted some encouraging words: "It's placket time! You can do it! This is going to look great!" After that, there's just the hood to knit and two little underarm seams to graft, and then the sweater will be all done--just in time for autumn.


All of that cheerleading wore him out, though. Fortunately, Linda has been knitting ball-band washcloths like crazy since she discovered them a month ago. She brought a stack of ten of them (each in a different color combination!) to show everyone, and they provided the perfect place for a quick snooze. We thought about seeing if "the princess and the pea" was also applicable to "the gnome and the pea," but he woke up before we could put something under his bed to test the theory.

Rejuvenated after that catnap, he stopped by Beth's end of the table to examine the moebius scarf she'd just started. She's using Rowan Kid Silk Haze, the absolutely luscious stuff that the Yarn Harlot famously nicknamed Crack Silk Haze. And for good reason: once you touch this yarn, you don't want to put it down. Just look at Gnorm here. We had a hard time peeling him away from this skein of it...


A new knitter, Aimee, joined us for the first time last night. Gnorm offered lots of encouragement as she cast on for a gauge swatch: "Lookin' good!" He started to warn her about the dangers of becoming a knitter and developing serious Stash Enhancement Tendencies, but the rest of us shushed him and whisked him away...


...down to Ruth, who's working on an adorable baby sweater. "Very nice pattern," Gnorm said approvingly, as he looked it over. "That's one lucky baby who'll be wearing that!"

Gnorm had a great time meeting everyone and playing with their yarn, but by the end of the evening he was pretty tuckered out.

He enjoyed his stay here, but he's been traveling for several months now and is eager to get back on the road to get home eventually. So this morning I bid him a fond farewell, packed some luggage for him, and sent him off to his next destination!

Gnorm arrives in Exton, Pennsylvania

After a long journey, Gnorm has arrived in Exton, Pennsylvania, which is about forty-five minutes west of Philadelphia. (Technically, we are part of the Philly suburbs. But if you go another forty-five minutes west, you're right smack in the middle of Amish country. So, to be fair, I should say we are part of those suburbs, too!) He arrived in style, in a lovely purple box that looks like it's seen a few miles but is still doing a great job keeping him and his luggage safe.

Crammed into the box with him were lots of wonderful goodies from Lia, who did a fabulous job of choosing items that were just right for me. (Chocolate? Check! Yarns made from interesting natural fibers--in this case, bamboo and corn? Check! Sock-knitting accessories? Check!) Thanks, Lia!

He spent the day at my home. As you can see, my two-year-old daughter has taken quite a shine to him (in this case, "shine" is defined as "toddler death-grip on the knitted gnome").

"Can I keep him?" she asked. I explained that I was going to send him to someone else in a few days, and she was rather bummed about that. But then I added that I could knit one for her soon, and that cheered her up. The first order of business: stuffing the gnome into the "trunk" of her toy car. She was rather annoyed when the lid wouldn't close (Gnome is a bit too stout to fit comfortably in this vehicle)...

...so she transferred him to the "trunk" of her tricyle. "So he can watch me ride my car," she explained. And so he did.

Tomorrow evening, Gnorm gets to meet my local knitting group!

[NOTE: I've moved my blog since this swap started. My old blog links to the new one, but if you want to get there directly go here.]

Gnews of Gnorm

Hi, everyone! Gnorm has just arrived at my house! I'll show him around for a few days, then will send him on his merry way.

(Will post more later--just wanted to send a quick note, since I know we've all been worried about him!)

Calling All Gnomes!

Looks like our gnome friends are still MIA. Can we get the ball rolling again? I would love to show Gnorm or Gnuman around Chicago in the fall and I have a package of goodies ready to send to my pal.

If people are having a hard time putting a parcel together, could you maybe just send the gnome on to your swap partner? Sometimes things come up, and we all understand that. I would be more than happy to put together an extra package for your pal.

Updates...

Okay, I'm hoping that people will get back on the ball about
A) sending the Gnomes out in a timely fashion
B) sending me tracking info for those packages (remember there are prizes to be awarded for doing so...)
C) Posting about the gnomes during their stay

August was a very quiet month here, lets try to make September a little better.

Here's what I know right now, Gnuman finally made it to Ahren on Monday & I've been informed he will shortly be on his way to his next hostess.

I can't get a hold of Lia, I believe she still has Gnorm. I've checked in with his next stop & she hasn't seen him yet. Lia, will you please contact me. I hate to put this on the blog, but you seem to be ignoring my emails.

Thanks all for bearing with me, I am sending out emails daily tracking down the gnomes & hope to have everything running smoothly soon.

Gnuman Found!

Yippy, We've located Gnuman!
I think Megan will be posting here soon, but he had an unintentional extended stay with her & is now winging his way to his next stop.
She has posted some great photos on the flickr page with some commentary. For some reason blogger isn't showing any of the editing options so I can't make it a link, but here's the URL~
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70531558@N00/1063655484/in/pool-384103@N23/

I hope we'll soon be hearing from Gnorm as well...
~Rae

Calling All Gnomes!

Gnuman....Gnorm... Where are you?

We're starting to get a little worried. Can whoever the gnomes are visiting right now please send a quick check in email or blog post. We miss them!

Thanks~
Rae

Gnorm made it to NJ!!

I had a nice little nap at the Hammonton Post Office while I was waiting for Lia to pick me up. Millie, the Postmistress, took good care of me. Saturday morning, I was snoozing when the box started to move. I heard Millie and Lia chatting, and off we went. Lia opened the box, and I jumped out. She introduced me to Daniel, her step-son, and I learned that we were off to pick blackberries - YUM!





We went to Russo's farm and got lots of yummy fruit. Here I am with our haul. Everyone was very interested in me, and Lia told them all about my recent travels. Here I am with the nice lady from the farm.

After the farm, Lia and Daniel took me to Lia's favorite yarn shop, Woolbearers. I got to meet Myra and all the other ladies at the shop. There was a spinning demo going on, and it was very interesting. Daniel had never seen that before, so he asked lots of questions. To be honest, they were the same questions I would have asked, but I just sat there nodding knowledgeably as he asked away! We walked around the store, and I got to pet all of the very soft and yummy yarns. Daniel was on the hunt for something shiny, and Myra helped him find a shiny button. I sat in a cozy loop of Woolbear's hand-dyed yarn while Myra packed up all of Lia's goodies. Then we were off for home.

Lia got busy and made blackberry jam with some of the fat juicy berries we picked. She made some honey oatmeal bread and a mixed berry cake - I can't wait until dessert and breakfast tomorrow! Lia has more excitement planned to tomorrow - we are going to visit her Mom and go to a NJ diner - how fun! After all this, we were tuckered out. Lia will open the rest of the package in the morning.

Gnuman makes the rounds, Part II

After the children were put down to nap, Jennifer said she was finally going to give me the Grand Tour on her way to the market. I think she was really proud she was finally getting her act together.

First, we went by that old house she mentioned earlier; she knows it at Mrs. King's house. She tried to take a photo, but there were too many cars in front, she parked illegally in front of the school and then a police car drove by and she didn't want to get stopped--we had a lot to do! The basic story, as best Jennifer remembers from her middle school project, is that the house was built in the 1600's, supposedly was a tavern during the Revolutionary War, and is supposedly haunted. She had a tour of the home at that time, and the then-owner related several experiences, including the night she heard the sound of a cannon ball rolling across her bedroom floor, and she woke up to see a soldier in Revolutionary War dress standing in her bedroom. Ooooh! Eerie!

She then showed me the house on the other side of the school, which also dates from the 1600's and which she also toured way back when. She even took a photo but...



Ack! Too blurry! At least I look good (that is, the parts she got in the frame).

This is me at the intersection of Main Street (yes, Metuchen has a Main Street!) and Middlesex Avenue (Rte. 27), the main intersection in town.



The building on my left is the newly reconstructed Boro Hall. The building between the tree and me in the background is the Volunteer Fire Department which came to Jennifer's house once when she smelled smoke at the children's bedtime. Everyone sat in the minivan while four fire engines' worth of volunteers left their homes, dinners, etc. to check the house. Jennifer was embarrassed but grateful.

Here is another partial shot of Main Street, one block down.



A few blocks down, Jennifer pulled into a parking spot opposite the post office, in front of the Colonial Cemetery. Here I am:



We then climbed about 10 steps up into the cemetery. We walked around and looked at the old gravestones, and found a few marking the plots of Revolutionary War soldiers.







We both thought it was pretty neat. Purportedly, there was a Revolutionary War skirmish in the area; there is a sign about it by Boro Hall. "Of course," Jennifer said, "New Jersey is the 'Washington slept here' state."

When we left the cemetery, we were directly opposite the Post Office:
(That's me in the corner of the picture)

Jennifer said that inside the Post Office, there is a plaque listing the names of Metuchen residents who fought in the Revolutionary War. She said I won't get to see it, because I'll be in my Priority Mail Box when she brings me there. Although I'm leaving Metuchen either tomorrow or Friday, Jennifer assured me that I'm not traveling too far, and shouldn't spend more than two or three days in transit. She also said that my next destination is interesting and a lot of fun; it has a lot of history and great yarn stores!

Across the street from the Post Office is the train station. On the corner is Freedom Plaza:



It's a memorial/tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11. Metuchen lost one resident.

After all this sightseeing, Jennifer rushed to the market to do her food shopping and get everything unloaded and put away before the children woke up from nap. And once they did, I got to meet Crocus!




Margery bought Crocus for Boy M after he watched a Thomas the Tank Engine episode that had lots of gnomes. He could not stop talking about the gnomes for weeks! Easily understandable, I say.

The boys were very curious about our conversation. "Gnome business," I told them. But Crocus asked me to tell everyone that he is not caged, he is very happy in the garden with the flowers and his mushroom, and that the yard was fenced that way long before he arrived (to keep triplets from escaping).

This may very well be my last post from Metuchen. Jennifer says that if you want more information about Metuchen, you can find it here. I'm certainly looking forward to my next adventure!